The game lasted five hours and 17 minutes. A total of 15 real pitchers took to the mound. And in the end the Boston Red Sox defeated the Chicago White Sox 6-4 in 14 innings in front of what was then about two dozen spectators.
That’s not even the craziest part of the night and early morning in Chicago’s south side.
Position player pitching alert! @WhiteSox send INF Leury Garcia to the mound in the 14th, tied 4-4 with the @RedSox: http://t.co/E0iNBglmoY
— MLB (@MLB) April 17, 2014
Leury Garcia, a backup infielder, took to the mound in the 14th inning when Sox manager Robin Ventura didn’t want to extend reliever Daniel Webb more than the 59 pitches that he had already thrown.
Like clockwork, Garcia proceeded to five up two runs and take the loss.
Ventura’s decision was obvious when he made it. Don’t ruin the potential of future success this season due to an extra-innings game in mid April.
Here are some interesting stats from the game.
Pitchers: 16
Pitches: 504
Strikes Thrown: 298
Strikeouts: 20
Walks: 18
Base Runners: 38
And about five fans.
Photo: Mike Dinovo, USA Today