STL @ PIT

Wednesday · September 23, 2026·full·gamePk 823327past slate · free
refreshed 43h 28m ago both lineups confirmed

weather · PNC Park

gametime 6:40 PM EDT · open-meteo
temperature
60°F
humidity 72%
wind
8 mph
in from RF
precip
2%
overcast
park
PIT
open · HP→CF 115°
CFHP1B3BIN
wind impact on total
-0.17 R/Gminor in

Minor wind in: -0.17 R/G vs neutral. _PNC's riverside location + grandstand pattern creates swirl in RF; calm most days_

opener / bulk pattern
  • PIT: Lake Bachar opens → bulk: Carmen Mlodzinski· predicted bulk based on 3/45 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

metricMatthew LiberatoreLHP · STLLake BacharRHP · opener · PITCarmen MlodzinskiRHP · bulk · PIT
xERA 20265.023.524.95
xwOBA 20260.3410.2900.339
wOBA−xwOBA 20260.016-0.002-0.028
xERA 20254.864.484.07
xwOBA 20250.3390.3270.313
Outs/TB 25-261.722.242.00
FIP 25-264.344.373.56
kwERA 25-263.793.583.97
K% 25-2620.7%25.3%19.2%
BB% 25-267.3%10.1%7.3%
IP 25+26 combined301.0154.3219.7
ERA actual 20265.363.563.95
ERA (L4)4.872.579.45
WHIP (L4)1.571.862.48
K% (L4)18.0%23.5%9.9%
BB% (L4)11.2%14.7%11.3%
IP/gm (L4)5.081.753.33
L4 window08/30→09/16 (4 st) · 4/4 dates verified09/03→09/20 (4 st) · 4/4 dates verified05/25→08/17 (4 st) · 4/4 dates verified
Stuff+ last 3 (Δ szn)94 (−4)96 (−1)91 (−0)
SIERA last 3 (Δ szn)6.04 (+1.81)3.23 (−1.24)5.93 (+1.22)
Arsenal RV/100-0.740.760.06

away arsenal — STL

RV/100 -0.74
  • 4-Seam Fastball—-0.40xwOBA 0.394
  • Slider—+0.10xwOBA 0.262
  • Curveball—-0.80xwOBA 0.247
  • Changeup—-1.50xwOBA 0.420
  • Sinker—-1.50xwOBA 0.385
  • Cutter—-4.60xwOBA 0.379

home arsenal · BULK Carmen Mlodzinski — PIT

RV/100 0.06
  • 4-Seam Fastball—-1.00xwOBA 0.375
  • Split-Finger—+1.10xwOBA 0.277
  • Sinker—-0.70xwOBA 0.409
  • Curveball—+0.20xwOBA 0.319
  • Sweeper—+1.40xwOBA 0.257
  • Cutter—+0.60xwOBA 0.396
  • Slider—-0.80xwOBA 0.333

away · STL vs RHP

confirmed
Σ xwOBA
2.919
Σ match
3.116
Σ FRV
+32.3
#posbatterxwOBAmatchFRV
12BJJ Wetherholt0.3470.375+22.4
2DHIván Herrera0.3330.353-4.5
31BAlec Burleson0.3710.415+6.3
4RFJordan Walker0.3420.377-7.6
5CLeo Bernal0.3660.353+1.4
63BNolan Gorman0.2800.309-0.3
7LFJosé Fermín0.2950.317-2.9
8CFNathan Church0.2870.308+1.2
9SSMasyn Winn0.2980.307+16.4

home · PIT vs LHP

confirmed
Σ xwOBA
2.897
Σ match
3.062
Σ FRV
-7.5
#posbatterxwOBAmatchFRV
1SSKonnor Griffin0.3070.325-3.1
2CRafael Flores Jr.0.3580.381-1.1
3LFBryan Reynolds0.3540.378-4.4
42BBrandon Lowe0.3300.355+11.9
5DHNick Gonzales0.3240.350-10.0
6RFRonny Simon0.3330.338+0.2
71BRyan O'Hearn0.3160.329-2.6
83BJared Triolo0.2860.301+0.1
9CFJake Mangum0.2890.306+1.5

defense · STL catcher (Savant FRV)

Leo Bernal
  • FRV+1.4
  • framing+0.9
  • blocking+0.3
  • throwing+1.0

defense · PIT catcher (Savant FRV)

Rafael Flores Jr.
  • FRV-1.1
  • framing+0.3
  • blocking-0.6
  • throwing-0.7

STL · Matthew Liberatore

Last outing 2026-09-16 vs SF · 6.0 IP

MetricPrior gamesLatest (Δ)Last 3
Stuff+9893(-4)94
Location+9992(-8)85
Pitching+9686(-10)81
botStf5148(-3)50
botCmd5347(-5)47
botOvr5145(-5)46
SIERA4.236.48(+2.25)6.04

Last 3 starts: 2026-09-05 → 2026-09-16. 3/3 outings have verified ratings.

