Ildemaro Vargas breaks D-backs affiliate’s hitting streak record
Aug 7, 2018, 9:25 PM
Arizona Diamondbacks' Ildemaro Vargas hits a two-run single during the seventh inning of a baseball game against the Kansas City Royals Sunday, Oct. 1, 2017, in Kansas City, Mo. (AP Photo/Charlie Riedel)
(AP Photo/Charlie Riedel)
It has been a good month and change for Reno Aces infielder Ildemaro Vargas.
The 27-year-old playing for the Arizona Diamondbacks’ Triple-A affiliate has not gone hitless in a game since June 23, and Vargas extended his 31-game hit streak to a franchise-record 32 games on Tuesday night.
After flying out, lining out and flying out again in his first three at-bats against the Oklahoma City Dodgers, the switch-hitting Vargas singled on the first pitch he saw in the bottom of the seventh inning. Naturally, Vargas’ hit contributed to a four-run inning that had the Aces up 7-2.
Vargas’ No. 32 mark bested Jake Elmore’s 31-game hitting streak in 2012 for the Aces. Both Elmore and Vargas’ hitting streak were the only two in the last decade of the Pacific Coast League to reach 31 games.
The last player in the PCL to reach a 32-game hitting streak was David Doster in 2004 with the Fresno Grizzlies. That name not sound familiar? How about Joe DiMaggio?
The New York Yankees legend and Hall of Famer has the PCL record hitting streak of 61 games all the way back in 1933.
Vargas is not listed in MLB Pipeline’s top 30 D-backs prospects. The infielder was first signed to a minor league contract with the St. Louis Cardinals in 2008 before signing with the D-backs in 2015. In his major league career, Vargas has appeared in 12 games, all in the 2017 season when he hit .308 in 12 at-bats.
On the season in Reno, Vargas is batting .305 with four home runs and 46 RBI.
