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Athletics pitcher Daniel Mengden is Friday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day.
Also Friday, Yankees pitcher Luis Severino rises to fourth place in Box-Toppers season player rankings and Diamondbacks pitcher Robbie Ray rises to 10th after both earned Player of the Game honors. Plus, Red Sox pitcher Chris Sale failed in his chance to rise to the Box-Toppers points lead after he did not earn Player of the Game honors in his team’s win.
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Dodgers pitcher Clayton Kershaw clings to the Box-Toppers season player rankings lead.
Kershaw has 23.1 Box-Toppers points, his same total as a week ago. But Red Sox pitcher Chris Sale now also has 23.1 points on the season, the same total as Kershaw. But Kershaw ranks higher on a tiebreaker—he had more 2016 Box-Toppers points, 24.4 vs. 13.4.
Read MoreDiamondbacks pitcher Zack Godley is Thursday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day.
Also Thursday, Anthony Rizzo of the Cubs rises to 10th place in Box-Toppers season player rankings after earning Player of the Game honors, extending his dominating lead among National League batters. Rizzo becomes the first batter since June 27 to be ranked among the season’s top 10 players.
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Dodgers pitcher Clayton Kershaw regained the lead in season Box-Toppers player rankings since last week.
Kershaw now has 23.1 Box-Toppers points in 2017, passing last week’s leader, Nationals pitcher Max Scherzer (23.0 points). Kershaw led from mid-May until Aug. 28, when Scherzer passed him, but Kershaw retook the lead Sept. 1.
Read MoreIndians pitcher Corey Kluber is Thursday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day and rises to sixth place in season player rankings.
Meanwhile, Box-Toppers points leader, Dodgers pitcher Clayton Kershaw, failed to extend his lead in his start Thursday. He did not earn Box-Toppers points in his team’s loss to the Rockies, which opens the door for Nationals pitcher Max Scherzer to retake the lead in his start Friday.
Read MoreBrewers pitcher Jimmy Nelson is Friday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day.
Also Friday, Dodgers pitcher Clayton Kershaw retakes the season Box-Toppers player rankings lead only four days after losing it to Nationals pitcher Max Scherzer. Kershaw, making his first start Friday after returning from five weeks on the disabled list, earns Player of the Game honors and retakes the 2017 Box-Toppers points lead he held for more than three months.
Read MoreNationals pitcher Max Scherzer took the lead in season Box-Toppers player rankings this week, passing previous leader Dodgers pitcher Clayton Kershaw, who had led since mid-May.
Scherzer now has 23.0 Box-Toppers points in 2017, ahead of Kershaw’s 22.1. But Kershaw returns from five weeks on the disabled list Friday and could quickly regain the lead if he earns Player of the Game honors.
Read MoreDiamondbacks pitcher Patrick Corbin is Sunday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day.
Also Sunday, Indians pitcher Carlos Carrasco rises to fifth place in Box-Toppers season player rankings after earning American League Player of the Day honors. Plus, Giancarlo Stanton of the Marlins becomes the 21st player—and third batter—this season with 10.0 or more Box-Toppers points after earning Player of the Game honors Sunday as he hit his 50th home run of the season.
Read MoreBrewers pitcher Zach Davies is Saturday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day.
Also Saturday, Anthony Rizzo of the Cubs extended his season Box-Toppers points lead among National League batters after earning National League Batter of the Day honors.
Read MoreMets pitcher Jacob deGrom is Friday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day and rises to sixth place in season player rankings.
deGrom struck out 10 over 7 2/3 innings, allowing one run, five hits and one walk, in the 4-2 win over the Nationals.
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Dodgers pitcher Clayton Kershaw clings to his lead in Box-Toppers weekly season player rankings, even though he’s been on the disabled list for more than a month.
Two players—Nationals pitcher Max Scherzer (22.0 Box-Toppers points) and Red Sox pitcher Chris Sale (21.1)—have had opportunities to pass Kershaw’s 22.1 Box-Toppers points in recent weeks, but neither has done it. And so, Kershaw now leads the rankings for the 15th straight week.
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Red Sox pitcher Doug Fister is Tuesday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day.
