Now, at 39...
MILWAUKEE — Paul Molitor continued his assault on baseball history. In case you hadn’t heard, Molly’s been speaking softly, but carrying a very big stick.
With a single in the sixth inning against Cleveland’s Don Gordon, Paul Molitor extended his hitting streak to 39 games and the Crew took a wild one, 10-9 at the Stadium.
“I get goose bumps every time Paul gets a hit,” Dale Sveum told the Milwaukee Sentinel. “Each time he walks up to the plate, I get nervous.”
Anxious for Molly, it seems, because Sveum didn’t look nervous at the dish. He drove in five with a single and a homer. For a guy batting .246, Sveum makes the most of his .246. He’s driven in 78 and hit 19 homers.
“I’ve always had RBI, but never a very good average,” Sveum told the Sentinel. “Hopefully, I’ll get my average up again, but I’ll sacrifice it as long as I get the RBI.”
Molly got his hit on his first pitch from Gordon, punching it through the hole to right field.
“In the two or three times I’ve faced him, he’s come with the slider,” Molitor told the Sentinel. “I thought he might do it again.
“He came in with a fastball and I hit a semi-line drive. I was semi-fighting it off.”
And by winning the game, the Crew averted the semi-disappointment of losing while Molly continued his streak. Juan Nieves benefitted, getting his 11th win of the season, matching his number from ’86.
But there is no match for Molly, who has been unbelievable during his historic streak, the fifth longest since 1901.
“They’ve all be clean hits in the streak, but they haven’t all been pretty,” Molitor told the Sentinel.
That’s where Molly’s wrong.
They’ve been beautiful.
