Arenado extends hitting streak to club-record 28 games

ARLINGTON -- The hit streak reached 28 games Thursday night, a nice number. Not only does it match the jersey of the hitter, Nolan Arenado, but it's good enough to put him alone as holder of the club record. But he found out after the game just how small it is in baseball's grand history.

"My cousin said, 'Dude, you're halfway!'" Arenado said with a smile, after the Rockies' 5-0 loss to the Rangers. "I'm like, 'Halfway?' I'm like, 'Dude, this has felt like forever.'"

Arenado -- who hit a first-pitch fastball in the third inning off Rangers starter Matt Harrison, who forced him to pop up in the first inning -- broke a tie with Michael Cuddyer, who had a 27-game streak last season.

Arenado's current streak is the longest in the Majors this season and longest since the Nationals' Denard Span had a 29-game streak last season. But the idea of breaking the record -- Joe DiMaggio's 56-game streak in 1941 -- is so far-fetched it's become a family joke as the conversations with cousin Josh Fuentes and his father, Fernando Arenado, suggest.

"My dad was joking around with me the other day and said, 'Hey, you've got to get 57, and I was like, 'Yeah, right, we'll see about that,'" Arenado said. "One game at a time."

Arenado started his trek to the record on April 9. He tied the mark with a two-run double on Wednesday night. During the streak, Arenado, who went 1-for-4 Thursday night, is hitting .360 (40-of-111) with four home runs, 10 doubles and 19 RBIs.

It turns out Arenado plays the right position to go streaking. In the Divisional Era, beginning in 1969, Arenado is the fourth third baseman to have a hit streak of at least 28 games. Others were Wade Boggs, 28 games with the Red Sox in 1985; George Brett, 30 games with the Royals in 1980; and Pete Rose, 44 games with the Reds in 1978.