Dodgers pitcher Julio Urias is Box-Toppers Player of the Game in Sunday’s National League Championship Series Game 7.
Urias pitched the final three innings of the game, allowing no hits, runs or walks and striking out none, in the 4-3 win over the Braves, as the Dodgers win the best-of-seven game series, 4-3.
Urias had a Box-Toppers game score Sunday of +3.0, highest among Dodgers players. He becomes the second player this postseason to win Player of the Game honors a third time, joining teammate Corey Seager. Urias was Player of the Game in the NL Wild Card Game 1 win over the Brewers on Sept. 30 and in the NL Division Series Game 3 win over the Padres on Oct. 8. In all three of his Player of the Game honors, Urias appeared as a reliever. He also started NLCS Game 3 on Oct. 14, in which Seager was Player of the Game.
Urias had 1.0 Box-Toppers point in the 2020 regular season, 315th among all players and 73rd among NL pitchers. Since the start of 2019, Urias has 7.0 Box-Toppers points, 168th among all players over 2019 and 2020, 52nd among NL pitchers.
Dodgers pitcher Dustin May, who opened the game, had a Box-Toppers game score of -3.0 (1IP H R 2BB K ND). Cody Bellinger had the highest Box-Toppers game score (+1.0) among Dodgers batters (HR 1-2 R BI). Enrique Hernandez also had an identical Box-Toppers game score and box score line (+1.0, HR 1-2 R BI), but would have been edged out by Bellinger as Player of the Game because Bellinger was a starter and Hernandez first appeared as a pinch hitter.
Seager was named Most Valuable Player of the series. He also was Box-Toppers Player of the Game in two of the Dodgers four wins, Game 3 on Oct. 14 and Game 5 on Oct. 16. Pitcher Walker Buehler was Player of the Game in the Dodgers win in Game 6 on Oct. 17.
Dansby Swanson had the highest Box-Toppers game score (0.0) of qualifying Braves players (HR 1-3 R BI). Braves starting pitcher Ian Anderson had a game score of -6.0 (3IP 5H 2R 2BB 2K ND).
The Dodgers rebound from a 3-1 game deficit to win the series and eliminate the Braves. The Dodgers were the top team in Box-Toppers team rankings for much of the pandemic-shortened 2020 season, ranking first in six straight weekly Box-Toppers team rankings, from Aug. 20 on, leading all teams at season’s end with its players accumulating a combined 52.8 Box-Toppers points.
The Braves, meanwhile, ranked sixth with 44.0 Box-Toppers points, fourth among NL teams, behind the Dodgers, the San Diego Padres (48.0) and the Chicago Cubs (46.5). Yet, the Braves, who are actually the second-seeded NL team in the postseason behind the Dodgers, were the highest-ranking team other than the Dodgers remaining in the postseason. (The American League champion Tampa Bay Rays rank ninth.)
The Dodgers advance to the World Series beginning Tuesday against the Rays. The series is being played at a neutral site, Globe Life Field in Arlington, Texas, because of pandemic concerns.
Box-Toppers preview of the NLCS from Oct. 12.
About Box-Toppers—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. In regular season games, players earn 1.0 Box-Toppers point 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.
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Top player from each game
Listed from highest to lowest Box-Toppers game score (BTG)| BTG | Game | Player | AB | R | H | BI | IP | H | R | ER | BB | K | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| +3.0 | LAD 4, ATL 3 | Julio Urias (W, 3‑0) | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | 3.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |