Todays Game 2 Matchup Details

Player match stat positives for Pittsburgh at Los Angeles Game 2 Matchup Today

The leading projection system (THE BAT X) projects Will Smith in the 96th percentile when assessing his overall offensive skill.

Will Smith is penciled in 4th on the lineup card in this game.

Dodger Stadium profiles as the #2 ballpark in the game for RHB home runs, according to the leading projection system (THE BAT).

In MLB, Dodger Stadium has the lowest average fence height.

Will Smith hits many of his flyballs to center field (38.9% — 91st percentile) and sets up very well considering he’ll be hitting out towards MLB’s 9th-shallowest CF fences today.

Bryan Reynolds’s BABIP talent is projected in the 95th percentile by the leading projection system (THE BAT X).

Bryan Reynolds is projected to bat 2nd on the lineup card in this game.

In Major League Baseball, Dodger Stadium’s centerfield fences are the 7th-shallowest.

As a switch-hitter who performs better from the 0 side of the dish, Bryan Reynolds will have the advantage of batting from from his strong side against River Ryan today.

Bryan Reynolds’s ability to hit the ball at a base hit-optimizing launch angle (between -4° and 26°) has increased lately, going from 43.7% on the season to 61.1% in the past two weeks’ worth of games.

Rowdy Tellez is penciled in 5th in the batting order in this game.

The #2 park in the game for boosting home runs to left-handed batters, via the leading projection system (THE BAT), is Dodger Stadium.

Batting from the opposite that River Ryan throws from, Rowdy Tellez will have an edge in today’s game.

Rowdy Tellez hits a high percentage of his flyballs to center field (40% — 99th percentile) and will have a big advantage facing the league’s 9th-shallowest CF fences in today’s matchup.

As it relates to his home run talent, Joey Bart ranks in the 80th percentile according to the leading projection system (THE BAT X).

Joey Bart is penciled in 4th on the lineup card in this matchup, which would be an upgrade from his 79% rate of hitting in the bottom-half of the batting order this year.

The leading projection system (THE BAT X) projects Teoscar Hernandez as the 9th-best batter in the game as it relates to his BABIP skill.

Teoscar Hernandez is penciled in 2nd in the lineup in today’s game.

Teoscar Hernandez will benefit from the home field advantage today, which should bolster all of his stats.

The Pittsburgh Pirates have been the 5th-unluckiest offense in MLB this year, according to the leading projection system (THE BAT X), and are likely to perform better in future games, The #2 ballpark in MLB for boosting home runs, according to the leading projection system (THE BAT), is Dodger Stadium.

The Pittsburgh Pirates as a unit place overall in the league this year as it relates to the maximum exit velocity of all of the balls their [HITTER}s have hit.

Oneil Cruz projects as the 17th-best home run hitter in Major League Baseball, according to the leading projection system (THE BAT X).

Oneil Cruz is projected to bat 3rd in the lineup today.

Ke’Bryan Hayes has been unlucky this year, posting a .268 wOBA despite the leading projection system (THE BAT X) estimating his true talent level to be .299 — a .031 gap.

Ke’Bryan Hayes’s batting average skill is projected to be in the 80th percentile according to the leading projection system (THE BAT X).

Home field advantage typically boosts hitter metrics in all categories, and Miguel Rojas will hold that advantage in today’s game.

In terms of plate discipline, Miguel Rojas’s talent is quite strong, posting a 1.91 K/BB rate this year while grading out in in the 84th percentile.

According to the leading projection system (THE BAT X), Shohei Ohtani ranks as the 4th-best hitter in Major League Baseball.

Shohei Ohtani is penciled in 1st in the lineup in today’s game.

Gavin Lux’s BABIP skill is projected in the 79th percentile by the leading projection system (THE BAT X).

Gavin Lux is penciled in 5th in the lineup today, which would be an upgrade from his 84% rate of hitting in the bottom-half of the batting order this season.

Batting from the opposite that Paul Skenes throws from, Gavin Lux will have an edge today.

The leading projection system (THE BAT X) projects Bryan De La Cruz in the 89th percentile as it relates to his BABIP ability.

