Indians' Carrasco tops players for Thursday, July 30; Nationals' Scherzer rises to 2nd in Box-Toppers player rankings

Indians pitcher Carlos Carrasco is Thursday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day.

Also Thursday, Nationals pitcher Max Scherzer rose to second place in Box-Toppers player rankings and Brandon Phillips of the Reds earned Box-Toppers points for the 10th straight season.

Top 10 players

Here are the top 10 players in Box-Toppers points (BTP) for the 2015 season as of July 30.  

	Player	Pos	Team	BTP
1	deGrom, Jacob 3343	pi sp	nym nl	16.4
2	Scherzer, Max 2588	pi sp	dc nl	16.0
3	Hernandez, Felix 2064	pi sp	sea al	15.4
4	Sale, Chris 2806	pi sp	chi al	14.4
5	Price, David 2593	pi sp	tor al	13.1
6	Gray, Sonny 3259	pi sp	oak al	13.1
7	Kershaw, Clayton 2494	pi sp	lad nl	13.0
8	Archer, Chris 3194	pi sp	tb al	13.0
9	Cole, Gerrit 3232	pi sp	pit nl	13.0
10	Keuchel, Dallas 3050	pi sp	hou al	12.7

What are those numbers after players' names?

Player of the Day—Carrasco pitched a two-hit complete game, allowing one run and striking out seven, in the 3-1 win over the Athletics.

Carrasco earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day, giving him 11.0 for the season and becomes the 22nd player this season with 10 or more Box-Toppers points. He ranks 15th among all players and eighth among AL pitchers.

National League Player of the Day—Brandon Phillips of the Reds hit two homers and went 4-for-5, driving in seven runs, in the 15-5 win over the Pirates.

Phillips earns 1.7 Box-Toppers points for being NL Player of the Day, his first points of the season, and has now earned Box-Toppers points for 10 straight seasons. He earned his first Box-Toppers points in 2002 with the Indians, but did not earn points in 2004 or 2005. His 10-season streak began in 2006 when he earned Box-Toppers points with both the Indians and the Reds. His best year was 2012 with the Reds, when he earned 9.5 Box-Toppers points, seventh among NL batters. In 2014, he had 2.0 Box-Toppers points with the Reds.

Phillips has 61.1 career Box-Toppers points and ranks eighth among second basemen since 1995 (when Box-Toppers record keeping began). He ranks second among active NL second basemen, behind Chase Utley of the Phillies (72.1).

American League Batter of the Day—Eddie Rosario of the Twins hit a three-run homer and also tripled and doubled, going 3-for-5 and scoring three times, in the 9-5 win over the Mariners.

This was Rosario’s Box-Toppers debut, the first time in his career he earned Player of the Game honors. Rosario made his Major League debut May 6 and was playing in his 66th career game. He is the 3,542nd player to debut in Box-Toppers since record keeping began in 1995.

National League Batter of the Day—There is no separate NL Batter of the Day for Thursday because the overall NL Player of the Day is a batter (Brandon Phillips).

Rankings—Nationals pitcher Max Scherzer rose to second place in Box-Toppers season player rankings after earning Player of the Game honors Thursday. Scherzer (7IP 3H 0R 6K W in the 1-0 win over the Marlins) earns 1.0 Box-Toppers point, giving him 16.0 for the season. He also ranks second among NL pitchers, behind overall leader Jacob deGrom of the Mets (16.4).

Scherzer also rises to 64th place among all players since 1995, when Box-Toppers record keeping began. With his point Thursday, Scherzer now has 101.0 career Box-Toppers points and passes three players on the “all-time” list—Larry Walker (100.1), Jeff Bagwell (100.4) and Paul Konerko (100.7). Scherzer trails 63rd-place player Jason Schmidt (101.2).

Notable—Astros pitcher Scott Kazmir rose to 13th place in Box-Toppers season player rankings after earning Player of the Game honors Thursday. Kazmir (7.2IP 3H 0R 5K ND in the 3-0 win over the Angels) earns 1.0 Box-Toppers point, giving him 11.7 for the season. He ranks seventh among AL pitchers.

Debuts—In addition to Rosario, one other player made his Box-Toppers debut Thursday, the first time in his career he earned Player of the Game honors:

• Phillies pitcher Elvis Araujo (1IP 0H 0R 2K ND in the 4-1 win over the Braves) made his Major League debut May 5 and was playing in his 29th career game. He is the 3,543rd 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 Phillips earns 1.7 Box-Toppers points for being NL Player of the Day. Rosario 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.

