A pair of Pirates helped the active leader in Beat the Streak move two picks closer to the 57 needed to pass Joe DiMaggio's record 56-game run in 1941 and collect the $5.6 million grand prize.
"peterose4477," advanced to 43 straight correct picks -- the second-longest streak of the season -- with the successful selections of John Jaso and Andrew McCutchen on Thursday. Jaso and McCutchen picked up their first hits early in the game, as Jaso led off the top of the first with a single to center field and McCutchen did the same two innings later.
The participant was able to make two selections in one day using the "Double Down" feature, which allows fans to advance their streaks by two games if both of their picks get a hit. But if one of the players goes hitless, the streak ends.
Features such as the Double Down and the "Mulligan," which gives fans a do-over when their streaks are between 10 and 15 games long, make winning Beat the Streak easier than ever.

Fans can also use BTS research filters such as batting-order position, handedness, cold opposing pitchers and more to help streamline their decision-making process. Plus, they can take as many days off as they want during a streak if the matchups aren't attractive, as long as they reach 57 by season's end.
"peterose4477" took advantage of the latter strategy recently, going five days without making a pick before correctly selecting Cardinals infielder Matt Carpenter on Wednesday.
In the 15-plus years since Beat the Streak launched, no one has won the grand prize. If no one claims the $5.6 million this season, the player with the longest streak gets a $10,000 consolation prize. Two million other prizes also were given out last year, for streaks as small as five.
Having a BTS player topple the marvelous mark of 56 would be particularly fitting this season -- the 75th anniversary of DiMaggio's hitting streak, which began on May 15, 1941, and is being honored with daily recaps on MLB.com and @TheStreak on Twitter.