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The Los Angeles Dodgers should be considered favorites against the Houston Astros in the 2017 World Series.
The Dodgers were the dominant, hottest team much of the season. And though they slumped in August and September, losing 16 of 17 games from Aug. 26 to Sept. 11, they finished strong, ending with baseball’s best record and the second-highest Box-Toppers point total among all teams.
Read MoreAstros pitcher Lance McCullers Jr. is Box-Toppers Player of the Game as Houston eliminates the New York Yankees in Game 7 of the American League Championship Series Saturday.
Read MoreAstros pitcher Justin Verlander is Box-Toppers Player of the Game in Friday’s American League Championship Series Game 6, as Houston pulls even in the series with the New York Yankees.
Read MoreYankees pitcher Masahiro Tanaka and Cubs pitcher Jake Arrieta are Box-Toppers Players of the Game in Wednesday’s League Championship Series games.
Read MoreDodgers pitcher Yu Darvish and Aaron Judge of the Yankees are Box-Toppers Players of the Game in Tuesday’s League Championship Series games.
Read MoreAstros pitcher Dallas Keuchel is Friday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Game in Game 1 of the American League Championship Series.
Keuchel struck out 10 over seven scoreless innings, allowing four hits and one walk, in the 2-1 win over the Yankees. The Indians take a 1-0 lead in the best-of-seven series.
Read MoreThe Houston Astros rank higher in Box-Toppers team rankings, though the New York Yankees hold an advantage in starting pitching and top-10 ranked players as they face off in the American League Championship Series starting Friday.
Read MoreCubs pitcher Kyle Hendricks is Box-Toppers top player in Friday’s four league division series playoff games.
The other three Players of the Game Friday:
Trevor Bauer of the Indians and Jose Altuve of the Astros are Box-Toppers Players of the Game in Thursday’s pair of American League Division Series openers.
Bauer struck out eight over 6 2/3 scoreless innings, allowing two hits and one walk, in the 4-0 win over the Yankees. The Indians now lead the Yankees 1-0 in the best-of-five series.
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A look at the top 100 players in Box-Toppers points at the midseason break. League-leading teams—Nationals, Astros, Dodgers—have the most players on the list.
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Dodgers pitcher Clayton Kershaw is Friday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day, maintaining his spot atop season player rankings.
| Player | Pos | Team | BTP | |
| 1 | Kershaw, Clayton 2494 | pi sp | lad nl | 12.7 |
| 2 | Scherzer, Max 2588 | pi sp | dc nl | 10.0 |
| 3 | Santana, Ervin 2005 | pi sp | min al | 9.4 |
| 4 | Sale, Chris 2806 | pi sp | bos al | 8.4 |
| 5 | Greinke, Zack 1871 | pi sp | ari nl | 7.7 |
| 6 | Strasburg, Stephen 2736 | pi sp | dc nl | 7.4 |
| 7 | Keuchel, Dallas 3050 | pi sp | hou al | 7.4 |
| 8 | Ray, Robbie 3502 | pi sp | ari nl | 7.0 |
| 9 | Wood, Alex 3246 | pi sp | lad nl | 7.0 |
| 10 | Vargas, Jason 2055 | pi sp | kc al | 7.0 |
Also Friday, three other players rose in Box-Toppers top 10 season player rankings after earning Player of the Game honors—Nationals pitcher Stephen Strasburg, Astros pitcher Dallas Keuchel and Royals pitcher Jason Vargas.
Player of the Day—Kershaw struck out 14 over seven innings, allowing one run, two hits and one walk, in the 2-1, 12-inning win over the Brewers. Kershaw did not earn the win, picking up a no-decision, because the Dodgers trailed 1-0 when he exited.
Kershaw earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day, giving him 12.7 for the season, maintaining his first place spot in season player rankings, ahead of second-place player, Nationals pitcher Max Scherzer (10.0).
Kershaw also now has 196.4 career Box-Toppers points, third among all players since 1995, when Box-Toppers tracking began. He trails second-place player Pedro Martinez (244.8). Kershaw leads all active players in career points.
American League Player of the Day—Danny Valencia of the Mariners homered, doubled and went 3-for-3, scoring three times and driving in five runs, in the 12-4 win over the Rays.
National League Batter of the Day—Elias Diaz of the Pirates hit a three-run homer and doubled in the 12-7 win over the Mets. Diaz went 2-for-5, driving in six runs.
This was Diaz’s Box-Toppers debut, the first time in his career he earned Player of the Game honors. Diaz made his Major League debut Sept. 12, 2015, and was playing in his 10th career game. He is the 3,813rd player to debut in Box-Toppers since record keeping began in 1995.
American League Batter of the Day—There is no separate AL Batter of the Day for Friday because the overall AL Player of the Day is batter Danny Valencia.
Rankings—Three other players who earned Player of the Game honors Friday rise in Box-Toppers season player rankings:
Nationals pitcher Stephen Strasburg (7IP 4H 2R 3BB 7K W in the 13-3 win over the Athletics) rises to sixth place (from ninth) with 7.4 season Box-Toppers points. He ranks fourth among NL pitchers.
Astros pitcher Dallas Keuchel (6IP 3H 0R 2BB 7K W in the 7-1 win over the Rangers) rises to seventh place with 7.4 season Box-Toppers points. He ranks third among AL pitchers.
Royals pitcher Jason Vargas (CG 7H 0R BB 3K W in the 4-0 win over the Indians) rises to 10th place with 7.0 season Box-Toppers points. He ranks fourth among AL pitchers.
Notable—In addition to Kershaw, two other players with 100 or more career Box-Toppers points earned Player of the Game honors Friday:
Miguel Cabrera of the Tigers (2-2B 3-3 R 4BI in the 15-5 win over the White Sox) earns 1.0 Box-Toppers point, giving him 146.9 career points. Cabrera rises to 22nd place in career Box-Toppers points among all players since 1995, when Box-Toppers tracking began, passing Jim Thome (146.7) on the “all-time” list. Cabrera now trails 21st-ranked player Javier Vazquez (148.3). Cabrera now rises to sixth place among all batters since 1995 in career Box-Toppers points. He has 2.0 Box-Toppers points for the season.