Also Tuesday, Albert Pujols of the Angels passes Alex Rodriguez to take the lead in career Box-Toppers points among all batters (since 1995, when Box-Toppers tracking began). Plus, Anthony Rizzo of the Cubs extends his season Box-Toppers points lead among National League batters after earning Player of the Game honors.
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Dodgers pitcher Clayton Kershaw remains atop Box-Toppers weekly player rankings for the 14th straight week, despite being on the disabled list since July 24.
Meanwhile, Anthony Rizzo of the Cubs takes the lead among National League batters in Box-Toppers points, passing last week’s leader Buster Posey of the Giants.
Read MorePadres pitcher Clayton Richard is Wednesday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day.
Also Wednesday, Anthony Rizzo of the Cubs extended his season Box-Toppers points lead among National League batters after earning Player of the Game honors, becoming the 19th player—and second batter—in 2017 with 10 or more Box-Toppers points.
Read MoreDiamondbacks pitcher Zack Greinke is Monday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day and rises to fourth place in season player rankings.
Also Monday, Edwin Encarnacion of the Indians becomes the 18th player—and first batter—to reach 10 or more Box-Toppers points, as he widens his Box-Toppers-point lead among American League batters. Plus, Anthony Rizzo of the Cubs rises to lead National League batters in Box-Toppers points after earning National League Batter of the Day honors Monday.
Read MoreDodgers pitcher Kenta Maeda is Tuesday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day.
Also Tuesday, Nolan Arenado of the Rockies rises to lead National League batter in Box-Toppers points for the season after earning Player of the Game honors. Plus, Albert Pujols of the Angels moves with 0.2 career Box-Toppers points of “all-time” batting leader Alex Rodriguez.
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Royals pitcher Jason Vargas is Thursday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day and rises to second place in Box-Toppers season player rankings.
| Player | Pos | Team | BTP | |
| 1 | Syndergaard, Noah 3472 | pi sp | nym nl | 3.0 |
| 2 | Vargas, Jason 2055 | pi sp | kc al | 3.0 |
| 3 | Verlander, Justin 2112 | pi sp | det al | 2.7 |
| 4 | Santana, Ervin 2005 | pi sp | min al | 2.7 |
| 5 | Garcia, Avisail 3256 | rf | chi al | 2.5 |
| 6 | Kershaw, Clayton 2494 | pi sp | lad nl | 2.0 |
| 7 | Arrieta, Jake 2738 | pi sp | chi nl | 2.0 |
| 8 | Carrasco, Carlos 2885 | pi sp | cle al | 2.0 |
| 9 | Martinez, Carlos 3371 | pi sp | stl nl | 2.0 |
| 10 | Finnegan, Brandon 3535 | pi sp | cin nl | 2.0 |
Vargas pitched 7 2/3 scoreless innings, striking out eight and allowing four hits and one walk, in the 3-1 win over the Athletics.
Vargas earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day, giving him 3.0 for the season, rising to second place among players in Box-Toppers points for 2017. He trails Mets pitcher Noah Syndergaard, who also has 3.0 Box-Toppers points, but holds the tiebreaker because he had more Box-Toppers points in 2016—16.7 vs. 1.0.
National League Player of the Day—Mets pitcher Josh Smoker pitched three innings of extra-innings middle relief in the 9-8, 16-inning win over the Marlins. Smoker allowed no runs, one hit, one walk and struck out five, pitching the 12th, 13th and 14th innings. Smoker did not earn the win or save because the game was tied when he exited.
American League Batter of the Day—Miguel Sano of the Twins hit a three-run homer and went 1-for-2, scoring twice, in the 11-5 win over the Tigers.
National League Batter of the Day—Anthony Rizzo of the Cubs homered and went 2-for-4, driving in two runs, in the 4-0 win over the Dodgers.
Rankings—Avisail Garcia of the White Sox rises to fifth place in Box-Toppers season player rankings after earning Player of the Game honors Thursday. Garcia (3-4 R 3BI in the 10-4 win over the Indians) earns 1.0 Box-Toppers point, giving him 2.5 for the season. He is the only batter in Box-Toppers’ top 10 season player rankings.
Scoring—Vargas earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day and Smoker earns 1.7 points for being NL Player of the Day. Sano and Rizzo each earn 1.5 points for being their league’s Batter of the Day. All of Thursday’s other Players of the Game (listed in the chart below) earn 1.0 Box-Toppers point.
