Box-Toppers Toppers Box
Today’s key Box-Toppers numbers. Click links to jump to charts elsewhere on this page.▪️ Box-Toppers Player of the Game winners.
▪️ Box-Toppers points of the day’s top players.
▪️ A B-T look at today’s pitching matchups.
Astros pitcher Framber Valdez is Box-Toppers Player of the Game in Thursday’s American League Division Series playoff game.
AL Division Series Game 2: Astros 4, Mariners 2
Valdez struck out six over 5 2/3 innings, allowing two runs (one earned), four hits and three walks. Valdez did not earn the win, picking up a no-decision, because the Astros were trailing when he exited.
The Astros lead the best-of-five game series, 2-0.
Valdez earned 16.0 Box-Toppers points in 2022, 14th among all players, fifth among AL pitchers.
Valdez had a Box-Toppers game score of +1.2, best among all Astros players Thursday. Astros top batter was shortstop Jeremy Pena with a +1.0 game score (2B 2-3 2R 0BI). Mariners starting pitcher Luis Castillo had a +3.0 game score (7IP 5H 3R 0BB 7K L).
AL Division Series Game 2: Guardians at Yankees, postponed
Rain postponed the Thursday night game until Friday afternoon. Starting pitchers remain unchanged and are listed below.
All of Thursday’s Player of the Game winners are listed in the chart below.
Box‑Toppers Player of the Game winners
Here is the top player from each of the day’s games listed from highest to lowest Box‑Toppers game score (BTG).Back to top
| BTG | Game | Player | AB | R | H | BI | IP | H | R | ER | BB | K | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| +1.2 | `HOU 4, SEA 2 | Framber Valdez | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | 5.2 | 4 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 6 |
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Box-Toppers point totals of the day’s Player of the Game winners
Here are Box-Toppers point totals of each of the Player of the Game winners. Players are ranked by their Box-Toppers point total in 2022 (’22). Also shown is their point total for this season and last (’21-22), the period 2017-2022 (’17-22) and each players’ career point total. Also shown is how their 2022 Box-Toppers point total compares with their 2021 total (+/-).Back to top
| Player of the Game | Pos | Team | ’22 | ’21‑22 | ’17‑22 | Career | +/‑ |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Valdez, Framber 4048 | pi sp | hou al | 16.0 | 21.0 | 31.4 | 31.4 | +11.0 |
About Box-Toppers’ team abbreviations
NOTE: These are player point totals as of the end of the 2022 regular season. No Box-Toppers points are awarded in postseason games.
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Friday’s pitching matchups (for more, see matchups chart below):
AL Division Series Game 2, Yankees lead Guardians, 1-0
Guardians—Shane Bieber, 13.7 Box-Toppers points in 2022, 26th among all players, 13th among AL pitchers. Bieber was Player of the Game in the AL Wild Card series Game 1 win over the Blue Jays.
Yankees—Nestor Cortes, 15.4 Box-Toppers points in 2022, 19th among all players, ninth among AL pitchers.
More details—Previews of AL Division Series.
NL Division Series Game 3, Braves at Phillies, series tied, 1-1
Braves—Spencer Strider, 13.4 Box-Toppers points in 2022, 27th among all players and 13th among NL pitchers.
Phillies—Aaron Nola, 16.0 Box-Toppers points in 2022, 13th overall, ninth among NL pitchers. Nola was Player of the Game in the NL Wild Card series Game 2 win over the Cardinals.
More details—Previews of NL Division Series.
NL Division Series Game 3, Dodgers at Padres, series tied, 1-1
Dodgers—Tony Gonsolin, 11.4 Box-Toppers points in 2022, 39th among all players, 17th among NL pitchers.
Padres—Blake Snell, 13.1 Box-Toppers points in 2022, 29th among all players, 14th among NL pitchers.
A Box-Toppers look at Friday’s Division Series round pitching matchups
A Box-Toppers look at the upcoming day’s probable pitching matchups. Teams are paired below with visiting teams on top and home teams on the bottom. Each team’s starting pitcher is shown with their Box-Toppers point total from 2022 (’22), over a two-year period (’21-22), over a six-year period (’17-22) and their career point total.Back to top
| Game | Starter | ’22 | ’21‑22 | ’17‑22 | Career |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| CLE | Bieber, Shane 4005 | 13.7 | 20.4 | 56.3 | 56.3 |
| NYY | Cortes, Nestor 4160 | 15.4 | 20.4 | 22.4 | 22.4 |
| ATL | Strider, Spencer 4626 | 13.4 | 13.4 | 13.4 | 13.4 |
| PHI | Nola, Aaron 3569 | 16.0 | 26.7 | 81.0 | 89.7 |
| LAD | Gonsolin, Tony 4211 | 11.4 | 16.1 | 23.8 | 23.8 |
| SD | Snell, Blake 3688 | 13.1 | 24.5 | 70.4 | 74.4 |
What are those numbers after players' names?
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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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Related
Box-Toppers 2022 player rankings leaders
Box-Toppers 2022 final team rankings
Box-Toppers’ NL Division Series preview: Padres vs. Dodgers, Phillies vs. Braves
Box-Toppers’ AL Division Series previews: Guardians vs. Yankees, Mariners vs. Astros