NERD Game Scores for Saturday, May 23, 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
Chicago NL at Arizona | 22:10 ET
Arrieta (52.0 IP, 70 xFIP-) vs. de la Rosa (53.0 IP, 89 xFIP-)
Of some interest regarding this game — besides the matchup featuring two above-average starters — is the quantity of young players its likely to feature. Consider: per Baseball Reference, Chicago has recorded the lowest average batter age (weighted by at-bats) among all major-leauge clubs; Arizona, the second-lowest such mark (tied with Houston). The Cubs, one notes, feature three regulars currently participating in their age-24 season or something less than that: Kris Bryant (147 PA, 1.3 WAR), Addison Russell (112 PA, 0.5 WAR), and Jorge Soler (180 PA, 0.3 WAR). The Diamondbacks feature that same thing, as well, in Ender Inciarte (174 PA, 0.5 WAR), Chris Owings (152 PA, -0.3 WAR), and Yasmany Tomas (98 PA, 0.4 WAR). If not an entire fountain of youth, this encounter certainly offers at least a lawn sprinkler or maybe bidet of youth.

Readers’ Preferred Broadcast: Chicago NL Television.

A Single Brief Notes
Today’s Free Game
Today’s free game features Seattle at Toronto, starts at 1:07pm 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
Nick Martinez	TEX	3	3	5	6	6	NYA	CC Sabathia	13:05
James Paxton	SEA	5	6	5	7	4	TOR	Mark Buehrle	13:07
Matt Harvey	NYN	10	5	7	7	5	PIT	A.J. Burnett	16:05
Cole Hamels	PHI	6	0	5	5	8	WAS	St. Strasburg	16:05
Lance McCullers*	HOU	8	10	7	6	4	DET	Kyle Lobstein	16:08
Ant. DeSclafani	CIN	4	5	7	7	10	CLE	Corey Kluber	16:10
Mike Fiers	MIL	6	3	5	3	7	ATL	Shelby Miller	16:10
Trevor May	MIN	6	2	5	0	10	CHA	Chris Sale	16:10
Kend’ll Graveman	OAK	0	5	3	5	4	TB	Nate Karns	16:10
Chris Heston	SF	7	4	4	3	3	COL	Jordan Lyles	16:10
Yusmeiro Petit*	SF	6	4	4	3	4	COL	David Hale*	Gm2
Mike Wright*	BAL	9	5	6	5	3	MIA	Dan Haren	19:15
C.J. Wilson	LAA	3	5	5	5	7	BOS	Steven Wright*	19:15
John Lackey	STL	4	6	5	6	5	KC	Edinson Volquez	19:15
Jake Arrieta	CHN	9	7	8	6	8	AZ	Rubby de la Rosa	22:10
Ian Kennedy	SD	4	4	5	7	5	LAN	Mike Bolsinger	22:10

* = Fewer than 10 IP, NERD at discretion of very handsome author.