Nationals pitcher Max Scherzer, who tied a Major League record by striking out 20 in a single game, is Wednesday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day.
Top 10 players
Here are the top 10 players in Box-Toppers points (BTP) for the 2016 season as of May 11:| Player | Pos | Team | BTP | |
| 1 | Kershaw, Clayton 2494 | pi sp | lad nl | 7.0 |
| 2 | Machado, Manny 3087 | 3b ss | bal al | 6.7 |
| 3 | Arrieta, Jake 2738 | pi sp | chi nl | 6.0 |
| 4 | Sale, Chris 2806 | pi sp | chi al | 5.7 |
| 5 | Quintana, Jose 3040 | pi sp | chi al | 5.7 |
| 6 | De La Rosa, Rubby 3342 | pi sp | ari nl | 5.7 |
| 7 | Hill, Rich 2215 | pi sp | oak al | 5.4 |
| 8 | Scherzer, Max 2588 | pi sp | dc nl | 5.0 |
| 9 | Cueto, Johnny 2400 | pi sp | sf nl | 5.0 |
| 10 | Altuve, Jose 3007 | 2b | hou al | 5.0 |
Scherzer pitched a complete game, allowing two runs, six hits and no walks, in the 3-2 win over the Tigers. His 20 strikeouts in a nine-inning game ties the record of Roger Clemens of the Red Sox (who did it twice, in 1986 and 1996) and Kerry Wood of the Cubs (1998). (In 2001, Randy Johnson of the Diamondbacks also struck out 20 in nine innings in a game that lasted 11 innings.)
While his 20 strikeouts tie a record, Scherzer’s Box-Toppers game score Wednesday of +19.0 is only the fourth-highest score of the season. (See chart at the bottom of the page for the four highest Box-Toppers game scores of 2016.) In 2015, Scherzer had three games with a Box-Toppers game score of +19.0 or more, including the season’s highest score of +26.0 in his Oct. 3 no-hitter. He also had the season’s third-highest score (+23.0 on June 14 in a one-hitter) and 11th-highest score (+19.0 on June 20 in a no-hitter).
Scherzer earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points Wednesday for being Player of the Day, giving him 5.0 for the season, rising to eighth place in season player rankings, fourth among NL pitchers. He also rises to 51st place among players in Box-Toppers points since 1995 (when Box-Toppers tracking began) with 111.0 career points, moving past Tom Glavine (110.6) on the “all-time” list. Scherzer now trails 50th-ranked player, Cubs pitcher John Lackey (111.5).
American League Player of the Day—Astros pitcher Michael Feliz struck out five over three scoreless innings, allowing one hit and earning the save, in the 5-3, 16-inning win over the Indians.
This was Feliz’ Box-Toppers debut, the first time in his career he earned Player of the Game honors. Feliz made his Major League debut May 31, 2015, and was playing in his 11th career game. He is the 3,632nd player to debut in Box-Toppers since record keeping began in 1995.
American League Batter of the Day—Jackie Bradley Jr. of the Red Sox hit a three-run homer, a two-run homer and a double in the 13-3 win over the Athletics. Bradley also went 3-for-6, driving in six total runs.
National League Batter of the Day—Charlie Blackmon of the Rockies homered and went 3-for-5, scoring three times and driving in three runs, in the 8-7 win over the Diamondbacks.
Notable—Noah Syndergaard of the Mets became the second pitcher this season to earn Player of the Game honors for batting.
Syndergaard (2HR 2-4 2R 4BI in the 4-3 win over the Dodgers) had a Box-Toppers game score of +4.0 for batting and a score of +3.0 for pitching (8IP 6H 2R BB K W). Adam Wainwright of the Cardinals is the other pitcher who earned Player of the Game honors for batting this season when he did it on May 2. In 2015, pitchers won Player of the Game honors for batting seven times.
Streak—Nelson Cruz of the Mariners has now earned Box-Toppers points in 11 straight seasons after earning Player of the Game honors Wednesday.
Cruz (HR 1-3 2R 2BI in the 6-5 win over the Rays) earned his first Box-Toppers points in 2006 with the Rangers and has 48.2 career points, fifth among active AL outfielders and 10th among active AL designated hitters. His best season was 2014 with the Orioles when he had 8.5 Box-Toppers points, sixth among AL batters. He had 2.0 points in 2015 with the Mariners.
