Rockies' Jon Gray tops players for Saturday, Sept. 17 with 3rd-highest Box-Toppers game score of season

Rockies pitcher Jon Gray is Saturday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day with the third-highest Box-Toppers game score of the season.

Top 10 players

Here are the top 10 players in Box-Toppers points (BTP) for the 2016 season as of Sept. 17:  

	Player	Pos	Team	BTP
1	Scherzer, Max 2588	pi sp	dc nl	23.7
2	Kershaw, Clayton 2494	pi sp	lad nl	21.0
3	Fernandez, Jose 3147	pi sp	fla nl	20.4
4	Kluber, Corey 3200	pi sp	cle al	20.2
5	Lester, Jon 2173	pi sp	chi nl	20.1
6	Hamels, Cole 2135	pi sp	tex al	16.8
7	Syndergaard, Noah 3472	pi sp	nym al	15.7
8	Cueto, Johnny 2400	pi sp	sf nl	15.4
9	Strasburg, Stephen 2736	pi sp	dc nl	15.1
10	Hill, Rich 2215	pi sp	lad nl	14.4

What are those numbers after players' names?

Gray pitched a complete-game, four-hit shutout, walking none and striking out 16, in the 8-0 win over the Padres.

Gray had a Box-Toppers game score Saturday of +21.0, the third-highest of the season and only the sixth time this season a player has had a game score of +20 or more. Two pitchers had scores of +22.0 this season—Vince Velasquez of the Phillies did it April 14 and Danny Duffy of the Royals did it Aug. 1. (See the chart at the bottom of the page for the top 11 Box-Toppers game scores earned in 2016.)

American League Player of the Day—Angels pitcher Ricky Nolasco pitched six scoreless innings, striking out seven and allowing five hits and two walks, in the 6-1 win over the Blue Jays.

National League Batter of the Day—Ryan Braun of the Brewers hit two home runs and went 3-for-5, scoring twice and driving in five runs, in the 11-3 win over the Cubs.

Braun earns 1.5 Box-Toppers points for being NL Batter of the Day, giving him 10.5 for the season. He rises to second place among NL batters, behind Kris Bryant of the Cubs (10.5 Box-Toppers points). Though Bryant and Braun both have 10.5 points, Bryant ranks ahead because he had more points in 2015—8.5 vs. 5.0.

Bryant is the 42nd player this season with 10 or more Box-Toppers points. This is Braun’s sixth season with 10 or more Box-Toppers points, his first since 2012 when he had 12.5, prior to his 2013 suspension under baseball’s performance enhancing drug policy. Braun now ranks 35th among all players in Box-Toppers points in 2016.

American League Batter of the Day—Marcus Semien of the Athletics hit a three-run homer and went 2-for-4, scoring twice and driving in three runs, in the 11-2 win over the Rangers.

Notable—Phillies pitcher Jeremy Hellickson has the most 2016 Box-Toppers points of any of the 16 who earned Player of the Game honors Saturday.

Hellickson (CG 3H 0R 0BB 5K W in the 8-0 win over the Marlins) earns 1.0 Box-Toppers point, giving him 13.1 for the season. He ranks 17th among all players and 12th among NL pitchers.

Scoring—Gray earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day and Nolasco earns 1.7 points for being AL Player of the Day. Braun and Semien each earn 1.5 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.

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.

Top player from each game

Listed from highest to lowest Box-Toppers game score

9/17	Score	Game	Player of Game	AB	R	H	BI		IP	H	R	ER	BB	K
MLB	21.0	COL 8, SD 0	Jon Gray (W,10-8)	-	-	-	-		9.0	4	0	0	0	16
	11.0	PHI 8, MIA 0	Jeremy Hellickson (W,12-9)	-	-	-	-		9.0	3	0	0	0	5
AL	6.0	LAA 6, TOR 1	Ricky Nolasco (W,6-14)	-	-	-	-		6.0	5	0	0	2	7
	6.0	HOU 2, SEA 1	Mike Fiers (W,11-7)	-	-	-	-		6.0	3	0	0	1	4
	5.1	BOS 6, NYY 5	Craig Kimbrel (S,27)	-	-	-	-		1.1	0	0	0	0	4
BAT	5.0	MIL 11, CHC 3	Ryan Braun, LF	5	2	3	5		0.0	0	0	0	0	0
	4.0	CLE 1, DET 0 (10)	Andrew Miller (W,8-1)	-	-	-	-		2.0	1	0	0	0	3
	4.0	PIT 7, CIN 3	Juan Nicasio (W,10-6)	-	-	-	-		2.0	0	0	0	0	2
	4.0	PIT 10, CIN 4	Wade LeBlanc (S,2)	-	-	-	-		3.0	1	0	0	0	2
	4.0	KC 3, CHW 2	Wade Davis (S,25)	-	-	-	-		1.0	0	0	0	0	3
BAT	3.0	OAK 11, TEX 2	Marcus Semien, SS	4	2	2	3		-	-	-	-	-	-
	3.0	`NYM 3, MIN 2 (12)	Josh Smoker	-	-	-	-		1.0	1	0	0	0	3
	2.0	ATL 7, WSH 3	Ender Inciarte, CF	4	3	3	0		-	-	-	-	-	-
	2.0	TB 5, BAL 2	Evan Longoria, 3B	4	3	2	1		-	-	-	-	-	-
	1.0	LAD 6, ARI 2	Joc Pederson, CF	4	1	2	2		-	-	-	-	-	-
	1.0	STL 3, SF 2	Kolten Wong, 2B	1	0	1	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 of Game	Pos	Team	16	15-16	11-16	Career	+/-
Hellickson, Jeremy 2778	pi sp	phi nl	13.1	18.1	41.8	44.8	8.1
Braun, Ryan J. 2300	lf	mil nl	10.5	15.5	46.5	88.2	5.5
Nolasco, Ricky 2125	pi sp	ana al	9.4	11.4	32.1	85.2	7.4
Nicasio, Juan 2888	pi mr sp	pit nl	9.0	10.0	25.4	25.4	8.0
Kimbrel, Craig 2825	pi cp	bos al	7.0	13.0	56.7	57.7	1.0
Gray, Jon 3634	pi sp	col nl	7.0	7.0	7.0	7.0	7.0
Longoria, Evan 2423	3b	tb al	6.5	9.5	26.0	47.0	3.5
Semien, Marcus 3302	ss	oak al	6.0	6.0	9.5	9.5	6.0
Fiers, Michael 3029	pi sp	hou al	5.0	12.0	26.1	26.1	-2.0
Miller, Andrew 2436	pi cp	cle al	5.0	9.0	13.0	20.0	1.0
Davis, Wade 2681	pi cp	kc al	4.0	8.0	23.0	26.0	0.0
Pederson, Joc 3621	cf	lad nl	4.0	4.0	4.0	4.0	4.0
LeBlanc, Wade 2669	pi sp cp	pit nl	3.0	3.0	3.0	10.0	3.0
Inciarte, Ender 3360	cf	atl nl	2.0	5.0	6.0	6.0	-1.0
Smoker, Josh 3725	pi cp mr	nym nl	2.0	2.0	2.0	2.0	2.0
Wong, Kolten 3377	2b	stl nl	1.0	5.0	10.5	10.5	-3.0

What are those numbers after players' names?

Highest Box-Toppers game scores of 2016

Here are the highest Box-Toppers game scores earned by Players of the Games in 2016. Phillies pitcher Vince Velasquez had the highest score of +22.0 on April 14 when he was Player of the Day (and 2.0 Box-Toppers points). Saturday, Rockies pitcher Jon Gray had the third-highest score (+21.0). All but one player among the top 11 here earned Player of the Day honors. Cardinals pitcher Jamie Garcia earned Player of the Game honors (worth 1.0 Box-Toppers point) because he finished behind that day’s overall top player Velasquez on April 14.  

	Date	Bonus	BTG	Team	Players	IP	H	R	ER	BB	K
1	4/14	MLB	22.0	PHI 3, SD 0	Vince Velasquez (W,2-0)	9.0	3	0	0	0	16
2	8/1	MLB	22.0	KC 3, TB 0	Danny Duffy (W,7-1)	8.0	1	0	0	1	16
3	9/17	MLB	21.0	COL 8, SD 0	Jon Gray (W,10-8)	9.0	4	0	0	0	16
4	7/10	MLB	21.0	SF 4, ARI 0	Madison Bumgarner (W,10-4)	9.0	1	0	0	1	14
5	5/1	MLB	20.0	LAD 1, SD 0	Clayton Kershaw (W,3-1)	9.0	3	0	0	0	14
6	4/14		20.0	STL 7, MIL 0	Jaime Garcia (W,1-0)	9.0	1	0	0	1	13
7	5/11	MLB	19.0	WSH 3, DET 2	Max Scherzer (W,4-2)	9.0	6	2	2	0	20
8	5/12	MLB	18.0	LAD 5, NYM 0	Clayton Kershaw (W,5-1)	9.0	3	0	0	1	13
9	9/13	MLB	17.0	SEA 8, LAA 0	Taijuan Walker (W,6-10)	9.0	3	0	0	0	11
10	4/23	MLB	17.0	WSH 2, MIN 0	Tanner Roark (W,2-2)	7.0	2	0	0	3	15
11	6/5	MLB	17.0	MIA 1, NYM 0	Jose Fernandez (W,9-2)	7.0	4	0	0	0	14

Tigers' Michael Fulmer tops players for Sunday, Aug. 14; Mets' Matz tops NL players

Tigers pitcher Michael Fulmer is Sunday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day, becoming the 22nd player this season with 10.0 Box-Toppers points.

Top 10 players

Here are the top 10 players in Box-Toppers points (BTP) for the 2016 season as of Aug. 14:  

	Player	Pos	Team	BTP
1	Kershaw, Clayton 2494	pi sp	lad nl	20.0
2	Scherzer, Max 2588	pi sp	dc nl	18.7
3	Fernandez, Jose 3147	pi sp	fla nl	16.4
4	Kluber, Corey 3200	pi sp	cle al	16.2
5	Cueto, Johnny 2400	pi sp	sf nl	14.4
6	Hamels, Cole 2135	pi sp	tex al	14.1
7	Strasburg, Stephen 2736	pi sp	dc nl	14.1
8	Lester, Jon 2173	pi sp	chi nl	13.4
9	Happ, J.A. 2536	pi sp	tor al	12.7
10	Altuve, Jose 3007	2b	hou al	12.5

What are those numbers after players' names?

Fulmer pitched a complete-game, four-hit shutout, striking out nine and walking none, in the 7-0 win over the Rangers.

Fulmer earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day, giving him 10.7 for the season, rising to 17th place in season player rankings, fifth among American League pitchers.

National League Player of the Day—Mets pitcher Steven Matz pitched 7 1/3 scoreless innings, allowing one hit, two walks and striking out eight, in the 5-1 win over the Padres.

Matz earns 1.7 Box-Toppers points for being NL Player of the Day, giving him 12.1 Box-Toppers points for the season, most of any of the 15 who earned Player of the Game honors Sunday. Matz rises to 12th place in season player rankings, eighth among NL pitchers.

American League Batter of the Day—Mookie Betts of the Red Sox hit three home runs and went 4-for-6, scoring four times and driving in eight runs, in the 16-2 win over the Diamondbacks.

Betts had a Box-Toppers game score Sunday of +10.0, tied with two others for the highest score for any batter earning Player of the Game honors this season. Betts’ performance Sunday ranks second for the season, just behind C.J. Cron of the Angels, who on July 2 also had a score of +10. Cron’s score ranks higher because he had more hits than Betts—six vs. four. Betts’ performance ranks ahead of Kris Bryant of the Cubs, who on June 27 also had a score of +10, because Betts had more at bats—six vs. five.