Cubs pitcher John Lackey (7IP 4H 2R 2BB 6K ND in the 3-2 win over the Cardinals) earns 1.0 Box-Toppers point for being Player of the Game, giving him 124.2 career points, rising to 38th among all players since 1995, when Box-Toppers tracking began. With his point Friday, he passes Gary Sheffield (124.1) on the “all-time” list and now trails 37th-ranked player Mariano Rivera (126.4). Lackey has 3.0 Box-Toppers points for the season.
Scoring—Kershaw earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day and Valencia earns 1.7 points for being AL Player of the Day. Diaz earns 1.5 points for being NL 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.
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.
| 6/2 | Score | Game | Player of the Game | AB | R | H | BI | IP | H | R | ER | BB | K | |
| MLB | 16.0 | `LAD 2, MIL 1 (F/12) | Clayton Kershaw | - | - | - | - | 7.0 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 14 | |
| AL | 8.0 | SEA 12, TB 4 | Danny Valencia, 1B | 3 | 3 | 3 | 5 | - | - | - | - | - | - | |
| 8.0 | HOU 7, TEX 1 | Dallas Keuchel (W,9-0) | - | - | - | - | 6.0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 7 | ||
| 6.0 | SF 10, PHI 0 | Ty Blach (W,4-2) | - | - | - | - | 9.0 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | ||
| 5.0 | DET 15, CHW 5 | Miguel Cabrera, 1B | 3 | 1 | 3 | 4 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 4.1 | BAL 3, BOS 2 | Alec Asher (W,2-3) | - | - | - | - | 6.1 | 3 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 5 | ||
| BAT | 4.0 | PIT 12, NYM 7 | Elias Diaz, C | 5 | 1 | 2 | 6 | - | - | - | - | - | - | |
| 4.0 | TOR 7, NYY 5 | Justin Smoak, 1B | 3 | 2 | 2 | 3 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 4.0 | KC 4, CLE 0 | Jason Vargas (W,7-3) | - | - | - | - | 9.0 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 3 | ||
| 3.0 | MIN 11, LAA 5 | Joe Mauer, 1B | 5 | 1 | 4 | 3 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 3.0 | MIA 7, ARI 5 | Giancarlo Stanton, RF | 3 | 3 | 2 | 1 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 3.0 | WSH 13, OAK 3 | Stephen Strasburg (W,7-1) | - | - | - | - | 7.0 | 4 | 2 | 2 | 3 | 7 | ||
| 3.0 | `CHC 3, STL 2 | John Lackey | - | - | - | - | 7.0 | 4 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 6 | ||
| 2.0 | SD 8, COL 5 | Allen Cordoba, LF | 4 | 1 | 3 | 2 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 2.0 | CIN 3, ATL 2 (F/10) | Devin Mesoraco, C | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| Player of the Game | Pos | Team | ’17 | ’16-17 | ’12-17 | Career | +/- |
| Kershaw, Clayton 2494 | pi sp | lad nl | 12.7 | 37.1 | 136.8 | 196.4 | -11.7 |
| Strasburg, Stephen 2736 | pi sp | dc nl | 7.4 | 22.5 | 81.6 | 90.3 | -7.7 |
| Keuchel, Dallas 3050 | pi sp | hou al | 7.4 | 14.4 | 50.2 | 50.2 | 0.4 |
| Vargas, Jason 2055 | pi sp | kc al | 7.0 | 8.0 | 33.4 | 54.2 | 6.0 |
| Smoak, Justin 2731 | 1b | tor al | 5.5 | 9.0 | 22.2 | 28.4 | 2.0 |
| Lackey, John 1640 | pi sp | chi nl | 3.0 | 16.4 | 42.8 | 124.2 | -10.4 |
| Cabrera, Miguel 1776 | 1b | det al | 2.0 | 14.0 | 59.8 | 146.9 | -10.0 |
| Blach, Ty 3754 | pi sp | sf nl | 2.0 | 4.0 | 4.0 | 4.0 | 0.0 |
| Mauer, Joe 1869 | 1b | min al | 2.0 | 3.5 | 25.0 | 72.6 | 0.5 |
| Cordoba, Allen 3780 | lf pr | sd nl | 2.0 | 2.0 | 2.0 | 2.0 | 2.0 |
| Valencia, Danny 2772 | 1b 3b | sea al | 1.7 | 6.2 | 10.7 | 14.7 | -2.8 |
| Diaz, Elias 3813 | ca | pit nl | 1.5 | 1.5 | 1.5 | 1.5 | 1.5 |
| Stanton, Giancarlo 2737 | rf | fla nl | 1.0 | 7.5 | 31.7 | 40.2 | -5.5 |
| Asher, Alec 3735 | pi sp | bal al | 1.0 | 2.0 | 2.0 | 2.0 | 0.0 |
| Mesoraco, Devin 3037 | ca | cin nl | 1.0 | 1.0 | 13.5 | 13.5 | 1.0 |
After two-week absence, Nationals regain top spot in Box-Toppers team rankings and are hottest team of the week. Astros top AL teams for third week.
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Nationals pitcher Stephen Strasburg is Saturday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day and rises to seventh place in season player rankings.
| Player | Pos | Team | BTP | |
| 1 | Kershaw, Clayton 2494 | pi sp | lad nl | 10.7 |
| 2 | Santana, Ervin 2005 | pi sp | min al | 9.4 |
| 3 | Sale, Chris 2806 | pi sp | bos al | 8.4 |
| 4 | Scherzer, Max 2588 | pi sp | dc nl | 8.0 |
| 5 | Wood, Alex 3246 | pi sp | lad nl | 7.0 |
| 6 | Greinke, Zack 1871 | pi sp | ari nl | 6.7 |
| 7 | Strasburg, Stephen 2736 | pi sp | dc nl | 6.4 |
| 8 | Keuchel, Dallas 3050 | pi sp | hou al | 6.4 |
| 9 | McCullers, Lance 3488 | pi sp | hou al | 6.0 |
| 10 | Harper, Bryce 3011 | rf | dc nl | 6.0 |
Also Saturday, Astros pitcher Dallas Keuchel rises to eighth place in Box-Toppers season player rankings after earning Player of the Game honors.
