Best MLB Hits Matchups — Tuesday, September 8, 2026
Top hits spot: Jackson Chourio
Jackson Chourio (MIL) tops the board at 100, facing LHP David Peterson. The righty is hitting .267 H/PA against lefties this year — and .304 over the last two weeks, an excellent bat that turns into a hit in about 27% of his trips. And David Peterson has been getting tattooed by lefties lately — .306 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 David Peterson too — .417 across 12 career trips. It all sets up in a neutral park.
The rest of the top of the board
- Yandy Díaz (TB) (96) vs RHP AJ Smith-Shawver: a strong bat at .269 into an arm tough on the same side (.176).
- Elly De La Cruz (CIN) (91) vs LHP Tarik Skubal: a strong bat at .264 into an arm getting tattooed by the same side (.325), hot bat.
- Steven Kwan (CLE) (88) vs RHP Brandon Young: a strong bat at .262 into an arm tough on the same side (.100).
- Shohei Ohtani (LAD) (86) vs LHP Nick Lodolo: a solid bat at .247 into an arm getting tattooed by the same side (.400), due to bounce back.
- Bryce Eldridge (SF) (86) vs LHP Quinn Mathews: a strong bat at .266 into an arm tough on the same side (.125).
- Nathan Lukes (TOR) (85) vs RHP Jack Perkins: a strong bat at .256 into an arm tough on the same side (.171), hot bat.
- Freddie Freeman (LAD) (85) vs LHP Nick Lodolo: a strong bat at .252 into an arm getting tattooed by the same side (.400).
Pitchers getting tattooed today
LHP Nick Lodolo has been vulnerable to lefties — .271 hits per batter faced. Bats to target: Shohei Ohtani (LAD), Freddie Freeman (LAD), and Teoscar Hernández (LAD).
Platoon edges to target
- Jackson Chourio (MIL) — righty bat vs LHP, .267 against lefties this year.
- Elly De La Cruz (CIN) — righty bat vs LHP, .302 against lefties this year.
- Steven Kwan (CLE) — lefty bat vs RHP, .251 against righties this year.
- Nathan Lukes (TOR) — lefty bat vs RHP, .270 against righties this year.
- Jonah Cox (SF) — righty bat vs LHP, .278 against lefties this year.
Hot bats and bounce-back spots
Swinging hot bats: Elly De La Cruz (CIN), Nathan Lukes (TOR), Dominic Canzone (SEA), Iván Herrera (STL), TJ Rumfield (COL), and Justin Foscue (TEX). Cold but due to bounce back: Shohei Ohtani (LAD), Turner Hill (SF), Jeremy Peña (HOU), Blaze Alexander (BAL), and Konnor Griffin (PIT).
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