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.
▪️ Subscribe to Box-Toppers Email Newsletter.
Diamondbacks pitcher Brandon Pfaadt tops players in Wednesday’s three league division series playoff games.
Other Player of the Game winners in Wednesday’s league division series games:
Astros pitcher Ryan Pressly.
Phillies pitcher Aaron Nola.
NL Division Series Game 3: Diamondbacks 4, Dodgers 2
Diamondbacks pitcher Brandon Pfaadt struck out two over 4 1/3 scoreless innings, allowing two hits and no walks. Pfaadt did not earn the win, picking up a no-decision, because he did not pitch the required five innings to earn the win.
The Diamondbacks win the best-of-five game series 3-0, eliminating the Dodgers.
Pfaadt earned 3.7 Box-Toppers points in 2023, 282nd among all players and 88th among NL pitchers.
Pfaadt had a Box-Toppers game score Wednesday of +4.1, best among all Diamondbacks players. Diamondbacks top batter, catcher Gabriel Moreno, had a +1.0 Box-Toppers game score (HR 1-2 R BI). Dodgers starting pitcher Lance Lynn had a -10.8 Box-Toppers game score (2.2IP 6H 4R 0BB K L).
The loss eliminates the Dodgers, who ranked third in Box-Toppers team rankings and second among NL teams with its players accumulating 123.8 Box-Toppers points. The Diamondbacks, by contrast, rank lowest mong all 12 postseason qualifiers in Box-Toppers team rankings with 102.1 points, 14th overall and seventh among NL teams. They now advance to the NL Championship Series against either the Atlanta Braves or Philadelphia Phillies.
In a way, the Diamondbacks win over the Dodgers was a huge upset. They finished 14 games behind the Dodgers in the NL West, barely clinging to a playoff spot at season’s end, winning only four of their final 10 games, losing their final four. They had a net gain of only 2.2 Box-Toppers points in the final 10 days of the season, third-lowest among all teams.
Five of the top 17 NL batters in 2023 Box-Toppers points are @Dodgers:
— Box-Toppers (@BoxToppers) October 7, 2023
3—Freddie Freeman 10.0 B-T points
7—James Outman 8.7
8—Mookie Betts 8.5
13—Jason Heyward 7.5
17—J.D. Martinez 6.7#NLDS previews—https://t.co/NxQK35jr7r
But the Diamondbacks turned it on for the postseason, winning five straight games—sweeping the Milwaukee Brewers in two games in the Wild Card round and now sweeping the Dodgers in three to win the Division Series.
The Dodgers, by contrast, solidly claimed the NL West title and finished the season strong, gaining 6.5 Box-Toppers points in the final 10 days of the season, fifth-best among all teams. But they were hurt at season’s end by lack of pitching depth. In early September, Julio Urias, who had been their top starter all season, was placed on administrative leave under baseball’s domestic violence policy. He earned 11.0 Box-Toppers points in 2023, 36th overall and 16th among NL pitchers and was not available to them in the postseason.
But even with Urias, the Dodgers, historically known for their pitching prowess, were having a down year on the mound. For the first time since 2008, there was no Dodger pitcher among the top 10 NL pitchers in Box-Toppers points. Clayton Kershaw, who held a top 10 NL pitching spot for 10 of those seasons, ended the season at the team’s top pitcher with 11.1 Box-Toppers points, 14th among NL pitchers.
Among the eight teams making the league division series, the Dodgers had the lowest percentage of the team’s total Box-Toppers points earned by pitchers. Dodgers pitchers earned 61.9 of the team’s total 123.8 points—exactly 50 percent. By contrast, Texas Rangers pitchers earned 85.7 of the team’s 128.1 points, 66.9 percent.
Of course, this could also mean that Dodgers batters were particularly hot, edging out their teammate pitchers for Player of the Game honors more frequently. And that was true. Among the top 17 NL batters in 2023 Box-Toppers points, five of them were Dodgers, including Freddie Freeman leading the way with 10.0 Box-Toppers points, third among NL batters.
But those batters were largely silenced by Diamondbacks pitching during the Dodgers three-game postseason, scoring only six total runs on 17 total hits.
AL Division Series Game 4: Astros 3, Twins 2
Astros closing pitcher Ryan Pressly struck out three over one scoreless and hitless inning, allowing no walks and picking up the save.
The Astros win the best-of-five game series 3-1, eliminating the Twins.
