NERD Game Scores: Ft. The Angels’ Probably Best Starter Now

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
Miami at Los Angeles AL | 22:05 ET
Nathan Eovaldi (162.0 IP, 103 xFIP-, 2.6 WAR) faces Matt Shoemaker (103.2 IP, 82 xFIP-, 1.4 WAR). As noted recently in these pages by FanGraphs author and freelance mountaineer Jeff Sullivan, the injury to Garrett Richards — in addition to hurting the actual leg of Garrett Richards — also hurt the Angels’ odds of winning the AL West by about seven or eight percentage points. Among the pitchers who remain in Anaheim’s rotation, today’s starter Shoemaker — and not C.J. Wilson or Jered Weaver, for example — has actually recorded the most promising fielding-independent numbers.

Regard, all the pitchers who’ve registered a start for the Angels this season sorted by the park-adjusted xFIPs they’ve produced as a starter:

The highest strikeout and lowest walk rate, is what Shoemaker has recorded. And if his run-prevention figures have been less impressive than his fielding-independent ones, that hasn’t at all been the case over the last month, during which interval he’s recorded a 1.57 ERA in five starts and 34.1 innings.

Readers’ Preferred Broadcast: Los Angeles AL Television.

Two Brief Notes
Debut Alert: Cubs Prospect Jorge Soler
Very talented and equally Cuban outfielder Jorge Soler is expected to receive a promotion today to the Cubs, according to Keith Law. A top-50 prospect this preseason on most notable industry lists, Soler has recorded a line of .340/.432/.700 (.381 BABIP) in 236 plate appearances this season across three minor-league levels — most recently in the Triple-A Pacific Coast League.

Regarding Today’s Free Game
Today’s free game features St. Louis at Pittsburgh, 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
Lance Lynn	STL	4	7	6	6	8	PIT	Gerrit Cole	19:05
Alex Cobb	TB	7	4	5	5	6	BAL	Wei-Yin Chen	19:05
Gio Gonzalez	WAS	7	4	5	3	8	PHI	Cole Hamels	19:05
Rubby de la Rosa	BOS	5	3	5	4	10	TOR	R.A. Dickey	19:07
Bran’n McCarthy	NYA	10	4	7	9	6	DET	Rick Porcello	19:08
Alex Wood	ATL	7	7	5	3	3	NYN	Dillon Gee	19:10
Travis Wood	CHN	2	4	4	2	7	CIN	Johnny Cueto	19:10
T.J. House	CLE	8	4	4	2	6	CHA	Jose Quintana	20:10
Ricky Nolasco	MIN	4	3	5	10	3	KC	Danny Duffy	20:10
Jason Hammel	OAK	6	7	6	4	7	HOU	Dallas Keuchel	20:10
Rob’o Hernandez	LAN	1	4	3	3	5	AZ	Trevor Cahill	21:40
Nathan Eovaldi	MIA	8	4	7	9	10	LAA	Matt Shoemaker	22:05
Jimmy Nelson	MIL	5	9	6	3	8	SD	Tyson Ross	22:10
Nick Martinez	TEX	0	3	5	7	10	SEA	James Paxton	22:10
Jorge de la Rosa	COL	2	4	6	8	10	SF	M’son Bum’r	22:15

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