About Box-Toppers—Box-Toppers tracks who most helps their team win the most games. Using standard box score statistics, Box-Toppers uses a simple formula to determine a Player of the Game for each Major League Baseball game played. That player is the person who contributed most to his team’s win. In regular season games, players earn 1.0 Box-Toppers point for being named Player of the Game and can earn bonus points for being Player of the Day or top player or batter in their league for the day.
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| 4/13 | Score | Game | Player of the Game | AB | R | H | BI | IP | H | R | ER | BB | K | |
| MLB | 10.2 | KC 3, OAK 1 | Jason Vargas (W,2-0) | - | - | - | - | 7.2 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 8 | |
| 10.0 | TEX 8, LAA 3 | Yu Darvish (W,1-1) | - | - | - | - | 7.0 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 10 | ||
| 8.0 | NYY 3, TB 2 | Luis Severino (W,1-0) | - | - | - | - | 7.0 | 5 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 11 | ||
| NL | 6.0 | `NYM 9, MIA 8 (F/16) | Josh Smoker | - | - | - | - | 3.0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 5 | |
| 5.0 | MIL 5, CIN 1 | Jimmy Nelson (W,1-0) | - | - | - | - | 7.0 | 5 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 5 | ||
| BAT | 4.0 | MIN 11, DET 5 | Miguel Sano, 3B | 2 | 2 | 1 | 3 | - | - | - | - | - | - | |
| 3.0 | CHW 10, CLE 4 | Avisail Garcia, RF | 4 | 1 | 3 | 3 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 1.1 | COL 3, SF 1 | Chris Rusin (W,1-0) | - | - | - | - | 3.1 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 2 | ||
| BAT | 1.0 | CHC 4, LAD 0 | Anthony Rizzo, 1B | 4 | 1 | 2 | 2 | - | - | - | - | - | - | |
| 1.0 | BAL 2, TOR 1 | Jonathan Schoop, 2B | 3 | 1 | 2 | 1 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 0.1 | `BOS 4, PIT 3 | Eduardo Rodriguez | - | - | - | - | 5.1 | 4 | 3 | 2 | 4 | 8 |
| Player of Game | Pos | Team | ’17 | ’16-17 | ’12-17 | Career | +/- |
| Vargas, Jason 2055 | pi sp | kc al | 3.0 | 4.0 | 29.4 | 50.2 | 2.0 |
| Garcia, Avisail 3256 | rf | chi al | 2.5 | 5.0 | 13.5 | 13.5 | 0.0 |
| Nelson, Jimmy 3299 | pi sp | mil nl | 2.0 | 5.0 | 15.4 | 15.4 | -1.0 |
| Smoker, Josh 3725 | pi mr cp | nym nl | 1.7 | 3.7 | 3.7 | 3.7 | -0.3 |
| Rizzo, Anthony 3063 | 1b | chi nl | 1.5 | 4.5 | 28.5 | 28.5 | -1.5 |
| Sano, Miguel 3527 | 3b | min al | 1.5 | 4.5 | 10.5 | 10.5 | -1.5 |
| Darvish, Yu 3003 | pi sp | tex al | 1.0 | 11.4 | 56.6 | 56.6 | -9.4 |
| Rodriguez, Eduardo 3480 | pi sp | bos al | 1.0 | 5.7 | 11.7 | 11.7 | -3.7 |
| Schoop, Jonathan 3307 | 2b | bal al | 1.0 | 5.5 | 10.5 | 10.5 | -3.5 |
| Rusin, Chris 3236 | pi sp | col nl | 1.0 | 3.7 | 6.7 | 6.7 | -1.7 |
| Severino, Luis 3567 | pi sp mr | nyy al | 1.0 | 3.0 | 6.0 | 6.0 | -1.0 |
C.J. Cron of the Angels had highest Box-Toppers game score among batters in 2016, which is only 149th-best game score among 2,428 games played.
Read MoreNolan Arenado of the Rockies leads all players with 133 runs batted in and also ranks first among NL batters in Box-Toppers points with 10.7.
Read MoreOnly 6 of 17 Silver Slugger Award winners also led their position in Box-Toppers points in 2016.
Read MoreBox-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.