KC @ PIT

Friday · September 18, 2026·full·gamePk 823331past slate · free
refreshed 168h 40m ago both lineups confirmed

weather · PNC Park

gametime 6:40 PM EDT · open-meteo
temperature
73°F
humidity 77%
wind
3 mph
out to RF
precip
0%
partly cloudy
park
PIT
open · HP→CF 115°
CFHP1B3BCROSS
wind impact on total
+0.04 R/Gnone cross

Cross wind, but too light to move the total.

starters · IP-weighted 2025+2026

metricRandy DobnakRHP · KCPaul SkenesRHP · PIT
xERA 20264.483.25
xwOBA 20260.3250.280
wOBA−xwOBA 2026-0.0250.015
xERA 20255.732.65
xwOBA 20250.3640.255
Outs/TB 25-262.282.44
FIP 25-264.112.76
kwERA 25-264.522.71
K% 25-2615.5%28.7%
BB% 25-268.1%6.3%
IP 25+26 combined74.7349.7
ERA actual 20262.733.78
ERA (L4)4.942.74
WHIP (L4)1.011.04
K% (L4)19.4%15.2%
BB% (L4)3.2%5.4%
IP/gm (L4)5.925.75
L4 window08/26→09/12 (4 st) · 4/4 dates verified08/25→09/12 (4 st) · 4/4 dates verified
Stuff+ last 3 (Δ szn)79 (−3)97 (−2)
SIERA last 3 (Δ szn)3.94 (−0.69)4.80 (+1.20)
Arsenal RV/1000.630.46

away arsenal — KC

RV/100 0.63
  • Sinker—+2.00xwOBA 0.371
  • Sweeper—-0.70xwOBA 0.349
  • Changeup—-0.10xwOBA 0.251
  • 4-Seam Fastball—+0.90xwOBA 0.254
  • Slider—-0.90xwOBA 0.297

home arsenal — PIT

RV/100 0.46
  • 4-Seam Fastball—+0.90xwOBA 0.280
  • Sweeper—+0.70xwOBA 0.238
  • Changeup—-1.80xwOBA 0.254
  • Sinker—+0.10xwOBA 0.316
  • Split-Finger—+0.40xwOBA 0.339
  • Slider—+1.90xwOBA 0.251

away · KC vs RHP

confirmed
Σ xwOBA
2.823
Σ match
2.525
Σ FRV
+26.5
#posbatterxwOBAmatchFRV
1CCarter Jensen0.3140.273+3.2
2SSBobby Witt Jr.0.3780.337+15.9
31BVinnie Pasquantino0.3280.286+0.7
43BMaikel Garcia0.3150.279+5.5
52BMichael Massey0.3080.259+6.7
6DHSalvador Perez0.3110.293-9.2
7LFJohn Rave0.3200.301+1.5
8RFNick Loftin0.2910.265-1.3
9CFKyle Isbel0.2580.233+3.4

home · PIT vs RHP

confirmed
Σ xwOBA
2.909
Σ match
3.048
Σ FRV
-8.4
#posbatterxwOBAmatchFRV
1SSKonnor Griffin0.3020.312-4.0
22BBrandon Lowe0.3250.324+11.6
3LFBryan Reynolds0.3550.378-3.6
4CFOneil Cruz0.3520.364+1.7
53BNick Gonzales0.3260.337-10.0
6DHRyan O'Hearn0.3180.349-3.0
7RFRonny Simon0.3300.333+0.2
81BSpencer Horwitz0.3090.322-3.9
9CHenry Davis0.2920.329+2.7

defense · KC catcher (Savant FRV)

Carter Jensen
  • FRV+3.2
  • framing+3.0
  • blocking-2.1
  • throwing+2.3

defense · PIT catcher (Savant FRV)

Henry Davis
  • FRV+2.7
  • framing-0.1
  • blocking+0.8
  • throwing+1.9

KC · Randy Dobnak

Last outing 2026-09-12 vs BOS · 5.2 IP

MetricPrior gamesLatest (Δ)Last 3
Stuff+8273(-9)79
Location+106111(+6)106
Pitching+8895(+6)89
botStf4142(+1)41
botCmd5255(+3)52
botOvr4851(+3)47
SIERA4.633.71(-0.92)3.94

Last 3 starts: 2026-09-01 → 2026-09-12. 3/3 outings have verified ratings.

