Houston @ Pittsburgh picks

The leading projection system (THE BAT X) projects Ryan Gusto to throw 79 pitches in this game (3rd-least of the day), considering both his underlying tendencies and the matchup.. John Libka projects as a Huge Hitters Umpire and is expected to be behind the plate in this game.. The #3 stadium in the game for suppressing strikeouts, via the leading projection system (THE BAT), is PNC Park.. PNC Park sits at the 6th-highest elevation among all parks. High elevation tends to lead to more offense.. High temperatures are strongly correlated with more offense (and fewer whiffs), and the weather report calls for the 2nd-hottest weather on the slate at 86°.

High temperatures are strongly correlated with more offense (and fewer whiffs), and the weather report calls for the 2nd-hottest weather on the slate at 86°.. Extreme flyball batters like Tommy Pham tend to perform better against extreme groundball pitchers like Ryan Gusto.. Home field advantage typically boosts hitter metrics in all categories, and Tommy Pham will hold that advantage in today's matchup.. Tommy Pham has been unlucky this year, notching a .236 wOBA despite the leading projection system (THE BAT X) estimating his true talent level to be .304 — a .068 deviation.

High temperatures are strongly correlated with more offense (and fewer whiffs), and the weather report calls for the 2nd-hottest weather on the slate at 86°.. Endy Rodriguez will possess the home field advantage today, which ought to bolster all of his stats.

PNC Park sits at the 6th-highest elevation among all parks. High elevation tends to lead to more offense.. High temperatures are strongly correlated with more offense (and fewer whiffs), and the weather report calls for the hottest weather on the slate at 87°.. Home field advantage generally boosts hitter stats in all categories, and Henry Davis will hold that advantage in today's matchup.. In the last 7 days, Henry Davis's Barrel% has experienced a surge, jumping from his seasonal rate of 8.3% up to 27.3%.. Henry Davis has seen a big increase in his exit velocity on flyballs lately; just compare his 106-mph average in the past week's worth of games to his seasonal figure of 89.5-mph.

Bryan Reynolds's BABIP ability is projected in the 95th percentile by the leading projection system (THE BAT X).. Bryan Reynolds is penciled in 3rd on the lineup card in this matchup.. PNC Park sits at the 6th-highest elevation among all parks. High elevation tends to lead to more offense.. High temperatures are strongly correlated with more offense (and fewer whiffs), and the weather report calls for the 2nd-hottest weather on the slate at 86°.. As a switch-hitter who is best from the 0 side of the dish, Bryan Reynolds will have the advantage of batting from from his better side against Ryan Gusto in today's matchup.

Oneil Cruz projects as the 7th-best home run hitter in the majors, per the leading projection system (THE BAT X).. Oneil Cruz is projected to hit 1st in the lineup in this game.. High temperatures are strongly correlated with more offense (and fewer whiffs), and the weather report calls for the 2nd-hottest weather on the slate at 86°.. Batting from the opposite that Ryan Gusto throws from, Oneil Cruz will have an advantage in today's matchup.. Oneil Cruz will benefit from the home field advantage in today's matchup, which ought to boost all of his stats.

The leading projection system (THE BAT X) projects Andrew McCutchen in the 87th percentile when it comes to his overall offensive ability.. Andrew McCutchen is projected to bat 2nd in the batting order today.. PNC Park sits at the 6th-highest elevation among all parks. High elevation tends to lead to more offense.. High temperatures are strongly correlated with more offense (and fewer whiffs), and the weather report calls for the 2nd-hottest weather on the slate at 86°.. Home field advantage generally bolsters batter stats in all categories, and Andrew McCutchen will hold that advantage today.

Ke'Bryan Hayes is projected to bat 5th in the lineup today.. High temperatures are strongly correlated with more offense (and fewer whiffs), and the weather report calls for the 2nd-hottest weather on the slate at 86°.. Extreme groundball bats like Ke'Bryan Hayes usually hit better against extreme flyball pitchers like Ryan Gusto.. Ke'Bryan Hayes will hold the home field advantage in today's matchup, which figures to boost all of his stats.. There has been a significant improvement in Ke'Bryan Hayes's launch angle from last year's 4.7° to 8.3° this season.

As it relates to his home run skill, Alexander Canario ranks in the 81st percentile according to the leading projection system (THE BAT X).. Alexander Canario is penciled in 5th in the lineup in this matchup.. High temperatures are strongly correlated with more offense (and fewer whiffs), and the weather report calls for the hottest weather on the slate at 87°.. Alexander Canario will have the benefit of the home field advantage in today's matchup, which ought to improve all of his stats.. In terms of his home runs, Alexander Canario has experienced some negative variance since the start of last season. His 16.0 HR per 600 plate appearances mark has been significantly deflated relative to the leading projection system (THE BAT X)'s version of Statcast-based Expected HR/600 at 29.2.

The leading projection system (THE BAT X) projects Jose Altuve in the 88th percentile when assessing his batting average skill.. Jose Altuve is projected to bat 3rd in the batting order in this matchup.. PNC Park sits at the 6th-highest elevation among all parks. High elevation tends to lead to more offense.. High temperatures are strongly correlated with more offense (and fewer whiffs), and the weather report calls for the 2nd-hottest weather on the slate at 86°.. Jose Altuve has made significant gains with his Barrel% in recent games, bettering his 6% seasonal rate to 14.3% in the last 7 days.