HOU @ TB

Friday · September 11, 2026·full·gamePk 822930free Saturday
refreshed 344h 11m ago both lineups confirmed

weather · George M. Steinbrenner Field

gametime 7:10 PM EDT · open-meteo
temperature
86°F
humidity 73%
wind
1 mph
out to RF
precip
26%
overcast
park
TB
open · HP→CF 45°
CFHP1B3BCALM
wind impact on total
+0.01 R/Gnone calm

Calm air — wind not a factor.

opener / bulk pattern
  • HOU: Miguel Ullola opens → bulk: AJ Blubaugh· predicted bulk based on 1/5 prior short outings

both opener + bulk shown side-by-side below — lineup matchup keys to the bulk pitcher (who batters see for most of the game)

openers + bulk pitchers · IP-weighted 2025+2026

metricMiguel UllolaRHP · opener · HOUAJ BlubaughRHP · bulk · HOUDrew RasmussenRHP · TB
xERA 20263.734.093.11
xwOBA 20260.2990.3120.274
wOBA−xwOBA 2026-0.009-0.007-0.029
xERA 2025—3.193.48
xwOBA 2025—0.2790.291
Outs/TB 25-261.752.212.56
FIP 25-264.384.213.37
kwERA 25-261.403.493.18
K% 25-2637.0%25.4%23.9%
BB% 25-263.7%9.5%5.4%
IP 25+26 combined7.0121.0303.3
ERA actual 20263.863.342.88
ERA (L4)—9.823.38
WHIP (L4)—1.910.88
K% (L4)—22.2%25.0%
BB% (L4)—5.6%4.3%
IP/gm (L4)—0.926.00
L4 window—09/03→09/09 (4 outs) · 4/4 dates verified08/19→09/05 (4 st) · 4/4 dates verified
Stuff+ last 3 (Δ szn)—115 (+10)112 (+2)
SIERA last 3 (Δ szn)—5.89 (+1.69)3.39 (+0.02)
Arsenal RV/1000.700.571.42

away arsenal · BULK AJ Blubaugh — HOU

RV/100 0.57
  • 4-Seam Fastball—+0.60xwOBA 0.334
  • Sweeper—+1.80xwOBA 0.272
  • Changeup—-0.80xwOBA 0.281

home arsenal — TB

RV/100 1.42
  • Cutter—+1.00xwOBA 0.287
  • 4-Seam Fastball—+0.90xwOBA 0.278
  • Sinker—+2.70xwOBA 0.265
  • Changeup—+2.30xwOBA 0.193
  • Curveball—+0.80xwOBA 0.401
  • Sweeper—-2.80xwOBA 0.424

away · HOU vs RHP

confirmed
Σ xwOBA
2.677
Σ match
2.445
Σ FRV
-8.5
#posbatterxwOBAmatchFRV
1DHJose Altuve0.2740.258-9.5
2SSJeremy Peña0.3230.311-3.5
33BIsaac Paredes0.3220.302+0.7
4CFDaulton Varsho0.2900.251+4.1
5CYainer Diaz0.3020.262-4.8
61BChristian Walker0.3030.264+4.4
7RFCam Smith0.3250.289+2.2
8LFTaylor Trammell0.2860.276-1.6
92BNick Allen0.2520.230-0.5

home · TB vs RHP

confirmed
Σ xwOBA
2.835
Σ match
2.824
Σ FRV
+9.1
#posbatterxwOBAmatchFRV
1DHYandy Díaz0.3550.341—
21BJonathan Aranda0.3480.349-0.7
33BJunior Caminero0.3630.372-8.3
4CLiam Hicks0.3180.317+1.8
5RFVictor Mesa Jr.0.3220.313+9.1
6LFChandler Simpson0.2640.258+3.6
7CFCedric Mullins0.2670.264+9.1
82BRichie Palacios0.3050.323-4.5
9SSJorge Mateo0.2930.287-1.0

defense · HOU catcher (Savant FRV)

