Yankees' Luis Severino tops players in Thursday, March 17's spring training games

Yankees pitcher Luis Severino is Box-Toppers spring training Player of the Day for Thursday.

Severino pitched four scoreless innings, allowing two hits and striking out five, in the 7-2 win over the Pirates. Severino had 3.0 Box-Toppers points in 2015 with the Yankees.

National League Player of the Day—Travis d’Arnaud of the Mets doubled and went 2-for-2, scoring twice and driving in three runs, in the 6-5 win over the Marlins. d’Arnaud had 2.0 Box-Toppers points in 2015 with the Mets.

American League Batter of the Day—Sam Travis of the Red Sox hit a three-run homer and went 2-for-3, driving in four runs, in the 9-5 win over the Orioles. Travis has yet to make his regular season Major League debut and so has no Box-Toppers points.

National League Batter of the Day—There is no separate NL Batter of the Day for Thursday because the NL Player of the Day was a batter, Travis d’Arnaud.

Scoring—No Box-Toppers points are awarded in spring training games, but if it were the regular season, Severino would earn 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day, d’Arnaud would earn 1.7 points for being NL Player of the Day and Travis would earn 1.5 points for being AL Batter of the Day. All of Thursday’s other Players of the Game (listed in the chart below) would earn 1.0 Box-Toppers point.

Note—Seventeen spring training games were scheduled for Thursday—14 are listed below. Two games are not included because they ended in ties (Mariners vs. Athletics and Angels vs. Rockies) and one game was not included that featured a non-Major League team (Blue Jays vs. Canadian Junior Team).

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

3/17 Score Team Player AB R H BI BB K IP H R ER BB K
MLB 7.0 Yankees Luis Severino (W, 1-0) - - - - - - 4.0 2 0 0 0 5
5.2 `Rays Matt Moore - - - - - - 4.2 5 1 1 0 8
NL 5.0 Mets Travis d'Arnaud C 2 2 2 3 1 0 - - - - - -
5.0 Brewers Taylor Jungmann (W, 1-0) - - - - - - 4.0 1 0 0 1 3
BAT 4.0 Red Sox Sam Travis 1B 3 1 2 4 0 0 - - - - - -
4.0 Reds Jumbo Diaz (W, 1-0) - - - - - - 2.0 1 0 0 0 3
4.0 Orioles Dale Thayer (Sv, 1) - - - - - - 1.0 0 0 0 0 3
3.0 Cubs Jorge Soler LF 3 1 2 3 0 0 - - - - - -
3.0 Giants Brandon Belt 1B 2 2 2 1 1 0 - - - - - -
3.0 Nationals Chris Heisey PH-LF 2 1 1 3 0 1 - - - - - -
3.0 Astros Carlos Correa SS 2 2 1 2 1 1 - - - - - -
3.0 Tigers Mike Pelfrey (W, 1-0) - - - - - - 5.0 3 0 0 2 3
3.0 Royals Kris Medlen (W, 1-0) - - - - - - 4.0 3 1 1 0 4
2.1 Astros Will Harris (W, 1-0) - - - - - - 1.1 0 0 0 0 1
` Denotes that the pitcher had a no-decision in the game and did not pick up a win or a save.

Royals' Ryan Madson, with perfect 7th inning, tops players in World Series Game 4, Saturday, Oct. 31

Royals pitcher Ryan Madson pitched a perfect seventh inning, striking out two and picking up the win, to earn Box-Toppers Player of the Game honors Saturday in World Series Game 4.

The Kansas City Royals came from behind, scoring three runs in the eighth inning, to beat the New York Mets, 5-3. The Royals take a 3-1 lead in the best-of-seven game series.

Madson entered the game with the Royals trailing 3-2 and retired the side on 16 pitches, striking out Travis d’Arnaud of Michael Conforto, who had homered in his previous two at bats. After Madson exited, the Royals scored three runs in the eighth, making Madson the pitcher of record and allowing him to pick up the win.

