San Diego Padres' Luis Arraez Avoids Striking Out to Keep Historic Streak Alive

Luis Arraez has now gone 110 consecutive plate appearances without recording a strikeout, giving the San Diego Padres designated hitter the fourth-longest streak of the century.

Sep 7, 2024; San Diego, California, USA; San Diego Padres designated hitter Luis Arraez (4) singles during the third inning against the San Francisco Giants at Petco Park. / Chadd Cady-Imagn Images

For all the holes in Luis Arraez's game that his detractors love to pick out, his plate discipline remains unmatched.

The San Diego Padres designated hitter went 3-for-5 with a run and an RBI in Saturday's 6-3 loss to the San Francisco Giants. Arraez did not strike out, extending a streak that has earned him a spot in the history books.

Arraez has now gone 110 consecutive plate appearances without a strikeout. He has struck out just twice since the All-Star break, in which time he has five three-hit games.

According to MLB.com's Sarah Langs, Arraez's streak is now the fourth-longest in MLB since 2000.

Juan Pierre owns the two longest streaks of the century, going 147 plate appearances between strikeouts in 2004 and 143 plate appearances between strikeouts in 2001. The only other player with a longer streak than Arraez is Mookie Betts, who had a 129-plate appearance streak without strikeouts that stretched between the 2016 and 2017 seasons.

Thanks to his showing on Saturday, Arraez passed David Eckstein, Jeff Keppinger and Albert Pujols on the 2000s leaderboards.

longest streaks of consecutive PA without striking out, since 2000:

2004 Juan Pierre: 147
2001 Juan Pierre: 143
2016-17 Mookie Betts: 129
2024 Luis Arraez: 110 *active
2007 Albert Pujols: 109
2010 Jeff Keppinger: 107
2007 David Eckstein: 106

h/t @EliasSports

— Sarah Langs (@SlangsOnSports) September 8, 2024

Arraez is batting .313 with 178 hits, four home runs, 42 RBI, nine stolen bases, a .732 OPS and 0.8 WAR so far this season. His OPS and WAR are both on pace to be career lows, but he does lead the National League in both hits and batting average.

Should he hold strong and win the batting title, it would mark three in a row for Arraez, who has played for three different teams in the span. The Minnesota Twins traded Arraez to the Miami Marlins after he won the 2022 AL batting title, and he got flipped from the Marlins to the Padres this May fresh off winning the 2023 NL batting title.

For his career, Arraez is a .323 hitter with a .790 OPS and 15.9 WAR. The three-time All-Star has 194 career walks compared to 191 career strikeouts, all in an era in which some players strike out 200 times a year.

Arraez and the Padres will close out their series with the Giants at 4:10 p.m. ET on Sunday, giving the 27-year-old a chance to further extend his streak.

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