NERD Game Scores for Friday, October 2, 2015
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
Houston at Arizona | 21:40 ET
Keuchel (226.0 IP, 66 xFIP-) vs. de la Rosa (185.2 IP, 104 xFIP-)
The Angels and Astros, currently separated by a single win, currently feature a roughly 25% probability of producing the same regular-season record and necessitating the addition of a one-game playoff for the right to appear in the normal, regularly scheduled one-game playoff.
By way of comparison, and to better illustrate the likelihood of such a contingency, here are some events which have occurred less than a quarter of the time in 2015:
- Aramis Ramirez — or any of other 25 qualified players, actually — finished an at-bat with a base hit.
- Right-hander Shelby Miller, despite all manner of proficiency, recorded a win for his start.
- Your grandfather left sufficient gratuity for service at a restaurant.
Readers’ Preferred Broadcast: Houston Television.
Another Brief Note
Today’s Free Game
Today’s free game is every game, actually, 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 adjustments here and here.
| Away | SP | Tm. | Gm. | Tm. | SP | Home | Time | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Key. Sampson | CIN | 2 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 8 | PIT | Fran. Liriano | 19:05 |
| Justin Nicolino | MIA | 1 | 5 | 4 | 5 | 1 | PHI | Aaron Harang | 19:05 |
| Luis Severino | NYA | 8 | 5 | 6 | 5 | 6 | BAL | Wei-Yin Chen | 19:05 |
| Henry Owens | BOS | 4 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 6 | CLE | Josh Tomlin | 19:10 |
| Mark Buehrle | TOR | 5 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 7 | TB | Erasmo Ramirez | 19:10 |
| Gio Gonzalez | WAS | 7 | 5 | 6 | 5 | 10 | NYN | N. Syndergaard | 19:10 |
| Jaime Garcia | STL | 6 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 5 | ATL | Julio Teheran | 19:35 |
| Jered Weaver | LAA | 2 | 6 | 5 | 5 | 6 | TEX | Martin Perez | 20:05 |
| Jake Arrieta | CHN | 10 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 3 | MIL | Ariel Pena | 20:10 |
| Alfredo Simon | DET | 2 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 10 | CHA | Chris Sale | 20:10 |
| Chris Young | KC | 1 | 5 | 5 | 6 | 5 | MIN | Ervin Santana | 20:10 |
| Dallas Keuchel | HOU | 9 | 8 | 7 | 5 | 7 | AZ | Ru. de la Rosa | 21:40 |
| Aaron Brooks | OAK | 5 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 8 | SEA | Hisashi Iwakuma | 22:10 |
| Casey Kelly* | SD | 5 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 5 | LAN | Alex Wood | 22:10 |
| Kyle Kendrick | COL | 5 | 4 | 5 | 4 | SF | Chris Heston | 22:15 |
* = Fewer than 10 IP, NERD at discretion of very handsome author.
Carson Cistulli has published a book of aphorisms called Spirited Ejaculations of a New Enthusiast.
It’s the Astros and the Angels that are separated by only one win. Dummy.
Just because an attack is of the ad-hominem variety doesn’t render it incorrect. I am a dummy. I’ve also edited the relevant passage. Thanks.
Gracefully addressed but Carson, but still not cool. Muddy.