<P> The longest American League game to end in a tie was a 24 - inning contest between the Detroit Tigers and Philadelphia Athletics on July 21, 1945 . The teams were tied 1--1 when the game was called due to darkness at Shibe Park; the Tigers' Les Mueller had pitched a record 19 ​ ⁄ innings (and only given up one run) before being taken out in the 20th inning . </P> <P> The longest game to end in a scoreless tie was a National League contest between the Cincinnati Reds and Brooklyn Dodgers on September 11, 1946 . The teams went 19 innings before darkness fell at Brooklyn's Ebbets Field, forcing the game to be called on account of darkness . In the American League, the longest 0--0 game was played between the Washington Senators and Detroit Tigers on July 16, 1909 . The game was called after 18 innings due to darkness at Bennett Park in Detroit . The longest scoreless period within a completed game came in the April 15, 1968 game between the Astros and Mets which remained scoreless after 23 innings . </P> <P> The Washington Senators became the first team in Major League history to play multiple games of at least 20 innings in a season when they defeated the Minnesota Twins 9--7 on August 9, 1967, in 20 innings, having set a franchise record for innings played with a 22 - inning win over the Chicago White Sox on June 12 of that year . This feat would later be accomplished by the 1971 Oakland Athletics who had games of 21 and 20 innings and the 1989 Los Angeles Dodgers who played two 22 - inning games, against the Houston Astros in June (a game which they lost 5 - 4) and the Montreal Expos in August . </P> <P> The longest doubleheader in Major League history came on May 31, 1964 . The San Francisco Giants beat the New York Mets 5--3 in nine innings in the day's first game at Shea Stadium, and then won the nightcap 8--6 after 23 innings (despite a rare triple play turned by the Mets in the 14th). The two games lasted a combined nine hours, 52 minutes . The Mets' Ed Kranepool played in all 32 innings of the two games; Kranepool had been called up to the team that day after having played in both games of a doubleheader the day before for their Triple - A farm club in Buffalo . </P>

What was the longest major league baseball game in history