Player of the Day—Strasburg struck out 15 over seven scoreless innings, allowing three hits and one walk, in the 3-0 win over the Padres.
Strasburg earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day, giving him 6.4 for the season, rising to seventh in player rankings, fifth among National League pitchers.
With Strasburg's rise, there are now three Nationals players in Box-Toppers top 10 season player rankings—Max Scherzer in fourth with 8.0 points, Bryce Harper in 10th with 6.0 and Strasburg in seventh with 6.4.
American League Player of the Day—Tigers pitcher Buck Farmer struck out 11 over 6 1/3 scoreless innings, allowing three hits and two walks, in the 4-3 win over the White Sox.
This was Farmer’s Box-Toppers debut, the first time in his career he earned Player of the Game honors. Farmer made his Major League debut Aug. 13, 2014, and was playing in his 33rd career game. He is the 3,809th player to debut in Box-Toppers since record keeping began in 1995.
National League Batter of the Day—Nick Hundley of the Giants homered and went 3-for-4, scoring twice and driving in three runs, in the 6-3 win over the Braves.
American League Batter of the Day—Andrelton Simmons of the Angels doubled and went 2-for-4, scoring once and driving in two runs, in the 5-2 win over the Marlins.
Rankings—Astros pitcher Dallas Keuchel rises to eighth place in Box-Toppers season player rankings after earning Player of the Game honors Saturday.
Keuchel (6IP 4H R 2BB 8K W in the 5-2 win over the Orioles) earns 1.0 Box-Toppers point, giving him 6.4 for the season. He ranks third among AL pitchers.
Notable—Cardinals pitcher Adam Wainwright now has 114.5 career Box-Toppers points after earning Player of the Game honors Saturday.
Wainwright (7IP 3H 0R BB 6K W in the 3-0 win over the Rockies) ranks 45th among all players in career Box-Toppers points since 1995 (when Box-Toppers tracking began). He trails 44th-ranked player Josh Beckett (114.9). Wainwright has 2.5 Box-Toppers points this season.
Debut—Red Sox pitcher Brian Johnson made his Box-Toppers debut Saturday, the first time in his career he earned Player of the Game honors.
Johnson (CG 5H 0R 0BB 8K W in the 6-0 win over the Mariners) made his Major League debut July 21, 2015, and was playing in his third career game. He is the 3,810th player to debut in Box-Toppers since record keeping began in 1995.
Scoring—Strasburg earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day and Farmer earns 1.7 points for being AL Player of the Day. Hundley and Simmons 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.
| 5/27 | Score | Game | Player of the Game | AB | R | H | BI | IP | H | R | ER | BB | K | |
| MLB | 18.0 | WSH 3, SD 0 | Stephen Strasburg (W,6-1) | - | - | - | - | 7.0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 15 | |
| 14.0 | MIL 6, ARI 1 | Chase Anderson (W,3-1) | - | - | - | - | 7.0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 11 | ||
| AL | 12.1 | DET 4, CHW 3 | Buck Farmer (W,1-0) | - | - | - | - | 6.1 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 11 | |
| 12.0 | BOS 6, SEA 0 | Brian Johnson (W,2-0) | - | - | - | - | 9.0 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 8 | ||
| 9.0 | STL 3, COL 0 | Adam Wainwright (W,5-3) | - | - | - | - | 7.0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 6 | ||
| 9.0 | LAD 5, CHC 0 | Brandon McCarthy (W,5-1) | - | - | - | - | 6.0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 6 | ||
| 7.0 | TOR 3, TEX 1 | Marco Estrada (W,4-2) | - | - | - | - | 6.0 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 8 | ||
| 6.0 | HOU 5, BAL 2 | Dallas Keuchel (W,8-0) | - | - | - | - | 6.0 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 8 | ||
| 4.2 | NYY 3, OAK 2 | Dellin Betances (S,5) | - | - | - | - | 1.2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | ||
| BAT | 4.0 | SF 6, ATL 3 | Nick Hundley, C | 4 | 2 | 3 | 3 | - | - | - | - | - | - | |
| 3.0 | PIT 5, NYM 4 (F/10) | Andrew McCutchen, CF | 3 | 1 | 2 | 3 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 3.0 | CHW 3, DET 0 | David Robertson (S,6) | - | - | - | - | 1.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | ||
| 3.0 | `KC 5, CLE 2 | Joakim Soria | - | - | - | - | 1.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | ||
| 2.0 | PHI 4, CIN 3 | Hector Neris (W,2-2) | - | - | - | - | 1.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 2 | ||
| BAT | 1.0 | LAA 5, MIA 2 | Andrelton Simmons, SS | 4 | 1 | 2 | 2 | - | - | - | - | - | - | |
| 1.0 | MIN 5, TB 3 | Eddie Rosario, LF | 3 | 1 | 2 | 1 | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| Player of the Game | Pos | Team | ’17 | ’16-17 | ’12-17 | Career | +/- |
| Strasburg, Stephen 2736 | pi sp | dc nl | 6.4 | 21.5 | 80.6 | 89.3 | -8.7 |
| Keuchel, Dallas 3050 | pi sp | hou al | 6.4 | 13.4 | 49.2 | 49.2 | -0.6 |
| Estrada, Marco 2847 | pi sp | tor al | 4.0 | 15.0 | 44.1 | 47.1 | -7.0 |
| Betances, Dellin 3333 | pi mr cp | nyy al | 4.0 | 8.0 | 16.7 | 16.7 | 0.0 |
| McCarthy, Brandon 2082 | pi sp | lad nl | 4.0 | 6.7 | 26.4 | 40.5 | 1.3 |
| Soria, Joakim 2258 | pi mr | kc al | 3.0 | 4.0 | 12.7 | 48.7 | 2.0 |
| Wainwright, Adam 2150 | pi sp | stl nl | 2.5 | 12.7 | 63.8 | 114.5 | -7.7 |
| Simmons, Andrelton 3165 | ss | ana al | 2.5 | 4.0 | 9.5 | 9.5 | 1.0 |
| Anderson, Chase 3328 | pi sp | mil nl | 2.0 | 9.0 | 18.0 | 18.0 | -5.0 |
| Robertson, David 2774 | pi cp | chi al | 2.0 | 7.0 | 24.0 | 28.0 | -3.0 |
| Rosario, Eddie 3542 | lf | min al | 2.0 | 5.0 | 6.5 | 6.5 | -1.0 |
| Neris, Hector 3553 | pi mr | phi nl | 2.0 | 4.0 | 5.0 | 5.0 | 0.0 |
| Farmer, Buck 3809 | pi sp | det al | 1.7 | 1.7 | 1.7 | 1.7 | 1.7 |
| Hundley, Nick 2497 | ca | sf nl | 1.5 | 2.5 | 13.5 | 24.0 | 0.5 |
| McCutchen, Andrew 2637 | cf | pit nl | 1.0 | 8.0 | 39.5 | 54.9 | -6.0 |
| Johnson, Brian 3810 | pi sp | bos al | 1.0 | 1.0 | 1.0 | 1.0 | 1.0 |
Astros end Nationals 4-week stint atop Box-Toppers team rankings. Nationals remain top NL team. Rangers were the hottest team of the past week.
