NERD Game Scores for Wednesday, September 17, 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 Games
Chicago AL at Kansas City | 20:10 ET
Texas at Oakland | 22:05 ET
In a development that’s probably unprecedented, but also maybe not unprecedented, this edition of FanGraphs’ NERD Game Scores features two contests. First, Chris Sale (163.0 IP, 74 xFIP-, 5.3 WAR) faces Yordano Ventura (165.0 IP, 100 xFIP-, 2.5 WAR) and then, two hours later, Derek Holland (21.0 IP, 82 xFIP-, 0.9 WAR) faces Jeff Samardzija (197.2 IP, 84 xFIP-, 3.5 WAR). All pitchers, one notes, offer the prospect of Considerable Pleasure, while two of the clubs involved (the Royals and A’s) feature playoff odds — which is to say, in this case, odds of qualifying for the divisional series — uncommonly close to 50%.

Readers’ Preferred Broadcast: Kansas City and Texas Radios.

Two Brief Notes
Debut Alert: Boston’s Rusney Castillo
Cuban emigre and Red Sox outfielder Rusney Castillo, who signed a seven-year, $72.5 million contract in the not very distant past — is expected to make his major-league debut tonight.

Regarding Today’s Free Game
Today’s free game features Los Angeles NL at Colorado, starts at 3:10pm 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
Carlos Frias*	LAN	6	4	4	4	4	COL	Jorge de la Rosa	15:10
Ma’son Bum’r	SF	10	10	7	3	5	AZ	Andrew Chafin*	15:40
Clay Buchholz	BOS	5	3	7	10	9	PIT	Francisco Liriano	19:05
J.A. Happ	TOR	5	4	4	4	5	BAL	Bud Norris	19:05
Hen’son Alvarez	MIA	8	4	4	3	4	NYN	Dillon Gee	19:10
Brand’n McCarthy	NYA	10	3	5	4	8	TB	Alex Cobb	19:10
Blake Treinen	WAS	6	4	5	4	9	ATL	Alex Wood	19:10
Daniel Corcino*	CIN	4	3	4	4	6	CHN	Kyle Hendricks	20:05
Chris Sale	CHA	10	3	8	10	10	KC	Yordano Ventura	20:10
Danny Salazar	CLE	10	4	5	4	5	HOU	Brett Oberholtzer	20:10
David Price	DET	10	6	6	4	5	MIN	Kyle Gibson	20:10
Mike Fiers	MIL	9	5	6	5	6	STL	Ad’m Wainwright	20:15
James Paxton	SEA	9	7	6	4	4	LAA	C.J. Wilson	22:05
Derek Holland	TEX	10	3	8	10	10	OAK	Jeff Samardzija	22:05
Cole Hamels	PHI	8	3	4	3	5	SD	Eric Stults	22:10

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