INDEPENDENT MLB ANALYTICSINDEPENDENT ANALYTICS
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FinalFinal lineupsAL West / NL Central

Los Angeles Angels 6, Pittsburgh Pirates 1

Final Score and Game Recap

Final score, pitching lines and standings context.

6:40 PM ET · PNC ParkGame-day snapshot Sep 6, 4:35 AM ETFinal lineups lockedCurrent 2026 season stats — updated Oct 20, 5:00 AM ET
T-Score30
Los Angeles Angels
62–100 · 5th AL West · T-Score 30
6
6–1
FINAL · 9 innings
Pittsburgh Pirates
82–80 · 3rd NL Central · T-Score 43
1
T-Score43
FINAL · 9 innings
Pitching recap
PitcherTeamRoleIPHERBBKP
Yusei KikuchiLAA
StarterWin
6.0503689
Braxton AshcraftPIT
StarterLoss
5.0730967
Scoring by inning
123456789RHE
LAALos Angeles Angels0001203006——
PITPittsburgh Pirates0000000101——
Top hitters
Bryan Reynolds3-for-3 · 1 HR · 1 RBI · 1 BB
Josh Lowe1-for-4 · 1 HR · 1 RBI
Wade Meckler2-for-5 · 2 RBI · 1 R
Zach Neto3-for-5 · 1 RBI · 1 R
Mike Trout2-for-4 · 1 RBI · 1 R

Matchup at a glance

PitcherStat calculation
CategoryComparisonWhy
Starting pitcherPiratesAshcraft owns the stronger overall starter profile, with the higher P-Score and better strikeout and baserunner rates.
Offense vs handPiratesPittsburgh has produced the stronger offense against left-handed pitching.
LineupPiratesPittsburgh's official lineup includes 4 right-handed bats against the opposing starter.
Recent formPiratesPittsburgh has won 7 of its last 10 and owns the stronger recent run differential.
PowerPiratesPittsburgh has 164 home runs this season, 28 more than Los.

Pregame contextStarting pitchers

LAA
Yusei Kikuchi LHP
Yusei Kikuchi
Los Angeles Angels
2026 season (MLB rank among qualified starters)
ERA
4.96
160th
WHIP
1.47
203rd
K/9
9.00
77th
BB/9
3.49
177th
P-Score45i
FIP
–
HR/9
1.29
57th
OPS/R
–
IP
49.0
Last 5 starts
ERA
3.72
QUALITY
START %
40%
(2 of 5)
PIT
Braxton Ashcraft RHP
Braxton Ashcraft
Pittsburgh Pirates
2026 season (MLB rank among qualified starters)
ERA
3.65
64th
WHIP
1.09
27th
K/9
9.42
48th
BB/9
1.91
11th
P-Score67i
FIP
–
HR/9
1.20
113th
OPS/R
–
IP
165.1
Last 5 starts
ERA
2.18
QUALITY
START %
60%
(3 of 5)
How the starters differ
·Ashcraft allows fewer baserunners, with a 1.09 WHIP compared with 1.47.
·Ashcraft enters with a 3.65 ERA compared with Kikuchi's 4.96.
·Ashcraft averages 1.0 more innings per start.
·Ashcraft owns a 2.18 ERA over his last five starts, compared with 3.72 for Kikuchi.

How the lineups match the starters' pitch mix

Pitch data coverage: partial. Usage and velocity only.

Kikuchi arsenal
PitchUsageVelo
Four-seam41%95.5
Slider25%87.4
Splitter17%86.6
Curveball11%79.9
Cutter5%90.3
Ashcraft arsenal
PitchUsageVelo
Four-seam31%97.3
Curveball26%85.0
Slider22%91.8
Sinker17%97.1
Splitter4%91.8

Team OPS vs opposing starter's hand

Angels vs RHP (Braxton Ashcraft)
30th
in MLB
0.672OPS
.600.700.800.9001.000
Pirates vs LHP (Yusei Kikuchi)
17th
in MLB
0.701OPS
.600.700.800.9001.000

