NERD Game Scores: Junior Guerra Split-Finger Jubilee Event
Devised originally in response to a challenge issued by sabermetric nobleman 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
St. Louis at Milwaukee | 14:10 ET
Martinez (53.0 IP, 106 xFIP-) vs. Guerra (30.0 IP, 100 xFIP-)
Were one to view — like the author is currently viewing — the NERD game scores for today calculated down to the second decimal, what that one would find is that today’s game between the Cardinals and Brewers actually isn’t the most highly rated. That distinction — which is a strong word for what that is — belongs rather to the Boston-Baltimore encounter (6.09 NERD). The Houston-Arizona game (5.89 NERD) also possesses a higher score than this one (5.80 NERD). What neither of those contests offers, however, is the Brewers’ Junior Guerra, which right-hander features not only one of the world’s top split-finger fastballs, but also sufficient experience abroad to substitute periodically for Rick Steves on the latter’s PBS travel program. Research indicates, for example, that Rick Steves visited San Marino long enough only to produce a five-minute video regarding it, while Guerra recorded over 60 innings as a pitcher there in 2014.
Readers’ Preferred Television Broadcast: Milwaukee.
Two Other Brief Notes
Today’s Free Game
Today’s free game features San Francisco at Atlanta, starts at 13:10 ET, and can be accessed by means of this hyperlinked text.
Broadcaster Rankings
Recently, the present author facilitated a crowdsourcing effort to reproduce the broadcaster rankings which appeared on this site roughly four years ago. The results from that effort — for television broadcasts, at least — are available 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 calculations both for team and game NERD scores feature adjustment for postseason odds that increases as season progresses. Read more about those adjustments here and here.
| Away | SP | TM | GM | TM | SP | Home | Time | ||
| Jose Quintana | CHA | 6 | 3 | 6 | 6 | 7 | NYN | Matt Harvey | 13:10 |
| Jeff Samardzija | SF | 7 | 4 | 6 | 1 | 8 | ATL | Mike Foltynewicz | 13:10 |
| Steven Wright | BOS | 9 | 8 | 6 | 6 | 2 | BAL | Tyler Wilson | 13:35 |
| Carlos Martinez | STL | 6 | 6 | 6 | 5 | 6 | MIL | Junior Guerra | 14:10 |
| Ervin Santana | MIN | 5 | 6 | 5 | 4 | 5 | OAK | Kendall Graveman | 16:05 |
| Dan Straily | CIN | 5 | 3 | 4 | 3 | 5 | COL | Chad Bettis | 16:10 |
| Collin McHugh | HOU | 6 | 6 | 6 | 7 | 5 | AZ | Edwin Escobar* | 16:10 |
| Andrew Cashner | SD | 2 | 5 | 4 | 6 | 5 | SEA | Nate Karns | 16:10 |
| Alex Wood | LAN | 8 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 4 | CHN | Jason Hammel | 17:05 |
| Derek Holland | TEX | 1 | 5 | 4 | 7 | 6 | CLE | Josh Tomlin | 18:10 |
| Tanner Roark | WAS | 5 | 6 | 5 | 2 | 6 | PHI | Jeremy Hellickson | 19:05 |
| Ivan Nova | NYA | 6 | 4 | 5 | 4 | 4 | TOR | Marco Estrada | 19:07 |
| Jeff Locke | PIT | 2 | 6 | 3 | 5 | 1 | MIA | Justin Nicolino | 19:10 |
| Matt Andriese | TB | 5 | 7 | 5 | 5 | 4 | KC | Ian Kennedy | 20:15 |
| Justin Verlander | DET | 5 | 4 | 5 | 3 | 7 | LAA | Jhoulys Chacin | 21:05 |
TM denotes team score.
GM denotes overall game score.
Highlighted portion denotes game of the day.
* = Fewer than 10 IP, NERD at discretion of clueless author.
Carson Cistulli has published a book of aphorisms called Spirited Ejaculations of a New Enthusiast.
I cannot stand Rick Steves. PBS should’ve left him in San Marino…