One Night Only: Game Previews for August 23rd
What Matt Cain would look like with just a single, metal leg. And no head. Or arms.
Featured Game
San Diego (6) at San Francisco (3) | 22:15 ET
• Matt Cain has continued his trend this year of inducing lower-than-average BABIPs (.267) and HR/FBs (3.6%).
• He’s also, this season, posting what would be a career best strikeout differential (i.e. K%-BB%) of 13.8%.
• So, that’s in terms of Matt Cain.
• In terms of the Giants, who’re a game behind Arizona now, here’re their playoffs odds per Cool Standings and Our Mortal Enemy, respectively: 38.8% and 77.4%.
• And here are their odds per my wife, who’s watched precisely three innings of baseball this year: 47.0%.
MLB.TV Audio Feed: Giants Radio.
Also Playing
Here’s the complete schedule for all of today’s games, with our very proprietary watchability (NERD) scores for each one. Pitching probables and game times aggregated from MLB.com and RotoWire. The average NERD Game Score for today is 5.8.
The following Game Scores include the new and improved playoff-odds adjustment, which you can learn about in your brain by clicking here.
| Away | SP | Tm. | Gm. | Tm. | SP | Home | Time | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Blake Beavan | SEA | 3 | 0 | 5 | 6 | 7 | CLE | Justin Masterson | 13:05 |
| Ian Kennedy | AZ | 6 | 9 | 8 | 4 | 8 | WAS | Jordan Zimmermann | 19:05 |
| Marco Estrada | MIL | 6 | 7 | 5 | 5 | 5 | PIT | Ross Ohlendorf* | 19:05 |
| Jonathon Niese | NYN | 9 | 5 | 5 | 3 | 5 | PHI | Vance Worley | 19:05 |
| Brandon McCarthy | OAK | 7 | 0 | 5 | 10 | 6 | NYA | Bartolo Colon | 19:05 |
| Anthony Vasquez* | SEA | 10 | 0 | 8 | 6 | 8 | CLE | Zachary McAllister* | 19:05 |
| Bruce Chen | KC | 1 | 10 | 5 | 6 | 10 | TOR | Brandon Morrow | 19:07 |
| Johnny Cueto | CIN | 6 | 5 | 5 | 8 | 7 | FL | Ricky Nolasco | 19:10 |
| Brad Penny | DET | 1 | 2 | 6 | 7 | 9 | TB | David Price | 19:10 |
| Mike Minor | ATL | 9 | 5 | 4 | 4 | 1 | CHN | Casey Coleman | 20:05 |
| John Lackey | BOS | 4 | 10 | 5 | 8 | 4 | TEX | Colby Lewis | 20:05 |
| Alfredo Simon | BAL | 5 | 2 | 3 | 0 | 5 | MIN | Brian Duensing | 20:10 |
| Clayton Kershaw | LAN | 10 | 4 | 5 | 3 | 3 | STL | Kyle Lohse | 20:15 |
| Bud Norris | HOU | 7 | 3 | 6 | 6 | 8 | COL | Alex White* | 20:40 |
| Mark Buehrle | CHA | 3 | 3 | 8 | 5 | 6 | LAA | Ervin Santana | 22:05 |
| Mat Latos | SD | 8 | 6 | 10 | 3 | 7 | SF | Matt Cain | 22:15 |
NERD represents an attempt to anticipate the watchability of a game for the baseballing enthusiast.
To learn more about Pitcher NERD, click here and scroll down a little.
To learn more about latest Team NERD, click here.
To learn how Game NERD Scores are calculated, click here.
* = Fewer than 20 IP, NERD at discretion of very handsome author.
Carson Cistulli has published a book of aphorisms called Spirited Ejaculations of a New Enthusiast.
Having grown up in the valley, and having lived in San Diego during college, there is no way I would ever choose a San Diego broadcast over the Giants on either the TV or the radio….I don’t care much for either team, but the Giants foursome (Miller, Fleming, Kuiper, and Krukow) is quite possibly the best group in baseball…
Oh, yeah, I whiffed on that pretty hard.
Have changed to dulcet tones of Jon Miller.
Thank you.