NERD Game Scores for Sunday, July 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
Toronto at Tampa Bay | 13:40 ET
R.A. Dickey (119.0 IP, 109 xFIP-, 0.9 WAR) faces David Price (139.2 IP, 69 xFIP-, 2.8 WAR). The former has recorded the second-fastest working pace among 95 qualified pitchers; the latter, the absolute slowest. To suggest that this observation constitutes grounds for a “stirring narrative,” however, would probably represent an instance of overstatement.

Readers’ Preferred Broadcast: Toronto Radio.

Two Brief Notes
The Real Anderson to Pitch
Left-hander Brett Anderson, acquired by Colorado this offseason from Oakland and injured since mid-April, returns this afternoon to face Minnesota. He recorded an 8:2 strikeout-to-walk ratio against 37 batters over 9.1 innings for Triple-A Colorado Springs.

Regarding Today’s Free Game
Today’s free game features Pittsburgh at Cincinnati, starts at 1:10pm 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.

Away		SP	Tm.	Gm.	Tm.	SP		Home	Time
John Danks	CHA	2	2	4	7	6	CLE	Trevor Bauer	13:05
Brad Hand*	MIA	4	8	6	3	7	NYN	Jacob deGrom	13:10
Francisco Liriano	PIT	7	5	7	2	8	CIN	Johnny Cueto	13:10
Tanner Roark	WAS	4	7	3	2	1	PHI	Kyle Kendrick	13:35
R.A. Dickey	TOR	9	5	9	6	10	TB	David Price	13:40
Clay Buchholz	BOS	2	2	3	8	3	HOU	Brad Peacock	14:10
Justin Verlander	DET	3	4	4	5	5	KC	Bruce Chen*	14:10
Carlos Martinez	STL	10	3	7	5	7	MIL	Wily Peralta	14:10
Julio Teheran	ATL	6	7	4	4	1	CHN	Travis Wood	14:20
Tyler Skaggs	LAA	7	7	6	4	5	TEX	Scott Baker*	15:05
Vidal Nuno	AZ	4	5	6	5	9	SF	M. Bumgarner	16:05
Phil Hughes	MIN	9	3	8	9	8	COL	Brett Anderson*	16:10
Sonny Gray	OAK	7	7	4	5	0	SEA	Chris Young	16:10
Tyson Ross	SD	8	4	6	5	6	LAN	Hyun-Jin Ryu	16:10
Chase Whitley	NYA	6	2	5	6	5	BAL	Kevin Gausman	20:05

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