Max Scherzer leads top 100 players at midseason.
Read MoreNationals' Max Scherzer tops Box-Toppers player rankings at the All-Star break
Scherzer leads players in Box-Toppers points. Hernandez leads AL pitchers. Trout rises to lead AL batters. Frazier continues to lead NL batters.
Read MoreSt. Louis Cardinals maintain team Box-Toppers points lead at All-Star break
Redbirds remain top team six times in a row. Royals reclaim AL top spot. Mets were hottest team of recent days.
Read MoreCubs' Arrieta tops players for Sunday, July 12; Nationals' Scherzer regains Box-Toppers points lead
Cubs pitcher Jake Arrieta is Sunday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day and becomes the 12th player this season with 10 or more Box-Toppers points.
Also Sunday, Nationals pitcher Max Scherzer regained the Box-Toppers season points lead and also earned his 100th career Box-Toppers point. Plus, Athletics pitcher Sonny Gray rose to ninth place in Box-Toppers season player rankings.
Top 10 players
Here are the top 10 players in Box-Toppers points (BTP) for the 2015 season as of July 12.| Player | Pos | Team | BTP | |
| 1 | Scherzer, Max 2588 | pi sp | dc nl | 15.0 |
| 2 | Hernandez, Felix 2064 | pi sp | sea al | 14.4 |
| 3 | Sale, Chris 2806 | pi sp | chi al | 13.4 |
| 4 | deGrom, Jacob 3343 | pi sp | nym nl | 13.4 |
| 5 | Price, David 2593 | pi sp | det al | 13.1 |
| 6 | Archer, Chris 3194 | pi sp | tb al | 12.0 |
| 7 | Cole, Gerrit 3232 | pi sp | pit nl | 12.0 |
| 8 | Martinez, Carlos 3371 | pi sp | stl nl | 11.7 |
| 9 | Gray, Sonny 3259 | pi sp | hou al | 11.1 |
| 10 | Greinke, Zack 1871 | pi sp | lad nl | 11.0 |
Player of the Day—Arrieta pitched a two-hit complete game, allowing one run and striking out nine, in the 3-1 win over the White Sox.
Arrieta earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day, giving him 10.0 points for the season. He is the 12th player this season with 10.0 or more Box-Toppers points and ranks 13th among all players, seventh among National League pitchers.
American League Player of the Day—Athletics pitcher Sonny Gray pitched a complete game, two-hit shutout, striking out six, in the 2-0 win over the Indians.
Gray earns 1.7 Box-Toppers points for being AL Player of the Day, giving him 11.1 for the season. He is the 13th player this season with 10 or more Box-Toppers points and rises to ninth in season player rankings, fifth among AL pitchers.
National League Batter of the Day—Kirk Nieuwenhuis of the Mets hit three homers and drove in four runs in the 5-3 win over the Diamondbacks.
American League Batter of the Day—Omar Infante of the Royals doubled and went 3-for-4, scoring twice and driving in a run, in the 11-10 win over the Blue Jays.
Rankings—Nationals pitcher Max Scherzer regained the top spot in Box-Toppers player rankings Sunday after earning Player of the Game honors.
Scherzer (8.2IP 4H 2R 7K W in the 3-2 win over the Orioles) earns 1.0 Box-Toppers point, giving him 15.0 for the season. He passes Mariners pitcher Felix Hernandez (14.4 Box-Toppers points) for first place in Box-Toppers rankings. Scherzer previously led players in Box-Toppers points this season from June 26 to July 8, when he both took the lead from and lost the lead to Hernandez.
Scherzer also now has 100.0 career Box-Toppers points, becoming the 67th player with 100 since 1995, when Box-Toppers record keeping began. Scherzer ranks 67th among all players and trails 66th-place player Larry Walker (100.1).
Scoring—Arrieta earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day and Gray earns 1.7 Box-Toppers points for being AL Player of the Day. Nieuwenhuis and Infante each earn 1.5 Box-Toppers points for being their league’s Batter of the Day. All of Sunday’s other Players of the Game (listed in the chart below) 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
| 7/12 | Score | Team | Player | AB | R | H | BI | BB | K | IP | H | R | ER | BB | K | |
| MLB | 14.0 | Cubs | Jake Arrieta (W,10-5) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 9.0 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 9 | |
| AL | 12.0 | Athletics | Sonny Gray (W,10-3) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 9.0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 6 | |
| 7.2 | Nationals | Max Scherzer (W,10-7) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 8.2 | 4 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 7 | ||
| 7.2 | Padres | Tyson Ross (W,6-7) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 6.2 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 6 | ||
| 7.0 | Angels | Andrew Heaney (W,3-0) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 7.0 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 6 | ||
| BAT | 6.0 | Mets | Kirk Nieuwenhuis, CF | 4 | 3 | 3 | 4 | 0 | 1 | - | - | - | - | - | - | |
| 6.0 | Twins | Kyle Gibson (W,8-6) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 7.0 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 6 | ||
| 4.2 | Giants | Chris Heston (W,9-5) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 6.2 | 7 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 7 | ||
| 3.0 | Rockies | Charlie Blackmon, CF | 5 | 1 | 3 | 4 | 0 | 0 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 3.0 | Marlins | Justin Bour, 1B | 4 | 1 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 3.0 | Dodgers | Kenley Jansen (S,16) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 1.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | ||
| BAT | 2.0 | Royals | Omar Infante, 2B | 4 | 2 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | - | - | - | - | - | - | |
| 2.0 | Pirates | Gregory Polanco, RF | 4 | 1 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 1 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 2.0 | Yankees | Brian McCann, C | 4 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 2.0 | Rays | David DeJesus, LF | 3 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | - | - | - | - | - | - |
Brewers' Jungmann tops players for Saturday, July 11; White Sox' Sale rises to 3rd in Box-Toppers player rankings
Brewers pitcher Taylor Jungmann is Saturday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day.
Also Saturday, White Sox pitcher Chris Sale rose to third place in Box-Toppers season player rankings after earning Player of the Game honors. Plus, A.J. Burnett of the Pirates became the fifth pitcher this season to earn Player of the Game honors for batting and rose to 30th place in Box-Toppers points among all players since 1995.
Top 10 players
Here are the top 10 players in Box-Toppers points (BTP) for the 2015 season as of July 11.| Player | Pos | Team | BTP | |
| 1 | Hernandez, Felix 2064 | pi sp | sea al | 14.4 |
| 2 | Scherzer, Max 2588 | pi sp | dc nl | 14.0 |
| 3 | Sale, Chris 2806 | pi sp | chi al | 13.4 |
| 4 | deGrom, Jacob 3343 | pi sp | nym nl | 13.4 |
| 5 | Price, David 2593 | pi sp | det al | 13.1 |
| 6 | Archer, Chris 3194 | pi sp | tb al | 12.0 |
| 7 | Cole, Gerrit 3232 | pi sp | pit nl | 12.0 |
| 8 | Martinez, Carlos 3371 | pi sp | stl nl | 11.7 |
| 9 | Greinke, Zack 1871 | pi sp | lad nl | 11.0 |
| 10 | Keuchel, Dallas 3050 | pi sp | hou al | 10.7 |
Player of the Day—Jungmann pitched a complete game, allowing one run on three hits and striking out seven, in the 7-1 win over the Dodgers.
American League Player of the Day—Mariners pitcher Hisashi Iwakuma pitched eight scoreless innings, allowing three hits and striking out six, in the 5-0 win over the Angels.
Jungmann and Iwakuma both had Box-Toppers game scores of 9.0 Saturday, but Jungmann earned overall Player of the Day on a tiebreaker—he pitched nine innings, while Iwakuma pitched eight.
National League Batter of the Day—J.T. Realmuto of the Marlins homered, doubled and went 3-for-5, scoring twice and driving in four runs, in the 14-3 win over the Reds.
Realmuto had a Box-Toppers game score of 4.0, tied with Yangervis Solarte of the Padres, Player of the Game in the 6-5 win over the Rangers, but Solarte earned NL Batter of the Day honors on a tiebreaker—he had more at bats (five vs. three).
American League Batter of the Day—Josh Reddick of the Athletics doubled and went 2-for-2, scoring twice and driving in a run, in the 5-4 win over the Indians.
Reddick had a Box-Toppers game score of 3.0, tied with Danny Valencia of the Blue Jays, who was Player of the Game in the 6-2 win over the Royals, but Reddick earned AL Batter of the Day honors on a tiebreaker—he had more hits (two vs. one).
Rankings—White Sox pitcher Chris Sale rose to third place in Box-Toppers season player rankings after earning Player of the Game honors Saturday. Sale (7IP 6H R 10K W in the 5-1 win over the Cubs) earned 1.0 Box-Toppers point, giving him 13.4 for the season. He ranks second among AL pitchers, behind overall leader Felix Hernandez of the Mariners (14.4 Box-Toppers points).
Notable—A.J. Burnett of the Pirates became the fifth pitcher this season to earn Player of the Game honors for batting. Burnett (HR 1-1 R BI in the 6-5, 14-inning win over the Cardinals) also rose to 30th place among all players in Box-Toppers points since 1995, when Box-Toppers record keeping began. With his 1.0 Box-Toppers point earned Saturday, Burnett has 127.8 career points and passes Roy Oswalt (127.2 Box-Toppers points) on the “all-time” list. He trails 29th-place player, Vladimir Guerrero (128.3). Burnett has 6.0 Box-Toppers points this season and ranks 22nd among NL pitchers.
