NERD Game Scores for Wednesday, August 12, 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
Washington at Los Angeles NL | 22:10 ET
Zimmermann (141.1 IP, 102 xFIP-) vs. Kershaw (154.0 IP, 55 xFIP-)
The Nationals and Dodgers, both currently situated deep within the throes of postseason contention, have split the first two games of their important series at the latter’s home park. While, in a literal sense, the two clubs have actually participated in that pair of contests and thousands have gathered to observe them, the results have produced roughly the same effect as an alternate scenario in which neither game was played at all. Indeed, everyone involved could merely have stayed home — or dined out with friends at one of Los Angeles County’s excellent restaurants — and found the two clubs occupying basically the same place as today. Which, that awful reality noted, one notes furthermore that today’s game actually will produce a series winner, thus rendering the entire endeavor something slightly better than totally meaningless.

Readers’ Preferred Broadcast: Los Angeles NL Radio.

Two Brief Notes
Broadcast with Advanced Stats
The MLB Network will experiment with a broadcast featuring advanced stats for today’s Houston and San Francisco game. It stars at 15:30 ET and features the improbably coiffed Brian Kenny among others. Indeed, FanGraphs contributor Neil Weinberg spoke with Kenny about the effort, the product of which conversation one can find here.

Today’s Free Game
Today’s free game features the same Astros and Giants clubs mentioned just above, 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
Kevin Gausman	BAL	8	7	6	3	8	SEA	Hisashi Iwakuma	15:40
Raisel Iglesias	CIN	7	3	5	3	7	SD	James Shields	15:40
Aaron Nola	PHI	7	1	4	6	3	AZ	Chase Anderson	15:40
Scott Feldman	HOU	4	9	7	9	5	SF	Chris Heston	15:45
Ed. Rodriguez	BOS	7	3	4	3	4	MIA	Adam Conley*	16:10
Aaron Brooks	OAK	8	3	7	8	8	TOR	R.A. Dickey	19:07
Matthew Wisler	ATL	3	2	4	4	6	TB	Jake Odorizzi	19:10
Jorge de la Rosa	COL	4	3	6	7	10	NYN	Jacob deGrom	19:10
CC Sabathia	NYA	6	9	7	4	10	CLE	Danny Salazar	19:10
Matt Garza	MIL	4	3	6	8	7	CHN	Jason Hammel	20:05
Daniel Norris	DET	3	2	3	3	4	KC	Edinson Volquez	20:10
Andrew Heaney	LAA	6	9	5	2	4	CHA	John Danks	20:10
Nick Martinez	TEX	2	4	3	3	2	MIN	Mike Pelfrey	20:10
Gerrit Cole	PIT	10	9	7	3	9	STL	Michael Wacha	20:15
Jo. Zimmermann	WAS	6	9	9	9	10	LAN	Clayton Kershaw	22:10

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