Scoring—Scherzer earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day and Feliz earns 1.7 points for being AL Player of the Day. Bradley and Blackmon each earn 1.5 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
| 5/11 | Score | Team | Player | AB | R | H | BI | BB | K | IP | H | R | ER | BB | K | |
| MLB | 19.0 | Nationals | Max Scherzer (W,4-2) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 9.0 | 6 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 20 | |
| 10.0 | Padres | Drew Pomeranz (W,4-3) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 6.0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 10 | ||
| 8.0 | Braves | Williams Perez (W,1-0) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 8.0 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 4 | ||
| 8.0 | Cardinals | Jaime Garcia (W,3-2) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 7.0 | 4 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 8 | ||
| AL | 7.0 | Astros | Michael Feliz (W,1-0) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 3.0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5 | |
| 6.1 | Marlins | Wei-Yin Chen (W,3-1) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 6.1 | 6 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 12 | ||
| BAT | 6.0 | Red Sox | Jackie Bradley Jr., CF | 5 | 2 | 3 | 6 | 0 | 1 | - | - | - | - | - | - | |
| 5.0 | Orioles | Chris Davis, 1B | 5 | 2 | 4 | 4 | 0 | 0 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| BAT | 4.0 | Rockies | Charlie Blackmon, CF | 5 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | - | - | - | - | - | - | |
| 4.0 | Mets | Noah Syndergaard, P | 4 | 2 | 2 | 4 | 0 | 2 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 2.2 | `Giants | Madison Bumgarner | - | - | - | - | - | - | 6.2 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 4 | 5 | ||
| 2.0 | Rangers | Ian Desmond, CF-LF | 4 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 1 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 2.0 | Pirates | Jung Ho Kang, 3B | 3 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 2.0 | Padres | Brett Wallace, 3B | 3 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 1 | 2 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 2.0 | Mariners | Nelson Cruz, DH | 3 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 2 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 2.0 | Royals | Lorenzo Cain, CF | 2 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 1 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| `Denotes that the pitcher had a no-decision in the game and did not pick up a win or a save. | ||||||||||||||||
Box-Toppers point totals of the day’s top players
Here are Box-Toppers point totals of each of the Players of the Game. Players are ranked by their Box-Toppers point total for the current season (16). Also shown are each players’ Box-Toppers point total for this season and last (15-16), the period 2011-2016 (11-16) and each players’ career point total. Also shown is how their 2016 Box-Toppers point total compares with their 2015 total (+/-).| Player | Pos | Team | 16 | 15-16 | 11-16 | Career | +/- |
| Scherzer, Max 2588 | pi sp | dc nl | 5.0 | 26.0 | 90.6 | 111.0 | -16.0 |
| Davis, Chris 2478 | 1b | bal al | 4.5 | 15.5 | 46.4 | 54.9 | -6.5 |
| Syndergaard, Noah 3472 | pi sp | nym nl | 4.0 | 14.4 | 14.4 | 14.4 | -6.4 |
| Garcia, Jaime 2508 | pi sp | stl nl | 4.0 | 13.4 | 31.1 | 39.8 | -5.4 |
| Pomeranz, Drew 3061 | pi sp mr | sd nl | 4.0 | 7.0 | 15.0 | 15.0 | 1.0 |
| Bumgarner, Madison 2753 | pi sp | sf nl | 3.0 | 20.0 | 90.0 | 95.7 | -14.0 |
| Bradley, Jackie Jr. 3293 | cf | bos al | 2.5 | 12.0 | 13.0 | 13.0 | -7.0 |
| Cain, Lorenzo 3171 | cf | kc al | 2.0 | 10.2 | 16.2 | 16.2 | -6.2 |
| Desmond, Ian 2673 | lf cf ss | tex al | 2.0 | 3.0 | 18.7 | 25.2 | 1.0 |
| Feliz, Michael 3632 | pi cp | hou al | 1.7 | 1.7 | 1.7 | 1.7 | 1.7 |
| Blackmon, Charlie 2891 | cf | col nl | 1.5 | 4.0 | 9.5 | 9.5 | -1.0 |
| Chen, Wei-Yin 3026 | pi sp | fla nl | 1.0 | 6.7 | 26.1 | 26.1 | -4.7 |
| Perez, Williams 3476 | pi sp | atl nl | 1.0 | 5.0 | 5.0 | 5.0 | -3.0 |
| Kang, Jung-Ho 3464 | ss 3b | pit nl | 1.0 | 4.0 | 4.0 | 4.0 | -2.0 |
| Cruz, Nelson 2224 | dh rf | sea al | 1.0 | 3.0 | 28.7 | 48.2 | -1.0 |
| Wallace, Brett 2837 | 3b | sd nl | 1.0 | 1.0 | 3.5 | 3.5 | 1.0 |
Top Box-Toppers game scores of 2016
Here are the top Box-Toppers game scores of 2016. Phillies pitcher Vince Velasquez had the highest score of +22.0 on April 14. Also shown are the Box-Toppers points (BTP) earned in the game by the player. Note that Jaime Garcia of the Cardinals earned 1.0 Box-Toppers point because he earned his Box-Toppers game score of +20 on April 14, the same day Velasquez bested him for Player of the Day with +22.0.
| Date | BTP | Score | Team | Player of the Game | IP | H | R | ER | BB | K |
| 4/14 | 2.0 | 22.0 | Phillies | Vince Velasquez (W,2-0) | 9.0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 16 |
| 4/14 | 1.0 | 20.0 | Cardinals | Jaime Garcia (W,1-0) | 9.0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 13 |
| 5/1 | 2.0 | 20.0 | Dodgers | Clayton Kershaw (W,3-1) | 9.0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 14 |
| 5/11 | 2.0 | 19.0 | Nationals | Max Scherzer (W,4-2) | 9.0 | 6 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 20 |
