Boston Red Sox: Dustin Pedroia falls short of historic hitting streak

Boston Red Sox second baseman Dustin Pedroia was one hit shy of tying a major league record for consecutive hits without making an out.

This Boston Red Sox team knows a thing or two about hitting streaks. We all remember the thrill of Jackie Bradley‘s 29-game hit streak, which still stands as the longest in the majors this season. Xander Bogaerts is second on that list with a 26-game streak.

Dustin Pedroia had a 16-game streak that is tied for fifth in the majors this season, but the streak he nearly pulled off Saturday night is even more impressive. The scrappy second baseman collected four hits in his first four trips to the plate during a win against the Kansas City Royals. What makes that so significant? When Pedroia singled up the middle in the 6th inning it was his 11th hit in his last 11 at-bats.

The major league record is 12-for-12, which has been done three times, according to the Elias Sports Bureau.

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Pedroia would get the opportunity to make history in the bottom of the eighth, only to ground into an inning-ending double-play. The ending to his streak is somewhat fitting, considering he’s tied for the league lead in grounding into double-plays.

While he fell short of tying the major league record, Pedroia still had a remarkable run with 11 hits in his last three games, starting with a three-hit performance to wrap up the series in Tampa Bay. He also mixed in a walk Friday night, so he had actually reached base safely in 12 straight plate appearances.

If you look back to the five-hit day he had on August 14, the last home game before the Red Sox left for an 11-game road trip, Pedroia is the first player in franchise history to have three consecutive four-hit games at Fenway Park.

It seems that Perdroia has taken a liking to the lead-off spot, hitting a scorching .458 with a 1.009 OPS in 72 at-bats at the top of the order this season. His recent tear has raised his season average to .320, tying him for second in the American League. Nobody is catching Houston’s Jose Altuve in the batting title race, but if Pedroia keeps this up he has a chance to beat the career-high .326 average he delivered in his MVP campaign of 2008. The 33-year old is also very likely to finish with an OPS over .800 for the first time since 2011.

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Pedroia has recaptured the form that made him a star earlier in his career. For a while it seemed that the toll of playing as hard as he does everyday was wearing on him since he landed on the wrong side of 30, but a series of injuries was the real culprit behind his statistical decline. Now that he’s fully healthy for the first time in four years, the laser show is back.