Inning - wikipedia Inning This article is about the baseball term. For other uses, see Inning ( disambiguation ). An inning in baseball, softball, and similar games is the basic unit of play, consisting of two halves or frames, the `` top '' ( first half ) and the `` bottom '' ( second half ). In each half, one team bats until three outs are made, with the other team playing defense. A full game typically is scheduled for nine innings, although this may be shortened due to weather or extended if the score is tied at the end of the scheduled innings. Contents 1 Gameplay 2 Terminology 3 References 4 See also Gameplay Each half - inning formally starts when the umpire calls `` Play '' or `` Play ball ''. A full inning consists of six outs, three for each team ; and, in Major League Baseball and most other adult leagues, a regulation game consists of nine innings. The visiting team bats in the first half - inning, the top of the inning, derived from the position of the visiting team at the top line of a baseball line score. The home team 's half of an inning is the bottom of the inning, and the break between halves of an inning is the middle of the inning. If the home team is leading in the middle of the final scheduled inning, or scores to take the lead in the bottom of the final scheduled inning, the game immediately ends in a home victory. In most leagues, if the score is tied after the final scheduled inning, the game goes into extra innings until an inning ends with one team ahead of the other. In Japanese baseball, however, games end if tied after 12 innings ( or, in postseason play in Nippon Professional Baseball, 15 innings ). For the 2011 and 2012 NPB season, a game also ended in a tie if a regular - season game has reached its 3 - hour, 30 - minute time limit and both teams are tied. As in the case of the ninth inning, a home team which scores to take a lead in any extra inning automatically wins, and the inning ( and the game ) is considered complete at that moment regardless of the number of outs. This is commonly referred to as a `` walk - off '' situation, since the last play results in the teams walking off the field because the game is over. However, road teams ca n't earn a `` walk - off '' victory by scoring the go - ahead run in extra innings, unlike in ice hockey where the team ( either home or away ) scoring first in overtime automatically wins. A baseball game can be shorter than scheduled innings if it is interrupted by rain ( or other bad weather ). Such a game, called a rain out, is often preceded by a rain delay, a pause in the game during which the umpires will try to determine if the weather will allow the game to continue. If so, the game will simply be delayed until the rain stops, and then play will resume. If not, the umpires will announce a rain out and play will be suspended for the day. The game may have to be replayed in its entirety at a later date, but under certain circumstances, a game shortened because of rain can count as an official game, and the team that was ahead at the time the game was called will be awarded the win. See the article on rainout ( sports ) for further details. Professional baseball games as well as college baseball games are scheduled for nine innings. High school games and College softball are scheduled for seven innings, as are some minor league baseball doubleheaders. College games may be shortened to seven innings if one team 's score is ahead by a minimum of ten runs. Little League games are scheduled for six innings and may be shortened further ( auto - forfeit ) if a team has an overwhelming scoring lead. Terminology Ending a half - inning is referred to as `` retiring the side ''. A half - inning in which all batters are put out without taking a base is referred to as a `` one - two - three inning ''. The number of innings a pitcher is in a game is measured by the innings pitched statistic. In US English, baseball terminology is sometimes found in non-sports usage in a tense situation : `` it 's the bottom of the ninth ( inning ) '' ( sometimes adding, `` with two outs '' ), meaning `` there is n't much time to turn things around here ''. While inning