ARCHIVE April 17, 2026
April 17, 2026 · NL Cent

Tampa Bay Rays vs Pittsburgh Pirates

April 17, 2026PNC ParkClear 77°F · 2 mph, Out To CF
AWAY
Tampa Bay Rays
11-8
1
vs
HOME
Pittsburgh Pirates
12-8
5

Starting pitchers

AWAY · TB
Nick Martinez
Nick Martinez
IP 5.1
HOME · PIT
Bubba Chandler
Bubba Chandler
IP 6

Lineups

AWAY · TB
  1. 1 Chandler Simpson LF
  2. 2 Junior Caminero 3B
  3. 3 Jonathan Aranda 1B
  4. 4 Yandy Díaz DH
  5. 5 Jake Fraley RF
  6. 6 Ben Williamson SS
  7. 7 Cedric Mullins CF
  8. 8 Nick Fortes C
  9. 9 Richie Palacios 2B
HOME · PIT
  1. 1 Oneil Cruz CF
  2. 2 Brandon Lowe 2B
  3. 3 Bryan Reynolds LF
  4. 4 Ryan O'Hearn RF
  5. 5 Marcell Ozuna DH
  6. 6 Nick Gonzales 3B
  7. 7 Spencer Horwitz 1B
  8. 8 Konnor Griffin SS
  9. 9 Henry Davis C

Box score

  123456789 R
TB 000001000 1
PIT 010002020 5

Manager comparison

Both managers grade B- / C- entering this matchup.

AWAY · TB
Kevin Cash
B- Lineup 0.9 R Bunts 2.4 R IBBs 2.1 R
HOME · PIT
Don Kelly
C- Lineup 2.3 R Bunts 0.3 R IBBs 0.8 R

Recent form

AWAY · TB
8-2 L1 +17 run diff
LWWWWWWWLW
HOME · PIT
5-5 W2 +1 run diff
WWLWWWLLLL

Season series: 1-2 with TB listed first across 3 prior meetings.

Tactical analysis

RunsLeft separates manager decisions from player execution from game variance. Each card below is the same three-number framework that drives the share cards on the SPA replay page.

AWAY · Tampa Bay Rays
  • Manager lineup cost −0.09 R/G Optimal arrangement projects 4.70 vs actual lineup 4.78
  • Player execution −3.78 R/G Players fell 3.78 short of the lineup's 4.78 projection (scored 1)
  • Game variance −3.70 R/G Total game outcome vs optimal expectation

Aranda 0-for-3 batting 3rd

HOME · Pittsburgh Pirates
  • Manager lineup cost +0.01 R/G Optimal arrangement projects 2.45 vs actual lineup 2.43
  • Player execution +2.57 R/G Players exceeded the lineup's 2.43 projection by 2.57 (scored 5)
  • Game variance +2.55 R/G Total game outcome vs optimal expectation

Reynolds 0-for-4 batting 3rd

COUNTERFACTUAL

Optimal lineups projected 4.7 – 2.5 — actual was 1 – 5.

Keep reading

How RunsLeft analyzes games

Standard content on this page comes from the MLB Stats API. Tactical analysis comes from a per-game Monte Carlo: 10,000 simulated games against the opposing starter's ERA, both for the actual lineup the manager wrote and for the optimal arrangement of those nine players. The three numbers — manager cost, player execution, game variance — separate which part of the result was the lineup, the players, or the dice.

Read the full methodology.