Castillo extends hitting streak to 33 games

MIAMI (AP) -- With two hits, an RBI and a run scored, Luis Castillo beat the Cleveland Indians and tied Rogers Hornsby.

	Longest hitting streaks
	Player	Streak
	Joe DiMaggio, New York (A), 1941	56
	Willie Keeler, Baltimore (N), 1897	44
	Pete Rose, Cincinnati, 1978	44
	Bill Dahlen, Chicago (N), 1894	42
	George Sisler, St. Louis (A), 1922	41
	Ty Cobb, Detroit, 1911	40
	Paul Molitor, Milwaukee, 1987	39
	Tommy Holmes, Boston (N), 1945	37
	Bill Hamilton, Philadelphia, 1894	36
	Fred Clarke, Louisville, 1895	35
	Ty Cobb, Detroit, 1917	35
	George Sisler, St. Louis (A), 1925	34
	George McQuinn, St. Louis (A), 1938	34
	Dom DiMaggio, Boston (A), 1949	34
	Benito Santiago, San Diego, 1987	34
	George Davis, New York (N), 1893	33
	Hal Chase, New York (A), 1907	33
	Rogers Hornsby, St. Louis (N), 1922	33
	Heinie Manush, Washington, 1933	33
	Luis Castillo, Florida, 2002	33

''Who?'' Castillo said.

Even though his grasp on baseball history is shaky, he's creating some himself. Castillo matched Hornsby's 80-year-old record for the longest hitting streak by a second baseman, going 2-for-4 to make it 33 games in a row Wednesday night as the Florida Marlins beat Cleveland 2-1.

Castillo had a hand in both Florida runs. He was 0-for-2 before beating out a dribbler to the pitcher in the sixth inning, and he scored the tying run on Cliff Floyd's single.

His one-out single to right in the seventh drove in Preston Wilson.

''Luis took care of his hit,'' manager Jeff Torborg said. ''I was thinking about the game. Then Luis took care of that too.''

Castillo tied four players at 33 games in a row -- Hornsby of St. Louis in 1922, Heinie Manush of Washington in 1933, Hal Chase of the New York Yankees in 1907 and George Davis of the New York Giants in 1893.

Only 13 players have had a longer streak, including just four since 1949.

''Tomorrow is a new day,'' Castillo said. ''Four more at-bats. I start over.''

The speedy leadoff hitter extended the streak when he topped a 1-0 pitch that pitcher Danys Baez fielded on the second hop between the mound and plate. Baez's hurried throw sailed over first baseman Jim Thome, and Castillo continued to second.

Official scorer Ron Jernick immediately credited Castillo with a hit and charged Baez with an error for allowing the runner to advance. TV replays seemed to show that had the throw been able to be caught, Castillo would have been out on a close play. Still, scorers do take into account the fact that throws sometimes cannot be perfect because of how much difficulty is involved in the defensive player fielding the ball and having to get the throw off quickly.

''I don't think his feet hit the ground,'' teammate Derrek Lee said. ''He wanted it bad.''

Castillo raised his average to .401 during the streak and .338 this season.

''Esta bien!'' teammate Mike Lowell shouted at Castillo in the clubhouse, which becomes more congested with media every day.

The Dominican is one game from matching Benito Santiago's record for the longest hitting streak by a Latin player, set in 1987. Castillo's streak is the longest in the majors since then.

But the streak has yet to shake South Florida fans out of their apathy toward the Marlins. The game drew just 9,428, which is below the team's season average of 11,220.

Castillo is not yet a national celebrity. As he chases Joe DiMaggio's record 56-game streak, a New York Post headline said: ''Nation Turns Its Lonely Eyes to Who?''

Still, he's beginning to feel the glare of the spotlight, saying Wednesday he'll no longer talk to the media before games.

''He ain't soft, but he hates a lot of pressure,'' Floyd said. ''I hope he doesn't put pressure on himself and has fun with it.''

That's easier said than done, Castillo said.

''Everybody says to play to have fun, but that's hard,'' he said. ''When I go to the plate, I want the people to be happy. That's a lot of pressure.''

He looked tentative in the first inning, twice squaring to bunt before taking a called third strike on a 2-2 pitch that just caught the outside corner.

In the third he grounded to shortstop Omar Vizquel, who threw a one-hopper to Thome that barely beat Castillo. Despite the low throw, Jernick said he would have credited Castillo with a hit if he had been called safe.

Castillo twisted his left foot playing defense in the first inning and had ice on it after the game but said he was fine.

Florida beat Cleveland for the second consecutive night in a rematch of the 1997 World Series, which the Marlins also won. They're 5-3 during a streak when they'll play 31 consecutive games against teams that have losing records.

The Indians lost for the fourth time in five games. They've scored one run in two games in Miami.

''We're not generating any offense,'' manager Charlie Manuel said. ''Now the middle of our lineup is struggling.''

Julian Tavarez (5-3), who was with the Indians from 1993 to 1996, pitched against them for the first time. He allowed one run and four hits in seven innings and remained unbeaten in his past six starts.

The Indians put the go-ahead run on base in the ninth, but Vladimir Nunez retired pinch hitter Jolbert Cabrera for his 16th save in 20 chances.

Wilson started Florida's winning rally in the seventh with a walk against Jerrod Riggan (1-1). Pinch hitter Tim Raines also walked, and Castillo followed with a single for his 14th RBI during the streak.

''I don't mind seeing him get a hit,'' Cleveland's John McDonald said. ''It's a phenomenal streak. But I don't want to see him beat us.''

Game notes
The Marlins improved to 17-16 during Castillo's streak. ... Baez batted for the first time in his career in the second inning, and Tavarez needed 10 pitches to retire him on a groundout. Wilson ran down Baez's fly to deep center in the fifth. ... Burks increased his on-base percentage against Tavarez to .769. He's 3-for-6 with seven walks. ... Baez, a Cuban defector, bought 68 tickets for friends and family. ''I thought I threw a pretty good game for them,'' he said.