Adam Wainwright of the Cardinals, out with injury much of 2015, had the biggest Box-Toppers point decline from 2014. Jose Abreu of the White Sox had biggest dip among AL players.
Read MoreA look at Box-Toppers' top 100 players for 2015
Jake Arrieta of the Cubs tops Box-Toppers player rankings in 2015. The World Champion Kansas City Royals have the most representatives among the top 100 players—seven.
Read MoreRoyals' Johnny Cueto (2-hit complete game) tops players in World Series Game 2, Wednesday, Oct. 28
Johnny Cueto pitched a complete-game two-hitter to lead the Royals to a Game 2 World Series win over the Mets Wednesday, picking up Box-Toppers Player of the Game honors.
Cueto allowed one run, struck out four and walked three in the 7-1 win, giving the Kansas City Royals a 2-0 lead over the New York Mets in the best-of-seven series.
Cueto had a Box-Toppers game score of +6.0, the highest of all Royals players Wednesday. During the regular season, Cueto had 12.8 Box-Toppers points, 25th among all players and 13th among AL pitchers. However, Cueto earned nearly all of his points while pitching with the Cincinnati Reds before he was traded in late July to the Royals. He had 10.8 points with the Reds and 2.0 with the Royals, earning Player of the Day honors on Aug. 10.
This was the second time Cueto earned Player of the Game honors this postseason. He was also Player of the Game in the American League Division Series Game 5 against the Astros on Oct. 14.
Alex Gordon (2B 1-2 2R BI) had the highest Box-Toppers game score among Royals batters of +2.0.
Mets starting pitcher Jacob deGrom ranked third in Box-Toppers points during the regular season (22.4), but had the lowest Box-Toppers game score of any player in Game 2. deGrom (5IP 6H 4R 3BB 2K) had a Box-Toppers game score of −10.0.
Only three Mets players had Box-Toppers game scores of 0.0 or more in Wednesday’s Game 2 as most pitchers gave up multiple hits or runs and most batters were shut down by Cueto and did not earn hits, runs or RBIs. The top three Mets were:
- Middle reliever Hansel Robles (1IP 0R 0H 0K), Box-Toppers game score of +1.0.
- Middle reliever Sean Gilmartin (0.2IP 0R 0H 0K), Box-Toppers game score of +0.2.
- First baseman Lucas Duda (2-3 BI), Box-Toppers game score of 0.0. Duda had both of the Mets’ hits off Cueto.
Thursday is a travel day. The World Series resumes with Game 3 Friday in New York.
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 Royals in World Series Game 2
Here are the Box-Toppers game score of all Royals who played in World Series Game 2 listed from highest-to-lowest Box-Toppers game score. Johnny Cueto is Player of the Game (POG).
| 10/28 | Score | Team | Players | AB | R | H | BI | BB | K | IP | H | R | ER | BB | K | |
| POG | 6.0 | Royals | Johnny Cueto (W,2-1) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 9.0 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 4 | |
| 2.0 | Royals | Alex Gordon, LF | 2 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 0 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 1.0 | Royals | Eric Hosmer, 1B | 4 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 1 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 1.0 | Royals | Mike Moustakas, 3B | 3 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 1.0 | Royals | Paulo Orlando, RF | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 0.0 | Royals | Alcides Escobar, SS | 5 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| -1.0 | Royals | Alex Rios, RF | 3 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| -2.0 | Royals | Salvador Perez, C | 4 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| -3.0 | Royals | Kendrys Morales, DH | 4 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| -4.0 | Royals | Lorenzo Cain, CF | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| -5.0 | Royals | Ben Zobrist, 2B | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | - | - | - | - | - | - |
Coming Friday in New York:
World Series Game 3, Royals lead Mets, 2-0
The pitching match-up Friday:
Royals—Yordano Ventura, 11.7 Box-Toppers points, 30th among all players, 15th among AL pitchers.
Mets—Noah Syndergaard, 10.4 Box-Toppers points, 41st among all players, 16th among NL pitchers.
Box-Toppers season-end player rankings report
Box-Toppers point totals of all Royals players active at season's end
Box-Toppers point totals of all Mets players active at season's end
Royals' Chris Young pitches extra-innings relief to top players in World Series Game 1, Tuesday, Oct. 27
Chris Young pitched three innings of extra-innings relief to earn Player of the Game honors Tuesday in World Series Game 1, as the Royals came from behind to win 5-4 in 14 innings.