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Diamondbacks pitcher Zack Grienke is Thursday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day.
| Player | Pos | Team | BTP | |
| 1 | Kershaw, Clayton 2494 | pi sp | lad nl | 7.0 |
| 2 | Sale, Chris 2806 | pi sp | bos al | 6.7 |
| 3 | Santana, Ervin 2005 | pi sp | min al | 6.7 |
| 4 | Scherzer, Max 2588 | pi sp | dc nl | 6.0 |
| 5 | Vargas, Jason 2055 | pi sp | kc al | 6.0 |
| 6 | Carrasco, Carlos 2885 | pi sp | cle al | 5.4 |
| 7 | Keuchel, Dallas 3050 | pi sp | hou al | 5.4 |
| 8 | Triggs, Andrew 3723 | pi sp | oak al | 5.4 |
| 9 | Kimbrel, Craig 2825 | pi cp | bos al | 5.0 |
| 10 | Nova, Ivan 2796 | pi sp | pit nl | 5.0 |
Also Thursday, two players rise in Box-Toppers top 10 season player rankings after earning Player of the Game honors—Royals pitcher Jason Vargas rises to fifth place and Astros pitcher Dallas Keuchel rises to seventh place.
Player of the Day—Greinke struck out 11 over eight innings, allowing one hit—an eighth-inning home run—in the 2-1 win over the Pirates. Greinke allowed just the one run and walked only one.
Greinke earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day, giving him 160.8 for his career, 14th among all players since 1995, when Box-Toppers tracking began. He trails 13th-place player John Smoltz (160.9) on the “all-time” list. Greinke ranks fifth among all active players.
American League Player of the Day—Tigers pitcher Michael Fulmer struck out nine over six innings, allowing one run and five hits, in the 7-1 win over the Angels.
American League Batter of the Day—Justin Smoak of the Blue Jays homered and went 3-for-3, scoring twice and driving in four runs, in the 7-2 win over the Mariners.
National League Batter of the Day—Nolan Arenado of the Rockies hit two doubles and went 3-for-4, scoring three times and driving in two runs, in the 10-7 win over the Dodgers.
Rankings—Two players rise in Box-Toppers top 10 season player rankings after earning Player of the Game honors Thursday:
Streak—Mike Napoli of the Rangers has now earned Box-Toppers points for 12 straight seasons after earning Player of the Game honors Thursday (2HR 2-3 2R 4BI in the 5-2 win over the Padres).
Napoli earned his first Box-Toppers points in 2006 with the Angels and has 58.7 career points, sixth among active AL first basemen. His best season was 2011 with the Rangers when he had 9.0 Box-Toppers points, ninth among AL batters. In 2016, he had 6.5 points with the Indians, ninth among AL first basemen.
Scoring—Greinke earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day and Fulmer earns 1.7 points for being AL Player of the Day. Smoak and Arenado 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.
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.
| 5/11 | Score | Game | Player of the Game | AB | R | H | BI | IP | H | R | ER | BB | K | |
| MLB | 15.0 | ARI 2, PIT 1 | Zack Greinke (W,4-2) | - | - | - | - | 8.0 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 11 | |
| 8.0 | HOU 3, NYY 2 | Dallas Keuchel (W,6-0) | - | - | - | - | 6.0 | 5 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 9 | ||
| AL | 7.0 | DET 7, LAA 1 | Michael Fulmer (W,4-1) | - | - | - | - | 7.0 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 7 | |
| 7.0 | KC 6, TB 0 | Jason Vargas (W,5-1) | - | - | - | - | 7.0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 4 | ||
| BAT | 6.0 | TOR 7, SEA 2 | Justin Smoak, 1B | 3 | 2 | 3 | 4 | - | - | - | - | - | - | |
| 6.0 | `BOS 4, MIL 1 | Eduardo Rodriguez | - | - | - | - | 6.0 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 5 | ||
| 5.0 | TEX 5, SD 2 | Mike Napoli, DH | 3 | 2 | 2 | 4 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 4.2 | MIN 7, CHW 6 | Brandon Kintzler (S,8) | - | - | - | - | 1.2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | ||
| BAT | 4.0 | COL 10, LAD 7 | Nolan Arenado, 3B | 4 | 3 | 3 | 2 | - | - | - | - | - | - | |
| 2.1 | CIN 3, SF 2 | Wandy Peralta (W,2-0) | - | - | - | - | 1.1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| Player of the Game | Pos | Team | ’17 | ’16-17 | ’12-17 | Career | +/- |
| Vargas, Jason 2055 | pi sp | kc al | 6.0 | 7.0 | 32.4 | 53.2 | 5.0 |
| Keuchel, Dallas 3050 | pi sp | hou al | 5.4 | 12.4 | 48.2 | 48.2 | -1.6 |
| Greinke, Zack 1871 | pi sp | ari nl | 4.7 | 14.4 | 83.7 | 160.8 | -5.0 |
| Rodriguez, Eduardo 3480 | pi sp | bos al | 4.7 | 9.4 | 15.4 | 15.4 | 0.0 |
| Fulmer, Michael 3640 | pi sp | det al | 3.7 | 16.4 | 16.4 | 16.4 | -9.0 |
| Arenado, Nolan 3306 | 3b | col nl | 3.0 | 13.7 | 23.7 | 23.7 | -7.7 |
| Kintzler, Brandon 3150 | pi cp | min al | 3.0 | 3.0 | 5.0 | 5.0 | 3.0 |
| Smoak, Justin 2731 | 1b | tor al | 2.5 | 6.0 | 19.2 | 25.4 | -1.0 |
| Peralta, Wandy 3782 | pi mr | cin nl | 2.0 | 2.0 | 2.0 | 2.0 | 2.0 |
| Napoli, Mike 2161 | dh 1b | tex al | 1.0 | 7.5 | 30.7 | 58.7 | -5.5 |
Anthony Rendon of the Nationals is Sunday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day, recording what is possibly the highest Box-Toppers game score by a batter in Box-Toppers’ 23-season history.