Madson had a Box-Toppers game score of +3.0, highest among Royals players. Closer Wade Davis, who pitched two innings to earn the save, was leading Madson in the ninth inning in Box-Toppers game score until he gave up two hits. Davis had the second-highest Box-Toppers game score among Royals of +2.0.

Catcher Salvador Perez had the highest Box-Toppers game score among Royals batters of +1.0 (2B 3-4 R BI).

Madson, during the regular season, had 0.0 Box-Toppers points. In fact, Madson has not earned Box-Toppers points since the last time he was Player of the Game more than four years ago—May 30, 2011, when he was with the Phillies. Madson has 20.7 career Box-Toppers points from 2004 to 2011, all with the Phillies.

Royals starting pitcher Chris Young had a Box-Toppers game score of 0.0 (4IP 2H 2R BB 3K ND). Mets starting pitcher Steven Matz had a Box-Toppers game score of −1.0. (5IP 7H 2R 5K ND).

Left fielder Michael Conforto had the highest Box-Toppers game score among Mets players of +3.0 (2HR 2-3 2R 2BI). Mets middle reliever Tyler Clippard, who picked up the loss pitching in the eighth inning, had the lowest Box-Toppers game score of the night of −5.9 (0.1IP 0H 2R 2BB 0K L).

About Box-Toppers—Box-Toppers tracks who most helps their team win the most games. Using standard box score statistics, Box-Toppers uses a simple formula to determine a Player of the Game for each Major League Baseball game played. That player is the person who contributed most to his team’s win. In regular season games, players earn 1.0 Box-Toppers point for being named Player of the Game and can earn bonus points for being Player of the Day or top player or batter in their league for the day.

Top Royals in World Series Game 4

Here are the Box-Toppers game score of all Royals who played in World Series Game 4 listed from highest-to-lowest Box-Toppers game score (pitchers are listed twice—once for batting and once for pitching). Ryan Madson is Player of the Game (POG).

10/31 Score Team Players AB R H BI BB K IP H R ER BB K
POG 3.0 Royals Ryan Madson (W,2-0) - - - - - - 1.0 0 0 0 0 2
2.0 Royals Wade Davis (S,4) - - - - - - 2.0 2 0 0 0 2
1.0 Royals Salvador Perez, C 4 1 3 1 0 1 - - - - - -
1.0 Royals Luke Hochevar - - - - - - 1.0 0 0 0 0 0
0.0 Royals Lorenzo Cain, CF 3 1 1 1 1 1 - - - - - -
0.0 Royals Ben Zobrist, 2B 3 2 1 0 1 2 - - - - - -
0.0 Royals Kendrys Morales, PH 1 0 1 0 0 0 - - - - - -
0.0 Royals Chris Young - - - - - - 4.0 2 2 2 1 3
0.0 Royals Danny Duffy, P 0 0 0 0 0 0 - - - - - -
0.0 Royals Luke Hochevar, P 0 0 0 0 0 0 - - - - - -
0.0 Royals Ryan Madson, P 0 0 0 0 0 0 - - - - - -
-1.0 Royals Paulo Orlando, RF 1 0 0 0 0 1 - - - - - -
-1.0 Royals Chris Young, P 1 0 0 0 0 1 - - - - - -
-1.0 Royals Jarrod Dyson, PH 1 0 0 0 0 1 - - - - - -
-1.0 Royals Wade Davis, P 1 0 0 0 0 1 - - - - - -
-2.0 Royals Mike Moustakas, 3B 4 0 1 1 0 0 - - - - - -
-2.0 Royals Alex Gordon, LF 4 0 1 1 0 0 - - - - - -
-2.0 Royals Danny Duffy - - - - - - 1.0 2 1 1 0 1
-3.0 Royals Eric Hosmer, 1B 4 1 0 0 0 1 - - - - - -
-3.0 Royals Alex Rios, RF 3 0 0 0 0 0 - - - - - -
-4.0 Royals Alcides Escobar, SS 5 0 1 0 0 0 - - - - - -

Coming Sunday in New York:

World Series Game 5, Royals lead Mets, 3-1

The pitching match-up Sunday:

Royals—Edinson Volquez, 7.0 Box-Toppers points, 105th among all players, 39th among AL pitchers. Volquez has been Player of the Game once during the postseason—on Oct. 16, he was top player in the American League Championship Series Game 1. 

