SAN DIEGO -- Luis Arraez’s remarkable streak is over.

The Padres’ contact king struck out for the first time since Aug. 10 in the second inning of San Diego’s 3-1 victory over the Astros on Monday night at Petco Park. Houston right-hander Spencer Arrighetti won a nine-pitch battle by getting Arraez to swing and miss at a 3-2 curveball.

Arraez had gone 141 plate appearances without a strikeout. According to Elias, it was the longest streak since Juan Pierre reached 147 during the 2004 season. Arraez tied Tony Gwynn for the second-longest such streak in Padres history. Only Gwynn’s run of 170 straight plate appearances in 1995 was longer.

“I strike out, and I said: ‘I’ve got two more at-bats,’” Arraez said afterward. “Let’s see what happens.”

Undeterred, Arraez responded with hits in his final two at-bats -- though he appeared to injure his right knee in the fifth inning while sliding into home plate. After hobbling into second base on a seventh-inning double, Arraez was lifted for a pinch-runner.

Asked after the game how he was feeling, Arraez broke into a grin. Physically? He said he feels OK and hopes to be back in the lineup Tuesday. But…

“The strikeout? It’s painful,” Arraez said. “But [Arrighetti] was nasty. I fought with him. He’s got good stuff.”

Even by Arraez’s standards, it was an astounding run. He has still punched out only three times since the All-Star break. He’s barely even swung and missed. During that streak, Arraez had swung and missed only eight times -- before Arrighetti induced three whiffs from Arraez in his first two plate appearances.

“I respect that guy a lot, and what he does is absolutely crazy in the game that we play today,” Arrighetti said. “It meant a lot to me, for sure. Hats off to him, too. He got me on the same pitch. It’s not like I can just walk away feeling great. It wasn’t an 0-for-3. He still got me."

Indeed, Arraez responded with a fifth-inning single off Arrighetti, then a seventh-inning double against Bryan King. In the process, he raised his 2024 batting average to .323. He is still comfortably atop the race for a third consecutive batting title. Atlanta’s Marcell Ozuna is second in the National League, hitting .302.

That .302 mark is precisely where Arraez’s average sat on Aug. 10, following the game in Miami in which he had last struck out. At the time, he was dealing with the lingering effects of a thumb injury. Since then, he’s hitting .397 and has been a force atop the Padres’ lineup, setting the table for one of the best offenses in baseball.

“It’s been a privilege to be a part of it, to watch this guy perform,” said Padres manager Mike Shildt. “He’s a magician with the bat in his hand. He’s got this wonderful combination of bat-to-ball skill, and he’s got this tremendous approach.”