Marcus Stroman tops players as Blue Jays beat Orioles in AL Wild Card Game

Blue Jays pitcher Marcus Stroman is Box-Toppers Player of the Day in Tuesday’s American League Wild Card game.

Stroman pitched six innings, allowing two runs on four hits, striking out six and walking none, in the 5-2, 11-inning win over the Orioles. Stroman did not earn the win, picking up a no-decision, because the game was tied 2-2 when he exited.

Stroman had 6.7 Box-Toppers points during the regular season, ranked 43rd among AL pitchers, 112th overall.

While the Blue Jays were the top-ranked Wild Card team, they rank lower in Box-Toppers team rankings. The Blue Jays rank ninth among all teams with 114.0 accumulated Box-Toppers points. The Orioles ranked seventh with 116.6.

The Blue Jays will face the Texas Rangers in the best-of-five AL Division Series beginning Thursday in Texas. The Rangers have the AL’s best winning percentage (.586), but rank third among AL teams and fifth among all teams in Box-Toppers team rankings with 122.5 points.

Top player from AL Wild Card Game

BTG	Game	Player of Game	AB	R	H	BI		IP	H	R	ER	BB	K
4.0	`TOR 5, BAL 2 (11)	Marcus Stroman	-	-	-	-		6.0	4	2	2	0	6
	`Denotes that the pitcher had a no-decision in the game and did not pick up a win or a save.
	BTG: Box-Toppers game score

Box-Toppers’ NL Wild Card Preview

Coming Wednesday—The National League Wild Card Game is in New York, with the Giants facing the Mets. Here is the pitching match-up:

Giants—Madison Bumgarner, 13.0 Box-Toppers points, ranked 19th among all players, 12th among NL pitchers.

Mets—Noah Syndergaard, 16.7 Box-Toppers points, ranked seventh among all players, fourth among NL pitchers.

Bumgarner and Syndergaard also both rank among the top 10 NL pitchers in Box-Toppers points over the past two seasons. Bumgarner has 30.0 points over 2015 and 2016, ranking seventh. Syndergaard has 27.1 points in that span, ranking 10th. Bumgarner also ranks third among pitchers in Box-Toppers points earned since the start of 2011—he has an even 100.0 points and trails only Clayton Kershaw, Dodgers (150.2), and Max Scherzer, Nationals (111.3). Syndergaard was a rookie in 2015.

The Mets are sixth in Box-Toppers team rankings with 119.1 accumulated points, third-most among NL teams. The Giants rank 10th, fifth among NL teams, with 112.7, the lowest-ranked team to qualify for the postseason. However, in the final 10 days of the season, the Giants were the slightly hotter team, picking up 8.7 Box-Toppers points, while the Mets picked up 6.7.

The Mets have two players among Box-Toppers top 10 NL batters:

• Outfielder Jay Bruce has 8.5 Box-Toppers points, ranking eighth.
• Outfielder Yoenis Cespedes has 8.0 Box-Toppers points, ranking 10th.

The Giants highest-ranking batter is first baseman Brandon Belt with 7.0 Box-Toppers points, ranking 18th among NL batters.

The winner of the NL Wild Card game will face the Chicago Cubs in the best-of-five NL Divisional Series beginning Friday in Chicago. The Cubs have baseball’s best winning percentage (.640) and rank first in Box-Toppers team rankings with 139.5 points.

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.

Box-Toppers strives for accuracy. See a mistake in a post? A wrong name, wrong team, grammar error, spelling goof, etc.? Thanks for pointing it out! Contact Box-Toppers here. Let's fix it and make it right.

Giants vs. Mets

Here are players for both teams in the NL Wild Card Game Wednesday. Players are listed for both teams ranked by Box-Toppers points earned in 2016. 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.  

