Arizona Diamondbacks infielder Ildemaro Vargas tied Major League Baseball history for a Venezuelan-born player on Thursday, with an afterthought single in the fourth inning against the Milwaukee Brewers.
According to Francys Romero of BeisbolFR, Vargas’ base knock tied former catcher Wilson Ramos for the longest hitting streak by a Venezuelan-born player in the Majors at 26 games. Ramos accomplished the feat in 2019 with the New York Mets.
Since Vargas is playing in just his 23rd game this season, the utility infielder’s hitting streak dates back to last year. He needs to collect at least one hit in each of Arizona’s next seven contests to tie Ron LeFlore’s all-time season-opening record of 30 consecutive games with a hit with the Detroit Tigers in 1976.
Paul Goldschmidt previously held the second-longest hitting streak in Diamondbacks history, but he’s now tied with Vargas at 26 games. Goldschmidt’s streak ran from the end of 2013 to the first week of the 2014 season.
Vargas has spent parts of seven seasons (2017-20, 2021, 2025-26) with Arizona (204 G), though he’s played more career games (234) with the Washington Nationals during his tenure with the NL East club from 2022-24.
The 34-year-old was born in Caripito, Venezuela, and briefly played for the now-defunct Bridgeport Bluefish in the Atlantic League of Professional Baseball in 2015 after being released by the St. Louis Cardinals – the club that signed him as an international free agent in 2008.
Photo: Arizona Diamondbacks’ Ildemaro Vargas hits a single during the fourth inning of a baseball game against the Milwaukee Brewers, Thursday, April 30, 2026, in Milwaukee. (AP Photo/Kayla Wolf)
