A weird end to Herrera's on-base streak

Something weird happened to Odubel Herrera Sunday.

Yeah, I know, imagine that.

The Phils' outfielder, who just happens to be the best hitter in the National League, has a penchant for the odd.

In case you haven't noticed, Herrera has been chasing a bit of history since the start of the season.

He had reached base safely in every one of the Phils' games. Add in a few from the tail end of last year, and Herrera's streak was at 45, just 12 games shy of the Phils' all-time record held by Hall of Fame slugger Mike Schmidt at 56 set back in 1982. The key word here is reached base "safely."

That does not mean Herrera had hit consecutively in all those games. Some days he did not have a hit, but still managed to get on base with a walk.

That is not to say that Herrera did not reach base at all yesterday.

Actually, he did.

This is where it gets a bit weird.

Herrera came up with two outs in the ninth inning and faced powerful Cardinals' right-hander Jordan Hicks, who was bringing the heat with a 100 mph fastball.

Herrera worked a 3-2 count, including two heaters he fouled off.

But after a swing and a miss, the pitch clattered away from the catcher and Herrera promptly scampered to first base.

But that does not constitute reaching base "safely."

Thus the streak is over.

Herrera is still hitting .344, tops in the National League.

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