Cardinals pitcher Adam Wainwright is Monday’s Player of the Day in baseball’s stateside daytime opening day.
Wainwright pitched seven shutout innings and struck out nine in the 1-0 win over the Reds. In 2013, Wainwright was the second-ranked National League pitcher in Box-Toppers points with 20.2.
Wainwright had a Box-Toppers game score of 9.0 Monday, the same as Pirates pitcher Francisco Liriano, who was Player of the Game in his team's 1-0 win vs. the Cubs. However, Wainwright won Player of the Day over Liriano because he earned the win in his game, while Liriano had a no-decision.
Mariners pitcher Felix Hernandez is American League Player of the Day. Hernandez struck out 11 over six innings in the 10-3 win over the Angels. In 2013, Hernandez was the eighth-ranked AL pitcher in Box-Toppers points with 14.8.
Hernandez and Indians pitcher Justin Masterson had identical Box-Toppers game scores of 7.0 Monday, but Hernandez broke the tie and got the nod as AL Player of the Day because he received the win in his game and Masterson received a no-decision.
Cody Asche of the Phillies is NL Batter of the Day. Asche went 3-4, doubled and homered and drove in two runs in the 14-10 win over the Rangers.
Matt Joyce of the Rays is AL Batter of the Day. Joyce went 2-2 and drove in three runs in the 9-2 win over the Blue Jays.
Notable: Nelson Cruz of the Orioles is the first player suspended in the Biogenesis investigation to return to earn Box-Toppers Player of the Game honors. Cruz, playing left field in his Orioles debut, went 1-2 and homered in the 2-1 win over the Red Sox. In 2013, he had 4.5 Box-Toppers points for the Rangers before he was suspended under baseball's drug policy for the final 50 games of the season.
Wainwright receives 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day. Hernandez receives 1.7 for AL Player of the Day. Asche and Joyce each receive 1.5 for being top Batter of the Day in their league.
All of Monday’s other Players of the Game (listed in the chart below) receive 1.0 Box-Toppers point.
Box-Toppers tracks who most helps their team win the most games. Using standard box score statistics, Box-Toppers uses a simple formula to determine a Player of the Game for each Major League Baseball game played. That player is the person who contributed most to his team’s win. Players earn Box-Toppers points for being named Player of the Game and can earn bonus points for being Player of the Day or top player or batter in their league for the day.
Top player from each game
Listed from highest to lowest Box-Toppers game score
| 331 | Score | Team | BATTERS | AB | R | H | RBI | BB | SO | - | - | PITCHERS | IP | H | R | ER | BB | SO |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| MLB | 9.0 | Cardinals | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Adam Wainwright (W, 1-0) | 7.0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 9 |
| 9.0 | `Pirates | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Francisco Liriano | 6.0 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 10 | |
| 8.0 | Marlins | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Jose Fernandez (W, 1-0) | 6.0 | 5 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 9 | |
| AL | 7.0 | Mariners | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Felix Hernandez (W, 1-0) | 6.0 | 4 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 11 |
| 7.0 | `Indians | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Justin Masterson | 7.0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 4 | |
| BAT | 5.0 | Phillies | Cody Asche 3B | 4 | 4 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| BAT | 4.0 | Rays | Matt Joyce DH | 2 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 4.0 | Brewers | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Yovani Gallardo (W, 1-0) | 6.0 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 4 | |
| 3.2 | Giants | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Jean Machi (W, 1-0) | 1.2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | |
| 3.1 | White Sox | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Chris Sale (W, 1-0) | 7.1 | 5 | 3 | 3 | 1 | 8 | |
| 3.0 | Nationals | Adam LaRoche 1B | 3 | 3 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| 2.0 | Orioles | Nelson Cruz LF | 2 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| 1.0 | Tigers | Tyler Collins PR | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
` Denotes that the pitcher had a no-decision in the game and did not pick up a win or a save.