Xander Bogaerts started his San Diego Padres tenure by reaching base in 30 consecutive games to begin the 2023 MLB season, setting the team record for a season-opening on-base streak. He could have extended it further if not for a brutal baserunning mistake by teammate Juan Soto in Wednesday’s game against the Cincinnati Reds.
With no outs in the fifth inning, Soto took off for second on Bogaerts’ sinking liner that bounced just in front of diving right fielder Stuart Fairchild. Soto, who had rounded second, thought Fairchild caught the ball. So he touched second base again as he headed back to first, even though Bogaerts and acting first base coach David Macias were motioning for him to go back to second.
The play was ruled a 9-4 fielder’s choice, robbing Bogaerts of what should have been a streak-extending single.
Bogaerts had two more chances in the game to extend his streak, which technically stood at 32 dating back to the end of last season with the Boston Red Sox. But he popped up to end the sixth and struck out to end the eighth. Soto, meanwhile, was able to atone for his mistake a bit by crushing a bases-clearing three-run double in the sixth.
“What can I say, it’s baseball,” Bogaerts said. “You never know what to expect when you come to the ballpark. Obviously, Soto didn’t want to do it on purpose. So definitely he feels bad also. But I’ll get more.”
Looking back on his streak, Bogaerts said, “It’s good, man. Now I can use my other cleats. I have two pairs of cleats, so I’ve been riding that one pretty hard. I’ve been superstitious with that one, so I can probably break in my other set of cleats now.”
Bogaerts signed an 11-year, $280 million contract with the Padres last offseason, and his early-season success has been critical to keeping the Padres above .500 amid slow starts at the plate by fellow superstars Soto and Manny Machado. The Padres beat the Reds 7-1 Wednesday to improve to 17-15 heading into a pivotal weekend series against their National League West division rivals, the Los Angeles Dodgers.
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The Associated Press contributed to this report.
San Diego Padres
Xander Bogaerts
Juan Soto
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