SEATTLE - The streak is dead.
Cole Hamels acknowledged the obvious Saturday after returning to the Rangers. He will not extend his seven-year streak of 200-inning seasons, currently the longest active streak in the majors, to eight. And it hurts, perhaps as much as the pain in his side from the strained oblique muscle that sent him to the disabled earlier in the week.
Hamels will be out about eight weeks recovering from the oblique muscle injury. It's entirely possible the injury will keep him out until the All-Star break. It will be his longest-ever stint on the DL.