Cubs' Jon Lester tops players in Wednesday, March 30's spring training games

Cubs pitcher Jon Lester is Box-Toppers spring training Player of the Day for Wednesday.

Lester struck out 10 over five scoreless innings, allowing one hit, in the 10-0 win over the Rockies. Lester had 12.0 Box-Toppers points in 2015 with the Cubs, ranked 13th among National League pitchers. Lester led American League pitchers in 2010 with 23.4 points when he was with the Red Sox.

American League Player of the Day—Tigers pitcher Shane Greene struck out nine over 5 2/3 scoreless innings, allowing three hits, in the 2-1 win over the Orioles. Greene had 3.0 Box-Toppers points in 2015 with the Tigers.

National League Batter of the Day—Phil Gosselin of the Diamondbacks tripled, doubled and went 3-for-4, scoring once and driving in five runs, in the 12-9 win over the Athletics. Gosselin had 1.0 Box-Toppers point in 2015 with the Diamondbacks. He also played for the Braves in 2015.

American League Batter of the Day—There is no AL Batter of the Day for Wednesday because no AL batter earned Player of the Game honors.

Scoring—No Box-Toppers points are awarded in spring training games, but if it were the regular season, Lester would earn 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day, Greene would earn 1.7 points for being AL Player of the Day and Gosselin would earn 1.5 points for being NL Batter of the Day. All of Wednesday’s other Players of the Game (listed in the chart below) would earn 1.0 Box-Toppers point.

Note—Sixteen spring training games were scheduled for Thursday—14 are listed below. One game is not included because it ended in a tie (Red Sox vs. Pirates) and one other game was not included because it involved a non-Major League team (River Cats vs. Giants).

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.

Top player from each game

Listed from highest to lowest Box-Toppers game score

3/30 Score Team Player AB R H BI BB K IP H R ER BB K
MLB 13.0 Cubs Jon Lester (W, 1-0) - - - - - - 5.0 1 0 0 1 10
AL 10.2 Tigers Shane Greene (W, 1-0) - - - - - - 5.2 3 0 0 1 9
10.0 Rays Drew Smyly (W, 1-0) - - - - - - 4.0 0 0 0 1 7
7.0 Reds Josh Smith (W, 1-0) - - - - - - 5.0 1 1 1 1 6
6.0 Rangers Cole Hamels (W, 1-0) - - - - - - 5.0 2 1 1 0 5
BAT 5.0 Dbacks Phil Gosselin 1B 4 1 3 5 0 0 - - - - - -
5.0 `Yankees Iván Nova - - - - - - 6.0 2 0 0 1 2
4.0 Phillies Andrés Blanco SS 4 2 2 4 0 1 - - - - - -
4.0 Cardinals Michael Wacha (W, 1-0) - - - - - - 5.0 2 0 0 1 2
4.0 `Padres Brandon Morrow - - - - - - 3.0 1 1 1 2 6
3.0 Nationals Reed Johnson LF 2 2 2 1 0 0 - - - - - -
3.0 Twins Ryan Pressly (W, 1-0) - - - - - - 1.0 0 0 0 0 2
2.1 Indians Corey Kluber (W, 1-0) - - - - - - 4.1 6 1 1 0 6
2.0 Brewers Ramón Flores LF-1B 2 1 1 2 2 0 - - - - - -
`Denotes that the pitcher had a no-decision in the game and did not pick up a win or a save.

Indians' pitcher Josh Tomlin tops players in Tuesday, March 29's spring training games

Indians pitcher Josh Tomlin is Box-Toppers spring training Player of the Day for Tuesday.

Tomlin pitched six scoreless innings, allowing three hits and striking out 10, in the 4-1 win over the Mariners. Tomlin had 4.7 Box-Toppers points in 2015 with the Indians.

National League Player of the Day—Marlins pitcher Paul Clemens pitched three scoreless innings of middle relief, allowing no hits and striking out two, in the 1-0 win over the Mets. Clemens pitched the fifth, sixth and seventh innings and was not credited with the win. Clemens had no Box-Toppers points in 2015 with the Phillies and Royals. He has 1.0 career Box-Toppers point, earned May 27, 2013, playing with the Astros.

American League Batter of the Day—Mike Moustakas of the Royals hit a three-run homer and doubled, going 2-for-3, scoring three times and driving in five runs, in the 16-10 win over the Giants. Moustakas had 7.7 Box-Toppers points in 2015 with the Royals, 14th among AL batters.

National League Batter of the Day—Nolan Arenado of the Rockies hit two home runs and went 3-for-3, scoring twice and driving in two runs, in the 6-1 win over the Diamondbacks. Arenado had 8.5 Box-Toppers points in 2015 with the Rockies, 10th among NL batters.

Notable—Three others who earned Player of the Game honors Tuesday:

  • Carlos Beltran of the Yankees homered and drove in three runs in the 5-4 win over the Pirates. Beltran had 3.5 Box-Toppers points in 2015 with the Yankees, but is the active leader in most consecutive seasons earning at least 1.0 Box-Toppers point with 17. If he earns a point during the regular season in 2016, he will extend that to 18 seasons, one short of the record set by Jason Giambi, who had a streak of 19 seasons from 1995 to 2013. (Box-Toppers tracking began in 1995.)
  • Cubs pitcher Jake Arrieta, 2015’s Box-Toppers points leader, struck out five over five innings, allowing two hits and one run, in the 9-5 win over the Athletics. Arrieta led all players in 2015 with 29.1 Box-Toppers points.
  • White Sox pitcher Chris Sale struck out five over 5 1/3 innings, allowing one run, in the 6-2 win over the Rangers. Sale ranked fourth among AL pitchers in Box-Toppers points in 2015 with 18.8.

Scoring—No Box-Toppers points are awarded in spring training games, but if it were the regular season, Tomlin would earn 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day and Clemens would earn 1.7 points for being NL Player of the Day. Moustakas and Arenado would each earn 1.5 points for being top batter in their league for the day. All of Tuesday’s other Players of the Game (listed in the chart below) would earn 1.0 Box-Toppers point.

Note—Sixteen spring training games were scheduled for Thursday—10 are listed below. Four games were cancelled (Yankees vs. Phillies, Blue Jays vs. Tigers, Nationals vs. Cardinals and Rays vs. Blue Jays) and two games are not included because they ended in ties (Braves vs. Orioles and Indians vs. Angels).

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.

Top player from each game

Listed from highest to lowest Box-Toppers game score

3/29 Score Team Player AB R H BI BB K IP H R ER BB K
MLB 13.0 Indians Josh Tomln (W, 1-0) - - - - - - 6.0 3 0 0 0 10
BAT 7.0 Royals Mike Moustakas 3B 3 3 2 5 1 1 - - - - - -
NL 5.0 `Marlins Paul Clemens - - - - - - 3.0 0 0 0 0 2
BAT 4.0 Rockies Nolan Arenado 3B 3 2 3 2 0 0 - - - - - -
4.0 Yankees Carlos Beltrán RF 1 1 1 3 0 0 - - - - - -
4.0 Padres Adam Rosales SS 1 1 1 3 0 0 - - - - - -
4.0 Cubs Jake Arrieta (W, 1-0) - - - - - - 5.0 2 1 1 2 5
3.0 Twins Miguel Sano RF 4 1 3 3 0 0 - - - - - -
2.1 White Sox Chris Sale (W, 1-0) - - - - - - 5.1 6 1 1 0 5
1.1 Reds A.J. Morris (W, 1-0) - - - - - - 3.1 3 0 0 3 4
`Denotes that the pitcher had a no-decision in the game and did not pick up a win or a save.

