On Thursday night, the Chicago Cubs beat the Arizona Diamondbacks 14-6 at Chase Field, and while the comeback victory itself was an impressive one, it also was one that tied a team record that has stood for over 70 years.
That record is the longest road winning streak in the history of the franchise, as the Cubs’ win over the Diamondbacks was their 12th straight away from Wrigley Field. The streak is a carryover from last season, when the Cubs won their final nine road contests, and they’ve added to that total this year by winning their first three games to begin the new campaign.
The last time that the Cubs won a dozen games in a row away from home was in the 1945 season, which also just happens to be the last time that the team made it to the World Series.
During their current 12-game road winning streak, the Cubs have outscored their opponents 72-25, with 29 of those runs coming over their last three games. According to Christopher Kamka of Comcast SportsNet, that 29 run total is the Cubs’ best start to a season on the scoreboard since the 1954 campaign, when they racked up a staggering 41 runs in their first trio of games.
Friday’s game against the Diamondbacks will not only provide the Cubs with an opportunity to break the franchise record for longest road winning streak, but will also give the team a chance to join some incredibly exclusive company.
According to Baseball Reference, the Cubs are one of only 10 teams to win their first three games by five or more runs. If they do that again on Friday, they will join the 1976 Cincinnati Reds as the only teams to accomplish that feat in the first four games of a regular season.
