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The standard regulation length for a professional baseball game, particularly those played under the auspices of Major League Baseball (MLB), is definitively set at nine innings. This foundational structure dictates the minimum number of complete offensive and defensive turns that each team is entitled to experience before the game can officially conclude, provided the home team is leading after the top half of the ninth. Each inning is further subdivided into two distinct halves: the top half, where the visiting team occupies the batter’s box and attempts to score runs, and the bottom half, where the home team takes its turn at bat, aiming to match or surpass the visitor's tally. The transition between these halves occurs when three outs are recorded against the batting team in that half-inning. The concept of an inning is intrinsically linked to the fundamental objective of baseball: outscoring the opponent over a predetermined number of turns. Nine innings, therefore, establish the expected duration and competitive framework for a standard contest, demanding consistent performance over a significant period. If, after the completion of the top half of the ninth inning, the home team is ahead on the scoreboard, the game immediately ends. This is a critical exception to the rule, as the home team is not required to bat in the bottom of the ninth if they have already secured a winning lead. Conversely, if the score is tied at the conclusion of the ninth inning, the game does not end. Instead, the contest proceeds into extra innings, which are essentially repetitions of the standard ninth inning structure until a definitive winner emerges. Extra innings continue indefinitely, one inning at a time, until one team has a higher score than the other at the conclusion of a full, completed inning. For example, if the score is tied after nine, the tenth is played; if still tied, the eleventh, and so on, without an upper limit specified in the rules for typical league play. This continuous play in extra innings ensures that the game is decided on the field of competition, rather than through a tie, upholding the competitive integrity of the sport over a fixed duration. Only specific, pre-determined circumstances, usually involving weather or stadium curfews, can truncate an extra-inning affair. There are specific rules regarding the suspension or termination of games due to inclement weather or darkness. If a game is called due to rain or darkness after five full innings have been played (or if the home team has completed the bottom of the fifth), it is considered an official game, and the team in the lead wins, regardless of whether nine innings were completed. However, if the game is called prior to the completion of five innings, or if the score is tied at that point, the game is generally suspended and resumed from the point of stoppage at a later date, or, in very rare cases, declared a no-contest, though this is uncommon in modern MLB play. The invocation of the "Manfred Man" rule, or the runner on second base rule, implemented for extra innings in recent years, affects the *process* of scoring within those extra innings but does not alter the fundamental requirement that the game continues inning by inning until a winner is decided, even if the runner rule accelerates the pace of scoring. The historical context of baseball also recognizes shorter contests, particularly in amateur leagues or spring training, where seven innings might be designated as the official length. However, when the unqualified term "a baseball game" is used, it universally defaults to the nine-inning standard established by professional and collegiate traditions. It is crucial to understand that the nine-inning structure is the *scheduled* endpoint, not an inviolable minimum for conclusion. A game that is called due to weather after, say, seven and a half innings, is official only if the home team is leading and five full innings have been played, demonstrating the primacy of the five-inning threshold for official status versus the nine-inning threshold for regulation completion. Therefore, while nine innings is the standard definition for a full, non-suspended regulation baseball game, the actual duration can range from five innings (if called officially due to weather while leading) to an indefinite number of extra innings until a decisive advantage is achieved. The integrity of the game relies on the expectation of nine turns at bat for each side. If this expectation is met without a tie, the game concludes after the top of the ninth for the visiting team, or immediately after the bottom of the ninth if the home team has just taken the lead. In summary, the answer to "how many innings in a baseball game" is nine, representing the standard, scheduled, full complement of competition, but this is subject to modification by official rules concerning ties, weather, and the inherent right of the home team to win early in the bottom half of the final scheduled inning.