Play Beat the Streak now -- and eye these righty bats

August 11th, 2022

Beat the Streak is back for the 2022 season -- and the $5.6 million prize is still up for grabs.

The idea is simple -- pick one player (or two) every day who you think will get a hit. The objective -- surpass Joe DiMaggio's record-long 56-game hitting streak -- is a bit more challenging.

But we are here to help with that. We'll provide BTS leaderboard updates and daily insights on favorable matchups in this space, as well as every weekday on the new “Beat the Streak Daily: Inside the Hits” podcast.

Let's take a closer at the action from yesterday and today:

LEADERBOARD DATA

Longest active streak: 31 (three players)

Longest season streak: 45 (kiyoshilotus26)

Longest streak all-time: 51

Most popular picks (yesterday)
1. Paul Goldschmidt, Cardinals (29.4%)*
2. Trea Turner, Dodgers (14.8%)*
3. Freddie Freeman, Dodgers (4.4%)*
4. Yordan Alvarez, Astros (4.1%)*
5. Nolan Arenado, Cardinals (3.8%)*
* - Recorded a hit

Most popular picks (this season)
1. Trea Turner, Dodgers (9.6%)
2. Freddie Freeman, Dodgers (6.5%)
3. J.D. Martinez, Red Sox (4.8%)
4. Manny Machado, Padres (4.5%)
5. Paul Goldschmidt, Cardinals (3.5%)

HITTERS TO TARGET TODAY

Paul Goldschmidt, Cardinals (at Rockies)
It's never a bad idea to target a hitter playing at Coors -- especially when that hitter is leading the NL in batting average, on-base percentage and slugging percentage. That's the case tonight for Goldschmidt, who is not only one of the game's top hitters playing at a hitter-friendly ballpark, but he's also dominated the head-to-head matchup with Rockies starter Germán Márquez. Goldschmidt is 13-for-34 (.382) with four homers in his career against Márquez.

Nolan Arenado, Cardinals (at Rockies)
Though Arenado doesn't have the history against Márquez -- his former teammate -- that Goldschmidt does, he's still a quality play tonight. Not only has Arenado been on an absolute tear since the start of July, but Márquez is allowing opponents to hit .304 with an .884 OPS at home this season (compared to just .224 with a .695 OPS on the road). It might even be worth doubling down on Arenado and Goldschmidt given the favorable situation they find themselves in.

Amed Rosario, Guardians (at Tigers)
If you decide to look outside of Coors Field, Rosario could be a sneaky play on a night with a limited slate of games. Rosario has been swinging the bat well over the past month, and now he gets a matchup against Tigers rookie Garrett Hill, who hasn't missed many bats in his first six career starts. Hill has a 5.12 ERA while notching just 17 strikeouts (and 14 walks) over 31 2/3 innings. He's also allowed nearly one hit per inning (30) during that span. Strangely enough, though, the right-hander has pitched extremely well against lefties -- and struggled against righties. Right-handed batters are hitting .319 with a .941 OPS against Hill since he joined the Majors, while lefties are batting just .137 with a .522 OPS. That was also the case before his promotion, as Hill allowed an .818 OPS to right-handers and a .504 OPS to left-handers in the Minors. That's why we'll roll with Rosario instead of switch-hitter José Ramírez or left-handers Steven Kwan and Andrés Giménez.

OFFENSE(S) TO AVOID

Royals (vs. White Sox -- Dylan Cease)
Cease is on one of the most dominant runs in MLB history, posting a 0.59 ERA over his last 13 starts. He's racked up 95 strikeouts in 76 innings during that span, and hasn't allowed more than one earned run in any of those outings. Opponents are hitting just .174 against the right-hander during that stretch.

NOTABLE BATTER VS. PITCHER MATCHUPS

Favorable

Paul Goldschmidt (Cardinals): 13-for-34 (.382), 4 HR vs. Germán Márquez

Aristides Aquino (Reds): 4-for-9 (.444), 3 HR vs. Drew Smyly

Willi Castro (Tigers): 7-for-15 (.467), 2 XBH vs. Zach Plesac

Unfavorable

Miguel Cabrera (Tigers): 3-for-19 (.158), 4 K vs. Plesac

Joey Votto (Reds): 1-for-11 (.091), 2 K vs. Smyly