Joltin' Jackie Bradley Jr.: Hitting streak reaches 28

Jackie Bradley Jr. started the 2016 season as a career .236 hitter.

After the first 17 games, the Boston Red Sox center fielder was heading down the same path, batting just .222.

Then on April 23 in Houston, Bradley found his stroke, going 2-for-6 in a 12-inning victory against the Astros - and he hasn't stopped hitting.

Bradley has hit safely in 28 straight games -- the longest streak in the majors this season.

Bradley, hitting out of the seventh spot in the lineup, has pushed his average from .222 to .346 by batting .412 during the streak.

The Red Sox are getting what they long projected out of Bradley, who batted .196 with 152 strikeouts over 164 games in his first two years in the majors while shuttling frequently from Boston to their Class AAA affiliate in Pawtucket, R.I.

In 2015, he showed signs of further development, getting on base at a .369 clip over his final 53 games.

That carried over to this season, as Bradley's posted a .415 on-base percentage while balancing discipline with aggression. He has an .864 OPS in 22 plate appearances when putting the first pitch in play. And his slash line is .436/.607/.744 when he's ahead in the count.

While Bradley is still six games shy of breaking Dom DiMaggio's franchise record -- and 28 games behind Joe DiMaggio's all-time record, his streak may be far more significant if it indicates a longer-term breakout on a team that leads the major leagues with 264 runs scored - 54 more than the second-place AL club.

A look at Bradley's production during his streak:

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• 8 -- Home runs
• 14 -- Walks
• 20 -- Strikeouts
• 18 -- Runs scored
• 19 -- Extra-base hits
• 20-8 -- Red Sox's record
• 29 -- RBI
• 42 -- Hits
• 102 -- At-bats
• .412 -- Batting average
• .487 -- On-base percentage
• .784 -- Slugging percentage
• 1.273 -- On-base plus slugging percentage
• .459 - Batting average on balls in play