Hunter Pence: The hitting streak

[JoshRedcay]

Hunter Pence has now extended his hitting streak to 18 games after two hits last night against the St. Louis Cardinals. Pence has been huge for the Astros all year, hitting .314 and 8 homers with 44 RBI.

He's been probably one of the most underrated outfielders so far this year, in my opinion, and also one of the most consistent.

[RickD]

18 games....cool. Keep this updated. I would love to see how close he gets to 56!

[wcs71401]

Astros are up against Jaime Garcia tonight. Possible chance of it stopping at 18. I hope not though.

[astrosfanatic]

Hunter Pence has now extended his hitting streak to 18 games after two hits last night against the St. Louis Cardinals. Pence has been huge for the Astros all year, hitting .314 and 8 homers with 44 RBI.

He's been probably one of the most underrated outfielders so far this year, in my opinion, and also one of the most consistent.

:dance:

Pence will most likely be the Astros rep at the All-Star game. I hope he really keeps this going. He has been on fore since moving up to the #3 spot in the batting order last year.

[Mudge]

Be honest. How much longer will he be with the Astros?

[wcs71401]

Be honest. How much longer will he be with the Astros?

It is hard to say but if they are going to re-build they need to do it around someone and he seems best fit for that.

[astrosfanatic]

Be honest. How much longer will he be with the Astros?

a lot is up in the air based on the new ownership. The Astros have never been an organization that has shied away from paying their guys. The only reason we saw the dump last year was b/c Drayton was trying to trim the fat and maximize profit when he sold the club. Who knows what Crain will do as owner. I'm sure he wants to keep someone as marketable as Pence. At leats that's what i would do.

[JoshRedcay]

The streak is now at 19 games. Pence came up with a triple to extend the streak. He also picked up an RBI and scored a run.

[RickD]

Cool....I will change the title of this to hitting streak without the total......

[Mudge]

Pence is (more or less) local, which suggests that Houston would have as good a chance as anyone to sign him.

[JoshRedcay]

Well Pence got it out of the way early, getting a single in his first at-bat and extending his hitting streak to 20 games.

[wcs71401]

Infield single extends the streak to 20 games in his first at-bat

[wcs71401]

Streak is now up to 21 games for Pence.

[astrosfanatic]

i was there last night (unfortunately) to watch him extend the streak. He is a real bright spot this year!

[wcs71401]

Pence extends the streak to 22 games with a double in the bottom of the first.

[RickD]

Man I am really glad to see Pence extending he streak. This kind of stuff is good for the game!

[astrosfanatic]

isn't it convenient that his back spasms act up when Tommy Hanson is pitching???? lol. 14 strikeouts in 7 innings is pretty sweet

[wcs71401]

isn't it convenient that his back spasms act up when Tommy Hanson is pitching????

Strictly coincidence I am sure. Hopefully the day off won't hurt the streak. Also hoping the Astros don't get swept.

[Mr. Baseball]

Man I am really glad to see Pence extending he streak. This kind of stuff is good for the game!

I feel like fans by now are somewhat bored with these 20 game hitting streaks. They always seem to end before they hit thirty. Kind of like perfect games/no -hitters. They are becoming a monthly occurrence making them increasingly less exciting with time. Three years ago, when I read about a perfect game, it was the highlight of the year. Last year we had two (technically three), and a good amount of no-hitters to go along with it.

[JoshRedcay]

Looks like Pence will be in the lineup tonight against the Braves. He's still got his streak going at 22 games and looks to make it 23 tonight against Derek Lowe.

[astrosfanatic]

I feel like fans by now are somewhat bored with these 20 game hitting streaks. They always seem to end before they hit thirty. Kind of like perfect games/no -hitters. They are becoming a monthly occurrence making them increasingly less exciting with time. Three years ago, when I read about a perfect game, it was the highlight of the year. Last year we had two (technically three), and a good amount of no-hitters to go along with it.

we dont have much to get excited about down here these days! lol Hunter Pence is the biggest show in town!

[Mr. Baseball]

we dont have much to get excited about down here these days! lol Hunter Pence is the biggest show in town!

I'm not taking anything away from the guy, but I'm doubting Pence has the offensive capabilities to take this streak past 25-30 games. He's a great ballplayer, but he's not part of the elite class.

