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Cubs' longest run-scoring streaks

Through Sunday, the Cubs have scored at least once in 62 consecutive games, going back to Aug. 12 of last season.

That is the longest active streak in Major League Baseball.

But they are less than halfway to their team record: 127 games.

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BEGAN, ENDED VS. REDS

On June 15, 1958, the Cubs lost at home to the Reds, 7-0, in Game 1 of a Sunday doubleheader.

They had 3 doubles and a triple among their 7 hits, but went 0 for 10 with runners in scoring position.

In the first inning of Game 2, Al Dark singled with 1 out. After Lee Walls walked, Ernie Banks grounded to the shortstop, who threw wildly, allowing Dark to score.

The Cubs scored in each of their 95 subsequent games in 1958, then in their first 31 of 1959, through a 10-0 rout of the visiting Reds on May 13.

Banks capped a 7-run third inning with a grand slam and finished with 5 RBI. He was among 4 Cubs with 2 hits. Dark had 3, the same number allowed by Glen Hobbie in a complete game.

...

The next day, Cincinnati's Joe Nuxhall held the Cubs to 3 hits and never advanced a runner past second base.

Earl Averill doubled with 2 out in the second, but Walls struck out.

With 1 out in the fourth, Walt "Moose" Moryn was thrown out at second trying for a double. Banks doubled moments later and was stranded when Bobby Thomson flied out.

Nuxhall set down the final 15 batters in order.

The game was scoreless until 1 out in the ninth, when Gus Bell singled off Don Elston with the bases loaded, driving home 2 runs.

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CUBS' LONGEST STREAKS

The 127-game scoring streak shattered the Cubs' previous high of 109 games, from May 23-Sept. 18, 1943.

They have had only 1 other streak that reached triple figures: 103 games, from June 10, 1994, through June 17, 1995.

Their next-longest was 89 games, from July 24, 2007, through April 26, 2008.

Here are all 21 of the Cubs run-scoring streaks longer than the current one:

127: June 15, 1958-May 13, 1959

109: May 23-Sept. 18, 1943

103: June 10, 1994-June 17, 1995

89: July 24,2007-April 26, 2008

85: July 23, 2001-April 25, 2002

82: July 6, 1996-April 5, 1997

79: April 28-July 24, 1937

76: June 15-Aug. 29, 1929

74: May 26-Aug. 11, 1983

71 (2): May 17-July 29, 1945, and May 11-July 31, 2019

70 (2): April 23-July 9, 1993, and July 31, 1998-April 25, 1999

68: Aug. 30, 1990-May 15, 1991

66: May 6-July 16, 1920

64 (4): July 10-Sept. 18, 1913; June 2-Aug. 13, 1932; Aug. 5, 1970-April 15, 1917; and April 23-July 3, 2005

63: July 8-Sept. 18, 1913

...

If the Cubs score in each of the 3 upcoming games at Atlanta, their current streak will reach 65 games and jump 5 spots, to rank 16th in team history.

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WINNING, LOSING RECORDS

Scoring, of course, is not the same as winning.

In fact, they have won more games than they lost in only 11 of the 21 streaks that lasted at least 62 games. They lost more than they won in 7 previous streaks and had a .500 record in 3.

The Cubs had winning records in just 2 of their 6 longest scoring streaks, and in 1 of those they were 1 game above .500.

Here are their records in those 6 streaks:

127 games, 1958-59: 60-67

109 games, 1943: 54-55

103 games, 1994-95: 52-51

89 games, 2007-08: 50-39

85 games, 2001-02: 40-45

82 games, 1996-97: 37-45

...

The Cubs are 26-36 in their current scoring streak. Their .419 winning percentage is by far their lowest in any of the 21 streaks.

Their second-lowest percentage was .451, when they went 37-45 in 1996-97.

Their highest percentage was .697, in 1929 (53-22). They were .676 in 1945 (48-22), .671 in 1937 (53-26) and .609 in 1913 (39-24).

In all 21 streaks of at least 62 games, the Cubs have a winning percentage of .527. That is 14 points higher than their .513 in all games during the Modern Era.

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AVERAGE RUNS SCORED

The Cubs have averaged exactly 5 runs per game during their current streak. They had a higher average in only 4 of their longer streaks:

6.72 in 1929

5.82 in 1937

5.24 in 1945

5.14 in 1998-99

They also averaged 5.00 in 2007-08 and fell just short in both 1996-97 (4.98) and 2001-02 (4.96).

Their lowest average was 4.25, in 1990-91.

Each of their 3 next-lowest averages came during their 3 longest scoring streaks: 4.31 in 109 games, in 1943; 4.46 in 103 games in 1994-95; and 4.46 again in the record 127 games in 1958-59.

They had only 1 other streak in which they averaged fewer than 4.50 runs, 4.48, in 2005.

In all 21 streaks of at least 62 games, they have averaged 4.85 runs.

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LONGEST BY ANY TEAM

The longest run-scoring streak in big league history is a staggering 308 games, by the Yankees. It began Aug. 3, 1931, and came to an end when they were shut out exactly 2 years later.

The next-longest streak was "just" 220 games, also by the Yankees, in 2018-19.

The Brewers scored in 212 straight games in 1978-79, and the Reds in 208, in 2000-01.

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STREAKS BY OTHER TEAMS

The Cubs' best of 127 games is tied with Cleveland for the 28th longest.

Other teams whose longest streak was longer than the Cubs' best:

174: Phillies, 1992-93

168: Twins (as Senators), 1930-31

160: Rangers, 2001

158: Tigers, 2011-12

150: Pirates, 1924-25

145: Cardinals, 1986-87

139 (3): Dodgers, 2019; Giants, 1923-24; and Mariners: 1996-97

136: Red Sox, 1950, and White Sox, 1977

133: Orioles, 2007

129: Angels, 1982

That is 16 teams with longer streaks.

The Royals, with 126, fell 1 game short of tying the Cubs and Cleveland.

Only 3 teams never have had a scoring streak of at least 100 games: the Rockies (99!), Rays (85) and Marlins (64).

The Braves' best of 103 is the fewest among the pre-expansion teams. The Athletics are next, at 113.

There have been 89 streaks of at least 100 games.

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ACTIVE STREAKS

The Red Sox have scored in their last 56 games; the Tigers, in their last 52; and the Dodgers, in their last 46.

The Braves, the Cubs' next opponent, own the next-longest active streak: 31 games, exactly half the Cubs' number.

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