Arraez records 3 hits -- and yet again does not strike out
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SAN FRANCISCO -- Make it 129 plate appearances without a strikeout for Luis Arraez. And counting.
The Padres’ contact king turned in another remarkable performance at the plate in San Diego’s 5-0 victory over the Giants on Friday night at Oracle Park. He went 3-for-4 with a walk, running his hitting streak to 11 games.
Arraez still has not punched out since the third inning of the Padres’ game on Aug. 10 in Miami. By plate appearances, it’s the longest streak without a strikeout by any player in the past 20 seasons, and he’s closing in on Juan Pierre’s mark of 147 from 2004.
Arraez still has a ways to go to reach the Padres’ franchise mark of 170, which (naturally) belongs to Tony Gwynn. Per Elias, Gwynn’s streak from the 1995 season marks the fifth longest in the Expansion Era.
Longest plate-appearance streaks without a strikeout (since start of Expansion Era in 1961):
- Dave Cash, 223 (1976 Phillies)
- Nellie Fox, 185 (1962 White Sox)
- Bill Buckner, 184 (1972 Dodgers)
- Greg Gross, 173 (1979-80 Phillies)
- Tony Gwynn, 170 (1995 Padres)
Thing is, when Arraez’s streak began, he was actually struggling at the plate (by his standards, at least). He’d been dealing with a thumb injury, which forced him to miss the All-Star Game. After the game on Aug. 10, which featured his most recent strikeout, Arraez’s average was .302 -- almost the lowest it had been following a game since he was traded to the Padres in early May.
Clearly, Arraez is healthy again. Over his past 14 games, he’s hitting a remarkable .475 with a 1.023 OPS. In the process he’s ascended back to the top of the race for the National League batting crown, hitting .320 this season between Miami and San Diego.
“He’s just got this amazing ability to scan the field and wields that magic wand, with that bat control,” said Padres manager Mike Shildt. “He can see the field. It’s pretty impressive with the stuff today, how he can just manipulate the barrel and find his hits.”
Arraez is attempting to win a third consecutive batting title with three different teams. Friday’s performance gave him a 14-point lead on the nearest challenger, Atlanta’s Marcell Ozuna (.306).
Arraez’s first-inning single on Friday sparked a three-run rally. On the night, he only faced one two-strike count, beating out an infield single in the fourth inning.
“He’s impressive,” Shildt added. “He just sets the tone at the top of the lineup -- and gets [opposing pitchers] out of the stretch pretty quickly.”