Checking in at the 78th percentile for power, Bryan De La Cruz has hit 24.1 HRs per 600 plate appearances this year.

Joey Bart has made big gains with his Barrel% in recent games, bettering his 11.8% seasonal rate to 20.8% over the last 14 days.

Joey Bart has seen a significant gain in his exit velocity on flyballs in recent games; just compare his 108.4-mph average in the last week’s worth of games to his seasonal EV of 97-mph.

Over the past 14 days, Joey Bart has significantly improved the launch angle on his highest exit velocity balls: 21.1° compared to his seasonal mark of 13.4°.

Shohei Ohtani will receive the benefit of the platoon advantage against Paul Skenes today.

Home field advantage generally boosts hitter stats across the board, and Shohei Ohtani will hold that advantage in today’s matchup.

The leading projection system (THE BAT X) projects Freddie Freeman as the 4th-best hitter in Major League Baseball when assessing his batting average talent.

Freddie Freeman is projected to bat 3rd in the lineup in this matchup.

Hitting from the opposite that Paul Skenes throws from, Freddie Freeman will have an edge in today’s matchup.

Home field advantage typically improves hitter stats across the board, and Freddie Freeman will hold that advantage today.

Gavin Lux hits many of his flyballs to center field (39.4% — 96th percentile) and will have a big advantage facing the league’s 9th-shallowest CF fences today.

Gavin Lux will hold the home field advantage in today’s game, which ought to bolster all of his stats.

Extreme flyball bats like Andy Pages tend to perform better against extreme groundball pitchers like Paul Skenes.

Andy Pages will benefit from the home field advantage in today’s game, which ought to bolster all of his stats.

Andy Pages’s ability to hit the ball at a HR-optimizing launch angle (between 23° and 34°) has improved lately, rising from 15.6% on the season to 27.8% in the past 14 days.

Based on Statcast metrics, the leading projection system (THE BAT X)’s version of Expected wOBA (.327) implies that Andy Pages has suffered from bad luck this year with his .297 actual wOBA.

Kike Hernandez hits a high percentage of his flyballs to center field (38.8% — 89th percentile) and will have a big advantage facing the league’s 9th-shallowest CF fences in today’s matchup.

Kike Hernandez will benefit from the home field advantage in today’s game, which should bolster all of his stats.

Kike Hernandez has seen a sizeable gain in his exit velocity this season; just compare his 90.2-mph average to last year’s 87.8-mph figure.

Over the last 14 days, Rowdy Tellez has improved his Barrel% substantially, increasing it from his seasonal rate of 8% to 20%.

In the past two weeks, Rowdy Tellez’s 66.7% rate of hitting balls at a BABIP-maximizing launch angle (between -4° and 26°) shows big improvement over his seasonal rate of 45.1%.

Teoscar Hernandez has seen a notable increase in his exit velocity on flyballs of late; just compare his 100.6-mph average over the last 7 days to his seasonal EV of 96.1-mph.

Teoscar Hernandez’s average launch angle on his hardest-contacted balls recently (20.4° in the last two weeks) is considerably higher than his 15.2° seasonal mark.

The leading projection system (THE BAT X) projects Bryan Reynolds in the 94th percentile as it relates to his overall offensive ability.

Freddie Freeman projects as the 11th-best batter in Major League Baseball, per the leading projection system (THE BAT X).

The leading projection system (THE BAT X) projects Andy Pages in the 75th percentile when assessing his home run skill.

The leading projection system (THE BAT X) projects Oneil Cruz in the 95th percentile as it relates to his BABIP skill.

Hitting from the opposite that River Ryan throws from, Oneil Cruz will have an edge today.

Over the last 14 days, Oneil Cruz’s exit velocity on flyballs has seen a big rise, from 96.3-mph over the course of the season to 105.3-mph recently.

Batting from the opposite that Paul Skenes throws from, Jason Heyward will have an advantage in today’s game.

Home field advantage generally bolsters hitter metrics across the board, and Jason Heyward will hold that advantage in today’s game.

Sporting a 2 K/BB rate this year, Jason Heyward has displayed good plate discipline, ranking in the 81st percentile.