Latest botERA 4.64

Prior games = unweighted average before 2026-09-12; SIERA here is an average of game ratings, not aggregate season SIERA. Stuff+ family: 100 average. PitchingBot: 50 average. Lower SIERA/botERA is better.

PIT · Paul Skenes

Last outing 2026-09-12 vs CHC · 7.0 IP

MetricPrior gamesLatest (Δ)Last 3
Stuff+9987(-12)97
Location+107114(+7)107
Pitching+105107(+2)102
botStf5249(-3)50
botCmd5657(+1)54
botOvr5655(-1)55
SIERA3.614.45(+0.84)4.80

Last 3 starts: 2026-09-01 → 2026-09-12. 3/3 outings have verified ratings.

Latest botERA 3.83

Prior games = unweighted average before 2026-09-12; 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.

KC · bridge (non-closer, 6-8)8 arms · kwera
0.50R / inningband [0.45–0.54]
0.117 R/PA · 0.166 R/out · worst: Lucas Erceg (5.23)
PIT · bridge (non-closer, 6-8)10 arms · kwera
0.42R / inningband [0.33–0.50]
0.098 R/PA · 0.139 R/out · worst: Khristian Curtis (5.57)

KC

PitcherDerivedCardFIPK%BB%Mean IPSV/HD/GFTrend
Alex LangeCLOSERMR5.2421.911.51.0310/3/20stable
Lucas ErcegCLOSERMR5.4815.213.70.9612/4/24stable
Connor ThomasBULKMR6.1414.38.83.670/3/0insufficient data
Steven CruzOPENERCL5.1026.28.41.067/5/7stable
Jose CuasMRLR2.6923.913.01.270/4/4ramping down
Nolan HoffmanMRMR3.3813.38.91.560/2/2insufficient data
Craig KimbrelMRSU4.1120.411.21.031/4/15stable
Anthony GoseunknownMR2.976.53.2—0/2/0—
Nate PearsonunknownMR3.3721.311.2—4/6/0—

PIT

PitcherDerivedCardFIPK%BB%Mean IPSV/HD/GFTrend
Gregory SotoCLOSERSU3.4427.410.40.9914/12/21stable
Luke WeaverSETUPSU3.1126.06.61.051/22/4stable
Yohan RamírezSETUPMR3.4527.612.61.282/9/8stable
Carmen MlodzinskiBULKMR3.6617.78.03.982/6/3ramping down
Khristian CurtisBULKLR4.7614.115.55.000/0/0insufficient data
Mason MontgomeryOPENERCL2.2937.59.70.9714/9/7stable
Brandon EisertOPENERMR3.6527.37.01.050/2/5stable
Lake BacharOPENERMR4.5825.010.41.532/1/10stable
Wilber DotelMRMR2.9623.89.42.130/3/1stable
Antwone KellyMRLR4.9014.39.52.170/0/1insufficient data
Camilo DovalMOP_UPMR4.4123.212.40.901/8/10stable

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
13
5 KC · 8 PIT
Projected total
—
Delta
—
actual − projected
Band cover
—

KC

5 R

8H · 2HR · 2BB · 11K · 8LOB

OBPe 0.278 · SLGe 0.485 · K% 30.6

Their pitching

8.0 IP · 8 ER · 7 K · relief 4.3 IP · 5 arms

PIT

8 R

15H · 1HR · 3BB · 7K · 26LOB

OBPe 0.476 · SLGe 0.622 · K% 16.7

Their pitching

9.0 IP · 5 ER · 11 K · relief 3.0 IP · 4 arms

KC · standout lines

big nights
  • Vinnie Pasquantino (1B) · 2-4 | HR, 2 RBI, 2 RHR
  • Michael Massey (2B) · 1-4 | HR, RBI, RHR
tough nights
  • Carter Jensen (C) · 0-4 | 3 K0-for-4 · 3 K
  • Salvador Perez (DH) · 0-4 | 2 K0-for-4 · 2 K

PIT · standout lines

big nights
  • Konnor Griffin (SS) · 4-5 | 2 RBI, R4 H · 4 TB
  • Brandon Lowe (2B) · 1-5 | HR, 2 K, 2 RBIHR
  • Bryan Reynolds (RF) · 2-5 | 2 2B, K4 TB
  • Oneil Cruz (CF) · 3-5 | 2B, K, 2 R3 H · 4 TB
sources · MLB Stats API · Baseball Savant · Baseball Prospectus · Open-Meteo · reference, not picks