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.
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Diamondbacks pitcher Brandon Pfaadt is Box-Toppers Player of the Game in Thursday’s National League Championship Series Game 3.
Also Thursday, Jose Abreu of the Astros is Box-Toppers Player of the Game in the American League Championship Series Game 4 win over the Rangers.
NL Championship Series Game 3: Diamondbacks 2, Phillies 1
Pfaadt struck out nine over 5 2/3 scoreless innings, allowing two hits and no walks. Pfaadt did not earn the win, picking up a no-decision, because the game was in a scoreless tie when he exited.
The Diamondbacks win their first game of the best-of-seven game series, with the Phillies leading, 2-1.
Pfaadt earned 3.7 Box-Toppers points in 2023, 282nd overall and 88th among NL pitchers. Pfaadt has now earned Player of the Game honors twice this postseason. He also did it Oct. 11 in the NL Division Series win over the Dodgers.
He becomes the fifth player to earn Player of the Game honors multiple times this postseason, joining two others who have done it twice—Rangers pitcher Jordan Montgomery and Phillies pitcher Zack Wheeler—and two others who have done it three times—Rangers pitcher Nathan Eovaldi and Phillies pitcher Aaron Nola.
Pfaadt’s two postseason Player of the Game honors in three appearances almost matches the three total he earned during all of the regular season in 19 appearances.
Pfaadt had a Box-Toppers game score of +12.2, best among all players in the game. Phillies starting pitcher Ranger Suarez had a +8.1 Box-Toppers game score (5.1IP 3H 0R BB 7K ND). Diamondbacks top batter Pavin Smith had a +1.0 Box-Toppers game score (2-2 R 0BI).
AL Championship Series Game 4: Astros 10, Rangers 3
Abreu hit a three-run homer and went 1-for-3, scoring twice and driving in three runs.
The Astros tie the best-of-seven game series, 2-2.
Abreu earned 4.2 Box-Toppers points in 2023, 221st among all players, 43rd among AL batters and 11th among AL first basemen.
Abreu had a Box-Toppers game score of +3.0. Astros starting pitcher Jose Urquidy had a -8.9 Box-Toppers game score (2.1IP 5H 3R BB K ND). Astros pitcher Hunter Brown, who came on in relief, had a +3.0 Box-Toppers game score (3IP 2H 0R 0BB 2K ND), the same as Abreu’s, but in cases of game score ties, batters rank ahead of pitchers, giving Abreu Player of the Game honors.
Rangers starting pitcher Andrew Heaney had a -10.8 Box-Toppers game score (0.2IP 4H 3R BB 0K ND).
Details on Thursday’s league championship series Player of the Game winners 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 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| +12.2 | `ARI 2, PHI 1 | Brandon Pfaadt | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | 5.2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 9 | |
| +3.0 | HOU 10, TEX 3 | José Abreu 1B | 3 | 2 | 1 | 3 | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ |
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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 | +/‑ |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Abreu, Jose 3308 | 1b | hou al | 4.2 | 6.7 | 31.7 | 52.7 | +1.7 |
| Pfaadt, Brandon 4812 | pi sp | ari nl | 3.7 | 3.7 | 3.7 | 3.7 | +3.7 |
About Box-Toppers’ team abbreviations
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Friday’s pitching matchups (for more, see matchups chart):
AL Championship Series Game 5: Astros at Rangers, series tied, 2-2.
It’s a pitching rematch of Game 1, won by the Rangers.
Astros—Justin Verlander, 12.4 Box-Toppers points in 2023, 24th among all players, 13th among AL pitchers.
Verlander has yet to earn Player of the Game honors in either of his two 2023 postseason appearances. He was not Player of the Game in the win Oct. 7 over the Twins in the NL Division Series nor in the loss Oct. 15 to the Rangers in the AL Championship Series Game 1.
Rangers—Jordan Montgomery, 10.4 Box-Toppers points in 2023, 43rd overall, 21st among AL pitchers.
Montgomery has earned Player of the Game honors twice in his three 2023 postseason appearances. He was Player of the Game Oct. 3 in the AL Wild Card series Game 1 win over the Rays and Oct. 15 in the AL Championship Series Game 1 win over the Astros. He also appeared Oct. 8 in the AL Division Series Game 2 win over the Orioles.
More details—Preview of AL Championship Series.
NL Championship Series Game 4: Phillies lead Diamondbacks, 2-1
Phillies—Cristopher Sanchez, 4.0 Box-Toppers points in 2023, 269th overall, 80th among NL pitchers.
This is his first 2023 postseason appearance.
Diamondbacks—Joe Mantiply, 0.0 Box-Toppers points in 2023, 930th overall, 228th among NL pitchers.
Mantiply has made four postseason appearances, all in relief, and did not earn Player of the Game honors in any of them. He had 35 appearances in the regular season, nearly all in relief, but did not earn Player of the Game honors in any of them. He made three starts during the regular season, but his longest outing in any start was 1 1/3 innings.
A Box-Toppers look at Friday’s Championship Series 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 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| HOU | Verlander, Justin 2112 | 12.4 | 38.4 | 91.0 | 245.0 |
| TEX | Montgomery, Jordan 3814 | 10.4 | 19.8 | 30.5 | 36.5 |
| PHI | Sanchez, Cristopher 4850 | 4.0 | 4.0 | 4.0 | 4.0 |
| ARI | Mantiply, Joe 4585 | 0.0 | 2.0 | 2.0 | 2.0 |
* 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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Previews of all four Wild Card series
Previews of 2023 National League Division Series
Previews of 2023 American League Division Series