Ildemaro Vargas' incredible 27-game hitting streak has come to an end. The Arizona Diamondbacks infielder went 0-for-4 in Saturday's 2-0 loss to the Chicago Cubs, snapping what had been the longest active streak in Major League Baseball.
At 34 years old, Vargas had been on an absolute tear, collecting at least one hit in every game he'd played this season. His streak actually dated back to last year, carrying over from Arizona's final three games of 2025. After a blistering 4-for-4 performance just days ago, he entered Saturday's contest with a jaw-dropping .404 batting average.
Vargas' run tied Trea Turner's 27-game streak from 2021-22 as the longest in baseball since 2022. But it wasn't just any streak—it was the second-longest to open a season in MLB history, trailing only Ron LeFlore's 30-game start for the Detroit Tigers in 1976.
Despite the hitless day, Vargas still leads all of baseball with a .388 batting average. His .412 on-base percentage ranks fifth in the National League, and he tops the senior circuit with a .673 slugging percentage. Not bad for a player who entered the season as a relative unknown outside of Arizona.
In Saturday's game, Vargas couldn't solve Cubs starter Shota Imanaga, grounding out to third in the first inning, flying out to center in the fourth, and grounding out to shortstop in the seventh. In the ninth, facing reliever Ben Brown, he again grounded out to shortstop. The Diamondbacks managed just four hits as a team.
Vargas' streak now sits second in Diamondbacks franchise history, behind only Luis Gonzalez's 30-game run in 1999. He also surpassed Tony Womack's 24-game streak to open a season in 2000. Perhaps most impressively, Vargas recorded a hit in 20 consecutive road games—a franchise record that eclipsed Junior Spivey's 18 games in 2002 and Stephen Drew's 18 in 2010.
While the streak is over, Vargas has proven he belongs among the game's elite hitters. For fans who love a good baseball story, this was one for the ages—and it came from a player who wasn't even on most radars when the season began.