Pressly earned 3.0 Box-Toppers points in 2023, 213th overall, 84th among AL pitchers and 12th among AL closers.
Pressly had a Box-Toppers game score of +4.0 to top Astros players. Astros starting pitcher Jose Urquidy had a +3.2 Box-Toppers game score (5.2IP 3H 2R BB 6K W). Astros top batter, first baseman Jose Abreu, had a +1.0 Box-Toppers game score (HR 2-4 R 2BI). Twins starting pitcher Joe Ryan had a -1.0 Box-Toppers game score (2IP 2H R 0BB K ND).
The Astros now face the Texas Rangers in the AL Championship Series beginning Sunday.
The Twins ranked 12th in Box-Toppers team rankings, sixth among AL teams (106.7 Box-Toppers points), while the Astros rank sixth overall, fourth among AL teams (118.9 points).
The Twins were Box-Toppers’ lowest-ranked team to win a division, winning the AL Central. The Astros finish behind their AL West rival Texas Rangers in Box-Toppers rankings (the Rangers rank first with 128.1 points) even though the Astros won the division title. (The Astros and Rangers had identical records but the Astros won based on a head-to-head tiebreaker.)
NL Division Series Game 3: Phillies 10, Braves 2
Braves pitcher Aaron Nola struck out nine over 5 2/3 innings, allowing two runs, six hits and one walk.
The Phillies lead the best-of-five game series, 2-1.
Nola earned 12.0 Box-Toppers points in 2023, 27th overall, 12th among NL pitchers. This is Nola’s second Player of the Game honor of the 2023 postseason. He was also top player in the NL Wild Card Game 2 win over the Marlins on Oct. 4.
Nola had a Box-Toppers game score of +3.2. He just edged teammate and first baseman Bryce Harper for Player of the Game. Harper had a +3.0 game score (2HR 2-5 2R 4BI). Braves starting pitcher Bryce Elder had a -11.8 Box-Toppers game score (2.2IP 5H 6R BB 4K L).
All of Wednesday’s Player of the Game winners are listed in the chart.
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).| BTG | Game | Player | AB | R | H | BI | IP | H | R | ER | BB | K | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| +4.1 | `ARI 4, LAD 2 | Brandon Pfaadt | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | 4.1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | |
| +4.0 | HOU 3, MIN 2 | Ryan Pressly (S, 2) | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | 1.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | |
| +3.2 | PHI 10, ATL 2 | Aaron Nola (W, 2‑0) | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | 5.2 | 6 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 9 |
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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 2023 (’23). Also shown is their point total for this season and last (’22-23), the period 2018-2023 (’18-23) and each players’ career point total. Also shown is how their 2023 Box-Toppers point total compares with their 2022 total (+/-).Back to top
| Player of the Game | Pos | Team | ’23 | ’22‑23 | ’18‑23 | Career | +/‑ |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nola, Aaron 3569 | pi sp | phi nl | 12.0 | 28.0 | 77.2 | 101.7 | -4.0 |
| Pfaadt, Brandon 4812 | pi sp | ari nl | 3.7 | 3.7 | 3.7 | 3.7 | +3.7 |
| Pressly, Ryan 3186 | pi cp | hou al | 3.0 | 9.0 | 16.0 | 22.0 | -3.0 |
About Box-Toppers’ team abbreviations
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Thursday’s pitching matchup (for more, see matchups chart):
NL Division Series Game 4, Phillies lead Braves, 2-1
Braves—Spencer Strider, 21.1 Box-Toppers points in 2023, first overall, first among NL pitchers.
Phillies—Ranger Suarez, 3.7 Box-Toppers points in 2023, 275th overall, 83rd among NL pitchers.
This is a rematch of starters from Game 1 of the series Saturday, won by the Phillies, 3-0. Suarez was Player of the Game.
A Box-Toppers look at Thursday’s Division Series round pitching matchup
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 2023 (’23), over a two-year period (’22-23), over a six-year period (’18-23) and their career point total.Back to top
| Game | Starter | ’23 | ’22‑23 | ’18‑23 | Career |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ATL | Strider, Spencer 4626 | 21.1 | 34.5 | 34.5 | 34.5 |
| PHI | Suarez, Ranger 4228 | 3.7 | 8.7 | 18.7 | 18.7 |
* Player has yet to earn Box-Toppers points.
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. (No Box-Toppers points are awarded in postseason games.)
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Box-Toppers 2023 player rankings leaders
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Previews of all four Wild Card series