ATLANTA -- As Dan Uggla has continued to extend his hitting streak, his Braves teammates have said they expected he would eventually get hot. But there certainly was no reason for anybody to believe he could keep a streak alive this long.

Uggla extended his hitting streak to 33 games with a first-inning single off Cubs right-hander Randy Wells at Turner Field in Saturday night's 8-4 loss. The Braves second baseman became the 21st player (23rd occurrence) in Major League history to record a streak of this length and just the 16th player (18th occurrence) to do so since 1900.

In his next at-bat, leading off the fourth inning, Uggla belted his 27th homer of the season, and third of this series.

"I'm excited," Uggla said. "This is fun. I'm excited to come to the field every day. I'm excited to compete. Once the game starts every day, you throw it in the back of your head the best you can and just leave it there. The game is going to take care of itself."

Longest hitting streaks in MLB history
Rank Year Name Team Games
1 1941 Joe DiMaggio New York (AL) 56
2 1896-97 Willie Keeler Baltimore (NL) 45
3 1978 Pete Rose Cincinnati 44
4 1894 Bill Dahlen Chicago (NL) 42
5 1922 George Sisler St. Louis (AL) 41
6 1911 Ty Cobb Detroit 40
7 1987 Paul Molitor Milwaukee 39
8 2005-06 Jimmy Rollins Philadelphia (NL) 38
9 1945 Tommy Holmes Boston (NL) 37
10 1896-97 Gene DeMontreville Washington (NL) 36
T11 1895 Fred Clarke Louisville (NL) 35
T11 1917 Ty Cobb Detroit 35
T11 2002 Luis Castillo Florida 35
T11 2006 Chase Utley Philadelphia (NL) 35
T11 1925 George Sisler St. Louis (AL) 35
T16 1938 George McQuinn St. Louis (AL) 34
T16 1949 Dom DiMaggio Boston (AL) 34
T16 1987 Benito Santiago San Diego 34
T19 1893 George Davis New York (NL) 33
T19 1907 Hal Chase New York (AL) 33
T19 1922 Rogers Hornsby St. Louis (NL) 33
T19 1933 Heinie Manush Washington 33
T19 2011 Dan Uggla Atlanta 33

Uggla has extended his streak with both power and the hustle he has shown while recording infield singles. The veteran second baseman set an Atlanta record when he notched a 32-game hitting streak with the first of two homers hit during Friday night's win over the Cubs.

Since beginning his hitting streak on July 5, Uggla has hit 15 of his 27 homers. According to the Elias Sports Bureau, he is just one of four players to record a hitting streak of at least 32 games in the same season they have hit at least 25 homers. The others were Rogers Hornsby in 1922, Joe DiMaggio in 1941 and Tommy Holmes in 1945.

"You look over the whole 33 [games] and he's gotten infield singles," Braves manager Fredi Gonzalez said. "He's hit balls out to extend it. He's had line-drive RBI singles, and he's swinging a good bat right now."

Uggla notched the longest hitting streak in Atlanta history Friday night and is moving closer to bettering the franchise mark Holmes set with his 37-game hitting streak in 1945.

While batting .377 with a .438 on-base percentage and .762 slugging percentage during the streak, Uggla has seen his batting average rise from .173 to .232.

"It doesn't seem to be fazing him at all," Braves catcher David Ross said. "I'd be a nervous wreck if it was me. But he's got a cool demeanor. He's earned my respect tenfold with the way he played when things were going bad. It was the same [way] he plays when things are going good. That's the sign of a good character person."

Uggla said he has kept his focus on helping his team win.

"My focus isn't on trying to continue the streak," Uggla said. "My focus is on winning and doing everything I can to help this team win ballgames. I guess when you have that sort of attitude, it takes the focus off something you shouldn't be focused on anyways."