San Francisco Giants				New York Mets
Cueto, Johnny 2400	pi sp	16.4		Syndergaard, Noah 3472	pi sp	16.7
Bumgarner, Madison 2753	pi sp	13.0		Matz, Steven 3516	pi sp	12.1
Moore, Matt 2975	pi sp	12.4		deGrom, Jacob 3343	pi sp	9.7
Samardzija, Jeff 2495	pi sp	10.7		Bruce, Jay 2453	rf	8.5
Belt, Brandon 2943	1b	7.0		Colon, Bartolo	pi sp	8.4
Panik, Joe 3401	2b	5.5		Cespedes, Yoenis 3008	cf lf	8.0
Nunez, Eduardo 2795	3b 2b ss	5.5		Familia, Jeurys 3446	pi cp	8.0
Peavy, Jake 1635	pi sp	5.0		Conforto, Michael 3622	lf	5.0
Posey, Buster 2745	ca 1b	3.5		Granderson, Curtis 2051	rf cf ph	4.5
Pence, Hunter 2287	rf	3.5		Flores, Wilmer 3345	3b 1b 2b ph	4.5
Casilla, Santiago 2301	pi cp	3.0		Walker, Neil 2756	2b	3.5
Kontos, George 3106	pi cp mr	3.0		Harvey, Matt 3075	pi sp	3.0
Span, Denard 2502	cf	3.0		Niese, Jonathon 2531	pi sp	2.0
Tomlinson, Kelby 3619	2b ph	3.0		Cabrera, Asdrubal 2362	ss	2.0
Cain, Matt 2081	pi sp	2.7		Reed, Addison 3023	pi mr	2.0
Brown, Trevor 3610	ca	2.5		Salas, Fernando 2853	pi cp	2.0
Crawford, Brandon 2878	ss	2.0		Reyes, Jose 1759	3b ss	2.0
Gillaspie, Conor 3218	3b ph	2.0		Loney, James 2206	1b ph	2.0
Blach, Ty 3754	pi sp	2.0		Reynolds, Matt 3650	ss ph	2.0
Law, Derek 3657	pi sp mr	2.0		Smoker, Josh 3725	pi cp mr	2.0
Pagan, Angel 2184	lf	1.0		Gsellman, Robert 3748	pi sp	1.7
Beckham, Gordon 2620	2b	1.0		De Aza, Alejandro 2950	cf	1.5
Strickland, Hunter 3546	pi mr	1.0		Verrett, Logan 3518	pi sp	1.0
Okert, Steven 3745	pi mr	1.0		Robles, Hansel 3580	pi cp	1.0
Osich, Josh 3677	pi mr	1.0		d’Arnaud, Travis 3384	ca	1.0
				Wright, David 1911	3b	1.0
				Goeddel, Erik 3672	pi mr	1.0
				Lugo, Seth 3729	pi sp	1.0
				Rivera, T.J. 3710	3b 2b	1.0
				Ynoa, Gabriel 3743	pi sp	1.0
Totals		112.7		Totals		119.1

What are those numbers after players' names?

Orioles' Chris Tillman faces Blue Jays' Marcus Stroman in AL Wild Card Game

The Baltimore Orioles visit the Toronto Blue Jays in the American League one-game Wild Card playoff game Tuesday.

Starting pitchers are:

Orioles—Chris Tillman, 8.0 Box-Toppers points, ranked 30th among AL pitchers, 89th overall.

Blue Jays—Marcus Stroman, 6.7 Box-Toppers points, 43rd among AL pitchers, 112th overall.

Both teams have identical 89-73 records, but the Orioles rank higher in Box-Toppers team rankings—they are seventh with 116.6 Box-Toppers points, while the Blue Jays are ninth with 114.0. The Blue Jays are the lowest-ranked AL team to make the postseason. 

The Orioles finished the season as one of the hottest teams in baseball. In the final 10 days of the season, they earned 8.5 Box-Toppers points, third-most among all teams. The Blue Jays earned 6.0 points during that period.

Top-ranked player among both teams is Blue Jays pitcher J.A. Happ, 14.7 Box-Toppers points, ranked third among AL pitchers and 11th among all players. However, Happ started Saturday.

The Blue Jays also feature two players ranked in the top 10 list of AL batters for 2016:

• Catcher Russell Martin, 10.5 Box-Toppers points, ranks sixth among AL batters, 48th among all players.
• Third baseman Josh Donaldson, 9.7 Box-Toppers points, ranks seventh among AL batters, 57th among all players.

The Orioles top-ranked player is third baseman-shortstop Manny Machado, whose 12.7 Box-Toppers points leads all AL batters. He ranks 21st among all players.

Also in the top 10 among AL batters is Orioles catcher Matt Wieters, 11.0 Box-Toppers points, ranked fifth, 38th among all players.

The winner of the AL Wild Card game will face the Texas Rangers in the best-of-five AL Division Series beginning Thursday in Texas. The Rangers rank fifth in Box-Toppers team rankings, third among AL teams, with 122.5 Box-Toppers points.

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.

