what is the number of consecutive games the a's win (in the film) to set the american league record
2002 Oakland Athletics season The Athletics' 18th and 19th wins came courtesy of Miguel Tejada game ending hits. On September 4, Oakland sought to win its 20th consecutive game; in doing so, the team hoped to break the 1947 New York Yankees' American League record of nineteen consecutive wins. The opponent was the Kansas City Royals. Over the first three innings of the game, Oakland shelled Kansas City pitchers Paul Byrd and Darrell May for a total of 11 runs while building a seemingly insurmountable 11-0 lead. Sloppy play down the stretch, however, allowed the Royals to score five runs apiece in the fourth and eighth innings. In the ninth, Billy Koch surrendered a two-out single to Royals pinch hitter Luis Alicea; the single allowed pinch runner Kit Pellow to score the tying run. As such, the Athletics entered the bottom of the ninth inning with the score tied at 11-11. In one of the most famous moments in Oakland Athletics history, pinch hitter Scott Hatteberg then hit a one-out solo home run off of Kansas City reliever Jason Grimsley. The home run clinched an AL-record 20th consecutive victory for the Athletics.