Last season, the highest Box-Toppers game score earned by a batter was +11.0, done by four players.

National League Batter of the Day—Ryan Braun of the Brewers hit two homers and a double, going 3-for-4, scoring three times and driving in six runs, in the 7-3 win over the Reds.

Braun earns 1.5 Box-Toppers points for being NL Batter of the Day, giving him 8.0 for the season, rising to second among NL batters, behind leader Matt Carpenter of the Cardinals (8.5).

Scoring—Fulmer earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day and Matz earns 1.7 points for being NL Player of the Day. Betts and Braun each earn 1.5 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

8/14	Score	Game	Player of Game	AB	R	H	BI		IP	H	R	ER	BB	K
MLB	14.0	DET 7, TEX 0	Michael Fulmer (W,10-3)	-	-	-	-		9.0	4	0	0	0	9
NL	12.1	NYM 5, SD 1	Steven Matz (W,9-8)	-	-	-	-		7.1	1	0	0	2	8
BAT	10.0	BOS 16, ARI 2	Mookie Betts, RF	6	4	4	8		-	-	-	-	-	-
BAT	8.0	MIL 7, CIN 3	Ryan Braun, LF	4	3	3	6		-	-	-	-	-	-
	6.1	TOR 9, HOU 2	Marcus Stroman (W,9-5)	-	-	-	-		6.1	5	2	1	0	8
	5.0	KC 11, MIN 4	Paulo Orlando, CF	5	3	4	3		-	-	-	-	-	-
	4.2	STL 6, CHC 4	Seung Hwan Oh (S,11)	-	-	-	-		1.2	1	0	0	0	4
	4.0	TB 12, NYY 3	Evan Longoria, 3B	4	1	3	4		-	-	-	-	-	-
	4.0	PIT 11, LAD 3	Sean Rodriguez, RF	4	1	3	4		-	-	-	-	-	-
	3.0	PHI 7, COL 6	Jimmy Paredes, LF	4	1	3	3		-	-	-	-	-	-
	3.0	WSH 9, ATL 1	Anthony Rendon, 3B	3	1	1	4		-	-	-	-	-	-
	3.0	CLE 5, LAA 4	Cody Allen (S,22)	-	-	-	-		1.0	0	0	0	0	2
	2.0	BAL 8, SF 7	Matt Wieters, C	5	2	5	0		-	-	-	-	-	-
	2.0	SEA 8, OAK 4	Kyle Seager, 3B	5	1	2	4		-	-	-	-	-	-
	2.0	MIA 5, CHW 4	Mike Dunn (W,3-1)	-	-	-	-		1.0	1	0	0	0	2

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 of Game	Pos	Team	16	15-16	11-16	Career	+/-
Matz, Steven 3516	pi sp	nym nl	12.1	15.6	15.6	15.6	8.6
Fulmer, Michael 3640	pi sp	det al	10.7	10.7	10.7	10.7	10.7
Braun, Ryan J. 2300	lf	mil nl	8.0	13.0	44.0	85.7	3.0
Wieters, Matt 2643	ca	bal al	8.0	9.0	27.0	32.7	7.0
Seager, Kyle 3031	3b	sea al	7.0	12.0	26.0	26.0	2.0
Betts, Mookie 3404	rf	bos al	6.2	9.2	11.2	11.2	3.2
Stroman, Marcus 3327	pi sp	tor al	5.7	8.4	22.1	22.1	3.0
Allen, Cody 3265	pi mr cp	cle al	5.0	9.0	14.0	14.0	1.0
Orlando, Paulo 3526	rf cf	kc al	3.0	4.0	4.0	4.0	2.0
Longoria, Evan 2423	3b	tb al	2.5	5.5	22.0	43.0	-0.5
Rendon, Anthony 3258	3b	dc nl	2.0	3.0	8.5	8.5	1.0
Dunn, Michael 2867	pi mr cp	fla nl	2.0	2.0	10.0	10.0	2.0
Rodriguez, Sean 2729	rf1b 2b	pit nl	2.0	2.0	13.5	18.5	2.0
Oh, Seung Hwan 3693	pi cp	stl nl	2.0	2.0	2.0	2.0	2.0
Paredes, Jimmy 3278	lf	phi nl	1.0	3.5	6.0	6.0	-1.5

What are those numbers after players' names?

Brewers' Ryan Braun tops players for Saturday, Aug. 6; Indians' Kluber extends Box-Toppers points lead among AL pitchers

Ryan Braun of the Brewers is Saturday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day.

Also Saturday, Indians pitcher Corey Kluber maintained his fourth-place spot in Box-Toppers season player rankings and Cubs pitcher Jake Arrieta rose to ninth place after both earned Player of the Game honors.

Top 10 players

Here are the top 10 players in Box-Toppers points (BTP) for the 2016 season as of Aug. 6:  

	Player	Pos	Team	BTP
1	Kershaw, Clayton 2494	pi sp	lad nl	20.0
2	Scherzer, Max 2588	pi sp	dc nl	18.7
3	Fernandez, Jose 3147	pi sp	fla nl	16.4
4	Kluber, Corey 3200	pi sp	cle al	16.2
5	Cueto, Johnny 2400	pi sp	sf nl	14.4
6	Hamels, Cole 2135	pi sp	tex al	14.1
7	Strasburg, Stephen 2736	pi sp	dc nl	14.1
8	Lester, Jon 2173	pi sp	chi nl	13.4
9	Arrieta, Jake 2738	pi sp	chi nl	11.7
10	Bumgarner, Madison 2753	pi sp	sf nl	11.0

What are those numbers after players' names?

