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Blue Jays pitcher Max Scherzer is Box-Toppers Player of the Day in Saturday’s spring training games.
Other Player of the Game winners Saturday include Pete Crow-Armstrong of the Cubs, Ty France of the Twins, Matt Chapman of the Giants and Rangers pitcher Jacob deGrom. Also, seven players earned Box-Toppers Player of the Game honors for the second time Saturday during the 2025 spring training season.
Player of the Day
Scherzer struck out six over 3 1/3 scoreless innings, allowing one hit and no walks,in the 5-0 win over the Tigers. Scherzer did not earn the win, picking up a no-decision, because when he exited, the game was in a scoreless tie.
Scherzer had a Box-Toppers game score of +8.1, best among all Blue Jays players and highest among all Saturday Player of the Game winners.
Scherzer earned just 2.0 Box-Toppers points in 2024 with the Rangers. But he has the most career Box-Toppers points among Saturday’s Player of the Game winners—253.7—third among all players since Box-Toppers tracking began in 1995 and second among active players behind Dodgers pitcher Clayton Kershaw (272.4).
This is the second time during the 2025 spring training season that Scherzer has won Box-Toppers Player of the Game honors. He also did it March 2 in the 5-4 win over the Phillies (3.2IP H R 0BB 4K ND).
If this were a regular season game, Scherzer 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
Pete Crow-Armstrong of the Cubs hit two home runs, including a grand slam, in the 9-8 win over the Mariners. Crow-Armstrong went 2-for-3, scoring twice and driving in five runs.
Crow-Armstrong earned 1.0 Box-Toppers point in his 2024 rookie season. This is the second time during the 2025 spring training season that Crow-Armstrong has won Box-Toppers Player of the Game honors. He also did it March 1 in the 11-1 win over the Royals (HR 2B SF 2-3 R 4BI).
If this were a regular season game, Crow-Armstrong 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
Ty France of the Twins hit a three-run homer, doubled and went 2-for-3, scoring twice and driving in four runs, in the 9-8 win over the Red Sox.
France earned 1.0 Box-Toppers point in 2024 with the Mariners and the Reds. This is the second time during the 2025 spring training season he’s won Box-Toppers Player of the Game honors and also the second straight day. He also did it Friday in the 7-1 win over the Braves (2B 2-4 2R BI).
National League Batter of the Day
There is no separate NL Batter of the Day for Saturday because the overall NL Player of the Day is batter Pete Crow-Armstrong.
Notable
Matt Chapman of the Giants has the most 2024 Box-Toppers points among Saturday’s Player of the Game winners.
Chapman (HR 2-2 2R BI in the 7-3 win over the Royals) earned 10.2 Box-Toppers points in 2024, fourth among NL batters.
This was the second time this spring training that Chapman won Box-Toppers Player of the Game honors. He also did it Thursday in the 7-3 win over the White Sox (2HR 2-3 2R 2BI) when he was NL Batter of the Day.
Also notable
Rangers pitcher Jacob deGrom was Player of the Game in the 5-3 win over the Royals (2IP 0H 0R 0BB 3K W).
deGrom has 140.2 career Box-Toppers points, sixth-most among active, signed players and third among active AL pitchers, behind Scherzer (253.7) and Gerrit Cole of the Yankees (165.0). DeGrom earned 1.0 Box-Toppers point in 2024 as he returned late in the season after more than a year recovering from elbow surgery.
One more notable thing
Seven players earned Box-Toppers Player of the Game honors for the second time Saturday during the 2025 spring training season. In addition to players previously mentioned—Scherzer, Crow-Armstrong, France and Chapman—they are:
Gavin Sheets of the Padres (HR 1-2 R 3BI in the 7-2 win over the Guardians), who was also Player of the Game Feb. 21.
Christian Encarnacion-Strand of the Reds (HR 3-2 R 2BI in the 9-8 win over the Diamondbacks), who was also Player of the Game March 1.
Alec Bohm of the Phillies (HR 2B 2-4 2R BI in the 5-4 win over the Blue Jays), who was also NL Batter of the Day March 2.
Saturday’s games
In Saturday’s 17 completed spring training games, there were 12 Player of the Game winners who had previously earned Box-Toppers points in regular season games. In five of Saturday’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:
Scherzer would have earned 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day.
Crow-Armstrong would have earned 1.7 points for being NL Player of the Day.
France would have earned 1.5 points for being AL Batter of the Day.
