diff --git a/packages/start-server-core/src/createStartHandler.ts b/packages/start-server-core/src/createStartHandler.ts
index f2b887b6711..aa2da38cfe0 100644
--- a/packages/start-server-core/src/createStartHandler.ts
+++ b/packages/start-server-core/src/createStartHandler.ts
@@ -349,9 +349,14 @@ async function handleServerRoutes({
   let url = new URL(request.url)
   url = executeRewriteInput(router.rewrite, url)
   const pathname = url.pathname
+  // this will perform a fuzzy match, however for server routes we need an exact match
+  // if the route is not an exact match, executeRouter will handle rendering the app router
+  // the match will be cached internally, so no extra work is done during the app router render
   const { matchedRoutes, foundRoute, routeParams } =
     router.getMatchedRoutes(pathname)
 
+  const isExactMatch = foundRoute && routeParams['**'] === undefined
+
   // TODO: Error handling? What happens when its `throw redirect()` vs `throw new Error()`?
 
   const middlewares = flattenMiddlewares(
@@ -359,8 +364,7 @@ async function handleServerRoutes({
   ).map((d) => d.options.server)
 
   const server = foundRoute?.options.server
-
-  if (server) {
+  if (server && isExactMatch) {
     if (server.handlers) {
       const handlers =
         typeof server.handlers === 'function'