Box-Toppers strives for accuracy. See a mistake in a post? A wrong name, wrong team, grammar error, spelling goof, etc.? Thanks for pointing it out! Contact Box-Toppers here. Let's fix it and make it right.

Orioles vs. Blue Jays

Here are players for both teams in the AL Wild Card Game Tuesday. Players are listed for both teams ranked by Box-Toppers points earned in 2016. 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.  

Baltimore Orioles				Toronto Blue Jays
Player	Pos	BTP		Player	Pos	BTP
Machado, Manny 3087	3b ss	12.7		Happ, J.A. 2536	pi sp	14.7
Wieters, Matt 2643	ca	11.0		Estrada, Marco 2847	pi sp	11.0
Gausman, Kevin 3191	pi sp	10.8		Sanchez, Aaron 3392	pi sp	10.7
Trumbo, Mark 2851	rf	8.2		Martin, Russell 2202	ca	10.5
Tillman, Chris 2754	pi sp	8.0		Donaldson, Josh 3144	3b	9.7
Davis, Chris 2478	1b	7.5		Liriano, Francisco 2104	pi sp	8.0
Hardy, J.J. 2071	ss	6.2		Encarnacion, Edwin 2098	dh 1b	8.0
Miley, Wade 3006	pi sp	6.0		Dickey, R.A. 1734	pi sp	7.0
Bundy, Dylan 3655	pi sp	6.0		Stroman, Marcus 3327	pi sp	6.7
Britton, Zach 2835	pi cp	5.0		Saunders, Michael 2768	lf	5.2
Jimenez, Ubaldo 2349	pi sp	4.7		Smoak, Justin 2731	1b	3.5
Schoop, Jonathan 3307	2b	4.5		Osuna, Roberto 3512	pi cp	3.0
Brach, Brad 3374	pi mr	3.0		Upton, Melvin 1922	lf cf	2.5
O’Day, Darren 2577	pi mr cp	3.0		Pillar, Kevin 3486	cf	2.0
Wilson, Tyler 3608	pi mr sp	3.0		Biagini, Joe 3646	pi mr	2.0
Gallardo, Yovani 2333	pi sp	2.0		Goins, Ryan 3478	2b	1.5
Pearce, Steve 2371	1b	2.0		Bautista, Jose Antonio 2169	rf	1.0
Bourn, Michael 2505	rf cf	2.0		Tulowitzki, Troy 2308	ss	1.0
Givens, Mychal 3599	pi mr	2.0		Bolsinger, Mike 3318	pi sp	1.0
Lobstein, Kyle 3406	pi sp mr	2.0		Grilli, Jason 2209	pi mr cp	1.0
Kim, Hyun Soo 3671	lf	2.0		Travis, Devon 3436	2b	1.0
Jones, Adam 2347	cf	1.0		Benoit, Joaquin 1663	pi mr	1.0
Alvarez, Pedro 2817	dh 1b	1.0		Cecil, Brett 2566	pi mr	1.0
Wright, Mike 3471	pi sp	1.0		Navarro, Dioner 2087	dh ca	1.0
Hunter, Tommy 2623	pi cp	1.0
Reimold, Nolan 2607	lf	1.0
Totals		116.6		Totals		114.0

What are those numbers after players' names?

Giants' Madison Bumgarner shuts out Pirates in NL Wild Card Game, tops players for Wednesday, Oct. 1

Giants pitcher Madison Bumgarner, who pitched a complete game shutout in the National League Wild Card Game win over the Pirates, is Wednesday’s Player of the Day.

Bumgarner allowed four hits and one walk and struck out 10 in the 8-0 win. He had the Giants’ high Box-Toppers game score of +14. Brandon Belt, who went 2-for-3 with a run and three RBIs, had the second-highest Box-Toppers game score among Giants players of +3.

During the regular season, Bumgarner earned 22.6 Box-Toppers points, ranking third among all players and second among NL pitchers.

The Giants now advance to face the Nationals in the best-of-five NL Division Series beginning Friday in Washington.

The Giants are ranked eighth in regular season Box-Toppers team rankings with 110.8 Box-Toppers points. They eliminate the Pirates, the 11th-ranked team with 99.9 Box-Toppers points. The team the Giants will face, the Nationals, rank fourth in Box-Toppers team rankings with 115.5 Box-Toppers points.

