One Night Only: Hot Game Preview for May 26th

Milwaukee’s Betancourt: Most likely not a human vessel for evil.

This edition of One Night Only contains:

1. Expanded previews for two games: Cincinnati at Philadelphia and Chicago (AL) at Toronto.

2. Pitcher and Team NERD scores for every one of tonight’s games (using the highly experimental and dangerous pitcher-heavy method discussed recently).

3. All of the –ologies put together.

Cincinnati (9) at Philadelphia (2) | 13:05 ET
Starting Pitchers
Reds: Homer Bailey (8)
26.0 IP, 6.92 K/9, 1.38 BB/9, .230 BABIP, 47.4% GB, 7.1% HR/FB, 3.06 xFIP, 83 xFIP-

Phillies: Cliff Lee (10)
66.2 IP, 10.53 K/9, 2.03 BB/9, .337 BABIP, 40.2% GB, 7.7% HR/FB, 2.44 xFIP, 66 xFIP-

Regarding Cliff Lee and Strikeouts
• Fact: Cliff Lee currently possesses a career-high strikeout rate.
• Other fact: teammate Roy Halladay is also currently striking out batters at a career-high rate (9.18 K/9).
• What’s notable about this is that both pitchers have distinguished themselves less for their swing-and miss stuff than for their excellent command and efficiency.
• What’s also notable, of course, is that the two became teammates before the season, creating a union — along with Cole Hamels and Roy Oswalt — that brought with it much speculation about the degree to which the Phillies’ four excellent starters might share their observations on the Art and Science of Pitching.
• Though this is likely mere coincidence, it’s more pleasing, at some level, to believe that it’s not.

If I Had My Druthers
• There’d be an actual Art and Science of Pitching — like, that you could take in college, I mean.
• Instead of stupid Anthropology.
• Claude Lévi-Strauss? More like Claude Boring-Strauss.

Chicago Americans (3) at Toronto (8) | 19:07 ET
Starting Pitchers
White Sox: Philip Humber (4)
52.1 IP, 5.16 K/9, 2.06 BB/0 .210 BABIP, 42.6% GB, 4.5% HR/FB, 4.06 xFIP, 104 xFIP-

Blue Jays: Brandon Morrow (10)
32.0 IP, 12.09 K/9, 4.22 BB/9, .366 BABIP, 32.9% GB, 2.9% HR/FB, 2.96 xFIP, 75 xFIP-

Notes
• Yesterday, in this space, we observed the degree to which Zack Greinke was feeling the scourge of Cruelest Fate.
• Morrow, currently sporting a 5.06 ERA (against that excellent 2.96 xFIP), is feeling that same scourge almost to the same degree.
• Using our minds, we might ask, “What else do these excellent young pitchers have in common?”
• In response to which question, we’d be forced to conclude: “They both played alongside Yuniesky Betancourt!”
• Though this is likely mere coincidence, it’s more pleasing, at some level, to believe that it’s not.

If I Had My Druthers
• Yuniesky Betancourt wouldn’t actually be a human vessel for evil.
• Because, that’d really problematize my conception of reality, I mean.
• Talk about inconvenient.

Two Other Games
Arizona (10) at Colorado (6) | 12:35 ET
• Watch Micah Owings hit!

Florida (4) at San Francisco (4) | 15:45 ET
• Anibal Sanchez’s (8) swinging-strike rates (8.5%, 9.3%, 10.6%) and first-pitch-strike rates (56.4%, 58.4%, 60.3%) have both climbed steadily since 2009.

Also Playing
These games are very likely playing at some kind of sporty channel near you.

pNERD = Pitcher NERD
tNERD = Team NERD
Game = Time and Average NERD for Game
* = Fewer than 20 IP, NERD of 5 (or 10 for debuts)