Mets—Matt Harvey, 15.4 Box-Toppers points, ranked 16th among all players, eighth among NL pitchers. Harvey has been Player of the Game once during the postseason—on Oct. 17, he was top player in the National League Championship Series Game 1.

This is a rematch of World Series Game 1, which the Royals won 5-4 in 14 innings. Neither starting pitcher was particularly effective. Volquez had a Box-Toppers game score of −4.0 and Harvey had a Box-Toppers game score of −5.0.

World Series preview 

Box-Toppers season-end player rankings report

Box-Toppers point totals of all Royals players active at season's end

Box-Toppers point totals of all Mets players active at season's end

Mets' Travis d'Arnaud tops player in Monday, Oct. 12's divisional playoff games

Travis d’Arnaud of the Mets is Box-Toppers top player in Monday’s four league division series playoff games.

Other Players of the Game Monday:

  • Jorge Soler of the Cubs
  • Royals closing pitcher Wade Davis
  • Kevin Pillar of the Blue Jays

National League Division Series Game 3: Mets 13, Dodgers 7

Travis d’Arnaud of the Mets homered and went 3-for-5, scoring three times and driving in three runs to earn overall Player of the Day honors Monday.

During the regular season, d’Arnaud had 2.5 Box-Toppers points, ranked 381st among all players, 189th among NL batters and ninth among NL catchers.

d’Arnaud had a Box-Toppers game score of +4.0, the same as teammate Yoenis Cespedes, who had a similar batting line (HR 3-5 3R 3BI), but d’Arnaud won Player of the Game honors on a low-level tie-breaker—he left fewer runners on base than Cespedes—zero vs. one.

D’Arnaud’s Box-Toppers game score of +4.0 is also tied with Players of the Game in two other games—Jorge Soler of the Cubs and Royals pitcher Wade Davis. But d’Arnaud beat Soler because he had more at bats (five vs. two) and he beat Davis because in cases of Box-Toppers game score ties, batters beat pitchers.

The Mets now lead the best-of-five game series, 2-1, which resumes Tuesday in New York.

National League Division Series Game 3: Cubs 8, Cardinals 6

Jorge Soler of the Cubs hit a two-run homer and went 2-for-2, to earn Player of the Game honors.

During the regular season, Soler had 3.2 Box-Toppers points, ranked 306th among all players, 70th among NL batters and 33rd among NL outfielders.

Box-Toppers points leader Jake Arrieta (29.1) started the game for the Cubs. Arrieta (5.2IP 5H 4R 9K W) had a Box-Toppers game score of −0.8. It is the first time since Aug. 15 that Arrieta did not earn Box-Toppers Player of the Game honors in a start. He had 10 straight starts in which he earned Player of the Game honors, including in the postseason on Oct. 7, when he was Player of the Game in the NL Wild Card Game. In his final nine starts of the regular season, Arrieta earned 14.7 Box-Toppers points.

The Cubs now lead the best-of-five game series, 2-1, which resumes Tuesday in Chicago.

American League Division Series Game 4: Royals 9, Astros 6

Royals closing pitcher Wade Davis struck out three over two scoreless innings, allowing one hit and picking up the save, to earn Player of the Game honors.

During the regular season, Davis had 4.0 Box-Toppers points, ranked 235th among all players, 74th among AL pitchers and ninth among AL closing pitchers.

The best-of-five game series is now tied 2-2 and concludes Wednesday in Kansas City.

American League Division Series Game 4: Blue Jays 8, Rangers 4

Kevin Pillar homered and went 3-for-4, driving in three runs to earn Player of the Game honors.

During the regular season, Pillar had 3.5 Box-Toppers points, ranked 300th among all players, 68th among AL batters and 22nd among AL outfielders.

