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Today’s key Box-Toppers numbers. Click links to jump to charts elsewhere on this page.▪️ Players of the Game
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▪️ Upcoming pitching matchups
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Fernando Tatis Jr. of the Padres and Nick Castellanos of the Phillies are Box-Toppers Player of the Game winners in Sunday’s two National League Division Series playoff games.
Both NL Division Series are now even heading into Monday’s travel day before resuming Tuesday.
NL Division Series Game 2: Padres 10, Dodgers 2
Fernando Tatis Jr. of the Padres hit two home runs, doubled and went 3-for-4, scoring three times and driving in three runs.
The Padres tie the best-of-five game series with the Dodgers, 1-1.
Tatis earned 2.0 Box-Toppers points in 2024, 412th among all players and 100th among NL batters. Tatis earned 6.0 Box-Toppers points in 2023 with the Padres, 22nd among NL batters.
Tatis had a Box-Toppers score Sunday of +5.0, best among all Padres players. Padres starting pitcher Yu Darvish had a +3.0 game score (7IP 3H R 2BB 3K W). Dodgers starting pitcher Jack Flaherty had a -6.9 game score in the loss (5.1IP 5H 4R BB 2K L).
NL Division Series Game 2: Phillies 7, Mets 6
Nick Castellanos of the Phillies hit a walk-off, game-winning single and also hit a game-tying, sixth-inning home run. Castellanos went 3-for-5, scoring twice and driving in two runs.
The Phillies tie the best-of-five game series with the Mets, 1-1.
Castellanos earned 1.5 Box-Toppers points in 2024, 120th among NL batters. He had 7.0 points in 2023, 15th among NL batters.
Castellanos had a Box-Toppers game score of +2.0. Phillies starting pitcher Cristopher Sanchez had a 0.0 game score (5IP 5H 2R BB 5K ND). Mets starting pitcher Luis Severino had a +1.0 game score (6IP 6H 3R 0BB 7K ND). Mark Vientos of the Mets (2HR 2B 3-4 2R 4BI) had the game’s highest Box-Toppers game score (+5.0).
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Both of Sunday’s Player of the Game winners had their best seasons in 2021 when they ranked first and second among NL batters in Box-Toppers points. Castellanos, then with the Reds, led NL batters with 11.5 Box-Toppers points. Tatis, with the Padres, was second among NL batters with 10.2.
Sunday’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).| 10/6 | BTG | Game | Player | AB | R | H | BI | IP | H | R | ER | BB | K | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| +5.0 | SD 10, LAD 2 | Fernando Tatis Jr. RF | 4 | 3 | 3 | 3 | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ||
| +2.0 | PHI 7, NYM 6 | Nick Castellanos RF | 5 | 2 | 3 | 2 | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ |
` Pitcher had a no‑decision in the game and did not pick up a win or a save.
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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 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 | +/‑ |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tatis, Fernando Jr. 4101 | rf ph | sd nl | 2.0 | 8.0 | 24.2 | 24.2 | -4.0 |
| Castellanos, Nick 3349 | rf | phi nl | 1.5 | 8.5 | 26.0 | 50.7 | -5.5 |
About Box-Toppers’ team abbreviations
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Monday’s pitching matchups (for more, see matchups chart below):
AL Division Series Game 2, Guardians lead Tigers, 1-0
Tigers—Tarik Skubal, 21.1 Box-Toppers points, second among all players, first among AL pitchers.
Skubal was Box-Toppers Player of the Game Oct. 1 in the AL Wild Card Series.
Guardians—Matthew Boyd, 3.0 points, 331st overall, 93rd among AL pitchers.
More details—Previews of AL Division Series.
AL Division Series Game 2, Yankees lead Royals, 1-0
Royals—Cole Ragans, 12.0 points, 32nd overall, 16th among AL pitchers.
Yankees—Carlos Rodon, 12.7 points, 26th among all players, 13th among AL pitchers.
More details—Previews of NL Division Series.
Both NL Division Series are in travel days Monday and will resume with Game 3s Tuesday.
A Box-Toppers look at Monday’s League Division 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| DET | Skubal, Tarik 4414 | 21.1 | 31.8 | 51.2 | 51.2 |
| CLE | Boyd, Matthew 3550 | 3.0 | 3.0 | 12.0 | 31.8 |
| KC | Ragans, Cole 4889 | 12.0 | 16.4 | 16.4 | 16.4 |
| NYY | Rodon, Carlos 3494 | 12.7 | 13.7 | 47.2 | 70.3 |
* Player has yet to earn any career 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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