Yainer Diaz
  • FRV-4.8
  • framing-4.5
  • blocking-0.2
  • throwing-0.2

defense · TB catcher (Savant FRV)

Liam Hicks
  • FRV+1.8
  • framing-0.3
  • blocking-0.3
  • throwing+1.5

HOU · AJ Blubaugh

Last outing 2026-09-09 vs Philadelphia Phillies · 0.1 IP

MetricPrior gamesLatest (Δ)Last 3
Stuff+105106(+1)115
Location+9687(-9)92
Pitching+9998(-1)105
botStf5660(+4)62
botCmd5245(-7)55
botOvr5554(-1)58
SIERA4.207.29(+3.09)5.89

Last 3 outings: 2026-09-05 → 2026-09-09. 3/3 outings have verified ratings.

Latest botERA 4.01

Prior games = unweighted average before 2026-09-09; SIERA here is an average of game ratings, not aggregate season SIERA. Stuff+ family: 100 average. PitchingBot: 50 average. Lower SIERA/botERA is better.

TB · Drew Rasmussen

Last outing 2026-09-05 vs TEX · 7.0 IP

MetricPrior gamesLatest (Δ)Last 3
Stuff+110106(-4)112
Location+107108(+1)112
Pitching+114114(+0)121
botStf5450(-4)53
botCmd5658(+2)58
botOvr6061(+0)62
SIERA3.373.40(+0.03)3.39

Last 3 starts: 2026-08-24 → 2026-09-05. 3/3 outings have verified ratings.

Latest botERA 2.90

Prior games = unweighted average before 2026-09-05; SIERA here is an average of game ratings, not aggregate season SIERA. Stuff+ family: 100 average. PitchingBot: 50 average. Lower SIERA/botERA is better.

Bullpen depth chart · per side

Derived = season-usage role from pitcher-profiles.json. Card tag = what tonight's card thinks. When they disagree, the sim picker may target wrong arms in save windows. Mean IP/app distinguishes 1-IP relievers from bulk arms.

HOU · bridge (non-closer, 6-8)7 arms · kwera
0.42R / inningband [0.32–0.52]
0.098 R/PA · 0.139 R/out · worst: Bennett Sousa (4.22)
TB · bridge (non-closer, 6-8)8 arms · kwera
0.39R / inningband [0.30–0.49]
0.093 R/PA · 0.132 R/out · worst: Alex Cook (5.40)

HOU

PitcherDerivedCardFIPK%BB%Mean IPSV/HD/GFTrend
Josh HaderCLOSERCL1.5935.87.30.9125/0/14stable
Bryan AbreuCLOSERSU4.4030.216.10.928/14/21stable
Enyel De Los SantosSETUPMR3.6422.26.51.075/10/13stable
AJ BlubaughSETUPSU4.1424.49.81.681/10/6ramping up
Bryan KingSETUPMR4.7817.97.71.076/12/11stable
Miguel UllolaMRMR4.3837.03.72.000/0/1insufficient data
Bennett SousaMOP_UPMR4.4123.213.40.670/9/2stable
Tatsuya ImaiSPLR4.4328.015.43.860/0/0ramping down

TB

PitcherDerivedCardFIPK%BB%Mean IPSV/HD/GFTrend
Bryan BakerCLOSERCL3.0627.39.10.9639/2/28stable
Kevin KellySETUPSU3.2721.04.31.104/30/9stable
Tyler WellsSETUPSU3.4225.66.31.266/15/13stable
Casey LeguminaOPENERMR3.5417.76.11.250/7/7stable
Cole SulserOPENERMR3.8623.47.21.112/11/9stable
Steven MatzSWINGLR5.1517.17.63.531/1/1ramping down
Cam BooserMRMR3.1829.64.41.110/10/5stable
Ty JohnsonunknownMR3.0937.525.0—0/0/0—
Alex CookunknownMR7.1811.811.8—0/0/0—

