Box-Toppers Toppers Box
Today’s key Box-Toppers numbers. Click links to jump to charts elsewhere on this page.▪️ Players of the Game
▪️ B-T points of the day’s top players
▪️ Upcoming pitching matchups
▪️ Subscribe to newsletter
▪️ Support Box-Toppers
Pete Alonso of the Mets and Giancarlo Stanton of the Yankees are Box-Toppers Player of the Game winners in Friday’s two League Championship Series games.
In the National League, the New York Mets extend their best-of-seven-game series against the Los Angeles Dodgers, now trailing 3-2. In the American League, the New York Yankees take a 3-1 lead in their best-of—seven game series against the Cleveland Guardians.
NL Championship Game 5: Mets 12, Dodgers 6
Pete Alonso of the Mets hit a three-run homer and went 2-for-3, scoring four times and driving in three runs.
Alonso earned 5.0 Box-Toppers points in 2024, 165th among all players, 25th among NL batters and fourth among NL first basemen.
Alonso had a Box-Toppers game score Friday of +6.0, best among all Mets players. Mets starting pitcher David Peterson had a -7.8 game score (3.2IP 6H 2R 4BB 3K ND). Mets reliever Ryne Stanek had a +3.1 game score (2.1IP H R 0BB 4K W). Mets right fielder Starling Marte had a game score of +3.0 (2B 3-4 2R 4BI).
Dodgers starting pitcher Jack Flaherty had the game’s lowest game score of -25.0 (3IP 8H 8R 4BB 0K L). Dodgers relief pitcher Brent Honeywell Jr. had a -10.8 game score (4.2IP 6H 4R BB 0K ND). Dodgers center fielder Andy Pages had a +5.0 game score (2HR 3-4 2R 4BI).
The Mets force Game 6 on Sunday in Los Angeles after the series takes Saturday off for a travel day.
NLCS Preview: Surging Mets favored over injury-depleted Dodgers
AL Championship Series Game 4: Yankees 8, Guardians 6
Giancarlo Stanton of the Yankees hit a three-run homer in the sixth inning and went 1-for-4, scoring once and driving in three runs.
Stanton earned 3.0 Box-Toppers points in 2024, 59th among AL batters and 18th among AL designated hitters. Stanton earned 84.2 career Box-Toppers points from 2010-2024, second among active AL batters, behind Mike Trout of the Angels (84.2).
Stanton had a Box-Toppers game score Friday of +1.0. Yankees starting pitcher Luis Gil had a -3.0 game score (4IP 3H 2R 3BB 3K ND). Yankees reliever Mark Leiter Jr. earned the win and had a -1.8 game score (1.2IP 2H R BB 2K W). Yankees reliever Tommy Kahnle earned the save and had a 0.0 game score (1IP H 0R BB K Sv). Yankees right fielder Juan Soto, like Stanton, had a +1.0 game score (HR 1-4 2R 2BI), but Stanton beat Soto for Player of the Game honors because he had more runs batted in (three vs. two).
Guardians starting pitcher Gavin Williams had a -2.9 Box-Toppers game score in the loss (2.1IP 3H 3R 0BB 4K ND). Guardians reliever Cade Smith had the game’s lowest game score of -8.9 (0.1IP 2H 3R BB 0K ND). Guardians third baseman Jose Ramirez had a +2.0 game score (2B SF 2-3 R 2BI). Guardians closing pitcher Emmanuel Clase picked up the loss and had a -6.0 game score (1IP 3H 2R BB K L).
In 74 appearances this season, Clase allowed five earned runs. In two appearances over two days, Clase allowed four earned runs against the Yankees in AL Championship Series Games 3 and 4 in Cleveland.
Friday’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).| 10/18 | BTG | Game | Player | AB | R | H | BI | IP | H | R | ER | BB | K | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| +6.0 | NYM 12, LAD 6 | Pete Alonso 1B | 3 | 4 | 2 | 3 | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ||
| +1.0 | NYY 8, CLE 6 | Giancarlo Stanton DH | 4 | 1 | 1 | 3 | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ |
` Pitcher had a no‑decision in the game and did not pick up a win or a save.
Back to top
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 2024 (’24). Also shown is their point total for this season and last (’23-24), the period 2019-2024 (’19-24) and each players’ career point total. Also shown is how their 2024 Box-Toppers point total compares with their 2023 total (+/-).Back to top
| Player of the Game | Pos | Team | ’24 | ’23‑24 | ’19‑24 | Career | +/‑ |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Alonso, Pete 4118 | 1b | nym nl | 5.0 | 17.0 | 43.4 | 43.4 | -7.0 |
| Stanton, Giancarlo (2737 | dh rf | nyy al | 3.0 | 5.5 | 19.0 | 78.9 | +0.5 |
About Box-Toppers’ team abbreviations
Chart is sortable. Click a column header to re-sort the chart by the values in that column. Refresh page to restore chart to default view.
Back to top
Saturday’s pitching matchups (for more, see matchups chart):
ALCS Game 5, Yankees lead Guardians, 3-1
Yankees—Carlos Rodon, 12.7 points, 26th among all players, 13th among AL pitchers.
Rodon earned Player of the Game honors this postseason on Oct. 14 in the ALCS Game 1 win over the Guardians.
Guardians—Tanner Bibee, 14.0 Box-Toppers points in 2024, 14th overall, eighth among AL pitchers.
Bibee earned Player of the Game honors this postseason on Oct. 5 in the ALDS Game 1 win over the Tigers.
ALCS Preview: Top-ranked, top-seeded Yankees favored over Guardians
A Box-Toppers look at Saturday’s League 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 2024 (’24), this year and last year (’23-24), over a six-year period (’19-24) and their career point total.Back to top
| Game | Starter | ’24 | ’23‑24 | ’19‑24 | Career |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| NYY | Rodon, Carlos 3494 | 12.7 | 13.7 | 47.2 | 70.3 |
| CLE | Bibee, Tanner 4792 | 14.0 | 22.7 | 22.7 | 22.7 |
* Player has yet to earn any career Box-Toppers points.
What are those numbers after players' names?
Chart is sortable. Click a column header to re-sort the chart by the values in that column. Refresh page to restore chart to default, game-by-game view.
Back to top
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.)
Box-Toppers strives for accuracy. See a mistake in a post? A wrong name, wrong team, grammar error, spelling goof, etc.? Thanks for pointing it out! Contact Box-Toppers here. Let's fix it and make it right.
For additional updates, follow Box-Toppers on Twitter (X).
Your support via Buy Me a Coffee keeps Box-Toppers percolating. Thanks for your contributions!
Related
Box-Toppers 2024 player rankings leaders
Box-Toppers 2024 final team rankings
Previews of all four Wild Card series
Previews of the 2024 AL Division Series matchups
Previews of the 2024 NL Division Series matchups
ALCS Preview: Top-ranked, top-seeded Yankees favored over Guardians
NLCS Preview: Surging Mets favored over injury-depleted Dodgers