NERD Game Scores for Sunday, September 7, 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
San Francisco at Detroit | 20:00 ET
Tim Hudson (172.2 IP, 94 xFIP-, 1.7 WAR) faces Kyle Lobstein (17.0 IP, 115 xFIP-, 0.2 WAR). Following play this past Thursday, the Giants and Tigers possessed odds of 54% and 67%, respectively, of qualifying for their leagues’ respective divisional series. Two subsequent Giants victories in Detroit, however, have aided slightly the cause of the former club (whose odds are now 56%) while damaging more substantially the latter’s (which now sit at 52%). Of some interest entering this game is rookie starter Kyle Lobstein, who, in his most recent start at Cleveland, recorded three times the strikeouts while throwing just half the innings of his first two major-league appearances combined. His final line from that game (box): 5.1 IP, 24 TBF, 10 K, 3 BB, 7 GB on 11 batted balls (63.6%), 2.01 xFIP.
Readers’ Preferred Broadcast: San Francisco Radio (ESPN Game).
Lone, Brief Note
Regarding Today’s Free Game
Today’s free game features Kansas City at New York AL, starts at 1:05pm 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 | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Scott Carroll | CHA | 2 | 3 | 4 | 4 | 10 | CLE | Carlos Carrasco | 13:05 |
| Yordano Ventura | KC | 10 | 10 | 7 | 3 | 9 | NYA | Shane Greene | 13:05 |
| Julio Teheran | ATL | 7 | 6 | 5 | 4 | 5 | MIA | Brad Hand | 13:10 |
| Zack Wheeler | NYN | 9 | 3 | 4 | 3 | 5 | CIN | Mat Latos | 13:10 |
| Cole Hamels | PHI | 9 | 3 | 5 | 4 | 8 | WAS | Gio Gonzalez | 13:35 |
| R.A. Dickey | TOR | 10 | 4 | 5 | 3 | 6 | BOS | Rubby de la Rosa | 13:35 |
| Bud Norris | BAL | 5 | 4 | 4 | 3 | 4 | TB | Je’my Hellickson | 13:40 |
| C.J. Wilson | LAA | 5 | 4 | 4 | 3 | 5 | MIN | Logan Darnell* | 14:10 |
| Ad’m Wainwright | STL | 6 | 4 | 6 | 7 | 7 | MIL | Jimmy Nelson | 14:10 |
| Gerrit Cole | PIT | 10 | 8 | 6 | 4 | 3 | CHN | Travis Wood | 14:20 |
| James Paxton | SEA | 10 | 9 | 7 | 3 | 8 | TEX | Derek Holland* | 15:05 |
| Dallas Keuchel | HOU | 8 | 4 | 7 | 10 | 7 | OAK | Jason Hammel | 16:05 |
| Trevor Cahill | AZ | 5 | 3 | 5 | 4 | 9 | LAN | Zack Greinke | 16:10 |
| Tyson Ross | SD | 9 | 3 | 4 | 4 | 2 | COL | Franklin Morales | 16:10 |
| Tim Hudson | SF | 6 | 10 | 9 | 10 | 6 | DET | Kyle Lobstein* | 20:00 |
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.