Jackie Bradley Jr. keeps on streaking, hits in 27 straight games

Boston Red Sox centerfielder Jackie Bradley Jr. has been on an absolute tear lately. How long is lately, you might ask? 27 games, to be exact. On Sunday, Bradley extended his hitting streak to 27 games with a fifth inning single against the Cleveland Indians.

Just how hot has Bradley been since his streak started on April 24? In 27 games, he’s hit .408/.487/.786 with seven doubles, three triples, and eight home runs. He’s raised his overall average 120 points, from .222 to .342. Bradley has had nine multi-hit games during his streak; five were two-hit games, and four were three-hit games.

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Bradley is approaching several hit streak landmarks. He just passed 2015’s longest streak, which was Edwin Encarnacion’s 26-gamer. He’s coming closer to surpassing 2014’s longest streak, which belonged to Nolan Arenado for 28 games. After that, he’ll need to beat Denard Span’s 29-game streak, which came in 2013.

The longest hitting streaks in recent memory belong to two former members of the Philadelphia Phillies and a former Atlanta Brave. In 2005-2006, Jimmy Rollins had a streak of 38 games with at least one hit. Later in 2006, his Phillies teammate Chase Utley had 35-game streak of his own. Five years later, Atlanta’s Dan Uggla had a hitting streak of 33 games.

Obviously, Bradley has quite a way to go before he beats The Hit Streak to End All Hit Streaks, Joe DiMaggio’s 56 straight games back in 1941. But this breakout confirms what many thought Bradley was capable of back when he was a prospect. Regardless of whether Bradley can get a hit in his next 29 games, the past 27 have been a tremendous step forward for a young player who’s had his share of struggles.

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