San Francisco @ Pittsburgh picks

Rafael Devers is hitting .385 in August and went 3-for-4 with a home run on Sunday against the New York Mets, raising his total to 20 on the year. He faces Pirates LHP Johan Oviedo, who hasn't pitched since 2023, and the Giants slugger has taken southpaws deep six times. 

Oneil Cruz projects as the 6th-best home run batter in MLB, via the leading projection system (THE BAT X).. Oneil Cruz is projected to hit 4th in the lineup in this matchup.. Hot weather is strongly correlated with more offense (and fewer Ks), and the weather forecast calls for the 5th-hottest weather on the slate at 82°.. Batting from the opposite that Justin Verlander throws from, Oneil Cruz will have an advantage today.. Home field advantage generally improves hitter metrics across the board, and Oneil Cruz will hold that advantage in today's matchup.

When estimating his home run talent, Willy Adames ranks in the 94th percentile according to the leading projection system (THE BAT X).. Willy Adames is penciled in 3rd on the lineup card in this game.. Built 724 feet above sea level, PNC Park has the 6th-highest elevation in the majors, which usually leads (as a rule of thumb) to more offense.. Hot weather is strongly correlated with more offense (and fewer Ks), and the weather forecast calls for the 4th-hottest weather on the slate at 83°.. The Pittsburgh Pirates outfield defense projects as the worst among all the teams in action today.

Matt Chapman projects as the 17th-best home run hitter in the majors, via the leading projection system (THE BAT X).. Matt Chapman is penciled in 4th in the batting order today.. Hot weather is strongly correlated with more offense (and fewer Ks), and the weather forecast calls for the 5th-hottest weather on the slate at 82°.. The Pittsburgh Pirates outfield defense projects as the 4th-worst among all the teams in action today.. Matt Chapman has made significant improvements with his Barrel% in recent games, upping his 11.2% seasonal rate to 21.4% in the last two weeks' worth of games.

When assessing his overall offensive skill, Rafael Devers ranks in the 97th percentile according to the leading projections (THE BAT X).. Rafael Devers is projected to bat 2nd in the lineup today.. Built 724 feet above sea level, PNC Park has the 6th-highest elevation in the majors, which usually leads (as a rule of thumb) to more offense.. Hot weather is strongly correlated with more offense (and fewer Ks), and the weather forecast calls for the 5th-hottest weather on the slate at 82°.. Rafael Devers will have the handedness advantage over Johan Oviedo today.

As it relates to his overall offensive ability, Heliot Ramos ranks in the 90th percentile according to the leading projections (THE BAT X).. Heliot Ramos is penciled in 1st on the lineup card in today's game.. Hot weather is strongly correlated with more offense (and fewer Ks), and the weather forecast calls for the 5th-hottest weather on the slate at 82°.. The Pittsburgh Pirates outfield defense projects as the 5th-worst among all the teams in action today.. Heliot Ramos has been hot recently, raising his seasonal exit velocity of 91.5-mph to 94.2-mph in the last two weeks.

Built 724 feet above sea level, PNC Park has the 6th-highest elevation in the majors, which usually leads (as a rule of thumb) to more offense.. Hot weather is strongly correlated with more offense (and fewer Ks), and the weather forecast calls for the 5th-hottest weather on the slate at 82°.. The Pittsburgh Pirates outfield defense projects as the 4th-worst among all the teams in action today.. Casey Schmitt's launch angle recently (26.4° in the last two weeks) is significantly higher than his 17.2° seasonal angle.. Sporting a .344 Expected wOBA (or xwOBA, an advanced metric created by the leading projection system (THE BAT X) using Statcast data) this year, Casey Schmitt grades out in the 86th percentile for offensive ability.

When assessing his overall offensive skill, Rafael Devers ranks in the 97th percentile according to the leading projections (THE BAT X).. Rafael Devers is projected to bat 2nd in the lineup today.. Built 724 feet above sea level, PNC Park has the 6th-highest elevation in the majors, which usually leads (as a rule of thumb) to more offense.. Hot weather is strongly correlated with more offense (and fewer Ks), and the weather forecast calls for the 5th-hottest weather on the slate at 82°.. Rafael Devers will have the handedness advantage over Johan Oviedo today.

Matt Chapman projects as the 17th-best home run hitter in the majors, via the leading projection system (THE BAT X).. Matt Chapman is penciled in 4th in the batting order today.. Hot weather is strongly correlated with more offense (and fewer Ks), and the weather forecast calls for the 5th-hottest weather on the slate at 82°.. The Pittsburgh Pirates outfield defense projects as the 4th-worst among all the teams in action today.. Matt Chapman has made significant improvements with his Barrel% in recent games, upping his 11.2% seasonal rate to 21.4% in the last two weeks' worth of games.

When it comes to his home run ability, Jack Suwinski ranks in the 93rd percentile according to the leading projection system (THE BAT X).. Hot weather is strongly correlated with more offense (and fewer Ks), and the weather forecast calls for the 5th-hottest weather on the slate at 82°.. Jack Suwinski will receive the benefit of the platoon advantage against Justin Verlander in today's game.. Jack Suwinski will hold the home field advantage in today's game, which should boost all of his stats.. Jack Suwinski has made sizeable gains with his Barrel%, bettering his 9% rate last season to 14.3% this season.

The #1 venue in Major League Baseball for suppressing home runs to right-handed batters, per the leading projection system (THE BAT), is PNC Park.. Among all major league parks, the 6th-tallest fences are at PNC Park.. Homers are generally less common at fields with deep fences, and PNC Park has the 7th-deepest in Major League Baseball.. Johan Oviedo will hold the platoon advantage over Matt Chapman in today's matchup.. Matt Chapman will be at a disadvantage playing on the road in today's game.