Blue Jays pitcher David Price, ranked second among AL pitchers in Box-Toppers points (21.1) pitched three innings of middle relief. Price (3IP 6H 3R 2K W) had a Box-Toppers game score of −7.0.

The best-of-five game series is now tied 2-2 and concludes Wednesday in Toronto.

About Box-Toppers—Box-Toppers tracks who most helps their team win the most games. Using standard box score statistics, Box-Toppers uses a simple formula to determine a Player of the Game for each Major League Baseball game played. That player is the person who contributed most to his team’s win. In regular season games, players earn 1.0 Box-Toppers point for being named Player of the Game and can earn bonus points for being Player of the Day or top player or batter in their league for the day.

Top player from each game

Listed from highest to lowest Box-Toppers game score

10/12 Score Team Players AB R H BI BB K IP H R ER BB K
POG 4.0 Mets Travis d'Arnaud, C 5 3 3 3 0 1 - - - - - -
POG 4.0 Cubs Jorge Soler, RF 2 2 2 2 2 0 - - - - - -
POG 4.0 Royals Wade Davis (S,2) - - - - - - 2.0 1 0 0 0 3
POG 3.0 Blue Jays Kevin Pillar, CF 4 1 3 3 0 0 - - - - - -

Coming Tuesday, the NL Division Series playoff games resume:

NL Division Series Game 4, Cubs lead Cardinals, 2-1

The pitching matchup Tuesday:

Cardinals—John Lackey, 9.7 Box-Toppers points, 51st among all players, 21st among NL pitchers.

Cubs—Jason Hammel, 9.7 Box-Toppers points, 52nd among all players, 22nd among NL pitchers. (Though Lackey and Hammel have the same Box-Toppers point totals for 2015, Lackey places higher because he holds the tiebreaker—he had more Box-Toppers points in 2014, 10.7 vs. 10.4.)

See series preview and Box-Toppers point totals of all Cardinals and Cubs who earned Player of the Game honors in the 2015 regular season.

NL Division Series Game 4, Mets lead Dodgers, 2-1

The pitching matchup Tuesday:

Dodgers—Clayton Kershaw, 25.7 Box-Toppers points, second among all players, second among NL pitchers.

Mets—Steven Matz, 3.5 Box-Toppers points, 298th among all players, 76th among NL pitchers.

See series preview and Box-Toppers point totals of all Mets and Dodgers who earned Player of the Game honors in the 2015 regular season.

Cubs' Jake Arrieta tops players for Saturday, Sept. 5, takes Box-Toppers player rankings lead

(Other duties have put us behind updating Box-Toppers. Playing catch up …)

Cubs pitcher Jake Arrieta is Box-Toppers Player of the Day for Saturday, Sept. 5, and rises to the top of Box-Toppers season player rankings.

Top 10 players

Here are the top 10 players in Box-Toppers points (BTP) for the 2015 season as of Sept. 5.  


 Player Pos Team BTP
1 Arrieta, Jake 2738 pi sp chi nl 21.1
2 Kershaw, Clayton 2494 pi sp lad nl 20.7
3 deGrom, Jacob 3343 pi sp nym nl 19.4
4 Price, David 2593 pi sp tor al 19.1
5 Greinke, Zack 1871 pi sp lad nl 18.0
6 Keuchel, Dallas 3050 pi sp hou al 17.7
7 Hernandez, Felix 2064 pi sp sea al 17.4
8 Sale, Chris 2806 pi sp chi al 17.1
9 Scherzer, Max 2588 pi sp dc nl 16.0
10 Archer, Chris 3194 pi sp tb al 16.0
What are those numbers after players' names?

Also Saturday, two other players in Box-Toppers top 10 season player rankings earned Player of the Game honors—Blue Jays pitcher David Price (fourth place) and Mariners pitcher Felix Hernandez (seventh place).

Player of the Day—Arrieta took the Box-Toppers season player ranking lead for the first time in his career, passing Dodgers pitcher Clayton Kershaw (20.7 Box-Toppers points) who took the lead Wednesday, Sept. 2.