Latest botERA 5.53

Prior games = unweighted average before 2026-09-16; 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 · Carmen Mlodzinski

Last outing 2026-09-20 vs KC · 3.0 IP

MetricPrior gamesLatest (Δ)Last 3
Stuff+9189(-3)91
Location+104105(+1)107
Pitching+95103(+8)98
botStf4644(-3)47
botCmd5453(-1)56
botOvr5151(-0)52
SIERA4.714.93(+0.22)5.93

Last 3 starts: 2026-08-07 → 2026-08-17. 3/3 outings have verified ratings.

Latest botERA 4.62

Prior games = unweighted average before 2026-09-20; 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.

STL · bridge (non-closer, 6-8)7 arms · kwera
0.45R / inningband [0.38–0.52]
0.106 R/PA · 0.151 R/out · worst: Justin Bruihl (4.51)
PIT · bridge (non-closer, 6-8)10 arms · kwera
0.41R / inningband [0.32–0.49]
0.096 R/PA · 0.135 R/out · worst: Khristian Curtis (5.57)

STL

PitcherDerivedCardFIPK%BB%Mean IPSV/HD/GFTrend
Riley O'BrienCLOSERCL3.9423.210.50.9938/1/33stable
Justin BruihlSETUPMR3.9215.78.31.110/11/5ramping up
Ryne StanekSETUPSU4.4924.711.60.892/26/5stable
George SorianoSETUPMR4.8322.411.90.984/21/7stable
Brycen MautzBULKMR5.2525.815.23.000/0/1insufficient data
Gordon GraceffoMRSU3.8718.811.11.181/7/10stable
Luis GastelumMRMR4.0529.47.71.000/1/1stable
Cade WinquestunknownMR3.1831.210.4—0/1/0—

PIT

PitcherDerivedCardFIPK%BB%Mean IPSV/HD/GFTrend
Kirby YatesCLOSERMR3.2927.810.10.873/1/15stable
Gregory SotoCLOSERSU3.3528.110.40.9916/12/21stable
Luke WeaverSETUPSU3.0226.96.81.051/23/4stable
Yohan RamírezSETUPMR3.3228.112.21.282/9/8stable
Carmen MlodzinskiBULKMR3.7617.58.03.982/6/3ramping down
Khristian CurtisBULKLR4.7614.115.55.000/0/0insufficient data
Mason MontgomeryOPENERCL2.3037.19.70.9716/9/7stable
Brandon EisertOPENERMR3.6626.77.21.050/2/5stable
Lake BacharOPENERMR4.4725.210.11.532/2/10stable
Wilber DotelMRMR2.9123.49.02.130/3/1stable
Antwone KellyMRLR4.9114.39.52.170/0/1insufficient data

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
6
5 STL · 1 PIT
Projected total
—
Delta
—
actual − projected
Band cover
—

STL

5 R

10H · 0HR · 4BB · 10K · 22LOB

OBPe 0.385 · SLGe 0.324 · K% 25.6

Their pitching

9.0 IP · 1 ER · 9 K · relief 3.3 IP · 4 arms

PIT

1 R

6H · 1HR · 1BB · 9K · 10LOB

OBPe 0.212 · SLGe 0.344 · K% 27.3

Their pitching

9.0 IP · 5 ER · 10 K · relief 7.3 IP · 5 arms

STL · standout lines

big nights
  • JJ Wetherholt (2B) · 3-4 | BB, K, RBI3 H
tough nights
  • Nathan Church (CF) · 0-40-for-4

PIT · standout lines

big nights
  • Brandon Lowe (2B) · 2-4 | HR, K, RBIHR
  • Ryan O'Hearn (1B) · 2-3 | 2 2B4 TB
tough nights
  • Konnor Griffin (SS) · 0-40-for-4
  • Rafael Flores Jr. (C) · 0-4 | K0-for-4
  • Ronny Simon (RF) · 0-4 | 2 K0-for-4 · 2 K
sources · MLB Stats API · Baseball Savant · Baseball Prospectus · Open-Meteo · reference, not picks