NEW YORK — Clayton Kershaw’s game score Sunday night was 73. If you don’t know what that means, don’t worry, it’s a simple stat, devised by Bill James, that begins at 50 and goes up or down depending upon what a starting pitcher does.
What you need to know is that 73 is very good, as can be surmised from Kershaw’s line against the Mets: 7.2 innings, four hits, two earned runs, no walks, 10 strikeouts, one home run allowed. In the major leagues this year, 8.3 percent of starting pitchers have recorded a game score of 73 or better.