Arrieta has 21.1 Box-Toppers points and becomes the second player this season with 20.0 or more Box-Toppers points.

Arrieta pitched eight scoreless innings, allowing four hits and striking out seven, in the 2-0 win over the Diamondbacks. Arrieta earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day, giving him 21.1 for the season, his most points in a season, beating his previous high of 14.7 in 2014.

Arrieta had a Box-Toppers game score Saturday of +11.0, the same as Cardinals pitcher Jaime Garcia (Player of the Game in his team’s 4-1 win over the Pirates). But Arrieta won overall Player of the Day on a tiebreaker because he had more innings pitched—eight vs. seven.

American League Player of the Day—Twins pitcher Ervin Santana struck out 11 over eight innings, allowing one run and six hits, in the 3-2 win over the Astros.

National League Batter of the Day—Travis d’Arnaud of the Mets homered and went 2-for-4, driving in four runs, in the 7-0 win over the Marlins.

Lead changes

Here are the season’s lead changes among players in Box-Toppers points. Chart shows the date and the player’s Box-Toppers point (BTP) total when they took the lead.  

Date Player Team BTP
4/5 Adam Wainwright stl nl 2.0
4/6 Felix Hernandez sea al 2.0
4/13 Scott Kazmir oak al 3.7
4/18 Felix Hernandez sea al 4.0
6/26 Max Scherzer dc nl 14.0
7/9 Felix Hernandez sea al 14.4
7/12 Max Scherzer dc nl 15.0
7/24 Felix Hernandez sea al 15.4
7/26 Jacob deGrom nym nl 16.4
9/2 Clayton Kershaw lad nl 20.7
9/5 Jake Arrieta chi nl 21.1

American League Batter of the Day—There is no AL Batter of the Day for Saturday because no AL batter earned Player of the Game honors.

Rankings—In addition to Arrieta, two other players in Box-Toppers top 10 player rankings earned Player of the Game honors Saturday:

  • Blue Jays pitcher David Price (7IP 3H R 8K W in the 5-1 win over the Orioles) maintained his rank of fourth place overall and first among AL pitchers. Price earns 1.0 Box-Toppers point for being Player of the Game, giving him 19.1 for the season.
  • Mariners pitcher Felix Hernandez (8IP 6H 3R 9K W in the 8-3 win over the Athletics) rose to seventh place in player rankings. He earns 1.0 Box-Toppers point, giving him 17.4 for the season. He ranks third among AL pitchers, behind Price and Dallas Keuchel (17.7). Also, Hernandez now has 160.7 career Box-Toppers points, maintaining his rank of 12th place among all players since 1995 (when Box-Toppers record keeping began). Hernandez trails 11th-place player John Smoltz (160.9).

Debut—Rays pitcher Xavier Cedeno made his Box-Toppers debut Saturday, the first time in his career he earned Player of the Game honors. Cedeno (1.2 IP 0R 0H 4K W in the 3-2 win over the Yankees) made his Major League debut June 9, 2012, and was playing in his 132nd career game. He is the 3,578th player to debut in Box-Toppers since record keeping began in 1995.

Scoring—Arrieta earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day and Santana earns 1.7 Box-Toppers points for being AL Player of the Day. d’Arnaud earns 1.5 Box-Toppers points for being NL 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