Saturday was the first time in Burnett’s career he earned Box-Toppers Player of the Game honors for batting. He made his Box-Toppers debut in 1999 and pitched for NL teams (where he was more likely to bat) all but six seasons.
Also notable—Mets pitcher Matt Harvey became the 11th player this season with 10 or more Box-Toppers points after earning Player of the Game honors. Harvey (7IP 5H 2R 9K W in the 4-2 win over the Diamondbacks) earned 1.0 Box-Toppers point, giving him 10.7 for the season. He ranks 11th among all players, sixth among NL pitchers. (Harvey also hit his first career home run in the win Saturday.)
Scoring—Jungmann earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day and Iwakuma earns 1.7 Box-Toppers points for being AL Player of the Day. Realmuto and Reddick each earn 1.5 Box-Toppers points for being their league’s Batter of the Day. All of Saturday’s other Players of the Game (listed in the chart below) 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
| 7/11 | Score | Team | Player | AB | R | H | BI | BB | K | IP | H | R | ER | BB | K | |
| MLB | 9.0 | Brewers | Taylor Jungmann (W,4-1) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 9.0 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 7 | |
| AL | 9.0 | Mariners | Hisashi Iwakuma (W,1-1) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 8.0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 6 | |
| 8.0 | White Sox | Chris Sale (W,8-4) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 7.0 | 6 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 10 | ||
| 5.2 | Rays | Jake Odorizzi (W,5-5) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 5.2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 5 | ||
| BAT | 4.0 | Marlins | J.T. Realmuto, C | 5 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 0 | 0 | - | - | - | - | - | - | |
| 4.0 | Padres | Yangervis Solarte, 3B | 3 | 3 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 0 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 3.0 | Nationals | Danny Espinosa, 2B | 4 | 2 | 2 | 3 | 0 | 1 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| BAT | 3.0 | Athletics | Josh Reddick, RF | 2 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | - | - | - | - | - | - | |
| 3.0 | Blue Jays | Danny Valencia, 3B | 2 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 1 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 3.0 | Mets | Matt Harvey (W,8-6) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 7.0 | 5 | 2 | 2 | 4 | 9 | ||
| 3.0 | `Rockies | Jorge De La Rosa | - | - | - | - | - | - | 6.0 | 4 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 7 | ||
| 2.0 | Giants | Brandon Crawford, SS | 4 | 2 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 2.0 | Twins | Aaron Hicks, CF | 3 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 1 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 2.0 | Pirates | A.J. Burnett, P | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 2.0 | Red Sox | Koji Uehara (S,22) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 1.0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | ||
| `Denotes that the pitcher had a no-decision in the game and did not pick up a win or a save. | ||||||||||||||||
Reds' Leake tops players for Friday, July 10; Angels' Trout regains Box-Toppers points lead among AL batters
Reds pitcher Mike Leake is Friday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day.
Also Friday, Mike Trout of the Angels earned American League Batter of the Day honors and regained the top spot among AL batters in season Box-Toppers points.
Top 10 players
Here are the top 10 players in Box-Toppers points (BTP) for the 2015 season as of July 10.| Player | Pos | Team | BTP | |
| 1 | Hernandez, Felix 2064 | pi sp | sea al | 14.4 |
| 2 | Scherzer, Max 2588 | pi sp | dc nl | 14.0 |
| 3 | deGrom, Jacob 3343 | pi sp | nym nl | 13.4 |
| 4 | Price, David 2593 | pi sp | det al | 13.1 |
| 5 | Sale, Chris 2806 | pi sp | chi al | 12.4 |
| 6 | Archer, Chris 3194 | pi sp | tb al | 12.0 |
| 7 | Cole, Gerrit 3232 | pi sp | pit nl | 12.0 |
| 8 | Martinez, Carlos 3371 | pi sp | stl nl | 11.7 |
| 9 | Greinke, Zack 1871 | pi sp | lad nl | 11.0 |
| 10 | Keuchel, Dallas 3050 | pi sp | hou al | 10.7 |
Player of the Day—Leake pitched eight scoreless innings, allowing three hits and striking out 10, in the 1-0 win over the Marlins.
American League Player of the Day—Indians pitcher Danny Salazar allowed one unearned run over 8 2/3 innings, striking out eight, in the 5-1 win over the Athletics.
National League Batter of the Day—Justin Maxwell of the Giants hit two doubles and a triple, going 4-for-4, scoring three times and driving in two runs, in the 15-2 win over the Phillies.
American League Batter of the Day—Mike Trout of the Angels hit two home runs and went 3-for-5, driving in four runs, in the 7-3 win over the Mariners.
Trout earns 1.5 Box-Toppers points for being AL Batter of the Day, giving him 9.0 for the season and regains the Box-Toppers points lead among AL batters, passing previous leader Lorenzo Cain of the Royals (8.2 Box-Toppers points). Trout’s 9.0 Box-Toppers points ranks 15th among all players this season.
Friday was the third straight day there was a change in Box-Toppers points leaders among AL batters. On Wednesday, Trout took the lead among AL batters with 7.5 Box-Toppers points, passing Prince Fielder of the Rangers (7.5 points). But on Thursday, Trout lost the lead when he was passed by Cain. Friday, Trout regained the lead as AL Batter of the Day.
Debut—Twins pitcher J.R. Graham made his Box-Toppers debut Friday, the first time in his career he earned Player of the Game honors. Graham (3IP 2H 0R 4K ND in the 8-6 win over the Tigers) made his Major League debut April 6 and was playing in his 24th career game. He is the 3,530th player to debut in Box-Toppers since record keeping began in 1995.
Scoring—Leake earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day and Salazar earns 1.7 Box-Toppers points for being AL Player of the Day. Maxwell and Trout each earn 1.5 Box-Toppers points for being their league’s Batter of the Day. All of Friday’s other Players of the Game (listed in the chart below) 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
| 7/10 | Score | Team | Player | AB | R | H | BI | BB | K | IP | H | R | ER | BB | K | |
| MLB | 14.0 | Reds | Mike Leake (W,6-5) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 8.0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 10 | |
| 13.0 | Mets | Noah Syndergaard (W,4-4) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 8.0 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 13 | ||
| AL | 9.2 | Indians | Danny Salazar (W,8-4) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 8.2 | 5 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 8 | |
| BAT | 5.0 | Giants | Justin Maxwell, LF | 4 | 3 | 4 | 2 | 1 | 0 | - | - | - | - | - | - | |
| 5.0 | `Twins | J.R. Graham | - | - | - | - | - | - | 3.0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | ||
| BAT | 4.0 | Angels | Mike Trout, CF | 5 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 0 | 0 | - | - | - | - | - | - | |
| 4.0 | Rays | Erasmo Ramirez (W,8-3) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 6.0 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 5 | ||
| 4.0 | `White Sox | Carlos Rodon | - | - | - | - | - | - | 6.0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 6 | ||
| 4.0 | Royals | Greg Holland (S,18) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 1.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | ||
| 3.2 | Yankees | Michael Pineda (W,9-5) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 6.2 | 7 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 6 | ||
| 3.1 | Rangers | Wandy Rodriguez (W,6-4) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 5.1 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 5 | ||
| 3.0 | Pirates | Neil Walker, 2B | 4 | 2 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 1 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 3.0 | Dodgers | Andre Ethier, PH | 1 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 2.0 | `Rockies | Gonzalez Germen | - | - | - | - | - | - | 3.0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | ||
| 1.0 | Orioles | Chris Parmelee, PH-1B | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| `Denotes that the pitcher had a no-decision in the game and did not pick up a win or a save. | ||||||||||||||||
Dodgers' Greinke tops players for Thursday, July 9; Mariners' Hernandez regains Box-Toppers points lead
Dodgers pitcher Zack Greinke is Thursday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day and rises to ninth in player rankings.
Top 10 players
Here are the top 10 players in Box-Toppers points (BTP) for the 2015 season as of July 9.| Player | Pos | Team | BTP | |
| 1 | Hernandez, Felix 2064 | pi sp | sea al | 14.4 |
| 2 | Scherzer, Max 2588 | pi sp | dc nl | 14.0 |
| 3 | deGrom, Jacob 3343 | pi sp | nym nl | 13.4 |
| 4 | Price, David 2593 | pi sp | det al | 13.1 |
| 5 | Sale, Chris 2806 | pi sp | chi al | 12.4 |
| 6 | Archer, Chris 3194 | pi sp | tb al | 12.0 |
| 7 | Cole, Gerrit 3232 | pi sp | pit nl | 12.0 |
| 8 | Martinez, Carlos 3371 | pi sp | stl nl | 11.7 |
| 9 | Greinke, Zack 1871 | pi sp | lad nl | 11.0 |
| 10 | Keuchel, Dallas 3050 | pi sp | hou al | 10.7 |
Also Thursday, Mariners pitcher Felix Hernandez rose to the top of Box-Toppers player rankings and two other players—David Price and Carlos Martinez—rose in the top 10 players list. Plus, Lorenzo Cain of the Royals earned American League Batter of the Day honors for the second straight day and now leads AL batters in Box-Toppers points for the season.
Player of the Day—Greinke pitched eight scoreless innings, allowing one hit and striking out eight, in the 6-0 win over the Phillies.
