ST. PETERSBURG -- Twins second baseman James Dozier set a club record for the longest hitting streak to start a season, extending to 16 straight games with a third-inning single in the Twins' 8-6 loss against the Rays on Sunday afternoon at Tropicana Field.
Dating back to Sept. 22 of last season, Dozier has hit safely in 23 straight games. During that stretch, he's batting .378 (37-for-98) with a .445 on-base percentage and a .673 slugging percentage. Dozier also has a 33-game on-base streak dating back to Sept. 12 against the Padres.
Dozier's third-inning single just got past a diving Adeiny Hechavarria at shortstop. In the eighth inning, Dozier got an even bigger hit, smacking a two-run single that tied the game.
"He has just been steady,'' Twins manager Paul Molitor said. "He's not giving away any at-bats. We don't have a lot of guys swinging the bat that well, but he is doing the job.''

Dozier, who has the longest active hitting streak in the Majors, passed Kirby Puckett (1994) and Josh Willingham (2012), who each had 15-game hitting streaks to start a season.