The longest home sellout streak in professional sports has ended; the Boston Red Sox did not sell out Wednesday night's game against the Baltimore Orioles at Fenway Park, snapping their incredible streak at 820 games. The streak began on May 5th, 2003 and included postseason games. The average attendance during the streak was 36,605. The previous home sellout streak was 814 games, held by the NBA's Portland Trailblazers from 1977 to 1995.
In a statement, Red Sox owner John W. Henry said, "The streak is a reflection of a phenomenal period of baseball in Boston and of America's greatest ballpark. But more than that, it is a testament to the baseball passion of New England fans. As we close the book on this incredible era, we look forward to another with a renewed certainty that the next couple of generations of Red Sox fans will also be enjoying baseball at the ever magical Fenway Park."
Red Sox president Larry Lucchino chimed in on the streak as well, saying, "We are proud of this historic achievement," Red Sox President Larry Lucchino said of the streak. "Over the past 10 years, more than 30 million, many among the most sophisticated baseball fans in America, have purchased tickets to see games at Fenway Park. Never in that period was there a crowd less than 32,000. No other club in Major League Baseball can make that statement."
The Red Sox won two World Series during this streak, the first of which came in 2005 and snapped an 86-season championship drought.
The Wednesday night game that snapped the streak was an 8-5 defeat at the hands of Jake Arrieta and the Orioles. Arrieta went five innings, and gave up three hits, three runs, and walked four while striking out two.
The Red Sox carried a 5-3 advantage heading into the ninth inning, when red-hot Orioles first baseman Chris Davis sparked a comeback against Boston closer Joel Hanrahan with a solo home run that closed the gap to 5-4.
A wild pitch later in the inning scored Alexei Casilla to tie the game. After the wild pitch, third baseman Manny Machado smashed a three-run homer to give Baltimore an 8-5 lead that would be the final score.
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