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 day’s top players
▪️ Top 10 players in 2024
▪️ Saturday’s sidelights sidebar
▪️ Upcoming pitching matchups
▪️ Subscribe to newsletter
▪️ Support Box-Toppers
Diamondbacks pitcher Zac Gallen is Saturday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day.
Gallen struck out seven over six scoreless innings, allowing one hit and one walk, in the 3-0 win over the Athletics.
Gallen earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day, giving him 5.0 for the season, 61st among all players and 28th among National League pitchers.
American League Player of the Day
Twins pitcher Pablo Lopez struck out nine over six innings, allowing one run, four hits and one walk, in the 5-1 win over the Mariners.
Lopez earns 1.7 Box-Toppers points for being AL Player of the Day, giving him 8.7 for the season, 14th among all players and eighth among AL pitchers.
American League Batter of the Day
Vladimir Guerrero Jr. of the Blue Jays homered, doubled and went 3-for-5, scoring once and driving in six runs, in the 9-3 win over the Yankees.
National League Batter of the Day
Manny Machado of the Padres hit two home runs, including a three-run shot, in the 11-1 win over the Red Sox. Machado went 2-for-5, scoring twice and driving in five runs.
Top 10 players
Here are the top 10 players in 2024 Box-Toppers points (BTP) through Saturday, June 29:| Player | Pos | Team | BTP | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Luis Gil | pi sp | Yankees | 13.4 |
| 2 | Tarik Skubal | pi sp | Tigers | 11.4 |
| 3 | Tanner Bibee | pi sp | Guardians | 11.0 |
| 4 | Zack Wheeler | pi sp | Phillies | 10.7 |
| 5 | George Kirby | pi sp | Mariners | 10.7 |
| 6 | Tyler Glasnow | pi sp | Dodgers | 10.7 |
| 7 | Chris Sale | pi sp | Braves | 10.7 |
| 8 | Shota Imanaga | pi sp | Cubs | 10.7 |
| 9 | Dylan Cease | pi sp | Padres | 10.4 |
| 10 | Logan Gilbert | pi sp | Mariners | 10.0 |
Debut
Three players made their Box-Toppers debut Saturday, each with their first career Player of the Game honor:
Saturday’s sidelights sidebar
Top pitching matchup
▪️Tanner Bibee, Guardians11.0 Box-Toppers points in 2024, 3rd among AL pitchers
▪️Cole Ragans, Royals
7.0 Box-Toppers points in 2024, 15th among AL pitchers
Result—CLE 7, KC 2
Neither starter was Player of the Game.
Bibee had +1.0 B-T game score (6IP 4H 2R 0BB 3K W).
Ragans had -6.8 B-T game score in loss (4.2IP 6H 5R BB 6K L).
Player of the Game—José Ramírez, Guardians (HR 2B 2-5 2R 2BI) with +1.0 game score. (In cases of game score ties, batters beat pitchers, so Ramírez beat Bibee—both had +1.0 game scores.)
High scores, no points
Highest Box-Toppers game scores for the day among players who did not earn Player of the Game honors:▪️+5.0—Chris Bassitt, Blue Jays (6IP 6H R 0ER 2BB 8K W)
Was not Player of the Game in win vs. NYY.
Player of the Game—Teammate Vladimir Guerrero Jr. (HR 2B 3-5 R 6BI) with +5.0 game score. (In cases of game score ties, batters rank ahead of pitchers, so Guerrero ranks ahead of Bassitt, even though both had +5.0 game scores.)
▪️+5.0—Paul Skenes, Pirates (6IP 6H R 2BB 9K ND)
Was not Player of the Game in loss vs. ATL.
Player of the Game—Pierce Johnson, Braves (1IP 0H 0R 0BB 2K ND) with +3.0 game score.
▪️+4.0—Michael King, Padres (6IP 5H R BB 6K W)
Was not Player of the Game in win vs. BOS.
Player of the Game—Teammate Manny Machado (2HR 2-5 2R 5BI) with +4.0 game score. (In cases of game score ties, batters rank ahead of pitchers, so Machado ranks ahead of King, even though both had +4.0 game scores.)
