Troy Tulowitzki's RBI double with two outs in the 22nd inning scored Willy Taveras and the Colorado Rockies beat the San Diego Padres 2-1 in the longest game in the majors in nearly 15 years, a 6-hour, 16-minute marathon that ended at 1:21 a.m. Friday. It was the longest game since Aug. 31, 1993, when Minnesota beat Cleveland 5-4 in 22 innings. It was also the longest game in Rockies history and in the 5-year history of Petco Park. Taveras reached on a two-out grounder when shortstop Khalil Greene's throw pulled 6-foot-7 first baseman Tony Clark off the bag. Taveras stole second and took third on catcher Josh Bard's throwing error. Tulowitzki doubled to left-center of Glendon Rusch (0-1), the seventh Padres pitcher.

Only a fraction of the crowd of 25,984 was around to see the final out.

The previous longest game this season by innings was 15, on April 9, when the Cubs beat the Pirates 6-4 at Pittsburgh. The previous longest in time was 4 hours, 53 minutes, Toronto at Texas on April 16. Texas won 7-5 in 14 innings.

Some Padres players amused themselves in the 18th by taping up the head of a stuffed ram and placing it on the front bench in the dugout. After the 18th, shortly after midnight, the sprinklers came on in the Park at the Park, a grassy knoll beyond the bleachers in right-center.

There was a seventh-inning stretch, a 14-inning stretch and finally, a 21st-inning stretch.

Greg Maddux had his glove on in the dugout in the 22nd. It was wishful thinking, because he's scheduled to start Friday night at Arizona, when he'll try for his 350th career victory.

Kip Wells (1-0), the eighth Rockies pitcher, pitched four innings.

Padres pitchers tied a team record with 20 strikeouts. Padres batters struck out 17 times. Colorado stranded 16 runners and San Diego 14.

The game was scoreless until the 14th.

The Rockies went ahead 1-0 in the top of the inning when Brad Hawpe drew a bases-loaded walk off Kevin Cameron to bring in Taveras.

The Padres tied it in the bottom of the inning when Josh Bard's bases-loaded single off Manny Corpas brought in Kevin Kouzmanoff, aboard on a leadoff single. Tony Clark was forced at home for the second out and rookie Colt Morton - San Diego's last position player - grounded to third in his fourth big league at-bat. It was Corpas' second blown save in five chances.

The Padres blew a big chance in the 13th. Paul McAnulty led off with a line drive into the right-field corner but was thrown out trying to stretch a double into a triple. Left-hander Randy Wolf, who beat the Rockies 6-0 on Tuesday night, followed with a pinch-hit single to center field but was stranded.

Three Rockies pitchers retired 23 straight Padres batters from the second to the 10th inning.

Reigning NL Cy Young Award winner Jake Peavy and Rockies lefty Jeff Francis started a pitcher's duel that the bullpens continued.

Peavy, the reigning NL Cy Young Award winner, was trying to win his first four starts of a season for the first time. He struck out a season-high 11 in eight innings, the 25th time in his career he's reached double digits. He allowed four hits, walked three and lowered his ERA to 1.20.

Francis kept the Padres scoreless for seven innings while allowing three hits, striking out seven and walking one.

After Peavy's broken-bat, bloop single down the right-field line with two outs in the second, Francis retired 16 straight batters.

Brian Fuentes pitched a perfect eight and Buchholz a perfect ninth. Buchholz retired pinch-hitter Jim Edmonds leading off the 10th before allowing Greene's single.

Notes:@ The 13 full scoreless innings were the most in the big leagues since July 20, 2004, at Oakland, when the A's beat Toronto 1-0 in 14. It was the longest for the Padres since July 15, 1994, when they won 2-1 at the New York Mets in 14. It was 0-0 after 13. ... Tony Clark made his first start at 1B for his hometown Padres. ... RF Brian Giles, who loves to tan, was all ready for the Padres' weekend trip to Arizona - he has two new inflatable rafts to use in the hotel pool.

Written By BERNIE WILSON

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