Top player from each game

Listed from highest to lowest Box-Toppers game score

7/30	Score	Team	Player	AB	R	H	BI	BB	K		IP	H	R	ER	BB	K
MLB	11.0	Indians	Carlos Carrasco (W,11-8)	-	-	-	-	-	-		9.0	2	1	1	1	7
NL	8.0	Reds	Brandon Phillips, 2B	5	2	4	7	0	0		-	-	-	-	-	-
	7.0	Cardinals	Matt Carpenter, 3B-1B	5	4	4	4	0	0		-	-	-	-	-	-
	7.0	Nationals	Max Scherzer (W,11-8)	-	-	-	-	-	-		7.0	3	0	0	3	6
	6.2	`Astros	Scott Kazmir	-	-	-	-	-	-		7.2	3	0	0	3	5
	6.0	Padres	Derek Norris, C	5	2	5	4	0	0		-	-	-	-	-	-
BAT	4.0	Twins	Eddie Rosario, LF	5	3	3	3	0	0		-	-	-	-	-	-
	3.0	Tigers	Yoenis Cespedes, LF	5	2	3	3	0	1		-	-	-	-	-	-
	3.0	Cubs	Anthony Rizzo, 1B	4	1	3	3	0	0		-	-	-	-	-	-
	3.0	Rangers	Josh Hamilton, DH	4	1	2	4	1	1		-	-	-	-	-	-
	3.0	Red Sox	Steven Wright (W,4-4)	-	-	-	-	-	-		7.0	6	2	2	2	8
	3.0	`Phillies	Elvis Araujo (H,1)	-	-	-	-	-	-		1.0	0	0	0	0	2
	2.0	Blue Jays	Dioner Navarro, C	2	1	1	2	2	0		-	-	-	-	-	-
		`Denotes that the pitcher had a no-decision in the game and did not pick up a win or a save.

Dodgers' Clayton Kershaw tops players for Saturday, July 18, rises to 10th in Box-Toppers player rankings

Dodgers pitcher Clayton Kershaw is Saturday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day and rises to 10th in season player rankings.

Also Saturday, Robinson Cano of the Mariners earned a Box-Toppers point in his 11th straight season and three players with more than 100 career Box-Toppers points—Kershaw, Aramis Ramirez and Jon Lester—earned Player of the Game honors.

Top 10 players

Here are the top 10 players in Box-Toppers points (BTP) for the 2015 season as of July 18.  

	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	Kershaw, Clayton 2494	pi sp	lad nl	11.0

What are those numbers after players' names?

Player of the Day—Kershaw pitched eight scoreless innings, striking out 14 and allowing three hits, in the 4-2 win over the Nationals.

Kershaw earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day, giving him 11.0 for the season and rises to 10th place in season Box-Toppers player rankings. Kershaw led all players in Box-Toppers points in 2014 with 31.5. He also led all players in Box-Toppers points in 2011 and 2013.

Kershaw is the 15th player this season with 10.0 or more Box-Toppers points. It is the seventh straight season Kershaw has had 10.0 or more points.

Kershaw has 144.6 career Box-Toppers points, ranked 20th among all players since 1995, when Box-Toppers record keeping began. He trails 19th-place player Jim Thome (146.7).

American League Player of the Day—Orioles pitcher Chris Tillman pitched eight scoreless innings, striking out eight and allowing one hit, in the 3-0 win over the Tigers.

National League Batter of the Day—Randal Grichuk of the Cardinals hit two home runs, going 3-for-3 and driving in six runs, in the 12-2 win over the Mets.

American League Batter of the Day—Robinson Cano of the Mariners hit a pair of two-run homers and went 3-for-4 in the 4-3 win over the Yankees.

Cano has now earned Box-Toppers points for 11 straight seasons with his first Player of the Game honor for 2015. He earned his first Box-Toppers points in 2005 with the Yankees. His best season was 2013 with the Yankees, when he had 12.5 Box-Toppers points, ranked fourth among AL batters. In 2014, he had 6.5 Box-Toppers points with the Mariners.