White Sox' Carlos Sanchez tops players in Monday, March 28's spring training games

Carlos Sanchez of the White Sox is Box-Toppers spring training Player of the Day for Monday.

Sanchez hit two homers and went 3-for-4, driving in four runs, in the 11-7 win over the Rockies. Sanchez had 3.0 Box-Toppers points in 2015 with the White Sox.

Sanchez had a Box-Toppers game score Monday of +5.0, tied with Whit Merrifield of the Royals, who was Player of the Game in the 11-3 win over the Padres. But Sanchez won Player of the Day on a tiebreaker—he had more runs batted in (4 vs. 3).    

National League Player of the Day—Cardinals pitcher Carlos Martinez allowed one run over six innings, striking out four, in the 3-1 win over the Mets. Martinez had 13.7 Box-Toppers points in 2015, leading all Cardinals players and ranking 11th among NL pitchers.

National League Batter of the Day—Joey Votto of the Reds homered and went 4-for-5, scoring twice and driving in two runs, in the 9-8, walk-off win over the Brewers. Votto had 5.0 Box-Toppers points in 2015, most among returning Reds batters in 2016. Votto has 53.7 career Box-Toppers points since 2007, which ranks fourth among active NL first basemen. He has two seasons with 10.0 or more Box-Toppers points (2008 and 2009). In 2008, his 11.0 points ranked 10th among NL batters.

American League Batter of the Day—There is no separate AL Batter of the Day for Monday because the overall Player of the Day was an AL batter, Carlos Sanchez.

Scoring—No Box-Toppers points are awarded in spring training games, but if it were the regular season, Sanchez would earn 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day, Martinez would earn 1.7 points for being NL Player of the Day and Votto would earn 1.5 points for being NL Batter of the Day. All of Monday’s other Players of the Game (listed in the chart below) would earn 1.0 Box-Toppers point.

Note—Fifteen spring training games were scheduled for Monday—13 are listed below. One game is not included because it ended in a tie (Cubs vs. Dodgers) and one other game was cancelled (Marlins vs. Nationals).

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.

Top player from each game

Listed from highest to lowest Box-Toppers game score

3/28 Score Team Player AB R H BI BB K IP H R ER BB K
MLB 5.0 White Sox Carlos Sánchez 2B 4 2 3 4 0 0 - - - - - -
5.0 Royals Whit Merrifield LF 4 3 3 3 1 1 - - - - - -
5.0 Astros George Springer RF 3 3 3 2 0 0 - - - - - -
NL 5.0 Cardinals Carlos Martínez (W, 1-0) - - - - - - 6.0 3 1 1 0 4
5.0 `Yankees Luis Cessa - - - - - - 3.0 1 0 0 1 4
4.0 Twins Daniel Palka PH-DH 1 1 1 3 0 0 - - - - - -
4.0 `Blue Jays Marcus Stroman - - - - - - 4.0 3 0 0 0 3
BAT 3.0 Reds Joey Votto 1B 5 2 4 2 0 0 - - - - - -
3.0 Dodgers Justin Turner 3B 3 1 1 4 0 0 - - - - - -
3.0 Mariners Brock Hebert 2B 1 1 1 2 0 0 - - - - - -
2.0 Orioles Nolan Reimold DH 3 1 2 2 1 0 - - - - - -
2.0 Dbacks David Peralta RF 2 2 1 1 1 0 - - - - - -
1.0 Indians Yan Gomes C 4 1 2 2 0 0 - - - - - -
`Denotes that the pitcher had a no-decision in the game and did not pick up a win or a save.

Mariners' Robinson Cano tops players in Sunday, March 27's spring training games

Robinson Cano of the Mariners is Box-Toppers spring training Player of the Day For Sunday.

Cano hit three home runs and went 4-for-4, scoring four times and driving in seven runs, in the 12-9 win over the Cubs. Cano had 6.5 Box-Toppers points in 2015 with the Mariners, third among American League second basemen. His 13.0 Box-Toppers points over 2014-2015 ranks first among AL second basemen over that span. His 67.4 career Box-Toppers points ranks first among active AL second basemen, fourth among all second basemen since 1995 (when Box-Toppers tracking began).

National League Player of the Day—Jabari Blash of the Padres hit a three-run homer and went 2-for-4, scoring twice and driving in four runs, in the 21-6 win over the Astros. Blash has yet to make his regular season Major League debut and so has no Box-Toppers points.

AL and NL Batters of the Day—There are no separate AL and NL Batters of the Day for Sunday because the overall Player of the Day was an AL batter, Robinson Cano, and the NL Player of the Day was a batter, Jabari Blash.

Scoring—No Box-Toppers points are awarded in spring training games, but if it were the regular season, Cano would earn 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day and Blash would earn 1.7 points for being NL Player of the Day. All of Sunday’s other Players of the Game (listed in the chart below) would earn 1.0 Box-Toppers point.

Note—Seventeen spring training games were scheduled for Sunday—16 are listed below. One game is not included because it ended in a tie (Nationals vs. Mets).

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.

Top player from each game

Listed from highest to lowest Box-Toppers game score

3/27 Score Team Player AB R H BI BB K IP H R ER BB K
MLB 11.0 Mariners Robinson Cano 2B 4 4 4 7 1 0 - - - - - -
6.0 Athletics Kendall Graveman (W, 1-1) - - - - - - 7.0 4 1 1 1 6
5.0 White Sox Travis Ishikawa 1B 5 2 3 5 0 0 - - - - - -
5.0 Indians Collin Cowgill PR RF 1 2 1 3 0 0 - - - - - -
NL 4.0 Padres Jabari Blash LF 4 2 2 4 1 0 - - - - - -
4.0 Angels Jeff Bandy C 2 1 2 3 0 0 - - - - - -
3.0 Astros A.J. Reed DH 5 3 3 2 0 0 - - - - - -
3.0 Nationals Ryan Zimmerman 1B 4 1 3 3 0 0 - - - - - -
3.0 Rangers Prince Fielder DH 4 1 3 3 0 1 - - - - - -
2.0 Twins Danny Santana CF-RF 4 1 3 2 0 0 - - - - - -
2.0 Rockies Raimel Tapia LF CF 4 2 3 1 0 1 - - - - - -
2.0 Red Sox Dustin Pedroia 2B 3 1 3 1 0 0 - - - - - -
2.0 Marlins J.T. Realmuto C 3 1 2 2 0 1 - - - - - -
2.0 Reds Scott Schebler LF 3 1 1 3 0 0 - - - - - -
2.0 Blue Jays Tony Sánchez C 2 1 2 1 0 0 - - - - - -
1.0 Orioles Nolan Reimold DH 3 1 2 1 1 0 - - - - - -

Twins' Kyle Gibson tops players in Saturday, March 26's spring training games

Twins pitcher Kyle Gibson is Box-Toppers spring training Player of the Day for Saturday.

Gibson pitched six scoreless innings, allowing three hits and striking out eight, in the 3-0 win over the Pirates. Gibson had 8.0 Box-Toppers points in 2015, most among Twins players and 33rd among American League pitchers.

National League Player of the Day—Matt Duffy of the Giants homered and went 3-for-4, scoring three times and driving in two runs, in the 5-2 win over the Cubs. Duffy had 6.2 Box-Toppers points in 2015, fourth among NL third basemen.

American League Batter of the Day—Audry Perez of the Orioles hit a three-run homer an went 2-for-2, scoring twice and driving in four runs, in the 16-8 win over the Red Sox. Perez has played in three regular season Major League games, but has yet to earn Player of the Game honors and so has no Box-Toppers points.