Coming Thursday:

American League Division Series Game 1, Tigers at Orioles

The Orioles have a slight edge in Box-Toppers team rankings. They have 113.4 Box-Toppers points, ranking sixth among all teams. The Tigers have 112.9 points, ranking seventh. During the final 10 days of the regular season, Orioles players earned 4.0 Box-Toppers points and Tigers players earned 6.0.

The pitching matchup Thursday:

Tigers: Max Scherzer, 22.1 Box-Toppers points, ranked fifth among all players, second among AL pitchers.

Orioles: Chris Tillman, 6.0 Box-Toppers points, ranked 152nd among all players, 53rd among AL pitchers.

American League Division Series Game 1, Royals at Angels

The Angels are Box-Toppers’ top-ranked team with 124.2 Box-Toppers points. The Royals rank 10th with 101.1 points. However, in the final 10 days of the regular season, the Angels had the fewest Box-Toppers points of any AL team (3.0), while the Royals had 6.5.

The pitching matchup Thursday:

Royals: Jason Vargas, 7.0 Box-Toppers points, ranked 107th among all players, 38th among AL pitchers.

Angels: Jered Weaver, 6.7 Box-Toppers points, ranked 126th among all players, 47th among AL pitchers.

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 in NL Wild Card Game

Giants pitcher Madison Bumgarner was Player of the Game (POG) in the 8-0 win over the Pirates

1001	Score	Team	Player of the Game	AB	R	H	BI	BB	K		IP	H	R	ER	BB	K
POG	14.0	Giants	Madison Bumgarner (W, 1-0)	-	-	-	-	-	-		9.0	4	0	0	1	10

Royals' Eric Hosmer tops players in AL Wild Card win over Athletics, Tuesday, Sept. 30

Eric Hosmer of the Royals, who tripled in the bottom of the 12th inning, then scored the run to tie the American League Wild Card Playoff Game, is Tuesday’s Player of the Day.

Hosmer went 3-for-4, scoring twice and driving in a run, in the 9-8, 12-inning win over the Athletics. He had the Royals’ high Box-Toppers game score of +2.

During the regular season, Hosmer earned 2.5 Box-Toppers points, ranking 368th among all players and 83rd among AL batters.

The Royals now advance to face the Angels in the best-of-five AL Division Series beginning Thursday in Los Angeles.

The Royals are tenth in Box-Toppers team rankings, the lowest-rated AL playoff team, with 101.1 Box-Toppers points. They eliminate the Athletics, the third-ranked team with 117.6 Box-Toppers points. The Athletics had led all teams in Box-Toppers points much of the season but slumped toward the end of the season and were the final team to qualify for a playoff spot, winning the AL’s second wild card spot on Sunday, the final game of the season.

The Royals will face the Angels, the overall top team in Box-Toppers team rankings, with 124.2 Box-Toppers points. However, in the final 10 days of the season, the Angels earned the fewest Box-Toppers points of any AL team, 3.0.

Coming Wednesday: The National League Wild Card Game in Pittsburgh, with the Giants facing the Pirates. Here is the pitching match-up:

Giants: Madison Bumgarner, 22.6 Box-Toppers points, ranked 3rd overall, 2nd among NL pitchers.

Pirates: Edinson Volquez, 8.0 Box-Toppers points, ranked 87th overall, 40th among NL pitchers.

The Giants are ranked eighth in Box-Toppers team rankings with 110.8 Box-Toppers points. The Pirates are ranked 11th—the lowest of any playoff team—with 99.9. However, in the final 10 days of the season, the Pirates were one of the NL’s hottest teams, picking up 6.7 Box-Toppers points and rising from 16th to 11th in team rankings. The Giants, during the same period, picked up 4.5 points and fell from seventh to eighth.

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 in AL Wild Card Game

Eric Hosmer of the Royals was Player of the Game (POG) in the 9-8 win over the Athletics

930	Score	Team	Player of the Game	AB	R	H	BI	BB	K		IP	H	R	ER	BB	K
POG	2.0	Royals	Eric Hosmer 1B	4	2	3	1	2	0		-	-	-	-	-	-

Athletics' Jon Lester faces Royals' James Shields in AL Wild Card Game

The Oakland Athletics visit the Kansas City Royals Tuesday in the American League one-game Wild Card playoff game.

Starting pitchers are:

Athletics: Jon Lester, 16.4 Box-Toppers points, ranked sixth among AL pitchers, 12th overall.

Royals: James Shields, 13.7 Box-Toppers points, ranked 11th among AL pitchers, 22nd overall.

