NERD Game Scores: Johnny Cueto Trade Audition Event

July 19, 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.

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Most Highly Rated Game
Cleveland at Cincinnati | 13:10 ET
Carrasco (108.1 IP, 70 xFIP-) vs. Cueto (118.2 IP, 85 xFIP-)
As noted by FanGraphs contributor and doctor of jurisprudence Craig Edwards recently in these pages, Cincinnati right-hander Johnny Cueto — owing both to his impending free agency and also the the Reds’ current position along the win curve — is among the starters most likely to be traded before the July 31 non-waiver deadline. Hypothetically, that would allow Cueto to record three more starts (including this afternoon’s) for the club with which he originally signed out of the Dominican Republic. Three starts at most, that is — and possibly fewer than that. Today represents an opportunity to observe Cueto perhaps for the last time in Cincinnati uniform — and represents also the opportunity to observe in Carlos Carrasco one of the league’s most electric starting pitchers.

Readers’ Preferred Broadcast: Cleveland Radio.

Two Brief Notes
Perpetually Looping Video: Clayton Kershaw’s Curveball
Dodgers left-hander Clayton Kershaw recorded 14 strikeouts against just 27 batters at Washington yesterday (box). Here’s footage from three of those strikeouts — each by way of Kershaw’s improbable curveball.

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Today’s Free Game
Today’s free game features Kansas City at Chicago AL, starts at 14:10 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
Felix Hernandez	SEA	7	4	6	7	6	NYA	CC Sabathia	13:05
Chris Archer	TB	10	4	6	7	3	TOR	Marco Estrada	13:07
Miguel Gonzalez	BAL	3	6	4	5	1	DET	Justin Verlander	13:08
Carlos Carrasco	CLE	10	6	7	4	8	CIN	Johnny Cueto	13:10
Zack Greinke	LAN	6	5	6	5	10	WAS	Max Scherzer	13:35
Dan Haren	MIA	3	5	4	2	8	PHI	Cole Hamels	13:35
Danny Duffy	KC	2	6	5	1	10	CHA	Chris Sale	14:10
Jeff Locke	PIT	5	8	5	4	4	MIL	Tay. Jungmann	14:10
Yovani Gallardo	TEX	2	3	6	10	8	HOU	Dallas Keuchel	14:10
Jon Niese	NYN	4	5	5	5	4	STL	Tim Cooney	14:15
Tommy Milone	MIN	3	5	4	4	5	OAK	Jesse Chavez	16:05
Eddie Butler	COL	1	4	4	4	7	SD	Andrew Cashner	16:10
Ma.n Bumgarner	SF	8	5	7	5	10	AZ	Patrick Corbin	16:10
Jake Arrieta	CHN	9	7	6	2	7	ATL	Shelby Miller	17:05
Ed. Rodriguez	BOS	8	5	6	7	3	LAA	Hector Santiago	20:05

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