One Night Only: Hot Game Previews for June 21st

This is happening again.

This edition of One Night Only contains:

1. An expanded preview for the big, big Houston-Texas match-up.

2. Brief, but totally charming, previews for these games: Colorado at Cleveland, New York (AL) at Cincinnati, and Philadelphia at St. Louis.

3. Pitcher and Team NERD scores for every one of tonight’s games — in a sweet new, slightly more interactive table.

Houston (5) at Texas (8) | 20:05 ET
Starting Pitchers
Astros: Jordan Lyles (9)
23.0 IP, 7.83 K/9, 1.57 BB/9, 37.3% GB, 3.49 xFIP, 93 xFIP-

Rangers: C.J. Wilson (5)
104.0 IP, 8.05 K/9, 3.12 BB/9, 47.6% GGB, 3.43 xFIP, 86 xFIP-

Regarding Jordan Lyles, His High NERD Score
Jordan Lyles’ high score is due to two factors predominantly: his age and his strike-throwing thus far.

Regarding Jordan Lyles, His Age
At 20, Lyles is the youngest pitcher in the majors with 20-plus innings as a starter.

Regarding Some Other Pitchers, Their Ages
Here are the pitchers who’re 21 years old: Madison Bumgarner, Tyler Chatwood.

And 22: Michael Pineda, Rick Porcello, Danny Duffy.

Regarding How Many 23-Year-Olds There Are
Fifteen.

A Joke That’s Related, But Only Very Slightly, To This Discussion
At the 0:56 mark or so:

Regarding How Suitable That Video Is for Work
Mostly, if not entirely, suitable. (There’s an Eff Bomb at the 0:52 mark.)

Regarding Jordan Lyles, His Strike-Throwing
About 66% of Jordan Lyles’ pitches have been thrown for strikes — this, relative to the starters’ average of just under 63%.

What Constitutes “Good” in Terms of Strike-Throwing
Roy Halladay: 69.3%

What Constitutes “Not So Good” in Terms of Strike-Throwing
Kyle Drabek: 54.6%.

In Terms of the Astros, Player That Aren’t Depressing
Here are the players for the Astros that definitely aren’t depressing: more than you’re probably assuming.

Three Other Games
Colorado (7) at Cleveland (10) | 19:05 ET
Charlie Blackmon Watch: 50 PA, .354/.380/.375 (.378 BABIP), .365 wOBA, 122 wRC+, 4.0% BB, 6.3% K.

New York Americans (7) at Cincinnati (6) | 19:10 ET
Former outfielder Brian Gordon made his major-league pitching debut last week and acquitted himself decently: 5.1 IP, 26 TBF, 3 K, 3 BB, 5 GB on 18 batted-balls (27.8%).

Philadelphia (3) St. Louis (5) | 20:15 ET
Roy Halladay (10) is pitching to an Albert Pujols-less Cardinal team!

Also Playing
These games are very likely playing at some kind of sporty channel near you. (Pitching probables and game times from MLB.com.)

Sc.	Away Pitcher	Sc.	Aw.		Hm.	Sc.	Home Pitcher	Sc.	Time	Gm.
5	Jeremy Guthrie	3	BAL	v.	PIT	3	Jam. McDonald	2	19:05	3
7	Jhoulys Chacin	7	COL	v.	CLE	10	Mitch Talbot	1	19:05	5
5	Doug Fister	3	SEA	v.	WAS	6	Livan Hernandez	2	19:05	4
6	Ervin Santana	5	LAA	v.	FL	4	Javier Vazquez	2	19:10	4
5	Brian Gordon*	7	NYA	v.	CIN	6	Johnny Cueto	6	19:10	6
1	Josh Outman	2	OAK	v.	NYN	5	Dillon Gee	6	19:10	4
7	Mat Latos	5	SD	v.	BOS	7	Alfredo Aceves*	5	19:10	6
5	Zach Stewart*	8	TOR	v.	ATL	7	Mike Minor	5	19:10	6
9	Jordan Lyles	5	HOU	v.	TEX	8	C.J. Wilson	5	20:05	7
2	Joe Saunders	10	AZ	v.	KC	10	Luke Hochevar	4	20:10	5
10	Matt Garza	0	CHN	v.	CHA	1	Mark Buehrle	2	20:10	5
3	Jer. Hellickson	6	TB	v.	MIL	8	Zack Greinke	5	20:10	5
10	Roy Halladay	3	PHI	v.	STL	5	Kyle McClellan	3	20:15	6
6	Max Scherzer	2	DET	v.	LAN	2	Chad Billingsley	7	22:10	5
3	Carl Pavano	0	MIN	v.	SF	4	Mad. Bumgarner	8	22:15	5

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