ATLANTA — Kyle Schwarber went 3 for 3 in the first All-Star Game home run swing-off to put the National League ahead 4-3 following a 6-6 tie in which the American League rallied from a six-run deficit on Tuesday night.

In baseball’s equivalent of soccer’s penalty-kicks shootout, the game was decided by having three batters from each league take three swings each off coaches. The change was agreed to in 2022 to alleviate the concern of teams running out of pitchers.

Schwarber was named All-Star MVP after going 0 for 2 with a walk in the game.

Brent Rooker put the AL ahead by homering on his last two swings, and Kyle Stowers — subbing for Eugenio Suárez — hit one.

Randy Arozarena boosted the AL lead to 3-1, and Schwarber was successful on all three tries, going down to a knee as he sent the one into the Chop House seats in right.

Jonathan Aranda failed on all three tries, hitting the right-field wall with his second, and the NL didn’t have to use its last batter, two-time Home Run Derby champion Pete Alonso, as it won for just the second time in the last 12 All-Star Games. The AL leads 48-45 with two ties.

Ketel Marte’s two-run double in the first had put the NL ahead, and Alonso’s three-run homer off Kris Bubic and Corbin Carroll’s solo shot against Casey Mize opened a 6-0 lead in the sixth.

The AL comeback began when Rooker hit a three-run pinch homer against Randy Rodríguez in a four-run seventh that included Bobby Witt Jr.’s RBI groundout.

Robert Suarez allowed consecutive doubles to Byron Buxton and Witt with one out in ninth, and Steven Kwan’s infield hit on a three-hopper to third off Edwin Díaz drove in the tying run.

Joe Torre, the 84-year-old former Yankees manager, went to the mound for a pitching change in the eighth to take the ball from Shane Smith and hand it to Andrés Muñoz. The Hall of Famer was picked as a coach by current New York skipper Aaron Boone, who managed the AL.

Heat on the mound

Paul Skenes, the first pitcher to start the All-Star Game each of his first two seasons, struck out Gleyber Torres and Riley Greene in a perfect first that included Aaron Judge’s inning-ending groundout. The 23-year-old right-hander reached 100 mph on four of 14 pitches.

Jacob Misiorowski, a controversial inclusion after pitching in just five major league games in his rookie season, fired nine pitches of 100 mph or more in a one-hit eighth 34 days after his major league debut. The 23-year-old righty, added to the NL roster by baseball Commissioner Rob Manfred, reached 102.3 mph.

There were 21 pitches of 100 mph or more, down from a record 23 last year but up from 13 in 2023, 10 in 2022 and one in 2021.

Robot umpire debuts

Four of five challenges were successful in the first use of the robot umpire in the All-Star Game
Seattle catcher Cal Raleigh signaled for an appeal to the Automated Ball-Strike System in the first inning, getting a strikeout for Detroit’s Tarik Subal on San Diego’s Manny Machado.

Athletics rookie Jacob Wilson also was successful as the first batter to call for a challenge, reversing a 1-0 fastball from Washington’s MacKenzie Gore in the fifth inning that had been called a strike. Mets closer Edwin Díaz and Blue Jays catcher Alejandro Kirk also won challenges, and Marlins outfielder Kyle Stowers lost one.

Earning a hand

Freddie Freeman was removed for Alonso with two outs in the third inning, giving the crowd of 41,702 a chance to cheer a player who spent 12 seasons with the Braves and helped win the 2021 World Series title.

Styling

Teams were back in their regular-season club jerseys — whites for the NL, mostly grays for the AL — after four years of special All-Star uniforms that were much criticized.

Jazz Chisholm Jr. arrived in a Valentino smoking jacket and Christian Louboutin shoes. Instead of having players line up on the foul lines as they were introduced, they walked to a four-level red podium stretching across the infield dirt with flashing lights, smoke a DJ and dancers.

A referendum to boost operating funds will go to voters in November as the St. Paul school district aims to head-off what they say would be $37 million in budget cuts.

The St. Paul school board unanimously approved ballot language at their Tuesday meeting that will ask voters to increase the district’s general revenue by $1,073 per pupil for 10 years, beginning with taxes payable in 2026. The result will cost the average St. Paul homeowner — with the median home valued at $289,200 — $309 per year or $26 per month. The 10-year tax is subject to increase with inflation.

Voters approved similar referendums in 2018, 2012 and 2006. The 2018 levy gave the district $1,180 per student, or $18.6 million per year plus inflation, in new revenue.

If approved by voters, the increase  will generate approximately $37.2 million per year in additional revenue. The school board approved a $1 billion budget in June for 2026. An estimated $51.1 million budget shortfall is to be covered by $35.5 million in reserve funds and $15.6 million in budget cuts and new revenue, including funds from the levy.

If the levy is not approved by voters, district officials say they expect to make at least $37 million additional budget cuts.

