Game Recap for Red Sox vs Pirates – Friday, August 14th, 2026

Boston Red Sox

@

Pittsburgh Pirates

Boston Red Sox Insights

• Jake Bennett – Over/Under 4.5 Strikeouts (+125/-160)
  The Pittsburgh Pirates have 7 bats in the projected offense that will hold the platoon advantage over Jake Bennett in this matchup.
  Explain: Right-handed pitchers perform worse against left-handed hitters (and visa-versa). If several hitters hold this advantage against the pitcher, it can have a huge impact on whether he will perform well or struggle on any given day.
• Jarren Duran – Over/Under Total Bases
  Jarren Duran has a 93rd percentile opposite-field rate on his flyballs (36.2%) and will have to hit them out towards MLB’s 10th-deepest LF fences in today’s game.
  Explain: This player’s skill set does not match up particularly well with the park he’s in today, which may lead to worse-than-usual performance.

Pittsburgh Pirates Insights

• Bubba Chandler – Over/Under 4.5 Strikeouts (+110/-140)
  Among all starting pitchers, Bubba Chandler’s fastball velocity of 97.8 mph grades out in the 99th percentile this year.
  Explain: Velocity is a key component to fastball success in generating strikeouts and preventing runs.
• Jake Mangum – Over/Under 1.5 Hits (+190/-255)
  Jake Mangum is projected to hit 1st on the lineup card in this matchup, which would be an upgrade from his 55% rate of hitting in the bottom-half of the lineup this season.
  Explain: The higher in the order a player bats, the more plate appearances he will get and the more opportunities he will get to hit the Over for every market. A player who hits higher in the order than he normally does may provide extra value opportunity since the market may be based on him hitting lower.
• The underlying talent of the Pittsburgh Pirates projected offense today (.311 projected wOBA according to the leading projection system, THE BAT X) figures to be a fair amount weaker than their .325 wOBA this year.
  Explain: Betting lines are often based on seasonal team quality. If today’s lineup is watered down, however, there may be value if markets aren’t accounting for the lower quality of this offense.