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 a batter, Matt Duffy.

Scoring—No Box-Toppers points are awarded in spring training games, but if it were the regular season, Gibson would earn 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day, Duffy would earn 1.7 points for being NL Player of the Day and Perez would earn 1.5 points for AL Batter of the Day. All of Saturday’s other Players of the Game (listed in the chart below) would earn 1.0 Box-Toppers point.

Note—Eighteen spring training games were scheduled for Saturday—15 are listed below. Two games are not included because they ended in ties (Mets vs. Braves and Diamondbacks vs. Brewers) and one other game was postponed (Marlins vs. Astros).

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.

Top player from each game

Listed from highest to lowest Box-Toppers game score

3/26 Score Team Player AB R H BI BB K IP H R ER BB K
MLB 11.0 Twins Kyle Gibson (W, 3-1) - - - - - - 6.0 3 0 0 0 8
8.1 `Astros Chris Devenski - - - - - - 4.1 3 0 0 0 7
7.0 `Yankees Bryan Mitchell - - - - - - 4.0 1 0 0 0 4
BAT 6.0 Orioles Audry Pérez C 2 2 2 4 0 0 - - - - - -
5.0 Tigers Justin Upton LF 4 3 4 2 0 0 - - - - - -
NL 4.0 Giants Matt Duffy 3B 4 3 3 2 0 1 - - - - - -
4.0 Rockies Trevor Story SS 3 3 3 1 0 0 - - - - - -
3.1 Rays Jake Odorizzi (W, 1-1) - - - - - - 6.1 5 1 1 2 6
3.1 Reds Caleb Cotham (W, 1-0) - - - - - - 2.1 2 0 0 0 3
3.1 Reds Tony Cingrani (Sv, 1) - - - - - - 1.1 0 0 0 0 2
3.0 Mariners Kyle Seager 3B 4 1 3 3 0 1 - - - - - -
2.1 Dodgers Chris Hatcher (W, 1-1) - - - - - - 1.1 0 0 0 0 1
2.0 Royals Eric Hosmer 1B 2 2 1 1 1 0 - - - - - -
2.0 Angels Todd Cunningham PR-CF 1 2 0 1 0 0 - - - - - -
2.0 Nationals Tanner Roark (W, 2-0) - - - - - - 5.0 6 0 0 1 4
`Denotes that the pitcher had a no-decision in the game and did not pick up a win or a save.

Twins' Ervin Santana tops players in Friday, March 25's spring training games

Twins pitcher Ervin Santana is Box-Toppers spring training Player of the Day for Friday.

Santana pitched six scoreless innings, striking out eight and allowing three hits, in the 6-1 win over the Rays. Santana had 5.4 Box-Toppers points in 2015 with the Twins. He has 93.3 career Box-Toppers points since 2005, which ranks seventh among active American League pitchers. His best year was 2008 with the Angels, when he had 16.7 points, ranked first among AL pitchers.

National League Player of the Day—Diamondbacks pitcher Shelby Miller allowed one run over 6 2/3 innings, striking out four and allowing three hits, in the 7-5 win over the Indians. Miller had 10.0 Box-Toppers points in 2015 with the Braves. His best year was 2013 with the Cardinals when he had 15.4 Box-Toppers points, ninth among NL pitchers.

American League Batter of the Day—Rougned Odor of the Rangers hit three solo home runs and went 4-for-4, driving in four runs, in the 12-11 win over the Padres. Odor had 3.0 Box-Toppers points in 2015.

National League Batter of the Day—Rob Segedin of the Dodgers went 3-for-3, scoring once and driving in two runs, in the 13-0 win over the Giants. Segedin has yet to make his regular season Major League debut and so has no Box-Toppers points.

Scoring—No Box-Toppers points are awarded in spring training games, but if it were the regular season, Santana would earn 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day and Miller would earn 1.7 points for being NL Player of the Day. Odor and Segedin would each earn 1.5 points for being top batter in their league for the day. All of Friday’s other Players of the Game (listed in the chart below) would earn 1.0 Box-Toppers point.

Note—Sixteen spring training games were scheduled for Friday—11 are listed below. Three games are not included because they ended in ties (Astros vs. Braves, Cardinals vs. Mets and Blue Jays vs. Phillies) and two games were postponed or cancelled (Braves vs. Tigers and Nationals vs. Marlins).

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.

Top player from each game

Listed from highest to lowest Box-Toppers game score

3/25 Score Team Player AB R H BI BB K IP H R ER BB K
MLB 11.0 Twins Ervin Santana (W, 1-0) - - - - - - 6.0 3 0 0 0 8
BAT 7.0 Rangers Rougned Odor 2B 4 3 4 4 0 0 - - - - - -
NL 4.2 Dbacks Shelby Miller (W, 1-0) - - - - - - 6.2 3 1 1 1 4
4.0 `Mariners Félix Hernández - - - - - - 6.0 5 0 0 0 3
4.0 Giants Sergio Romo (SV, 1) - - - - - - 1.0 0 0 0 0 3
BAT 3.0 Dodgers Rob Segedin 3B 3 1 3 2 0 0 - - - - - -
3.0 Red Sox Dustin Pedroia 2B 3 1 2 3 0 0 - - - - - -
3.0 Orioles Nolan Reimold LF 2 1 2 2 0 0 - - - - - -
3.0 Rockies Pat Valaika 2B 2 1 1 3 1 0 - - - - - -
3.0 Angels Jefry Marte 3B 1 1 1 2 0 0 - - - - - -
2.0 Brewers Kirk Nieuwenhuis RF 1 0 1 2 0 1 - - - - - -
`Denotes that the pitcher had a no-decision in the game and did not pick up a win or a save.

Box-Toppers picks the Blue Jays over the Cubs in the 2016 World Series

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Nationals' Max Scherzer tops players in Thursday, March 24's spring training games

Nationals pitcher Max Scherzer is Box-Toppers spring training Player of the Day for Thursday.

Scherzer allowed two runs over five innings, striking out nine and allowing three hits, in the 8-2 win over the Cardinals. Scherzer had 21.0 Box-Toppers points in 2015 with the Nationals, ranked fourth among National League pitchers. In 2014, he had 22.1 points with the Tigers, ranked second among American League pitchers. And in 2013, he had 18.1 points with the Tigers, ranked first among AL pitchers.

American League Player of the Day—Astros pitcher Dallas Keuchel pitched five scoreless innings, allowing three hits and striking out five, in the 8-5 win over the Mets. Keuchel led AL pitchers in Box-Toppers points in 2015 with 21.4, ranked fourth among all players.

Scherzer and Keuchel both had Box-Toppers game scores Thursday of +6.0, but Scherzer won overall Player of the Day on a tiebreaker—he had more strikeouts than Keuchel—9 vs. 5.

American League Batter of the Day—Justin Ruggiano of the Rangers hit a pair of two-run homers, going 2-for-3, in the 12-5 win over the Reds. Ruggiano had 2.0 Box-Toppers points in 2015 with the Dodgers. He also played with the Mariners in 2015.

National League Batter of the Day—Martin Maldonado of the Brewers hit a three-run homer and went 2-for-3, scoring twice, in the 9-2 win over the Royals. Maldonado had 1.5 Box-Toppers points in 2015 with the Brewers.

Maldonado had a Box-Toppers game score Thursday of +4.0, tied with Kris Bryant of the Cubs, who was Player of the Game in the 16-14 win over the Giants. But Maldonado won NL Batter of the Day honors on a tiebreaker because he had more home runs—1 vs. 0.