9/5 Score Team Player AB R H BI BB K IP H R ER BB K
MLB 11.0 Cubs Jake Arrieta (W,18-6) - - - - - - 8.0 4 0 0 0 7
11.0 Cardinals Jaime Garcia (W,8-4) - - - - - - 7.0 4 0 0 1 9
10.0 Nationals Gio Gonzalez (W,10-7) - - - - - - 6.0 2 0 0 4 10
AL 9.0 Twins Ervin Santana (W,4-4) - - - - - - 8.0 6 1 1 2 11
8.0 Red Sox Wade Miley (W,11-10) - - - - - - 9.0 5 2 2 0 8
6.0 Rangers Derek Holland (W,3-1) - - - - - - 8.0 3 1 1 2 5
6.0 Blue Jays David Price (W,14-5) - - - - - - 7.0 3 1 1 4 8
6.0 Tigers Alfredo Simon (W,12-9) - - - - - - 7.0 2 0 0 4 5
5.0 Mariners Felix Hernandez (W,16-8) - - - - - - 8.0 6 3 3 0 9
5.0 White Sox Jose Quintana (W,8-10) - - - - - - 7.0 7 0 0 0 5
4.2 Rays Xavier Cedeno (MR) (W,4-1) - - - - - - 1.2 0 0 0 1 4
4.0 Dodgers Alex Wood (W,10-9) - - - - - - 7.0 3 0 0 4 4
BAT 3.0 Mets Travis d'Arnaud, C 4 1 2 4 0 0 - - - - - -
3.0 Brewers Adam Lind, PH 1 1 1 2 0 0 - - - - - -
2.0 Brewers Elian Herrera, 3B 5 2 2 3 0 2 - - - - - -
1.0 Giants Gregor Blanco, RF 4 2 2 1 1 0 - - - - - -

Braves' Ervin Santana (8IP 0R 11K) tops players for Monday, July 28

Braves pitcher Ervin Santana is Monday’s Player of the Day. Santana pitched eight shutout innings and struck out 11 in the 2-0 win over the Padres.

Santana earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day, giving him 10.0 for the season. He is the 21st player this season with 10.0 or more Box-Toppers points and ranks 21st in Box-Toppers player rankings. He ranks ninth among National League pitchers.

Blue Jays pitcher R.A. Dickey is American League Player of the Day. Dickey struck out 10 over seven innings, allowing one run, in the 14-1 win over the Red Sox.

Travis d’Arnaud of the Mets is NL Batter of the Day. d’Arnaud hit a three-run homer and two doubles, going 3-for-4 with two runs and three RBIs, in the 7-1 win over the Phillies.

Chris Carter of the Astros is AL Batter of the Day. Carter hit a three-run homer and scored twice in the 7-3 win over the Athletics.

Notable: Rangers pitcher Yu Darvish rose to 12th place in Box-Toppers player rankings after earning Player of the Game honors Monday. Darvish (7IP 8K W in the 4-2 win over the Yankees) earned 1.0 Box-Toppers point, giving him 12.4 for the season. He ranks eighth among AL pitchers.

Santana receives 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day. Dickey receives 1.7 for AL Player of the Day. d’Arnaud and Carter each receive 1.5 for being top Batter of the Day in their league.

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

Box-Toppers watches the daily performances of selected star players and Box-Toppers points leaders. To see how they performed Monday, click here.

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. Players earn Box-Toppers points 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

728 Score Team Player AB R H BI BB K IP H R ER BB K
MLB 14.0 Braves Ervin Santana (W, 10-6) - - - - - - 8.0 5 0 0 0 11
AL 11.0 Blue Jays R.A. Dickey (W, 9-10) - - - - - - 7.0 3 1 1 1 10
8.0 `Dbacks Chase Anderson - - - - - - 7.0 3 1 1 2 8
7.0 Pirates Vance Worley (W, 4-1) - - - - - - 9.0 4 0 0 1 3
7.0 Rays Jake Odorizzi (W, 7-8) - - - - - - 7.0 3 1 1 0 5
5.0 Cubs Tsuyoshi Wada (W, 1-1) - - - - - - 7.0 5 1 1 1 6
BAT 4.0 Mets Travis d`Arnaud C 4 2 3 3 0 1 - - - - - -
BAT 3.0 Astros Chris Carter DH 3 2 1 3 1 0 - - - - - -
2.0 Marlins Mike Dunn (W, 8-5) - - - - - - 1.0 0 0 0 0 1
1.0 Rangers Yu Darvish (W, 10-6) - - - - - - 7.0 9 2 2 1 8

` Denotes that the pitcher had a no-decision in the game and did not pick up a win or a save.

