Arrieta through two innings

Last night, Chris Tillman threw 13 pitches in a scoreless first inning. Tonight, Jake Arrieta threw 13 pitches in a scoreless first inning. It means nothing, but I wanted to mention it anyway. Nine of Arrieta's pitches were strikes. His fastball reached 93 mph multiple times. Denard Span singled on the second pitch, but Arrieta retired the next three batters. Twins starter Carl Pavano needed only seven pitches to dispose of the Orioles in the bottom of the first. Brian Roberts swung at the first pitch, and Nick Markakis swung at the second. Arrieta retired the first two batters in the second inning before Luke Hughes ran the count full and lined a double into to right-center field. Drew Butera struck out looking at a 77 mph curveball, leaving Arrieta's pitch count at 33. Down on the farm, Nick Green is starting in center field tonight for Triple-A Norfolk. Green is 5-for-8 with two doubles, two homers and eight RBIs in the last two games. Green has hit 100 minor league home runs. Thirty years this morning, at 4:07 a.m., the longest game in professional baseball history was suspended by International League President Harold Cooper. Triple-A Rochester, which featured Cal Ripken Jr., and Pawtucket (featuring Wade Boggs) battled for 32 innings over eight hours before play was suspended with the score tied, 2-2. Current head athletic trainer Richie Bancells was Rochester's athletic trainer that night/morning. Rochester's Dallas Williams, who later became an Orioles minor league coach, went 0-for-13 in 15 plate appearances. Pawtucket scored in the bottom of the 33rd inning to end the marathon. There were 882 pitches thrown to 246 batters, and 53 runners were left on base (30 by Rochester and 23 by Pawtucket). Rochester's Dave Huppert caught the first 31 innings of the game. Only 19 of the 1,740 fans stayed until the game was suspended and each received season tickets from the PawSox. Rochester is now the Twins' Triple-A affiliate. I hope you enjoyed that little trip down memory lane. Next time, you might want to pack a sandwich.