How many innings are in a standard MLB game?

A standard MLB game is scheduled for 9 innings.

An inning gives both teams one opportunity to bat and one opportunity to field. Each half-inning ends after the batting team records three outs, so a regulation nine-inning game normally contains 18 half-innings. The visiting team bats in the top half, and the home team bats in the bottom half.

Nine innings became the standard length of professional baseball games in the nineteenth century. The game may end before the full nine are completed: for example, if the home team leads after the visitors finish the top of the ninth, the home team does not need to bat again. A game tied after nine innings continues into extra innings until one team wins.

The number can vary in other settings. Many high-school games use seven innings, and Little League games commonly use six. MLB doubleheaders have also used shortened games under particular rules, but the standard individual MLB game remains nine innings.