Marlins' Luis Arraez Goes 5-for-5 to Raise Batting Average Back to .400

The Miami second baseman's pursuit of history continues.
Marlins' Luis Arraez Goes 5-for-5 to Raise Batting Average Back to .400
Marlins' Luis Arraez Goes 5-for-5 to Raise Batting Average Back to .400 /
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Marlins second baseman Luis Arraez has yet to hit below .294 over the course of a big-league season. He won the National League batting title a year ago. Even those accomplishments, however, couldn't hint at what Arraez had in store for this year.

Arraez went 5-for-5 in Miami's 11–0 win over the Blue Jays on Monday evening in Miami, raising his batting average from .388 (97-for-250) to .400 (102-for-255).

The All-Star singled in the first, third, fourth, sixth and seventh innings, becoming the first player to cross the 100-hit threshold in 2023.

Arraez's progress has been closely watched this season as no hitter has eclipsed .400 in the American or National League since Red Sox left fielder Ted Williams hit .406 in 1941. The closest approach in the eight decades since was made by Padres outfielder and Hall of Famer Tony Gwynn in 1994; he was hitting .394 when the season was terminated by a strike in August.

In addition to his season-long feats, Arraez became the first player to record three five-hit games in a 15-game span since Tigers center fielder Ty Cobb in 1922.

The Marlins, meanwhile, hold the National League’s top wild-card spot with a sterling 42–31 record and are just 4.5 games behind the Braves for first place in the NL East.


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Patrick Andres
PATRICK ANDRES

Patrick Andres is a staff writer on the Breaking and Trending News team at Sports Illustrated. He joined SI in December 2022, having worked for The Blade, Athlon Sports, Fear the Sword and Diamond Digest. Andres has covered everything from zero-attendance Big Ten basketball to a seven-overtime college football game. He is a graduate of Northwestern University's Medill School of Journalism with a double major in history .