Scoring—No Box-Toppers points are awarded in spring training games, but if it were the regular season, Scherzer would earn 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day and Keuchel would earn 1.7 points for being AL Player of the Day. Ruggiano and Maldonado would each earn 1.5 points for being top batter in their league for the day. All of Thursday’s other Players of the Game (listed in the chart below) would earn 1.0 Box-Toppers point.

Note—Sixteen spring training games were scheduled for Thursday—14 are listed below. One game is not included because it ended in a tie (Dodgers vs. Indians) and one other game was postponed (Phillies vs. Braves).

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.

Top player from each game

Listed from highest to lowest Box-Toppers game score

3/24 Score Team Player AB R H BI BB K IP H R ER BB K
MLB 6.0 Nationals Max Scherzer (W, 1-0) - - - - - - 5.0 3 2 0 3 9
AL 6.0 Astros Dallas Keuchel (W, 1-0) - - - - - - 5.0 3 0 0 1 5
BAT 5.0 Rangers Justin Ruggiano LF 3 2 2 4 0 1 - - - - - -
5.0 Red Sox Joe Kelly (W, 1-0) - - - - - - 7.0 5 1 1 1 6
BAT 4.0 Brewers Martín Maldonado C 3 2 2 3 0 0 - - - - - -
4.0 Cubs Kris Bryant LF 3 2 2 3 1 0 - - - - - -
4.0 `Rangers Cesar Ramos - - - - - - 3.0 2 0 0 1 4
3.0 Twins Oswaldo Arcia DH 4 2 2 3 0 1 - - - - - -
3.0 Angels Cam Bedrosian (SV, 1) - - - - - - 1.0 0 0 0 0 2
2.0 Mariners Seth Smith DH 4 1 2 3 0 0 - - - - - -
2.0 Orioles Mark Trumbo RF 3 1 2 2 0 0 - - - - - -
2.0 Blue Jays Kevin Pillar CF 3 1 2 2 0 0 - - - - - -
2.0 Dbacks Jason Bourgeois CF 2 1 1 2 0 0 - - - - - -
1.0 Rays Steve Pearce 1B 4 1 3 1 0 1 - - - - - -
`Denotes that the pitcher had a no-decision in the game and did not pick up a win or a save.

Rays' Erasmo Ramirez top players in Wednesday, March 23's spring training games

Rays pitcher Erasmo Ramirez is Box-Toppers spring training Player of the Day for Wednesday.

Ramirez allowed one run and three hits over six innings, striking out eight, in the 5-2 win over the Twins. Ramirez had 7.0 Box-Toppers points in 2015.

National League Player of the Day—Nationals pitcher Stephen Strasburg pitched five scoreless innings, allowing six hits and striking out nine, in the 13-0 win over the Yankees. Strasburg had 14.0 Box-Toppers points in 2015, ranking 10th among NL batters. His best year was 2012, when he had 20.4 Box-Toppers points, second among NL pitchers.

American League Batter of the Day—Tyler Naquin of the Indians homered twice and doubled, going 3-for-3, scoring three times, in the 7-6 win over the Royals. Naquin has yet to make his regular season Major League debut and has no Box-Toppers points.

National League Batter of the Day—Jason Bourgeois of the Diamondbacks hit a three-run homer and went 2-for-3, in the 10-6 win over the Giants. Bourgeois had 0.0 Box-Toppers points in 2015 with the Reds. He has 1.0 career point, earned Sept. 17, 2010, with the Astros.

Scoring—No Box-Toppers points are awarded in spring training games, but if it were the regular season, Ramirez would earn 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day and Strasburg would earn 1.7 points for being NL Player of the Day. Naquin and Bourgeois would each earn 1.5 points for being top batter in their league for the day. All of Wednesday’s other Players of the Game (listed in the chart below) would 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.

Top player from each game

Listed from highest to lowest Box-Toppers game score

3/23 Score Team Player AB R H BI BB K IP H R ER BB K
MLB 9.0 Rays Erasmo Ramírez (W, 1-0) - - - - - - 6.0 3 1 1 0 8
NL 8.0 Nationals Stephen Strasburg (W, 1-0) - - - - - - 5.0 6 0 0 0 9
7.0 Rangers Derek Holland (W, 1-0) - - - - - - 5.0 4 0 0 1 7
7.0 `Cardinals Carlos Martínez - - - - - - 5.0 2 0 0 1 5
6.1 `Blue Jays Aarón Sánchez - - - - - - 6.1 4 0 0 0 4
BAT 5.0 Indians Tyler Naquin CF 3 3 3 2 2 0 - - - - - -
4.0 Athletics Jake Smolinski RF 3 2 1 4 1 2 - - - - - -
4.0 White Sox John Danks (W, 1-0) - - - - - - 6.0 7 0 0 1 6
BAT 3.0 Dbacks Jason Bourgeois RF 3 1 2 3 0 0 - - - - - -
3.0 Astros Ken Giles (SV, 1) - - - - - - 1.0 0 0 0 0 2
1.0 Pirates David Freese 3B 2 2 1 0 0 1 - - - - - -
`Denotes that the pitcher had a no-decision in the game and did not pick up a win or a save.

Marlins' Jose Fernandez tops players in Tuesday, March 22's spring training games

Marlins pitcher Jose Fernandez is Box-Toppers spring training Player of the Day for Tuesday.

Fernandez pitched five scoreless, no-hit innings, striking out four and walking one, in the 3-0 win over the Red Sox. Fernandez had 4.7 Box-Toppers points in 2015. His best season was his 2013 rookie year, when he had 19.0 Box-Toppers points, ranking fourth among all players.

American League Player of the Day—Jimmy Rollins of the White Sox hit a three-run homer and went 3-for-4, scoring three times, in the 8-7 win over the Giants. Rollins had 3.0 Box-Toppers points in 2015 with the Dodgers. He has 50.4 career points since 2001, which ranks third among active shortstops. His best year was 2007 with the Phillies when he had 4.7 points, fourth among NL shortstops.

National League Batter of the Day—Derek Norris of the Padres homered, doubled and went 2-for-4, scoring twice and driving in four runs, in the 17-5 win over the Rangers. Norris had 4.5 Box-Toppers points in 2015, his best season, when he ranked fourth among NL catchers.

Notable—James Loney of the Rays was Player of the Game in the 4-1 win over the Cuban National Team, in a game played in Havana, Cuba. Loney homered and went 2-for-2, driving in three runs. Loney had no Box-Toppers points in 2015, but has 32.4 career points since 2006. His best year was 2008 with the Dodgers, when he had 6.0 points.

Scoring—No Box-Toppers points are awarded in spring training games, but if it were the regular season, Fernandez would earn 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day, Rollins would earn 1.7 points for being AL Player of the Day and Norris would earn 1.5 points for being NL Batter of the Day. All of Tuesday’s other Players of the Game (listed in the chart below) would earn 1.0 Box-Toppers point.

Note—Fifteen spring training games were scheduled for Tuesday—13 are listed below. One game is not included because it ended in a tie (Giants vs. Diamondbacks) and one other game was cancelled (Angels vs. a non-Major League opponent).

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.

