More hits for Arraez -- and still no strikeouts

SAN FRANCISCO -- Luis Arraez is still raking. (And he still isn’t striking out.)

Arraez’s monster weekend at the plate helped lift the Padres to a crucial sweep in San Francisco, as they continue to close the gap on the Dodgers in the National League West. In Sunday’s finale at Oracle Park, Arraez went 2-for-4 with a walk, as San Diego held on for a 4-3 victory in 10 innings.

In the process, Arraez extended his streak without a strikeout to 140 plate appearances, which remains the longest such streak in 20 years. He’s now seven away from passing Juan Pierre for the longest streak this century. (Pierre reached 147 during the 2004 season.)

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)

Arraez’s last strikeout came on Aug. 10 in Miami, when he was still dealing with the lingering effects of a thumb injury. At the time, his average was .302 -- the lowest it had been since he joined the Padres via trade in early May.

Since the date of his last strikeout, Arraez is batting .394, and he’s currently riding a 13-game hitting streak -- one shy of his career high. With a .322 average, he appears to be well on his way to a third straight batting title.

“One of the best hitters in the game,” said Padres third baseman Manny Machado. “Starting off the game like that is huge.”

Arraez has become a force atop the Padres lineup, consistently setting the table for one of the Majors’ best offenses. On Sunday, Machado opened the scoring by plating Arraez with a sacrifice fly after his leadoff single in the sixth. Arraez’s double during the decisive two-run rally in the 10th would also prove critical.

A day earlier, Giants manager Bob Melvin aptly summed up the best way to pitch Arraez right now.

“Try to make good pitches on him,” Melvin said. “And hopefully he hits it at somebody.”

And half the time, he might. Arraez finished the weekend 7-for-14 with a pair of walks.