is the standard baseball term, there is at least one literary instance, of innings being used in a baseball context. This occurs in the story `` Baseball Hattie '' by Damon Runyon, who refers to the seventh innings of a Phillies - Giants game. References Jump up ^ Dickson, Paul ( 2009 ). The Dickson Baseball Dictionary. W.W. Norton & Company. Jump up ^ `` Rule 4.01 to 4.02 ; 4.00 -- Starting and Ending a Game '' ( PDF ). Major League Baseball. Retrieved August 7, 2017. Jump up ^ Baseball Explained by Phillip Mahony, McFarland Books, 2014. See www.baseballexplained.com Archived 2014 - 08 - 13 at the Wayback Machine. Jump up ^ MLB Official Rules ( PDF ). Office of the Commissioner of Baseball. 2017. p. 84. ISBN 978 - 0 - 9961140 - 4 - 2. Retrieved 13 February 2018. ^ Jump up to : NCAA Baseball Rules ( PDF ). NCAA : The National Collegiate Athletic Association. 2015 -- 2016. p. 36. Retrieved 13 February 2018. CS1 maint : Date format ( link ) Jump up ^ `` NFHS Baseball Rules Book '' ( PDF ). 2017. Retrieved 13 February 2018. Jump up ^ NCAA Softball Rules. Indianapolis, Indiana : The National Collegiate Athletic Association. 2016 -- 2017. p. 18. CS1 maint : Date format ( link ) Jump up ^ `` Minor Leagues On - the - Field ''. Minor League Baseball.com. Retrieved 13 February 2018. Jump up ^ `` Official Rules of Little League - Level Baseball ''. Baseball Rules Academy. Retrieved 13 February 2018. See also Baseball portal Seventh - inning stretch Innings Baseball concepts Outline, Glossary Rules Rules of baseball Ground rules Infield fly rule Interference Pitch clock Park / Field Backstop Baseball diamond Batter 's box Batter 's eye Bullpen Dugout Foul pole Foul territory Infield On - deck circle Outfield Warning track Equipment Ball Bat Batting cage Batting glove Batting helmet Cap Doughnut Glove ( defense ) Pitching machine Protective cup Shin guard Stirrups Uniform Uniform number Game process Batting order Extra innings Innings On - deck Out Positions Run Seventh - inning stretch Pace of play Batting At bat Baltimore chop Bat flip Chinese home run Batting count Bunt sacrifice bunt slap bunt squeeze play Checked swing Cleanup hitter Designated hitter Double Double switch Foul ball Foul tip Golden sombrero Grand slam Ground rule double Hat trick Hit Hit and run Hit by pitch Hitting for the cycle Home run Infield hit Inside - the - park home run Leadoff hitter Lefty - righty switch Line drive Moonshot Plate appearance Platoon system Pull hitter Sacrifice fly Single Strikeout Strike zone Sweet spot Switch hitter Triple Walk Walk - off home run Pitching Balk Beanball Breaking ball Brushback pitch Changeup Curveball Eephus Fastball Full count Immaculate inning Inside pitching Intentional walk Knuckleball No - hitter Perfect game Pitch count Pitchout Quick pitch Screwball Shutout Slider Spitball Strikeout Striking out the side Time of pitch Wild pitch Base running Balk Bases loaded Caught stealing Contact play Hit and run Left on base Obstruction Safe Scoring position Slide Small ball Squeeze play Stolen base Tag up Fielding ( positioning ) Appeal play Assist Blocking the plate Catch Defensive indifference Double play Error Fielder 's choice Fifth infielder Force play Fourth out Hidden ball trick In - between hop Infield fly rule Infield shift Interference Passed ball Pickoff Putout Rundown Tag out Triple play unassisted Uncaught third strike Wall climb Wheel play Miscellaneous Baseball statistics Bench jockey Bench - clearing brawl Dead ball Jargon In flight Pepper Scorekeeping Series Shagging Slump Streak ( losing ) Streak ( winning ) Portal WikiProject Retrieved from `` https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Inning&oldid=829359759 '' Categories : Baseball terminology Baseball rules Softball Hidden categories : Webarchive template wayback links CS1 maint : Date format Talk Contents About Wikipedia Dansk Deutsch Français 한국어 हिन्दी Italiano मराठी 日本 語 Polski Português Русский Simple English Українська 中文 6 more Edit links This page was last edited on 8 March 2018, at 03 : 53 ( UTC ). 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Question: who bats first in baseball home or visitor
Answer: The visiting team