Baseball is a streaky game

The longest winning streaks in major league baseball history:

26 - New York Giants, 1916
22 - Cleveland Indians, 2017
21 - Chicago Cubs, 1935

The 1916 Giants are credited with the longest streak at 26 games.

From Sept. 7-30, the Giants won 26 games and tied 1. They won 12 in a row, then tied Pittsburgh 1-1 in a game shortened to 8 innings, which was the second game of a doubleheader on Sept. 18. The Giants then won their next 14 straight.

Remarkably, the Giants had won 17 in a row earlier in the season after starting the season 2-13. They finished the year wth an 86-66 record, in fourth place behind NL champion Brooklyn. Subtracting the two long winning streaks, the Giants were 43-66 in the rest of their games.

(And yes, the Giants' logo was purple in 1916.)

When the '35 Cubs began their streak on Sept. 4, they were in 3rd place in the NL, behind St. Louis and the N.Y. Giants. By the time the streak ended on Sept. 27, the Cubs had clinched the NL pennant and a spot in the World Series against the Yankees.

During the Indians' streak, which ended tonight, they outscored their opponents 140-36 and were behind in only seven of the 181 innings they played.