| Player | Pos | Team | BTP | |
| 1 | Kershaw, Clayton 2494 | pi sp | lad nl | 6.0 |
| 2 | Santana, Ervin 2005 | pi sp | min al | 5.7 |
| 3 | Nova, Ivan 2796 | pi sp | pit nl | 5.0 |
| 4 | Vargas, Jason 2055 | pi sp | kc al | 5.0 |
| 5 | Holland, Greg 2906 | pi cp | col nl | 5.0 |
| 6 | Sale, Chris 2806 | pi sp | bos al | 4.7 |
| 7 | Keuchel, Dallas 3050 | pi sp | hou al | 4.4 |
| 8 | Triggs, Andrew 3723 | pi sp | oak al | 4.4 |
| 9 | Scherzer, Max 2588 | pi sp | dc nl | 4.0 |
| 10 | Kimbrel, Craig 2825 | pi cp | bos al | 4.0 |
Also Sunday, Astros pitcher Dallas Keuchel rises to seventh place in Box-Toppers season player rankings after earning Player of the Game honors.
Player of the Day—Rendon hit three home runs, doubled, went 6-for-6, scored five times and drove in 10 runs, in the 23-5 win over the Mets.
Rendon had a Box-Toppers game score of +15.0, which appears to be the highest score by a batter since Box-Toppers tracking began in 1995.
While Box-Toppers has records for each Player of the Game since the start of 1995, the data from actual game score records from box scores only goes back to the start of 2011. The previous high game score for a batter since 2011 was +12.0, done twice:
However, looking back at some of the most likely games to produce high Box-Toppers game scores for batters from 1995 to 2010, it appears no batter had a higher game score than Rendon had Sunday.
Rendon became the 13th player in Major League history to have a game with 10 runs batted in. That’s a club that’s even rarer than the four-home run club, which has been done 16 times in Major League history.
During the Box-Toppers era (since 1995), there have been three games in which a player has had 10 RBIs and no player had a Box-Toppers game score of more than +12.0:
Rendon also had a six-hit game, something that’s been done 101 times in Major League history (30 of those games happened in the 1800s). There have been 22 six-hit games in the Box-Toppers era (since 1995). The highest Box-Toppers game score of those games and what appears to be the previous high Box-Toppers game score for a batter (since 1995) was +13.0, achieved by Shawn Green of the Dodgers on May 23, 2002 (4HR 2B 6-6 6R 7BI in the 16-3 win over the Brewers).
Batters have hit four home runs in a game 16 times in Major League history, including four times during the Box-Toppers era (since 1995), however Green’s +13.0 score is the highest for those games. The other four-home run games during the Box-Toppers era:
While Rendon seems to have broken the “all-time” (since 1995) record for Box-Toppers game score for a batter, it is still only the second-best game score of 2017. On April 20, Chris Sale of the Red Sox had a Box-Toppers game score of +16.0 (8IP 4H 0R BB 13K ND in the 4-3, 10-inning win over the Blue Jays). Pitchers generally have more opportunity to earn high game scores than batters. In 2016, the highest overall game score was +22.0, earned by Vince Velasquez of the Phillies on April 14 (CG 3H 0R 0BB 16K W in the 3-0 win over the Padres).
(Related: Highest Box-Toppers game scores by batters in the 2016 season and 2015 season.)
American League Player of the Day—Blue Jays pitcher Ryan Tepera pitched 3 1/3 innings of scoreless middle relief, allowing one hit and striking out five, in the 3-1 win over the Rays. Tepera picked up a no decision and did not earn the win because the game was in a scoreless tie when he exited.
American League Batter of the Day—Miguel Sano of the Twins homered and went 3-for-5, driving in five runs, in the 7-5 win over the Royals.
National League Batter of the Day—There is no separate NL Batter of the Day for Sunday because the overall Player of the Day was NL batter Anthony Rendon.
Rankings—Astros pitcher Dallas Keuchel rises to seventh in Box-Toppers season player rankings after earning Player of the Game honors Sunday.
Keuchel (7.2IP 3H R 2BB 9K W in the 7-2 win over the Athletics) earns 1.0 Box-Toppers point, giving him 4.4 for the season. He ranks fourth among AL pitchers.
Streak—Justin Upton of the Tigers has now earned Box-Toppers points in 10 straight seasons after earning Player of the Game honors Sunday.
Upton (HR 2-3 2R BI in the 7-3 win over the White Sox) earned his first Box-Toppers point in 2008 with the Diamondbacks and has 52.1 career points, fourth among active AL outfielders. His best season was 2011 with the Diamondbacks, when he had 9.7 points, 10th among NL batters. In 2016, he had 6.7 points with the Tigers, fourth among AL outfielders.
Debut—Reds pitcher Wandy Peralta made his Box-Toppers debut Sunday, the first time in his career he earned Player of the Game honors.
Peralta (1IP 0H 0R 0BB 2K W in the 5-4 win over the Cardinals) made his Major League debut Sept. 4, 2016, and was playing in his 22nd career game. He is the 3,782nd player to debut in Box-Toppers since record keeping began in 1995.
Scoring—Rendon earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day and Tepera earns 1.7 points for being AL Player of the Day. Sano earns 1.5 points for being AL 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.
