going 5-4 in 13 starts with a 2.08 ERA, before incurring an elbow injury. In 1978, the Red Sox promoted Hurst to the Bristol Red Sox of the Eastern League, where he lodged six starts before having his season shut down with shoulder soreness, ending with a 1-3 record and a 2.73 ERA. Hurst started the 1979 season with Winter Haven, going 8-2 across 12 starts with a 1.93 ERA, then finishing the year in Bristol where across 15 starts and one relief appearance he had a 9-4 record with a 3.58 ERA. After making Boston's opening day roster in 1980, Hurst struggled and was reassigned to the Pawtucket Red Sox of the International League. He went 8-6 for Pawtucket over the next three months with a 3.94 ERA, with Boston recalling him in August to the parent club. Returning to Pawtucket for the season, Hurst went 12-7 with a 2.87 ERA, getting a call-up to Boston in September. That season he played in the longest professional baseball game in history against the Rochester Red Wings, with 32 innings played April 18–19 and the final inning not played until June 23. Hurst came on in relief for the 28th inning and pitched five innings without giving up a run, later recollecting striking out Cal Ripken Jr. on a breaking ball at 4 a.m. prior to the league's commissioner ordering the suspension of play at the end of the inning. Bob Ojeda was credited with the win after pitching the 33rd inning on June 23. Boston Red Sox Hurst made his major league debut on April 12, 1980, coming on in relief in the second game of the season and giving up five earned runs in an inning of work in an 18-1 blowout at the hands of the Milwaukee Brewers. He made six more appearances, all starts, before being optioned back to Pawtucket with a 10.57 ERA. He returned to the majors in August, ending the season with a 2-2 record and 9.10 ERA at the major league level. After spending the 1981 minor league season in Pawtucket, Hurst received a September call-up, going 2-0 in five starts with a 4.30 ERA. Hurst became a regular in the Red Sox rotation in the 1982 season, starting 19 games with another nine relief appearances en route to a 3-7 record and a 5.77 ERA. He solidified his starting status the following