What’s Next: Streaks on line for Bradley, aces

May is motoring along in Major League Baseball, and like the competitors in that famous automobile race that will be run in Indianapolis on Sunday, teams and players in the American and National Leagues are starting to speed ahead from the rest of the pack.

Wheels will be rolling all over the sports landscape in the week ahead, and to take a look at what’s next over the next seven days on the diamond is to pay close attention to some seriously spectacular streaks.

• Cast your Esurance All-Star ballot for #ASGWorthy players

The one garnering the most attention is the 27-game hitting tear that Red Sox outfielder Jackie Bradley Jr. brings into the week.

Bradley’s single to right field off Danny Salazar in the fifth inning during Boston’s 5-2 win at home vs. Cleveland on Sunday got him within one game of completing exactly one half of Joe DiMaggio’s record of hitting safely in 56 games, accomplished 75 years ago in 1941.

“I focus on having a great at-bat and letting the guys behind me take care of the rest,” Bradley said.

The approach has served him well. He’s now seven games from the Red Sox-record streak of 34 by Dom DiMaggio, and if he gets a hit Tuesday, he’ll tie Wade Boggs (1985) at 28.

Bradley will have to hope that a Monday off-day for his club, which is tied for first place with Baltimore in the AL East, won’t make him superstitious or somehow conspire to chill his everyday vibe when Tuesday comes along.

The Red Sox at least get to stay at Fenway Park and host the Rockies for three games before heading north of the border for a three-pack against Toronto over the weekend.

Meanwhile, Bradley isn’t the only player whose every inning is …

continue reading in source mlb.mlb.com