22 Innings

I have a hard time staying through 8 innings (I usually leave early to beat the crowd), but 22 innings would have been torture:

SAN DIEGO (AP) -- Let's play 2 1/2! Colorado and San Diego did just that Thursday night and into Friday morning, slogging through a 22-inning game that was the longest in the majors in nearly 15 years.

The Rockies finally won 2-1, with Troy Tulowitzki's two-out RBI double bringing in Willy Taveras with an unearned run in nearly empty Petco Park. A game that lasted 6 hours, 16 minutes was decided by an unearned run.

Reigning NL Cy Young Award winner Jake Peavy threw the game's first pitch at 7:05 p.m. The game didn't end until 1:21 a.m., when Padres pitcher Glendon Rusch took a called third strike. Colorado's Yorvit Torrealba, who caught all 22 innings, wearily pumped a fist in celebration.

''It's tough to keep your head into it and put together good at-bats and be into every pitch,'' Tulowitzki said. ''We were talking about how our legs were hurting out there. It's tough to stand on your feet for 22 innings and keep moving.''

Manager Clint Hurdle noticed that his players were a little tight.

''This was a good game to get outside yourself,'' Hurdle said. ''About the 16th inning, I said, 'Hey boys, no matter what's in front of us, there's a world of people out there who've got harder rows to hoe than we do. No matter what happens the rest of the night, have some fun with this thing.' ''

His players listened. It just took them six more innings to score a run.

''It's definitely better to win in a 22-inning game than lose, I'll tell you that,'' Tulowitzki said.

I did go to a Padres doubleheader against Atlanta one time back in the 70's, but I could tolerate baseball better then than I can now.