All of Saturday’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).| 3/8 | BTG | Game | Player | AB | R | H | BI | IP | H | R | ER | BB | K | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| MLB | +8.1 | `TOR 5, DET 0 | Max Scherzer | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | 3.1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6 | |
| +7.0 | `CHW 5, LAD 2 | Shane Smith | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | 3.0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5 | ||
| NL | +6.0 | CHC 9, SEA 8 | Pete Crow‑Armstrong CF | 3 | 2 | 2 | 5 | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | |
| BAT | +5.0 | MIN 9, BOS 8 | Ty France 1B | 3 | 2 | 2 | 4 | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | |
| +5.0 | SF 7, KC 3 | Matt Chapman 3B | 2 | 2 | 2 | 3 | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ||
| +5.0 | TEX 5, KC 3 | Jacob deGrom (W, 1‑0) | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | 2.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | ||
| +3.1 | `HOU 5, NYY 2 | Hayden Wesneski | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | 2.1 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 5 | ||
| +3.0 | SD 7, CLE 2 | Gavin Sheets DH | 2 | 1 | 1 | 3 | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ||
| +3.0 | NYM 7, MIA 3 | David Peterson (W, 1‑0) | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | 4.0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 2 | ||
| +2.2 | ATH 8, COL 1 | Mason Barnett (W, 1‑0) | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | 3.2 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 3 | ||
| +2.0 | CIN 9, ARI 8 | Christian Encarnacion‑Strand 1B | 3 | 1 | 2 | 2 | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ||
| +2.0 | LAA 6, MIL 2 | Jo Adell CF | 3 | 1 | 1 | 3 | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ||
| +2.0 | TB 6, BAL 3 | Tre’ Morgan PH‑DH | 2 | 1 | 1 | 2 | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ||
| +2.0 | ATH 4, ARI 2 | Daniel Susac C | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ||
| +1.1 | ATL 6, PIT 5 | Dany Jiménez (W, 1‑0) | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | 0.1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | ||
| +1.0 | PHI 5, TOR 4 | Alec Bohm 3B | 4 | 2 | 2 | 1 | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ||
| +1.0 | STL 5, WSH 3 | Thomas Saggese 3B | 3 | 2 | 2 | 0 | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ |
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Chapman, Matt 3849 | 3b | sf nl | 0.0 | 10.2 | 22.7 | 38.7 |
| Peterson, David 4347 | pi sp | nym nl | 0.0 | 4.7 | 17.7 | 17.7 |
| Bohm, Alec 4309 | 3b 1b | phi nl | 0.0 | 4.0 | 14.4 | 14.4 |
| Sheets, Gavin 4457 | dh rf | sd nl | 0.0 | 3.0 | 11.5 | 11.5 |
| Scherzer, Max 2588 | pi sp | tor al | 0.0 | 2.0 | 56.5 | 253.7 |
| Wesneski, Hayden 4731 | pi mr sp | hou al | 0.0 | 2.0 | 6.4 | 6.4 |
| deGrom, Jacob 3343 | pi sp | tex al | 0.0 | 1.0 | 43.5 | 140.2 |
| France, Ty 4243 | 1b | min al | 0.0 | 1.0 | 18.5 | 19.5 |
| Encarnacion-Strand, Christian 4883 | 1b dh | cin nl | 0.0 | 1.0 | 2.5 | 2.5 |
| Adell, Jo 4527 | lf pr | ana al | 0.0 | 1.0 | 4.5 | 4.5 |
| Crow-Armstrong, Pete 5073 | cf | chi nl | 0.0 | 1.0 | 1.0 | 1.0 |
| Jimenez, Dany 4576 | pi cp | atl nl | 0.0 | 0.0 | 5.0 | 5.0 |
About Box-Toppers’ team abbreviations
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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 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| PIT | Heaney, Andrew 3515 | 0.0 | 9.0 | 36.8 | 56.5 |
| DET | Skubal, Tarik 4414 | 0.0 | 21.1 | 51.2 | 51.2 |
| TOR | Berrios, Jose 3791 | 0.0 | 9.7 | 41.5 | 79.0 |
| TB | Bradley, Taj 4780 | 0.0 | 12.1 | 17.1 | 17.1 |
| MIN | Woods Richardson, Simeon 4974 | 0.0 | 3.7 | 3.7 | 3.7 |
| BAL | Sugano, Tomoyuki* | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 |
| BAL | Ward, Thaddeus* | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 |
| PHI | Suarez, Ranger 4228 | 0.0 | 10.4 | 28.1 | 29.1 |
| ATL | Smith‑Shawver, AJ 4951 | 0.0 | 1.0 | 2.0 | 2.0 |
| BOS | Fitts, Richard* | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 |
| MIA | Curry, Xzavion 4875 | 0.0 | 1.0 | 3.0 | 3.0 |
| HOU | Valdez, Framber 4048 | 0.0 | 15.4 | 51.1 | 56.8 |
| NYY | Carrasco, Carlos 2885 | 0.0 | 1.7 | 18.1 | 113.2 |
| STL | Pallante, Andre 4656 | 0.0 | 8.7 | 10.7 | 10.7 |
| WSH | Irvin, Jake 4805 | 0.0 | 10.0 | 13.0 | 13.0 |
| NYM | Holmes, Clay 4022 | 0.0 | 3.0 | 12.0 | 13.0 |
| ARI | Walston, Blake* | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 |
| ATH | Spence, Mitch 4986 | 0.0 | 4.7 | 4.7 | 4.7 |
| ATH | Estes, Joey 5000 | 0.0 | 5.7 | 5.7 | 5.7 |
| LAD | Snell, Blake 3688 | 0.0 | 15.7 | 58.6 | 104.8 |
| SF | Roupp, Landen 5079 | 0.0 | 2.0 | 2.0 | 2.0 |
| CHC | Taillon, Jameson 3658 | 0.0 | 8.0 | 33.1 | 59.5 |
| SD | Pivetta, Nick 3825 | 0.0 | 9.7 | 32.4 | 54.1 |
| SF | Hicks, Jordan 3991 | 0.0 | 4.4 | 9.4 | 13.4 |
| CHW | Adams, Mason* | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 |
| CLE | Williams, Gavin 4865 | 0.0 | 3.7 | 7.7 | 7.7 |
| MIL | Civale, Aaron 4173 | 0.0 | 7.1 | 32.5 | 35.5 |
| KC | Cameron, Noah* | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 |
| CIN | Ashcraft, Graham 4645 | 0.0 | 1.0 | 9.0 | 9.0 |
| LAA | Kochanowicz, Jack 5094 | 0.0 | 2.0 | 2.0 | 2.0 |
| COL | Feltner, Ryan 4635 | 0.0 | 2.0 | 6.0 | 6.0 |
| SEA | Castillo, Luis Miguel 3840 | 0.0 | 10.7 | 50.8 | 81.6 |
| TEX | Eovaldi, Nathan 2928 | 0.0 | 13.0 | 46.8 | 82.3 |
| ARI | Burnes, Corbin 4029 | 0.0 | 11.7 | 64.6 | 67.6 |
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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