MLB All-Star Game 2025: Kyle Schwarber powers NL to win with 3 homers in 3 swings in event’s first swing-off

Published

2 months ago

July 16, 2025

The 2025 MLB All-Star Game was tied 6-6 by the end of the ninth inning. Instead of extra innings, fans got some heroics from Philadelphia Phillies slugger Kyle Schwarber.

Decided by baseball’s first ever All-Star swing-off, the National League beat the American League in a swing-off to notch its second ASG win in three years. It’s only the league’s fifth win in 28 years, as well.

Each team sent three players to the plate with three swings each, creating a mini-Home Run Derby to decide the game. The AL fielded a trio of Athletics designated hitter Brent Rooker, Seattle Mariners outfielder Randy Arozarena and Tampa Bay Rays first baseman Jonathan Aranda, while Miami Marlins outfielder Kyle Stowers, Schwarber and New York Mets first baseman Pete Alonso were the guys for the NL.

Rooker put the NL in the lead early with two long balls to one from Stowers, but then Schwarber delivered an absolutely clutch 3-for-3 performance to put the NL ahead going into the final round.

Aranda went 0-for-3 to leave Alonso, who forewent the Home Run Derby for the first time of his career this year, hanging and give the senior circuit the win, 4-3 and 7-6 as the overall final score.

Naturally, Schwarber was named All-Star Game MVP after the game.

For fans wondering why Aaron Judge, Shohei Ohtani and other superstars weren’t involved, swing-off participants are decided before the game depending on which players volunteer. Players also often leave the All-Star Game early to get a headstart on a mini-vacation ahead of the second half of the season.

The AL erased a 6-0 lead to force the swing-off

The National League should have had the game won during regulation. It jumped out to a 6-0 lead in the sixth inning, powered by homers from New York Mets first baseman Pete Alonso and Arizona Diamondbacks outfielder Corbin Carroll.

Alonso delivered the biggest hit of the night, until the swing-off, with a three-run homer off Kansas City Royals pitcher Kris Bubic.

The AL didn’t go quietly, though. After Carroll’s homer made it 6-0 in the sixth inning, the AL made it a game again with a seventh-inning rally. Rooker, who was eliminated from the Home Run Derby on Tuesday by a literal inch, added another dinger to his total for the week with a three-run shot.

Some nice baserunning from Kansas City Royals third baseman Maikel Garcia added another run in the same frame.

The NL entered the bottom of the ninth inning with San Diego Padres closer Robert Suarez and New York Mets closer Edwin Diaz in reserve, with a two-run lead. It didn’t go well. The AL got to Suarez quickly and moved to within a run on an RBI double from Kansas City Royals star Bobby Witt Jr. Then Cleveland Guardians outfielder Steven Kwan scored him on an infield single against Diaz, giving him a blown save and forcing the swing-off.

Jacob Misiorowski makes his controversial All-Star debut

No player entered the All-Star Game with more discourse surrounding him than Jacob Misiorowski. The Milwaukee Brewers rookie was an 11th-hour addition to the festivities despite having made only five starters in his career, by far the fewest games played of any All-Star in history.

MLB put Misiorowski in over more deserving players because of his electric arsenal, led by a fastball that sat in triple-digits on Tuesday. Per Statcast, Misiorowski didn’t throw a fastball slower than 99.2 mph and at one point unleashed a 98.1 mph slider in a scoreless eighth inning.

AL hitters hit a couple deep fly balls off him that managed to stay in the park, but Misiorowski at least provided a reason to keep watching an exhibition game until the ninth-inning drama and swing-off heroics.

No pitcher had more fun than Clayton Kershaw

On the other end of the velocity spectrum was Clayton Kershaw, who topped out at 89 mph but still got his two batters out in the second inning.

The more fun part was the Los Angeles Dodgers star being mic’d up on the Fox broadcast for the entire appearance. Kershaw, usually the picture of intensity on the mound, showed off some personality between pitches with self-deprecation (“That was right down the middle, I’m so glad he didn’t swing”) and nearly cursing out color commentator John Smoltz for thinking he throws a cutter.

Dodgers manager Dave Roberts pulled Kershaw early, which proved to be its own nice moment as he walked to the dugout.

As he received high-fives and back pats in the dugout, the microphone caught him yelling “Suck it Big Dumper!” as a razz toward his last out, Seattle Mariners catcher Cal Raleigh.

The All-Star Game gets its first five challenges

The automatic ball-strike challenge has been slowly making its way into MLB. It started as a test in the minor leagues, then made its debut in spring training this year with an overall positive reception.

MLB opted to give it some more exposure in the All-Star Game, with five players opting to challenge the call from the ump. Detroit Tigers ace Tarik Skubal got it right on the first challenge, which caused San Diego Padres third baseman Manny Machado to strike out.

MLB blows everyone away with Hank Aaron tribute

On 7/15, MLB and the Braves paid tribute to Hank Aaron’s 715th home run with an incredible light show after the sixth inning. With projections on the field and one of the coolest fireworks ever, it was worth watching.

In attendance was Aaron’s 88-year-old widow Billye Aaron, who provided the photo of the night.

