The Giants’ front row seat to All-Star Game chaos: ‘A perfect way to end this’

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ATLANTA –Two outs into the ninth inning of an All-Star Game that never will be forgotten, the National League manager shared something in the dugout that never was uttered on a Major League Baseball diamond.

Let Giants All-Star Robbie Ray provide the details from Tuesday night’s wild developments at Truist Park:

“Dave Roberts comes down and goes, ‘Guys, you won’t believe this. If the game ends in a tie, I pre-selected three guys for a Home Run Derby. That’s how we’re going to finish it.’

“Nobody knew. We were all like, ‘Is this really how all this is going to happen?’ ”

It is. It was. It rocked.

Three years ago, MLB and the players’ union agreed to a new way to decide All-Star Games that are tied through nine innings: a Home Run Derby involving three players from each league taking three hacks apiece.

A swing-off, if you will.

Tuesday, after the National League took a seemingly comfortable 6-0 lead, the American League made a dramatic comeback, beginning when the Giants’ Randy Rodríguez coughed up a three-run homer in the seventh inning to Brent Rooker of the A’s, and tied the score in the ninth.

“I saw a guy running in from center field, and he had the L-Screen,” said Ray, referring to the protective screen for batting practice pitchers, “and we’re like what is going on right now?”

Baseball history. That’s what was going on.

The derby hitters were selected Monday by the managers — Rooker, Randy Arozarena, and Jonathan Aranda for the AL and Kyle Stowers, Kyle Schwarber, and Pete Alonso for the NL, all of whom were going to come off the bench to play the second half of the game — but most folks in the dugouts weren’t given a heads up until just before the postgame theatrics began.

“I honestly had no clue this was a thing,” Giants All-Star Logan Webb said. “We heard who was going to do it, and I was super excited to see Stowers in it, and then they said Schwarber and Pete. and I’m like, ‘All right we’re going to win.’ ”

“Yeah,” Rooker said, “they had Schwarber and Pete over there, two guys built for Home Run Derby, so they had an advantage.”

As Roberts was in the NL dugout alerting his players what was to come, Rooker was in the AL batting cage taking a half-dozen swings off Yankees coach Travis Chapman, the designated AL derby pitcher.

Rooker went first and homered twice in three swings, and Stowers hit one for the NL. Arozarena’s second-round homer made it 3-1, AL. Then came Schwarber, the mighty Phillie who homered on all three swings to put the NL ahead 4-3.

The jaw-dropping power display prompted all the NL players along the first-base line, including Webb and Ray, who were glad they stuck around until the bitter end, to erupt in joy 

“I told Scharber afterward, ‘Dude, you’re just cool, you’re just a cool dude,’ ” Webb said.

It was Aranda’s turn, and he hit the outfield wall with his second swing but finished with no homers. That clinched it. No need for Alonso to come to the plate. The NL won the first All-Star swing-off 4-3 and the game 7-6. Schwarber was named MVP even though he went 0-for-2 with a walk pre-derby.

Right away, it was easy to dream, no matter how farfetched, that this rule could carry over to the offseason, not that anyone seriously believed it would happen. But on this night, when weirdness prevailed, it seemed anything was possible.

“I have a group text with other players around baseball,” Webb said, “and they said we should never play an extra-inning game again. We should always end games just like that. It should be just straight Home Run Derby.”

Let’s take this fantasy a few steps further. Who would be the three Giants chosen for such a tie-breaking derby? Webb suggested Heliot Ramos, Matt Chapman, and Rafael Devers. As the last pitcher to hit a home run before the universal DH rule went into effect, Webb briefly wondered if he’d be able to join Tuesday’s derby.

“I wanted to, but I think Buster (Posey) would’ve called and yelled at somebody,” Webb said.

The third Giants All-Star missed out on all the late-night festivities. After Rodríguez’s rough seventh inning, he walked to the clubhouse, showered, and exited without addressing the media. For someone with a microscopic 0.86 ERA, in a season with minimal failure, he apparently wasn’t accustomed to sticking around and providing explanations.

Rodríguez entered with two runners aboard, threw two sliders out of the zone to Rooker and then grooved a fastball that was crushed 426 feet. Rodríguez gave up another run and was pulled after retiring just two batters.

Both Webb and Ray were supportive of the first-time All-Star. Ray said Rodríguez told him the Georgia humidity affected his slider command. “Waste ’em here,” said Ray, preferring the damage come in an exhibition instead of the regular season. Webb said, “I did way worse than he did last year. He’s fine. It’s the All-Star Game.”

Last year, Webb surrendered three runs in one inning in a 5-3 loss, and he was determined to prevent a repeat performance. For the second straight year, he worked the third inning, and this time he retired three of four batters. Nine of his 11 pitches were strikes.

Junior Caminero opened with a single, and three easy outs followed. Javier Baez grounded out, Jacob Wilson flied out and Gleyber Torres grounded out.

Webb admitted he was nervous jogging in from the bullpen, so it might have been beneficial that Dodgers catcher Will Smith joked with him before the first pitch.

“He came out there and said, ‘What do you throw?’ I started laughing,” Webb said.

For the first time, the ABS (automatic balls and strikes) system was used, and four of five challenges were overturned including by A’s shortstop Jacob Wilson, who had a called strike turned into a ball. It’s possible the system could go into effect in the 2026 regular season.

It wasn’t a concern for Webb, who said, “I think they swung at everything near the zone. I didn’t have to deal with that.”

Everyone was forced to deal with much more in the end. A day after the annual Home Run Derby, another derby ensued. But this time, it counted for something. The NL had lost 10 of 11 All-Star Games before Tuesday and then pulled one out in unusual and unprecedented fashion.

“A perfect way to end this All-Star Game,” Webb said.