NEW YORK (AP) — Baseball offense has picked up as the temperature has climbed in much of the U.S., raising the major league batting average above the level from early last season.

Batters are hitting .242 through April, up from .240 through the first full month of the 2024 season but down from .248 through April in 2023.

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MLB’s overall batting average was .239 through the first full week of the season, starting at .231 through the partial initial week and .243 for the first full week. The average dropped to .228 during the week of April 7, then rose to .243 the week of April 14, .249 the week of April 21 and .262 for the first three days of this week, Major League Baseball said Thursday.

Right-hander batters are hitting .242, down one percentage point through April 30 last year, and lefties are hitting .241, a rise of five percentage points.

Last year’s final batting average of .243 was higher in the post-1900 era than only .237 in 1968, .239 in 1908, .242 in 1967 and .2427 in 2022. The average rose to .248 in 2023 in the first season of restrictions on defensive shifts.

Nine-inning games are averaging 2 hours, 37 minutes, the same as through the first full month last year.

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Home runs are up slightly (an average of 2.1 per game from 2.0), as are stolen bases (2.1 from 1.9),

Strikeouts have decreased by a small amount (an average of 22.1% of plate appearances from 22.5%) and walks have risen marginally (an average of 9.0% of plate appearances from 8.7%).

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AP MLB: https://apnews.com/hub/MLB