Greinke earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day, giving him 11.0 for the season and rises to ninth in Box-Toppers player rankings, fifth among National League pitchers. He is the 10th player this season with 10.0 or more Box-Toppers points.
Greinke also rose to 22nd place among all players in Box-Toppers points since 1995, when Box-Toppers record keeping began. With his 2.0 points Thursday, Greinke now has 136.7 career Box-Toppers points and passes Bartolo Colon (136.4) on the “all-time” list. He now trails 21st-ranked player Andy Pettitte (138.5). Greinke ranks 16th among all pitchers since 1995 and fifth among active pitchers.
American League Player of the Day—White Sox pitcher Jeff Samardzija pitched a complete-game, four-hit shutout, striking out five, in the 2-0 win over the Blue Jays.
American League Batter of the Day—Lorenzo Cain of the Royals hit a two-run homer and scored twice in the 8-3 win over the Rays.
Cain earns 1.5 Box-Toppers points for being AL Batter of the Day, giving him 8.2 for the season and moving him to first place among AL batters. He passes Mike Trout of the Angels (7.5 Box-Toppers points) who only rose to the top spot Wednesday. Cain ranks 20th among all players.
This was the second straight day Cain earned AL Batter of the Day honors—he was also the league’s top batter in the Royals win Wednesday over the Rays.
National League Batter of the Day—There is no NL Batter of the Day for Thursday because no NL batter earned Player of the Game honors.
Rankings—Mariners pitcher Felix Hernandez regained the top spot in Box-Toppers player rankings after earning Player of the Game honors Thursday.
Hernandez (7IP 5H 0R 6K W in the 7-2 win over the Angels) earns 1.0 Box-Toppers point, giving him 14.4 for the season. He passes previous leader, Nationals pitcher Max Scherzer (14.0 Box-Toppers points).
Hernandez led in Box-Toppers points for more than two months when Scherzer passed him on June 26 with 14.0 points.
Hernandez now has 157.7 career Box-Toppers points, maintaining his rank of 12th place among all players since 1995, when Box-Toppers record keeping began. He trails 11th-place player John Smoltz (160.9). Hernandez ranks ninth among pitchers since 1995 and second among active pitchers, behind CC Sabathia (175.3).
Also, two other players rose in Box-Toppers top 10 player rankings after earning Player of the Game honors Thursday:
- Tigers pitcher David Price rose to fourth place. Price (8IP 5H 2R 8K W in the 4-2 win over the Twins) earns 1.0 Box-Toppers point, giving him 13.1 for the season. He ranks second among AL pitchers, behind Hernandez.
- Cardinals pitcher Carlos Martinez rose to eighth place. Martinez (7.1IP 4H 0R 8K W in the 4-1 win over the Pirates) earns 1.0 Box-Toppers point, giving him 11.7 for the season. He ranks fourth among NL pitchers.
Notable—Marlins pitcher Jose Fernandez earned his first Player of the Game honor in more than a year after his return from Tommy John surgery. Fernandez (7IP 6H 0R 9K W in the 2-0 win over the Reds) last earned Player of the Game honors April 29, 2014, when he was Box-Toppers Player of the Day. At that point in the 2014 season, Fernandez had 7.0 Box-Toppers points to lead all players. But injury and the surgery cut his season short. Fernandez had 19.0 Box-Toppers points in 2013, ranked fourth among all players and fourth among NL pitchers.
Scoring—Greinke earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day and Samardzija earns 1.7 Box-Toppers points for being AL Player of the Day. Cain earns 1.5 Box-Toppers points for being AL Batter of the Day. All of Thursday’s other Players of the Game (listed in the chart below) 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.
(Note: Our usual Friday weekly team and player rankings reports will be postponed until Monday because of the All-Star break.)
Top player from each game
Listed from highest to lowest Box-Toppers game score
| 7/9 | Score | Team | Player | AB | R | H | BI | BB | K | IP | H | R | ER | BB | K | |
| MLB | 15.0 | Dodgers | Zack Greinke (W,8-2) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 8.0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 8 | |
| 10.0 | Marlins | Jose Fernandez (W,2-0) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 7.0 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 9 | ||
| 9.1 | Cardinals | Carlos Martinez (W,10-3) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 7.1 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 8 | ||
| AL | 9.0 | White Sox | Jeff Samardzija (W,6-4) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 9.0 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 5 | |
| 7.2 | Yankees | Masahiro Tanaka (W,5-3) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 7.2 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 6 | ||
| 6.0 | Tigers | David Price (W,9-2) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 8.0 | 5 | 2 | 0 | 3 | 8 | ||
| 6.0 | Mariners | Felix Hernandez (W,11-5) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 7.0 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 6 | ||
| 3.0 | Rockies | John Axford (S,15) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 1.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | ||
| BAT | 2.0 | Royals | Lorenzo Cain, CF | 3 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 1 | - | - | - | - | - | - | |
| 1.0 | Indians | Ryan Raburn, DH | 3 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | - | - | - | - | - | - |
Mets' deGrom tops players for Wednesday, July 8, rises to 3rd in player rankings; Trout rises to top AL batters in Box-Toppers points
Mets pitcher Jacob deGrom is Wednesday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day and rises to third place in Box-Toppers player rankings.
Top 10 players
Here are the top 10 players in Box-Toppers points (BTP) for the 2015 season as of July 8.| Player | Pos | Team | BTP | |
| 1 | Scherzer, Max 2588 | pi sp | dc nl | 14.0 |
| 2 | Hernandez, Felix 2064 | pi sp | sea al | 13.4 |
| 3 | deGrom, Jacob 3343 | pi sp | nym nl | 13.4 |
| 4 | Sale, Chris 2806 | pi sp | chi al | 12.4 |
| 5 | Price, David 2593 | pi sp | det al | 12.1 |
| 6 | Archer, Chris 3194 | pi sp | tb al | 12.0 |
| 7 | Cole, Gerrit 3232 | pi sp | pit nl | 12.0 |
| 8 | Keuchel, Dallas 3050 | pi sp | hou al | 10.7 |
| 9 | Martinez, Carlos 3371 | pi sp | stl nl | 10.7 |
| 10 | Cueto, Johnny 2400 | pi sp | cin nl | 9.8 |
Also Wednesday, Mike Trout of the Angels earned Player of the Game honors for the second straight day and now leads American League batters in Box-Toppers points for the season. Plus, two players with more than 100 career Box-Toppers points earned Player of the Game honors—Clayton Kershaw and David Ortiz.
Player of the Day—deGrom pitched eight scoreless innings, allowing two hits and striking out 10, in the 4-1 win over the Giants.
deGrom earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day, giving him 13.4 for the season, rising to third place in player rankings. He ranks second among National League pitchers behind overall leader Max Scherzer of the Nationals (14.0 Box-Toppers points).
American League Player of the Day—Indians pitcher Trevor Bauer struck out nine over eight innings, allowing two runs on six hits, in the 4-2 win over the Astros.
National League Batter of the Day—Carlos Gomez of the Brewers hit two home runs and went 2-for-3, driving in four runs, in the 6-5 win over the Braves.
American League Batter of the Day—Lorenzo Cain of the Royals homered, doubled and went 3-for-4, scoring twice and driving in three runs, in the 9-7 win over the Rays.
Rankings—Mike Trout of the Angels rose to top AL batters in Box-Toppers points for the season after earning Player of the Game honors for the second straight day Wednesday.
Trout (2HR 2-3 2R 2BI in the 3-2 win over the Rockies) earns 1.0 Box-Toppers point, giving him 7.5 for the season, rising to first place among AL batters. He passes previous leader Prince Fielder of the Rangers, who also has 7.5 Box-Toppers points, but Trout beats Fielder on a tiebreaker because he had more Box-Toppers points in 2014 (8.5 vs. 1.0). Trout ranks 27th among all players.
Trout was also Player of the Game in Tuesday’s win over the Rockies.
Streak—David Ortiz of the Red Sox has now earned Box-Toppers points for 16 straight seasons after earning Player of the Game honors Wednesday.
Ortiz (2-R HR 2B 2-4 2R 2BI in the 6-3 win over the Marlins) earns 1.0 Box-Toppers point, his first of the season.
Ortiz earned his first Box-Toppers point in 1997 with the Twins, but earned no points in 1999. His 16-year streak started in 2000 with the Twins. Ortiz has led American League batters in Box-Toppers points in two seasons, both with the Red Sox. In 2005, he had 14.7 Box-Toppers points and in 2006, his best season, he had 16.7 Box-Toppers points. In 2014, he had 7.0 Box-Toppers points with the Red Sox.
Ortiz has 134.4 career Box-Toppers points and ranks 24th among all players since 1995, when Box-Toppers record keeping began. He trails 23rd-place player Zack Greinke (134.7). Ortiz ranks seventh among all batters since 1995 and ranks third among active batters, behind Alex Rodriguez (185.3 Box-Toppers points) and Albert Pujols (171.3).
Notable—Dodgers pitcher Clayton Kershaw now has 142.6 career Box-Toppers points, 20th-most among players since 1995, after earning Player of the Game honors Wednesday.
Kershaw (CG 0R 8H 13K W in the 5-0 win over the Phillies) earns 1.0 Box-Toppers point, giving him 9.0 for the season, ranking seventh among NL pitchers this season.
Kershaw trails 19th-place player on Box-Toppers’ “all-time” list, Jim Thome (146.7 Box-Toppers points). Kershaw’s 142.6 career Box-Toppers points ranks 14th among pitchers since 1995 and fourth among active pitchers.