Lineups

Final lineupsOrder from the stored snapshot; treat as unofficial until the card is filed.Full lineup page
#HitterPosH-ScoreOPSHRvs RHPVs Ashcraft (BvP)
1Zach NetoRSS67.76627.7271-for-3Very small sample
2Jose SiriRLF50.71310.687No MLB historyNo history
3Wade MecklerLLF50.7603.800No MLB historyNo history
4Vaughn GrissomR1B52.69313.6761-for-3Very small sample
5Moisés BallesterosLDH46.6129.6940-for-2Very small sample
6Christian MooreR2B31.5282.4940-for-2Very small sample
7Josh LoweLLF41.63312.6741-for-2Very small sample
8Denzer GuzmanR3B36.6028.5631-for-2Very small sample
9Adam FrazierL2B29.6641.664No MLB historyNo history
1Zach Neto SS · R.239 / .766 · 27 HRvs hand .727 · 1-for-3 · Very small sample67H-Score2Jose Siri LF · R.241 / .713 · 10 HRvs hand .687 · No MLB history · No history50H-Score3Wade Meckler LF · L.300 / .760 · 3 HRvs hand .800 · No MLB history · No history50H-Score4Vaughn Grissom 1B · R.242 / .693 · 13 HRvs hand .676 · 1-for-3 · Very small sample52H-Score5Moisés Ballesteros DH · L.215 / .612 · 9 HRvs hand .694 · 0-for-2 · Very small sample46H-Score6Christian Moore 2B · R.187 / .528 · 2 HRvs hand .494 · 0-for-2 · Very small sample31H-Score7Josh Lowe LF · L.209 / .633 · 12 HRvs hand .674 · 1-for-2 · Very small sample41H-Score8Denzer Guzman 3B · R.219 / .602 · 8 HRvs hand .563 · 1-for-2 · Very small sample36H-Score9Adam Frazier 2B · L.240 / .664 · 1 HRvs hand .664 · No MLB history · No history29H-Score
Pittsburgh PiratesOfficial lineupvs LHP Yusei Kikuchi
#HitterPosH-ScoreOPSHRvs LHPVs Kikuchi (BvP)
1Konnor GriffinRSS48.7286.822No MLB historyNo history
2Esmerlyn ValdezRRF72.855171.0110-for-2Very small sample
3Bryan ReynoldsSLF74.78917.8240-for-2Very small sample
4Oneil CruzLCF74.85420.8491-for-2Very small sample
5Nick GonzalesR3B52.7556.6531-for-3Very small sample
6Rafael Flores Jr.RC66.85811.8091-for-3Very small sample
7Spencer HorwitzL1B52.70810.608No MLB historyNo history
8Jake MangumSCF40.6945.6750-for-4Very small sample
9Brandon LoweL2B73.82435.6120-for-12Small sample
1Konnor Griffin SS · R.272 / .728 · 6 HRvs hand .822 · No MLB history · No history48H-Score2Esmerlyn Valdez RF · R.232 / .855 · 17 HRvs hand 1.011 · 0-for-2 · Very small sample72H-Score3Bryan Reynolds LF · S.261 / .789 · 17 HRvs hand .824 · 0-for-2 · Very small sample74H-Score4Oneil Cruz CF · L.280 / .854 · 20 HRvs hand .849 · 1-for-2 · Very small sample74H-Score5Nick Gonzales 3B · R.303 / .755 · 6 HRvs hand .653 · 1-for-3 · Very small sample52H-Score6Rafael Flores Jr. C · R.264 / .858 · 11 HRvs hand .809 · 1-for-3 · Very small sample66H-Score7Spencer Horwitz 1B · L.244 / .708 · 10 HRvs hand .608 · No MLB history · No history52H-Score8Jake Mangum CF · S.276 / .694 · 5 HRvs hand .675 · 0-for-4 · Very small sample40H-Score9Brandon Lowe 2B · L.260 / .824 · 35 HRvs hand .612 · 0-for-12 · Small sample73H-Score

Team comparison

OffenseLAALAA·PITPIT
AVG.234 27th.253 5th
OPS.679 30th.734 6th
Home runs154 29th186 13th
Runs655 29th767 6th
OBP.310 26th.330 4th
SLG.369 30th.404 9th
PitchingLAALAA·PITPIT
1stMLB rank30th
ERA4.29vs4.14
LAAPIT
WHIP1.35vs1.30
LAAPIT
K/99.1vs9.3
LAAPIT
HR Allowed164vs155
LAAPIT
BullpenLAALAA·PITPIT
1stMLB rank30th
Bullpen ERA4.11vs4.07
no league rank
Bullpen WHIP1.31vs1.28
no league rank
Saves25vs41
LAAPIT
ResultsLAALAA·PITPIT
+30021st
Run differential
+4055th
62–100 Record82–80
1–9 Last 107–3
Last 10 games
Los Angeles Angels (1–9)
L
L
L
W
L
L
L
L
L
L
Pittsburgh Pirates (7–3)
W
W
L
W
W
W
L
L
W
W
2026 head-to-head
Season Series
1—2
3 Games Played

Frequently asked

Who is starting for the Angels?+
Yusei Kikuchi (4.96 ERA, 0–5) is listed as the starter.
Who is starting for the Pirates?+
Braxton Ashcraft (3.65 ERA, 14–5) is listed as the starter.
What time does the game start?+
6:40 PM ET at PNC Park.
Where is the game being played?+
PNC Park, home of the Pittsburgh Pirates.
Are the lineups confirmed?+
Not as official league cards. The orders shown are the current projected or last-posted lineups.
How have the Angels and Pirates performed head-to-head?+
Season series: Pirates 2–1 this season.
How do the starters compare on P-Score?+
Yusei Kikuchi is at 45; Braxton Ashcraft is at 67. P-Score is PitcherStat's 0–100 season index for qualified starters.