NERD Game Scores for Wednesday, September 23, 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 Toronto | 19:07 ET
Nova (75.2 IP, 118 xFIP-) vs. Stroman (12.0 IP, 100 xFIP-)
Over two starts and 12.0 innings, right-hander Marcus Stroman has recorded a strikeout rate of just 10.6%, which figure would represent the lowest such mark among all qualified pitchers by three-tenths of a percentage point (just behind teammate Mark Buehrle). Despite that, he’s also produced a league-average expected fielding-independent (xFIP) mark over those same two appearances. The uncomplicated, but still noteworthy, explanation: a ground-ball rate (68.4%) that would rank first among all qualifiers. What Stroman has done, in other words, is to compensate for one negative extreme by means of a positive one — like a profoundly ugly person who develops a strong sense of humor or a weblogger who, lacking facility with the language, develops the ability to manufacture GIFs of Marcus Stroman.

Apropos of nothing else, here’s footage of Stroman from his last start, throwing a fastball with considerable arm-side run:

Readers’ Preferred Broadcast: Toronto Radio.

Another Brief Note
Today’s Free Game
Today’s free game features Cincinnati at St. Louis, starts at 20:15 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
Frankie Montas*	CHA	9	4	5	4	4	DET	Justin Verlander	13:08
Nick Tropeano	LAA	7	5	7	10	4	HOU	Mike Fiers	14:10
Chris Tillman	BAL	4	4	5	5	10	WAS	Max Scherzer	19:05
Ivan Nova	NYA	2	7	7	8	7	TOR	Marcus Stroman	19:07
Williams Perez	ATL	3	4	4	4	5	NYN	Bartolo Colon	19:10
David Buchanan	PHI	2	4	4	4	5	MIA	Adam Conley	19:10
Drew Smyly	TB	8	4	5	4	6	BOS	Rick Porcello	19:10
Zach Davies	MIL	5	4	5	4	8	CHN	Kyle Hendricks	20:05
Corey Kluber	CLE	10	5	6	6	4	MIN	Phil Hughes	20:10
Roenis Elias	SEA	5	4	5	4	9	KC	Yordano Ventura	20:10
Br. Finnegan*	CIN	7	4	5	5	4	STL	Lance Lynn	20:15
Charlie Morton	PIT	6	5	5	4	4	COL	Chr. Bergman*	20:40
Colby Lewis	TEX	3	8	5	4	4	OAK	Felix Doubront	22:05
Chase Anderson	AZ	4	4	5	5	7	LAN	Zack Greinke	22:10
Jake Peavy	SF	2	4	4	4	7	SD	Andrew Cashner	22:10

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