NEW YORK — Major League Baseball’s pitch clock was no match for the New York Yankees and Miami Marlins.
New York’s 9-7 win Saturday night lasted 3 hours, 49 minutes, the longest nine-inning game since the pitch clock was instituted for the 2023 season, according to the Elias Sports Bureau.
MLB had not had a nine-inning game that long since Boston’s 13-9 win over Baltimore went 3:57 on Sept. 27, 2022, according to Elias.
The previous high for a nine-inning game since the pitch clock started in 2023 was 3:45 for the Oakland Athletics’ 7-6 win at the New York Mets on Aug. 15, 2024.
New York and Miami combined for 379 pitches by 13 pitchers, and Marlins pitchers walked 10, increasing their total to 21 in the first two games of the series. There were 21 runners left on base, including 12 by Miami.
MLB’s average time of a nine-inning game dropped from 3:04 in 2022 to 2:40 the following year when the clock was instituted and decreased to 2:36 in 2024, its lowest since 1984’s 2:35. It rose to 2:38 last year.
The average game time passed 3 hours for the first time in 2016. It reached a record 3:10 in 2021 before the introduction of the PitchCom electronic pitch-calling device helped bring it down to 3:04 in 2022.