Player of the Day—Braun hit two three-run homers and went 3-for-4, scoring three times and driving in seven runs, in the 15-6 win over the Diamondbacks.

Braun earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day, giving him 6.5 points for the season, rising to eighth among National League batters. It is also his best season since 2012, when he had 12.5 points. That was before his 2013 suspension for violating baseball’s performance enhancing drug policy. In 2013, he had 3.5 points, in 2014—4.5 and in 2015—5.0.

This was his first overall Player of the Day honor since April 30, 2012.

American League Player of the Day—Indians pitcher Corey Kluber struck out eight over eight innings, allowing two runs, five hits and one walk, in the 5-2 win over the Yankees.

Kluber earns 1.7 Box-Toppers points for being AL Player of the Day, giving him 16.2 for the season. Kluber maintains his lead in Box-Toppers points among AL pitchers (ahead of Cole Hamels of the Rangers with 14.1) and also maintains his fourth-place rank among all players.

American League Batter of the Day—Franklin Gutierrez of the Mariners homered, doubled and went 3-for-5, scoring twice and driving in two runs, in the 8-6 win over the Angels.

National League Batter of the Day—There is no separate NL Batter of the Day for Saturday because the overall Player of the Day was NL batter Ryan Braun.

Rankings—Cubs pitcher Jake Arrieta rises to ninth place in Box-Toppers season player rankings after earning Player of the Game honors Saturday.

Arrieta (8IP 3H 0R 4K W in the 4-0 win over the Athletics) earns 1.0 Box-Toppers point, giving him 11.7 for the season. Arrieta ranks seventh among NL pitchers. Arrieta led all players in Box-Toppers points in 2015 with 29.1.

Notable—Miguel Cabrera of the Tigers rises to 24th place in career Box-Toppers points among all players since 1995, when Box-Toppers tracking began, after earning Player of the Game honors Saturday.

Cabrera (2B 2-4 3BI in the 6-5 win over the Mets) earns 1.0 Box-Toppers point, giving him 141.9 for his career. With his point Saturday, he passes Giants pitcher Jake Peavy (141.8) on the “all-time” list and now trails 23rd-ranked player, David Ortiz of the Red Sox (142.9).

Cabrera now has 9.0 Box-Toppers points on the season and rises to second place among AL batters, behind Jose Altuve of the Astros (10.0)

Debut—Padres pitcher Buddy Baumann made his Box-Toppers debut Saturday with this first career Player of the Game honor.

Baumann (1.2IP 0H 0R 0BB 3K W in the 9-7 win over the Phillies) made his Major League debut July 16 and was playing in his sixth career game. He is the 3,697th player to debut in Box-Toppers since record keeping began in 1995.

Also notable—Royals pitcher Peter Moylan earned his first Box-Toppers point in nearly six years after earning Player of the Game honors Saturday.

Moylan (1.1IP 0H 0R 3K ND in the 4-2 win over the Blue Jays) last earned Player of the Game honors on Sept. 10, 2010, with the Braves. Moylan has 5.0 career Box-Toppers points since his debut in 2007.

Scoring—Braun earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day and Kluber earns 1.7 points for being AL Player of the Day. Gutierrez earns 1.5 points for being AL 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

8/6	Score	Game	Player of Game	AB	R	H	BI		IP	H	R	ER	BB	K
MLB	9.0	MIL 15, ARI 6	Ryan Braun, LF	4	3	3	7		-	-	-	-	-	-
	8.0	CHC 4, OAK 0	Jake Arrieta (W,13-5)	-	-	-	-		8.0	3	0	0	1	4
	6.0	ATL 13, STL 5	Freddie Freeman, 1B	3	3	3	3		-	-	-	-	-	-
AL	6.0	CLE 5, NYY 2	Corey Kluber (W,11-8)	-	-	-	-		8.0	5	2	2	1	8
	5.0	COL 12, MIA 6	Charlie Blackmon, CF	5	2	4	4		-	-	-	-	-	-
	5.0	TB 7, MIN 3	Chris Archer (W,6-15)	-	-	-	-		6.0	3	1	1	3	7
	4.2	SD 9, PHI 7	Buddy Baumann (W,1-0)	-	-	-	-		1.2	0	0	0	0	3
	4.1	`KC 4, TOR 2	Peter Moylan (H,2)	-	-	-	-		1.1	0	0	0	0	3
	4.0	LAD 3, BOS 0	Ross Stripling (W,3-3)	-	-	-	-		5.0	4	0	0	1	4
	3.1	CHW 4, BAL 2	Nate Jones (W,5-2)	-	-	-	-		1.1	0	0	0	0	2
	2.0	SF 7, WSH 1	Eduardo Nunez, 3B	5	3	4	0		-	-	-	-	-	-
BAT	2.0	SEA 8, LAA 6	Franklin Gutierrez, RF	5	2	3	2		-	-	-	-	-	-
	2.0	TEX 3, HOU 2	Jonathan Lucroy, C	4	2	2	2		-	-	-	-	-	-
	2.0	PIT 5, CIN 3	Tony Watson (S,2)	-	-	-	-		1.0	0	0	0	0	1
	1.0	DET 6, NYM 5	Miguel Cabrera, 1B	4	0	2	3		-	-	-	-	-	-
		`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 of Game	Pos	Team	16	15-16	11-16	Career	+/-
Kluber, Corey 3200	pi sp	cle al	16.2	29.6	60.4	60.4	2.8
Arrieta, Jake 2738	pi sp	chi nl	11.7	40.8	68.5	71.5	-17.4
Cabrera, Miguel 1776	1b	det al	9.0	13.7	62.3	141.9	4.3
Braun, Ryan J. 2300	lf	mil nl	6.5	11.5	42.5	84.2	1.5
Archer, Chris 3194	pi sp	tb al	6.0	22.0	46.1	46.1	-10.0
Nunez, Eduardo 2795	3b 2b ss	sf nl	4.5	6.5	12.5	14.0	2.5
Freeman, Freddie 2887	1b	atl nl	4.0	7.0	35.2	35.2	1.0
Lucroy, Jonathan 2744	ca	tex al	4.0	5.7	24.6	25.6	2.3
Watson, Tony 3215	pi cp mr	pit nl	3.0	4.0	7.0	7.0	2.0
Jones, Nate 3125	pi mr cp	chi al	3.0	4.0	11.0	11.0	2.0
Stripling, Ross 3629	pi sp	lad nl	2.7	2.7	2.7	2.7	2.7
Blackmon, Charlie 2891	cf	col nl	2.5	5.0	10.5	10.5	0.0
Gutierrez, Franklin 2242	rf	sea al	2.5	3.5	7.5	22.5	1.5
Moylan, Peter 2266	pi mr	kc al	1.0	1.0	1.0	5.0	1.0
Baumann, Buddy 3697	pi mr	sd nl	1.0	1.0	1.0	1.0	1.0

