FanPost

Cubs in previous final 6 games on road

2023 will be the fifth consecutive season that the Cubs have finished on the road.

That is their longest such streak of the Modern Era, which began in 1901.

They closed out the year on the road 4 straight seasons 3 times: 1906-09, 1997-2000 and 2013-16.

The Cubs' final game has been on the road 64 of 122 previous seasons.

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The Cubs will play their final 6 games on the road this year: 3 at Atlanta, then 3 at Milwaukee.

They have finished up with at least 6 on the road in 25 seasons, including 2019-21. A year ago, their last 3 were away from home, at Cincinnati.

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BREAKDOWN BY NUMBER OF GAMES

Here is how many seasons the Cubs have played their last 6 games on the road, and how many they have played at least 1 but fewer than 6:

6: 25

5: 9

4: 5

3: 18

2: 4

1: 3

The single games were at New York, in 1908; at Cincinnati, in 1911; and at St. Louis, 1927.

The first of those was the pennant-deciding replay of the "Merkle's Boner" tie. The Cubs won, 4-2, in front of a crowd estimated at 40,000.

Only about 400 witnessed the 1911 finale, in which the second-place Reds beat the second-place Cubs, 4-3.

12,000 turned out in 1927 to see the Cardinals claim second place by defeating the fourth-place Cubs, 6-4, in 8 innings.

A game scheduled for the previous day had been postponed, the Chicago Tribune noted, "owing to an all-day rain that followed a tornado."

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HOW THEY FARED

The Cubs were 1-2 in season-ending single games on the road.

How successful were they in their final 6 games when they have played at least that many on the road to complete their schedule?

They have won 74 games, lost 73 and tied 3, for a percentage of .505.

In games of seasons in which their last 1-5 games were on the road, the Cubs are 59-69-2, .462.

That adds up to 133-142-5, .484 in all seasons, which is 20 points higher than their percentage of .464 in all other road games since 1901.

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MORE THAN 6 GAMES

Those numbers are for the last 6 or fewer season-ending road games.

The Cubs have played 7 or more games after their final home games in some seasons, but not since 2008, when they finished with 4 at New York against the Mets, then 3 at Milwaukee. They went 3-4.

Their last 9 were on the road in 1993: 3 each at Pittsburgh, Los Angeles against the Dodgers and San Diego. They went 5-4.

In 1990, they played 3-game series at Pittsburgh, New York and Philadelphia. The lost 4 games, then won 4 of 5.

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MANY MORE THAN 6

The Cubs' longest road trip to end a season in the Expansion Era was 14 games, in 1970: 4 at Montreal, 3 at St. Louis, 3 at Philadelphia and 3 at New York.

They were in third place, just 2 games out of first, when they began that journey. They won the first 3 games and the last 2, but in between went 2-7, to wind up 7-7 and finish second, 5 games behind.

Their all-time greatest odyssey to wrap up the year was in 1926 was 21 games: 3 at Cincinnati, 2 at Pittsburgh, 4 at Philadelphia, 5 at Boston, 4 at New York against the Giants and 3 at Brooklyn.

They were fourth, 6 games out of first, going into the trip. They went 10-11 and remained fourth, 7 games to the rear.

In 1914, the Cubs went 7-13 in a season-ending trip. They were fourth when it began and fourth when it ended, but slipped from 5.5 games behind to 16.5!

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2015 STANDS ALONE

The Cubs' best performance in 6 straight road games to complete a season was 6-0, in 2015.

They went 5-1 in 1928, 4-1-1 in 1906 and 4-2 in 6 seasons: 1957, 1989, 1990, 1993, 2010 and 2021.

They went 3-2-1 in 2016, making a total of 10 seasons in which they won more games they they lost.

They broke even in 4 seasons: 1914, 1926, 1970 and 1999.

Of 11 seasons in which they lost more than they won, they were 2-4 in 9, 1-4-1 in 1 (1981) and 1-5 in 1 (1980).

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NUMBER OF STOPS

This year's visits to Atlanta and Milwaukee will be the 32nd time that the Cubs have gone to 2 cities to play their final 1-6 road games.

That will match the 32 times that all of last road games have been in a single city.

The only 3 times that they played more than 4 games in a single city all were at St. Louis: 6 games in 1914 and 5 in 1907 and 1935.

In 1981, a season interrupted for 59 days by a strike, the Cubs' last 8 games were on the road, with the final 6 at 3 cities: a loss at Pittsburgh, a 2-1 walk-off loss and a 2-2 tie at New York, then a walk-off loss, a win and a 2-1 loss at Philadelphia.

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The Cubs' record at the first or only city is 84-97-3, .465.

At second cities, it is 48-43-2, .527.

They were 1-2, .333, in the 1981 third-city series.

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MOST-VISITED CITIES

2023 will be the fourth season that the Cubs have ended on the road against the Brewers.

Perhaps surprisingly, that will be their fourth-highest total among all opponents.

They have closed out 8 seasons each at Cincinnati and Pittsburgh.

That number is less than one third of the 27 years their final game has been at St. Louis.

8 of those 27 came in every even-numbered year between 1936 and 1952, except 1944.

3 came in this century: 2013, 2019 and 2021.

Their most recent finale at Pittsburgh was in 2000.

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The Cubs swept their last season-ending series at Milwaukee, winning by 6-1, 1-0 and 3-1 in 2015.

A year earlier, they won, 6-4; lost, 2-1; and won, 5-2.

The first farewell visit was in 2008, when they lost, 5-1; won, 7-3; and lost, 3-1.

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60TH ANNIVERSARY

The Cubs also ended 1963 at Milwaukee, against the Braves. Wins by 3-2 and 4-1 guaranteed the Cubs' first winning season since 1946. A 2-0 loss made their final record 82-80 -- yet in seventh place among the 12 teams.

The Cubs finished 1948 against the Braves at Boston, the only time their final series was there. They never have finished a season at Atlanta.

They wrapped up 3 seasons against the Dodgers, once at Brooklyn (1926) and twice at Los Angeles (1958 and 1960).

They did it against the Giants at New York in 1908 and 1928, but never have done it at San Francisco.

1970 was the only season that the Cubs finished at New York against the Mets.

The finished 7 miles from home in 2020, against the White Sox on the South Side. That is the only time they played their last game on the road at an American League park.

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BREAKDOWN BY CITY, OPPONENTS

Here is how many times the Cubs' final game has been on the road at each city and opponent:

27: St. Louis

8: Cincinnati and Pittsburgh

3: Houston and Milwaukee

2: Los Angeles vs. Dodgers, Montreal, New York vs. Giants, Philadelphia and San Diego

1: Brooklyn, Boston vs. Braves, Chicago vs. White Sox, Milwaukee vs. Braves, New York vs. Mets

That adds up to 15 different opponents, in 13 different cities.

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