INDEPENDENT MLB ANALYTICSINDEPENDENT ANALYTICS
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FinalFinal lineupsNL Central / AL Central

Pittsburgh Pirates 3, Detroit Tigers 4

Final Score and Game Recap

Final score, pitching lines and standings context.

1:10 PM ET · Comerica ParkGame-day snapshot Sep 28, 2:00 AM ETFinal lineups lockedCurrent 2026 season stats — updated Oct 9, 5:00 AM ET
T-Score52
Pittsburgh Pirates
82–80 · 3rd NL Central · T-Score 52
3
3–4
FINAL · 9 innings
Detroit Tigers
76–86 · 4th AL Central · T-Score 57
4
T-Score57
FINAL · 9 innings
Pitching recap
PitcherTeamRoleIPHERBBKP
Kirby YatesPIT
Starter
1.2200128
Mason MontgomeryPIT
ReliefLoss
0.2330120
Justin VerlanderDET
Starter
5.1521691
Jacob WaguespackDET
ReliefWin
1.1200224
Scoring by inning
123456789RHE
PITPittsburgh Pirates000110010391
DETDetroit Tigers0000010034100
Top hitters
Eduardo Valencia1-for-5 · 1 HR · 2 RBI
Brandon Lowe1-for-4 · 1 HR · 1 RBI
Jacob Gonzalez1-for-2 · 1 HR · 1 RBI
Bryan Reynolds2-for-4 · 1 RBI
Javier Báez2-for-4 · 1 RBI

Matchup at a glance

PitcherStat calculation
CategoryComparisonWhy
Starting pitcherPiratesYates leads Verlander in P-Score (– vs –), WHIP and K/9.
Offense vs handPiratesPittsburgh has produced the stronger offense against right-handed pitching.
LineupTigersThe confirmed Detroit order includes 6 hitters with an OPS above .750 against right-handed pitching.
BullpenEvenThe two bullpens have produced similar season ERA and WHIP.
Recent formPiratesPittsburgh has won 6 of its last 10 and owns the stronger recent run differential.

Pregame contextStarting pitchers

PIT
Kirby Yates RHP
Kirby Yates
Pittsburgh Pirates
2026 season (MLB rank among qualified starters)
ERA
3.32
WHIP
1.20
K/9
10.62
BB/9
3.76
FIP
–
HR/9
0.66
OPS/R
–
IP
40.2
Last 5 starts
QUALITY
START %
0%
(0 of 5)
DAYS
REST
3
DET
Justin Verlander RHP
Justin Verlander
Detroit Tigers
2026 season (MLB rank among qualified starters)
ERA
12.27
WHIP
2.18
K/9
2.45
BB/9
4.91
FIP
–
HR/9
2.45
OPS/R
–
IP
3.2
Last 5 starts
ERA
2.08
QUALITY
START %
60%
(3 of 5)
DAYS
REST
180
How the starters differ
·Yates strikes out 8.2 more batters per nine innings.
·Yates allows fewer baserunners, with a 1.20 WHIP compared with 2.18.
·Yates enters with a 3.32 ERA compared with Verlander's 12.27.
·Yates allows the lower home-run rate: 0.66 vs 2.45 per nine.

How the lineups match the starters' pitch mix

Pitch data coverage: partial. Usage and velocity only.

Yates arsenal
PitchUsageVelo
Four-seam66%90.8
Splitter32%84.4
Sweeper2%75.0
Verlander arsenal
PitchUsageVelo
Four-seam43%93.2
Slider28%87.4
Curveball18%79.2
Changeup10%83.5
Sweeper3%82.2

Team OPS vs opposing starter's hand

Pirates vs RHP (Justin Verlander)
6th
in MLB
0.749OPS
.600.700.800.9001.000
Tigers vs RHP (Kirby Yates)
14th
in MLB
0.723OPS
.600.700.800.9001.000

Lineup strength vs today's starter

Weighted by batting-order spot. Season rates are regressed toward league average before they enter the model.