What are those numbers after players' names?

Mets' Colon tops players for Monday, May 2; Cards' Wainwright tops NL batters

Mets pitcher Bartolo Colon is Monday’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 2:  

	Player	Pos	Team	BTP
1	Kershaw, Clayton 2494	pi sp	lad nl	6.0
2	Arrieta, Jake 2738	pi sp	chi nl	5.0
3	Velasquez, Vince 3611	pi sp	phi nl	5.0
4	Cespedes, Yoenis 3008	cf lf dh ph	nym nl	4.5
5	Volquez, Edinson 2220	pi sp	kc al	4.4
6	Hill, Rich 2215	pi sp	oak al	4.4
7	Machado, Manny 3087	3b ss	bal al	4.2
8	Sale, Chris 2806	pi sp	chi al	4.0
9	Cueto, Johnny 2400	pi sp	sf nl	4.0
10	De La Rosa, Rubby 3342	pi sp mr	ari nl	4.0

What are those numbers after players' names?

Colon struck out seven over eight scoreless innings, allowing seven hits, in the 4-1 win over the Braves.

Colon earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day, his first of the season, giving him 142.1 for his career. Colon ranks 22nd among all players since 1995, when Box-Toppers tracking began. He trails 21st-ranked player Jim Thome (146.7).

American League Player of the Day—Rangers pitcher A.J. Griffin struck out nine over six innings, allowing one run and three hits, in the 3-1 win over the Blue Jays. Griffin did not earn the win, picking up a no-decision, because he exited the game with the score tied, 1-1.

National League Batter of the Day—Cardinals pitcher Adam Wainwright hit a three-run homer and doubled, going 2-for-2, in the 10-3 win over the Phillies. Wainwright also won the game on the mound (6IP 5H 3R 4K), but had a higher Box-Toppers game score for batting (+4.0) than pitching (-2.0).

This is the first time in 2016 that a pitcher has earned Player of the Game honors for batting—it happened seven times in 2015. This is the third time in Wainwright’s career he has earned Player of the Game honors for batting.

Wainwright earns 1.5 Box-Toppers points for being NL Batter of the Day, his first of the season, and now has 103.3 career points and rises to 60th place among all players since 1995, when Box-Toppers tracking began. He passes three players on the “all-time” list—Ken Griffey Jr. (102.2), Miguel Tejada (102.3) and Adrian Beltre of the Rangers (102.8). Wainwright trails 59th-ranked player Jamie Moyer (104.0).

This is also Wainwright’s first Box-Toppers points in more than a year—he was out much of 2015 with an Achilles injury. He last earned Box-Toppers Player of the Game honors April 25, 2015, and had 3.0 points for 2015 after he had 18.7 in 2014 (ranked eighth) and 20.2 in 2013 (ranked second).

American League Batter of the Day—Byung Ho Park of the Twins tripled and went 2-for-3, scoring once and driving in two runs, in the 6-2 win over the Astros.

Streak—Nationals closing pitcher Jonathan Papelbon has now earned Box-Toppers points in 11 straight seasons after earning Player of the Game honors Monday.

Papelbon (1IP 0H 0R K Sv in the 2-0 win over the Royals) first earned Box-Toppers points in 2006 with the Red Sox and has 53.4 career points, first among active NL closing pitchers, second among all active closing pitchers (behind Francisco Rodriguez of the Tigers, with 60.4) and 18th among all closing pitchers since 1995, when Box-Toppers tracking began.

Papelbon’s best season was 2012 with the Phillies when he had 7.0 Box-Toppers points and ranked fifth among NL closing pitchers. In 2015, Papelbon had 4.0 points with the Phillies, a season in which he also played for the Nationals. Monday was the first time Papelbon earned Player of the Game honors as a member of the Nationals.

Notable—Ryan Braun of the Brewers is Monday’s highest-ranked Player of the Game. Braun (2B 3-3 R BI in the 8-5 win over the Angels) earns 1.0 Box-Toppers point, giving him 3.5 for the season and ranks 20th in Box-Toppers season player rankings, fourth among NL batters.

Debut—Padres relief pitcher Ryan Buchter made his Box-Toppers debut Monday, the first time in his career he earned Player of the Game honors. Buchter (1.1IP 0H 0R 4K ND in the 2-1 win over the Rockies) made his Major League debut June 20, 2014, and was playing in his 14th career game. He is the 3,626th player to debut in Box-Toppers since record keeping began in 1995.