Lowest Box-Toppers game scores
Out of 459 total players Saturday, 138 pitchers-18.9—Shawn Armstrong, Rays (0.1IP 7H 6R 0BB 0K ND vs. WSH)
-18.0—Sean Hjelle, Giants
-17.8—Spencer Howard, Giants
-16.9—Tanner Houck, Red Sox
-15.8—Framber Valdez, Astros
Lowest Box-Toppers game scores by batters
Out of 321 total batters Saturday-5.0—Willi Castro, Twins 0-5 4K
-5.0—Alec Burleson, Cardinals 0-5 2K
-5.0—Francisco Alvarez, Mets 0-5 K
-5.0—Marcus Semien, Rangers 0-5 K
-5.0—Andrew Benintendi, White Sox 0-5
-5.0—Masyn Winn, Cardinals 0-5
Reds pitcher Carson Spiers (6IP 3H 2R ER BB 4K W in the 9-4 win over the Cardinals) made his Major League debut Sept. 3, 2023, and was playing in his 12th career game.
Braves pitcher Pierce Johnson (1IP 0H 0R 0BB 2K ND in the 2-1, 10-inning win over the Pirates) made his Major League debut May 19, 2017, and was playing in his 235th career game.
Angels pitcher Hans Crouse (1IP 0H 0R 0BB 2K ND in the 6-5, 10-inning win over the Tigers) made his Major League debut Sept. 26, 2021, and was playing in his sixth career game.
Scoring
Gallen earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day.
Lopez earns 1.7 points for being AL Player of the Day.
Guerrero and Machado each earn 1.5 points for being their league’s Batter of the Day.
All of Saturday’s other Player of the Game winners (listed in the chart) earn 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.
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!
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).| 6/29 | BTG | Game | Player | AB | R | H | BI | IP | H | R | ER | BB | K | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| MLB | +11.0 | ARI 3, OAK 0 | Zac Gallen (W, 6‑4) | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | 6.0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 7 | |
| AL | +8.0 | MIN 5, SEA 1 | Pablo López (W, 8‑6) | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | 6.0 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 9 | |
| BAT | +5.0 | TOR 9, NYY 3 | Vladimir Guerrero Jr. DH | 5 | 1 | 3 | 6 | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | |
| +5.0 | BAL 6, TEX 5 | Heston Kjerstad DH | 1 | 1 | 1 | 4 | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ||
| +5.0 | WSH 8, TB 1 | Jake Irvin (W, 6‑6) | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | 6.0 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 5 | ||
| BAT | +4.0 | SD 11, BOS 1 | Manny Machado DH | 5 | 2 | 2 | 5 | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | |
| +4.0 | HOU 9, NYM 6 | Jake Meyers CF | 3 | 4 | 2 | 1 | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ||
| +3.1 | MIA 3, PHI 2 | Andrew Nardi (W, 1‑0) | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | 1.1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | ||
| +3.0 | LAD 14, SF 7 (F/11) | Miguel Rojas SS | 5 | 1 | 3 | 4 | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ||
| +3.0 | CHW 11, COL 3 | Paul DeJong SS | 4 | 2 | 2 | 3 | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ||
| +3.0 | CHC 5, MIL 3 | Ian Happ LF | 2 | 2 | 1 | 2 | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ||
| +3.0 | CIN 9, STL 4 | Carson Spiers (W, 2‑1) | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | 6.0 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 4 | ||
| +3.0 | `ATL 2, PIT 1 (F/10) | Pierce Johnson | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | 1.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | ||
| +3.0 | `LAA 6, DET 5 (F/10) | Hans Crouse | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | 1.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | ||
| +1.0 | CLE 7, KC 2 | José Ramírez 3B | 5 | 2 | 2 | 2 | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ |
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.
All other players listed here 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.
