Dragons outfielder sets hit streak record
Hit in league-record 36th straight game comes in final at-bat.
Dayton’s Jose Siri set the Midwest League record for consecutive games with a base hit with an eighth-inning single at Fort Wayne.
Dayton Dragons outfielder Jose Siri set an all-time Midwest League minor league baseball record for consecutive games with a hit on Monday night at Fort Wayne.
Siri’s single on an 0-2 pitch in the eighth inning off TinCaps reliever Diomar Lopez extended his streak to 36 games. He struck out in his first three at-bats against starter Michel Baez. Siri had tied the record of 35 on Sunday at Fort Wayne. The record for the Class A league initially was set 40 years ago — in 1977 — by Tony Toups of the Waterloo Indians.
“This means a lot to me, I am very happy,” said Siri, who raised his right arm high in the
air when he saw the ball reach the outfield Monday. “All I was thinking about was letting the
ball get to me and not picking up my foot and just driving the
ball somewhere.” Dayton scored two runs in the ninth but dropped a 4-3 decision.
Siri is slightly more than halfway to the all-time minor league
baseball hitting streak regardless of classification. Joe Wilhoit had a 69-game streak while playing for Wichita in the Western League in 1919.
Ranking No. 2 among minor leaguers is a more familiar player, Joe DiMaggio. His 61-game hitting
streak came in 1933 with the San Francisco Seals of the Pacific Coast League. DiMaggio also set the alltime major league record by hitting safely in 56 consecutive games with the New York Yankees in 1941.
Whit Merrifield (Royals), Jose Altuve (Astros) and Bryce Harper (Nationals) are tied at 19 games for the longest hit streak in the major leagues this season, all of which have ended.
Siri has batted leadoff since T.J. Friedl was promoted to the High-A Cincinnati Reds affiliate, the Daytona Tortugas. Siri, who’s 6-foot-2 and 175 pounds, leads the Dragons in most offensive categories, including stolen bases.
The Dominican Republic native’s streak began with a bang in the first game of the season’s second half. The Dragons lost that game 8-7 to Lake County, but Siri had four hits.
Since the streak began he’s vaulted among the offensive leaders in all of minor league baseball.
Entering Monday’s game, Siri:
Hit .350 with 13 home runs and 29 RBIs, 10 doubles, three triples and a .701 slugging percentage during the streak.
Hit .462 on balls in play during the streak (55 for 119).
Had 38 strikeouts in 157 at-bats.
Had not gone beyond the fifth inning without a hit since July 14, a span of 14 games.
The Dragons conclude the TinCaps series at noon today. Dayton returns to Fifth Third Field on Wednesday to begin a seven-game homestand against the Great Lakes Loons, then the Lansing Lugnuts.
The Dragons captured a wild-card playoff spot by finishing runner-up to the first-half Eastern Division winner West Michigan Whitecaps.