First ‘swing-off’ decides All-Star Game with Phillies’ Schwarber as the hero

“It’s a good feeling,” Braves first baseman Matt Olson said of winning the game in the Atlanta’s home ballpark. “Everybody went out and competed. The (American League) pushed a couple across there at the end, but that derby finish was cool.”

Credit: Jason Getz/AJC

Credit: Jason Getz/AJC

Boos reigned down on manager Dave Roberts after he announced the National League’s three participants for the swing-off. Each one hailed from one of the Braves’ division rivals, while Olson — the hometown kid who competed in the Home Run Derby the night before — watched from in front of the dugout.

(As for fellow Braves All-Star Ronald Acuña Jr., he was already in street clothes when speaking to the media in the fifth inning, similar to most of the other starters.)

Roberts said he did not know which player — between Olson and the Mets’ Pete Alonso — would still be in the game when declaring the league’s three representatives, plus an alternate, prior to first swing-off pitch. He did not want to put Olson, who leads the Braves with 17 home runs this season, in harm’s way by potentially bringing him back off the bench.

The reasoning is sound — and should be comforting to Braves fans after the club’s first half that landed multiple key players on the injured list — but Roberts’ selection of Alonso contradicted his rationale.

Olson replaced the Mets first baseman in the top of the seventh inning, meaning Alonso would have participated after three innings of cooling down — the exact situation Roberts claimed he tried to avoid with Olson.

“I didn’t think about it,” Roberts said when asked if there was any consideration to let Olson participate, because of the hometown connection. “I probably should’ve.”

Credit: Hyosub Shin/AJC

Credit: Hyosub Shin/AJC

Olson admitted he “probably would have liked” to hear his name called as one of the three competitors but joked that his obliques are likely thanking him for staying out of it after taking 40 swings on Monday night in the Home Run Derby.

And Roberts’ decision worked out for the National League.

After the American League’s Brent Rooker (Athletics) and Randy Arozarena (Mariners) gave the group a 3-1 lead, Schwarber hit three home runs on three swings to propel the National League ahead 4-3. The AL’s Jonathan Aranda (Rays) did not hit a pitch past the warning track, so the NL earned the victory without Alonso having to take a swing.

The ironic part of the performance was that Truist Park erupted with each pitch Schwarber sent past the outfield wall — the same crowd that endlessly scoffed him up until the swing-off.

“It was interesting,” Schwarber said of his reception. “We were next to the Mets guys there on the (pregame introduction) line, and we were saying, ‘Who do you think is going to get it more, them or me?’ They’re like, ‘You, for sure.’ But it was fun. It was a fun night. We love those kinds of things. Obviously, we have division rivalries and everything like that, and fans take perspective to that. As baseball players, we appreciate that.”

“And also when you have them on your side trying to push the NL over the top, it was really cool.”

Credit: Jason Getz/AJC

Credit: Jason Getz/AJC

A swing-off did not appear likely after the National League jumped on the American League, scoring six runs — that included a two-run first inning — in the first six frames to take a 6-0 lead.

But the American League battled back with a four-run seventh inning off of Adrian Morejon (Pirates) and Randy Rodríguez (Giants) combined with a game-tying rally against Mets closer Edwin Díaz in the ninth inning.

And as a result, the sellout crowd of 41,702 got to experience the first-ever swing-off in a MLB All-Star Game.

“Just a good event,” Olson said. “I hope the fans that were here, out in The Battery and at the stadium enjoyed it just as much.”