NERD Game Scores: Featuring the Very Winning Royals
Devised originally in response to a challenge issued by viscount of the internet Rob Neyer, and expanded at the request of nobody, NERD scores represent an attempt to summarize in one number (and on a scale of 0-10) the likely aesthetic appeal or watchability, for the learned fan, of a player or team or game. Read more about the components of and formulae for NERD scores here.
Most Highly Rated Game
Oakland at Kansas City | 20:10 ET
Sonny Gray (150.1 IP, 90 xFIP-, 2.6 WAR) faces Yordano Ventura (127.0 IP, 93 xFIP-, 1.8 WAR). As great American explorer Jeff Sullivan noted earlier this morning in these same pages, the Royals have now won seven games in a row and also 15 of 18. Regardless of what that does or doesn’t say about the club’s true talent, what it means is they now possess a better than 20% chance of winning the AL Central — and nearly a 30% chance overall of qualifying for the divisional series. Tonight perhaps their youngest, most talented starter faces Oakland’s probably youngest, most talented starter.
Readers’ Preferred Broadcast: Oakland Radio?
Two Brief Notes
Debut Report: Cleveland’s Walters
In his debut for Cleveland after having been traded to that club from Washington, infielder/outfielder Zach Walters produced the following line whilst playing left field (box): 4 PA, 1 BB, 1 K, 0 HR, 0 H.
Regarding Today’s Free Game
Today’s free game features Minnesota at the Houstons, starts at 8:10pm ET, and can be accessed by means of this hyperlinked text.
Complete Schedule
Here’s the complete and very sortable table for all of today’s games. Pitching probables and game times aggregated from MLB.com and also the rest of the internet. Note that the calculations both for team and game NERD scores have changed recently to better integrate playoff odds into same. Read more about those changes here, if you’re the sort of person accustomed to making poor life decisions.
| Away | SP | Tm. | Gm. | Tm. | SP | Home | Time | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jon Niese | NYN | 5 | 2 | 3 | 2 | 4 | PHI | D. Buchanan | 13:05 |
| Justin Verlander | DET | 3 | 6 | 6 | 8 | 7 | PIT | Jeff Locke | 19:05 |
| Chris Capuano* | NYA | 7 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 3 | BAL | Bud Norris | 19:05 |
| Kevin Correia | LAN | 0 | 4 | 5 | 7 | 7 | ATL | Julio Teheran | 19:10 |
| Shelby Miller | STL | 3 | 8 | 5 | 4 | 3 | MIA | Tom Koehler | 19:10 |
| Yovani Gallardo | MIL | 4 | 10 | 6 | 3 | 8 | CHN | Jake Arrieta | 20:05 |
| Drew Smyly | TB | 6 | 4 | 4 | 3 | 3 | TEX | Colby Lewis | 20:05 |
| Tommy Milone | MIN | 2 | 3 | 3 | 4 | 3 | HOU | Brad Peacock | 20:10 |
| Sonny Gray | OAK | 7 | 5 | 7 | 8 | 10 | KC | Yo. Ventura | 20:10 |
| Jordan Lyles | COL | 4 | 4 | 4 | 3 | 7 | SD | Jesse Hahn | 22:10 |
| Drew Hutchison | TOR | 6 | 7 | 7 | 5 | 10 | SEA | F’lix Hernandez | 22:10 |
To learn how Game NERD Scores are calculated, click here.
* = Fewer than 20 IP, NERD at discretion of very handsome author.
Carson Cistulli has published a book of aphorisms called Spirited Ejaculations of a New Enthusiast.
Today’s free game is the Carson Cistulli of free games.
It’s the who’s who of pitchers traded for Gio Gonzalez.