Four hours and 23 minutes after it began, the Red Sox won on Tuesday night. Andrew Benintendi’s walk-off single drove in Xander Bogaerts for the winning run. It was the fifth time so far this season that a game crossed the four-hour threshold.
At three hours and eight minutes, baseball games in 2017 are averaging a longer pace than any other year in Major League history. Many have identified this as one of the game’s greatest issues. And the Red Sox have been chief offenders.
Each of Boston’s last three games have exceeded four hours.