When Is A Baseball Game Over?

Learn the different scenarios that call for an end to a baseball game so you can avoid being caught off guard.

Introduction

In baseball, the game is over when the losing team has scored fewer runs than the winning team after nine innings (or seven innings, in some variants). If the score is tied after nine innings, extra innings are played until one team has scored more runs than the other.

The Three Types of Games

A baseball game is over when the home team has more runs than the away team after nine innings, or the away team has more runs than the home team after eight and a half innings. That’s it. The game can end in a tie if both teams have the same number of runs after nine innings.

The Regulation Game

A regulation game is nine innings long, and the team with the most runs at the end of the game wins. If the score is tied after nine innings, play continues until one team has more runs than the other after an equal number of innings have been played. For example, if the score is tied after 12 innings, play would stop and the team with the most runs would be declared the winner.

The Extra-Inning Game

In baseball, an extra-inning game is one that goes beyond the traditional nine innings. These games can last for hours, and sometimes even days, as both teams battle it out for a win. Extra-innings games are some of the most exciting and suspenseful in all of baseball, as anything can happen in those extra frames.

The longest extra-innings game in MLB history was played between the Brooklyn Dodgers and the Boston Braves on May 1, 1920. That game went a staggering 26 innings, with the Braves finally emerging victorious by a score of 3-2. Since that game was played nearly 100 years ago, there have been many other extra-innings classics. In fact, just last season we saw two extra-innings marathons, one between the Cubs and Pirates that went 18 innings, and another between the Blue Jays and Indians that went 19 innings.

So when is a baseball game considered over? In general, an extra-innings game will only end if one team has a lead of at least two runs after batting in their half of the inning. So if it’s the bottom of the 10th inning and the score is tied 5-5, both teams will bat again in an attempt to break the tie. However, if one team takes a 7-5 lead in the bottom of the 10th inning, then that would be enough to end the game since they have a two-run advantage. This rule is in place to prevent teams from playing endlessly in an attempt to eke out a win.

Of course, there are exceptions to this rule. If both teams agree to continue playing beyond 10 innings (which does occasionally happen), then they can do so. Additionally, if it’s late in the season and one team is battling for a playoff spot while their opponent is not, then they may agree to keep playing until there is a winner (known as “playing for keeps”). Finally, if a game is part of a tournament or postseason series (like the World Series), then it will continue until there is a winner regardless of how many innings it takes.

So there you have it: an extra-innings game in baseball will typically only go as long as necessary until one team has a lead of at least two runs. However, there are always exceptions to this rule depending on the circumstances.

The Suspended Game

If a game is called or suspended, due to weather conditions, power failures, or any other reason, it is considerd a legal game as long as four innings have been completed (five innings if the home team is ahead). If the game was called in the middle of an inning and had not yet become a regulation game (i.e.- the visiting team had not completed their turn at batting), it reverts back to a no-decision game and no statistics are counted.

Conclusion

In general, a baseball game is over when the home team scores more runs than the away team, but there are other circumstances that can lead to the conclusion of a game. If the home team is ahead by 10 or more runs after the seventh inning, the game is considered over and the team with the most runs is declared the winner. This is known as a mercy rule and is in place to prevent one team from having to play an entire game when they have no chance of winning.

Another way a game can end is if one team has been ahead by at least seven runs at any point during the game, and then the other team scores to narrow the lead to less than seven, the game will ended if the team that was behind originally cannot score enough runs in their half of the inning to take the lead. This rule is referred to as a seven-run diff/seventh inning rule and exists to prevent games from dragging on too long.

Finally, games can also end in a tie if both teams have scored an equal number of runs by the end of regulation play. If this happens, both teams add one more run to their score and play extra innings until one team has more runs than the other.