KANSAS CITY -- Hall of Famer George Brett said he would be rooting for Whit Merrifield to break his Royals record 30-game hitting streak.

Merrifield tied the 30-game mark that Brett set in 1980 with a first-inning triple in Tuesday's 6-3 loss to the Mariners.

¡°Hey, we can use all the hits we can get right now,¡± Brett told MLB.com by phone earlier in the day. ¡°I don¡¯t want him to ever go 0-for-4. Get all the baserunners we can.¡±

Merrifield will go for the record on Wednesday night at Kauffman Stadium. Brett wouldn¡¯t be somewhat sad to see his club record fall?

¡°Not really. I¡¯m rooting for him,¡± Brett said. ¡°He deserves it. He¡¯s a good kid. He¡¯s worked hard to get here. I like watching him play. ... These streaks are hard. Thirty games is a lot. That means you can¡¯t go in a slump or have one bad day for a month.¡±

Merrifield is honored to be even in the same conversation with a Brett record.

¡°It is special,¡± Merrifield said. ¡°I just started thinking about that the other day. Just to be mentioned along with George Brett is incredible. It¡¯s not something I take lightly. Even though I have gotten to know George because he has been around a lot, he¡¯s still one of the greatest players to ever play the game, probably the best third baseman to ever play.¡±

Merrifield even had a nice surprise waiting for him at his locker after the game.

¡°He wrote me a nice note,¡± Merrifield said of Brett. ¡°It was sitting on my chair when I got into the clubhouse. I asked [the Royals] to laminate it for me. I will put it in a special place in my home. To have one of the greatest players of all time writing a hand-written letter saying nice things about you, that doesn¡¯t happen every day.¡±

And while some have noted that Merrifield¡¯s streak should have an asterisk next to it because 20 games of the streak are from last year, Brett isn¡¯t buying it. Brett recorded his in 1980 during July and August.

¡°No, I don¡¯t think carrying it over diminishes it at all,¡± Brett said. ¡°If he gets it, it would be fair and square. The toughest part for him is he¡¯s had to hit in cold weather. No one likes to hit in cold weather. Tough to hit in those conditions, tough to contend with. I did my 30 games in the summer when it was nice and warm.

¡°And maybe he¡¯ll start the season with 30 games in a row anyway.¡±

Brett¡¯s own 30-gamer is a little vague to him. It was the same year, of course, when he was chasing bigger goals, like hitting .400 (he hit .390) and a championship (the Royals lost to the Phillies in the World Series).

¡°I remember it ended in Texas when I went 0-for-4 against Jon Matlack,¡± Brett said. ¡°He was tough. I remember Jim Sundberg telling me in my first at-bat, ¡®We¡¯re going right after your [butt].¡¯ And I said, ¡®Bring it on.¡¯ And they got me. I hit a couple of balls hard but nothing fell.¡±

The night wasn¡¯t all special, though, for Merrifield as the Royals lost their eighth straight game. Merrifield even asked reporters postgame to wait a minute before asking about the streak.

Merrifield then said, ¡°We¡¯re 2-8. We¡¯re frustrated. We know the fans are frustrated. We¡¯re better than our record. Today was tough. The last eight games were tough. We¡¯re confident. ... We ask the fans to stay with us. Our record shows we¡¯re 2-8, but we¡¯re better than that.¡±