Scoring—Colon earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day and Griffin earns 1.7 points for being AL Player of the Day. Wainwright and Park each earn 1.5 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

5/2	Score	Team	Player	AB	R	H	BI	BB	K		IP	H	R	ER	BB	K
MLB	8.0	Mets	Bartolo Colon (W,2-1)	-	-	-	-	-	-		8.0	7	0	0	0	7
AL	8.0	`Rangers	A.J. Griffin	-	-	-	-	-	-		6.0	3	1	1	2	9
	4.1	`Padres	Ryan Buchter	-	-	-	-	-	-		1.1	0	0	0	1	4
BAT	4.0	Cardinals	Adam Wainwright, SP	2	1	2	3	0	0		-	-	-	-	-	-
	3.0	Mariners	Steve Cishek (S,7)	-	-	-	-	-	-		1.0	0	0	0	1	3
	3.0	Giants	Santiago Casilla (S,5)	-	-	-	-	-	-		1.0	0	0	0	0	2
	2.0	Brewers	Ryan Braun, LF	3	1	3	1	1	0		-	-	-	-	-	-
BAT	2.0	Twins	Byung Ho Park, DH	3	1	2	2	1	1		-	-	-	-	-	-
	2.0	Nationals	Jonathan Papelbon (S,9)	-	-	-	-	-	-		1.0	0	0	0	0	1
	1.0	Cubs	Ben Zobrist, RF	3	1	1	2	0	0		-	-	-	-	-	-
		`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	+/-
Braun, Ryan J. 2300	lf	mil nl	3.5	8.5	39.5	81.2	-1.5
Park, Byung Ho 3616	dh	min al	3.0	3.0	3.0	3.0	3.0
Griffin, A.J. 3074	pi sp	tex al	2.7	2.7	17.4	17.4	2.7
Colon, Bartolo	pi sp	nym nl	2.0	8.7	50.6	142.1	-4.7
Cishek, Steve 2997	pi cp	sea al	2.0	3.0	22.0	22.0	1.0
Wainwright, Adam 2150	pi sp	stl nl	1.5	4.5	52.6	103.3	-1.5
Casilla, Santiago 2301	pi cp	sf nl	1.0	6.0	18.7	21.7	-4.0
Papelbon, Jonathan 2110	pi cp	dc nl	1.0	5.0	22.7	53.4	-3.0
Zobrist, Ben 2216	rf	chi nl	1.0	2.0	20.0	29.0	0.0
Buchter, Ryan 3626	pi mr	sd nl	1.0	1.0	1.0	1.0	1.0

What are those numbers after players' names?

Padres' Pomeranz tops players for Wednesday, April 20; D-Backs' Greinke rises to 19th on Box-Toppers ‘all-time' list

Padres pitcher Drew Pomeranz 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 April 20:  

	Player	Pos	Team	BTP
1	Velasquez, Vince 3611	pi sp	phi nl	4.0
2	Latos, Mat 2644	pi sp	chi al	3.7
3	Salazar, Danny 3223	pi sp	cle al	3.4
4	Arrieta, Jake 2738	pi sp	chi nl	3.0
5	Kershaw, Clayton 2494	pi sp	lad nl	3.0
6	Sale, Chris 2806	pi sp	chi al	3.0
7	Syndergaard, Noah 3472	pi sp	nym nl	3.0
8	Morton, Charlie 2503	pi sp	phi nl	3.0
9	Carrasco, Carlos 2885	pi sp	cle al	2.7
10	Hamels, Cole 2135	pi sp	tex al	2.7

What are those numbers after players' names?

Pomeranz struck out 10 over 6 2/3 innings, allowing one run and four hits, in the 8-2 win over the Pirates.

American League Player of the Day—Mariners pitcher Taijuan Walker struck out six over six innings, allowing one run and three hits, in the 2-1 win over the Indians.

American League Batter of the Day—Mookie Betts of the Red Sox homered and went 2-for-3, scoring three times and driving in two runs, in the 7-3 win over the Rays.

National League Batter of the Day—Ryan Braun of the Brewers went 2-for-3, scoring twice and driving in a run, in the 10-5 win over the Twins.

Rankings—Two players rose into Box-Toppers top 10 season player rankings after earning Player of the Game honors Wednesday:

• White Sox pitcher Chris Sale rose to sixth place (7IP 2H R 3K W in the 2-1 win over the Angels), earning 1.0 Box-Toppers point, giving him 3.0 for the season.
• Rangers pitcher Cole Hamels rose to 10th place (6.2IP 5H R 7K W in the 2-1 win over the Astros), earning 1.0 Box-Toppers point, giving him 2.7 for the season. In addition, Hamels now has 128.9 career Box-Toppers points, rising to 29th place among all players since 1995, when Box-Toppers tracking began. With his point Wednesday, Hamels passes Vladimir Guerrero (128.3) on the “all-time” list and trails 28th-place player Trevor Hoffman (129.4).

All-time leaders

Here are Box-Toppers top 20 players since record keeping began in 1995:

	Player	Pos	Team	BTP
1	Randy Johnson	pi sp	retired	278.8
2	Pedro Martinez	pi sp	retired	244.8
3	Curt Schilling	pi sp	retired	194.1
4	Alex Rodriguez	dh	nyy al	187.0
5	CC Sabathia	pi sp	nyy al	179.0
6	Albert Pujols	1b dh	ana al	174.3
7	Roy Halladay	pi sp	retired	170.7
8	Manny Ramirez	lf dh	retired	167.2
9	Johan Santana	pi sp	free agent	166.6
10	Roger Clemens	pi sp	retired	164.8
11	Felix Hernandez	pi sp	sea al	162.7
12	Clayton Kershaw	pi sp	lad nl	162.3
13	John Smoltz	pi sp	retired	160.9
14	Tim Hudson	pi sp	retired	157.0
15	Mike Mussina	pi sp	retired	155.6
16	Barry Bonds	lf	retired	153.2
17	Greg Maddux	pi sp	retired	151.7
18	Chipper Jones	3b	retired	149.0
19	Zack Greinke	pi sp	ari nl	148.4
20	Javier Vazquez	pi sp	retired	148.3

List of top 100 players since 1995 (through the 2015 season)

Notable—Diamondbacks pitcher Zack Greinke rises to 19th place in Box-Toppers points among all players since 1995 after earning Player of the Game honors Wednesday.