It may be best to expect improved performance for the Los Angeles Dodgers offense in future games, given that the leading projection system (THE BAT X) views them as the 6th-unluckiest offense in the league this year.

Given that groundball hitters have a sizeable advantage over flyball pitchers, Paul Skenes and his 47% underlying GB% (per the leading projection system, THE BAT) will be in a hard position in today’s game going up against 1 opposing GB hitters.

Paul Skenes has averaged 96.5 adjusted pitches per start this year, ranking in the 94th percentile.

When assessing his overall offensive skill, Teoscar Hernandez ranks in the 94th percentile according to the leading projections (THE BAT X).

Hitters such as Will Smith with extreme flyball tendencies are usually more effective when facing pitchers like Paul Skenes who skew towards the groundball end of the spectrum.

Home field advantage generally improves hitter metrics in all categories, and Will Smith will hold that advantage today.

Paul Skenes projects as the 9th-best starting pitcher in MLB right now as it relates to his strikeout talent, via the leading projection system (THE BAT).

Paul Skenes has put up a 12.9% Swinging Strike% this year, checking in at the 83rd percentile.

Paul Skenes has recorded a 32.1% Strikeout% this year, ranking in the 97th percentile.

Compared to his seasonal average of 16°, Kike Hernandez has significantly improved his launch angle lately, posting a 22.6° angle over the past 14 days.

The leading projection system (THE BAT X) estimates Kike Hernandez’s true offensive talent to be a .295, implying that he has experienced some negative variance this year given the .029 discrepancy between that mark and his actual .266 wOBA.

The leading projection system (THE BAT X) projects Rowdy Tellez in the 89th percentile as it relates to his home run ability.

Saturday Game 2 player match stat slumps with Pirates vs Dodgers Matchup

Batting from the same side that Paul Skenes throws from, Will Smith will be in a tough position today.

In the last 14 days, Will Smith’s Barrel% has experienced a negative regression, plummeting from his seasonal rate of 10.5% down to 0%.

Over the past 7 days, Will Smith’s 0% rate of hitting balls at a HR-optimizing launch angle (between 23° and 34°) has taken a nosedive compared to his seasonal rate of 21.3%.

Bryan Reynolds will be at a disadvantage playing on the road in today’s game.

Bryan Reynolds has negatively regressed with his Barrel% in recent games; his 10.6% seasonal rate has fallen off to 5.6% over the past two weeks.

Bryan Reynolds’s average exit velocity has declined lately; his 90-mph seasonal figure has decreased to 87.4-mph in the past 7 days.

Bryan Reynolds has been lucky this year, compiling a .360 wOBA despite the leading projection system (THE BAT X) estimating his true talent level to be .343 — a .017 gap.

The leading projection system (THE BAT X) projects Rowdy Tellez in the 4th percentile as it relates to his BABIP ability.

Rowdy Tellez has been pulled from the game early 25% of the time when starting against a right-handed pitcher this year.

Playing on the road typically reduces hitter stats across the board due to the lack of home field advantage, which figures to be the case for Rowdy Tellez today.

Rowdy Tellez’s ability to hit the ball at a HR-optimizing launch angle (between 23° and 34°) has fallen off from last season to this one, decreasing from 16.1% to 12.2%.

Based on Statcast data, the leading projection system (THE BAT X)’s version of Expected wOBA (.293) implies that Rowdy Tellez has been lucky this year with his .307 actual wOBA.

River Ryan will have the handedness advantage against Joey Bart today.

Playing on the road generally lessens hitter stats in all categories due to the lack of home field advantage, which ought to be the case for Joey Bart in today’s game.

The leading projection system (THE BAT X) estimates Joey Bart’s true offensive talent to be a .302, providing some evidence that he has been very fortunate this year given the .065 difference between that figure and his actual .367 wOBA.

Paul Skenes will have the handedness advantage over Teoscar Hernandez in today’s matchup.

Teoscar Hernandez has an 84th percentile opposite-field rate on his flyballs (35.1%) and has the misfortune of hitting them towards the league’s 8th-deepest RF fences in today’s matchup.

With 6 bats of the same handedness in the opposing team’s projected batting order, River Ryan figures to benefit from holding the platoon advantage in most plate appearances today.