Young, slated to be the Game 4 starter, came on in relief in the 12th inning and finished out the game, allowing no hits or runs, striking out four and allowing one walk, giving him a Box-Toppers game score of +6.0, the highest among Royals players.
The Royals take a 1-0 lead in the best-of-seven World Series.
The Royals trailed 4-3 in the bottom of the ninth inning, when Alex Gordon hit a one-out home run to tie the game, forcing extra innings. Eric Hosmer hit a bases-loaded sacrifice fly to score the winning run in the bottom of the 14th. While no Royals batter had a positive Box-Toppers game score, Hosmer had the highest score among Kansas City batters of −1.0 (2SF 0-3 2BI).
Chris Young, during the regular season, had 8.0 Box-Toppers points, ranked 78th among all players and 29th among American League pitchers.
Royals Game 1 starting pitcher Edinson Volquez had the lowest Box-Toppers game score among Kansas City players of −4.0 (6IP 6H 3R BB 3K ND).
Mets starting pitcher Matt Harvey had a Box-Toppers game score of −5.0 (6H 5K 3R 2BB 2K ND). Harvey had 15.4 Box-Toppers points during the regular season, ranked 16th among all players, eighth among National League pitchers.
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 Royals in World Series Game 1
Here are the Box-Toppers game score of all Royals who played in World Series Game 1 listed from highest-to-lowest Box-Toppers game score. Chris Young is Player of the Game (POG).
| 10/27 | Score | Team | Players | AB | R | H | BI | BB | K | IP | H | R | ER | BB | K | |
| POG | 6.0 | Royals | Chris Young (W,1-0) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 3.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 4 | |
| 4.0 | Royals | Wade Davis | - | - | - | - | - | - | 1.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | ||
| 1.2 | Royals | Danny Duffy | - | - | - | - | - | - | 0.2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | ||
| 1.0 | Royals | Ryan Madson | - | - | - | - | - | - | 1.0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 2 | ||
| 0.0 | Royals | Luke Hochevar | - | - | - | - | - | - | 1.0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||
| -0.9 | Royals | Kelvin Herrera | - | - | - | - | - | - | 1.1 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 | ||
| -1.0 | Royals | Eric Hosmer, 1B | 3 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 2 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| -2.0 | Royals | Ben Zobrist, 2B | 6 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 0 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| -2.0 | Royals | Alcides Escobar, SS | 6 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| -2.0 | Royals | Alex Gordon, LF | 5 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 2 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| -2.0 | Royals | Paulo Orlando, RF | 3 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| -2.0 | Royals | Jarrod Dyson, PR-DH | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| -3.0 | Royals | Mike Moustakas, 3B | 6 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| -3.0 | Royals | Kendrys Morales, DH | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| -3.0 | Royals | Alex Rios, RF | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| -4.0 | Royals | Salvador Perez, C | 6 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| -4.0 | Royals | Lorenzo Cain, CF | 6 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 2 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| -4.0 | Royals | Edinson Volquez | - | - | - | - | - | - | 6.0 | 6 | 3 | 3 | 1 | 3 |
Coming Wednesday in Kansas City:
World Series Game 2, Royals lead Mets, 1-0
The pitching match-up Wednesday:
Mets—Jacob deGrom, 22.4 Box-Toppers points, third among all players, third among NL pitchers.
Royals—Johnny Cueto, 12.8 Box-Toppers points, 25th among all players, 13th among AL pitchers.
Box-Toppers World Series preview
Box-Toppers season-end player rankings report
Box-Toppers point totals of all Royals players active at season's end
Box-Toppers point totals of all Mets players active at season's end
In World Series, Royals rank higher in Box-Toppers ratings, but Mets have a big edge in starting pitching
Royals rank 2nd in Box-Toppers team rankings, Mets rank 7th. But Mets' top four starters have edge in combined Box-Toppers points over Royals' top four—54.9 vs. 39.5.
Read MoreBlue Jays' Ryan Goins tops players in ALCS Game 3 win, Monday, Oct. 19
Ryan Goins homered and went 2-for-4, scoring twice and driving in three runs, as the Blue Jays beat the Royals Monday in Game 3 of the American League Championship Series.
Goins is Box-Toppers Player of the Day for Monday in the 11-8 win, the Blue Jays’ first in the best-of-seven series, which the Royals now lead 2-1.
Goins, who started at second base and moved to shortstop, had a Box-Toppers game score of +3.0, tied for highest among all Blue Jays players with second baseman Troy Tulowitzki, who had an identical line (HR 2-4 2R 3BI). But Goins won Player of the Game on a tiebreaker because he had fewer strikeouts—one vs. two. After Tulowitzki’s second strikeout in the seventh inning, he was ejected for arguing and Goins replaced him defensively at shortstop.
During the regular season, Goins had 4.5 Box-Toppers points, ranked 221st among all players, 52nd among AL batters, fourth among AL shortstops and sixth among AL second basemen (Goins was Player of the Game four times in 2015—twice at shortstop and twice at second base).
In a game dominated by offense, neither starting pitcher fared well in Box-Toppers game score. Blue Jays starting pitcher Marcus Stroman picked up the win, but had a Box-Toppers game score of −12.9 (6.1IP 11H 4R K). Royals starter Johnny Cueto, who picked up the loss, had a Box-Toppers game score of −22.0 (2IP 6H 8R 2K).
The series resumes Tuesday with Game 4 in Toronto (more details below).
See Box-Toppers ALCS series preview with player-by-player match ups.
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
| 10/19 | Score | Team | Players | AB | R | H | BI | BB | K | IP | H | R | ER | BB | K | |
| POG | 3.0 | Blue Jays | Ryan Goins, 2B-SS | 4 | 2 | 2 | 3 | 0 | 1 | - | - | - | - | - | - |
Coming Tuesday:
ALCS Game 4, Royals lead Blue Jays, 2-1
The pitching match-up Tuesday:
Royals—Chris Young, 8.0 Box-Toppers points, 78th among all players, 29th among AL pitchers.
Blue Jays—R.A. Dickey, 5.0 Box-Toppers points, 180th among all players, 64th among AL pitchers.
See Box-Toppers ALCS series preview with player-by-player match ups.
NLCS Game 3, Mets lead Cubs, 2-0
The pitching match-up Tuesday:
Mets—Jacob deGrom, 22.4 Box-Toppers points, third among all players, third among NL pitchers.
Cubs—Kyle Hendricks, 9.7 Box-Toppers points, ranked 54th among all players, 24th among NL pitchers.
See Box-Toppers NLCS series preview with player-by-player match ups.
Mets' Noah Syndergaard tops players in NLCS Game 2 win Sunday, Oct. 18
Noah Syndergaard struck out nine over 5 2/3 innings, allowing one run and three hits, to lead the Mets to a Game 2 win Sunday over the Cubs in the National League League Championship Series.
Syndergaard was Box-Toppers Player of the Day as the Mets beat the Cubs 4-1 to take a 2-0 lead in the best-of-seven game series.
Syndergaard had a Box-Toppers game score of +8.2 to lead all Mets players. Second baseman Daniel Murphy had the highest Box-Toppers game score among Mets batters of +2.0 (HR 2B 2-3 R 2BI).
Syndergaard, during the regular season, had 10.4 Box-Toppers points, ranked 41st among all players, 16th among NL pitchers.
Cubs starting pitcher Jake Arrieta, Box-Toppers points leader in 2015 (29.1), had a Box-Toppers game score of −1.0, as he picked up the loss (5IP 4H 4R 8K).
The series resumes Tuesday with Game 3 in Chicago.
See Box-Toppers NLCS series preview with player-by-player match ups.
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
| 10/18 | Score | Team | Players | AB | R | H | BI | BB | K | IP | H | R | ER | BB | K | |
| POG | 8.2 | Mets | Noah Syndergaard (W,1-1) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 5.2 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 9 |
Coming Monday:
ALCS Game 3, Royals lead Blue Jays, 2-0
The pitching match-up Monday:
Royals—Johnny Cueto, 12.8 Box-Toppers points, 25th among all players, 13th among AL pitchers.
Blue Jays—Marcus Stroman, 2.7 Box-Toppers points, 368th among all players, 105th among AL pitchers. (Stroman was out recovering from injurymuch of 2015. In 2014, he had 13.7 Box-Toppers points, ranked 12th among AL pitchers.)
See Box-Toppers ALCS series preview with player-by-player match ups.
Royals' Cueto, Blue Jays' Osuna top players as teams win AL Division Series, Wednesday, Oct. 14
Johnny Cueto struck out eight over eight innings, allowing two runs and two hits, to lead the Kansas City Royals to a Game 5 American League Division Series win Wednesday, eliminating the Houston Astros. Cueto is Wednesday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day.
Also Wednesday, closer Roberto Osuna pitched 1 2/3 scoreless innings, allowing no hits and striking out four, to lead the Toronto Blue Jays to a Game 5 AL Division Series win, eliminating the Texas Rangers. Osuna is Box-Toppers Player of the Game.