Greinke (6.2IP 6H R 7K W in the 2-1 win over the Giants) earns 1.0 Box-Toppers point, giving him 148.4 career points. He passes Javier Vazquez (148.3) on the “all-time” list (Box-Toppers tracking began in 1995) and trails 18th-place player Chipper Jones (149.0). Greinke has 2.0 Box-Toppers points for the season.

Scoring—Pomeranz earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day and Walker earns 1.7 points for being AL Player of the Day. Betts and Braun 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

4/20	Score	Team	Player	AB	R	H	BI	BB	K		IP	H	R	ER	BB	K
MLB	8.2	Padres	Drew Pomeranz (W,2-1)	-	-	-	-	-	-		6.2	4	1	0	3	10
AL	8.0	Mariners	Taijuan Walker (W,1-0)	-	-	-	-	-	-		6.0	3	1	0	0	6
	7.0	White Sox	Chris Sale (W,4-0)	-	-	-	-	-	-		7.0	2	1	0	0	3
	6.2	`Phillies	Hector Neris	-	-	-	-	-	-		2.2	2	0	0	0	6
	6.1	Athletics	Kendall Graveman (W,1-1)	-	-	-	-	-	-		6.1	3	1	1	3	8
	6.1	Tigers	Jordan Zimmermann (W,3-0)	-	-	-	-	-	-		6.1	7	0	0	1	8
	4.2	Dbacks	Zack Greinke (W,1-2)	-	-	-	-	-	-		6.2	6	1	1	1	7
BAT	4.0	Red Sox	Mookie Betts, RF	3	3	2	2	2	0		-	-	-	-	-	-
	4.0	Cardinals	Carlos Martinez (W,3-0)	-	-	-	-	-	-		7.0	3	1	1	3	5
	3.2	`Reds	Raisel Iglesias	-	-	-	-	-	-		6.2	6	2	2	1	8
	3.2	Rangers	Cole Hamels (W,3-0)	-	-	-	-	-	-		6.2	5	1	1	3	7
	3.0	Nationals	Yusmeiro Petit (W,1-0)	-	-	-	-	-	-		4.0	2	1	1	0	3
	2.1	`Dodgers	Chris Hatcher	-	-	-	-	-	-		1.1	0	0	0	0	1
BAT	2.0	Brewers	Ryan Braun, LF	3	2	2	1	2	0		-	-	-	-	-	-
	1.0	Orioles	Manny Machado, 3B	3	1	2	1	2	0		-	-	-	-	-	-
		`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	+/-
Sale, Chris 2806	pi sp	chi al	3.0	21.8	74.0	76.0	-15.8
Hamels, Cole 2135	pi sp	tex al	2.7	18.1	69.7	128.9	-12.7
Machado, Manny 3087	3b	bal al	2.5	10.0	13.5	13.5	-5.0
Braun, Ryan J. 2300	lf	mil nl	2.5	7.5	38.5	80.2	-2.5
Greinke, Zack 1871	pi sp	ari nl	2.0	22.7	87.8	148.4	-18.7
Zimmermann, Jordan 2612	pi sp	det al	2.0	9.0	58.4	59.4	-5.0
Pomeranz, Drew 3061	pi sp mr	sd nl	2.0	5.0	13.0	13.0	-1.0
Iglesias, Raisel 3467	pi sp	cin nl	2.0	4.7	4.7	4.7	-0.7
Walker, Taijuan 3453	pi sp	sea al	1.7	15.4	15.4	15.4	-12.0
Betts, Mookie 3404	rf	bos al	1.5	4.5	6.5	6.5	-1.5
Martinez, Carlos 3371	pi sp	stl nl	1.0	14.7	15.7	15.7	-12.7
Graveman, Kendall 3444	pi sp	oak al	1.0	5.7	5.7	5.7	-3.7
Hatcher, Chris 3420	pi mr	lad nl	1.0	2.0	3.0	3.0	0.0
Neris, Hector 3553	pi mr	phi nl	1.0	2.0	2.0	2.0	0.0
Petit, Yusmeiro 2337	pi mr sp	dc nl	1.0	1.0	8.0	17.7	1.0

What are those numbers after players' names?

White Sox' Sale tops players for Friday, April 15; Dbacks' Greinke rises to 20th on 'all-time' list

White Sox pitcher Chris Sale is Friday’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 April 15:  

	Player	Pos	Team	BTP
1	Velasquez, Vince 3611	pi sp	phi nl	4.0
2	Salazar, Danny 3223	pi sp	cle al	3.4
3	Kershaw, Clayton 2494	pi sp	lad nl	3.0
4	Volquez, Edinson 2220	pi sp	kc al	2.7
5	Bettis, Chad 3481	pi sp	col nl	2.7
6	Ross, Joe 3499	pi sp	dc nl	2.7
7	Latos, Mat 2644	pi sp	chi al	2.7
8	Davis, Chris 2478	1b	bal al	2.5
9	Brown, Trevor 3610	ca	sf nl	2.5
10	Sale, Chris 2806	pi sp	chi al	2.0

What are those numbers after players' names?

Sale pitched a two-hit shutout, allowing no walks and striking out nine, in the 1-0 win over the Rays. Sale earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day, his first of the season, and now ranks 10th in Box-Toppers season player rankings.

National League Player of the Day—Nationals pitcher Joe Ross pitched 7 2/3 scoreless innings, allowing three hits and striking out five, in the 9-1 win over the Phillies. Ross earns 1.7 Box-Toppers points for being NL Player of the Day, giving him 2.7 for the season and rises to sixth in season player rankings.

National League Batter of the Day—Matt Holliday of the Cardinals hit two home runs, going 2-for-2 and driving in four runs, in the 4-3 win over the Reds.