Home field advantage typically improves pitcher stats in all categories, and River Ryan will hold that advantage in today’s matchup.

River Ryan has recorded a terrific 1.72 ERA over his last 3 outings.

Pittsburgh has performed as the #29 club in the league when it comes to hitting balls between 23° and 34°, the launch angle range that tends to result the most in home runs (13.7% rate this year).

Oneil Cruz will be at a disadvantage playing on the road in today’s game.

Oneil Cruz has taken a step back with his Barrel% of late; his 18.5% seasonal rate has lowered to 0% in the last week’s worth of games.

Compared to his seasonal mark of 11°, Oneil Cruz has produced a noticeably lower launch angle (1.7°) in the last two weeks.

When it comes to plate discipline, Oneil Cruz’s ability is quite weak, posting a 4.56 K/BB rate this year while grading out in in the 11th percentile.

The leading projection system (THE BAT X) projects Ke’Bryan Hayes in the 21st percentile when estimating his home run talent.

Ke’Bryan Hayes is projected to hit 7th on the lineup card today, which would be a downgrade from his 64% rate of hitting in the top-half of the batting order this season.

River Ryan will have the handedness advantage over Ke’Bryan Hayes in today’s game.

Ke’Bryan Hayes has a 99th percentile opposite-field rate on his flyballs (42.3%) and will be challenged by the game’s 8th-deepest RF fences today.

Ke’Bryan Hayes will be at a disadvantage playing as a visiting player today.

Ke’Bryan Hayes has taken a step back with his Barrel%; his 7.5% rate last season has dropped to 1.9% this season.

When estimating his home run talent, Miguel Rojas ranks in the 4th percentile according to the leading projection system (THE BAT X).

Miguel Rojas is projected to hit 6th on the lineup card in this matchup.

17% of the time that Miguel Rojas has started against a right-handed starter this year, he has been pulled from the game early.

Batting from the same side that Paul Skenes throws from, Miguel Rojas will have a tough matchup in today’s game.

Miguel Rojas has a 92nd percentile opposite-field rate on his flyballs (37.4%) and has the misfortune of hitting them towards MLB’s 8th-deepest RF fences in today’s matchup.

Shohei Ohtani’s average exit velocity has decreased in recent games; his 95.3-mph seasonal EV has fallen to 92.3-mph in the past week’s worth of games.

Shohei Ohtani’s ability to hit the ball at a HR-optimizing launch angle (between 23° and 34°) has fallen off from last season to this one, falling from 18.2% to 15.2%.

Shohei Ohtani’s ability to hit the ball at a base hit-optimizing launch angle (between -4° and 26°) has fallen off lately, decreasing from 47.9% on the season to 18.2% in the last week.

Despite posting a .417 wOBA this year, the leading projection system (THE BAT X) believes Shohei Ohtani has been lucky given the .014 gap between that mark and his estimated true talent wOBA of .403.

This year, Gavin Lux has been replaced by a pinch-hitter in 11% of his appearances when starting against northpaw.

Extreme groundball bats like Gavin Lux usually hit worse against extreme groundball pitchers like Paul Skenes.

In terms of his home runs, Gavin Lux has experienced some positive variance this year. His 10.6 HR per 600 plate appearances mark has been significantly inflated relative to the leading projection system (THE BAT X)’s version of Statcast-based Expected HR/600 at 8.1.

Gavin Lux has paced 9.9 HRs per 600 plate appearances this year, grading out in the 16th percentile for power.

Bryan De La Cruz has primarily hit in the top-half of the batting order this year (96% of the time), but he is projected to bat 6th in the lineup in today’s game.

Hitting from the same side that River Ryan throws from, Bryan De La Cruz meets a tough challenge in today’s game.

Bryan De La Cruz has a 79th percentile opposite-field rate on his flyballs (34.2%) and has the misfortune of hitting them in the direction of the league’s 8th-deepest RF fences in today’s matchup.

Bryan De La Cruz will be at a disadvantage playing as a visiting player in today’s game.

In the last week, Bryan De La Cruz’s Barrel% has experienced a negative regression, plummeting from his seasonal rate of 10.6% down to 0%.