While the Royals have one more win on the season than the Athletics (89 vs. 88), the Athletics have a wide lead in team Box-Toppers points—117.6 vs. 101.1. The Athletics rank third overall and second among AL teams while the Royals rank 10th overall, sixth among AL teams.

The Athletics led Box-Toppers team rankings much of the season and were bolstered by mid-season trades that brought in Lester from the Red Sox and Jason Hammel and Jeff Samardzija from the Cubs. However, the Athletics slumped after those trades, fell out of Box-Toppers team rankings top spot and were in danger of not making the postseason. In fact, the Athletics were the final team to qualify for a postseason spot with their win Sunday.

The winner of Tuesday’s AL Wild Card game will face the Los Angeles Angels in the best-of-five AL Division Series beginning Thursday in Los Angeles. The Angels are the top-ranked team in Box-Toppers rankings with 124.2 Box-Toppers points.

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.

Rays' Alex Cobb tops players in AL Wild Card Game Wednesday, Oct. 2

Alex Cobb is Box-Toppers top player in the Rays American League Wild Card Game win Wednesday over the Indians.

Cobb pitched 6 2/3 scoreless innings in the 4-0 win to earn Player of the Day honors in the only game played Wednesday.  The Rays, by winning the one-game playoff, now face the Red Sox in the best-of-five AL Divisional Series beginning Friday in Boston.

Cobb finished 58th in Box-Toppers player rankings for the season with 9.7 Box-Toppers points. No Box-Toppers points are awarded during the postseason.

Top player from each game 

Listed from highest to lowest Box-Toppers game score

1002	Score	Team	BATTERS	AB	R	H	RBI	BB	SO	-	-	PITCHERS	IP	H	R	ER	BB	SO
MLB	2.2	Rays	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	Alex Cobb (W, 1-0)	6.2	8	0	0	1	5

Pirates' Francisco Liriano tops players in NL Wild Card win Tuesday, Oct. 1

Pirates pitcher Francisco Liriano, who led his team to a National League Wild Card Game win over the Reds, is Tuesday's Player of the Day.

Liriano gave up one run over seven innings in the 6-2 win over the Reds. The Pirates, by winning the one-game playoff, will face the Cardinals in the best-of-five NL Divisional Series beginning Thursday in St. Louis.

Liriano finished ninth in Box-Toppers player rankings for the season with 16.7 Box-Toppers points (see the top 10 list on the home page). He was sixth among NL pitchers and was the season leader in Box-Toppers points among Pirates players. No Box-Toppers points are awarded during the postseason.

Top player from each game 

Listed from highest to lowest Box-Toppers game score

1001	Score	Team	BATTERS	AB	R	H	RBI	BB	SO	-	-	PITCHERS	IP	H	R	ER	BB	SO
MLB	5.0	Pirates	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	Francisco Liriano (W, 1-0)	7.0	4	1	1	1	5

Evan Longoria, top player for Monday, Sept. 30, leads Rays in extra, tie-breaker game

Evan Longoria of the Rays is Monday's Player of the Day, leading his team into the playoffs in the regular season's final game, a tie-breaker against the Rangers.

Longoria hit a two-run homer and went 3-for-4 in the 5-2 win over the Rangers.

The Rays and the Rangers were tied for the American League's second wild-card spot with 91 wins, necessitating the extra, 163rd game played in Arlington, Texas. By winning, the Rays will face the AL's top wild card team, the Indians, in a one-game playoff Wednesday in Cleveland. The winner of that game will face the AL East champion Red Sox in the best-of-five AL Division Series beginning Friday in Boston. 

Longoria scored 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day, the final points awarded for the 2013 season. It gives him 5.5 Box-Toppers points for the season, putting him in 159th place on Box-Toppers player rankings. 

The postseason officially begins Tuesday with the National League one-game Wild Card playoff with the Reds visiting the Pirates. The winner faces the NL Central champion Cardinals in the best-of-five NL Division Series beginning Thursday in St. Louis. While Box-Toppers points won't be awarded during the playoffs, Box-Toppers will still track Players of the Game for each postseason game.

Top player from each game

Listed from highest to lowest Box-Toppers game score

930	Score	Team	BATTERS	AB	R	H	RBI	BB	SO	-	-	PITCHERS	IP	H	R	ER	BB	SO
MLB	3.0	Rays	Evan Longoria 3B	4	2	3	2	1	1				0.0	0	0	0	0	0