NERD Game Scores for Tuesday, June 2, 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
New York AL at Seattle | 22:10 ET
Sabathia (60.1 IP, 90 xFIP-) vs. Montgomery (MLB Debut)
One’s interest in this game — as opposed to the Toronto-Washington one, for example, featuring Max Scherzer — depends largely on one’s interest in Seattle left-hander Mike Montgomery. Acquired by the Mariners from the Rays at the end of March — and acquired by the Rays before that in the deal that sent James Shields to Kansas City — Mongtomery appeared three times among the top-50 prospects on Baseball America’s annual list. The last such appearance occurred in 2012, however, and the now 25-year-old left-hander has produced pretty ordinary results in the high minors since then. This year the numbers are more promising, though. Over nine starts and 53.0 innings for Triple-A Tacoma, Montgomery has produced strikeout and walk rates of 21.8% and 6.9%, respectively, while all signs indicate that he still possesses the above-average fastball cited by Kiley McDaniel this offseason. The combination of performance, physical tools, and pedigree conspire to produce not only an unintentional burst of alliteration but also some interest wherein Montgomery’s near future is concerned.

Readers’ Preferred Broadcast: Seattle Radio.

A Single, Brief Note
Today’s Free Game
Today’s free game features Cincinnati at Philadelphia, starts at 7:05pm 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
R.A. Dickey	TOR	8	8	6	5	4	WAS	Jo. Zimmermann	13:05
Marco Estrada	TOR	3	8	7	5	10	WAS	Max Scherzer	19:05
Juan Nicasio*	LAN	7	7	6	3	6	COL	Jorge de la Rosa	15:10
Zack Greinke	LAN	5	7	5	3	5	COL	Undecided	20:40
Johnny Cueto	CIN	7	5	3	0	0	PHI	Sean O’Sullivan	19:05
Ken. Graveman	OAK	2	5	4	5	3	DET	Alfredo Simon	19:08
Kyle Hendricks	CHN	5	6	5	5	5	MIA	Brad Hand*	19:10
Mike Pelfrey	MIN	2	3	4	4	7	BOS	Clay Buchholz	19:10
Jeff Samardzija	CHA	6	0	3	4	3	TEX	Colby Lewis	20:05
Mike Wright	BAL	5	4	6	10	6	HOU	Collin McHugh	20:10
Carlos Carrasco	CLE	10	8	6	7	1	KC	Jeremy Guthrie	20:10
Tyler Cravy*	MIL	6	3	5	5	5	STL	Lance Lynn	20:15
Shelby Miller	ATL	7	2	4	6	2	AZ	Josh Collmenter	21:40
Chris Archer	TB	10	5	6	7	3	LAA	C.J. Wilson	22:05
N. Syndergaard	NYN	8	6	5	3	4	SD	Ian Kennedy	22:10
CC Sabathia	NYA	6	7	7	6	7	SEA	M. Montgomery*	22:10
A.J. Burnett	PIT	5	7	6	5	6	SF	Chris Heston	22:15

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