Cano has 62.4 career Box-Toppers points and ranks sixth among all second baseman since Box-Toppers record keeping began in 1995. He ranks second in career points among active second basemen, behind Chase Utley of the Phillies (72.1).

Notables—In addition to Kershaw, two other players with more than 100 career Box-Toppers points earned Player of the Game honors Saturday:

• Cubs pitcher Jon Lester (7.1IP 2H 0R 7K W in the 4-0 win over the Braves) earns 1.0 Box-Toppers point, giving him 115.1 career Box-Toppers points. He rises to 42nd place among all players since 1995 when Box-Toppers record keeping began. With his point Saturday, he passes three players on the “all-time” list—Torii Hunter (114.4), Josh Beckett (114.9) and Tim Lincecum (115.0). He trails 41st-place player Todd Helton (116.4).
• Aramis Ramirez of the Brewers (HR 3-3 2R 2BI in the 8-5 win over the Pirates) earns 1.0 Box-Toppers point, giving him 103.3 career Box-Toppers points. He ranks 58th place among all players since 1995 when Box-Toppers record keeping began. He trails 57th-place player John Lackey (103.8).

Debuts—Two players made their Box-Toppers debut Saturday, the first time in their career they earned Player of the Game honors:

• Matt den Dekker of the Nationals (2-R HR in the 5-3 win over the Dodgers) made his Major League debut Aug. 29, 2013, and was playing in his 98th career game. He is the 3,534th player to debut in Box-Toppers since record keeping began in 1995.
• Royals pitcher Brandon Finnegan (2IP H 0R 2K W in the 7-6, 13-inning win over the White Sox) made his Major League debut Sept. 6, 2014, and was playing in his 21st career game. He is the 3,535th player to debut in Box-Toppers since record keeping began in 1995.

Scoring—Kershaw earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day and Tillman earns 1.7 Box-Toppers points for being AL Player of the Day. Grichuk and Cano 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

7/18	Score	Team	Player	AB	R	H	BI	BB	K		IP	H	R	ER	BB	K
MLB	19.0	Dodgers	Clayton Kershaw (W,7-6)	-	-	-	-	-	-		8.0	3	0	0	0	14
AL	14.0	Orioles	Chris Tillman (W,7-7)	-	-	-	-	-	-		8.0	1	0	0	1	8
	12.0	Angels	Garrett Richards (W,10-6)	-	-	-	-	-	-		9.0	2	0	0	1	6
	11.1	Cubs	Jon Lester (W,5-8)	-	-	-	-	-	-		7.1	2	0	0	1	7
BAT	8.0	Cardinals	Randal Grichuk, CF-LF-RF	3	2	3	6	1	0		-	-	-	-	-	-
	6.1	Rangers	Colby Lewis (W,9-4)	-	-	-	-	-	-		7.1	4	2	2	0	7
	5.1	`Athletics	Scott Kazmir	-	-	-	-	-	-		8.1	5	1	1	1	5
BAT	5.0	Mariners	Robinson Cano, 2B	4	2	3	4	0	0		-	-	-	-	-	-
	4.0	Giants	Buster Posey, 1B-C	4	1	3	4	1	0		-	-	-	-	-	-
	4.0	Brewers	Aramis Ramirez, 3B	3	2	3	2	1	0		-	-	-	-	-	-
	4.0	Padres	Craig Kimbrel (S,25)	-	-	-	-	-	-		1.0	0	0	0	0	3
	3.0	Nationals	Matt den Dekker PH LF	1	1	1	2	0	0		-	-	-	-	-	-
	3.0	Royals	Brandon Finnegan (W,3-0)	-	-	-	-	-	-		2.0	1	0	0	0	2
	2.2	`Rays	Erasmo Ramirez	-	-	-	-	-	-		4.2	4	1	1	0	4
	2.0	Indians	Carlos Santana, 1B	3	2	2	1	2	0		-	-	-	-	-	-
	2.0	Phillies	Chad Billingsley (W,2-3)	-	-	-	-	-	-		5.0	4	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.

Cubs' Jason Hammel (8IP 0R 7K) tops players for Monday, April 27

Cubs pitcher Jason Hammel is Monday’s Player of the Day.

Hammel pitched eight scoreless innings and struck out seven in the 4-0 win over the Pirates.

Top 10 players

Here are the top 10 players in Box-Toppers points (BTP) for the 2015 season as of April 27.  