Debut—Jefry Marte of the Tigers made his Box-Toppers debut Wednesday, the first time in his career he earned Player of the Game honors. Marte (HR 2B 2-4 2R 2BI in the 5-4 win over the Mariners) made his Major League debut July 5 and was playing in his third career game. He is the 3,529th player to debut in Box-Toppers since record keeping began in 1995.
Scoring—deGrom earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day and Bauer earns 1.7 Box-Toppers points for being AL Player of the Day. Gomez and Cain each earn 1.5 Box-Toppers points for being their league’s Batter of the Day. All of Wednesday’s other Players of the Game (listed in the chart below) 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
| 7/8 | Score | Team | Player | AB | R | H | BI | BB | K | IP | H | R | ER | BB | K | |
| MLB | 15.0 | Mets | Jacob deGrom (W,9-6) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 8.0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 10 | |
| 14.0 | Dodgers | Clayton Kershaw (W,6-6) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 9.0 | 8 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 13 | ||
| AL | 7.0 | Indians | Trevor Bauer (W,8-5) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 8.0 | 6 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 9 | |
| BAT | 5.0 | Brewers | Carlos Gomez, CF | 3 | 2 | 2 | 4 | 1 | 1 | - | - | - | - | - | - | |
| BAT | 4.0 | Royals | Lorenzo Cain, CF | 4 | 2 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | - | - | - | - | - | - | |
| 4.0 | Pirates | Deolis Guerra (W,2-0) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 2.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | ||
| 3.0 | Dbacks | A.J. Pollock, CF | 4 | 2 | 2 | 3 | 1 | 0 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 3.0 | Yankees | Mark Teixeira, 1B | 3 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 1 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 3.0 | Angels | Mike Trout, CF | 3 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 0 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 3.0 | Twins | Tommy Milone (W,5-1) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 7.0 | 5 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 5 | ||
| 2.0 | Red Sox | David Ortiz, 1B | 4 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 1 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 2.0 | Tigers | Jefry Marte, 1B | 4 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 2.0 | White Sox | Adam Eaton, CF | 4 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 0 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 1.0 | Cardinals | Pete Kozma, PR-2B | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | - | - | - | - | - | - |
Reds' Johnny Cueto (CG 0R 2H 11K) tops players for Tuesday, July 7, rises to 10th in Box-Toppers player rankings
Reds pitcher Johnny Cueto is Tuesday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day and rises to 10th in player rankings.
Also Tuesday, Giants pitcher Matt Cain, who earned his first Box-Toppers Player of the Game honor of the season, has now earned Box-Toppers points for 11 straight seasons.
Top 10 players
Here are the top 10 players in Box-Toppers points (BTP) for the 2015 season as of July 7.| Player | Pos | Team | BTP | |
| 1 | Scherzer, Max 2588 | pi sp | dc nl | 14.0 |
| 2 | Hernandez, Felix 2064 | pi sp | sea al | 13.4 |
| 3 | Sale, Chris 2806 | pi sp | chi al | 12.4 |
| 4 | Price, David 2593 | pi sp | det al | 12.1 |
| 5 | Archer, Chris 3194 | pi sp | tb al | 12.0 |
| 6 | Cole, Gerrit 3232 | pi sp | pit nl | 12.0 |
| 7 | deGrom, Jacob 3343 | pi sp | nym nl | 11.4 |
| 8 | Keuchel, Dallas 3050 | pi sp | hou al | 10.7 |
| 9 | Martinez, Carlos 3371 | pi sp | stl nl | 10.7 |
| 10 | Cueto, Johnny 2400 | pi sp | cin nl | 9.8 |
Player of the Day—Cueto pitched a complete-game, two-hit shutout, striking out 11 and walking one, in the 5-0 win over the Nationals.
Cueto earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day, giving him 9.8 for the season, rising to 10th in Box-Toppers player rankings. He ranks fifth among National League pitchers.
American League Player of the Day—Indians pitcher Corey Kluber pitched 6 2/3 scoreless innings, allowing five hits and striking out seven, in the 2-0 win over the Astros.
American League Batter of the Day—Alex Gordon of the Royals doubled and went 4-for-4, driving in four runs, in the 7-1 win over the Rays.
National League Batter of the Day—Anthony Rizzo of the Cubs homered and went 2-for-3, scoring twice and driving in two runs, in the 7-4 win over the Cardinals.
Streak—Giants pitcher Matt Cain has now earned at least 1.0 Box-Toppers point for 11 straight seasons.
Cain was Player of the Game in Tuesday’s 3-0 win over the Mets (6IP 2H 0R 7K W) and earned 1.0 Box-Toppers point, his first of the season.
Cain earned his first Box-Toppers point in 2005 with the Giants. His best season was 2010 with the Giants, when he had 16.1 Box-Toppers points, seventh among NL pitchers. In 2014, he had 1.0 Box-Toppers point with the Giants.
Cain has 96.0 career Box-Toppers points and ranks 45th among all pitchers since 1995, when Box-Toppers record keeping began. His 96.0 career points ranks 15th among active NL pitchers.
Debut—Three players made their Box-Toppers debut Tuesday, the first time in their career they earned Player of the Game honors:
- Paulo Orlando of the Royals (HR 2-5 2R 4BI in the 9-5 win over the Rays) made his Major League debut April 19 and was playing in his 33rd career game. He is the 3,526th player to debut in Box-Toppers since record keeping began in 1995.
- Miguel Sano of the Twins (HR 2-3 R 3BI in the 8-3 win over the Orioles) made his Major League debut July 2 and was playing in his sixth career game. He is the 3,527th player to debut in Box-Toppers since record keeping began in 1995.
Cubs pitcher Dallas Beeler (5IP 4H 2R 6K ND in the 5-3 win over the Cardinals) made his Major League debut July 28, 2014, and was playing in his third career game. He is the 3,528th player to debut in Box-Toppers since record keeping began in 1995.
Scoring—Cueto earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day and Kluber earns 1.7 Box-Toppers points for being AL Player of the Day. Gordon and Rizzo each earn 1.5 Box-Toppers points for being their league’s Batter of the Day. All of Tuesday’s other Players of the Game (listed in the chart below) 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
| 7/7 | Score | Team | Player | AB | R | H | BI | BB | K | IP | H | R | ER | BB | K | |
| MLB | 17.0 | Reds | Johnny Cueto (W,6-5) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 9.0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 11 | |
| 9.0 | Giants | Matt Cain (W,1-1) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 6.0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 7 | ||
| AL | 6.2 | Indians | Corey Kluber (W,4-9) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 6.2 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 7 | |
| 4.2 | Dbacks | Robbie Ray (W,3-4) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 7.2 | 4 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 4 | ||
| 4.0 | Braves | Jason Grilli (S,24) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 1.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | ||
| 3.2 | Blue Jays | Felix Doubront (W,1-0) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 6.2 | 6 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 6 | ||
| BAT | 3.0 | Royals | Alex Gordon, LF | 5 | 0 | 4 | 4 | 0 | 0 | - | - | - | - | - | - | |
| 3.0 | Royals | Paulo Orlando, CF | 5 | 2 | 2 | 4 | 0 | 0 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 3.0 | Angels | Mike Trout, CF | 4 | 2 | 2 | 3 | 0 | 0 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 3.0 | Mariners | Austin Jackson, CF | 4 | 2 | 1 | 4 | 1 | 2 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 3.0 | Twins | Miguel Sano, DH | 3 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 1 | 0 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| BAT | 3.0 | Cubs | Anthony Rizzo, 1B | 3 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 1 | - | - | - | - | - | - | |
| 3.0 | Red Sox | Koji Uehara (S,20) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 1.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | ||
| 3.0 | `Pirates | Francisco Liriano | - | - | - | - | - | - | 6.0 | 4 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 6 | ||
| 2.0 | Phillies | Jeff Francoeur, LF | 5 | 2 | 2 | 3 | 0 | 1 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 2.0 | Athletics | Drew Pomeranz (W,3-3) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 2.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||
| 1.0 | `Cubs | Dallas Beeler | - | - | - | - | - | - | 5.0 | 4 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 6 | ||
| `Denotes that the pitcher had a no-decision in the game and did not pick up a win or a save. | ||||||||||||||||
Mets' Niese tops players for Monday, July 6; White Sox' Sale rises to 3rd in Box-Toppers player rankings
Mets pitcher Jonathon Niese is Monday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day.
Also Monday, White Sox pitcher Chris Sale rose to third place in Box-Toppers season player rankings after earning Player of the Game honors. Plus, two players with more than 100 career Box-Toppers points earned Player of the Game Monday—Pirates pitcher A.J. Burnett and Cardinals pitcher John Lackey.
Top 10 players
Here are the top 10 players in Box-Toppers points (BTP) for the 2015 season as of July 6.| Player | Pos | Team | BTP | |
| 1 | Scherzer, Max 2588 | pi sp | dc nl | 14.0 |
| 2 | Hernandez, Felix 2064 | pi sp | sea al | 13.4 |
| 3 | Sale, Chris 2806 | pi sp | chi al | 12.4 |
| 4 | Price, David 2593 | pi sp | det al | 12.1 |
| 5 | Archer, Chris 3194 | pi sp | tb al | 12.0 |
| 6 | Cole, Gerrit 3232 | pi sp | pit nl | 12.0 |
| 7 | deGrom, Jacob 3343 | pi sp | nym nl | 11.4 |
| 8 | Keuchel, Dallas 3050 | pi sp | hou al | 10.7 |
| 9 | Martinez, Carlos 3371 | pi sp | stl nl | 10.7 |
| 10 | Harvey, Matt 3075 | pi sp | nym nl | 9.7 |
Player of the Day—Niese pitched eight scoreless innings, allowing three hits and striking out four, in the 3-0 win over the Giants.
