G116: Angels 5, Red Sox 4 (19)

Red Sox - 000 000 300 000 010 000 0 - 4  6  0
Angels  - 200 000 010 000 010 000 1 - 5 15  2

Albert Pujols homered off Brandon Workman to end the longest game in Angel Stadium history. The call was challenged and upheld. (It was also the longest game in MLB this season.)

Gordon Edes reported that it was also "the longest game ever played between the franchises. They played 16 innings in 1972 and in 1970, both in Anaheim, and the Angels won both. ... The game ended at 3:39 a.m. ET. ... The home run came on the 558th pitch of the night."

Those two 16-inning games:

May 11, 1970: California 2-1
July 8, 1972: California 4-3

***

It is 3:02 AM - middle of the 17th - and I am going to bed ...

Dustin Pedroia stole second and third on the same pitch with one out in the top of the 14th, before scoring on David Ortiz's sacrifice fly to left. Pedroia slid in safely at second base as shortstop Erick Aybar took the late throw. Then Pedroia noticed no one was covering third, so he popped up and sprinted for the hot corner. A startled Aybar could only hold the ball and watch Pedroia's brazen hustle.

In the bottom of the 14th, Junichi Tazawa gave up a leadoff double to pinch-hitter Chris Iannetta. Efren Navarro, another pinch-hitter, walked and Kole Calhoun's first-pitch single to left loaded the bases for the Angels' best hitters. Mike Trout grounded to shortstop. Bogaerts did not throw home; he flipped to Pedroia for the force. Pedroia threw to the plate, but it was too late as Iannetta scored the tying run. Albert Pujols - with runners at the corners - grounded out to third and Navarro had to hold. With Josh Hamilton (0-for-his-last-22) batting, Tazawa nearly threw a game-losing wild pitch, but his extremely high 0-2 offering was speared by a leaping Christian Vazquez. Tazawa came back to strike out Hamilton.

15th: Bogaerts walked with two outs, but Will Middlebrooks struck out swinging. Heath Hembree made his Red Sox debut (and 2014 debut) in the home half. Aybar singled to right, but Hembree got the next three hitters: Howie Kendrick struck out looking, C.J. Cron flied to center, and Iannetta grounded to third.

16th: Jason Grilli pitching for LA. Brock Holt singled to right with one out, but Pedroia struck out swinging and Ortiz grounded out to first. Hembree retired the Angels' 9-1-2 hitters in order.

17th: Matt Shoemaker is LA's 9th pitcher. Cespedes struck out swinging. Mike Napoli flied to left. Jackie Bradley grounds out to second, extending his current slump to 0-for-31.

The Red Sox did not get their first hit until the seventh inning. Pedroia started that rally, as well, with a single to center. Ortiz doubled him home. Ortiz took third on Yoenis Cespedes's single and scored on Aybar's error. After a second infield error, Xander Bogaerts's sac fly scored the inning's third run.

Clay Buchholz / Garrett Richards

Holt, CF
Pedroia, 2B
Ortiz, DH
Cespedes, LF
Napoli, 1B
Nava, RF
Bogaerts, SS
Middlebrooks, 3B
Vazquez, C

Buchholz, the staff ace in experience if not performance, has allowed 22 runs in his last 22 innings (his last four starts). In those outings, he has allowed 31 hits and issued 13 walks.