Top player from each game

Listed from highest to lowest Box-Toppers game score

3/22 Score Team Player AB R H BI BB K IP H R ER BB K
MLB 8.0 Marlins José Fernández (W, 1-0) - - - - - - 5.0 0 0 0 1 4
AL 5.0 White Sox Jimmy Rollins SS 4 3 3 3 0 1 - - - - - -
4.1 Royals Chris Young (W, 1-0) - - - - - - 4.1 0 1 1 3 5
BAT 4.0 Padres Derek Norris C 4 2 2 4 0 0 - - - - - -
4.0 *Rays James Loney 1B 2 1 2 3 0 0 - - - - - -
4.0 Blue Jays Ryan Goins 2B 2 2 2 2 1 0 - - - - - -
4.0 Twins Logan Darnell (W, 1-0) - - - - - - 2.0 0 0 0 0 2
3.0 Astros Carlos Correa SS 3 2 2 2 1 0 - - - - - -
3.0 Twins Daniel Palka DH 3 2 2 2 0 1 - - - - - -
3.0 Angels Geovany Soto PH-DH 1 1 1 2 1 0 - - - - - -
3.0 Rockies Christian Bergman (W, 1-0) - - - - - - 4.0 1 0 0 3 3
3.0 Cubs Trevor Cahill (SV, 1) - - - - - - 2.0 0 0 0 0 1
2.0 Yankees Didi Gregorius SS 3 2 2 1 0 0 - - - - - -
* Game was against a non-Major League opponent, Rays beat Cuban National Team, 4-1

Pirates' Juan Nicasio tops players in Monday, March 21's spring training games

Pirates pitcher Juan Nicasio is Box-Toppers spring training Player of the Day for Monday.

Nicasio pitched five scoreless innings, allowing five hits and striking out eight, in the 2-0 win over the Twins. Nicasio had 1.0 Box-Toppers point in 2015 with the Dodgers. His best year was 2013, when he had 7.7 points with the Rockies.

American League Player of the Day—Roberto Perez of the Indians doubled and went 2-for-2, scoring once and driving in two runs, in the 9-4 win over the White Sox. Perez had 1.5 Box-Toppers points in 2015 with the Indians.

National League Batter of the Day—Wil Myers of the Padres homered, doubled and went 2-for-3, driving in five runs, in the 8-5 win over the Reds. Myers had 3.0 Box-Toppers points in 2015 with the Padres.

American League Batter of the Day—There is no separate AL Batter of the Day for Monday because the overall AL Player of the Day is a batter, Roberto Perez.

Scoring—No Box-Toppers points are awarded in spring training games, but if it were the regular season, Nicasio would earn 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day, Perez would earn 1.7 points for being AL Player of the Day and Myers would earn 1.5 points for being AL Batter of the Day. All of Monday’s other Players of the Game (listed in the chart below) would 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.

Top player from each game

Listed from highest to lowest Box-Toppers game score

3/21 Score Team Player AB R H BI BB K IP H R ER BB K
MLB 6.0 Pirates Juan Nicasio (W, 1-0) - - - - - - 5.0 5 0 0 2 8
5.1 `Dbacks Patrick Corbin - - - - - - 5.1 5 1 0 1 7
BAT 5.0 Padres Wil Myers 1B 3 1 2 5 1 0 - - - - - -
4.0 Braves Nick Swisher 1B 2 2 2 2 2 0 - - - - - -
AL 3.0 Indians Roberto Pérez C 2 1 2 2 0 0 - - - - - -
3.0 Phillies Aaron Nola (W, 1-1) - - - - - - 6.0 2 1 1 2 3
3.0 Mariners Donn Roach (SV, 1) - - - - - - 3.0 3 0 0 0 3
2.2 `Marlins Jarred Cosart - - - - - - 3.2 3 0 0 2 4
2.0 Rockies Cristhian Adames 2B 4 2 2 2 0 0 - - - - - -
2.0 Red Sox Pablo Sandoval DH 3 1 2 2 1 0 - - - - - -
2.0 Brewers Yadiel Rivera SS 3 1 2 2 1 0 - - - - - -
2.0 Nationals Cutter Dykstra PR-2B 1 1 1 1 0 0 - - - - - -
1.0 Athletics Chris Coghlan 2B 3 1 1 2 1 0 - - - - - -
`Denotes that the pitcher had a no-decision in the game and did not pick up a win or a save.

Phillies' Jeremy Hellickson tops players in Sunday, March 20's spring training games

Phillies pitcher Jeremy Hellickson is Box-Toppers spring training Player of the Day for Sunday.

Hellickson pitched five scoreless innings, allowing no hits, three walks and striking out six in the 5-4 win over the Astros. Hellickson started the game, but the Phillies lost the lead after he exited, before regaining it in the seventh, so he did not earn the win. Hellickson had 5.0 Box-Toppers points in 2015 with the Diamondbacks.

American League Player of the Day—Yankees pitcher Bryan Mitchell pitched 2 2/3 innings of scoreless middle relief, allowing not hits and striking out two, in the 6-4 win over the Twins. Mitchell has appeared in 23 regular season games but has yet to earn a regular season Player of the Game honor, so has no Box-Toppers points.

National League Batter of the Day—Brandon Belt of the Giants hit a two-run homer and went 4-for-4, scoring twice and driving in four runs, in the 10-4 win over the Rockies. Belt had 1.5 Box-Toppers points in 2015 with the Giants.

American League Batter of the Day—Jose Ramirez of the Indians hit two homers and went 2-for-3, driving in three runs, in the 3-1 win over the Mariners. Ramirez hd 2.5 Box-Toppers points in 2015 with the Indians.

Scoring—No Box-Toppers points are awarded in spring training games, but if it were the regular season, Hellickson would earn 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day and Mitchell would earn 1.7 points for being AL Player of the Day. Belt and Ramirez would earn 1.5 points for being top batter in their league for the day. All of Sunday’s other Players of the Game (listed in the chart below) would earn 1.0 Box-Toppers point.

Note—Sixteen spring training games were scheduled for Sunday—15 are listed below. One game is not included because it ended in a tie (Rays vs. Orioles).

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.

Top player from each game

Listed from highest to lowest Box-Toppers game score

3/20 Score Team Player AB R H BI BB K IP H R ER BB K
MLB 8.0 `Phillies Jeremy Hellickson - - - - - - 5.0 0 0 0 3 6
BAT 6.0 Giants Brandon Belt 1B 4 2 4 4 0 0 - - - - - -
AL 4.2 Yankees Bryan Mitchell (W, 1-0) - - - - - - 2.2 0 0 0 0 2
4.1 White Sox Carson Fulmer (W, 1-0) - - - - - - 3.1 1 0 0 2 4
4.0 Padres Melvin Upton Jr. LF 3 2 2 3 0 0 - - - - - -
BAT 4.0 Indians José Ramírez 3B 3 2 2 3 1 0 - - - - - -
3.0 Brewers Colin Walsh 3B 4 2 4 1 0 0 - - - - - -
3.0 Dbacks Phil Gosselin 2B 2 1 1 3 1 0 - - - - - -
3.0 `Marlins David Phelps - - - - - - 3.0 2 1 1 1 5
2.0 Red Sox Chris Young RF 3 1 1 3 0 2 - - - - - -
2.0 Tigers Dominic Ficociello 1B 1 0 1 2 0 0 - - - - - -
2.0 Tigers Shane Greene (W, 1-0) - - - - - - 5.0 3 1 1 2 4
2.0 Angels Andrew Heaney (W, 1-0) - - - - - - 4.0 4 1 1 1 5
1.0 Blue Jays Troy Tulowitzki SS 3 1 1 2 0 1 - - - - - -
1.0 Cubs Jorge Soler LF 3 1 1 2 0 1 - - - - - -
`Denotes that the pitcher had a no-decision in the game and did not pick up a win or a save.

Diamondbacks' Zack Greinke tops players in Saturday, March 19's spring training games

Diamondbacks pitcher Zack Greinke is Box-Toppers spring training Player of the Day for Saturday.

