Box-Toppers Toppers Box
Today’s key Box-Toppers numbers. Click links to jump to charts elsewhere on this page.▪️ B-T game scores of winning team’s players.
▪️ Box-Toppers points of the day’s top player.
▪️ A B-T look at upcoming pitching matchups.
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Rangers closing pitcher Jose Leclerc is Box-Toppers Player of the Game in Friday’s World Series Game 1.
The Texas Rangers win 6-5 in 11 innings to take a 1-0 lead over the Arizona Diamondbacks in the best-of-seven game series.
Leclerc held the Diamondbacks scoreless in the 10th and 11th innings and picked up the win as the Rangers’ Adolis Garcia hit a walk-off solo homer in the bottom of the 11th inning. Leclerc struck out two over the two scoreless and hitless innings, allowing no walks.
Leclerc earned 0.0 Box-Toppers points in the regular season in 57 appearances, including 24 as a closer. He did earn 3.0 Box-Toppers points in 2022 with the Rangers and has 7.0 career points. His 2023 Box-Toppers ranking, based on points he earned in previous seasons, is 866th among all players, 225th among American League pitchers and 62nd among AL closers.
This is also his first Player of the Game honor of the 2023 postseason.
Leclerc had a Box-Toppers game score of +4.0. Another Rangers relief pitcher, Jon Gray, had a higher game score (+4.2) but did not qualify to be considered for Player of the Game because he did not pitch at least three innings or earn the win or save (1.2IP H 0R 0BB 4K ND).
Right fielder Adolis Garcia, who hit the walk-off, 11th-inning solo home run, had a +2.0 Box-Toppers game score, highest-ranking among Rangers batters (HR 3-4 R 2BI).
Shortstop Corey Seager, who hit the game-tying, ninth-inning, two-run homer, also had a +2.0 Box-Toppers game score (HR 1-4 3R 2BI).
Rangers starting pitcher Nathan Eovaldi had a -4.8 Box-Toppers game score Friday (4.2IP 6H 5R BB 8K ND). Diamondbacks starting pitcher Zac Gallen had a -4.0 game score (5IP 4H 3R 4BB 5K ND). Diamondbacks reliever Paul Sewald, brought on to close in the bottom of the ninth, but blowing the save by giving up the game-tying two-run homer to Seager, had a -3.0 Box-Toppers game score (1IP H 2R 2BB 3K ND).
No Diamondbacks batter had a Box-Toppers game score above 0.0. The highest-ranking game score for a Diamondbacks batter who made plate appearances Friday is -1.0 by right fielder Corbin Carroll (3B 1-5 R 2BI).
A look at Box-Toppers game scores of all Rangers players in World Series Game 1 (chart).
Top Rangers in World Series Game 1: Rangers 6, Diamondbacks 5 (F/11)
Here are the Box-Toppers game scores (BTG) of all Rangers players who appeared in World Series Game 1, listed from highest to lowest Box-Toppers game score. Player of the Game (POG) is José Leclerc. (While relief pitcher Jon Gray had a higher Box-Toppers game score than LeClerc—+4.2 vs. +4.0—Gray did not qualify to be considered for Player of the Game since he didn't pitch at least three innings or earn the win or save.)| 10/27 | BTG | Player | AB | R | H | BI | IP | H | R | ER | BB | K | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| +4.2 | Jon Gray | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | 1.2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | ||
| POG | +4.0 | José Leclerc (W, 1‑1) | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | 2.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | |
| +2.0 | Adolis García, RF | 4 | 1 | 3 | 2 | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ||
| +2.0 | Corey Seager SS | 4 | 3 | 1 | 2 | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ||
| +1.0 | Cody Bradford | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | 1.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||
| +0.2 | Will Smith | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | 0.2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||
| 0.0 | Josh Smith PR | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ||
| 0.0 | Dane Dunning | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | 1.0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||
| ‑1.0 | Austin Hedges C | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ||
| ‑2.0 | Evan Carter LF | 6 | 1 | 2 | 1 | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ||
| -2.0 | Mitch Garver DH | 3 | 0 | 0 | 1 | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ||
| ‑2.0 | Leody Taveras CF | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ||
| ‑2.0 | Jonah Heim C | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ||
| ‑3.0 | Josh Jung 3B | 5 | 0 | 2 | 0 | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ||
| ‑4.0 | Nathaniel Lowe 1B | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ||
| ‑4.8 | Nathan Eovaldi | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | 4.2 | 6 | 5 | 5 | 1 | 8 | ||
| ‑5.0 | Marcus Semien 2B | 6 | 0 | 1 | 0 | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ |
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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 | +/‑ |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Leclerc, Jose 3768 | pi cp | tex al | 0.0 | 3.0 | 6.0 | 7.0 | -3.0 |
About Box-Toppers’ team abbreviations
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Saturday’s pitching matchup (for more, see matchups chart):
World Series Game 2, Rangers lead Diamondbacks, 1-0
Diamondbacks—Merrill Kelly, 13.0 Box-Toppers points in 2023, 18th overall, seventh among NL pitchers.
Rangers—Jordan Montgomery, 10.4 Box-Toppers points in 2023, 43rd overall, 21st among AL pitchers.
Kelly has won Player of the Game honors twice in three postseason starts. He was Player of the Game Oct. 7 in the NL Division Series Game 1 win over the Dodgers and Oct. 23 in the NL Championship Game 6 win over the Phillies.
Montgomery has won Player of the Game honors twice this postseason in five appearances, which includes four starts. 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.
A Box-Toppers look at Saturday’s World Series 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ARI | Kelly, Merrill 4143 | 13.0 | 24.0 | 39.0 | 39.0 |
| TEX | Montgomery, Jordan 3814 | 10.4 | 19.8 | 30.5 | 36.5 |
* 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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