Andre Ethier extended his hitting streak to 28 games in the bottom of the fifth inning Monday night with an infield single off James Russell of the Chicago Cubs. The single by Ethier, a ground ball to the hole at shortstop, scored a run and made the score 5-1 in favor of the Dodgers at the time. Ethier is now merely halfway toward Joe DiMaggio's MLB record hitting streak of 56 games, set in 1941.
That Ethier got the hit off the left-handed Russell is a bit of news in itself, as Ethier has struggled against southpaws for most of his career. In fact, he started out this season 0-for-11 against left-handers, but has eight hits in his last 24 at-bats against southpaws.
Ethier's 28-game streak is the third-longest hitting streak in the 128-year history of the Dodgers. Only Willie Davis (31 games in 1969) and Zack Wheat (29 games in 1916) rank above Ethier in Dodgers' history.
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