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Pedroia learned of historic hitting streak during bathroom visit

Gary A. Vasquez / USA TODAY Sports / Reuters

When Dustin Pedroia stepped to the plate in eighth inning Saturday night at Fenway Park, one hit shy of tying the MLB record with a dozen hits in his last dozen at-bats, the 33-year-old was only vaguely aware he was on the cusp of something special.

And, Pedroia said, he only knew he was flirting with history because, well, when you gotta go, you gotta go.

"I heard something, but I didn't know what it was," Pedroia told reporters after his Boston Red Sox secured an 8-3 victory over the Kansas City Royals. "I was going to the bathroom, and I heard them say it on TV. I didn't really catch what they were saying."

Pedroia, who reached base in his 12 previous plate appearances and was enjoying his third-straight four-hit game at Fenway, ended up grounding into a double play, ending his bid to join Pinky Higgins, Walt Dropo, and Johnny King as the only players in MLB history to record base hits in 12 straight at-bats.

Not surprisingly, the tenacious second baseman wasn't all that distraught.

"We're trying to win games," Pedroia said. "It's late in the year, and we're a game out of first place. I don't really have time to sit back and pat myself on the back for anything. We're trying to win as a team."

His teammates seemed a little more inclined to soak up the significance of his streak, which began Thursday at Tropicana Field when Pedroia notched three hits in his final three at-bats in a 2-1 loss to the Tampa Bay Rays.

"It was fun," right fielder Mookie Betts said. "It was definitely fun to watch that. We were all locked in every time he came to the plate, and he was locked in, too. It was definitely fun to be part of something like that.

Pedroia's batting average jumped 10 points over the last three days, throughout which the diminutive four-time All-Star recorded 10 singles and one double.

Date (Opp) PA# Result
Aug. 25 (@TB) 2 Single
Aug. 25 (@TB) 3 Single
Aug. 25 (@TB) 4 Single
Aug. 26 (vs. KC) 1 Single
Aug. 26 (vs. KC) 2 Single
Aug. 26 (vs. KC) 3 Walk
Aug. 26 (vs. KC) 4 Single
Aug. 26 (vs. KC) 5 Single
Aug. 27 (vs. KC) 1 Single
Aug. 27 (vs. KC) 2 Double
Aug. 27 (vs. KC) 3 Single
Aug. 27 (vs. KC) 4 Single

"That's special," added David Price. "Whenever your name is up there with guys in black-and-white photos, that's pretty special. He's a gamer. You know, he's a very special teammate, and everybody in here definitely cherishes what he brings to this team every single day. So we're all happy for him."

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