American League Player of the Day—Nick Castellanos of the Tigers homered and went 4-for-5, scoring twice and driving in four runs, in the 12-5 win over the Mariners.
National League Batter of the Day—Howie Kendrick of the Dodgers tripled, doubled and went 4-for-5, scoring twice and driving in a run, in the 10-7 win over the Phillies.
American League Batter of the Day—There is no separate AL Batter of the Day Monday since the overall AL Player of the Day was a batter (Nick Castellanos).
Rankings—White Sox pitcher Chris Sale rose to third place in Box-Toppers player rankings after earning Player of the Game honors Monday. Sale (CG 6H 2R 6K W in the 4-2 win over the Blue Jays) earns 1.0 Box-Toppers point, giving him 12.4 for the season. He ranks second among AL pitchers, behind Felix Hernandez of the Mariners (13.4).
Notable—Two pitchers with more than 100 career Box-Toppers points earned Player of the Game honors Monday:
- A.J. Burnett of the Pirates rose to 31st place among players in Box-Toppers points since 1995, when Box-Toppers record keeping began. Burnett (7.2IP 5H R 4K ND in the 2-1 win over the Padres) earned 1.0 Box-Toppers point, giving him 126.8 for his career. With his point, he passes Mariano Rivera (126.4) on the “all-time” list and now trails 30th-place player Roy Oswalt (127.2). Burnett has 5.0 Box-Toppers points on the season, 27th among NL pitchers.
- John Lackey of the Cardinals (7IP 6H 0R 4K in the 6-0 win over the Cubs) earned 1.0 Box-Toppers point, giving him 103.8 for his career. He maintains his spot in 57th place among players in Box-Toppers points since 1995, when record keeping began. He trails 56th-place player Jamie Moyer (104.0). Lackey has 5.7 Box-Toppers points on the season, ranking 21st among NL pitchers.
Debut—Preston Tucker of the Astros made his Box-Toppers debut Monday, the first time in his career he earned Player of the Game honors. Tucker (HR 2B 4-5 2R 2BI in the 9-4 win over the Indians) made his Major League debut May 7 and was playing in his 48th career game. He is the 3,525th player to debut in Box-Toppers since record keeping began in 1995.
Scoring—Niese earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day and Castellanos earns 1.7 Box-Toppers points for being AL Player of the Day. Kendrick earns 1.5 Box-Toppers points for being NL Batter of the Day. All of Monday’s other Players of the Game (listed in the chart below) 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
| 7/6 | Score | Team | Player | AB | R | H | BI | BB | K | IP | H | R | ER | BB | K | |
| MLB | 7.0 | Mets | Jonathon Niese (W, 4-8) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 8.0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 4 | |
| AL | 5.0 | Tigers | Nick Castellanos 3B | 5 | 2 | 4 | 4 | 0 | 0 | - | - | - | - | - | - | |
| 5.0 | White Sox | Chris Sale (W, 7-4) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 9.0 | 6 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 6 | ||
| 4.0 | Cardinals | John Lackey (W, 7-5) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 7.0 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 4 | ||
| 3.0 | Astros | Preston Tucker RF | 5 | 2 | 4 | 2 | 0 | 0 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 3.0 | `Twins | Glen Perkins | - | - | - | - | - | - | 1.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | ||
| BAT | 2.0 | Dodgers | Howie Kendrick 2B | 5 | 2 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 0 | - | - | - | - | - | - | |
| 2.0 | Reds | Eugenio Suarez SS | 4 | 1 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 0 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 2.0 | Braves | Kelly Johnson 1B | 4 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 1 | 0 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 1.2 | `Pirates | A.J. Burnett | - | - | - | - | - | - | 7.2 | 5 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 4 | ||
| `Denotes that the pitcher had a no-decision in the game and did not pick up a win or a save. | ||||||||||||||||
Mets' Steven Matz (6IP 0R 8K) tops players for Sunday, July 5
Mets pitcher Steven Matz is Sunday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day.
Also Sunday, Phillies pitcher Cole Hamels rose to 36th place among all players in Box-Toppers points since 1995, when record keeping began.
Top 10 players
Here are the top 10 players in Box-Toppers points (BTP) for the 2015 season as of July 5.| Player | Pos | Team | BTP | |
| 1 | Scherzer, Max 2588 | pi sp | dc nl | 14.0 |
| 2 | Hernandez, Felix 2064 | pi sp | sea al | 13.4 |
| 3 | Price, David 2593 | pi sp | det al | 12.1 |
| 4 | Archer, Chris 3194 | pi sp | tb al | 12.0 |
| 5 | Cole, Gerrit 3232 | pi sp | pit nl | 12.0 |
| 6 | Sale, Chris 2806 | pi sp | chi al | 11.4 |
| 7 | deGrom, Jacob 3343 | pi sp | nym nl | 11.4 |
| 8 | Keuchel, Dallas 3050 | pi sp | hou al | 10.7 |
| 9 | Martinez, Carlos 3371 | pi sp | stl nl | 10.7 |
| 10 | Harvey, Matt 3075 | pi sp | nym nl | 9.7 |
Player of the Day—Matz pitched six scoreless innings, striking out eight and allowing two hits, in the 8-0 win over the Dodgers.
American League Player of the Day—Kole Calhoun of the Angels hit a three-run homer and went 2-for-5, scoring twice and driving in four runs, in the 12-6 win over the Rangers.
National League Batter of the Day—Carlos Gonzalez of the Rockies homered and went 3-for-4, scoring twice and driving in two runs, in the 6-4 win over the Diamondbacks.
American League Batter of the Day—There is no separate AL Batter of the Day for Sunday because the overall AL Player of the Day was a batter (Kole Calhoun).
Notable—Phillies pitcher Cole Hamels rose to 36th place in Box-Toppers points among players since 1995 after earning Player of the Game honors Sunday.
Hamels (7IP 0R 6H 6K ND in the 4-0, 10-inning win over the Braves) earns 1.0 Box-Toppers point, giving him 118.8 for his career. With his point Sunday, he passes Justin Verlander (118.2) on the “all-time” list and now trails 34th-place player Cliff Lee (119.1). Hamels ranks 25th among all pitchers since 1995 and 12th among active pitchers.
Hamels also has the highest Box-Toppers season player ranking of any of the 15 who earned Player of the Game honors Sunday. Hamels has 8.0 Box-Toppers points on the season and ranks 18th among all players, 10th among NL pitchers.
Debut—Curt Casali of the Rays made his Box-Toppers debut Sunday, the first time in his career he earned Player of the Game honors. Casali (2B 1-2 R BI in the 8-1 win over the Yankees) made his Major League debut July 18, 2014, and was playing in his 40th career game. He is the 3,524th player to debut in Box-Toppers since record keeping began in 1995.
Scoring—Matz earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day and Calhoun earns 1.7 Box-Toppers points for being AL Player of the Day. Gonzalez earns 1.5 Box-Toppers points for being NL Batter of the Day. All of Sunday’s other Players of the Game (listed in the chart below) 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
| 7/5 | Score | Team | Player | AB | R | H | BI | BB | K | IP | H | R | ER | BB | K | |
| MLB | 10.0 | Mets | Steven Matz (W, 2-0) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 6.0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 8 | |
| 9.0 | Nationals | Jordan Zimmermann (W, 7-5) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 7.0 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 8 | ||
| 8.0 | Cardinals | Lance Lynn (W, 6-4) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 7.0 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 8 | ||
| 7.1 | Cubs | Kyle Hendricks (W, 4-4) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 7.0 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 6 | ||
| 7.0 | `Phillies | Cole Hamels | - | - | - | - | - | - | 7.0 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6 | ||
| 4.0 | Brewers | Taylor Jungmann (W, 3-1) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 8.0 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 4 | ||
| AL | 3.0 | Angels | Kole Calhoun RF | 5 | 2 | 2 | 4 | 0 | 0 | - | - | - | - | - | - | |
| BAT | 3.0 | Rockies | Carlos Gonzalez RF | 4 | 2 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 0 | - | - | - | - | - | - | |
| 3.0 | Blue Jays | Devon Travis 2B | 3 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 1 | 1 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 3.0 | `Red Sox | Eduardo Rodriguez | - | - | - | - | - | - | 5.0 | 6 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 8 | ||
| 2.0 | Orioles | Steve Pearce 1B RF | 4 | 2 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 0 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 2.0 | Rays | Curt Casali C | 2 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 0 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 2.0 | Pirates | Mark Melancon (S, 27) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 1.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | ||
| 1.0 | Royals | Alex Gordon LF | 2 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 1.0 | Mariners | Seth Smith RF | 2 | 0 | 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. | ||||||||||||||||
Pirates' Locke tops players for Saturday, July 4; Tigers' Price rises to 3rd in Box-Toppers player rankings
Pirates pitcher Jeff Locke is Saturday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day.
