NERD Game Scores for Saturday, September 13, 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
Oakland at Seattle | 21:10 ET
Sonny Gray (190.0 IP, 94 xFIP-, 2.7 WAR) faces Felix Hernandez (212.0 IP, 69 xFIP-, 5.7 WAR). After the latter club’s victory over the former last night in Seattle (box), here’s how much the Mariners’ odds of qualifying for a wild-card spot increased: from 42.5% to 55.3%. And here’s how much the Athletics’ decreased: from 91.2% to 88.9%. Finally — and not entirely relevantly — here’s which pitcher both Steamer and ZiPS project to finish just ahead of Felix Hernandez on the American League WAR leaderboard: father of the American Neo-Transcendentalist movement Corey Kluber.
Readers’ Preferred Broadcast: Oakland Radio.
Lone, Brief Note
Regarding Today’s Free Game
Today’s free game features Minnesota at the Chicago Americans, starts at 4:10pm 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 | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Julio Teheran | ATL | 7 | 4 | 4 | 3 | 6 | TEX | Lisalverto Bonilla* | 13:05 |
| Shane Greene | NYA | 8 | 3 | 4 | 4 | 3 | BAL | Miguel Gonzalez | 13:05 |
| Jeremy Hellickson | TB | 4 | 4 | 5 | 4 | 10 | TOR | R.A. Dickey | 13:07 |
| Phil Hughes | MIN | 10 | 3 | 5 | 3 | 7 | CHA | Jose Quintana | 16:10 |
| Logan Darnell* | MIN | 7 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 2 | CHA | Scott Carroll | TBD |
| Felix Doubront | CHN | 2 | 4 | 6 | 10 | 6 | PIT | Jeff Locke | 19:05 |
| Brad Hand | MIA | 5 | 4 | 4 | 3 | 3 | PHI | Kyle Kendrick | 19:05 |
| Danny Salazar | CLE | 10 | 4 | 6 | 8 | 5 | DET | Kyle Lobstein* | 19:08 |
| Rubby de la Rosa | BOS | 6 | 3 | 6 | 10 | 5 | KC | Jeremy Guthrie | 19:10 |
| David Holmberg* | CIN | 5 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 4 | MIL | Yovani Gallardo | 19:10 |
| Doug Fister | WAS | 6 | 4 | 5 | 3 | 9 | NYN | Zack Wheeler | 19:10 |
| Franklin Morales | COL | 2 | 4 | 4 | 5 | 4 | STL | Shelby Miller | 19:15 |
| Tyson Ross | SD | 9 | 3 | 4 | 3 | 6 | AZ | Chase Anderson | 20:10 |
| Scott Feldman | HOU | 3 | 4 | 3 | 3 | 3 | LAA | Jered Weaver | 21:05 |
| Zack Greinke | LAN | 9 | 5 | 8 | 10 | 6 | SF | Tim Hudson | 21:05 |
| Sonny Gray | OAK | 7 | 10 | 9 | 8 | 10 | SEA | Felix Hernandez | 21:10 |
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.