Jose Altuve vs Yusei Kikuchi

The Almanac's Take

Altuve gets the platoon edge here as a right-handed bat against Kikuchi's lefty arm, which is the real headline — Kikuchi is sitting on a 5.81 ERA, 1.58 WHIP, and 4.1 BB/9 through seven starts, so the underlying season form backs the matchup up. Altuve himself is hitting just .245/.324/.704 OPS this year with a 19.2 K%, so he's not exactly locked in, but a walk-prone, ERA-bloated lefty is the right kind of problem to hand him. The 39-PA head-to-head exists and shows a .188 average with 8 strikeouts, but that sample is marginal color, not a signal to lean on.

Career head-to-head

AVG

.188

6-for-32

PA

39

HR

1

K

8

BB

7

Pitches seen

155

Avg exit velo

87.8 mph

Career meetings in the Statcast era (2015–present). Even a clear edge over a handful of plate appearances is a small sample — read it as color, not a projection.

Pitch mix to the batter

Plate-appearance log

• 2026-03-27Single · 4-Seam Fastball 97.2 mph · 77.8 mph EV
• 2026-03-27Field Out · Cutter 92.4 mph · 105.9 mph EV
• 2026-03-27Walk · Slider 83.0 mph
• 2025-09-01Field Out · Slider 85.1 mph · 35.1 mph EV
• 2025-09-01Double · 4-Seam Fastball 96.6 mph · 110.0 mph EV
• 2025-09-01Walk · 4-Seam Fastball 95.0 mph
• 2025-06-20Strikeout · Curveball 84.8 mph
• 2025-06-20Strikeout · Curveball 85.4 mph
• 2025-06-20Strikeout · Slider 88.0 mph
• 2024-07-03Field Out · Changeup 89.2 mph · 80.5 mph EV
• 2024-07-03Strikeout · 4-Seam Fastball 96.9 mph
• 2024-07-03Strikeout · Curveball 84.1 mph
• 2021-09-06Double · Changeup 84.9 mph · 104.2 mph EV
• 2021-09-06Walk · Changeup 92.7 mph
• 2021-08-31Field Out · 4-Seam Fastball 94.8 mph · 96.3 mph EV
• 2021-08-31Field Out · 4-Seam Fastball 94.2 mph · 71.4 mph EV
• 2021-08-31Field Out · Changeup 85.1 mph · 91.6 mph EV
• 2021-08-20Strikeout · 4-Seam Fastball 94.0 mph
• 2021-08-20Walk · Cutter 88.8 mph
• 2021-07-28Walk · Slider 79.4 mph
• 2021-07-28Double · Cutter 90.3 mph · 85.7 mph EV
• 2021-07-28Field Out · Changeup 85.1 mph · 89.2 mph EV
• 2021-04-29Strikeout · Slider 83.7 mph
• 2021-04-29Field Out · Slider 82.3 mph · 96.2 mph EV
• 2021-04-29Strikeout · Slider 83.9 mph
• 2020-07-26Walk · Cutter 94.0 mph
• 2020-07-26Walk · 4-Seam Fastball 95.4 mph
• 2019-09-25Field Out · Changeup 87.3 mph · 96.1 mph EV
• 2019-09-25Field Out · 4-Seam Fastball 91.9 mph · 77.9 mph EV
• 2019-09-25Field Out · Changeup 84.1 mph · 91.6 mph EV
• 2019-09-07Double · 4-Seam Fastball 91.1 mph · 105.0 mph EV
• 2019-09-07Field Out · 4-Seam Fastball 93.2 mph · 99.2 mph EV
• 2019-09-07Field Out · 4-Seam Fastball 93.9 mph · 80.0 mph EV
• 2019-08-02Home Run · 4-Seam Fastball 92.2 mph · 101.8 mph EV
• 2019-08-02Field Out · Changeup 85.5 mph · 95.2 mph EV
• 2019-08-02Field Out · 4-Seam Fastball 91.2 mph · 70.3 mph EV
• 2019-06-29Hit By Pitch · Slider 86.6 mph
• 2019-06-29Sac Fly · 4-Seam Fastball 89.8 mph · 98.3 mph EV
• 2019-06-29Field Out · Changeup 87.1 mph · 60.5 mph EV