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Orioles pitcher Tomoyuki Sugano is Box-Toppers Player of the Day in Sunday’s spring training games.
Other Player of the Game winners Sunday include Mets pitcher Clay Holmes, Diamondbacks pitcher Corbin Burnes, Luis Suisbel of the Mariners and Derek Hill of the Marlins.
Player of the Day
Sugano struck out five over three scoreless and hitless innings, allowing no walks, in the 4-3 win over the Twins.
Sugano had a Box-Toppers game score of +8.0, best among all Orioles players and highest among all Sunday Player of the Game winners.
Sugano, 35, has pitched 12 seasons in Japan’s top professional league but has yet to make his regular season Major League debut and so has 0.0 career Box-Toppers points.
If this were a regular season game, Sugano would have earned 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day (1.0 point as Player of the Game and 1.0 bonus point as overall Player of the Day). However, no Box-Toppers points are awarded because it’s a preseason exhibition game.
National League Player of the Day
Mets pitcher Clay Holmes struck out eight over 3 2/3 scoreless innings, allowing one hit and three walks, in the 7-6 win over the Nationals. Holmes did not earn the win, picking up a no-decision, because the Nationals tied the game after he exited.
Holmes earned 3.0 Box-Toppers points in 2024 with the Yankees.
This is the second time during the 2025 spring training season that Holmes has earned Box-Toppers Player of the Game honors. He also did it Feb. 22 in the 6-2 win over the Astros (3IP 0H 0R 0BB 3K W).
If this were a regular season game, Holmes would have earned 1.7 Box-Toppers points for being NL Player of the Day (1.0 point as Player of the Game and 0.7 bonus points as NL Player of the Day).
American League Batter of the Day
Luis Suisbel of the Mariners hit a three-run homer and went 2-for-2, scoring twice and driving in three runs, in the 8-1 win over the Rockies.
Suisbel has played five seasons in the minor leagues and in foreign leagues but 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
Derek Hill of the Marlins homered and went 2-for-3, scoring three times and driving in two runs, in the 10-6 win over the Astros.
Hill earned 1.0 Box-Toppers point in 2024 with the Marlins, his only career Box-Toppers point. (He also played for the Rangers and Giants in 2024.) Hill has played 161 Major League games over five seasons.
Notable
Diamondbacks pitcher Corbin Burnes has the most 2024 Box-Toppers points among Sunday’s spring training Player of the Game winners.
Burnes (4IP 2H 0R BB 5K W in the 14-1 win over the Rangers) earned 11.7 Box-Toppers points in 2024 with the Orioles, 18th among AL pitchers.
Sunday’s games
In Sunday’s 17 completed spring training games, there were 10 Player of the Game winners who had previously earned Box-Toppers points in regular season games. In seven of Sunday’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.
Scoring
No Box-Toppers points are awarded in exhibition games. Were it a regular season day:
Sugano would have earned 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day.
Holmes would have earned 1.7 points for being NL Player of the Day.
Suisbel and Hill would have each earned 1.5 points for being their league’s Batter of the Day.
All of Sunday’s other Player of the Game winners (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).| 3/9 | BTG | Game | Player of the Game | AB | R | H | BI | IP | H | R | ER | BB | K | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| MLB | +8.0 | BAL 4, MIN 3 | Tomoyuki Sugano (W, 1‑0) | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | 3.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5 | |
| +7.2 | CLE 1, CHW 0 | Gavin Williams (W, 1‑0) | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | 3.2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 7 | ||
| NL | +7.2 | `NYM 7, WSH 6 | Clay Holmes | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | 3.2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 8 | |
| +6.0 | ARI 14, TEX 1 | Corbin Burnes (W, 3‑0) | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | 4.0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 5 | ||
| +6.0 | LAA 4, CIN 1 | Jack Kochanowicz (W, 1‑0) | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | 4.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | ||
| BAT | +5.0 | SEA 8, COL 1 | Luis Suisbel 1B | 2 | 2 | 2 | 3 | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | |
| +4.0 | ATH 7, LAD 5 | Luis Urías 2B | 3 | 1 | 3 | 3 | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ||
| BAT | +4.0 | MIA 10, HOU 6 | Derek Hill CF | 3 | 3 | 2 | 2 | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | |
