Diamondbacks Tie MLB Record for Longest Road Losing Streak with 13-7 Loss vs. Giants

Call it the Curse of the Faux-Hitter.

On April 25, Arizona Diamondbacks pitcher Madison Bumgarner tossed a complete game without allowing a hit against the Atlanta Braves at Truist Park. Yet because the outing came in a league-mandated seven-inning doubleheader, Major League Baseball declined to classify the 7-0 victory as a no-hitter. 

The Diamondbacks haven’t won on the road since. 

The D-backs lost 13-7 Wednesday night in San Francisco—their 22nd straight road loss. That ties the MLB record for consecutive road losses, an ignominious mark shared by the 1943 Philadelphia Athletics and 1963 New York Mets. 

The loss dropped Arizona to 20-49 on the year—the fewest wins of any team at this point in the season—and sent the ballclub into further disarray. 

Despite taking a 2-0 lead in the top of the first inning, starter Merrill Kelly gave up four runs in the bottom half of the frame as Arizona quickly fell to a 13-2 deficit by the fifth inning. A five-run top of the sixth would narrow that gap significantly, but not enough for a D-backs comeback against their division rival. 

Entering Wednesday, Arizona had been out-scored 114-50 in road games since April 25 with just seven home wins sprinkled in.

Lately, good and bad teams alike have found success when the D-backs pay a visit with Arizona dropping games to the Miami Marlins, New York Mets, Los Angeles Dodgers, Colorado Rockies, Milwaukee Brewers and Oakland Athletics during the losing streak. 

Yet, Tuesday’s loss at the Giants may have been the most difficult to stomach during this stretch. 

The Diamondbacks held an 8-3 lead after five innings only to watch Mike Yastrzemski launch a go-ahead grand slam into McCovey Cove during the bottom of the eighth inning. That the homer came on a 1-2 pitch from Humberto Castellanos with two outs didn’t make the mistake any easier to digest. 

Instead, it set the D-backs up for an eventual 9-8 loss just when it appeared the streak was about to end. 

Wednesday’s loss may not have been as painful on its own, but combined with the 21 straight road losses that came before it, there aren’t many positives to take away. 

Arizona will look to avoid setting a record with 23 straight road losses when it closes out a four-game series in San Francisco on Thursday afternoon. Zac Gallen returns to the mound for the D-backs after spraining his UCL, and he will face likely All-Star Kevin Gausman of the Giants.