Ichiro less than 100 hits away from 3,000

MIAMI -- Let the countdown to 3,000 hits begin. With two hits on Wednesday night in the Marlins' 7-2 loss to the Nationals, Ichiro now has rung up 2,901 hits in his brilliant big league career.

Now that he's passed the 2,900-hit plateau, Ichiro could get the chance to reach one of MLB's most elite milestones sometime in 2016.

"It was certainly great to see Ichiro collect his 2,900th hit," Marlins manager Dan Jennings said. "That's just a tribute to such an outstanding, Hall-of-Fame player that he is."

Both of Ichiro's hits off Washington starter Doug Fister factored into Miami runs.

In the second inning, Ichiro delivered a well-placed, two-out line drive to left field, which scored Derek Dietrich from first, giving Miami the early lead.

Ichiro's second hit was a single to center in the fifth inning, and it kept the inning alive, setting up Adeiny Hechavarria's RBI single to left.

For the season, Ichiro has 57 hits. The 10-time All-Star signed as a free agent with the Marlins to be their fourth outfielder. He has received substantial playing time filling in for injured players. He stepped in after left fielder Christian Yelich landed on the disabled list with a back injury early in the season, and since June 26, right fielder Giancarlo Stanton has been out with a broken bone in his left hand, moving Ichiro to right.

Ichiro continues to build his legacy, as he now has 4,179 professional hits, counting the 1,278 he had during his nine seasons in Japan.

Pete Rose is MLB's all-time hits leader with 4,256, followed by Ty Cobb (4,189).