Nick Markakis’ three-hit game in Saturday’s win against the Marlins was the seventh of the season for the Braves right fielder and his 158th three-hit game since Markakis debuted for the Orioles in 2006, third-most in the majors over that span.
The 12-year veteran is in some heady company, ranking behind only Miguel Cabrera (177) and Adrian Gonzalez (160) in three-hit games during that period.
He entered Sunday needing 36 hits to reach 2,000 in his career. Markakis, 33, ranked 11th among active players with 1,964 hits and was tied with for the fewest years of service among the top 20 on that list, with Ian Kinsler (1,747 hits) and Dustin Pedroia (1,746 hits).
All seven of Markakis’ three-hit games this season came in his past 49 games beginning April 26, and he had a .302 average and .379 on-base percentage with 28 RBIs in that span, raising his overall average to .292 with a .369 OBP and .754 OPS.
If he were to maintain that OPS, it would be his highest since 2012, when Markakis hit .298 with an .834 OPS.
