Remembering the Angels 30-inning, two day sweep of the Mariners

The longest game in Angels history was the start of something special in 1982.

Over the course of two days in 1982, the Angels beat the Seattle Mariners twice in thirty innings and over eight hours of baseball.

On a Tuesday night in April, Halos pitcher Geoff Zahn started against Jim Beattie in a game that Zahn took a 2-1 lead into the ninth inning. As patrons at The Big A readied their belongings to leave once the final three outs were recorded, little did they know the game was just getting started. Following a lead-off single, Don Aase came in for relief of Zahn and surrendered a game-tying double to send the game into extra innings.

The game would continue into the wee hours of the night, with Don Baylor delivering a clutch two-out hit in the bottom of the 15th to tie the game at three after the Mariners had taken the lead in the top of the inning.

By the end of the 17th, it was 1:05 AM and the American League curfew at the time forced the game to be suspended until the following day. The two teams returned to Anaheim Stadium to play three more innings until the Angels finally won the game in the 20th inning on a Bob Boone RBI single.

It was officially the longest game in Angels history, totaling twenty innings, two days, and six hours and six minutes of play.

But they didn’t stop there. The second game of the series was still scheduled to be played on that Wednesday night, so after a 30 minute break, the two teams played another game, this one extending into the 10th inning. A Bobby Grich double proving the difference maker.

Thirty innings, two games, and nearly nine hours of baseball later, the Angels had two wins against the Mariners.

The impressive victories sparked a winning streak for the Halos. Showing no signs of fatigue, they would win the next five games in a row, and nine of their next eleven contests. They were 14-5 by April 27, with a 2.5 game lead in their division, all sparked from the longest night in franchise history.

Of course, the 1982 Angels ended up winning the division before losing in the American League Championship Series to Milwaukee.