The 2000 Yankees might be the ultimate argument against momentum being a thing. Going into the regular season finale on this day 25 years ago, they had lost six consecutive games and 15 of their last 20. The game we’ll be looking back on today didn’t do much to change that streak either.

Yet, as we know, things ended up absolutely fine for the 2000 Yankees. You just might not have felt that way were you following the team in the moment.

October 1: Yankees 3, Orioles 7 (box score)

Record: 87-74 (2.5 GA in AL East)

To be fair to the 2000 Yankees, on this particular day, they didn’t run out the A lineup, as they had nothing to play for and were two days away from starting a playoff series. However, there were still a bunch of regulars in the lineup, and Orlando Hernández — despite his struggles on the season — took the mound, and would be part of the playoff rotation. Yet much as it had for the previous couple weeks, things did not go the Yankees’ way on this day.

After both El Duque and Orioles’ starter José Mercedes worked around some trouble early on, Baltimore got on the board in the bottom of the second in an unexpected fashion. With two outs in the inning, the O’s had runners on the corners with Gene Kingsale at the plate. On a 1-1 pitch, the runner at first — Melvin Mora — took off for second base. Upon the throw, the runner at third — Chris Richard — darted for home. The double steal worked, as the Yankees couldn’t retire either runner with Richard scoring.

The Yankees got that run back in the top of the third when Tino Martinez hit an RBI single, but the Orioles then struck back in an even bigger way. While Hernández got the first out of the bottom of the third, Baltimore then hit two-straight singles to again put runners at the corners. Albert Belle — playing what would be his final game, as a degenerative hip issue would force him into retirement — then hit a fly ball deep enough for one run to score. Cal Ripken Jr. followed that with a single to score another run, while Richard made the Yankees pay again, this time with some power. His homer scored another two runs, putting the O’s up 5-1.

The Yankees did make a run at a comeback. José Canseco hit an RBI single in the fifth, and José Vizcaíno did likewise in the sixth. That got the Yankees back within two runs, but they ended up leaving runners on in each of those innings. That would be as close as they actually got.

Hernández managed to get through his last couple innings without allowing further damage, but he still ended his day having given up five runs on seven hits in six innings. After him, the Yankees brought in Mariano Rivera, likely to get him some work, as he had pitched only sparingly during the team’s struggles over the previous weeks. He threw a scoreless inning, but the guy who followed him couldn’t do the same.

Denny Neagle came in for the eighth with the Yankees still somewhat in it, but they weren’t by the time he left. While he got two outs, Neagle allowed two runs on three hits and a walk, including a home run to Belle in what ended up being his final MLB plate appearance.

The Yankees’ offense did put a couple runners on in the ninth, but didn’t cash in, as they fell 7-3 in the regular season finale. They ended the regular season on a seven-game skid, having lost 15 of their last 18 games. Even with the championship pedigree, this did not look like a World Series contender.

Better things were on the horizon for the 2000 Yankees, but you would have been hard-pressed to believe so in the moment.

Read the full 2000 Yankees Diary series here.