DETROIT — In the opener of the first seven-inning doubleheader in Major League Baseball history, Shogo Akiyama hit an RBI single in the seventh that sent the Cincinnati Reds over the Detroit Tigers 4-3.
It was strange from the start, with the scoreboard at Comerica Park listing nine innings instead of the usual seven.
There was no seventh-inning stretch — or even fifth-inning break — in a game that took 2 hours, 25 minutes. The start of the game was delayed more than two hours because of rain.
MLB recently decided to use doubleheaders of seven-inning games, which have been commonplace in the minor leagues and colleges, to help teams alleviate an expected crush of twinbills caused by weather and coronavirus-related postponements.
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