	Player	Pos	Team	BTP
1	Hernandez, Felix 2064	pi sp	sea al	6.0
2	Archer, Chris 3194	pi sp	tb al	5.0
3	Stanton, Giancarlo 2737	rf	fla nl	4.5
4	Cole, Gerrit 3232	pi sp	pit nl	4.0
5	Kazmir, Scott 1947	pi sp	oak al	3.7
6	Harvey, Matt 3075	pi sp	nym nl	3.7
7	DeSclafani, Anthony 3441	pi sp	cin nl	3.7
8	Hechavarria, Adeiny 3445	ss	fla nl	3.5
9	Cueto, Johnny 2400	pi sp	cin nl	3.4
10	Harang, Aaron 1599	pi sp	phi nl	3.4

What are those numbers after players' names?

Hammel has now earned at least 1.0 Box-Toppers point for 10 straight seasons. He earned his first Box-Toppers point in 2006 with the Rays. His best season was 2014 when he had 10.4 Box-Toppers points with the Cubs (8.7) and the Athletics (1.7). He has 38.5 career Box-Toppers points, which ranks him 44th among active pitchers currently in the National League.

American League Player of the Day—Yankees pitcher Adam Warren struck out six over 5 2/3 innings and allowed one run in the 4-1 win over the Rays. Warren earned no decision because he left with the game tied, 1-1.

National League Batter of the Day—Jay Bruce of the Reds hit a two-run homer, scored twice and drove in three runs, in the 9-6 win over the Brewers.

American League Batter of the Day—Pablo Sandoval of the Red Sox homered, went 2-for-2 and drove in three runs, in the 6-5 win over the Blue Jays.

Streak—Justin Morneau of the Rockies has now earned at least 1.0 Box-Toppers point for 12 straight seasons. Morneau was Player of the Game in Monday’s 5-4 win over the Diamondbacks (3R HR 2-3 3BI) and earned 1.0 Box-Toppers point, his first of the season.

Morneau earned his first Box-Toppers point in 2004 with the Twins. His best season was 2006 with the Twins when he had 12.2 Box-Toppers points, ranking seventh among AL batters. In 2014, he had 3.2 Box-Toppers points with the Rockies.

Morneau has 72.3 career Box-Toppers points and ranks 71st among all batters since Box-Toppers record keeping began in 1995, behind Ryan Braun (72.7) and ahead of Chase Utley (72.1). He ranks sixth among active batters currently in the NL.

Debut—Mariners pitcher Taijuan Walker made his Box-Toppers debut Monday, the first time in his career he earned Player of the Game honors. Walker (7IP R 5K W in the 3-1 win over the Rangers) made his Major League debut Aug. 30, 2013, and was playing in his 15th career game. He is the 3,453rd player to debut in Box-Toppers since record keeping began in 1995. 

Scoring—Hammel earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day and Warren earns 1.7 Box-Toppers points for being AL Player of the Day. Bruce and Sandoval 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

4/27	Score	Team	Player	AB	R	H	BI	BB	K		IP	H	R	ER	BB	K
MLB	11.0	Cubs	Jason Hammel (W, 2-1)	-	-	-	-	-	-		8.0	4	0	0	0	7
	6.0	Phillies	Cole Hamels (W, 1-2)	-	-	-	-	-	-		7.0	4	1	1	4	9
BAT	5.0	Reds	Jay Bruce RF	1	2	1	3	3	0		-	-	-	-	-	-
AL	4.2	`Yankees	Adam Warren	-	-	-	-	-	-		5.2	5	1	1	0	6
BAT	4.0	Red Sox	Pablo Sandoval 3B	2	1	2	3	0	0		-	-	-	-	-	-
	4.0	Dodgers	Justin Turner PH	1	1	1	3	0	0		-	-	-	-	-	-
	4.0	Mariners	Taijuan Walker (W, 1-2)	-	-	-	-	-	-		7.0	6	1	0	1	5
	3.0	Braves	Kelly Johnson LF	4	1	3	3	0	1		-	-	-	-	-	-
	3.0	Rockies	Justin Morneau 1B	3	1	2	3	1	0		-	-	-	-	-	-
	2.2	`Mets	Dillon Gee	-	-	-	-	-	-		7.2	6	1	1	0	3
	2.0	Royals	Mike Moustakas 3B	5	2	4	1	0	0		-	-	-	-	-	-
	2.0	Astros	Colby Rasmus LF	5	2	2	3	0	3		-	-	-	-	-	-
	2.0	Tigers	Yoenis Cespedes LF	4	1	2	3	0	1		-	-	-	-	-	-
		`Denotes that the pitcher had a no-decision in the game and did not pick up a win or a save.

