NERD Game Scores for Saturday, September 20, 2014

This edition of FanGraphs’ NERD scores has appeared later than usual, on account of the author’s dog America ate a weird thing and required a visit to the local veterinary clinic. Everyone is healthy now, although the author is also $100 poorer.

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
Detroit at Kansas City | 13:05 ET
Max Scherzer (207.1 IP, 82 xFIP-, 5.1 WAR) faces James Shields (214.1 IP, 93 xFIP-, 3.7 WAR). While most assume that Big Game James is actually a sobriquet having been assigned to the Kansas City right-hander for his performances in important contests, the truth is that Big Games James Shields is actually the pitcher’s full given name — and appears on his birth certificate — but that he’s generally gone just by “James” so that friends and acquaintances wouldn’t mistake him for a conceited. In either case, his club would benefit from a strong showing against the Tigers, who lead the Royals by 1.5 games in the Central.

Readers’ Preferred Broadcast: Detroit Radio.

Lone, Brief Notes
Regarding Today’s Free Game
Today’s free game features Washington at Miami, starts at 7:10pm 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
Max Scherzer	DET	9	6	8	10	7	KC	James Shields	13:05
Rob’o Hernandez	LAN	2	4	3	4	2	CHN	Felix Doubront	13:05
Jerome Williams	PHI	5	3	6	10	6	OAK	Drew Pomeranz	16:05
Marcus Stroman	TOR	10	4	5	3	6	NYA	Chris Capuano	16:05
Trevor Cahill	AZ	5	4	5	4	7	COL	Eddie Butler*	16:10
Rubby de la Rosa	BOS	6	3	4	4	4	BAL	Chris Tillman	19:05
Matt Garza	MIL	5	4	6	10	3	PIT	Edinson Volquez	19:05
Hector Noesi	CHA	5	3	4	4	7	TB	Chris Archer	19:10
T.J. House	CLE	10	4	5	4	6	MIN	Trevor May	19:10
Jon Niese	NYN	7	3	4	4	6	ATL	Mike Minor	19:10
Chris Young	SEA	1	7	5	4	8	HOU	Dallas Keuchel	19:10
Jor’n Zimm’mann	WAS	10	4	5	4	5	MIA	Jarred Cosart	19:10
Mike Leake	CIN	7	3	5	5	10	STL	Michael Wacha	19:15
Yusmeiro Petit	SF	9	10	7	3	9	SD	Andrew Cashner	20:40
Colby Lewis	TEX	5	3	4	4	4	LAA	Jered Weaver	21:05

To learn how Game NERD Scores are calculated, click here.
* = Fewer than 20 IP, NERD at discretion of very handsome author.