NERD Game Scores for Thursday, October 1, 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
Los Angeles AL at Texas | 20:05 ET
Heaney (101.1 IP, 106 xFIP-) vs. Holland (52.1 IP, 109 xFIP-)
By whichever methodology one cares to utilize, the Rangers currently possess a probability greater than 90% of winning the American’s Leagues most westerly division. Because the Angels have at least a chance of sweeping Texas, however — and therefore of gaining the division for themselves — this series opener offers the illusion of hope. The author is quoting Emily Dickinson, naturally, when he suggests that hope is the thing with feathers — and Guns N’ Roses, just as naturally, when observing that an illusion is something one ought to use.

Readers’ Preferred Broadcast: Texas Radio.

Another Brief Note
Today’s Free Game
Today’s free game features New York NL at Philadelphia, starts at 12:05 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
S. Gilmartin*	NYN	6	5	5	4	6	PHI	Jerad Eickhoff	12:05
Dr. Hutchison	TOR	7	5	5	5	2	BAL	Tyler Wilson	12:05
Jason Hammel	CHN	7	5	6	5	8	CIN	John Lamb	12:35
Brett Anderson	LAN	6	5	5	5	4	SF	Tim Hudson	15:45
Tay. Jungmann	MIL	4	5	5	5	6	SD	Ian Kennedy	18:40
Rich Hill	BOS	10	5	6	5	5	NYA	CC Sabathia	19:05
Jose Fernandez	MIA	10	5	6	5	6	TB	Jake Odorizzi	19:10
Tyler Duffey	MIN	7	5	5	5	6	CLE	Trevor Bauer	19:10
St. Strasburg	WAS	10	5	5	4	4	ATL	Ryan Weber	19:10
And. Heaney	LAA	5	8	6	6	4	TEX	Derek Holland	20:05
Kris Medlen	KC	4	5	5	5	4	CHA	John Danks	20:10
David Hale	COL	6	5	6	5	8	AZ	Patrick Corbin	21:40

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