NERD Game Scores for Saturday, September 26, 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
Texas at Houston | 13:05 ET
Holland (47.1 IP, 104 xFIP-) vs. McHugh (190.0 IP, 98 xFIP-)
Now possessing merely a half-game advantage over Los Angeles for the AL’s second wild-card spot, it’s fair probably to state that Houston is likely to qualify for the postseason only by the “skin of their teeth.” Were it not for this rare medical condition — which is known medically as dermadentosis and affects literally dozens — the Astros’ odds might be even worse. This afternoon, they endeavor simultaneously to separate themselves from the Angels while advancing on the division-leading Rangers.

Readers’ Preferred Broadcast: Texas Radio.

Two Brief Notes
Nostalgic Event Notice: Hudson vs. Zito
The purpose of this brief entry is to note how San Francisco’s Tim Hudson and Oakland’s Barry Zito — teammates on the Athletics’ very successful early-century clubs — are both scheduled to start this afternoon’s game in the latter city.

Today’s Free Game
Today’s free game features Tampa Bay at Toronto, starts at 13:07 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
Francisco Liriano	PIT	8	6	6	5	7	CHN	Jason Hammel	13:05
Derek Holland	TEX	5	5	7	10	5	HOU	Collin McHugh	13:05
Chris Archer	TB	10	4	6	5	8	TOR	David Price	13:07
Wei-Yin Chen	BAL	6	5	5	4	6	BOS	Craig Breslow*	16:05
John Danks	CHA	4	4	4	5	3	NYA	Adam Warren	16:05
Aaron Nola	PHI	7	4	6	5	10	WAS	St. Strasburg	16:05
Tim Hudson	SF	4	5	5	5	5	OAK	Barry Zito*	16:05
Matt Harvey	NYN	10	5	6	4	8	CIN	John Lamb	16:10
Tyler Duffey	MIN	7	5	5	4	2	DET	Alfredo Simon	19:08
Julio Teheran	ATL	5	4	4	5	2	MIA	Justin Nicolino	19:10
Josh Tomlin	CLE	7	5	5	4	3	KC	Kris Medlen	19:10
Tyler Wagner*	MIL	5	4	5	6	6	STL	Jaime Garcia	19:15
Brett Anderson	LAN	6	5	4	4	0	COL	Kyle Kendrick	20:10
Jer. Hellickson	AZ	3	5	4	4	5	SD	Robbie Erlin*	20:40
Felix Hernandez	SEA	7	4	6	8	5	LAA	Andrew Heaney	21:05

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