Arts, music, language, cultural programs

A Morris Leatherman study of district residents in June found that 78% supported a property tax increase to maintain educational programs, said St. Paul Public Schools Superintendent Stacie Stanley. And, 74% supported a property tax increase to provide financial stability.

“It’s our arts and music programs, our language and culture initiatives — we have robust college and career readiness programs and pathways,” Stanley said. “And in that survey, our residents told us that is what they appreciate the most about St. Paul Public Schools. So really, this is to maintain and sustain those programs. Because … without this additional funding, we are guaranteed that we will have to cut $37 million for the (2026-2027) school year. And those types of programs would have to be on the table.”

Transportation, security and academic support services also face reductions if the district is not able to find additional revenue, according to district officials.

“And those types of services, again, are things that our families prioritize when they come to us, and they actually cost tens of million dollars to provide,” Stanley said.

Budget strains

If state funding kept pace with inflation each year since 2003, the district would receive $1,470 more per-student than it currently does, or approximately $50 million per year, according to district officials. And, if the district received the same amount in per-pupil funding as the average of districts in the surrounding metro area, such as the Minneapolis Public School District, it would have $1,073 more per student.

“The additional funding support we are seeking is not for enhancements, it is to maintain and sustain what we have now,” Stanley said.

The district’s decision to move the referendum forward comes as public schools nationally face funding uncertainty from federal sources.

Attorney General Keith Ellison announced Monday that Minnesota joined a coalition of 23 attorneys general and two states suing the Trump administration for freezing funding administrated by the U.S. Department of Education.

The funding includes more than $70 million in education funding for Minnesota and $6.8 billion total across the U.S., according to Ellison’s office. At least $7.2 million was for St. Paul public schools, Stanley said.

That funding goes toward programs like adult basic education, services for English learners, training for tenure-track teachers and direct student support, Stanley said.

Referendum has union support

Officials with the teachers’ union St. Paul Federation of Educators expressed support for the referendum Tuesday, citing school districts’ loss of federal COVID relief funding, federal cuts and state funding not keeping pace with inflation.

“Our community understands the reality: our schools are severely underfunded,” said SPFE President Leah VanDassor in a statement. “We simply can’t continue to reduce staff and essential programs without harming students’ opportunities and our ability to keep great educators in our district. This levy is our chance to protect what makes our schools strong.”

A district website with information on the referendum is expected to go live Wednesday at spps.org/vote. Stanley expects to share information at Rondo Days on Saturday and hold community forums.

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The family of a 32-year-old man suspected of shooting and wounding bystanders before getting into a shootout with police in St. Paul last week is apologizing “to the innocent victims” and the community members affected.

Tevin Marcel Bellaphant, who police say died by suicide inside a Cub Foods, has a history of violence and was legally barred from possessing guns, according to court records.

The incident started shortly after noon on Friday when police say Bellaphant pistol whipped someone and fired gunshots in a home in the 1500 block of Jessamine Lane. That case involved a sister of Bellaphant’s and he fled with a 4-year-old cousin, a relative said.

Tevin Bellaphant (Courtesy of the family)

“This is another tragic example of the fact that domestic violence is not a private personal issue, but a public health issue with wide-ranging impacts across entire communities,” Violence Free Minnesota posted on social media Sunday, pointing out that domestic violence “often spills out of homes and into workplaces, stores, places of worship, parks, and far more.”

Officers received reports that Bellaphant was spotted in a nearby Aldi grocery store on Clarence Street near Maryland Avenue. He took out a weapon and fired at police and they returned fire. Bellaphant then fled the store without the child, who was not harmed.

With officers pursuing him, Bellaphant continued to run. As he did, he passed by Destiny Café 2 and shot two women. They were taken to the hospital to be treated for non-life threatening injuries.

Bellaphant continued to run through the Cub Foods parking lot, toward the occupied grocery store, where an officer fired multiple gunshots at him. He entered the grocery store, which officers helped evacuate, and police began negotiating with Bellaphant. Police said he shot himself 10 minutes later.

‘Never learned how to cope,’ family says

Bellaphant’s family said they want people to know that Friday’s events “did not define the type of person he was.”

“He had a big heart” and loved “kids wholeheartedly,” his family said in a statement. “Tevin was the type of person that would call and check on you, come over and help out around the house or with the kids. He would crack jokes with the kids, attend sports, family nights, and listen to school drama.”

Bellaphant lost his mother, uncle and grandmother “and never learned how to cope with the losses,” the statement continued. “He struggled with mental health issues and it led to a drug addiction.”

Bellaphant came from a large family and was the third oldest grandchild. His family said they’re taking his loss hard.

“We would like to say sorry to the innocent victims that were shot, and to the people out in the community … affected by this tragic event,” their statement concluded.

Past charges of domestic violence, attempted murder

St. Paul police asked the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension to investigate, since officers fired their guns, and the BCA’s investigation is ongoing.