Also Saturday, Tigers pitcher David Price rose to third place in Box-Toppers player rankings and Joe Mauer of the Twins earned a Box-Toppers point for his 12th straight season.
Top 10 players
Here are the top 10 players in Box-Toppers points (BTP) for the 2015 season as of July 4.| Player | Pos | Team | BTP | |
| 1 | Scherzer, Max 2588 | pi sp | dc nl | 14.0 |
| 2 | Hernandez, Felix 2064 | pi sp | sea al | 13.4 |
| 3 | Price, David 2593 | pi sp | det al | 12.1 |
| 4 | Archer, Chris 3194 | pi sp | tb al | 12.0 |
| 5 | Cole, Gerrit 3232 | pi sp | pit nl | 12.0 |
| 6 | Sale, Chris 2806 | pi sp | chi al | 11.4 |
| 7 | deGrom, Jacob 3343 | pi sp | nym nl | 11.4 |
| 8 | Keuchel, Dallas 3050 | pi sp | hou al | 10.7 |
| 9 | Martinez, Carlos 3371 | pi sp | stl nl | 10.7 |
| 10 | Harvey, Matt 3075 | pi sp | nym nl | 9.7 |
Player of the Day—Locke pitched eight scoreless innings, allowing two hits and striking out six, in the 1-0 win over the Indians.
American League Player of the Day—Yankees pitcher Michael Pineda pitched seven scoreless innings, striking out 10, in the 3-2 win over the Rays. Pineda did not earn the win, picking up a no-decision, because after he exited, the Rays tied the game 2-2.
American League Batter of the Day—C.J. Cron of the Angels homered and went 3-for-4, driving in six runs, in the 13-0 win over the Rangers.
National League Batter of the Day—Kris Bryant of the Cubs hit two home runs, including a grand slam and drove in six total runs, in the 7-2 win over the Marlins.
Rankings—Tigers pitcher David Price rose to third place in Box-Toppers player rankings for the season after earning Player of the Game honors Saturday. Price (7IP 8H R 7K W in the 8-3 win over the Blue Jays) earns 1.0 Box-Toppers point, giving him 12.1 for the season. He ranks second among AL pitchers, behind Felix Hernandez of the Mariners (13.4).
Streak—Joe Mauer of the Twins has now earned at least 1.0 Box-Toppers point for 12 straight seasons after earning Player of the Game honors Saturday. Mauer (HR 4-5 2R 2BI in the 5-3 win over the Royals) earns 1.0 Box-Toppers point, his first of the season.
Mauer earned his first Box-Toppers point in 2004 with the Twins. His best season was 2008 with the Twins, when he had 9.5 Box-Toppers points, eighth among AL batters. In 2014, he had 5.0 Box-Toppers points.
Mauer has 67.6 career Box-Toppers points, fourth-most among active AL first basemen. Mauer spent most of his career as a regular catcher and if he were considered a catcher in ranking his career points, he would finish ahead of the current active AL catcher in career points, Brian McCann of the Yankees (50.7 Box-Toppers points).
Notable—Dodgers pitcher Zack Grienke now has 134.7 career Box-Toppers points after earning Player of the Game honors Sunday. Grienke (7IP 4H 0R 4K W in the 4-3 win over the Mets) maintains his spot in 23rd place in Box-Toppers points among all players since 1995, when Box-Toppers record keeping began. He now has 9.0 Box-Toppers points for the season, sixth among NL pitchers.
Also notable—Cliff Pennington of the Diamondbacks earned Player of the Game honors Saturday for the second straight day. Pennington (PH 1-1 R BI in the 7-3 win over the Rockies) was also Player of the Game in the Diamondback’s win Friday.
Scoring—Locke earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day and Pineda earns 1.7 Box-Toppers points for being AL Player of the Day. Cron and Bryant each earn 1.5 Box-Toppers points for being their league’s Batter of the Day. All of Saturday’s other Players of the Game (listed in the chart below) 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
| 7/4 | Score | Team | Player | AB | R | H | BI | BB | K | IP | H | R | ER | BB | K | |
| MLB | 12.0 | Pirates | Jeff Locke (W, 5-4) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 8.0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6 | |
| AL | 11.0 | `Yankees | Michael Pineda | - | - | - | - | - | - | 7.0 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 10 | |
| 9.2 | `White Sox | Jeff Samardzija | - | - | - | - | - | - | 7.2 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 9 | ||
| 9.0 | Red Sox | Clay Buchholz (W, 7-6) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 9.0 | 6 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 8 | ||
| 7.0 | Dodgers | Zack Greinke (W, 7-2) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 7.0 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | ||
| BAT | 6.0 | Angels | C.J. Cron DH | 4 | 1 | 3 | 6 | 0 | 0 | - | - | - | - | - | - | |
| BAT | 6.0 | Cubs | Kris Bryant 3B | 4 | 2 | 2 | 6 | 0 | 1 | - | - | - | - | - | - | |
| 3.2 | `Nationals | Stephen Strasburg | - | - | - | - | - | - | 3.2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 3 | ||
| 3.0 | Twins | Joe Mauer 1B | 5 | 2 | 4 | 2 | 0 | 1 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 3.0 | Braves | Cameron Maybin CF | 5 | 3 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 0 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 3.0 | Tigers | David Price (W, 8-2) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 7.0 | 8 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 7 | ||
| 2.0 | Brewers | Adam Lind 1B | 3 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 1 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 2.0 | Dbacks | Cliff Pennington PH | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 2.0 | Athletics | Kendall Graveman (W, 6-4) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 7.0 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | ||
| 1.0 | Cardinals | Seth Maness (W, 3-0) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 1.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||
| `Denotes that the pitcher had a no-decision in the game and did not pick up a win or a save. | ||||||||||||||||
Nationals' Gio Gonzalez (7IP R 2H 6K) tops players for Friday, July 3
Nationals pitcher Gio Gonzalez is Friday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day.
Gonzalez struck out six over seven innings, allowing one run on two hits, in the 2-1 win over the Giants.
American League Player of the Day—White Sox pitcher John Danks pitched seven scoreless innings, striking out five, in the 1-0 win over the Orioles.
Top 10 players
Here are the top 10 players in Box-Toppers points (BTP) for the 2015 season as of July 3.| Player | Pos | Team | BTP | |
| 1 | Scherzer, Max 2588 | pi sp | dc nl | 14.0 |
| 2 | Hernandez, Felix 2064 | pi sp | sea al | 13.4 |
| 3 | Archer, Chris 3194 | pi sp | tb al | 12.0 |
| 4 | Cole, Gerrit 3232 | pi sp | pit nl | 12.0 |
| 5 | Sale, Chris 2806 | pi sp | chi al | 11.4 |
| 6 | deGrom, Jacob 3343 | pi sp | nym nl | 11.4 |
| 7 | Price, David 2593 | pi sp | det al | 11.1 |
| 8 | Keuchel, Dallas 3050 | pi sp | hou al | 10.7 |
| 9 | Martinez, Carlos 3371 | pi sp | stl nl | 10.7 |
| 10 | Harvey, Matt 3075 | pi sp | nym nl | 9.7 |
National League Batter of the Day—Carlos Gomez of the Brewers hit a grand slam and went 3-for-5, scoring twice and driving in five runs, in the 12-1 win over the Reds.
American League Batter of the Day—Mark Teixeira of the Yankees hit a three-run homer and went 2-for-5, scoring twice and driving in four runs, in the 7-5 win over the Rays.
Notable—Angels pitcher Garrett Richards has the highest Box-Toppers player ranking of any of the 15 who earned Player of the Game honors Friday. Richards (7.2IP 6H R 6K W in the 8-2 win over the Rangers) earns 1.0 Box-Toppers point, giving him 7.0 for the season. He ranks 26th among all players and 11th among AL pitchers.
Scoring—Gonzalez earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day and Danks earns 1.7 Box-Toppers points for being AL Player of the Day. Gomez and Teixeira each earn 1.5 Box-Toppers points for being their league’s Batter of the Day. All of Friday’s other Players of the Game (listed in the chart below) 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
| 7/3 | Score | Team | Player | AB | R | H | BI | BB | K | IP | H | R | ER | BB | K | |
| MLB | 6.0 | Nationals | Gio Gonzalez (W, 6-4) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 7.0 | 5 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 6 | |
| 6.0 | `Mets | Noah Syndergaard | - | - | - | - | - | - | 6.0 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 6 | ||
| BAT | 5.0 | Brewers | Carlos Gomez CF | 5 | 2 | 3 | 5 | 0 | 0 | - | - | - | - | - | - | |
| AL | 5.0 | White Sox | John Danks (W, 4-8) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 7.0 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 5 | |
| 4.2 | Angels | Garrett Richards (W, 9-5) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 7.2 | 6 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 6 | ||
| BAT | 3.0 | Yankees | Mark Teixeira 1B | 5 | 2 | 2 | 4 | 1 | 3 | - | - | - | - | - | - | |
| 2.0 | Astros | Jose Altuve 2B | 5 | 2 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 0 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 2.0 | Royals | Lorenzo Cain CF | 4 | 2 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 0 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 2.0 | Indians | Michael Bourn CF | 3 | 0 | 2 | 3 | 1 | 0 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 2.0 | Marlins | Tom Koehler (W, 7-4) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 6.0 | 5 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 4 | ||
| 2.0 | Padres | Joaquin Benoit (W, 5-3) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 1.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | ||
| 2.0 | Tigers | Joakim Soria (S, 18) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 1.0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | ||
| 1.0 | Mariners | Brad Miller SS | 4 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 0.0 | Dbacks | Cliff Pennington SS-3B | 4 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 1 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 0.0 | Braves | Jonny Gomes LF | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 2 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| `Denotes that the pitcher had a no-decision in the game and did not pick up a win or a save. | ||||||||||||||||
Tigers' Max Scherzer rises to top Box-Toppers weekly player rankings
Scherzer passes 10-week leader Felix Hernandez. Fielder leads AL batters, Frazier leads NL batters.
