CHICAGO -- Finally comfortable in the role he has with the Cardinals and energized by being in a playoff race for the first time in years, veteran outfielder Corey Dickerson is starting to become the productive left-handed hitter the team hoped for when they signed him before Spring Training.

As evidence of that, Dickerson joined Freddie Freeman as the only MLB players this season with consecutive four-hit games after doing so on Tuesday and Wednesday. Then, in his first two at-bats on Thursday, Dickerson took his hot streak a couple steps further by singling in the first and third innings off Cubs starter Marcus Stroman. Those singles gave Dickerson 10 hits in his last 10 at-bats, marking the longest such streak by any Cardinals hitters in the expansion era (since 1961).

It was Dickerson’s ninth straight hit that pushed him past Curt Flood (1964 and ‘68), Felix Jose (1991) and Fernando Tatis (1998), who shared the previous record with eight straight hits. Dickerson's streak ended in the fourth when he grounded into a fielder's choice.

Dickerson’s 10 straight hits are the most by any player since Jose Altuve did the same for the Astros from May 25-27, 2018. Dickerson is the 13th player with a hit in at least 10 straight at-bats during the expansion era, and the first to do it since Astros second baseman Jose Altuve in 2018. Former Red Sox second baseman Dustin Pedroia and Yankees outfielder Bernie Williams sit atop the list with 11 consecutive hits.

Walt Dropo (1952), Pinky Higgins ('38) and Johnny King ('02) hold the MLB record with a hit in 12 consecutive at bats.

Dickerson, 33, struggled early in the season when he wasn’t regularly in the lineup, hitting .184 in April and .176 in May. A brief surge in June was slowed by a series of left calf injuries. However, he’s rebounded to hit .314 in July and .452 in August. He came into Thursday’s series finale against the Cubs having had 11 hits in his last 19 at-bats.

“Ever since I came back from my [calf] injury, I’ve tried to swing with more intent and get off good swings,” Dickerson said. “It’s just hard to do sometimes when you aren’t in there [regularly]. You just have to keep grinding away. I think I’ve put in the right work with Albert [Pujols] and Tyler [O’Neill] and a couple of other guys.

“Knowing that I can still carry a team when I get an opportunity to show what I can do. A lot of times, you lose your confidence in thinking you can’t do that when you aren’t an everyday player. But I’ve been persistent enough to keep going.”