NERD Game Scores for Friday, June 20, 2014
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
Atlanta at Washington | 19:10 ET
Mike Minor (53.0 IP, 95 xFIP-, 0.1 WAR) faces Stephen Strasburg (94.0 IP, 66 xFIP-, 2.6 WAR). The latter has produced a park-adjusted xFIP (66 xFIP-), swinging-strike rate (12.0%), overall strike rate (67.5%), and average fastball velocity (94.3 mph) all at least one standard deviation better than the mean among those pitchers who’ve recorded 20-plus innings as a starter. He’s also one of just seven pitchers projected to produce a WAR of 2.0 or greater over the remaining three-plus months of the season.
Readers’ Preferred Broadcast: Washington Radio.
Two Brief Notes
Regarding Brad Mills, His Slow Slowball
Left-hander Brad Mills, acquired by Oakland from Milwaukee on Tuesday and scheduled to start for the A’s tonight, last made a major-league appearance in 2012, during which five innings he recorded an average fastball velocity below 85 mph.
Regarding Today’s Free Game
Today’s free game is that same exact Atlanta-Washington game profiled above, which contest 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.
| Away | SP | Tm. | Gm. | Tm. | SP | Home | Time | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Charlie Morton | PIT | 4 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 5 | CHN | Edwin Jackson | 16:05 |
| Mike Minor | ATL | 6 | 8 | 8 | 7 | 10 | WAS | Stephen Strasburg | 19:05 |
| Ubaldo Jimenez | BAL | 3 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 4 | NYA | Hiroki Kuroda | 19:05 |
| Rick Porcello | DET | 5 | 5 | 7 | 5 | 9 | CLE | Corey Kluber | 19:05 |
| Jarred Cosart | HOU | 5 | 6 | 7 | 6 | 10 | TB | David Price | 19:10 |
| Dais’ke Matsuzaka* | NYN | 2 | 2 | 5 | 7 | 7 | MIA | Henderson Alvarez | 19:10 |
| Liam Hendriks* | TOR | 6 | 6 | 6 | 3 | 7 | CIN | Mat Latos* | 19:10 |
| Hector Noesi | CHA | 4 | 2 | 4 | 4 | 5 | MIN | Ricky Nolasco | 20:10 |
| Hisashi Iwakuma | SEA | 7 | 4 | 6 | 5 | 5 | KC | James Shields | 20:10 |
| A.J. Burnett | PHI | 1 | 1 | 4 | 3 | 9 | STL | Jaime Garcia | 20:15 |
| Marco Estrada | MIL | 4 | 7 | 5 | 9 | 4 | COL | Christian Bergman* | 20:40 |
| Tim Lincecum | SF | 6 | 7 | 5 | 6 | 3 | AZ | Josh Collmenter | 21:40 |
| Felix Doubront | BOS | 1 | 3 | 4 | 7 | 6 | OAK | Brad Mills* | 22:05 |
| Joe Saunders | TEX | 1 | 3 | 5 | 6 | 8 | LAA | Garrett Richards | 22:05 |
| Dan Haren | LAN | 5 | 6 | 6 | 4 | 8 | SD | Ian Kennedy | 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.
Daisuke Matsuzaka versus Henderson Alvarez is the longest-named matchup (16 vs. 16) since, um, I’m not sure when, but very possibly since 1996’s marquee matchup between Jason Isringhausen and William Van Landingham (17 vs. 20).