Freddie Freeman has struggled with his Barrel% of late; his 9.5% seasonal rate has dropped to 0% in the past 7 days.

Freddie Freeman’s exit velocity on flyballs has declined lately; his 91.8-mph seasonal EV has fallen off to 64.4-mph over the last week.

Andy Pages is projected to hit 9th on the lineup card in this game.

Paul Skenes will have the handedness advantage over Andy Pages today.

In the last 7 days, Andy Pages’s exit velocity on flyballs has fallen off from his seasonal mark of 90.9 mph to 85.1 mph.

Andy Pages has shown weak plate discipline this year, ranking in the 17th percentile with a 4.12 K/BB rate.

The leading projection system (THE BAT X) projects Kike Hernandez in the 7th percentile when assessing his BABIP talent.

Kike Hernandez is projected to bat 7th in the lineup in this game.

Paul Skenes will have the handedness advantage against Kike Hernandez in today’s matchup.

Kike Hernandez’s exit velocity on flyballs has declined recently; his 90.5-mph seasonal mark has dropped to 87.1-mph in the past two weeks’ worth of games.

Based on Statcast metrics, the leading projection system (THE BAT X)’s version of Expected HR per 600 plate appearances (7.4) suggests that Kike Hernandez has had some very good luck this year with his 12.9 actual HR/600.

In notching a .258 Expected wOBA (or xwOBA, an advanced metric created by the leading projection system (THE BAT X) using Statcast data) this year, Kike Hernandez is ranked in the 4th percentile for offensive skills.

Gavin Lux’s ability to hit the ball at a HR-optimizing launch angle (between 23° and 34°) has decreased recently, falling from 11.4% on the season to 8.3% over the past week.

Gavin Lux’s 7.2° launch angle (a reliable standard to measure a batter’s ability to lift the ball for power) is one of the most groundball-inducing in baseball: 10th percentile.

In the last week, Freddie Freeman’s 11.1% rate of hitting balls at a HR-maximizing launch angle (between 23° and 34°) has taken a nosedive compared to his seasonal rate of 20.6%.

Jason Heyward’s BABIP talent is projected in the 7th percentile by the leading projection system (THE BAT X).

Jason Heyward is projected to hit 8th in the batting order today.

When starting against a northpaw this year, Jason Heyward has been pulled from the game early 26% of the time.

In today’s matchup, Jason Heyward is at a disadvantage facing the league’s 8th-deepest RF fences given that he hits his flyballs to the pull field at a 36.7% rate (93rd percentile).

Jason Heyward’s average launch angle on his highest exit velocity balls this year (7.1°) is significantly lower than his 12.1° mark last season.

The leading projection system (THE BAT X) projects Miguel Rojas in the 19th percentile as it relates to his BABIP skill.

In the last 14 days, Jason Heyward’s 4.8% rate of hitting balls at a HR-optimizing launch angle (between 23° and 34°) has taken a nosedive compared to his seasonal rate of 13.2%.

The leading projection system (THE BAT) projects Paul Skenes as the 2nd-best pitcher in the game currently.

Compared to their .344 overall projected rate, the .333 the leading projection system (THE BAT X) wOBA of the Los Angeles Dodgers projected batting order in today’s game suggests this version of the lineup a good deal weaker than usual.

Paul Skenes is an extreme groundball pitcher (47% GB% according to the leading projection system, THE BAT), which should make him somewhat immune to the dangers of pitching in Dodger Stadium — the #2 HR venue among all major league stadiums — today.

Paul Skenes turned in a great performance in his previous outing and allowed 2 ER.

Among all starters, Paul Skenes’s fastball velocity of 98.3 mph ranks in the 100th percentile this year.

Playing on the road typically reduces pitcher stats across the board due to the lack of home field advantage, which should be the case for Paul Skenes in today’s game.

Paul Skenes’s fastball spin rate over his last 3 starts (2217 rpm) has been significantly lower than than his seasonal rate (2273 rpm).

Taking into account both his underlying tendencies and the matchup, River Ryan is projected to throw 76 pitches in today’s matchup by the leading projection system (THE BAT X) system, which is the 2nd-least on the slate.