A tie at the end of nine innings no longer means the MLB All-Star Game ends without a winner. Here’s what happens if this year’s Midsummer Classic is deadlocked after regulation.
Rather than heading into extra innings as in years past, one unique rule introduced in recent years would decide the outcome almost immediately, and it’s unlike anything fans see during the regular season. It’s called the “swing-off.”
How Tonight’s Swing-Off Would Work
The format traces back to the 2022 Collective Bargaining Agreement, and it stays in place at least through the finish of this season. Grounds crews get a short break to reset the field once the ninth ends, then the visiting league’s three selected hitters go first, according to a report from MLB.com’s Ian Browne Pitches that miss the zone don’t count against a swing. Only contact counts.
Six hitters, three swings each. Whoever hits the most homers combined wins the game by a single run. That would be the official scoreline, anyway, with no winning or losing pitcher credited. If the two sides are still deadlocked after all six have hit, it goes to sudden death. In that case, one hitter per side takes three swings each, repeating with any of the three original participants until somebody wins.
Before this rule existed, tie games simply kept going. The All-Star Game landed in extra innings 13 times, most recently in 2018 at Nationals Park, where the American League needed 10 innings to beat the National League, 8-6.
The Sluggers on Deck for AL and NL
American League manager John Schneider tabbed Munetaka Murakami of the Chicago White Sox, Willson Contreras of the Boston Red Sox and Randy Arozarena of the Seattle Mariners as his three swing-off contestants.
National League skipper Dave Roberts countered with St. Louis Cardinals 2026 Home Run Derby champion Jordan Walker, Washington Nationals outfielder James Wood, and Colorado Rockies slugger Hunter Goodman, who ranks third in the National League with 27 home runs.
Walker enters having pulled off a comeback win in Monday’s Home Run Derby final over Phillies star Kyle Schwarber. Goodman, for one, is hoping for a repeat of last summer’s chaos.
“That was a really fun way to end the game,” Goodman said. “These All-Star Games, pitchers throw one inning so you don’t have enough guys to go extra innings. It’s a really entertaining way and a really fun way to end the game.”
Last Year’s Swing-Off Set the Bar
The format debuted in 2025 at Truist Park in Atlanta, where the National League pulled out a first-ever swing-off victory after both sides finished the full nine deadlocked 6-6. Schwarber went deep on all three swings, outlasting Tampa Bay’s Jonathan Aranda, and walked away with All-Star Game MVP honors. Brent Rooker and Arozarena each connected for the American League that night, but it wasn’t enough.
Schwarber still talks about it a year later.
“It was just a lot of fun and I could feel the energy from the fans there and your teammates on the side who all came out cheering and jumping,” Schwarber said. “Definitely something that was cool.”
Tonight’s 2026 MLB All-Star Game game airs at 8 p.m. ET on FOX from Citizens Bank Park in Philadelphia.
What Happens if the MLB All-Star Game Ends in a Tie Tonight?