Padres, Rockies go 22 strong

Image from ESPN.com, courtesy of FSN Rocky Mountain

Sports insomniacs rejoiced last night while being treated to a 22-inning showdown between the Colorado Rockies and the San Diego Padres. For those of us who live for the late night theatre, the pitching duel between the two NL West opponents provided more late night excitement than a slurpee run to 7-Eleven.

In a game that featured 658 pitches from 15 different pitchers and stretched on until 4:21 AM EST. The teams' combined 30 runners left on base and 37 strikeouts won't likely be beaten this season, as the 22-inning showdown was the longest game since 1993.

Perhaps the most impressive statistic is that Rockies catcher Yorvit Torrealba and Padres Josh Bard caught the entire game for their respective teams. They might wake up in the morning with sore knees.

At one point in the game they flashed to the grounds crew who was set to clean up the stadium, impatiently and tiredly waiting for the game to finish so they could get to work. Both Colorado and San Diego are hitting the road after the long matchup, highlighted by Greg Maddux going for his 350th career win Friday in Arizona.

Would Ernie Banks make his famous "Let's play two!" call after a game like this?