A dominant pitching performance by the Orioles on Thursday night brought an end to the two longest active runs in Beat the Streak.
User "peterose4477," aka Ken Gilman, had the longest streak of the season at 47 and was tied for the fourth longest in BTS history before picking Red Sox shortstop Xander Bogaerts. Batting .357 coming into the day, Bogaerts went 0-for-4 against Baltimore starter Tyler Wilson (eight scoreless innings) and reliever Brad Brach (one inning, one run) in a 5-1 O's victory.
Gilman had been three successful picks away from passing Mike Karatzia (2007) as the all-time leader and 10 away from collecting the $5.6 million grand prize by passing Joe DiMaggio's record 56-game streak from 1941.
Gilman's closest challenger, Collin Mills, had a 43-pick streak entering Thursday, when he selected Boston's Dustin Pedroia, who was batting .317. Pedroia also went 0-for-4 against Baltimore at Fenway Park.
With those two players seeing their impressive runs come to an end, Beat the Streak still has not had anyone make 57 straight correct picks and claim the grand prize since the contest launched more than 15 years ago. Besides the $10,000 consolation prize, two million other prizes were awarded for streaks as small as five games last year.
However, BTS is easier than ever in 2016. For example, users have the option of employing the "Double Down" feature. Double Down allows fans to advance their streak by two games, but only if both of their picks get a hit. If one goes hitless, the streak ends.
Additionally, BTS research filters such as batting-order position, right- or left-handed pitchers and cold opposing pitchers are at fans' disposal to help make their decisions. They can also take as many days off between selections if they don't find ideal matchups -- just as long as they exceed 56 by season's end.
If someone finally collects the grand prize this year, it would be particularly fitting. After all, it's the 75-year anniversary of DiMaggio's remarkable streak, which is being commemorated with daily recaps on MLB.com and @TheStreak on Twitter.