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.
| 4/30 | Score | Game | Player of the Game | AB | R | H | BI | IP | H | R | ER | BB | K | |
| MLB | 15.0 | WSH 23, NYM 5 | Anthony Rendon, 3B | 6 | 5 | 6 | 10 | - | - | - | - | - | - | |
| 9.2 | HOU 7, OAK 2 | Dallas Keuchel (W,5-0) | - | - | - | - | 7.2 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 9 | ||
| 8.1 | `ARI 2, COL 0 (F/13) | Patrick Corbin | - | - | - | - | 6.1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 6 | ||
| AL | 7.1 | `TOR 3, TB 1 | Ryan Tepera | - | - | - | - | 3.1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5 | |
| 6.1 | LAD 5, PHI 3 | Hyun-Jin Ryu (W,1-4) | - | - | - | - | 5.1 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 9 | ||
| 6.0 | MIA 10, PIT 3 | Justin Bour, 1B | 5 | 1 | 4 | 6 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 6.0 | `BOS 6, CHC 2 | Eduardo Rodriguez | - | - | - | - | 6.0 | 5 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 9 | ||
| 5.0 | MIL 4, ATL 3 | Domingo Santana, RF | 3 | 2 | 2 | 4 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 4.1 | LAA 5, TEX 2 | JC Ramirez (W,3-2) | - | - | - | - | 5.1 | 4 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 9 | ||
| BAT | 4.0 | MIN 7, KC 5 | Miguel Sano, 3B | 5 | 1 | 3 | 5 | - | - | - | - | - | - | |
| 4.0 | SD 5, SF 2 (F/12) | Ryan Buchter (W,2-1) | - | - | - | - | 2.0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | ||
| 3.0 | CLE 12, SEA 4 | Abraham Almonte, RF | 4 | 2 | 3 | 2 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 3.0 | BAL 7, NYY 4 | Logan Verrett (W,1-0) | - | - | - | - | 2.0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | ||
| 3.0 | CIN 5, STL 4 | Wandy Peralta (W,1-0) | - | - | - | - | 1.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | ||
| 2.0 | DET 7, CHW 3 | Justin Upton, LF | 3 | 2 | 2 | 1 | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| Player of the Game | Pos | Team | ’17 | ’16-17 | ’12-17 | Career | +/- |
| Keuchel, Dallas 3050 | pi sp | hou al | 4.4 | 11.4 | 47.2 | 47.2 | -2.6 |
| Sano, Miguel 3527 | 3b | min al | 4.0 | 7.0 | 13.0 | 13.0 | 1.0 |
| Rodriguez, Eduardo 3480 | pi sp | bos al | 3.7 | 8.4 | 14.4 | 14.4 | -1.0 |
| Ramirez, JC 3778 | pi sp | ana al | 3.0 | 3.0 | 3.0 | 3.0 | 3.0 |
| Rendon, Anthony 3258 | 3b | dc nl | 2.0 | 7.5 | 14.0 | 14.0 | -3.5 |
| Corbin, Patrick 3027 | pi sp cp | ari nl | 2.0 | 5.7 | 34.5 | 34.5 | -1.7 |
| Tepera, Ryan 3774 | pi mr | tor al | 2.0 | 2.0 | 2.0 | 2.0 | 2.0 |
| Upton, Justin 2411 | lf | det al | 1.0 | 7.7 | 33.9 | 52.1 | -5.7 |
| Bour, Justin 3433 | 1b | fla nl | 1.0 | 3.5 | 13.5 | 13.5 | -1.5 |
| Almonte, Abraham 3554 | rf | cle al | 1.0 | 3.0 | 4.5 | 4.5 | -1.0 |
| Verrett, Logan 3518 | pi cp | bal al | 1.0 | 2.0 | 5.0 | 5.0 | 0.0 |
| Buchter, Ryan 3626 | pi mr | sd nl | 1.0 | 2.0 | 2.0 | 2.0 | 0.0 |
| Santana, Domingo 3507 | rf | mil nl | 1.0 | 1.0 | 2.5 | 2.5 | 1.0 |
| Ryu, Hyun-Jin 3139 | pi sp | lad nl | 1.0 | 1.0 | 22.1 | 22.1 | 1.0 |
| Peralta, Wandy 3782 | pi mr | cin nl | 1.0 | 1.0 | 1.0 | 1.0 | 1.0 |
Dodgers pitcher Clayton Kershaw is Friday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day and rises in three significant Box-Toppers player rankings:
| Player | Pos | Team | BTP | |
| 1 | Kershaw, Clayton 2494 | pi sp | lad nl | 4.0 |
| 2 | Keuchel, Dallas 3050 | pi sp | hou al | 3.4 |
| 3 | Morrison, Logan 2794 | 1b | tb al | 3.2 |
| 4 | Syndergaard, Noah 3472 | pi sp | nym nl | 3.0 |
| 5 | Vargas, Jason 2055 | pi sp | kc al | 3.0 |
| 6 | Verlander, Justin 2112 | pi sp | det al | 2.7 |
| 7 | Santana, Ervin 2005 | pi sp | min al | 2.7 |
| 8 | Garcia, Avisail 3256 | rf | chi al | 2.5 |
| 9 | Arrieta, Jake 2738 | pi sp | chi nl | 2.0 |
| 10 | Carrasco, Carlos 2885 | pi sp | cle al | 2.0 |
Kershaw struck out eight over 8 1/3 innings, allowing one run and four hits, in the 7-1 win over the Diamondbacks.
It is the second time this season Kershaw has led players in season Box-Toppers points, also leading from April 3 to 8. It is also the second time this season Kershaw has led active players in career Box-Toppers points. He briefly passed Sabathia for the lead on April 3 before Sabathia regained the lead the next day.
Kershaw now trails the third-place player on the “all-time” Box-Toppers points list, Curt Schilling (194.1). With his 2.0 points Friday, he actually moved up two spots on the "all-time" list, passing both Sabathia and Rodriguez.
