Phillies' home sellout streak ends at 257

It's over.

After 257 straight regular-season sellouts, the Phillies failed to fill Citizens Bank Park to the brim Monday night for the first game of their series with the Atlanta Braves.

The crowd of 41,665 was the smallest since July 6, 2009, when 41,548 were in attendance for a 22-1 Phillies victory over the Cincinnati Reds. The regular-season sellout streak began the next night against the Reds and continued through Sunday's game against the Arizona Diamondbacks.

A release from the Phillies said that the team drew a total of 11,585,952 during the 257 sellouts for an average attendance of 45,082 per game.

The Phillies went 154-103 during the sellout streak, but the home record this season was just 23-30 before Monday night, the second worst in the National League. As the team struggled for victories, the crowds grew smaller.

The Phillies, however, still rank first in baseball with an average attendance of 44,606.

"The number of sellouts could not have been possible without the tremendous loyalty of our fans who continue to lead all of Major League Baseball in average attendance this year," Phillies president David Montgomery said in a statement.

The Phillies said their sellout streak was the longest in National League history and the third longest in Major League Baseball history. The Boston Red Sox have an active sellout streak of 772 games and the Cleveland Indians had 455 consecutive sellouts from 1995 through 2001.