Today in Tribe History: July 3, 2002

Tribe slugger Jim Thome homers for the seventh consecutive game as the Indians fall again to the New York Yankees, 11-8.

Thome, in a torrid stretch at the plate, sent a solo blast into the seats at Yankees Stadium for the second consecutive night and seventh straight game. The streak started with homers in back-to-back games against the Boston Red Sox and three more times against the Arizona Diamondbacks.

Despite Thome’s success at the plate, the Indians are in a funk, going 2-5 during his homer-hitting streak and losers of four straight. The Yankees used a five-run second to erase an early Indians lead and, after Cleveland had climbed back within one with three runs in the fourth and one in the seventh on Thome’s blast, opened the game up with a four-run seventh.

He will fall just one game short of tying the all-time record for consecutive games with a homer, as he will go 0-for-3 the next day in the final game before the All-Star break. He became the ninth American League player and 15th in baseball history to hit homers in at least six straight games and was the first to hit them in seven straight since Ken Griffey Jr., who hit eight in 1993 to tie Don Mattingly’s and Dale Long’s record.

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