American League Player of the Day—Astros pitcher Dallas Keuchel struck out seven over seven innings, allowing one run and four hits, in the 7-2 win over the Athletics.
| 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 | Clayton Kershaw | pi sp | lad nl | 187.7 |
| 5 | Alex Rodriguez | dh | released | 187.0 |
| 6 | CC Sabathia | pi sp | nyy al | 186.0 |
| 7 | Albert Pujols | 1b dh | ana al | 182.3 |
| 8 | Roy Halladay | pi sp | retired | 170.7 |
| 9 | Felix Hernandez | pi sp | sea al | 169.7 |
| 10 | Manny Ramirez | lf dh | retired | 167.2 |
| 11 | Johan Santana | pi sp | free agent | 166.6 |
| 12 | Roger Clemens | pi sp | retired | 164.8 |
| 13 | John Smoltz | pi sp | retired | 160.9 |
| 14 | Zack Greinke | pi sp | ari nl | 157.1 |
| 15 | Tim Hudson | pi sp | retired | 157.0 |
| 16 | Mike Mussina | pi sp | retired | 155.6 |
| 17 | Barry Bonds | lf | retired | 153.2 |
| 18 | Greg Maddux | pi sp | retired | 151.7 |
| 19 | Bartolo Colon | pi sp | atl nl | 149.5 |
| 20 | Chipper Jones | 3b | retired | 149.0 |
Keuchel earns 1.7 Box-Toppers points for being AL Player of the Day, giving him 3.4 for the season and rising to second place in Box-Toppers season player rankings, first among AL players.
Keuchel had a Box-Toppers game score of +6.0, tied with Royals pitcher Danny Duffy, who was Player of the Game in the 7-1 win over the Angels (7IP 3H R 2BB 6K W). But Keuchel won the tiebreaker to earn AL Player of the Day honors because he had more strikeouts—seven vs. six.
National League Batter of the Day—Manny Pina of the Brewers hit two doubles and went 4-for-5, scoring twice and driving in two runs, in the 10-4 win over the Reds.
This was Pina’s Box-Toppers debut, the first time in his career he earned Player of the Game honors. Pina made his Major League debut Aug. 3, 2011, and was playing in his 45th career game. He is the 3,679th player to debut in Box-Toppers since record keeping began in 1995.
American League Batter of the Day—Logan Morrison of the Rays hit a grand slam and doubled, going 2-for-5, scoring twice and driving in four runs, in the 10-5 win over the Red Sox.
Morrison earns 1.5 Box-Toppers points for being AL Batter of the Day, giving him 3.2 for the season, rising to third place in Box-Toppers season player rankings, first among AL batters.
Streak—Two players extended their streaks of 10 or more consecutive seasons earning Box-Toppers points after both earned Player of the Game honors Friday:
Scoring—Kershaw earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day and Keuchel earns 1.7 points for being AL Player of the Day. Pina and Morrison 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.
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.
| 4/14 | Score | Game | Player of the Game | AB | R | H | BI | IP | H | R | ER | BB | K | |
| MLB | 9.1 | LAD 7, ARI 1 | Clayton Kershaw (W,2-1) | - | - | - | - | 8.1 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 8 | |
| AL | 6.0 | HOU 7, OAK 2 | Dallas Keuchel (W,2-0) | - | - | - | - | 7.0 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 7 | |
| 6.0 | KC 7, LAA 1 | Danny Duffy (W,2-0) | - | - | - | - | 7.0 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 6 | ||
| 5.0 | DET 7, CLE 6 | Daniel Norris (W,1-0) | - | - | - | - | 6.0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 5 | ||
| 4.0 | `WSH 3, PHI 2 (F/10) | Stephen Strasburg | - | - | - | - | 7.0 | 5 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 8 | ||
| BAT | 3.0 | MIL 10, CIN 4 | Manny Pina, C | 5 | 2 | 4 | 2 | - | - | - | - | - | - | |
| BAT | 3.0 | TB 10, BOS 5 | Logan Morrison, 1B | 5 | 2 | 2 | 4 | - | - | - | - | - | - | |
| 3.0 | BAL 6, TOR 4 | Wade Miley (W,1-0) | - | - | - | - | 6.0 | 5 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 8 | ||
| 3.0 | CHW 2, MIN 1 | David Robertson (S,2) | - | - | - | - | 1.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | ||
| 2.1 | SEA 2, TEX 1 | Felix Hernandez (W,1-1) | - | - | - | - | 7.1 | 6 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 3 | ||
| 2.0 | PIT 4, CHC 2 | David Freese, 3B | 4 | 1 | 3 | 2 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 2.0 | SF 8, COL 2 | Hunter Pence, RF | 4 | 1 | 3 | 2 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 2.0 | ATL 5, SD 2 | Ender Inciarte, CF | 4 | 2 | 2 | 2 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 2.0 | MIA 3, NYM 2 | Miguel Rojas, SS-3B | 3 | 2 | 3 | 0 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 1.0 | NYY 4, STL 3 | Starlin Castro, 2B | 4 | 1 | 2 | 2 | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| Player of the Game | Pos | Team | ’17 | ’16-17 | ’12-17 | Career | +/- |
| Kershaw, Clayton 2494 | pi sp | lad nl | 4.0 | 28.4 | 128.1 | 187.7 | -20.4 |
| Keuchel, Dallas 3050 | pi sp | hou al | 3.4 | 10.4 | 46.2 | 46.2 | -3.6 |
| Morrison, Logan 2794 | 1b | tb al | 3.2 | 5.2 | 15.2 | 20.7 | 1.2 |
| Inciarte, Ender 3360 | cf | atl nl | 2.0 | 4.0 | 8.0 | 8.0 | 0.0 |
| Pina, Manny 3769 | ca | mil nl | 1.5 | 1.5 | 1.5 | 1.5 | 1.5 |
| Strasburg, Stephen 2736 | pi sp | dc nl | 1.0 | 16.1 | 75.2 | 83.9 | -14.1 |
| Duffy, Danny 2915 | pi sp | kc al | 1.0 | 11.7 | 29.7 | 30.7 | -9.7 |
| Castro, Starlin 2767 | 2b | nyy al | 1.0 | 8.0 | 16.5 | 26.5 | -6.0 |
| Hernandez, Felix 2064 | pi sp | sea al | 1.0 | 7.0 | 80.7 | 169.7 | -5.0 |
| Miley, Wade 3006 | pi sp | bal al | 1.0 | 7.0 | 37.4 | 37.4 | -5.0 |
| Robertson, David 2774 | pi cp | chi al | 1.0 | 6.0 | 23.0 | 27.0 | -4.0 |
| Pence, Hunter 2287 | rf | sf nl | 1.0 | 4.5 | 20.5 | 53.2 | -2.5 |
| Norris, Daniel 3548 | pi sp | det al | 1.0 | 3.0 | 7.0 | 7.0 | -1.0 |
| Freese, David 2710 | 3b | pit nl | 1.0 | 3.0 | 19.2 | 25.2 | -1.0 |
| Rojas, Miguel 3642 | ss 3b | fla nl | 1.0 | 2.5 | 2.5 | 2.5 | -0.5 |
Dodgers pitcher Clayton Kershaw is Monday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day and rises to become the active leader in career Box-Toppers points.
