Arizona’s 23rd consecutive road loss Thursday, a 10-3 loss to the Giants, set the MLB record previously held by the 1943 Philadelphia Athletics and the 1963 New York Mets, who were in their second year of existence.
They own the worst record in the majors and trail the division-leading Giants by 24.5 games, the largest gap in the league, lagging even behind the woeful Rockies by 8.5 games.
Their last win in front of opposing fans came on April 25, when Madison Bumgarner hurled his unofficial no-hitter over the Braves.
Thursday’s return of Zac Gallen , the team’s best starter, couldn’t stem the tide.
Gallen may have won in the court of public opinion, as it’s pretty easy for players to presently position themselves as the protagonists against the league, which has discovered many ways to alienate fans since Rob Manfred took over as commissioner.
But really, is it any surprise that the Marlins may have encouraged the use of grip enhancers on Hill’s watch? By most reported accounts, this has been happening in every clubhouse to some extent.
It felt like frustration boiling over for a pitcher who’s endured an unforgiving season: a partial UCL tear for him, injuries to many of his teammates , an endless string of losses away from home and an 11–19 record at the “friendly confines” of Chase Field.
It’s just an ugly situation all around in Arizona, which wasn’t supposed to be quite this awful.
In a historic streak that’s included sweeps at the hands of the Marlins and Rockies, there’s no point on the schedule for Arizona to point to and feel overly confident about.
And they may be pushed out of the history books soon by the Orioles, who hold a 19-game road losing streak of their own after falling to Cleveland on Thursday, 10-3, the same score by which Arizona lost to the Giants.