From beginning to end, long Angels game features milestones

Reporting from Boston

The Angels’ rain-delayed, 5-3, 13-inning win over the Boston Red Sox took so long that …

•It started Wednesday and ended Thursday.

•The Minnesota Twins, who begin a four-game series at Fenway Park on Friday, had already finished their Wednesday game in Chicago, flown to Boston, checked into the same hotel and were asleep in their rooms when the Angels got back from the ballpark.

•Bullpen catcher Tom Gregorio was 33 years old when the game started and 34 when it ended.

•Vernon Wells’ slump ended.

•In the final innings, Red Sox owner John Henry, Chairman Tom Werner and team President Larry Lucchino were on the concourse handing out coffee and hot chocolate to the 1,000 or so fans still in attendance.

The game started at 7:10 p.m. Wednesday and ended at 2:45 a.m. Thursday — the latest an Angels game has finished in at least 30 years — and featured 37 players, 23 hits, 445 pitches and a two-hour 35-minute rain delay. The game winner was delivered by Bobby Abreu, a two-run bases-loaded single.

“I looked up and I saw 2:30. I said, ‘Wait a minute. I just saw a 97 mph [pitch] at 2:30?’ I’ve never seen any pitch at 2 a.m.,” Torii Hunter said. “You stick around baseball long enough, there’s always something.

“It’s a crazy game, man. That’s why I love it.”

Bell tolls

Trevor Bell hadn’t pitched in two weeks when Angels Manager Mike Scioscia brought him out of the bullpen to start the 10th inning Wednesday. But he responded with the longest relief outing of his career, throwing four scoreless innings to win a Major League game for the first time in nearly a year.

“I was ready to go nine [innings] if I had to,” said Bell, who pitched through persistent rain. “I pitched earlier this year in Salt Lake when it was pouring snow. So that was another first. But this was definitely crazier than that.

“I was in the [clubhouse] and Vernon goes, ‘I can’t believe it’s 3:30.’ And I was like what? I had no idea what time it was.”

Going to the Wells

His .186 batting average is still well below the Mendoza Line, but Wells finally appears to be heating up — in all phases of the game.

With a fifth-inning single Thursday, he’s hit safely in 16 of his last 21 starts, scoring a run in each of the last four. He also stole his first base of the season Thursday and he saved Wednesday’s wild win by playing a Kevin Youkilis double high off the left-field wall and starting a relay that ended with what would have been the winning run being tagged out at the plate in the 12th.

“There’s so many ways I can help this team win. It’s just a matter of doing it on a consistent basis,” Wells said. “When that happens, I think we’ll win more games than we lose.”

kevin.baxter@latimes.com