American League Division Series Game 5: Royals 7, Astros 2
Cueto, who picked up the win, had a Box-Toppers game score of +10.0, highest among all Royals players, as the Royals beat the Astros in the best-of-five game series, 3-2.
During the regular season, Cueto had 12.8 Box-Toppers points, 25th among all players, 13th among AL pitchers.
Astros pitcher Dallas Keuchel, ranked fourth among all players in Box-Toppers points (21.4), first among AL pitchers, appeared in relief, pitching the eighth inning (1IP 2H 3R 0K ND). He had a Box-Toppers game score of −8.0.
The Royals had the most regular season Box-Toppers team points in the AL with 127.5, ranked second overall, behind the Pittsburgh Pirates. The Astros ranked eighth with 118.4.
The Royals face the Toronto Blue Jays in the American League Championship Series beginning Friday in Kansas City.
American League Division Series Game 5: Blue Jays 6, Rangers 3
Osuna, who picked up the save, had a Box-Toppers game score of +5.2, highest among all Blue Jays players, as the Blue Jays eliminated the Rangers in the best-of-five game series, 3-2.
During the regular season, Osuna had 4.0 Box-Toppers points, ranked 268th among all players, 86th among AL pitchers and 14th among AL closing pitchers. He was born Feb. 7, 1995, a couple of months before Box-Toppers record keeping began at the start of the 1995 season.
The Blue Jays ranked fifth in regular season Box-Toppers team rankings (second among AL teams, behind the Royals) with 124.1 Box-Toppers points. The Rangers ranked 10th with 107.2.
The Blue Jays face the Kansas City Royals in the American League Championship Series beginning Friday in Kansas City.
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
| 10/14 | Score | Team | Players | AB | R | H | BI | BB | K | IP | H | R | ER | BB | K | |
| POG | 10.0 | Royals | Johnny Cueto (W,1-0) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 8.0 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 8 | |
| POG | 5.2 | Blue Jays | Roberto Osuna (S,1) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 1.2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 |
Coming Thursday, the league division playoff series conclude:
NL Division Series Game 5, Mets at Dodgers, series tied 2-2
The pitching matchup Thursday:
Mets—Jacob deGrom, 22.4 Box-Toppers points, third among all players, third among NL pitchers.
Dodgers—Zack Greinke, 20.7 Box-Toppers points, seventh among all players, fifth among NL pitchers.
The Dodgers hold the slight edge in Box-Toppers team rankings, sixth among all teams, with 122.5 Box-Toppers points. But the Mets are only 0.5 points behind, with 122.0, ranking seventh among all teams. So far this postseason, Box-Toppers’ higher-ranked team has won three of the three concluded league division series. That would give the edge to the Dodgers. But higher-ranked starting pitchers have won 14 of 20 postseason games this season. That would give the edge to deGrom and the Mets
The winner of this game will face the Chicago Cubs in the NL Championship Series beginning Saturday in either New York or Los Angeles.
Baez tops players in Cubs' NLDS series win; Dodgers' Kershaw tops players for Tuesday, Oct. 13
Javier Baez hit a three-run homer and went 2-for-3, earning Box-Toppers Player of the Game as the Chicago Cubs won the National League Division Series in four games, eliminating the St. Louis Cardinals.
Also Tuesday, Dodgers pitcher Clayton Kershaw earned overall Player of the Day honors with his performance in the NL Division Game 4 win over the Mets, which forces a Game 5 in the series Thursday.
National League Division Series Game 4: Cubs 6, Cardinals 4
Baez had a Box-Toppers game score of +3.0, the highest of any Cubs player in the 6-4 win, as the Cubs beat the Cardinals in the best-of-five game series, 3-1.
The Cubs face the winner of the other NL Division Series between the Los Angeles Dodgers and New York Mets, who are now tied at two games apiece in their best-of-five game series.
During the regular season, Baez had no Box-Toppers points—he had 2.5 points in 2014. Baez played in 28 regular season games in 2015.
Though the Cubs were the Wild Card team and had a lesser win-loss record than the NL Central champ Cardinals, they held an edge in Box-Toppers team rankings. The Cubs passed the Cardinals in the final 10 days of the season to rank third in Box-Toppers team points with 127.4. The Cardinals, with baseball’s best record, ranked fourth with 124.3. The Cubs surged at the end of the season, earning 11.0 Box-Toppers points in the final 10 days of the season. The Cardinals, by comparison, picked up only 3.5 points during that period.
