ANAHEIM -- Even in the midst of a 20-45 season, Minnesota Twins first baseman Joe Mauer has done what he has been able to do for much of his career -- hit, and get on base.
Mauer did so again Wednesday night, as his eighth-inning RBI single in a 10-2 loss to the Angels marked the 27th consecutive game in which he has reached base, the longest active streak in the Majors.
Entering the at-bat 0-for-3, Mauer turned on a 3-2 changeup from Angels reliever Deolis Guerra and hit it into right field to score Byron Buxton, who led off the inning with a double.
"[Joe] had a really nice at-bat up there against Guerra, taking that 3-2 changeup," Twins manager Paul Molitor said. "He's been consistent all year, really. He had that one little stretch of about 7-10 games where he came off the mountain he had climbed the first part of the season."
This is the second time this season that Mauer has had an on-base streak of 27 or more games, as he had a 28-game on-base streak to open the season from April 4 to May 4. He is just the third player in Twins history to have two streaks that long in a single season, joining Lenny Green in 1961 and Rod Carew in 1977.
Mauer has now had an on-base streak of 26 or more games for the sixth time in his career, with his career-longest streak being 43 from Aug. 7 to Sept. 24, 2015.
The streak continued at Angel Stadium, a ballpark where Mauer has had plenty of success in his career. He's hit .343 (99-for-289) in his career as a visitor in the ballpark, collecting 15 doubles, nine homers and 49 RBIs in 78 career games here. His .343 batting average marks the second-highest total for an opponent with more than 200 at-bats at the park, placing him behind Houston's Jose Altuve. It's also the second-highest batting average for Mauer in any American League park away from Minneapolis, behind Tampa Bay's Tropicana Field.
Over the three-game set, Mauer hit 5-for-14 with a triple and three RBIs.
"He's been steady," Molitor said. "He had a long streak to start up the season and he's backed it up with another one. Joe's one of those guys who, he doesn't want a record or scores or whatever. He just goes out there and plays and has good at-bats consistently."