 

Rangers' Darvish tops players for Friday, July 18, Giants' Bumgarner rises to 3rd in Box-Toppers rankings

Rangers pitcher Yu Darvish is Friday’s Player of the Day, while Giants pitcher Madison Bumgarner rises to third place in Box-Toppers player rankings.

Darvish struck out 12 over six innings, allowing one run, in the 5-1 win over the Blue Jays. Darvish earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day, giving him 11.4 for the season, moving him to 11th place in Box-Toppers player rankings, sixth among American League pitchers.

Bumgarner rises from fourth to third in Box-Toppers points for the season after earning Player of the Game honors Friday. (See the updated top 10 player list on the home page.) Bumgarner (6IP 1R 7K W in the 9-1 win over the Marlins) earns 1.0 Box-Toppers point, giving him 14.5 for the season. He now ranks second among National League pitchers, behind Clayton Kershaw of the Dodgers, who leads all players with 18.1 Box-Toppers points.

Pirates pitcher Francisco Liriano is NL Player of the Day. Liriano struck out eight over five innings in the 4-2 win over the Rockies. Liriano left the game with the score tied 1-1 and so did not pick up the win.

Jason Kipnis of the Indians is AL Batter of the Day. Kipnis hit two home runs and drove in four, in the 9-3 win over the Tigers.

Travis d’Arnaud of the Mets is NL Batter of the Day. d’Arnaud went 3-for-5 and drove in two runs in the 5-4 win over the Padres. This was d’Arnaud’s Box-Toppers debut, the first time he has earned Player of the Game honors. He is the 3,384th player to debut in Box-Toppers since record keeping began in 1995. d’Arnaud made his Major League debut Aug. 17, 2013, and was playing in his 87th game.

Notable: Xander Bogaerts of the Red Sox, Player of the Game in the 5-4 win over the Royals, also made his Box-Toppers debut. He is the 3,383rd player to debut in Box-Toppers since record keeping began in 1995. Bogaerts made his Major League debut Aug. 20, 2013, and was playing in his 107th game.

Darvish receives 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day. Liriano receives 1.7 for NL Player of the Day. Kipnis and d’Arnaud each receive 1.5 for being top Batter of the Day in their league.

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

Box-Toppers watches the daily performances of selected star players and Box-Toppers points leaders. To see how they performed Friday, click here.

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. Players earn Box-Toppers points 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

718 Score Team Player AB R H BI BB K IP H R ER BB K
MLB 8.2 Rangers Yu Darvish (W, 9-5) - - - - - - 6.0 5 1 1 3 12
NL 6.0 `Pirates Francisco Liriano - - - - - - 5.0 3 1 0 3 8
5.0 Giants Madison Bumgarner (W, 11-7) - - - - - - 6.0 4 1 1 2 7
5.0 White Sox Daniel Webb (W, 5-2) - - - - - - 2.0 0 0 0 0 3
BAT 3.0 Indians Jason Kipnis 2B 5 2 2 4 0 0 - - - - - -
3.0 Cardinals Lance Lynn (W, 11-6) - - - - - - 6.0 4 2 2 4 9
3.0 Braves Craig Kimbrel (S, 30) - - - - - - 1.0 0 0 0 0 2
2.2 Angels Hector Santiago (W, 2-7) - - - - - - 2.0 2 0 0 0 2
2.0 Red Sox Xander Bogaerts 3B 3 2 1 2 1 0 - - - - - -
2.0 Rays Ben Zobrist LF 3 2 1 2 2 0 - - - - - -
1.1 Yankees David Phelps (W, 4-4) - - - - - - 6.1 6 3 2 1 7
BAT 1.0 Mets Travis d`Arnaud C 5 1 3 2 0 0 - - - - - -
1.0 Athletics Josh Donaldson 3B 4 1 1 3 0 1 - - - - - -
1.0 Brewers Scooter Gennett 2B 3 2 1 1 1 0 - - - - - -
1.0 Diamondbacks Nick Evans PH 1 0 1 1 0 0 - - - - - -

` Denotes that the pitcher had a no-decision in the game and did not pick up a win or a save.