Greinke pitched 5 2/3 scoreless innings, allowing four hits and striking out seven, in the 11-1 win over the Rangers. Greinke had 20.7 Box-Toppers points in 2015 with the Dodgers, fifth among National League pitchers. His 85.8 Box-Toppers points from 2011-2016 ranks third among NL pitchers over that span. And his 146.4 career Box-Toppers points ranks second among active NL pitchers, behind only Clayton Kershaw of the Dodgers (159.3).

American League Player of the Day—Albert Pujols of the Angels hit two home runs in the eighth inning and went 3-for-3, scoring twice and driving in four runs, in the 15-7 win over the Brewers. Pujols had 7.0 Box-Toppers points in 2015 with the Angels, 20th among AL batters. His 37.0 Box-Toppers points from 2011-2016 ranks seventh among AL batters over that span. And his 174.3 career Box-Toppers points ranks second among active AL batters, behind only Alex Rodriguez of the Yankees (187.0).

National League Batter of the Day—There is no NL Batter of the Day for Saturday because no NL batter earned Player of the Game honors.

American League Batter of the Day—There is no separate AL Batter of the Day for Saturday because AL Player of the Day was a batter, Albert Pujols.

Scoring—No Box-Toppers points are awarded in spring training games, but if it were the regular season, Greinke would earn 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day and Pujols would earn 1.7 points for being AL Player of the Day. All of Saturday’s other Players of the Game (listed in the chart below) would earn 1.0 Box-Toppers point.

Note—Seventeen spring training games were scheduled for Saturday—11 are listed below. One game is not included because it ended in a tie (Rockies vs. Padres). Five other games were cancelled.

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.

Top player from each game

Listed from highest to lowest Box-Toppers game score

3/19 Score Team Player AB R H BI BB K IP H R ER BB K
MLB 7.2 Dbacks Zack Greinke (W, 1-0) - - - - - - 5.2 4 0 0 1 7
AL 6.0 Angels Albert Pujols DH 3 2 3 4 0 0 - - - - - -
4.0 Rangers Drew Stubbs CF 3 2 2 3 0 1 - - - - - -
4.0 White Sox Tyler Saladino SS 2 1 2 3 0 0 - - - - - -
4.0 Athletics Danny Valencia 3B 2 2 2 2 1 0 - - - - - -
4.0 Dbacks Enrique Burgos (S, 2) 0 0 0 0 0 0 1.0 0 0 0 0 3
4.0 `Royals Joakim Soria - - - - - - 2.0 1 0 0 0 3
3.0 Red Sox Pablo Sandoval 3B 2 1 2 2 0 0 - - - - - -
3.0 Athletics Tyler Marincov LF 1 1 1 2 0 0 - - - - - -
3.0 Indians Robbie Grossman LF 1 1 1 2 1 0 - - - - - -
2.0 Yankees Michael Pineda (W, 1-0) - - - - - - 4.0 4 1 1 0 4
` Denotes that the pitcher had a no-decision in the game and did not pick up a win or a save.

White Sox' John Danks tops players in Friday, March 18's spring training games

White Sox pitcher John Danks is Box-Toppers spring training Player of the Day for Friday.

Danks pitched five scoreless innings, allowing one hit and striking out seven in the 3-2 win over the Cubs. Danks had 5.7 Box-Toppers points in 2015 with the White Sox. His best season was 2010 with the White Sox when he had 15.1 points, fifth among American League pitchers.

Danks had a Box-Toppers game score of +9.0, tied with Tigers pitcher Matt Boyd, who was Player of the Game in the 2-0 win over the Cardinals. While Danks and Boyd both had the same innings pitched (5.0) and same number of strikeouts (7), Danks won overall Player of the Day on a tiebreaker because he allowed fewer hits (1 vs. 2).

National League Player of the Day—Ryan Howard of the Phillies hit a grand slam and went 3-for-4, scoring twice and driving in five runs, in the 15-12 win over the Pirates. Howard had 5.5 Box-Toppers points with the Phillies in 2015. His 96.7 career Box-Toppers points ranks 75th among all players since 1995 (when Box-Toppers tracking began), 30th among all batters in that span, fourth among active first basemen and first among active NL first basemen.

American League Batter of the Day—Manny Machado of the Orioles doubled and went 3-for-4, scoring once and driving in four runs, in the 11-2 win over the Yankees. Machado had 7.5 Box-Toppers points with the Orioles in 2015, 18th among AL batters and fourth among AL third basemen.

National League Batter of the Day—There is no separate NL Batter of the Day for Friday because the NL Player of the Day was a batter, Ryan Howard.

Scoring—No Box-Toppers points are awarded in spring training games, but if it were the regular season, Danks would earn 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day, Howard would earn 1.7 points for being NL Player of the Day and Machado would earn 1.5 points for being AL Batter of the Day. All of Friday’s other Players of the Game (listed in the chart below) would earn 1.0 Box-Toppers point.

Note—Seventeen spring training games were scheduled for Friday—16 are listed below. One game is not included because it ended in a tie (Rockies vs. Angels).

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.

Top player from each game

Listed from highest to lowest Box-Toppers game score

3/18 Score Team Player AB R H BI BB K IP H R ER BB K
MLB 9.0 White Sox John Danks (W, 1-0) - - - - - - 5.0 1 0 0 2 7
9.0 Tigers Matt Boyd (W, 1-0) - - - - - - 5.0 2 0 0 1 7
NL 6.0 Phillies Ryan Howard 1B 4 2 3 5 0 0 - - - - - -
6.0 Giants Buster Posey C 3 3 3 3 1 0 - - - - - -
BAT 4.0 Orioles Manny Machado 3B 4 1 3 4 0 0 - - - - - -
4.0 Dbacks Welington Castillo C 1 1 1 3 1 0 - - - - - -
3.2 Mariners Nathan Karns (W, 1-0) - - - - - - 4.2 3 1 1 3 7
3.2 Blue Jays Aarón Sánchez (W, 1-0) - - - - - - 4.0 2 1 1 2 5
3.0 Nationals Michael A. Taylor CF 4 3 3 1 0 1 - - - - - -
3.0 Reds Adam Duvall 3B 3 1 3 2 1 0 - - - - - -
3.0 Rangers Lewis Brinson PR-CF 2 1 1 3 0 0 - - - - - -
3.0 Twins Buck Britton 2B 1 1 1 2 0 0 - - - - - -
3.0 Royals Frank Schwindel 1B 1 1 1 2 1 0 - - - - - -
2.0 Indians Joey Butler LF 4 1 1 4 1 0 - - - - - -
2.0 Rays Granden Goetzman PH-DH 1 1 1 1 0 0 - - - - - -
1.0 Braves Héctor Olivera PH 1 0 1 1 0 0 - - - - - -

Yankees' Luis Severino tops players in Thursday, March 17's spring training games

Yankees pitcher Luis Severino is Box-Toppers spring training Player of the Day for Thursday.

Severino pitched four scoreless innings, allowing two hits and striking out five, in the 7-2 win over the Pirates. Severino had 3.0 Box-Toppers points in 2015 with the Yankees.

National League Player of the Day—Travis d’Arnaud of the Mets doubled and went 2-for-2, scoring twice and driving in three runs, in the 6-5 win over the Marlins. d’Arnaud had 2.0 Box-Toppers points in 2015 with the Mets.

American League Batter of the Day—Sam Travis of the Red Sox hit a three-run homer and went 2-for-3, driving in four runs, in the 9-5 win over the Orioles. Travis has yet to make his regular season Major League debut and so has no Box-Toppers points.

National League Batter of the Day—There is no separate NL Batter of the Day for Thursday because the NL Player of the Day was a batter, Travis d’Arnaud.