Updated Sep 26, 11:10 AM ET
PITPIT
.736
−21 ptsOPS edge
DETDET
.757

Slight edge: DET

Full lineup comparison

Lineups

Final lineupsOrder from the stored snapshot; treat as unofficial until the card is filed.Full lineup page
#HitterPosH-ScoreOPSHRvs RHPVs Verlander (BvP)
1Ryan O'HearnLRF66.77018.8393-for-3Very small sample
2Brandon LoweL2B76.82435.9100-for-3Very small sample
3Bryan ReynoldsSLF77.78917.7791-for-3Very small sample
4Oneil CruzLCF77.85420.8580-for-4Very small sample
5Konnor GriffinRSS50.7286.690No MLB historyNo history
6Spencer HorwitzL1B55.70810.7343-for-6Very small sample
7Ronny SimonSRF—.6481.612No MLB historyNo history
8Jacob GonzalezLSS43.6387.691No MLB historyNo history
9Henry DavisRC49.58510.658No MLB historyNo history
1Ryan O'Hearn RF · L.265 / .770 · 18 HRvs hand .839 · 3-for-3 · Very small sample66H-Score2Brandon Lowe 2B · L.260 / .824 · 35 HRvs hand .910 · 0-for-3 · Very small sample76H-Score3Bryan Reynolds LF · S.261 / .789 · 17 HRvs hand .779 · 1-for-3 · Very small sample77H-Score4Oneil Cruz CF · L.280 / .854 · 20 HRvs hand .858 · 0-for-4 · Very small sample77H-Score5Konnor Griffin SS · R.272 / .728 · 6 HRvs hand .690 · No MLB history · No history50H-Score6Spencer Horwitz 1B · L.244 / .708 · 10 HRvs hand .734 · 3-for-6 · Very small sample55H-Score7Ronny Simon RF · S.254 / .648 · 1 HRvs hand .612 · No MLB history · No history—H-Score8Jacob Gonzalez SS · L.220 / .638 · 7 HRvs hand .691 · No MLB history · No history43H-Score9Henry Davis C · R.172 / .585 · 10 HRvs hand .658 · No MLB history · No history49H-Score
Detroit TigersOfficial lineupvs RHP Kirby Yates
#HitterPosH-ScoreOPSHRvs RHPVs Yates (BvP)
1Max ClarkLCF49.7673.630No MLB historyNo history
2Hao-Yu LeeR2B56.74610.7531-for-1Very small sample
3Kevin McGonigleLSS71.80618.8680-for-1Very small sample
4Eduardo ValenciaRDH741.0168.993No MLB historyNo history
5Riley GreeneLLF79.84421.8600-for-3Very small sample
6Dillon DinglerRC66.74827.8200-for-1Very small sample
7Spencer TorkelsonR1B66.76626.7860-for-5Very small sample
8Zach McKinstryLRF35.5824.6290-for-1Very small sample
9Javier BáezRSS29.6343.5780-for-1Very small sample
1Max Clark CF · L.272 / .767 · 3 HRvs hand .630 · No MLB history · No history49H-Score2Hao-Yu Lee 2B · R.264 / .746 · 10 HRvs hand .753 · 1-for-1 · Very small sample56H-Score3Kevin McGonigle SS · L.278 / .806 · 18 HRvs hand .868 · 0-for-1 · Very small sample71H-Score4Eduardo Valencia DH · R.341 / 1.016 · 8 HRvs hand .993 · No MLB history · No history74H-Score5Riley Greene LF · L.280 / .844 · 21 HRvs hand .860 · 0-for-3 · Very small sample79H-Score6Dillon Dingler C · R.243 / .748 · 27 HRvs hand .820 · 0-for-1 · Very small sample66H-Score7Spencer Torkelson 1B · R.230 / .766 · 26 HRvs hand .786 · 0-for-5 · Very small sample66H-Score8Zach McKinstry RF · L.199 / .582 · 4 HRvs hand .629 · 0-for-1 · Very small sample35H-Score9Javier Báez SS · R.241 / .634 · 3 HRvs hand .578 · 0-for-1 · Very small sample29H-Score

Team comparison

OffensePITPIT·DETDET
AVG.253 5th.241 20th
OPS.734 6th.720 12th
Home runs186 13th181 18th
Runs767 6th723 14th
OBP.330 4th.320 10th
SLG.404 9th.400 18th
PitchingPITPIT·DETDET
1stMLB rank30th
ERA4.14vs3.67
PITDET
WHIP1.30vs1.22
PITDET
K/99.3vs8.2
PITDET
HR Allowed155vs167
PITDET
BullpenPITPIT·DETDET
1stMLB rank30th
Bullpen ERA3.88vs3.87
no league rank
Bullpen WHIP1.28vs1.27
no league rank
Saves41vs32
PITDET
ResultsPITPIT·DETDET
+3598th
Run differential
+3656th
82–80 Record76–86
6–4 Last 104–6
Last 10 games
Pittsburgh Pirates (6–4)
L
W
L
W
W
W
W
W
L
L
Detroit Tigers (4–6)
W
L
L
W
L
L
W
L
L
W
2026 head-to-head
Season Series
4—2
6 Games Played

Frequently asked

Who is starting for the Pirates?+
Kirby Yates (3.32 ERA, 2–5) is listed as the starter.
Who is starting for the Tigers?+
Justin Verlander (12.27 ERA, 0–1) is listed as the starter.
What time does the game start?+
1:10 PM ET at Comerica Park.
Where is the game being played?+
Comerica Park, home of the Detroit Tigers.
Are the lineups confirmed?+
Not as official league cards. The orders shown are the current projected or last-posted lineups.
How have the Pirates and Tigers performed head-to-head?+
Season series: Tigers 2–4 this season.