Best MLB Hits Matchups — Saturday, September 5, 2026
Top hits spot: Jake McCarthy
Jake McCarthy (COL) tops the board at 100, facing LHP Matthew Liberatore. The lefty is hitting .286 H/PA against lefties this year — and .231 over the last two weeks, a solid bat that turns into a hit in about 25% of his trips. And Matthew Liberatore has been vulnerable to lefties lately — .263 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 4.7 trips, so the volume's there. He's owned Matthew Liberatore too — .667 across 3 career trips. It all sets up in a hitter's park.
The rest of the top of the board
- Bryan Torres (STL) (98) vs RHP Mason Adams: a solid bat at .247 into an arm with little track record against the same side, hitter's park, due to bounce back.
- Alec Burleson (STL) (94) vs RHP Mason Adams: a strong bat at .260 into an arm with little track record against the same side, hitter's park.
- Hunter Goodman (COL) (91) vs LHP Matthew Liberatore: a solid bat at .250 into an arm getting tattooed by the same side (.345), hitter's park.
- TJ Rumfield (COL) (91) vs LHP Matthew Liberatore: a solid bat at .242 into an arm vulnerable to the same side (.263), hitter's park, hot bat.
- Iván Herrera (STL) (88) vs RHP Mason Adams: a solid bat at .228 into an arm with little track record against the same side, hitter's park.
- Cole Carrigg (COL) (83) vs LHP Matthew Liberatore: a strong bat at .256 into an arm getting tattooed by the same side (.345), hitter's park.
- Mickey Moniak (COL) (80) vs LHP Matthew Liberatore: a league-average bat at .213 into an arm vulnerable to the same side (.263), hitter's park, due to bounce back.
Pitchers getting tattooed today
- RHP Chris Bassitt has been vulnerable to righties — .266 hits per batter faced. Bats to target: Roman Anthony (BOS), Mickey Gasper (BOS), and Wilyer Abreu (BOS).
- RHP Anthony Molina has been vulnerable to righties — .264 hits per batter faced. Bats to target: Bo Bichette (NYM), Francisco Lindor (NYM), and Carson Benge (NYM).
- RHP Sonny Gray has been giving up plenty to righties — .257 hits per batter faced. Bats to target: Blaze Alexander (BAL), Pete Alonso (BAL), and Luis Robert Jr. (BAL).
- RHP Seth Lugo has been giving up plenty to righties — .256 hits per batter faced. Bats to target: Brett Bateman (TOR), George Springer (TOR), and Vladimir Guerrero Jr. (TOR).
Platoon edges to target
- Bryan Torres (STL) — lefty bat vs RHP, .246 against righties this year.
- Alec Burleson (STL) — lefty bat vs RHP, .279 against righties this year.
- Hunter Goodman (COL) — righty bat vs LHP, .239 against lefties this year.
- Cole Carrigg (COL) — righty bat vs LHP, .266 against lefties this year.
- Roman Anthony (BOS) — lefty bat vs RHP, .214 against righties 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: Jake McCarthy (COL) at 100.
Hot bats and bounce-back spots
Swinging hot bats: TJ Rumfield (COL), Bo Bichette (NYM), Teoscar Hernández (LAD), Thomas Saggese (STL), Dominic Canzone (SEA), and Carter Jensen (KC). Cold but due to bounce back: Bryan Torres (STL), Mickey Moniak (COL), Otto Lopez (MIA), Samad Taylor (SD), and Will Smith (LAD).
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