Miami ? Luis Castillo isn’t too familiar with the exclusive company he has joined by hitting in 31 consecutive games.

Until recently, he didn’t know that Joe DiMaggio held the major league record with a 56-game streak. Castillo has never heard of Rogers Hornsby, the only second baseman with a longer streak than his.

Florida Marlins batter Luis Castillo raps a first-inning single Sunday against the Tampa Bay Devil Rays, extending his hitting streak to 31 games. The second baseman is in the midst of the longest streak since 1987.

And to the amusement of his Florida Marlins teammates, Castillo isn’t too good with their names, either.

“Do you know who I am?” outfielder Kevin Millar asked Castillo on Sunday.

Castillo glanced at the nameplate on the locker behind Millar, his teammate since 1999.

“Millar, right?” Castillo said.

The fleet Dominican switch hitter has matched the longest hitting streak in the majors since 1987. He’s the 25th player to hit in 31 games in a row, joining a list that includes 13 Hall of Famers.

But being mentioned with some of the best players ever doesn’t hold much meaning for Castillo. He’s not even aware of the next pitcher he will face.

“He doesn’t know anyone’s name in this clubhouse, much less the pitchers on the other teams,” Millar said. “He doesn’t think about it. That’s really going to help him down the stretch.”

Castillo thinks he plays best when his brain is blank, so he regards proper names and baseball trivia as distracting. The same goes for the hitting streak.

“I don’t want to think about it,” he said. “I want to hit the ball. I want to have my mind relaxed.”

He spent an off day Monday trying to stay out of the spotlight and off the telephone. He has had a lot of calls from friends in the Dominican Republic as attention on the streak increases.

“People tell me, ‘You have to get a hit tonight.’ I say ‘OK, I’ll try,”‘ he said. “But I try not to listen to people. That’s when you press.”

Third base coach Ozzie Guillen joked that Castillo hasn’t slept for 30 days. But the Marlins’ leadoff hitter didn’t seem too nervous in the locker room Sunday. He joked with teammates in high-pitched Spanish and motored around the clubhouse, doing anything but sitting still.

It’s easy to see why Castillo, who is hitting .330 with 23 stolen bases, is such a tough out he runs as fast as he talks.

Against Tampa Bay on Saturday, Castillo pushed a grounder to shortstop Chris Gomez and easily beat the hurried one-hop throw for his only hit of the day.

“Castillo’s a fast runner and it wasn’t an easy play,” Tampa Bay manager Hal McRae said. “If it’s a clean throw then he’s out, but he had to throw it right away because of Castillo’s speed.”

The streak appeared in jeopardy Saturday until Castillo singled in the sixth inning during his third at-bat.

“He kind of looked like he was thinking about it,” Marlins manager Jeff Torborg said. “It helps when he gets it early in the game.”

That’s exactly what Castillo did Sunday, when he shot a fastball between third base and shortstop to lead off the first.

Castillo is hitting .344 against left-handers, including .462 during the streak, and .325 against right-handers. He has two home runs, one from each side of the plate.

“No question that being a switch hitter helps him. Every pitch is coming to him,” Marlins shortstop Andy Fox said. “If it’s not working from one side of the plate, it’s going to be working on the other.”

To break DiMaggio’s record, Castillo would need to continue the streak for another month until July 17 at Atlanta. He faces Cleveland’s Chuck Finley (4-7, 3.92 ERA) on Tuesday in the fourth game of a 13-game homestand.

The streak has yet to create much buzz in Miami, where the Marlins have battled fan apathy in recent years. Only 9,380 people attended Sunday’s game.

“We’re not counting on a player’s streak to solve our problems,” team president David Samson said. “But if this goes on for another week, this could change.”