Yankees winning streak ends: New York loses to Athletics, snapping franchise’s fifth longest winning streak
Written by Luck Wilson on August 29, 2021
The New York Yankees‘ longest winning streak in 60 years is over. Saturday afternoon in Oakland, the Yankees fell 3-2 (box score) to the Athletics in the third game of their four-game series. New York had won its previous 13 games, the franchise’s most prolific winning streak since Roger Maris and Mickey Mantle were chasing Babe Ruth’s home run record in September of 1961.
The Yankees fell behind early when a Tony Kemp single in the second inning gave the A’s a 1-0 lead. Sean Murphy subsequently scored on a balk to put Oakland up 2-0. Only one other run would score until the ninth inning with that coming on a solo home run by Matt Chapman in the fourth. That was all A’s starter Frankie Montas needed, as he held New York to two hits and a walk while punching out six batters in seven frames.
Yankees outfielder Aaron Judge would launch a two-run homer in the ninth to cut Oakland’s lead to one. The Yankees were unable to get the tying run across, however.
It was a much-needed win for the Athletics, who entered the day 3 1/2 games back in the hunt for the American League’s second wild card spot. The A’s had lost six in a row prior to Saturday’s contest. They’re now 12-12 in August.
The Yankees’ 13-game winning streak was not only the longest winning streak in baseball this season, it was the longest in baseball since Cleveland’s historic 22-game winning streak in 2017. It was also tied for the fifth longest winning streak in Yankees history. Here are the franchise’s longest winning streaks:
- 19 games: June 29 to July 17, 1947
- 18 games: May 27 to June 14, 1953
- 16 games: May 10-26, 1926
- 15 games: Sept. 16 to Oct. 2, 1960
- 14 games: June 29 to July 13, 1941
- 13 games: Aug. 14, 2021 to Aug. 28, 2021 (also Sept. 1-12, 1961 and July 3-18, 1954)
Even with Saturday’s loss, the Yankees have won: 13 of their last 14 games; 20 of their last 24; 30 of their last 39; and 35 of their last 47. The Yankees have been hot, in other words, and they’ll have a chance on Sunday to win a series against a potential postseason opponent.
KVSP