MLB: What to watch on October 25, 2025
Here are today's MLB games, ordered by watchability, based on how interesting the teams and starting pitchers look. Higher is better. For more information, read this post.
| Score | Time (PT) | Visitors | Score | Home | Score | Starter (V) | Score | Starter (H) | Score |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 14.6 | 5:00p | Los Angeles Dodgers | 7.6 | Toronto Blue Jays | 6.9 | Yoshinobu Yamamoto | 8.9 | Kevin Gausman | 5.9 |
Notes:
- Pitcher 'no data': Pitchers only have a pNERD score once they've started at least one game and have at least 20 innings pitched. I also show 'no data' when I can't correctly link a starting pitcher with their stats.
- Generated by the mlb-watchability project on GitHub.
Detail
Los Angeles Dodgers @ Toronto Blue Jays, 5:00p
Summary
Splitter-palooza: Yamamoto’s turbo-split (held hitters to a .140 average) meets Gausman’s chase-inducing dive bomb, a pitch-to-pitch duel with real bite. And after Toronto’s nine‑run sixth and the first pinch‑hit grand slam in World Series history, the stakes are already cranked.
This gNERD 14.65 lands near the 95th‑percentile of historic days, and the pitching carries it: Yamamoto’s pNERD 8.89 is backed by a sparkling 74 xFIP– and a recent complete‑game masterpiece; Gausman’s pNERD 5.87 trails but his splitter volume and whiffs still make at‑bat outcomes twitchy. Los Angeles rates as the more watchable offense (barrels and batting runs plus a deep bullpen), exactly the kind that punishes a single bad split left up; Toronto counters with elite gloves that squeeze extra outs when contact happens. Shohei Ohtani already homered in the opener, but the Jays’ Barger/Kirk barrage set the tone. If you want novelty, this is literally the World Series of the splitter, featuring two of the pitch’s banner carriers on the same mound. In short: premium stuff vs premium defense, with LA’s thump trying to reassert itself and Gausman tasked with keeping them in chase mode.
(A model from OpenAI generated the above text using instructions, the NERD scores, and these sources: 1, 2, 3, 4.)
Recommended broadcasts: TV, Toronto Blue Jays (3.10); radio, Los Angeles Dodgers (2.51)
Los Angeles Dodgers
| Batting | Barrel% | BaseR | Fielding | Bullpen | Payroll | Age | Luck | TV | Radio | C | Total | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Raw stat | 95.1 | 10.0% | -1.4 | 1.6 | 56.5 | $341.0M | 29.6 | -3.0 | 2.45 | 2.51 | — | — |
| Z-score | 1.33 | 1.16 | -0.26 | 0.08 | 1.09 | 2.26 | 0.89 | -0.14 | 0.12 | 0.26 | — | — |
| tNERD | 1.33 | 1.16 | -0.26 | 0.08 | 1.09 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.06 | 0.13 | 4.00 | 7.59 |
Toronto Blue Jays
| Batting | Barrel% | BaseR | Fielding | Bullpen | Payroll | Age | Luck | TV | Radio | C | Total | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Raw stat | 90.8 | 8.1% | -5.6 | 38.7 | 30.3 | $248.4M | 29.6 | 17.0 | 3.10 | 2.39 | — | — |
| Z-score | 1.27 | -0.41 | -0.87 | 1.61 | -0.10 | 1.01 | 0.89 | 0.74 | 1.40 | 0.01 | — | — |
| tNERD | 1.27 | -0.41 | -0.87 | 1.61 | -0.10 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.74 | 0.70 | 0.00 | 4.00 | 6.95 |
Yoshinobu Yamamoto, Los Angeles Dodgers
| xFIP- | SwStr% | Strike% | Velocity | Age | Pace | Luck | KN% | C | Total | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Raw stat | 74 | 12.6% | 64.0% | 95.3 mph | 26 | 18.5s | -15 | 0.0% | — | — |
| Z-score | -1.65 | 0.93 | 0.07 | 0.64 | -0.65 | -0.02 | — | — | — | — |
| pNERD | 3.29 | 0.46 | 0.03 | 0.64 | 0.65 | 0.01 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 3.80 | 8.89 |
Kevin Gausman, Toronto Blue Jays
| xFIP- | SwStr% | Strike% | Velocity | Age | Pace | Luck | KN% | C | Total | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Raw stat | 90 | 12.6% | 67.4% | 94.5 mph | 34 | 20.5s | -2 | 0.0% | — | — |
| Z-score | -0.68 | 0.93 | 1.53 | 0.27 | 1.44 | 1.60 | — | — | — | — |
| pNERD | 1.36 | 0.46 | 0.77 | 0.27 | 0.00 | -0.80 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 3.80 | 5.87 |