Statistics specific to a given batter against a particular pitcher are cited on every baseball broadcast. Most of the time, the data show, those statistics hold no predictive value. Four hits in eight at-bats do not portend a fifth.
And then there is the case of Angels pitcher Ricky Nolasco and Houston Astros catcher Brian McCann, who before Saturday had faced each other 74 times over the last decade, far more than either man had faced anyone else. McCann dominates. He has homered eight times against Nolasco and has a 1.