NERD Game Scores for Tuesday, July 29, 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
Washington at Miami | 19:10 ET
Stephen Strasburg (137.1 IP, 68 xFIP-, 3.0 WAR) faces Henderson Alvarez (130.2 IP, 95 xFIP-, 2.0 WAR). The latter, it would appear, is almost an exact replica of yesterday’s starter for Miami, Nathan Eovaldi. While neither have recorded particularly notable fielding-independent numbers, both have produced overall strike rates and average fastball velocities at least a standard deviation better than the average of all major-leaguer starters. In Alvarez’s case, those figures are as follows: 66.9% strikes and 93.6 mph. As for characterizing Strasburg’s virtues, one is reduced merely to the employment of tautology — to the extent, I mean, that Strasburg is what he is.

Readers’ Preferred Broadcast: Washington Radio.

Two Brief Notes
Belated Debut Notice: Swift-Footed Billy Burns
Very celeritous Oakland prospect Billy Burns was promoted yesterday by that same club and made his debut as a pinch-hitter at Houston. The 24-year-old Burns recorded walk and strikeout rates of 10.5% and 15.4%, respectively, while succeeding on 51 of his 56 stolen-base attempts this season at Double-A Midland.

Regarding Today’s Free Game
Today’s free game features the Chicago Americans at Detroit, starts at 7:08pm 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
Jered Weaver	LAA	3	6	3	6	1	BAL	Chris Tillman	19:05
Hisashi Iwakuma	SEA	8	4	7	8	6	CLE	Trevor Bauer	19:05
Jose Quintana	CHA	6	2	5	4	5	DET	Anibal Sanchez	19:08
Trevor Cahill	AZ	3	5	4	2	6	CIN	Mike Leake	19:10
Matt Garza	MIL	4	6	6	7	7	TB	Alex Cobb	19:10
Cole Hamels	PHI	7	3	5	2	4	NYN	Dillon Gee	19:10
Marcus Stroman	TOR	9	6	7	3	7	BOS	R. de la Rosa	19:10
St. Strasburg	WAS	10	7	8	7	7	MIA	Hen’son Alvarez	19:10
Jorge de la Rosa	COL	2	8	4	5	5	CHN	Edwin Jackson	20:05
Brand. McCarthy	NYA	10	2	4	3	0	TEX	Nick Martinez	20:05
Kyle Gibson	MIN	3	4	4	4	6	KC	James Shields	20:10
Jeff Samardzija	OAK	7	8	5	9	1	HOU	Scott Feldman	20:10
Aaron Harang	ATL	3	7	4	4	5	LAN	Josh Beckett	22:10
Lance Lynn	STL	4	3	6	4	9	SD	Tyson Ross	22:10
Francisco Liriano	PIT	6	5	5	5	5	SF	Tim Hudson	22:15

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