Trevor Bauer has twice taken the loss to end a 22-game winning streak

When Trevor Bauer took the ball for the Cleveland Indians on Friday night, he entered territory that few pitchers, if any, had before.

For the second time in his life, the 28-year-old right-hander was tasked with prolonging a 22-game winning streak. And for the second time in his life, he was the losing pitcher when said streak came to a screeching halt.

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Bauer acknowledged this oddity during his postgame news conference on Friday. While pitching at UCLA, the Bruins began the 2010 season with a perfect 22-0 record. Then, Bauer took the ball in Game No. 23 and the streak abruptly ended.

Truth be told, Bauer was hardly at fault way back on April 3, 2010. He was saddled with the loss after allowing just one run in 4 2/3 innings. UCLA would go on to lose the game 8-4 to Stanford. The loss for Bauer was his first in over a year at that time.

Bauer’s outing on Friday night was a little bit shaky, but it was far from dreadful. He allowed four runs on nine hits over 5 1/3 innings. Royals starter Jason Vargas was slightly better, allowing three runs over five innings. Both bullpens were spotless, allowing a total of three hits over the game’s final four innings. The Royals would go on to win 4-3.

Though disappointed, Indians fans were far from angry. They would give the team a standing ovation in appreciation of their record-setting run.

We’re certain there’s no resentment for Bauer either despite his connection to another streak ending. If anything, there’s probably greater appreciation for his overall performance considering the 16-game winner in 2017 has now played a big part in two different winning streaks reaching 22 games.

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Mark Townsend is a writer for Big League Stew on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at bigleaguestew@yahoo.com or follow him on Twitter!

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