Yankees’ Rodon, Pirates’ Cruz top players in spring games for Monday, March 18

Yankees pitcher Carlos Rodon is Box-Toppers Player of the Day in Monday’s spring training games.

Yankees pitcher Carlos Rodon is Box-Toppers Player of the Day in Monday’s spring training games.

Rodon struck out five over 5 2/3 scoreless and hitless innings, allowing one walk, in the 4-3 win over the Phillies.

Rodon would have earned 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day if this were a regular season game. Because it’s a preseason exhibition game, no Box-Toppers points are awarded.

Rodon earned 1.0 Box-Toppers point in 2023, 145th among American League pitchers. He had the biggest decline in Box-Toppers points from 2022 to 2023, earning 19.8 points in 2022 with the Giants, third among National League pitchers. His 18.8-point decline in 2023 was largest, ahead of second-ranked player, Mariners pitcher Robbie Ray, with a 14.4-point decline from 14.4 in 2022 to 0.0 in 2023.

National League Player of the Day is Oneil Cruz of the Pirates.

National League Player of the Day

Oneil Cruz of the Pirates hit two home runs, including a three-run shot, and went 3-for-4, scoring twice, driving in six runs, in the 11-2 win over the Phillies.

Cruz would have earned 1.7 Box-Toppers points for being NL Player of the Day if this were a regular season game. Because it’s a preseason exhibition game, no Box-Toppers points are awarded.

Cruz earned 1.0 Box-Toppers point in 2023.

American League Batter of the Day

Nick Meyer of the Rays hit a three-run homer and went 1-for-1, scoring twice and driving in three runs, in the 7-3 win over the Braves.

Meyer would have earned 1.5 Box-Toppers points for being AL Batter of the Day if this were a regular season game.

It’s his second AL Batter of the Day honor of the 2024 spring training season. He also did it March 15 (1-1 R 2BI in the 7-2 win over the Orioles).

Meyer, 27, has yet to make his regular season Major League debut and so has 0.0 career Box-Toppers points.

National League Batter of the Day

There is no separate NL Batter of the Day for Monday because the overall NL Player of the Day is batter Oneil Cruz.

Monday’s games

In Monday’s 11 completed spring training games featuring matchups between two Major League teams, there were six Player of the Game winners who had previously earned Box-Toppers points in regular season games.

Christian Yelich of the Brewers Box-Toppers Player of the Game in Monday’s win over the Angels.

Most notably, Christian Yelich of the Brewers (HR 2B 3-4 2R 2BI in the 4-3 win over the Angels) had the most 2023 Box-Toppers points among Saturday’s Player of the Game winners. Yelich earned 9.2 Box-Toppers points in 2023, fifth among NL batters.

In four of Monday’s games, the Player of the Game winner was a player who has yet to earn Box-Toppers Player of the Game honors in the regular season and so has 0.0 career Box-Toppers points.

One game ended in a tie (Athletics vs. Diamondbacks) and so no Player of the Game honor was awarded.

Scoring

No Box-Toppers points are awarded in exhibition games. Were it a regular season day, Rodon would have earned 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day and Cruz would have earned 1.7 points for being NL Player of the Day. Meyer would have earned 1.5 points for being AL Batter of the Day. All of Monday’s other Players of the Game (listed in the chart) would have earned 1.0 Box-Toppers point.

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.

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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).

