MLB: What to watch on October 23, 2026
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 16.4 | 5:00p | Tampa Bay Rays | 4.5 | Milwaukee Brewers | 10.0 | Nick Martinez | 3.3 | Jacob Misiorowski | 15.0 |
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
Tampa Bay Rays @ Milwaukee Brewers, 5:00p
Summary
World Series Game 1 delivers exactly the pitching mismatch you'd hope for in a Fall Classic opener, and the gNERD score backs it up as the best-looking game on the slate today. The Brewers host the Rays for Game 1 at American Family Field, with Milwaukee carrying home-field advantage after a franchise-record 103-win season and a sweep of the defending champion Dodgers in the NLCS, while Tampa Bay arrives fresh off a six-game ALCS win over Cleveland. The headline act is Jacob Misiorowski, whose 1.80 ERA and 252 strikeouts led the majors this season, and his gaudy 14.95 pNERD (built on a 100.6 mph average fastball, elite whiff rate, and a 54 xFIP-) makes him about as must-watch as a starter gets. Opposite him, Nick Martinez offers a steep drop-off — a replacement-level 3.31 pNERD with middling strikeout stuff — so this is very much a "watch one dugout, not the other" pitching matchup. Milwaukee's lineup also carries real juice into this one, led by Jackson Chourio and NLCS MVP Jake Bauers, giving the Brewers a tNERD nearly double Tampa Bay's. Add in two franchises still chasing their first title ever, and this is as good as it gets today.
(A model from Anthropic generated the above text using instructions, the NERD scores, and these sources: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9.)
Recommended broadcasts: TV, Milwaukee Brewers (2.66); radio, Milwaukee Brewers (2.56)
Tampa Bay Rays
| Batting | Barrel% | BaseR | Fielding | Bullpen | Payroll | Age | Luck | TV | Radio | C | Total | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Raw stat | 25.4 | 5.7% | 4.8 | 7.0 | 20.8 | $106.9M | 29.1 | 4.0 | 2.27 | 2.10 | — | — |
| Z-score | 0.65 | -2.07 | 0.72 | 0.27 | -0.35 | -1.10 | 0.07 | 0.18 | -0.23 | -0.61 | — | — |
| tNERD | 0.65 | -2.07 | 0.72 | 0.27 | -0.35 | 1.10 | 0.00 | 0.18 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 4.00 | 4.50 |
Milwaukee Brewers
| Batting | Barrel% | BaseR | Fielding | Bullpen | Payroll | Age | Luck | TV | Radio | C | Total | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Raw stat | 55.2 | 7.3% | 7.7 | 8.3 | 66.0 | $139.3M | 27.7 | -28.0 | 2.66 | 2.56 | — | — |
| Z-score | 1.37 | -0.40 | 1.19 | 0.32 | 1.18 | -0.73 | -1.21 | -1.22 | 0.53 | 0.37 | — | — |
| tNERD | 1.37 | -0.40 | 1.19 | 0.32 | 1.18 | 0.73 | 1.21 | 0.00 | 0.27 | 0.18 | 4.00 | 10.04 |
Nick Martinez, Tampa Bay Rays
| xFIP- | SwStr% | Strike% | Velocity | Age | Pace | Luck | KN% | C | Total | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Raw stat | 108 | 8.2% | 68.2% | 92.5 mph | 35 | 19.4s | -34 | 0.0% | — | — |
| Z-score | 0.38 | -1.07 | 1.84 | -0.74 | 1.70 | 0.24 | — | — | — | — |
| pNERD | -0.75 | -0.54 | 0.92 | 0.00 | 0.00 | -0.12 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 3.80 | 3.31 |
Jacob Misiorowski, Milwaukee Brewers
| xFIP- | SwStr% | Strike% | Velocity | Age | Pace | Luck | KN% | C | Total | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Raw stat | 54 | 17.6% | 67.6% | 100.6 mph | 24 | 19.6s | -11 | 0.0% | — | — |
| Z-score | -2.87 | 3.29 | 1.60 | 2.86 | -1.16 | 0.40 | — | — | — | — |
| pNERD | 5.75 | 1.64 | 0.80 | 2.00 | 1.16 | -0.20 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 3.80 | 14.95 |
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MLB: What to watch on October 19, 2026