glossary

Pitcher metrics

  • xERA (Savant): Statcast's expected ERA, derived from xwOBA. Strips defense/luck — what the pitcher's contact quality says he should have given up.
  • xwOBA (Savant): Expected wOBA. Treats each batted ball by exit velo + launch angle (independent of where defenders stood). Lower = better for pitcher.
  • wOBA-xwOBA (Savant): Actual minus expected. Negative = the pitcher has been UNLUCKY (better than results show). Positive = LUCKY (worse than results show).
  • Outs/TB: Outs recorded ÷ total bases allowed. Custom efficiency metric. Higher = more efficient. Starter range typically 1.5–3.0.
  • FIP: Defense-independent ERA estimator using only K/BB/HBP/HR. Removes BABIP luck. Same scale as ERA.
  • kwERA: Strikeout-and-walk-only ERA estimator. 5.40 − 12·(K−BB)/PA. Strips contact entirely. K-BB% is the most stable pitcher skill.
  • K% / BB%: Strikeouts / walks as a share of total batters faced.
  • IP (25+26 combined): Total innings across the prior + current season — defines the IP-weight on combined stats.
  • Arsenal RV/100 (Savant): Run Value per 100 pitches, weighted across the pitcher's mix. POSITIVE = stuff playing well for the pitcher. Substitute for FanGraphs Stuff+.

Batter metrics

  • AVG/OBP/SLG: Standard slash line, current season.
  • vs L/RHP AVG/OBP/SLG (PA): Same line, but only against pitchers of the hand the batter is facing tonight. PA = sample size — small samples (<50 PA) are noisy.
  • xwOBA / xBA / xSLG (Savant): Statcast expected stats for the batter, based on contact quality.
  • xwOBA(25) (Savant): Last year's xwOBA. Useful when current-year sample is thin.
  • FRV (Savant): Fielding Run Value. Range + arm + framing + blocking + DP turns. Cumulative — early-season values are small.
  • Match xwOBA: Projected weighted xwOBA against this specific pitcher's pitch mix. Per pitch (with usage %), look up batter's xwOBA vs that pitch type, weighted average.
  • Cov%: Share of opposing pitcher's pitch usage where we have direct batter-vs-pitch data. Lower coverage = less reliable matchup score.

Lineup status

  • 🟢 CONFIRMED: Posted by the team via MLB Stats API. This is the actual lineup playing.
  • 🟡 EXPECTED: Projected from the team's last 21 days of starts vs the same handedness, with current IL filtered out. Refreshes ~T-90 min before first pitch.

Data sources

  • MLB Stats API (statsapi.mlb.com): schedule, lineups, raw counting stats (K/BB/HR/IP/AVG/etc.), L/R splits.
  • Baseball Savant (Statcast): xERA/xwOBA, pitch arsenal, Fielding Run Value, expected stats. Descriptive only — no projection system.
  • Baseball Prospectus: DRC+ + PECOTA when authed.
  • Open-Meteo: Weather forecast rotated to the park.

Post-game

actual vs projected
Final total
4
1 HOU · 3 TB
Projected total
—
Delta
—
actual − projected
Band cover
—

HOU

1 R

9H · 0HR · 1BB · 6K · 12LOB

OBPe 0.294 · SLGe 0.303 · K% 17.6

Their pitching

8.3 IP · 3 ER · 5 K · relief 7.3 IP · 4 arms

TB

3 R

4H · 2HR · 2BB · 5K · 5LOB

OBPe 0.233 · SLGe 0.407 · K% 16.7

Their pitching

9.0 IP · 1 ER · 6 K · relief 2.0 IP · 3 arms

HOU · standout lines

tough nights
  • Christian Walker (1B) · 0-40-for-4

TB · standout lines

big nights
  • Junior Caminero (3B) · 1-4 | HR, K, 2 RBIHR
  • Victor Mesa Jr. (RF) · 1-2 | HR, BB, RBIHR
tough nights
  • Yandy Díaz (DH) · 0-4 | 2 K0-for-4 · 2 K
sources · MLB Stats API · Baseball Savant · Baseball Prospectus · Open-Meteo · reference, not picks