PHILADELPHIA -- Jimmy Rollins stretched his hitting streak to 38 games Wednesday with a double in the first inning of Philadelphia's game against St. Louis.
Rollins grounded a 1-0 pitch from Mark Mulder down the left-field line to keep up his pursuit of Joe DiMaggio's major league record 56-game hitting streak. In the season opener Monday, Rollins waited until his final at-bat before extending his streak with a double off a 3-0 pitch in the eighth inning.
Rollins ended last season with a 36-game hitting streak, the ninth-longest over one season in big league history, and the longest in the majors since 1987, when Paul Molitor hit safely in 39 consecutive games.
A three-time All-Star shortstop, Rollins is chasing DiMaggio's 65-year-old record, though there is a catch. DiMaggio accomplished his feat in the same season in 1941. The major league marks for longest hitting streak in one season and longest hitting streak spanning two seasons are separate records.
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| Jimmy Rollins' 38-game hitting streak is the longest in the majors since '87 (Paul Molitor 39). (AP) |
The old Phillies franchise record of 31 was set by Ed Delahanty in 1899.
Rollins hit .379 (61-for-161) during his season-ending streak, nearly helping Philadelphia make the playoffs. The Phillies finished one game behind NL wild-card winner Houston and two games behind NL East champion Atlanta.
Rollins' last game without a hit was Aug. 22, when he went 0-for-4 against San Francisco. He began the streak with a ninth-inning double the following day against the Giants' Brian Cooper.
If he keeps going, Rollins could tie Keeler at 45 next Thursday in Atlanta and would have a chance to break the NL mark in Colorado the following night.
Philo Beddoe 
