Padres' Luis Arraez Has Played Almost Every Game For a Month Without Striking Out

Maren Angus-Coombs | Sep 9, 2024

Chadd Cady-Imagn Images

Luis Arraez ended August on a historic streak, and has carried it into September.

The San Diego Padres' designated hitter went 3-for-5 with a run scored in Sunday's 7-6 loss to the San Francisco Giants. Arraez did not strike out, extending a streak that has earned him a spot in the history books.

Luis Arráez is hitting .458 in his last 11 games and has not struck out since August 10th.#Padres | @Padres
🔗 https://t.co/6YbqEWG3tX pic.twitter.com/qBz0BbJAG4

— MLB Network Radio on SiriusXM (@MLBNetworkRadio) September 9, 2024

Arraez has gone 115 straight plate appearances without a strikeout. His last strikeout came on Aug. 10. Since the All-Star break, he’s only struck out twice and has notched five three-hit games.

MLB.com's Sarah Langs reported on X (formerly Twitter) that Arraez's streak is now the fourth-longest in Major League Baseball since 2000. However, he has quite a ways to go to reach Tony Gwynn's Padres record of 170 set in 1995.

Padres record: 170 by Tony Gwynn in 1995

— Sarah Langs (@SlangsOnSports) September 8, 2024

Arraez did his best to propel a comeback victory for the Padres on Sunday but they came up just short.

Starting pitcher Joe Musgrove struggled early, and the Padres fell behind by six runs. It was San Diego's third loss in four days.

"These losses don't feel good," Musgrove said. "But to be down 7-1 and battle all the way back to be within one run right there is the sign of a good team. We keep doing that, we’ll be on the winning side of some of those. But we feel good. … We think we’re in a good spot."

The Padres still hold the top Wild Card spot in the National League. However, their lead over the Braves and Mets, who are tied for the final playoff spot, has shrunk to just two games. This is the closest the Padres have been to the postseason cutoff since August 5.

Musgrove’s tough fourth inning dug the Padres into a hole. He retired the first 10 batters in order, but then things unraveled. Heliot Ramos hit a fly ball to right that Fernando Tatis Jr. lost in the sun, turning into a double. This was the start of seven consecutive hits by the Giants, including three home runs.

The Padres scored three runs in the seventh thanks to Giants’ errors and added two more in the eighth with a home run by Bogaerts. Later in the eighth, pinch-runner Tyler Wade, who was the potential tying run, was picked off. The Padres were retired in order in the ninth, leaving Manny Machado, just one homer shy of a new franchise record, standing in the on-deck circle.

Arraez's ability to make the most of his contact rate will be tested starting Tuesday in Seattle. The Mariners are limiting opponents to the lowest batting average on balls in play (.264) in the majors.