NERD Game Scores for Saturday, September 19, 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
Oakland at Houston | 19:10 ET
Gray (196.2 IP, 91 xFIP-) vs. Kazmir (171.1 IP, 98 xFIP-)
Despite their largely disastrous four-game series at Texas recently, Houston still retains the distinction of being the second-place club in closest proximity to their respective division’s first-place club. It’s not the sort of distinction that fits comfortably on a desk name plate — indeed, such an inscription would like require a surcharge of some sort — but it’s significant to the extent that it suggests the Astros needn’t be entirely resigned to merely a wild-card spot. Tonight’s game represents an opportunity to aid in their pursuit of a division title.

Readers’ Preferred Broadcast: Houston Radio.

Another Brief Note
Today’s Free Game
Today’s free game features Los Angeles AL at Minnesota, starts at 19:10 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 adjustments here and here.

Away		SP	Tm.	Gm.	Tm.	SP		Home	Time
Michael Pineda	NYA	10	6	7	5	10	NYN	No. Syndergaard	13:05
Michael Wacha	STL	8	5	6	5	6	CHN	Travis Wood	13:05
Andrew Heaney	LAA	5	6	6	7	5	MIN	Kyle Gibson	13:10
Garrett Richards	LAA	7	6	6	7	3	MIN	Mike Pelfrey	19:10
Patrick Corbin	AZ	8	5	5	4	5	SF	Mike Leake	16:05
Justin Nicolino	MIA	2	4	5	5	7	WAS	Jo. Zimmermann	16:05
Wade Miley	BOS	5	4	5	6	8	TOR	R.A. Dickey	16:07
Wei-Yin Chen	BAL	5	5	5	4	6	TB	Erasmo Ramirez	18:10
Edinson Volquez	KC	4	4	4	4	3	DET	Matt Boyd	19:08
Carlos Rodon	CHA	8	4	6	5	10	CLE	Carlos Carrasco	19:10
Josh Smith	CIN	0	4	3	4	4	MIL	Taylor Jungmann	19:10
Sonny Gray	OAK	6	4	7	10	5	HOU	Scott Kazmir	19:10
Jerad Eickhoff	PHI	4	4	4	4	3	ATL	Ryan Weber	19:10
Vidal Nuno	SEA	5	4	6	8	8	TEX	Cole Hamels	20:05
Robbie Erlin*	SD	6	4	4	4	4	COL	Yohan Flande	20:10
Francisco Liriano	PIT	8	5	6	4	10	LAN	Clayton Kershaw	21:10

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