The two teams were the highest ranked NL teams remaining in the playoffs after the Cubs knocked off the top-rated Pittsburgh Pirates (129.6) in the NL Wild Card playoff.
National League Division Series Game 4: Dodgers 3, Mets 1
Dodgers pitcher Clayton Kershaw struck out eight over seven innings, allowing one run and three hits, to even the series and force Game 5 Thursday in Los Angeles.
Kershaw had a Box-Toppers game score of +9.0, the highest of all Dodgers players, to win Player of the Day honors, beating Tuesday’s other Player of the Game, Javier Baez of the Cubs, who had a Box-Toppers game score of +3.0.
During the regular season, Kershaw had 25.7 Box-Toppers points, second among all players and second among NL pitchers, behind Jake Arrieta of the Cubs (29.1).
Notable—Through 18 postseason games, the team with a starting pitcher ranked higher in Box-Toppers player rankings has won 13 of those games and lost only five, which bodes well Wednesday for the Rangers and Royals (see below).
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
| 10/13 | Score | Team | Players | AB | R | H | BI | BB | K | IP | H | R | ER | BB | K | |
| POG | 9.0 | Dodgers | Clayton Kershaw (W,1-1) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 7.0 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 8 | |
| POG | 3.0 | Cubs | Javier Baez, SS | 3 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 0 | 0 | - | - | - | - | - | - |
Coming Wednesday: AL Division Series playoff games conclude with two Game 5 matchups:
American League Division Series Game 5, Rangers at Blue Jays, series tied, 2-2
The pitching matchup Wednesday:
Rangers—Cole Hamels, 15.4 Box-Toppers points, 15th among all players, eighth among AL pitchers.
Blue Jays—Marcus Stroman, 2.7 Box-Toppers points, 368th among all players, 105th among AL pitchers. (Stroman was out recovering from injurymuch of 2015. In 2014, he had 13.7 Box-Toppers points, ranked 12th among AL pitchers.)
American League Division Series Game 5, Astros at Royals, series tied, 2-2
The pitching matchup Wednesday:
Astros—Collin McHugh, 9.7 Box-Toppers points, 49th among all players, 19th among AL pitchers.
Royals—Johnny Cueto, 12.8 Box-Toppers points, 25th among all players, 13th among AL pitchers.
Rangers' Odor, Astros' Gregerson top players in pair of opening ALDS games for Thursday, Oct. 8
Rougned Odor of the Rangers and Luke Gregerson of the Astros are Box-Toppers Players of the Game in Thursday’s pair of American League Division Series openers.
Odor homered and scored three runs in the 5-3 win over the Blue Jays in Game 1 of the AL Division Series. The Rangers lead the best-of-five series, 1-0.
During the regular season, Odor earned 3.0 Box-Toppers points, 337th among all players, 76th among AL batters.
Blue Jays pitcher David Price, Box-Toppers’ fifth-ranked player, started the game and picked up the loss. Price (7IP 5H 5R 5K) had a Box-Toppers game score of −5. He had 21.1 Box-Toppers points for the season, ranked second among AL pitchers.
Astros closing pitcher Luke Gregerson is Player of the Game in the other AL Division Series Game 1. Gregerson picked up the save, pitching a scoreless ninth inning, allowing no hits and striking out two, in the 5-2 win over the Royals. The Astros lead the best-of-five series, 1-0.
Gregerson had 6.0 Box-Toppers points during the regular season, 150th among all players, 53rd among AL pitchers and sixth among AL closing pitchers.
Top player from each game
Listed from highest to lowest Box-Toppers game score
| 10/8 | Score | Team | BATTERS | AB | R | H | BI | BB | K | IP | H | R | ER | BB | K | |
| POG | 3.0 | Rangers | Rougned Odor, 2B | 2 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | - | - | - | - | - | - | |
| POG | 3.0 | Astros | Luke Gregerson (S,1) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 1.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
Coming Friday: The National League Division Series playoffs begin with two Game 1s and the American League Division Series resume with two Game 2s:
AL Division Series Game 2, Rangers lead Blue Jays, 1-0
The pitching matchup Friday:
Rangers—Cole Hamels, 15.4 Box-Toppers points, 15th among all players, eighth among AL pitchers.
Blue Jays—Marcus Stroman, 2.7 Box-Toppers points, 368th among all players, 105th among AL pitchers. (Stroman was out recovering from injury much of 2015. In 2014, he had 13.7 Box-Toppers points, ranked 12th among AL pitchers.)