Here’s how the entire 2025 MLB All-Star Game went down via Yahoo Sports:

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Democrats dig in on health care as threat of government shutdown looms

Published

2 hours ago

September 13, 2025

Erin Doherty

U.S. Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) speaks to reporters as Senate Democratic leaders hold a press conference following their weekly policy lunch on Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C., U.S., Sept. 9, 2025.

Elizabeth Frantz | Reuters

Congressional Democrats are zeroing in on health care as a key sticking point in negotiations with the threat of a government shutdown looming.

Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer and House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries, both of New York, have said that they will not support GOP-backed legislation to keep the government funded unless it includes certain health-care provisions, setting up a bitter policy fight with GOP lawmakers that could trigger a shutdown.

“We have made clear that under no circumstances will we support a partisan Republican spending bill that continues to rip away health care from the American people,” Jeffries said on the House floor this week.

With funding on the brink, congressional Democrats are demanding that any legislation that would avert a shutdown include an extension of the Affordable Care Act tax credits, which are set to expire at the end of this year unless Congress intervenes.

If the tax credits disappear, average premiums could soar by about 75%, according to KFF, a nonpartisan health policy research group.

The vast majority of Americans with a health plan from the ACA marketplace had a premium tax credit in 2025, according to KFF, meaning their elimination would have widespread consequences.

Democrats have also repeatedly criticized the cuts to Medicaid that were part of the “One, Big Beautiful Bill,” and they want Republicans to reverse them.

Published

2 hours ago

September 13, 2025

Grace Raynor

No. 12 Clemson entered the 2025 season with national championship potential. But after two losses in three weeks, coach Dabo Swinney and the Tigers are staring down a whole bunch of questions and don’t seem to have many answers.

Clemson’s latest struggle came at Bobby Dodd Field on Saturday afternoon, where Georgia Tech won 24-21 on Aidan Birr’s 55-yard, game-winning field goal as time expired. Georgia Tech fans stormed the field, with the Yellow Jackets improving to 3-0 and looking like a dark-horse College Football Playoff contender.

Swinney grimaced as he headed to shake Georgia Tech coach Brent Key’s hand, his Tigers now 1-2 to start the season for the first time since 2014.

“The only thing worse than 1-2 is 1-3,” Swinney said. “We’ve gotta find a way to win a game. We can’t put our head down and pout.”

Clemson’s biggest problem? For as much talent as they have, the Tigers could never get out of their own way with offensive turnovers and defensive lapses.

GEORGIA TECH HITS THE 55-YARD FIELD GOAL AS TIME EXPIRES TO SNAP ITS NINE-GAME LOSING STREAK VS. CLEMSON‼️ pic.twitter.com/14ywZCrWW3

— ESPN (@espn) September 13, 2025

The issues started early and often for Clemson.

Quarterback Cade Klubnik, projected to be a Heisman contender and one of the best quarterbacks in the nation, fumbled on the Tigers’ first possession of the game, which Georgia Tech turned into a field goal on the other end to take a 3-0 lead. Clemson kicker Nolan Hauser then missed a 52-yarder with 1:45 to go in the first quarter.
The Yellow Jackets went up 10-0 early in the second quarter thanks to quarterback Haynes King connecting with receiver Eric Rivers on a 42-yard gain at the end of the first to set up running back Jamal Haynes’ 5-yard rushing touchdown. Midway through the second, Georgia Tech extended its lead to 13-0 with another field goal.

Just when it looked like the Tigers had finally found some life with a touchdown before halftime — which, by the way, took three tries inside the 5-yard line — Klubnik threw a costly interception inside Georgia Tech’s 10-yard line on the first drive of the third quarter. Coming away with no points may ultimately have been the difference for a Clemson team whose offense hasn’t been able to get into a rhythm at any point through the first three weeks of the season.

The Tigers bounced back and took a 14-13 lead when Klubnik connected with sophomore receiver Bryant Wesco Jr. for a 73-yard score. They scored again with 3:26 left in the game to tie it at 21.

But King gave Clemson problems all day — finishing the afternoon 20-of-28 passing for 211 yards, while also gashing Clemson’s defense to the tune of 101 yards rushing and a touchdown on 25 carries. The Tigers’ defense could never bottle him up, missing assignments and tackles, and Georgia Tech averaged 6.2 yards per play to Clemson’s 5.1. The Tigers also had three penalties, went 0-for-2 on fourth down, couldn’t get the production they needed up front and averaged 3.5 yards per rush to Georgia Tech’s five.

Where Clemson goes from here is perhaps the most interesting storyline in the ACC. The Tigers’ start — losses to LSU and Georgia Tech and a come-from-behind win over Troy — has dropped their odds of making the Playoff to just 18 percent, according to The Athletic’s Austin Mock, down from 80 percent in the preseason. (Georgia Tech’s odds increased to 23 percent Saturday.) Clemson, just 0-1 in the ACC, could still win the league and punch its ticket into the Playoff. But given how Swinney’s team has looked through the first three weeks, the Tigers don’t seem poised to meet the national championship expectations they had a month ago.

“We’ve got no room for error,” Swinney said. “We’re uphill and the wind’s at our face. That’s for sure. But hey, gotta do it the hard way if we’re gonna do it. But we’re not out. … We’ve still got life and as long as we stay together and as long as we keep competing, anything can happen. We’ve just got to find a way to win a game.”

This story will be updated.

(Photo: Kevin C. Cox / Getty Images)

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