Pittsburgh Pirates at Kansas City Royals, MLB forecast
Win probability
Starts from the pregame forecast, then moves with the score and the time left after each inning. Above the line favors KC.
Game center
From the ESPN box score.
Top performers
Pirates- Tommy PhamBatting3-4
- Bailey FalterPitching4.2 IP, 3 ER, 3 K
Royals- Salvador PerezBatting3-4, 2 HR, 2 RBI
- Kris BubicPitching5.2 IP, 3 ER, 6 K
Scoring summary
- 8Perez homered to center (426 feet).3–4
- 6Hayes singled to left, McCutchen scored and Reynolds scored.3–3
- 6Cruz grounded out to shortstop, Pham scored, Reynolds to second, McCutchen to third.1–3
- 4Caglianone homered to center (466 feet), Garcia scored.0–3
- 2Perez homered to center (444 feet).0–1
The pick
Reconstructed from what was known before the game: the ratings at that point and the closing line.
Royals 63%
Forecast Elo ratings alone
How often that comes true: MLB favorites the forecast gave 60–65% have won 61.6% of 1,194 graded games.
- Market
- KC 63%
- ML PIT +160 / KC -190
- Pre-line forecast
- KC 61%
- Elo + market-implied
- Elo ratings
- KC 56%
- Ratings vs. market
- −7.0 pts
- KC: Elo 56.0%, market 63.0%
- Fair odds
- KC -170
- PIT +170 · the forecast as odds, no margin
- Pregame projection
- PIT 3.7 – 4.8 KC
- Margin from the forecast, posted total 8.5
How the number is built
Elo inputs in rating points (higher favors that team; 25–28 Elo is about a point of spread in football and basketball), then how the pieces combine.
| Factor | PIT | KC | Why |
|---|---|---|---|
| Team rating | 1474 | 1494 | Elo entering the game; 1500 is league average |
| Home field | — | +18 | Worth 18 Elo in MLB |
| Starting pitchers | +1 | +5 | PIT: Bailey Falter: team allows 0.06 fewer runs than with its usual starter (≈10 weighted starts) · KC: Kris Bubic: team allows 0.25 fewer runs than with its usual starter (≈9 weighted starts) |
| Elo ratings | KC +42 Elo | KC 56.0% | |
| Market-implied ratings | KC 61.3% | Team strength as past closing lines priced it, same game context | |
| Pre-line forecast | KC 60.5% | 15% Elo, 85% market-implied (log-odds blend) | |
| Forecast | KC 63.0% | Follows the market (vig removed): in testing, adding the ratings made it less accurate | |
Tale of the tape
This season coming into the game, regular season, each number with its league rank (the longer the bar, the higher). Home and road: the host's record at home against the visitor's on the road. Opponent Elo: how strong the teams each has played are, 1st the toughest.
| PIT | Stat | KC |
|---|---|---|
| 30th of 303.4 | Runs scored | 3.429th of 30 |
| 5th of 303.9 | Runs allowed | 3.72nd of 30 |
| 22nd of 30−0.5 | Margin | −0.221st of 30 |
| 13th of 305–5 | Last 10 | 6–44th of 30 |
| 28th of 3012–34 | Road vs home | 22–2423rd of 30 |
| 1st of 301514 | Opponent Elo | 150114th of 30 |
| 24th of 301474 | Elo rating | 149421st of 30 |
Rating history
Each team's Elo over the last two seasons. Hover or drag to compare on any date.
Recent form
Last five results, and whether the forecast hit.
Against the line
How each team has done against the closing spread and total, coming into this game.
| This season |  PIT |  KC |
|---|---|---|
| Run line | 46–47 | 46–47 |
| Last 10 | 7–3 | 6–4 |
| Favorite | 8–19 | 11–28 |
| Underdog | 38–28 | 35–19 |
| Overs–unders | 38–55 | 37–56 |
| Overs–unders, last 10 | 3–7 | 4–6 |
Against each game's closing line. Books set every line knowing these records: across 3,901 past games, the team with the better record against the spread so far that season covered 51.2%, short of the 52.4% a standard −110 bet needs, and over/under streaks held 48.0% of the time. They describe the past.
Head to head
PIT 4–4 KC in their last 8 meetings; the forecast called 7 of 8.