Holliday has now earned Box-Toppers points in 13 straight seasons. He earned his first points in 2004 with the Rockies and has 93.3 career points, ranked 88th among all players since 1995 (when Box-Toppers tracking began) and second among active NL batters (behind Ryan Howard of the Phillies who has 96.7). Holliday’s best season was 2007 with the Rockies when he had 16.2 Box-Toppers points to lead NL batters. In 2015, he had 1.5 points with the Cardinals.

American League Batter of the Day—Mark Trumbo of the Orioles hit two seventh-inning home runs, going 2-for-4 and driving in five runs, in the 11-5 win over the Rangers.

All-time leaders

Here are Box-Toppers top 20 players since record keeping began in 1995:

	Player	Pos	Team	BTP
1	Randy Johnson	pi sp	retired	278.8
2	Pedro Martinez	pi sp	retired	244.8
3	Curt Schilling	pi sp	retired	194.1
4	Alex Rodriguez	dh	nyy al	187.0
5	CC Sabathia	pi sp	nyy al	179.0
6	Albert Pujols	1b dh	ana al	174.3
7	Roy Halladay	pi sp	retired	170.7
8	Manny Ramirez	lf dh	retired	167.2
9	Johan Santana	pi sp	free agent	166.6
10	Roger Clemens	pi sp	retired	164.8
11	Felix Hernandez	pi sp	sea al	162.7
12	Clayton Kershaw	pi sp	lad nl	162.3
13	John Smoltz	pi sp	retired	160.9
14	Tim Hudson	pi sp	retired	157.0
15	Mike Mussina	pi sp	retired	155.6
16	Barry Bonds	lf	retired	153.2
17	Greg Maddux	pi sp	retired	151.7
18	Chipper Jones	3b	retired	149.0
19	Javier Vazquez	pi sp	retired	148.3
20	Zack Greinke	pi sp	ari nl	147.4

List of top 100 players since 1995 (through the 2015 season)

Notable—Diamondbacks pitcher Zack Greinke rises to 20th place on Box-Toppers “all-time” player rankings after earning Player of the Game honors Friday. He also extended his streak of consecutive seasons earning Box-Toppers points to 10.

Greinke (7.1IP 6H 2R 5K ND in the 3-2 win over the Padres) earns 1.0 Box-Toppers point, giving him 147.4 for his career, rising to 20th among all players since 1995 when Box-Toppers tracking began. Greinke passes Jim Thome (146.7) and now trails 19th-place player Javier Vazquez (148.3).

Greinke has now earned Box-Toppers points in 10 straight seasons. He earned his first points in 2004 with the Royals but his current 10-year streak did not begin until 2007, when he was also with the Royals (he earned no points in 2006). His best year was 2009 with the Royals when he had 21.5 points to lead NL pitchers. In 2015, he had 20.7 points with the Dodgers, fifth among NL pitchers.

Streak—Ryan Braun of the Brewers has now earned Box-Toppers points in 10 straight seasons after earning Player of the Game honors Friday. Braun (2HR 3-5 2R 4BI in the 8-4 win over the Pirates) earned his first points in 2007 with the Brewers and has 78.7 career points, third among active NL batters. His best year was 2012 with the Brewers when he had 12.5 Box-Toppers points to lead NL batters. He had 5.0 points in 2015.

Debut—Adonis Garcia of the Braves made his Box-Toppers debut Friday, the first time in his career he earned Player of the Game honors. Garcia (2B 2-4 3BI in the 6-3 win over the Marlins) made his Major League debut May 19, 2015, and was playing in his 68th career game. He is the 3,613th player to debut in Box-Toppers since record keeping began in 1995.

Rankings—Rockies pitcher Chad Bettis rose to fifth place in Box-Toppers season player rankings after earning Player of the Game honors Friday. Bettis (6IP 3H 0R 4 W in the 6-1 win over the Cubs) earned 1.0 Box-Toppers point, giving him 2.7 for the season.

Scoring—Sale earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day and Ross earns 1.7 points for being NL Player of the Day. Holliday and Trumbo each earn 1.5 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

4/15	Score	Team	Player	AB	R	H	BI	BB	K		IP	H	R	ER	BB	K
MLB	16.0	White Sox	Chris Sale (W,3-0)	-	-	-	-	-	-		9.0	2	0	0	0	9
NL	7.2	Nationals	Joe Ross (W,2-0)	-	-	-	-	-	-		7.2	3	0	0	2	5
BAT	6.0	Cardinals	Matt Holliday, 1B	2	2	2	4	1	0		-	-	-	-	-	-
	6.0	Astros	Dallas Keuchel (W,2-1)	-	-	-	-	-	-		8.0	5	0	0	1	4
	5.1	Red Sox	Rick Porcello (W,2-0)	-	-	-	-	-	-		6.1	2	3	3	1	8
BAT	5.0	Orioles	Mark Trumbo, DH	4	2	2	5	0	1		-	-	-	-	-	-
	4.0	Brewers	Ryan Braun, LF	5	2	3	4	0	1		-	-	-	-	-	-
	4.0	Dodgers	Enrique Hernandez, LF	5	2	3	4	0	0		-	-	-	-	-	-
	4.0	Mariners	Chris Iannetta, C	3	1	3	3	1	0		-	-	-	-	-	-
	4.0	Rockies	Chad Bettis (W,2-0)	-	-	-	-	-	-		6.0	3	0	0	3	4
	3.0	Twins	Eduardo Nunez, 2B	3	2	3	1	0	0		-	-	-	-	-	-
	2.0	Royals	Wade Davis (S,5)	-	-	-	-	-	-		1.0	0	0	0	0	1
	1.1	`Dbacks	Zack Greinke	-	-	-	-	-	-		7.1	6	2	2	1	5
	1.0	Mets	Yoenis Cespedes, DH	5	1	3	2	0	1		-	-	-	-	-	-
	1.0	Braves	Adonis Garcia, 3B	4	0	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.