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 | +/‑ |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lopez, Pablo 4028 | pi sp | min al | 8.7 | 22.1 | 54.2 | 55.9 | -4.7 |
| Irvin, Jake 4805 | pi sp | dc nl | 6.0 | 9.0 | 9.0 | 9.0 | +3.0 |
| Gallen, Zac 4171 | pi sp | ari nl | 5.0 | 21.7 | 56.1 | 56.1 | -11.7 |
| Ramirez, Jose 3436 | 3b dh | cle al | 4.4 | 10.6 | 40.3 | 61.3 | -1.8 |
| Happ, Ian 3798 | lf dh | chi nl | 3.5 | 7.5 | 11.0 | 17.0 | -0.5 |
| Machado, Manny 3087 | 3b dh | sd nl | 3.5 | 6.5 | 20.9 | 57.3 | +0.5 |
| Rojas, Miguel 3642 | ss | lad nl | 3.0 | 4.0 | 14.0 | 18.5 | +2.0 |
| Guerrero, Vladimir Jr. 4142 | 1b dh | tor al | 2.5 | 6.5 | 19.1 | 19.1 | -1.5 |
| Kjerstad, Heston 5043 | rf dh | bal al | 2.0 | 2.0 | 2.0 | 2.0 | +2.0 |
| DeJong, Paul 3827 | ss | chi al | 1.0 | 4.5 | 13.5 | 24.0 | -2.5 |
| Meyers Jake 4510 | cf | hou al | 1.0 | 4.0 | 5.0 | 5.0 | -2.0 |
| Nardi, Andrew 4855 | pi mr cp | fla nl | 1.0 | 4.0 | 4.0 | 4.0 | -2.0 |
| Crouse, Hans 5050 | pi mr | ana al | 1.0 | 1.0 | 1.0 | 1.0 | +1.0 |
| Johnson, Pierce 5049 | pi mr | atl nl | 1.0 | 1.0 | 1.0 | 1.0 | +1.0 |
| Spiers, Carson 5048 | pi sp | cin nl | 1.0 | 1.0 | 1.0 | 1.0 | +1.0 |
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
A Box-Toppers look at Sunday’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), 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| PIT | Falter, Bailey 4473 | 2.0 | 6.7 | 11.7 | 11.7 |
| ATL | Schwellenbach, Spencer 5035 | 1.0 | 1.0 | 1.0 | 1.0 |
| MIA | Chirinos, Yonny 4039 | 0.0 | 1.0 | 8.0 | 10.0 |
| PHI | Suarez, Ranger 4228 | 9.4 | 13.1 | 28.1 | 28.1 |
| SD | Waldron, Matt 4946 | 5.0 | 6.0 | 6.0 | 6.0 |
| BOS | Winckowski, Josh 4784 | 1.0 | 3.0 | 3.0 | 3.0 |
| NYY | Cole, Gerrit 3232 | 0.0 | 17.0 | 94.4 | 155.3 |
| TOR | Gausman, Kevin 3191 | 5.0 | 23.7 | 54.1 | 93.1 |
| HOU | Dubin, Shawn* | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 |
| NYM | Severino, Luis 3567 | 3.7 | 8.4 | 18.1 | 61.9 |
| WSH | Corbin, Patrick 3027 | 1.0 | 8.1 | 35.2 | 93.4 |
| TB | Bradley, Taj 4780 | 3.0 | 8.0 | 8.0 | 8.0 |
| CHC | Hendricks, Kyle 3386 | 2.0 | 7.0 | 35.1 | 75.6 |
| MIL | Peralta, Freddy 3965 | 7.0 | 24.7 | 54.8 | 63.5 |
| CLE | Allen, Logan T. 4789 | 2.0 | 9.7 | 9.7 | 9.7 |
| KC | Lugo, Seth 3729 | 7.4 | 13.8 | 22.8 | 31.8 |
| COL | Freeland, Kyle 3763 | 0.0 | 5.7 | 20.7 | 39.1 |
| CHW | Crochet, Garrett 4434 | 9.7 | 9.7 | 10.7 | 10.7 |
| CIN | Greene, Hunter 4651 | 3.0 | 8.7 | 14.7 | 14.7 |
| STL | Lynn, Lance 2992 | 3.0 | 7.7 | 53.9 | 121.5 |
| LAD | Paxton, James 3280 | 6.0 | 11.0 | 25.1 | 66.9 |
| SF | Undecided | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 |
| DET | Mize, Casey 4377 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 7.7 | 7.7 |
| LAA | Anderson, Tyler 3656 | 3.0 | 5.0 | 27.4 | 40.4 |
| MIN | Ryan, Joe 4539 | 7.7 | 16.4 | 33.8 | 33.8 |
| SEA | Castillo, Luis Miguel 3840 | 7.0 | 23.1 | 61.5 | 77.9 |
| OAK | Medina, Luis 4876 | 0.0 | 1.0 | 1.0 | 1.0 |
| ARI | Pfaadt, Brandon 4812 | 5.4 | 9.1 | 9.1 | 9.1 |
| TEX | Heaney, Andrew 3515 | 2.0 | 13.4 | 34.8 | 49.5 |
| BAL | Irvin, Cole 4140 | 3.0 | 6.0 | 21.4 | 21.4 |
* 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