Tigers' Justin Verlander tops players for Tuesday, Aug. 6

Note: Box-Toppers is playing catch-up after time away. These are Box-Toppers results for Tuesday, Aug. 6:

Tigers pitcher Justin Verlander is Tuesday's Player of the Day. Verlander gave up one run and struck out seven over eight innings in the 5-1 win over the Indians.

Verlander became the 26th player this season with 10.0 or more Box-Toppers points. He earned 2.0 points for being Player of the Day, giving him exactly 10.0 for the season, putting him in 24th place among players. While this is the fifth straight season Verlander has earned at least 10.0 Box-Toppers points (and seventh time in his eight seasons of play), it is a big drop-off from 2012 when he led in Box-Toppers points with 24.8 and 2011, when he was in third place overall with 24.4. 

Braves pitcher Craig Kimbrel is National League Player of the Day. Kimbrel struck out three in a one-inning save in the 2-1 win over the Nationals. 

Jacoby Ellsbury of the Red Sox is American League Batter of the Day. Ellsbury homered twice, scored four runs and went 2-for-4 in the 15-10 win over the Astros. 

Chase Utley of the Phillies is NL Batter of the Day. Utley went 3-for-4 in the 9-8 win over the Cubs. 

Notable: White Sox pitcher Chris Sale rose to 14th place in Box-Toppers player standings after earning Player of the Game honors Tuesday. Sale (7.1IP 1R 6K W in 3-2 win vs. the Yankees) earned 1.0 Box-Toppers point, giving him 11.7 for the season. 

Verlander receives 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day. Kimbrel receives 1.7 for NL Player of the Day. Ellsbury and Utley each receive 1.5 for being top Batter of the Day in their league.

All of Tuesday's other Players of the Game (listed in the chart below) receive 1.0 Box-Toppers point.

Top player from each game

Listed from highest to lowest Box-Toppers game score

806	Score	Team	BATTERS	AB	R	H	RBI	BB	SO	-	-	PITCHERS	IP	H	R	ER	BB	SO
MLB	9.0	Tigers	0	0	0	0	0	0	0			Justin Verlander (W, 12-8)	8.0	4	1	1	0	7
	5.1	Twins	0	0	0	0	0	0	0			Andrew Albers (W, 1-0)	8.1	4	0	0	1	2
BAT	5.0	Red Sox	Jacoby Ellsbury CF	4	4	2	3	2	1			0	0.0	0	0	0	0	0
	4.0	Orioles	Adam Jones CF	4	2	4	2	0	0			0	0.0	0	0	0	0	0
NL	4.0	Braves	0	0	0	0	0	0	0			Craig Kimbrel (S, 35)	1.0	0	0	0	0	3
	3.1	Reds	0	0	0	0	0	0	0			Mat Latos (W, 11-3)	7.1	4	0	0	3	3
	3.1	Brewers	0	0	0	0	0	0	0			Wily Peralta (W, 8-11)	6.1	5	1	1	2	6
	3.1	`Mets	0	0	0	0	0	0	0			Jenrry Mejia	5.1	4	2	1	2	7
BAT	3.0	Phillies	Chase Utley 2B	4	2	3	2	0	1			0	0.0	0	0	0	0	0
	3.0	Cardinals	Matt Adams PH	1	1	1	2	0	0			0	0.0	0	0	0	0	0
	3.0	Diamondbacks	0	0	0	0	0	0	0			Wade Miley (W, 9-8)	7.0	5	1	1	2	5
	3.0	Blue Jays	0	0	0	0	0	0	0			Josh Johnson (W, 2-8)	5.0	5	0	0	2	5
	2.1	White Sox	0	0	0	0	0	0	0			Chris Sale (W, 7-11)	7.1	5	1	1	4	6
	2.0	Rangers	Elvis Andrus SS	5	3	3	1	0	0			0	0.0	0	0	0	0	0
	2.0	Pirates	Andrew McCutchen CF	3	1	2	2	1	0			0	0.0	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.