The Twins’ Jose Miranda becomes the fourth player in MLB history to have 12 consecutive hits

Minnesota Twins third baseman Jose Miranda tied a Major League Baseball record Saturday by hitting his 12th consecutive plate appearance, becoming only the fourth player in MLB history to accomplish the feat.

Miranda, 26, tied the record with singles in the second and fourth innings against Houston Astros pitcher Hunter Brown. The players he brought in are long-known in MLB history: Johnny Kling of the Chicago Cubs (1902), Pinky Higgins of the Boston Red Sox (1938) and Walt Dropo of the Detroit Tigers (1952).

However, the player is in his third year in the Major League and has the longest consecutive hitting streak since MLB expanded in 1961. Boston’s Dustin Pedroia had hits in 11 consecutive at-bats in 2016, while the New York Yankees’ Bernie Williams did so in 2002.

Miranda was hit by a pitch in his first at bat on Saturday, giving him 13 consecutive at bats in which he reached base, a franchise record for the Twins and the longest streak since Kevin Youkilis did it for the Red Sox in 2009. However, Miranda fell short of the MLB record of 17, set in 1893 by Piggy Ward.

The streak ended in the sixth inning when Miranda hit a flyout to left-center field. The crowd at Target Field gave him a standing ovation for his performance.

“All the hard work pays off and you don’t see things like this every day,” Miranda said Audra Martin of Bally Sports North after the game. “It’s great to be a part of this.”

Miranda put himself in prime position to tie the record on Friday night, going 4-for-4 with a home run. In doing so, he broke the Twins’ franchise record for 10 hits in 10 consecutive plate appearances, breaking a mark previously set by Mickey Hatcher, Todd Walker and Hall of Famer Tony Oliva.

The last Major League player to hit 10 consecutive hits was Corey Dickerson, who did it in 2022 for the St. Louis Cardinals.

Miranda has a batting average of .328 with an OPS of .901, 20 doubles, nine home runs and 43 RBI in 262 plate appearances this season.

Miranda’s performance came in a 9-3 victory for the Twins over the Astros.