Steve Carlton’s 15-game winning streak, a franchise record, ended on a broken-bat hit in the 11th inning on Aug. 21, 1972. It was his first loss since May 30. He went 6-2 in eight August starts. His four straight August wins were under 1 hour, 50 minutes.

• Phillies Alumni

Start No. 26 (16-6, 2.27)

Aug. 1, Game 2: 11th straight win, 4-1, at the New York Mets. Lefty and Jerry Koosman hooked up in a classic that took 1 hour, 45 minutes. Tied 1-1 after eight innings, Bill Robinson’s two-out bases-loaded double in the top of the ninth won the game. Nine innings, five hits, one run (unearned), one walk, five strikeouts.

“I don’t read the papers,” said Carlton. “You can’t start reading about yourself. … You start reading about how you’re great, then you believe it, and you might get lax. Or you read how lousy you are, and you start believing that.”

Start No. 27 (17-6, 2.18)

Aug. 5: 12th straight win, 5-0, in St. Louis, 1 hour, 48 minutes. Two-run homers by Bill Robinson and Greg Luzinski led the offense. Nine innings, five hits, one walk, seven strikeouts.

Start No. 28 (18-6, 2.09)

Aug. 9: 13th straight win, 2-0, over Pirates in Pittsburgh, 1 hour, 48 minutes. Nine innings, three hits, one walk, 12 strikeouts. Second run came in the top of the third, home run by Steve Carlton off Steve Blass.

• 13th straight win broke the Phillies record, 12 in a row by Charley Ferguson in 1886.
• Seventh shutout, a team record for a left-hander.
• Fourth shutout in last five games.
• 54 innings without allowing an earned run.
• 79 innings without allowing a home run.

Following the game, the Pirates’ Willie Stargell made his famous quote, “Hitting him tonight was like trying to drink coffee with a fork.”

Start No. 29 (19-6, 2.05)

Aug. 13, Game 1: 14th straight win, 2-1 over Expos at the Vet. Third straight game at 1 hour, 48 minutes. Phillies runs were an RBI double by Willie Montanez and an RBI single by Greg Luzinski in the bottom of the first. Crowd was 30,207. Nine innings, three hits, three walks, eight strikeouts.

Karl Wallenda shared the spotlight by walking 640 feet across Veterans Stadium after Lefty’s win.

Start No. 30 (20-6, 2.12)

Aug. 17: Club-record 15th straight win, 9-4 over the Reds before 42,635 fans at the Vet. Nine innings, seven hits, four runs, four walks, season-low two strikeouts.

• The Reds were the only team he hadn’t beaten.
• Fourth left-hander in history to win 15 or more in a row, Lefty Grove, Rube Marquard and Carl Hubbell.

“I guess I was excited, we all were excited,” said Carlton, who did a curtain call for the fans after the game. “It was a combination of things -- all the people who came out to support me, the 20th win, the streak and the Reds.”

Start No. 31 (20-7, 2.10)

Aug. 21: Streak ends with 2-1, 11-inning loss to the Braves before 41,212 fans at the Vet. First loss since May 30. First baseman Henry Aaron singles in a run in the top of the third. Greg Luzinski’s RBI double ties game in the bottom of the eighth. Two-out double by Dusty Baker who scores the winning run on a broken-bat single to center field by Mike Lum. Eleven innings, seven hits, two runs, three walks, 10 strikeouts.

“It was a hell of a pitch, low and away. It broke [Lum’s] bat, but he just stayed with it,” said Carlton.

Start No. 32 (21-7, 2.14)

Aug. 26: 4-3 win over the Reds at Riverfront Stadium. Mac Scarce got his second save. Eight innings, 12 hits, three runs, one walk, four strikeouts.

Start No. 33 (21-8, 2.19)

Aug. 30: 5-3 loss to Astros at the Astrodome. Six innings, three hits, three runs, four walks, three strikeouts.