Read MoreA look at determining Box-Toppers midseason 2015 All-Star teams
Looking at Box-Toppers points leaders over three time spans (2015, 2014-15 and 2010-15) and selecting AL & NL All-Star teams.
Read MoreSt. Louis Cardinals remain Box-Toppers top-ranked team for fifth straight week
Cards perched atop team rankings for 5th week. Astros maintain AL lead. Brewers are hot team of the week.
Read MoreAthletics' Scott Kazmir (8IP 0R 7K) tops players for Thursday, July 2
Athletics pitcher Scott Kazmir is Thursday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day.
Kazmir pitched eight scoreless innings, allowing two hits and striking out seven, in the 4-0 win over the Mariners.
Top 10 players
Here are the top 10 players in Box-Toppers points (BTP) for the 2015 season as of July 2.| Player | Pos | Team | BTP | |
| 1 | Scherzer, Max 2588 | pi sp | dc nl | 14.0 |
| 2 | Hernandez, Felix 2064 | pi sp | sea al | 13.4 |
| 3 | Archer, Chris 3194 | pi sp | tb al | 12.0 |
| 4 | Cole, Gerrit 3232 | pi sp | pit nl | 12.0 |
| 5 | Sale, Chris 2806 | pi sp | chi al | 11.4 |
| 6 | deGrom, Jacob 3343 | pi sp | nym nl | 11.4 |
| 7 | Price, David 2593 | pi sp | det al | 11.1 |
| 8 | Keuchel, Dallas 3050 | pi sp | hou al | 10.7 |
| 9 | Martinez, Carlos 3371 | pi sp | stl nl | 10.7 |
| 10 | Harvey, Matt 3075 | pi sp | nym nl | 9.7 |
Kazmir also has the highest Box-Toppers player ranking of any of the 12 who earned Player of the Game honors Thursday. Kazmir earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day, giving him 8.7 for the season and is ranked 12th among all players. He ranks seventh among American League pitchers.
National League Player of the Day—Braves pitcher Manny Banuelos pitched 5 2/3 scoreless innings, allowing two hits and striking out seven, in the 2-1 win over the Nationals.
This was Baneulos’ Box-Toppers debut, the first time in his career he earned Player of the Game honors. It was also his Major League debut. He is the 3,523rd player to debut in Box-Toppers since record keeping began in 1995.
American League Batter of the Day—Alejandro De Aza of the Red Sox tripled, doubled and went 3-for-5, scoring twice and driving in four runs, in the 12-6 win over the Blue Jays.
National League Batter of the Day—Justin Bour of the Marlins hit a three-run homer in the 5-4 win over the Giants. This was the second day in a row Bour earned Player of the Game honors.
Notables—Two pitchers with more than 10.0 Box-Toppers points started games Thursday but neither earned Player of the Game honors:
- Nationals pitcher Max Scherzer (ranked first with 14.0 Box-Toppers points) did not earn Player of the Game in the 2-1 loss to the Braves. Scherzer (8.1IP 5H 2R 9K L) had a Box-Toppers game score of 8.1. Player of the Game was Braves pitcher Manny Banuelos, who had a Box-Toppers game score of 10.2.
- Mets pitcher Jacob deGrom (ranked sixth with 11.4 Box-Toppers points) did not earn Player of the Game honors in the 6-1 loss to the Cubs. deGrom (5.1IP 7H 4R 2K L) had a Box-Toppers game score of −8.9. Player of the Game was Cubs pitcher Jake Arrieta, who had a Box-Toppers game score of 8.
Scoring—Kazmir earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day and Banuelos earns 1.7 Box-Toppers points for being NL Player of the Day. De Aza and Bour each earn 1.5 Box-Toppers points for being their league’s Batter of the Day. All of Thursday’s other Players of the Game (listed in the chart below) 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
| 7/2 | Score | Team | Player | AB | R | H | BI | BB | K | IP | H | R | ER | BB | K | |
| MLB | 13.0 | Athletics | Scott Kazmir (W, 5-5) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 8.0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 7 | |
| NL | 10.2 | `Braves | Manny Banuelos | - | - | - | - | - | - | 5.2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 7 | |
| 8.0 | Cubs | Jake Arrieta (W, 8-5) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 8.0 | 5 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 7 | ||
| 8.0 | Dbacks | Jeremy Hellickson (W, 6-5) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 7.0 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 6 | ||
| 7.0 | `Indians | Corey Kluber | - | - | - | - | - | - | 8.0 | 7 | 4 | 3 | 1 | 14 | ||
| 7.0 | Twins | Kyle Gibson (W, 6-6) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 8.0 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 7 | ||
| BAT | 4.0 | Red Sox | Alejandro De Aza RF LF | 5 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 0 | 1 | - | - | - | - | - | - | |
| 4.0 | Pirates | Francisco Liriano (W, 5-6) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 7.0 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 5 | ||
| 4.0 | Padres | Shawn Kelley (W, 1-2) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 2.0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | ||
| 3.0 | `Rangers | Yovani Gallardo | - | - | - | - | - | - | 6.0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 2 | ||
| BAT | 2.0 | Marlins | Justin Bour 1B | 3 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 1 | 0 | - | - | - | - | - | - | |
| 2.0 | Brewers | Michael Blazek (W, 5-2) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 2.0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 2 | ||
| `Denotes that the pitcher had a no-decision in the game and did not pick up a win or a save. | ||||||||||||||||
Indians' Carlos Carrasco, with near no-hitter, tops players for Wednesday, July 1
Indians pitcher Carlos Carrasco, who was one strike away from a no-hitter, is Wednesday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day.
Also Wednesday, Blue Jays pitcher Mark Buehrle and Cubs pitcher Jon Lester earned Player of the Game honors and rose in Box-Toppers “all-time” top 50 player rankings.
Top 10 players
Here are the top 10 players in Box-Toppers points (BTP) for the 2015 season as of July 1.| Player | Pos | Team | BTP | |
| 1 | Scherzer, Max 2588 | pi sp | dc nl | 14.0 |
| 2 | Hernandez, Felix 2064 | pi sp | sea al | 13.4 |
| 3 | Archer, Chris 3194 | pi sp | tb al | 12.0 |
| 4 | Cole, Gerrit 3232 | pi sp | pit nl | 12.0 |
| 5 | Sale, Chris 2806 | pi sp | chi al | 11.4 |
| 6 | deGrom, Jacob 3343 | pi sp | nym nl | 11.4 |
| 7 | Price, David 2593 | pi sp | det al | 11.1 |
| 8 | Keuchel, Dallas 3050 | pi sp | hou al | 10.7 |
| 9 | Martinez, Carlos 3371 | pi sp | stl nl | 10.7 |
| 10 | Harvey, Matt 3075 | pi sp | nym nl | 9.7 |
Player of the Day—Carrasco struck out 13 over 8 2/3 innings, allowing one hit and one run, in the 8-1 win over the Rays. Carrasco had a no-hitter with two outs in the ninth inning before allowing his first hit to Joey Butler, who was down to his final strike.
Carrasco also has the highest Box-Toppers player ranking of any of the 15 who earned Player of the Game honors Wednesday. Carrasco earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day, giving him 8.0 for the season and is ranked 16th among all players. He ranks eighth among American League pitchers.
National League Player of the Day—Reds pitcher Johnny Cueto struck out eight over eight innings, allowing one run, in the 2-1 win over the Twins.
National League Batter of the Day—Neil Walker of the Pirates hit two homers and went 4-for-6, scoring three times and driving in three runs, in the 9-3 win over the Tigers.
American League Batter of the Day—Jose Altuve of the Astros went 3-for-4, scoring twice and driving in a run, in the 6-5 win over the Royals.
Notables—Two pitchers who earned Player of the Game honors Wednesday rose in Box-Toppers “all-time” player rankings top 50:
- Blue Jays pitcher Mark Buehrle rose to 40th place in Box-Toppers points among all players since Box-Toppers record keeping began in 1995. Buehrle (7IP 4H R 7K W in the 11-2 win over the Red Sox) earns 1.0 Box-Toppers point and now has 116.7 career Box-Toppers points. He passes Todd Helton (116.4) on the “all-time” list and now trails 39th-place player Barry Zito (117.4).
- Cubs pitcher Jon Lester rose to 45th place in Box-Toppers points among all players since Box-Toppers record keeping began in 1995. Lester (7IP 5H 0R 7K ND in the 2-0 win over the Mets) earns 1.0 Box-Toppers point and now has 114.1 for his career. He passes Sammy Sosa (113.2) and Chris Carpenter (113.3) on the “all-time” list and now trails 44th-place player Torii Hunter (114.4). Lester has 5.0 Box-Toppers points on the season—he has earned 4.0 of those points when he’s earned a no decision.
