NERD Game Scores: Rust Belt Arm-Speed Exhibition Sunday

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
Cleveland at Pittsburgh | 13:35 ET
Salazar (85.1 IP, 78 xFIP-) vs. Cole (102.1 IP, 77 xFIP-)
Were one to insist today on watching an encounter between the two hardest-throwing starting pitchers in all of baseball, that same one would be disappointed by the major-league games scheduled for this afternoon and evening. Were one to lower his expectations even slightly, however, this Cleveland-Pittsburgh contest featuring Danny Salazar and Gerrit Cole — who’ve produced the fifth- and third-highest average fastball velocities, respectively, among qualifiers — would likely represent a source of considerable pleasure. Meanwhile, were one to recalibrate one’s tastes entirely, he could compete with an immortal god for happiness merely by eating a barley cake.

Readers’ Preferred Broadcast: Cleveland Radio.

Other Brief Note
Today’s Free Game
Today’s free game features Philadelphia at Atlanta, starts at 13:35 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
Ivan Nova	NYA	2	8	5	4	6	TB	Erasmo Ramirez	13:05
Marco Estrada	TOR	3	9	4	5	0	DET	Justin Verlander	13:08
Taylor Jungmann	MIL	4	3	4	4	6	CIN	Mike Leake	13:10
Danny Salazar	CLE	10	7	9	8	10	PIT	Gerrit Cole	13:35
Lance McCullers	HOU	8	10	8	5	7	BOS	Eduardo Rodriguez	13:35
Cole Hamels	PHI	8	2	5	2	7	ATL	Shelby Miller	13:35
Miguel Gonzalez	BAL	3	6	4	1	8	CHA	Carlos Rodon	14:10
Ervin Santana*	MIN	6	3	5	7	4	KC	Danny Duffy	14:10
Ian Kennedy	SD	5	4	5	5	5	STL	Lance Lynn	14:15
Mat Latos	MIA	6	5	6	7	7	CHN	Kyle Hendricks	14:20
Mi. Montgomery	SEA	5	4	5	5	4	OAK	Chris Bassitt*	16:05
Jorge de la Rosa	COL	4	4	5	5	9	AZ	Rubby de la Rosa	16:10
Steven Matz*	NYN	8	4	5	5	5	LAN	Mike Bolsinger	16:10
C.J. Wilson	LAA	4	7	4	3	3	TEX	Colby Lewis	19:05
Ryan Vogelsong	SF	1	5	4	4	5	WAS	Jo. Zimmermann	20:08

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