AL Division Series Game 2, Astros lead Royals, 1-0
The pitching matchup Friday:
Astros—Scott Kazmir, 12.7 Box-Toppers points, 26th among all players, 14th among AL pitchers,
Royals—Johnny Cueto, 12.8 Box-Toppers points, 25th among all players, 13th among AL pitchers.
NL Division Series Game 1, Cubs at Cardinals
Though the Chicago Cubs are the Wild Card team and have a lesser win-loss record than the NL Central champ St. Louis Cardinals, they have an edge in Box-Toppers team rankings. The Cubs passed the Cardinals in the final 10 days of the season to rank third in Box-Toppers team points with 127.4. The Cardinals, with baseball’s best record, rank fourth with 124.3. The Cubs surged at the end of the season, earning 11.0 Box-Toppers points in the final 10 days of the season. The Cardinals, by comparison, picked up only 3.5 during that period.
The two teams are the highest ranked NL teams remaining in the playoffs after the Cubs knocked off the top-rated Pittsburgh Pirates (129.6) in the NL Wild Card playoff.
The pitching matchup Friday:
Cubs—Jon Lester, 12.0 Box-Toppers points, 28th among all players, 13th among NL pitchers.
Cardinals—John Lackey, 9.7 Box-Toppers points, 51st among all players, 21st among NL pitchers.
Cubs vs. Cardinals
Here are players for both teams in the NL Divisional Series beginning Friday. Players are listed for both teams ranked by Box-Toppers points earned in 2015. All players listed were on active Major or Minor League rosters at the end of the season—not necessarily all of them will be included on postseason rosters.| Chicago Cubs | St. Louis Cardinals | |||||
| Player | Pos | BTP | Player | Pos | BTP | |
| Arrieta, Jake 2738 | pi sp | 29.1 | Martinez, Carlos 3371 | pi sp | 13.7 | |
| Lester, Jon 2173 | pi sp | 12.0 | Lynn, Lance 2992 | pi sp | 11.4 | |
| Hammel, Jason 2235 | pi sp | 9.7 | Lackey, John 1640 | pi sp | 9.7 | |
| Hendricks, Kyle 3386 | pi sp | 9.7 | Wacha, Michael 3276 | pi sp | 9.7 | |
| Rizzo, Anthony 3063 | 1b | 8.5 | Grichuk, Randal 3474 | rf lf cf | 9.5 | |
| Bryant, Kris 3465 | 3b | 8.5 | Garcia, Jaime 2508 | pi sp | 9.4 | |
| Montero, Miguel 2304 | ca | 5.5 | Rosenthal, Trevor 3124 | pi cp | 6.0 | |
| Haren, Danny 1787 | pi sp | 5.0 | Carpenter, Matt 2987 | 3b | 5.5 | |
| Schwarber, Kyle 3536 | lf ca | 5.0 | Moss, Brandon 2520 | rf lf | 5.0 | |
| Castro, Starlin 2767 | ss 2b | 4.5 | Piscotty, Stephen 3570 | lf rf 1b | 4.2 | |
| Wada, Tsuyoshi 3389 | pi sp | 3.7 | Wong, Kolten 3377 | 2b | 4.0 | |
| Soler, Jorge 3403 | rf ph | 3.2 | Reynolds, Mark 2297 | 1b | 4.0 | |
| Wood, Travis 2777 | pi sp | 3.0 | Siegrist, Kevin 3260 | pi mr | 4.0 | |
| Fowler, Dexter 2698 | cf | 2.5 | Villanueva, Carlos 2241 | pi mr cp | 3.7 | |
| Russell, Addison 3559 | ss | 2.5 | Wainwright, Adam 2150 | pi sp | 3.0 | |
| Jackson, Austin 2694 | cf | 2.0 | Lyons, Tyler 3178 | pi sp | 3.0 | |
| Rondon, Hector 3201 | pi cp | 2.0 | Adams, Matt 3220 | 1b ph | 2.5 | |
| Strop, Pedro 3005 | pi mr | 2.0 | Maness, Seth 3362 | pi cp mr | 2.0 | |
| Coghlan, Chris 2610 | lf | 1.0 | Kozma, Pete 3138 | 2b pr | 2.0 | |
| Rodney, Fernando 1803 | pi cp mr | 1.0 | Scruggs, Xavier 3514 | 1b | 2.0 | |
| Cahill, Trevor 2658 | pi mr | 1.0 | Holliday, Matt 1836 | lf dh | 1.5 | |
| Hunter, Tommy 2623 | pi mr | 1.0 | Pham, Thomas 3596 | lf cf | 1.5 | |
| Grimm, Justin 3153 | pi mr | 1.0 | Cishek, Steve 2997 | pi cp | 1.0 | |
| Richard, Clayton 2584 | pi sp | 1.0 | Bourjos, Peter 2790 | cf ph | 1.0 | |
| Motte, Jason 2926 | pi mr | 1.0 | Garcia, Greg 3331 | ph | 1.0 | |
| Beeler, Dallas 3528 | pi sp | 1.0 | Molina, Yadier 1967 | ca | 1.0 | |
| Ramirez, Neil 3439 | pi mr | 1.0 | Walden, Jordan 2864 | pi mr | 1.0 | |
| Broxton, Jonathan 2108 | pi mr | 1.0 | ||||
| Socolovich, Miguel 3456 | pi cp | 1.0 | ||||
| Totals | 127.4 | Totals | 124.3 | |||
NL Division Series Game 1, Mets at Dodgers
In Box-Toppers team rankings, the Dodgers and the Mets are almost identical.