Scoring—No Box-Toppers points are awarded in spring training games, but if it were the regular season, Severino would earn 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day, d’Arnaud would earn 1.7 points for being NL Player of the Day and Travis would earn 1.5 points for being AL Batter of the Day. All of Thursday’s other Players of the Game (listed in the chart below) would earn 1.0 Box-Toppers point.

Note—Seventeen spring training games were scheduled for Thursday—14 are listed below. Two games are not included because they ended in ties (Mariners vs. Athletics and Angels vs. Rockies) and one game was not included that featured a non-Major League team (Blue Jays vs. Canadian Junior Team).

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.

Top player from each game

Listed from highest to lowest Box-Toppers game score

3/17 Score Team Player AB R H BI BB K IP H R ER BB K
MLB 7.0 Yankees Luis Severino (W, 1-0) - - - - - - 4.0 2 0 0 0 5
5.2 `Rays Matt Moore - - - - - - 4.2 5 1 1 0 8
NL 5.0 Mets Travis d'Arnaud C 2 2 2 3 1 0 - - - - - -
5.0 Brewers Taylor Jungmann (W, 1-0) - - - - - - 4.0 1 0 0 1 3
BAT 4.0 Red Sox Sam Travis 1B 3 1 2 4 0 0 - - - - - -
4.0 Reds Jumbo Diaz (W, 1-0) - - - - - - 2.0 1 0 0 0 3
4.0 Orioles Dale Thayer (Sv, 1) - - - - - - 1.0 0 0 0 0 3
3.0 Cubs Jorge Soler LF 3 1 2 3 0 0 - - - - - -
3.0 Giants Brandon Belt 1B 2 2 2 1 1 0 - - - - - -
3.0 Nationals Chris Heisey PH-LF 2 1 1 3 0 1 - - - - - -
3.0 Astros Carlos Correa SS 2 2 1 2 1 1 - - - - - -
3.0 Tigers Mike Pelfrey (W, 1-0) - - - - - - 5.0 3 0 0 2 3
3.0 Royals Kris Medlen (W, 1-0) - - - - - - 4.0 3 1 1 0 4
2.1 Astros Will Harris (W, 1-0) - - - - - - 1.1 0 0 0 0 1
` Denotes that the pitcher had a no-decision in the game and did not pick up a win or a save.

Twins' Kyle Gibson tops players in Wednesday, March 16's spring training games

Twins pitcher Kyle Gibson is Box-Toppers spring training Player of the Day for Thursday.

Gibson pitched 3 1/3 innings, allowing one run on two hits and striking out seven, in the 9-4 win over the Red Sox. Gibson had 8.0 Box-Toppers points in 2015, 33rd among AL pitchers.

National League Player of the Day—Nationals pitcher Blake Treinen pitched two scoreless innings, allowing one hit and striking out four, in the 4-2 win over the Marlins. Treinen had 1.0 Box-Toppers point in 2015.

American League Batter of the Day—Gregorio Petit of the Angels homered and went 2-for-3, scoring twice and driving in three runs, in the 6-3 win over the Indians. Petit had 1.0 Box-Toppers point in 2015 with the Yankees.

National League Batter of the Day—Paul Goldschmidt of the Diamondbacks went 3-for-4, scoring twice and driving in two runs, in the 10-6 win over the Reds. Goldschmidt had 10.2 Box-Toppers points in 2015, fourth among NL batters.

Scoring—No Box-Toppers points are awarded in spring training games, but if it were the regular season, Gibson would earn 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day and Treinen would earn 1.7 points for being NL Player of the Day. Petit and Goldschmidt would earn 1.5 points for being top batter in their league for the day. All of Wednesday’s other Players of the Game (listed in the chart below) would earn 1.0 Box-Toppers point.

Note—Twelve spring training games were scheduled for Thursday—11 are listed below. One game is not include because it ended in a tie (Cardinals vs. Astros).

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.

Top player from each game

Listed from highest to lowest Box-Toppers game score

3/16 Score Team Player AB R H BI BB K IP H R ER BB K
MLB 5.1 Twins Kyle Gibson (W, 1-0) - - - - - - 3.1 2 1 1 1 7
5.0 Royals Chris Young (W, 1-0) - - - - - - 4.0 2 0 0 2 5
BAT 4.0 Angels Gregorio Petit SS 3 2 2 3 0 0 - - - - - -
4.0 Orioles Christian Walker 1B 1 1 1 3 0 0 - - - - - -
4.0 Tigers Jordan Zimmermann (W, 1-0) - - - - - - 3.0 2 0 0 0 3
NL 4.0 Nationals Blake Treinen (W, 1-0) - - - - - - 2.0 1 0 0 1 4
BAT 3.0 Dbacks Paul Goldschmidt 1B 4 2 3 2 0 0 - - - - - -
3.0 Mariners Leonys Martín CF 3 1 2 3 1 0 - - - - - -
2.0 Dodgers Shawn Zarraga C 2 1 2 1 0 0 - - - - - -
2.0 Brewers Ryan Braun LF 1 1 1 1 1 0 - - - - - -
2.0 Yankees Nathan Eovaldi (W, 1-0) - - - - - - 2.0 0 0 0 2 2

A look at how star players are trending over the long-term: Kershaw maintains his dominance, other stars rise and fall

Andrew McCutchen replaces Ryan Braun as leader among NL batters in six-year rolling Box-Toppers totals (2011-2016 vs. 2010-2015).

Read More

Tigers' Justin Verlander tops players in Tuesday, March 15's spring training games

Tigers pitcher Justin Verlander is Box-Toppers spring training Player of the Day for Tuesday.

Verlander pitched four scoreless innings, allowing one hit and striking out five, in the 10-6 win over the Braves. Verlander had 6.4 Box-Toppers points in 2015 and 4.0 in 2014. But he led American League pitchers in Box-Toppers points in both 2011 (24.4) and 2012 (24.8) and led all players in 2012.

National League Player of the Day—Mark Reynolds of the Rockies hit a three-run homer and went 2-for-2, scoring twice and driving in four runs, in the 6-2 win over the Athletics. Reynolds had 4.0 Box-Toppers points in 2015 with the Cardinals. His best season was 2011 with the Orioles, when he had 9.5 points, fifth among AL batters.

American League Batter of the Day—Matt Davidson of the White Sox hit two home runs, going 2-for-2 and driving in four runs, in the 8-6 win over the Dodgers. Davidson had no Box-Toppers points in 2015 or 2014. He had 2.0 Box-Toppers points in 2013 with the Diamondbacks.

National League Batter of the Day—There is no separate NL Batter of the Day for Tuesday because the NL Player of the Day was a batter, Mark Reynolds.

Scoring—No Box-Toppers points are awarded in spring training games, but if it were the regular season, Verlander would earn 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day, Reynolds would earn 1.7 points for being NL Player of the Day and Davidson would earn 1.5 points for being AL Batter of the Day. All of Tuesday’s other Players of the Game (listed in the chart below) would earn 1.0 Box-Toppers point.

Note—Twelve spring training games were scheduled for Thursday—10 are listed below. Two games are not included because they ended in ties (Orioles vs. Blue Jays and Mariners vs. Angels).

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.