Bellaphant was prohibited from possessing firearms due to a 2015 sentence for aiding and abetting first-degree burglary, according to a past criminal complaint.

In 2016, Bellaphant was charged with attempted murder and other counts, accused of shooting at two people in St. Paul. They were not injured. After police arrested him, Bellaphant said he’d been in a “beef” with one of the men. Bellaphant was convicted of second-degree assault with a dangerous weapon.

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His most recent conviction was in 2022 for felony domestic assault, for which he was sentenced to 23 months in prison, Minnesota court records show.

When police were looking for him in that case, after the mother of his child said he punched her in the face, Bellaphant called 911 and said, “Officers arrest me — I hope his bulletproof vest can withstand … cuz I’m gunning they (expletive) down,” according to the criminal complaint in that case.

Bellaphant called 911 a second time and said, “Y’all keep me in custody alive. I’m gonna kill your (expletive expletive) and the judge,” the complaint also said.

For help

The St. Paul & Ramsey County Domestic Abuse Intervention Project can be reached 24 hours a day at 651-645-2824. Help for domestic violence in Minnesota is also available 24/7 through the Day One crisis hotline by calling 866-223-1111 or texting 612-399-9995.

The 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline can be reached by dialing 988 and the Crisis Text Line can be contacted by texting “Home” to 741741.

If this season turns out to be Connor Beaupre’s last as the Wild’s emergency backup goaltender, that’s OK, he said Tuesday. It’s been a good run for the lifelong Minnesotan and son of former North Stars goaltender Don Beaupre.

This season will be his 10th as the Wild’s emergency backup goalie, or EBUG as insiders call it, and, well, “Ten years is a long time to do it.”

But it’s been a great 10 years for Beaupre, who played for Edina, the University of Denver and Minnesota before hooking up with the Wild to fill a role whose importance doesn’t match its public profile.

“You think your career’s over, then suddenly you get a new life, a chance to compete and be part of a team again,” he said. “It’s one of those things that’s kind of unbelievable. So, every time I show up, I soak it up. Summer is the best part of it, every day with these guys, working. Being part of that is super cool.”

Even though EBUGS rarely get into warmups for an NHL game — let alone actually play in one — they play a major role behind the scenes for all 32 NHL teams, sometimes taking a net in practice, sometimes working with rehabbing players and often working with the guys who live in Minnesota year-round.

EBUGS are so important, in fact, that the NHL and Players Association have agreed to make emergency backup goaltenders a permanent position, allowing teams to keep a third, traveling goaltender starting in 2026-27, when the season expands from 82 to 84 games.

When Beaupre first heard the news, he said, “I was pretty sure this was going to be the end.”

But after looking deeper, Beaupre found he fits the profile laid out in the memorandum of understanding for the new labor deal: no more than 80 games of professional experience and out of pro hockey for at least three seasons. EBUGs also can’t have ever played an NHL game on a non-tryout contract.

Further, teams appear likely to look for goalies that can fill other roles, as well. Beaupre’s fulltime gig is videography, working primarily with Twin Cities athletes and teams, and he’s been the goaltending coach at Holy Angels for the past eight years.

“It kinda looks like they’re looking for guys like me,” he said.

If not, Beaupre said he already has asked general manager Bill Guerin if he’ll have a celebrated farewell like the one Marc-Andre Fleury had before the slam-dunk hall of famer retired at the end of last season.

“He just laughed. He always gives a little bit of a hard time,” Beaupre said. “Those relationships are so great, whether it’s Billy or the guys on the equipment staff, the players. No one is ever like, ‘Oh, he wasn’t good enough to really play.’ No, they have always been super accepting.”

At the least, Beaupre will have one more chance to possibly get into an NHL game, for the Wild or the visiting team, which both rely on the home team’s EBUG under the current set up. But even with two possible openings on any night, it’s extremely rare for the emergency backup to play.

It has never happened for Beaupre, and in fact has happened only six times over the past 10 years — in more than 13,000 games, according to the Associated Press. David Ayers, a junior hockey coach and Zamboni driver from Ontario, was the last to actually win an NHL game, when he entered a game for Carolina stopped 8 of 10 shots to beat the hometown Maple Leafs in 2020.

The last time Beaupre was even in line to play in a pinch was in a recent game against Tampa Bay at Xcel Energy Center, and after each team was without a goaltender by the third period, he didn’t know which team it might be.

“The double-edged sword is you hope that someone doesn’t get hurt so you can play,” he said. “Confidence-wise, at this point, I’d love to get in (a game). I’ve got nothing to lose. I’m coming in from the press box; there’s no real pressure to perform.

“People have asked me, ‘If you have to play for the visiting team, would you feel bad competing against the Wild?’ And I say, ‘Hell, no! I practice against those guys all the time; I’d love to beat them.’ I’d love to get one chance to be a big part of it.”