The Dodgers hold the slight edge, ranking sixth among all teams, with 122.5 Box-Toppers points. But the Mets are only 0.5 points behind, with 122.0, ranking seventh among all teams. During the final 10 days of the season, the Dodgers picked up 6.0 Box-Toppers points, while the Mets earned 4.7.
The pitching matchup Friday:
Mets—Jacob deGrom, 22.4 Box-Toppers points, third among all players, third among NL pitchers.
Dodgers—Clayton Kershaw, 25.7 Box-Toppers points, second among all players, second among NL pitchers.
Mets vs. Dodgers
Here are players for both teams in the NL Divisional Series beginning Friday. Players are listed for both teams ranked by Box-Toppers points earned in 2015. All players listed were on active Major or Minor League rosters at the end of the season—not necessarily all of them will be included on postseason rosters.| New York Mets | Los Angeles Dodgers | |||||
| Player | Pos | BTP | Player | Pos | BTP | |
| deGrom, Jacob 3343 | pi sp | 22.4 | Kershaw, Clayton 2494 | pi sp | 25.7 | |
| Harvey, Matt 3075 | pi sp | 15.4 | Greinke, Zack 1871 | pi sp | 20.7 | |
| Cespedes, Yoenis 3008 | lf cf | 10.9 | Wood, Alex 3246 | pi sp | 7.7 | |
| Syndergaard, Noah 3472 | pi sp | 10.4 | Ethier, Andre 2137 | rf lf | 6.5 | |
| Familia, Jeurys 3446 | pi cp | 8.0 | Anderson, Brett 2597 | pi sp | 6.0 | |
| Colon, Bartolo | pi sp | 6.7 | Bolsinger, Mike 3318 | pi sp | 5.7 | |
| Niese, Jonathon 2531 | pi sp | 6.0 | Gonzalez, Adrian 2193 | 1b | 4.0 | |
| Granderson, Curtis 2051 | rf | 4.0 | Jansen, Kenley 2871 | pi cp | 4.0 | |
| Nieuwenhuis, Kirk 3022 | cf rf lf ph | 4.0 | Kendrick, Howie 2191 | 2b | 4.0 | |
| Matz, Steven 3516 | pi sp | 3.5 | Van Slyke, Scott 3033 | cf lf 1b | 4.0 | |
| Uribe, Juan 1542 | 3b ph | 3.0 | Turner, Justin 2865 | 2b 3b ph | 4.0 | |
| Verrett, Logan 3518 | pi mr | 3.0 | Puig, Yasiel 3193 | rf | 3.5 | |
| Robles, Hansel 3580 | pi mr | 2.7 | Guerrero, Alex 3442 | lf ph | 3.5 | |
| Duda, Lucas 2818 | 1b | 2.5 | Rollins, Jimmy 1516 | ss | 3.0 | |
| d’Arnaud, Travis 3384 | ca | 2.5 | McCarthy, Brandon 2082 | pi sp | 2.0 | |
| Flores, Wilmer 3345 | ss 2b | 2.5 | Grandal, Yasmani 3058 | ca 1b | 2.0 | |
| Tejada, Ruben 2801 | ss | 2.0 | Ruggiano, Justin 2396 | lf ph | 2.0 | |
| Johnson, Kelly 2018 | lf 1b | 2.0 | Frias, Carlos 3434 | pi sp | 2.0 | |
| Murphy, Daniel 2589 | 2b | 1.5 | Johnson, Jim 2417 | pi mr | 2.0 | |
| Gee, Dillon 2808 | pi sp | 1.0 | Thomas, Ian 3539 | pi sp | 1.7 | |
| Lagares, Juan 3243 | cf ph | 1.0 | Seager, Corey 3587 | ss | 1.5 | |
| Cuddyer, Michael 1826 | lf 1b | 1.0 | Heisey, Chris 2866 | cf rf | 1.0 | |
| Reed, Addison 3023 | pi mr cp | 1.0 | Nicasio, Juan 2888 | pi sp | 1.0 | |
| Torres, Carlos 2668 | pi mr | 1.0 | Hatcher, Chris 3420 | pi cp | 1.0 | |
| Blevins, Jerry 2788 | pi mr | 1.0 | Howell, J.P. 2016 | pi mr | 1.0 | |
| Clippard, Tyler 2291 | pi cp | 1.0 | Garcia, Yimi 3440 | pi cp | 1.0 | |
| Gilmartin, Sean 3500 | pi mr | 1.0 | Hernandez, Enrique 3541 | ph | 1.0 | |
| Monell, Johnny 3463 | ph | 1.0 | Ravin, Josh 3501 | pi mr | 1.0 | |
| Total | 122.0 | Total | 122.5 | |||