Top player from each game

Listed from highest to lowest Box-Toppers game score

3/15 Score Team Player AB R H BI BB K IP H R ER BB K
MLB 8.0 Tigers Justin Verlander (W, 1-0) - - - - - - 4.0 1 0 0 0 5
BAT 6.0 White Sox Matt Davidson 3B 2 2 2 4 2 0 - - - - - -
NL 4.0 Rockies Mark Reynolds 1B 2 2 1 3 1 0 - - - - - -
4.0 Phillies Andrew Bailey (W, 1-0) - - - - - - 1.0 0 0 0 0 3
3.0 Rangers Joey Gallo 3B 2 1 2 2 0 0 - - - - - -
3.0 Cubs Kristopher Negron 3B 1 1 1 2 0 0 - - - - - -
2.0 Nationals Clint Robinson PH-1B 2 0 2 2 0 0 - - - - - -
2.0 Yankees César Puello RF 2 1 1 2 0 1 - - - - - -
2.0 Reds Juan Duran LF 1 0 1 2 0 0 - - - - - -
2.0 Mets LJ Mazzilli PH-DH 1 2 1 0 1 0 - - - - - -

Tigers' Shane Greene tops players in Monday, March 14's spring training games

Tigers pitcher Shane Greene is Box-Toppers spring training Player of the Day for Monday.

Greene pitched four scoreless innings, allowing four hits and striking out six, in the 9-2 win over the Mets and earned the save. Greene had 3.0 Box-Toppers points in 2015.

National League Player of the Day—Ryan Raburn of the Rockies doubled and went 3-for-4, driving in four runs, in the 6-4 win over the Mariners. Raburn had 2.0 Box-Toppers points in 2015.

American League Batter of the Day—Travis Snider of the Royals hit a three-run homer in the 9-3 win over the White Sox. Snider had no Box-Toppers points in 2015 when he played for the Orioles and the Pirates. In 2014, he had 6.2 Box-Toppers points with the Pirates.

Snider had a Box-Toppers game score Monday of 4.0, tied with Tyler Ladendorf of the Athletics, who was Player of the Game in the 10-3 win over the Giants. Snider and Ladendorf had identical batting lines Monday, but Snider won AL Batter of the Day on an infrequently used tiebreaker far down the list—his team won by fewer runs (six vs. seven).

National League Batter of the Day—There is no separate NL Batter of the Day for Monday because the NL Player of the Day was a batter, Ryan Raburn.

Scoring—No Box-Toppers points are awarded in spring training games, but if it were the regular season, Greene would earn 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day, Raburn would earn 1.7 points for being NL Player of the Day and Snider would earn 1.5 points for being AL Batter of the Day. All of Monday’s other Players of the Game (listed in the chart below) would earn 1.0 Box-Toppers point.

Note—Fourteen spring training games were scheduled for Monday—13 are listed below. One game is not included because it ended in a tie (Astros vs. Nationals).

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.

Top player from each game

Listed from highest to lowest Box-Toppers game score

3/14 Score Team Player AB R H BI BB K IP H R ER BB K
MLB 6.0 Tigers Shane Greene (SV, 1) - - - - - - 4.0 4 0 0 0 6
5.0 `Twins Tommy Milone - - - - - - 4.0 1 0 0 0 2
NL 4.0 Rockies Ryan Raburn RF 3 0 3 4 0 0 - - - - - -
BAT 4.0 Royals Travis Snider RF 1 1 1 3 0 0 - - - - - -
4.0 Athletics Tyler Ladendorf CF 1 1 1 3 0 0 - - - - - -
3.0 Dodgers Trayce Thompson CF 2 1 1 3 1 1 - - - - - -
3.0 Dbacks Phil Gosselin 3B 1 1 1 2 0 0 - - - - - -
3.0 Indians Corey Kluber (W, 1-0) - - - - - - 4.0 4 0 0 1 4
3.0 Braves Julio Teherán (W, 1-0) - - - - - - 4.0 2 0 0 0 1
2.0 Angels Johnny Giavotella 2B 3 1 2 2 0 0 - - - - - -
2.0 Padres Jabari Blash LF 2 1 1 2 1 1 - - - - - -
2.0 Orioles Paul Janish PR-SS 1 0 1 2 0 0 - - - - - -
2.0 Pirates Daniel Bard (SV, 1) - - - - - - 1.0 0 0 0 0 1
` Denotes that the pitcher had a no-decision in the game and did not pick up a win or a save.

Giants' Chris Heston top players in Sunday, March 13's spring training games

Giants pitcher Chris Heston is Box-Toppers spring training Player of the Day for Sunday.

Heston pitched four scoreless innings, allowing one hit and striking out four, in the 8-1 win over the Padres. Heston had 11.4 Box-Toppers points in 2015, 15th among National League pitchers.

American League Player of the Day—Blue Jays pitcher Aaron Sanchez pitched four scoreless innings, allowing one hit and one walk and striking out four, in the 6-1 win over the Rays. Sanchez had 2.0 Box-Toppers points in 2015.

American League Batter of the Day—Trevor Plouffe of the Twins hit a three-run homer and went 2-for-2, driving in four runs, in the 14-6 win over the Orioles. Plouffe had 3.0 Box-Toppers points in 2015.

National League Batter of the Day—Starling Marte of the Pirates hit a three-run homer and went 2-for-3, in the 9-5 win over the Tigers. Marte had 5.0 Box-Toppers points in 2015, 16th among NL outfielders.

Notable—Dodgers pitcher Clayton Kershaw was Player of the Game in the 6-4 win over the Rockies. Kershaw pitched five scoreless innings, allowing two hits and striking out three. Kershaw finished second in Box-Toppers points in 2015 with 25.7 (Cubs pitcher Jake Arrieta finished first with 29.1). Kershaw led NL pitchers in Box-Toppers points from 2011-2014 and led all players in 2011, 2013 and 2014.

Scoring—No Box-Toppers points are awarded in spring training games, but if it were the regular season, Heston would earn 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day and Sanchez would earn 1.7 points for being AL Player of the Day. Plouffe and Marte would earn 1.5 points for being top batter in their league for the day. All of Sunday’s other Players of the Game (listed in the chart below) would earn 1.0 Box-Toppers point.

Note—Sixteen spring training games were scheduled for Thursday—14 are listed below. Two games are not included because they ended in ties (Cardinals vs. Nationals and Cubs vs. Athletics).

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.

Top player from each game

Listed from highest to lowest Box-Toppers game score

3/13 Score Team Player AB R H BI BB K IP H R ER BB K
MLB 7.0 Giants Chris Heston (W, 1-0) - - - - - - 4.0 1 0 0 0 4
AL 6.0 Blue Jays Aaron Sanchez (W, 1-0) - - - - - - 4.0 1 0 0 1 4
BAT 5.0 Twins Trevor Plouffe 3B 2 1 2 4 1 0 - - - - - -
5.0 Dodgers Clayton Kershaw (W, 1-0) - - - - - - 5.0 2 0 0 1 3
5.0 Mets Matt Harvey (W, 1-0) - - - - - - 4.0 1 0 0 2 4
5.0 Brewers Zach Davies (W, 1-0) - - - - - - 3.0 0 0 0 0 2
4.0 Rays Hank Conger C 3 2 2 3 1 0 - - - - - -
4.0 Phillies Adam Morgan (W, 1-0) - - - - - - 4.0 1 0 0 1 2
3.0 Astros José Altuve DH 4 2 2 3 0 2 - - - - - -
BAT 3.0 Pirates Starling Marte LF 3 1 2 3 0 0 - - - - - -
3.0 Indians Trevor Bauer (W, 1-0) - - - - - - 4.0 2 1 1 0 3
2.0 Angels Johnny Giavotella 2B 3 1 1 3 0 0 - - - - - -
2.0 Reds Zack Cozart SS 2 1 1 2 0 1 - - - - - -
2.0 Dbacks Michael Freeman LF 1 1 1 1 0 0 - - - - - -