[wcs71401]

He's a great ballplayer, but he's not part of the elite class.

I am not sure that this has much to do with extending a hit streak beyond 25-30 games unless you are talking about the mental capacity that goes along with it. It can be stressful once you get beyond a certain number of games but other than that can yo elaborate?

[Stars_Rangers_82]

I think I'd rather have a player have an off night, but still be consistently great than to have a player who might go 1-4 or 1-5 for 30 straight games who delivers nothing but a single that has no effect on the game. But for the most part most players who have streaks like these contribute more than meaningless singles.

[wcs71401]

I think I'd rather have a player have an off night, but still be consistently great than to have a player who might go 1-4 or 1-5 for 30 straight games who delivers nothing but a single that has no effect on the game. But for the most part most players who have streaks like these contribute more than meaningless singles.

I guess this confuses me also. Isn't going 1-for-4 or 1-for-5 for 30 games straight helping your team? Sure they aren't bombs but he isn't a typical power hitter.

Would Ichiro who lives off singles get the same slack?

[wcs71401]

Pence extends the hit streak to 23 games with a two-run homer. Is that better?

[JoshRedcay]

I guess this confuses me also. Isn't going 1-for-4 or 1-for-5 for 30 games straight helping your team? Sure they aren't bombs but he isn't a typical power hitter.

Would Ichiro who lives off singles get the same slack?

And it doesn't matter because Pence usually does more than 1-4 or 1-5 anyway

[RickD]

Sweet! Would love to see this kid keep going.

[astrosfanatic]

I think I'd rather have a player have an off night, but still be consistently great than to have a player who might go 1-4 or 1-5 for 30 straight games who delivers nothing but a single that has no effect on the game. But for the most part most players who have streaks like these contribute more than meaningless singles.

surely this is not a shot at Hunter Pence. He would be the starting RF for 95% of all MLB clubs right now. He is more than just a singles hitter.


I'm not taking anything away from the guy, but I'm doubting Pence has the offensive capabilities to take this streak past 25-30 games. He's a great ballplayer, but he's not part of the elite class.

so elite hitters have hit streaks past 30 games? When has A-Rod or Pujols ever done that? I'm not sure they have, yet they are still part of this elite class you speak of.

Look guys,

This streak is awesome because we dont normally see this out of an Astro. On a bad team with NOTHING to compete for right now, Hunter Pence is still bringing it every day. i love this guy, and i respect the hell out of his game. He has always been a 110% effort kinda guy. He strikes out a bit much and he never walks, which makes streaks like these a little more difficult for him to come by. Anyone who remembers his rookie year will also remember the tear that he went on that year in June/July. He had a ridiculous # of multi-hit games. And if it werent for 2 other small-time guys ;) (Tulo and Braun) he would have been RoY.....

ANYWAYS, i love this kid and he is one of the better stories going on right now in MLB

[Mr. Baseball]

so elite hitters have hit streaks past 30 games? When has A-Rod or Pujols ever done that? I'm not sure they have, yet they are still part of this elite class you speak of.

I never said that elite players have hit streaks past 30 games. I said only elite players are likely to do so.

[Stars_Rangers_82]

All I was saying was that it is better to have a player who goes 4-4 in 8 out of 10 games, than a player who goes 1-4 in 10 straight games.

[wcs71401]

All I was saying was that it is better to have a player who goes 4-4 in 8 out of 10 games

I would like to know what player has even gone 4-4 8 out of 10 games.

[Stars_Rangers_82]

I would like to know what player has even gone 4-4 8 out of 10 games.

no one yet lol

[wcs71401]

no one yet lol

Then just embrace what he is doing and enjoy the ride.

[Stars_Rangers_82]

I never said what he's doing wasn't good, I think it's great for him. I always thought he was a very underrated player, and it looks like things are turning around for him.

[JoshRedcay]

I still think he's way underrated. I guess that has a lot to do with him playing for the Astros, but he really does not get the respect he deserves.

[wcs71401]

I still think he's way underrated.

Reminds me of Jason Bay when he was on the Pirates even after winning rookie of the year and it is mainly because he was on the Pirates.

[JoshRedcay]

So the streak ends for Pence with an 0-4 night.

It was a good streak for him, and I'm sure he's going to come back tonight and get a few hits.