About Box-Toppers—Box-Toppers tracks who most helps their team win the most games. Using standard box score statistics, Box-Toppers uses a simple formula to determine a Player of the Game for each Major League Baseball game played. That player is the person who contributed most to his team’s win. In regular season games, players earn 1.0 Box-Toppers point for being named Player of the Game and can earn bonus points for being Player of the Day or top player or batter in their league for the day.
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Top 10 players
Here are the top 10 players in Box-Toppers points (BTP) for the 2015 season as of Aug. 10.| Player | Pos | Team | BTP | |
| 1 | deGrom, Jacob 3343 | pi sp | nym nl | 17.4 |
| 2 | Price, David 2593 | pi sp | tor al | 16.1 |
| 3 | Scherzer, Max 2588 | pi sp | dc nl | 16.0 |
| 4 | Gray, Sonny 3259 | pi sp | oak al | 15.8 |
| 5 | Hernandez, Felix 2064 | pi sp | sea al | 15.4 |
| 6 | Kershaw, Clayton 2494 | pi sp | lad nl | 15.0 |
| 7 | Sale, Chris 2806 | pi sp | chi al | 14.4 |
| 8 | Arrieta, Jake 2738 | pi sp | chi nl | 14.4 |
| 9 | Harvey, Matt 3075 | pi sp | nym nl | 14.4 |
| 10 | Greinke, Zack 1871 | pi sp | lad nl | 14.0 |
Cueto earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Game, giving him 12.8 for the season, rising to 15th in player rankings. He ranks eighth among American League pitchers. Monday marked the first time Cueto earned Box-Toppers points since his trade last month from the Reds.
National League Player of the Day—Nationals pitcher Gio Gonzalez pitched eight scoreless innings, striking out six, in the 8-3 win over the Dodgers.
American League Batter of the Day—Avisail Garcia of the White Sox hit two home runs and drove in four in the 8-2 win over the Angels.
National League Batter of the Day—Wellington Castillo of the Diamondbacks homered and hit a three-run triple in the 13-3 win over the Phillies. Castillo went 2-for-4 with two runs and four RBIs.
Scoring—Cueto earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day and Gonzalez earns 1.7 Box-Toppers points for being NL Player of the Day. Garcia and Castillo each earn 1.5 Box-Toppers points for being their league’s 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
| 8/10 | Score | Team | Player | AB | R | H | BI | BB | K | IP | H | R | ER | BB | K | |
| MLB | 13.0 | Royals | Johnny Cueto (W,8-7) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 9.0 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 8 | |
| NL | 6.0 | Nationals | Gio Gonzalez (W,9-4) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 8.0 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 6 | |
| 5.1 | Orioles | Wei-Yin Chen (W,6-6) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 7.1 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 5 | ||
| BAT | 4.0 | White Sox | Avisail Garcia, RF | 4 | 2 | 2 | 4 | 0 | 0 | - | - | - | - | - | - | |
| BAT | 4.0 | Dbacks | Welington Castillo, C | 4 | 2 | 2 | 4 | 0 | 1 | - | - | - | - | - | - | |
| 3.0 | Mets | Jeurys Familia (S,31) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 1.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | ||
| 3.0 | `Padres | Shawn Kelley (H,4) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 1.0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | ||
| `Denotes that the pitcher had a no-decision in the game and did not pick up a win or a save. | ||||||||||||||||
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