3/18 BTG Game Player AB R H BI IP H R ER BB K
MLB +9.2 NYY 4, PHI 3 Carlos Rodón (W, 2‑1) ‑ ‑ ‑ ‑ 5.2 0 0 0 1 5
NL +7.0 PIT 11, PHI 2 Oneil Cruz SS 4 2 3 6 ‑ ‑ ‑ ‑ ‑ ‑
BAT +5.0 TB 7, ATL 3 Nick Meyer PR‑1B 1 2 1 3 ‑ ‑ ‑ ‑ ‑ ‑
+3.0 MIL 4, LAA 3 Christian Yelich DH 4 2 3 2 ‑ ‑ ‑ ‑ ‑ ‑
+3.0 CLE 8, CHW 5 Chase DeLauter RF 2 1 1 3 ‑ ‑ ‑ ‑ ‑ ‑
+3.0 WSH 10, HOU 1 Israel Pineda C 1 1 1 2 ‑ ‑ ‑ ‑ ‑ ‑
+2.0 SEA 9, TEX 5 J.P. Crawford SS 3 1 2 2 ‑ ‑ ‑ ‑ ‑ ‑
+2.0 MIN 5, BOS 2 Max Kepler RF 2 0 2 2 ‑ ‑ ‑ ‑ ‑ ‑
+2.0 MIA 6, HOU 5 Jazz Chisholm Jr.CF 2 2 1 1 ‑ ‑ ‑ ‑ ‑ ‑
+1.0 SF 4, CIN 2 Ismael Munguia LF 3 1 2 1 ‑ ‑ ‑ ‑ ‑ ‑
0.0 OAK 3, ARI 3 N/A ‑ ‑ ‑ ‑ ‑ ‑ ‑ ‑ ‑ ‑
No points are awarded for exhibition games, but were this an actual regular season day, this is how points would be awarded:
MLB—Overall Box‑Toppers Player of the Day, worth 2.0 total Box‑Toppers points.
AL—Overall American League Player of the Day, worth 1.7 total Box‑Toppers points.
NL—Overall National League Player of the Day, worth 1.7 total Box‑Toppers points.
BAT—Top AL or NL Batter of the Day, worth 1.5 total Box‑Toppers points.
N/A—Not applicable. No Player of the Game was chosen because the game ended in a tie.
All other players listed here would earn Player of the Game honors, worth 1.0 Box‑Toppers point.
` 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. No points are awarded during spring training games, so all players have 0.0 Box-Toppers points for 2024. Players are ranked by their Box-Toppers point total in 2023 (’23). Also shown is their point total for the period 2019-2023 (’19-23) and each players’ career point total. (Player of the Game winners not listed here have yet to earn Box-Toppers points during the regular season.)
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Player of the Game Pos Team ’24 ’23 ’19‑23 Career
Yelich, Christian 3334 lf mil nl 0.0 9.2 31.4 63.4
Crawford, J.P. 3937 ss sea al 0.0 6.5 18.0 19.0
Chisholm, Jazz Jr. 4364 cf fla nl 0.0 4.5 10.0 10.0
Kepler, Max 3664 rf dh ph min al 0.0 3.5 17.2 28.7
Rodon, Carlos 3494 pi sp nyy al 0.0 1.0 34.5 57.6
Cruz, Oneil 4665 ss pit nl 0.0 1.0 4.5 4.5
What are those numbers after players' names?
About Box-Toppers’ team abbreviations
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A Box-Toppers look at Tuesday’s 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)†, last year (’23), over a five-year period (’19-23) and their career point total.
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Game Starter ’24† ’23 ’19‑23 Career
TB Alexander, Tyler 4196 0.0 2.7 12.7 12.7
BOS Crawford, Kutter 4660 0.0 5.7 9.7 9.7
MIA Chirinos, Yonny 4039 0.0 1.0 8.0 10.0
STL Gibson, Kyle 3312 0.0 8.7 35.8 62.2
BAL Irvin, Cole 4140 0.0 3.0 18.4 18.4
TOR Bassitt, Chris 3413 0.0 20.1 57.9 63.9
OAK Sears, JP 4627 0.0 4.0 9.0 9.0
TEX Rodriguez, Yerry* 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0
MIL Rea, Colin 3582 0.0 5.0 5.0 8.7
CLE Allen, Logan T. 4789 0.0 7.7 7.7 7.7
CIN Greene, Hunter 4651 0.0 5.7 11.7 11.7
LAA Detmers, Reid 4513 0.0 6.7 14.7 14.7
CLE Barria, Jaime 3964 0.0 2.0 7.0 12.0
COL Hudson, Dakota 4035 0.0 1.0 16.4 17.4
COL Gomber, Austin 3985 0.0 1.0 14.0 18.7
SEA Lawrence, Casey 3873 0.0 1.0 1.0 2.0
PHI Suarez, Ranger 4228 0.0 3.7 18.7 18.7
DET Flaherty, Jack 3971 0.0 4.0 32.2 45.3
MIA Puk, A.J. 4253 0.0 3.0 4.0 4.0
HOU Bielak, Brandon 4297 0.0 4.0 8.0 8.0
STL Lynn, Lance 2992 0.0 4.7 50.9 118.5
NYM Undecided 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0
ARI Rodriguez, Eduardo 3480 0.0 13.0 34.4 67.2
CHC Hendricks, Kyle 3386 0.0 5.0 33.1 73.6
KC Lugo, Seth 3729 0.0 6.4 15.4 24.4
SF Bivens, Spencer* 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0
Starters subject to change.
Games shown are spring training games between MLB teams. Doesn't include games vs. non-MLB teams.
† Players don’t earn Box-Toppers points in spring training games, only regular season games, so no pitcher has earned any points in 2024.
* Player has yet to earn any career Box-Toppers points.
What are those numbers after players' names?
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A Box-Toppers look at Wednesday’s Seoul Series pitching matchups

Major League Baseball’s regular season opens Wednesday in South Korea with the Dodgers facing the Padres. This is a Box-Toppers look at the 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.
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Game Starter ’24 ’23-24 ’19‑24 Career
LAD Glasnow, Tyler 3948 0.0 12.4 42.8 48.8
SD Darvish, Yu 3003 0.0 7.0 57.0 131.0
Starters subject to change.
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.
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