NERD Game Scores for July 19, 2017

Devised originally in response to a challenge issued by sabermetric forefather 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.

How are they calculated? Haphazardly, is how. An explanation of the components and formulae which produce these NERD scores is available here. All objections to the numbers here are probably justified, on account of how this entire endeavor is absurd.

Most Highly Rated Game
Seattle at Houston | 14:10 ET
Paxton (87.1 IP, 79 xFIP-) vs. Morton (68.2 IP, 86 xFIP-)
Three games are separated by mere hundredths of a point for the distinction of today’s most appealing, per the author’s haphazardly constructed algorithm. The Yankees-Twins contest features two clubs in close proximity to the top of their respective divisions. The Tampa Bay-Oakland game features, in the Rays, one of the league’s top power-hitting and running clubs despite a prohibitive budget. Finally, this Mariners-Astros affair offers a pair of pitchers who’ve recorded an average fastball velocity of 96 mph. Were free will to exist, the reader would be invited to exercise his or her while deciding which of today’s games to consume. Because it doesn’t however, no such invitation has been been extended.

Readers’ Preferred Broadcast: Seattle or Houston Radio.

Another Brief Note
Today’s Free Game
Today’s free game features Tampa Bay at Oakland, starts at 15:35 ET, and can be accessed by means of this hyperlinked text.

Complete Schedule
Here’s the complete and also sortable table for all of today’s games. Pitching probables and game times aggregated from MLB.com and the rest of the internet. Note that calculations both for team and game NERD scores feature adjustment for postseason odds that increases as season progresses. Read more about those adjustments here and here.