Debut—Braves pitcher Matt Wisler made his Box-Toppers debut Wednesday, the first time in his career he earned Player of the Game honors. Wisler (5.1IP H 0R 6K W in the 4-1 win over the Nationals) made his Major League debut June 19 and was playing in his third career game. He is the 3,522nd player to debut in Box-Toppers since record keeping began in 1995.
Scoring—Carrasco earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day and Cueto earns 1.7 Box-Toppers points for being NL Player of the Day. Walker and Altuve each earn 1.5 Box-Toppers points for being their league’s Batter of the Day. All of Wednesday’s other Players of the Game (listed in the chart below) 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
| 7/1 | Score | Team | Player | AB | R | H | BI | BB | K | IP | H | R | ER | BB | K | |
| MLB | 16.2 | Indians | Carlos Carrasco (W, 10-6) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 8.2 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 13 | |
| 12.0 | Mariners | Taijuan Walker (W, 7-6) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 6.0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 7 | ||
| NL | 9.0 | Reds | Johnny Cueto (W, 5-5) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 8.0 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 8 | |
| 8.0 | Blue Jays | Mark Buehrle (W, 9-4) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 7.0 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 7 | ||
| 8.0 | `Cubs | Jon Lester | - | - | - | - | - | - | 7.0 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 7 | ||
| 6.0 | White Sox | Jose Quintana (W, 4-7) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 6.0 | 6 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 8 | ||
| 5.1 | Braves | Matt Wisler (W, 2-1) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 5.1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 6 | ||
| BAT | 4.0 | Pirates | Neil Walker 2B | 6 | 3 | 4 | 3 | 0 | 1 | - | - | - | - | - | - | |
| 4.0 | Athletics | Jesse Hahn (W, 6-6) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 6.0 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 6 | ||
| 4.0 | Orioles | Zach Britton (S, 23) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 1.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | ||
| 3.0 | Brewers | Scooter Gennett 2B | 5 | 2 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 3.0 | Dodgers | Brett Anderson (W, 5-4) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 7.0 | 7 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 7 | ||
| 2.2 | `Yankees | Chasen Shreve (H, 5) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 1.2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | ||
| BAT | 2.0 | Astros | Jose Altuve 2B | 4 | 2 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | - | - | - | - | - | - | |
| 2.0 | Marlins | Justin Bour 1B | 4 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 0 | 0 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| `Denotes that the pitcher had a no-decision in the game and did not pick up a win or a save. | ||||||||||||||||
Mariners' Montgomery tops players for Tuesday, June 30; Sale, Keuchel rise in Box-Toppers top 10 player rankings
Mariners pitcher Mike Montgomery is Tuesday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day.
Top 10 players
Here are the top 10 players in Box-Toppers points (BTP) for the 2015 season as of June 30.| Player | Pos | Team | BTP | |
| 1 | Scherzer, Max 2588 | pi sp | dc nl | 14.0 |
| 2 | Hernandez, Felix 2064 | pi sp | sea al | 13.4 |
| 3 | Archer, Chris 3194 | pi sp | tb al | 12.0 |
| 4 | Cole, Gerrit 3232 | pi sp | pit nl | 12.0 |
| 5 | Sale, Chris 2806 | pi sp | chi al | 11.4 |
| 6 | deGrom, Jacob 3343 | pi sp | nym nl | 11.4 |
| 7 | Price, David 2593 | pi sp | det al | 11.1 |
| 8 | Keuchel, Dallas 3050 | pi sp | hou al | 10.7 |
| 9 | Martinez, Carlos 3371 | pi sp | stl nl | 10.7 |
| 10 | Harvey, Matt 3075 | pi sp | nym nl | 9.7 |
Also Tuesday, two players rose in Box-Toppers top 10 player rankings after earning Player of the Game honors—White Sox pitcher Chris Sale rose to fifth place and Astros pitcher Dallas Keuchel rose to eighth place. Plus, Brewers closing pitcher Francisco Rodriguez has now earned at least 1.0 Box-Toppers point for 13 straight seasons after earning Player of the Game honors Tuesday.
Player of the Day—Montgomery pitched a complete game, one-hit shutout, striking out seven, in the 5-0 win over the Padres.
Montgomery had a Box-Toppers game score of 11, tied with White Sox pitcher Chris Sale, who was Player of the Game in the 2-1 win over the Cardinals. But Montgomery won overall Player of the Day on a tiebreaker because he earned the win in his game, while Sale picked up a no decision in his.
National League Player of the Day—Cubs pitcher Kyle Hendricks pitched six scoreless innings, striking out six and allowing three hits, in the 1-0 win over the Mets.
American League Batter of the Day—Mitch Moreland of the Rangers hit two home runs and drove in four runs in the 8-6 win over the Orioles.
National League Batter of the Day—Howie Kendrick of the Dodgers homered, doubled and went 4-for-5, driving in two runs, in the 6-4 win over the Diamondbacks.
Rankings—Two pitchers in Box-Toppers top 10 player rankings who started Tuesday earned Player of the Game honors. But another top 10 pitcher who started Tuesday did not:
- White Sox pitcher Chris Sale rose to fifth in Box-Toppers player rankings after earning Player of the Game honors in the 2-1, 11-inning win over the Cardinals (8IP 6H R 12K ND). Sale earns 1.0 Box-Toppers point, giving him 11.4 for the season. He ranks third among AL pitchers.
- Astros pitcher Dallas Keuchel rose to eighth in Box-Toppers player rankings after earning Player of the Game honors in the 4-0 win over the Royals (8IP 7H 0R 7K W). Keuchel earns 1.0 Box-Toppers point, giving him 10.7 for the season. He is the ninth player with 10.0 or more Box-Toppers points this season. He ranks fifth among AL pitchers.
- Pirates pitcher Gerrit Cole, ranked fourth in Box-Toppers player rankings, did not earn Player of the Game honors in his start Tuesday. Cole (6.2IP 9H 2R 6K ND) had a Box-Toppers game score of −0.8 in the 5-4, 14-inning win over the Tigers. Player of the Game was closing pitcher Deolis Guerra (3IP 3H 0R 3K W), who had a Box-Toppers game score of 3. Cole has 12.0 Box-Toppers points, ranked second among NL pitchers.
Streak—Brewers closing pitcher Francsico Rodriguez has now earned at least 1.0 Box-Toppers point for 13 straight seasons.
Rodriguez was Player of the Game in Tuesday’s 4-3 win over the Phillies (1IP 0H 0R 2K Sv) and earns 1.0 Box-Toppers point, his first of the season.
Rodriguez earned his first Box-Toppers point in 2003 with the Angels. The most Box-Toppers points he had in a single season was 10.0, in both 2005 and 2008 with the Angels. In 2014, he had 4.0 Box-Toppers points with the Brewers.
Rodriguez has 60.4 career Box-Toppers points and ranks 12th among all closing pitchers since 1995, when Box-Toppers record keeping began. He has more career Box-Toppers points than all active closing pitchers—second place is Joe Nathan of the Tigers (52.0).
Debut—Pirates pitcher Deolis Guerra made his Box-Toppers debut Tuesday, the first time in his career he earned Player of the Game honors. Guerra (3IP 3H 0R 3K W in the 5-4, 14-inning win over the Tigers) made his Major League debut June 27 and was playing in his third career game. He is the 3,521st player to debut in Box-Toppers since record keeping began in 1995.
Scoring—Montgomery earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day and Hendricks earns 1.7 Box-Toppers points for being NL Player of the Day. Moreland and Kendrick each earn 1.5 Box-Toppers points for being their league’s Batter of the Day. All of Tuesday’s other Players of the Game (listed in the chart below) 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
| 6/30 | Score | Team | Player | AB | R | H | BI | BB | K | IP | H | R | ER | BB | K | |
| MLB | 11.0 | Mariners | Mike Montgomery (W, 3-2) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 9.0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 7 | |
| 11.0 | `White Sox | Chris Sale | - | - | - | - | - | - | 8.0 | 6 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 12 | ||
| 8.0 | Astros | Dallas Keuchel (W, 10-3) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 8.0 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 7 | ||
| 8.0 | Angels | Andrew Heaney (W, 1-0) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 7.0 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 7 | ||
| NL | 8.0 | Cubs | Kyle Hendricks (W, 3-4) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 6.0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 6 | |
| 7.2 | Nationals | Jordan Zimmermann (W, 6-5) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 7.2 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6 | ||
| BAT | 5.0 | Rangers | Mitch Moreland 1B | 3 | 2 | 2 | 4 | 1 | 0 | - | - | - | - | - | - | |
| 4.0 | `Marlins | Carter Capps (H, 5) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 1.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | ||
| 3.0 | Rockies | Jorge De La Rosa (W, 5-3) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 7.0 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 4 | ||
| 3.0 | Pirates | Deolis Guerra (W, 1-0) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 3.0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | ||
| 2.2 | Indians | Danny Salazar (W, 7-3) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 7.2 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 2 | ||
| BAT | 2.0 | Dodgers | Howie Kendrick 2B | 5 | 1 | 4 | 2 | 0 | 1 | - | - | - | - | - | - | |
| 2.0 | Twins | Eduardo Nunez SS | 4 | 2 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 2.0 | Red Sox | Eduardo Rodriguez (W, 4-2) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 6.0 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 4 | ||
| 2.0 | Brewers | Francisco Rodriguez (S, 17) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 1.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 2 | ||
| `Denotes that the pitcher had a no-decision in the game and did not pick up a win or a save. | ||||||||||||||||