Best MLB Hits Matchups — Wednesday, September 2, 2026
Top hits spot: Pete Alonso
Pete Alonso (BAL) tops the board at 100, facing RHP Tomoyuki Sugano. The righty is hitting .233 H/PA against righties this year — and .286 over the last two weeks, a solid bat that turns into a hit in about 24% of his trips. And Tomoyuki Sugano has been getting tattooed by righties lately — .500 hits per batter faced. One catch: the bullpen behind him has been stingy to that side late. He's hitting in a spot worth about 4.5 trips, so the volume's there. He's just .000 in 3 career PA against Tomoyuki Sugano, but that's a tiny sample and the matchup says regression. It all sets up in a hitter's park.
The rest of the top of the board
- Jackson Holliday (BAL) (92) vs RHP Tomoyuki Sugano: a league-average bat at .221 into an arm getting tattooed by the same side (.341), hitter's park.
- Christian Encarnacion-Strand (BAL) (88) vs RHP Tomoyuki Sugano: a solid bat at .238 into an arm getting tattooed by the same side (.500), hitter's park.
- Jake McCarthy (COL) (88) vs LHP Trevor Rogers: a solid bat at .245 into an arm vulnerable to the same side (.273), hitter's park, hot bat.
- Gunnar Henderson (BAL) (88) vs RHP Tomoyuki Sugano: a solid bat at .233 into an arm getting tattooed by the same side (.341), hitter's park.
- Jackson Chourio (MIL) (85) vs LHP David Peterson: a strong bat at .270 into an arm mostly holding up against the same side (.210), hot bat.
- Hunter Goodman (COL) (83) vs LHP Trevor Rogers: a solid bat at .249 into an arm giving up plenty to the same side (.256), hitter's park.
- Cody Bellinger (NYY) (79) vs LHP Reid Detmers: a strong bat at .263 into an arm getting tattooed by the same side (.316), hot bat.
Pitchers getting tattooed today
- LHP Cody Bradford has been vulnerable to lefties — .289 hits per batter faced. Bats to target: Lawrence Butler (ATH), Henry Bolte (ATH), and Tommy White (ATH).
- LHP Patrick Sandoval has been vulnerable to lefties — .278 hits per batter faced. Bats to target: Josh Naylor (SEA), Dominic Canzone (SEA), and Randy Arozarena (SEA).
- RHP Tomoyuki Sugano has been vulnerable to righties — .265 hits per batter faced. Bats to target: Pete Alonso (BAL), Jackson Holliday (BAL), and Christian Encarnacion-Strand (BAL).
- RHP Andrew Painter has been vulnerable to righties — .261 hits per batter faced. Bats to target: Geraldo Perdomo (AZ), Gabriel Moreno (AZ), and Ketel Marte (AZ).
Platoon edges to target
- Jackson Holliday (BAL) — lefty bat vs RHP, .194 against righties this year.
- Gunnar Henderson (BAL) — lefty bat vs RHP, .193 against righties this year.
- Jackson Chourio (MIL) — righty bat vs LHP, .263 against lefties this year.
- Hunter Goodman (COL) — righty bat vs LHP, .239 against lefties this year.
- Cole Carrigg (COL) — righty bat vs LHP, .261 against lefties this year.
Best parks to hit in today
Coors Field is playing as a real hitter's park today (+9% hits park). Top bat there: Pete Alonso (BAL) at 100.
Hot bats and bounce-back spots
Swinging hot bats: Jake McCarthy (COL), Jackson Chourio (MIL), Cody Bellinger (NYY), Luke Keaschall (MIN), Drake Baldwin (ATL), and Lawrence Butler (ATH). Cold but due to bounce back: Cole Carrigg (COL), Riley Greene (DET), Leody Taveras (BAL), Jung Hoo Lee (SF), and Colton Cowser (BAL).
Lineup watch
270 of today's hitters are still on projected lineups, drawn from each team's last game. Batting order drives the score, so these flip the moment official lineups post — usually about two hours before first pitch. Anyone who doesn't make the official card gets flagged "Not starting" and drops to the bottom.
How to read these hits matchups
Each score (0–100) starts with the hitter's hits per plate appearance against the hand he's facing — weighted toward the last two weeks, then the season, then a two-year baseline. Then it layers in the bullpen, his spot in the order, and park and weather. Higher means more of it points his way. It's context, not a lock — a great spot still goes 0-for-4 sometimes, and a tough one runs into one. The edge is in stacking the odds, and since we grade every board, you can see how often the top of the list delivers.
What the hits board is
The Hits board projects the chance a hitter records at least one hit, matchup-adjusted. One statistical model scores every matchup on the slate the same way — a star and a backup judged on the matchup in front of them, not their name — and every number is graded against the real box score once the games go final.
How the model gets its number
It isn't a gut call or a name game. The projection is built from a few things:
- The hitter's contact rate vs this pitcher's hand.
- The starter's hit-suppression and the park.
- Recent form, without over-reacting to a hot or cold week.
Those pieces combine into one number, and the model re-tunes itself weekly against how its past calls actually landed.
Is there a betting edge here?
Hits is an efficient market — the book prices a 1+ hit line about as well as we do, so we publish our number as graded transparency, not a play. Our projection is sharp (the ranking is well-calibrated); the book just isn't leaving room on it.
How to use it
Use it to see who the model likes to square one up, and how that squares with the price — but there's no systematic edge here, so treat it as research, not a lean.
Everything here is a research signal from the model, graded in public — not betting advice, and no outcome is guaranteed.
Learn more: How the model works · The picks story · Today's plays