| +4.0 | STL 6, NYY 5 | Chris Roycroft (S, 1) | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | 1.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | ||
| +3.0 | DET 5, PIT 3 | Javier Báez DH | 3 | 1 | 2 | 3 | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ||
| +3.0 | SF 8, CHC 6 | Sabin Ceballos 3B | 2 | 1 | 1 | 3 | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ||
| +3.0 | PHI 12, BAL 2 | Aroon Escobar PR‑2B | 2 | 2 | 1 | 2 | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ||
| +3.0 | TOR 13, TB 9 | Jay Harry PH‑DH | 1 | 1 | 1 | 2 | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ||
| +3.0 | KC 5, MIL 2 | Austin Cox (W, 2‑0) | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | 1.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | ||
| +2.1 | SF 7, SD 4 | Spencer Bivens (W, 1‑0) | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | 2.1 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | ||
| +2.0 | BOS 7, ATL 3 | Trayce Thompson CF | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ||
| +2.0 | ARI 7, ATH 5 | Demetrio Crisantes 2B | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ |
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 2025. Players are ranked by their Box-Toppers point total in 2024 (’24). Also shown is their point total for the period 2020-2024 (’20-24) 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.)Back to top
| Player of the Game | Pos | Team | ’25 | ’24 | ’20‑24 | Career |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Burnes, Corbin 4029 | pi sp | ari nl | 0.0 | 11.7 | 64.6 | 67.6 |
| Williams, Gavin 4865 | pi sp | cle al | 0.0 | 3.7 | 7.7 | 7.7 |
| Holmes, Clay 4022 | pi cp | nym nl | 0.0 | 3.0 | 12.0 | 13.0 |
| Bivens, Spencer 5090 | pi mr sp cp | sf nl | 0.0 | 3.0 | 3.0 | 3.0 |
| Kochanowicz, Jack 5094 | pi sp | ana al | 0.0 | 2.0 | 2.0 | 2.0 |
| Urias, Luis 4218 | 3b | oak al | 0.0 | 1.7 | 10.4 | 12.9 |
| Hill, Derek 5077 | lf | fla nl | 0.0 | 1.0 | 1.0 | 1.0 |
| Thompson, Trayce 4567 | cf lf | bos al | 0.0 | 0.0 | 8.5 | 8.5 |
| Cox, Austin 4860 | pi mr | kc al | 0.0 | 0.0 | 2.0 | 2.0 |
| Baez, Javier 3395 | ss 2b | det al | 0.0 | 0.0 | 5.5 | 29.2 |
About Box-Toppers’ team abbreviations
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A Box-Toppers look at Monday’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 2025 (’25)†, last year (’24), over a five-year period (’20-24) and their career point total.Back to top
| Game | Starter | ’25† | ’24 | ’20‑24 | Career |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| PHI | Johnson, Seth* | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 |
| MIN | Lopez, Pablo 4028 | 0.0 | 11.7 | 51.2 | 58.9 |
| TB | Boyle, Joe 4948 | 0.0 | 1.7 | 2.7 | 2.7 |
| ATL | Undecided | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 |
| DET | Maeda, Kenta 3609 | 0.0 | 5.4 | 30.6 | 70.0 |
| NYY | Warren, Will* | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 |
| HOU | Gordon, Colton* | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 |
| TOR | Gausman, Kevin 3191 | 0.0 | 10.0 | 56.1 | 98.1 |
| WSH | Parker, Mitchell 4982 | 0.0 | 6.0 | 6.0 | 6.0 |
| MIA | Alcantara, Sandy 4061 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 40.8 | 47.2 |
| CHC | Imanaga, Shota 4960 | 0.0 | 20.7 | 20.7 | 20.7 |
| CLE | McKenzie, Triston 4303 | 0.0 | 4.0 | 36.1 | 36.1 |
| CLE | Lively, Ben 3903 | 0.0 | 5.0 | 6.0 | 8.0 |
| KC | Bubic, Kris 4413 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 5.0 | 5.0 |
| ARI | Curtiss, John 4323 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 2.0 | 2.0 |
| LAD | Yamamoto, Yoshinobu 4964 | 0.0 | 6.4 | 6.4 | 6.4 |
| CHW | Perez, Martin 3213 | 0.0 | 5.7 | 20.5 | 40.2 |
| ATH | Severino, Luis 3567 | 0.0 | 6.7 | 19.1 | 64.9 |
| COL | Undecided | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 |
| LAA | Silseth, Chase 4605 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 5.0 | 5.0 |
| CIN | Greene, Hunter 4651 | 0.0 | 9.7 | 21.4 | 21.4 |
| SD | King, Michael 4549 | 0.0 | 12.7 | 27.4 | 27.4 |
| SF | Webb, Logan 4258 | 0.0 | 11.0 | 49.6 | 51.3 |
| COL | Undecided | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 |
| SEA | Lawrence, Casey 3873 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 1.0 | 2.0 |
| MIL | Myers, Tobias 5026 | 0.0 | 10.0 | 10.0 | 10.0 |
| BAL | Bowman, Matt 3699 | 0.0 | 1.0 | 1.0 | 5.0 |
| PIT | Keller, Mitch 4230 | 0.0 | 11.7 | 30.7 | 31.7 |
| MIA | Quantrill, Cal 4195 | 0.0 | 5.0 | 20.7 | 22.7 |
| WSH | Ogasawara, Shinnosuke* | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 |
| STL | Gray, Sonny 3259 | 0.0 | 12.4 | 46.0 | 110.3 |
| NYM | Canning, Griffin 4134 | 0.0 | 4.7 | 15.7 | 22.4 |
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 2025.
* Player has yet to earn any career Box-Toppers points.
What are those numbers after players' names?
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