Kershaw struck out eight over seven innings, allowing two runs (one earned) and two hits, in the 14-3 win over the Padres.
| 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 | released | 187.0 |
| 5 | Clayton Kershaw | pi sp | lad nl | 185.7 |
| 6 | CC Sabathia | pi sp | nyy al | 185.0 |
| 7 | Albert Pujols | 1b dh | ana al | 182.3 |
| 8 | Roy Halladay | pi sp | retired | 170.7 |
| 9 | Felix Hernandez | pi sp | sea al | 168.7 |
| 10 | Manny Ramirez | lf dh | retired | 167.2 |
| 11 | Johan Santana | pi sp | free agent | 166.6 |
| 12 | Roger Clemens | pi sp | retired | 164.8 |
| 13 | John Smoltz | pi sp | retired | 160.9 |
| 14 | Tim Hudson | pi sp | retired | 157.0 |
| 15 | Zack Greinke | pi sp | ari nl | 156.1 |
| 16 | Mike Mussina | pi sp | retired | 155.6 |
| 17 | Barry Bonds | lf | retired | 153.2 |
| 18 | Greg Maddux | pi sp | retired | 151.7 |
| 19 | Chipper Jones | 3b | retired | 149.0 |
| 20 | Bartolo Colon | pi sp | atl nl | 148.5 |
Kershaw earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day, giving him 185.7 for his career, passing Yankees pitcher CC Sabathia (185.0 points) to lead all active players in career Box-Toppers points. Kershaw now ranks fifth among all players in Box-Toppers points since 1995, when tracking began, trailing fourth place player Alex Rodriguez (187.0 points) by just 1.3.
Sabathia became the active leader in career Box-Toppers points on Aug. 13, 2016, when Alex Rodriguez, the then-active leader, was released by the Yankees. Kershaw’s rise past Sabathia is the first time a player has passed another player for the career points lead among active players (without a release or retirement) since April 2, 2011, when Rodriguez (168.6 points) passed then-active leader Manny Ramirez (167.2)—though Ramirez retired several days later.
Kershaw also assumes first place in 2017 season player rankings after two days of the season with his 2.0 Box-Toppers points. While he is tied with Sunday’s Player of the Day, Cardinals pitcher Carlos Martinez (2.0 points), Kershaw holds the tiebreaker because he had more 2016 points—24.4 vs. 12.4. Kershaw led players three times in 2016, including from May 7 to Aug. 24. He has been Box-Toppers Player of the Year, leading all players in Box-Toppers points, three times—in 2011 (26.1 points), 2013 (21.7) and 2014 (31.5).
Kershaw has now also earned Box-Toppers Player of the Game honors for 10 straight seasons. Kershaw earned his first Box-Toppers points in 2008 with the Dodgers. His best season was 2014 with 31.5 points, when he led all players. He has six straight seasons (through 2016) with 20.0 or more points and eight straight seasons (through 2016) with 10.0 or more points.
American League Player of the Day—Astros pitcher Dallas Keuchel pitched seven scoreless innings, allowing two hits, two walks and striking out four, in the 3-0 win over the Mariners.
National League Batter of the Day—Mark Reynolds of the Rockies homered and went 2-for-3, scoring twice and driving in three runs, in the 7-5 win over the Brewers.
Reynolds has now earned Box-Toppers points for 11 straight seasons. He earned his first Box-Toppers points 2007 with the Diamondbacks and has 52.9 career points, fifth among active NL first basemen. His best year was 2011 with the Orioles, when he had 9.5 points, fifth among AL batters.
American League Batter of the Day—Khris Davis of the Athletics homered twice and went 3-for-4, in the 4-2 win over the Angels.
Streaks—In addition to Kershaw and Reynolds, two other players Monday extended streaks of 10 or more straight seasons earning Box-Toppers points:
Scoring—Kershaw earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day and Keuchel earns 1.7 points for being AL Player of the Day. Reynolds and Davis 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.
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.
Listed from highest to lowest Box-Toppers game score
| 4/3 | Score | Game | Player | AB | R | H | BI | IP | H | R | ER | BB | K | |
| MLB | 10.0 | LAD 14, SD 3 | Clayton Kershaw (W,1-0) | - | - | - | - | 7.0 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 8 | |
| 8.0 | `NYM 6, ATL 0 | Noah Syndergaard | - | - | - | - | 6.0 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 7 | ||
| AL | 7.0 | HOU 3, SEA 0 | Dallas Keuchel (W,1-0) | - | - | - | - | 7.0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 4 | |
| BAT | 4.0 | COL 7, MIL 5 | Mark Reynolds, 1B | 3 | 2 | 2 | 3 | - | - | - | - | - | - | |
| 4.0 | MIN 7, KC 1 | Ervin Santana (W,1-0) | - | - | - | - | 7.0 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 3 | ||
| BAT | 3.0 | OAK 4, LAA 2 | Khris Davis, LF | 4 | 2 | 3 | 2 | - | - | - | - | - | - | |
| 3.0 | WSH 4, MIA 2 | Adam Lind, PH | 1 | 1 | 1 | 2 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 3.0 | CLE 8, TEX 5 | Andrew Miller (W,1-0) | - | - | - | - | 1.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | ||
| 2.0 | BOS 5, PIT 3 | Craig Kimbrel (S,1) | - | - | - | - | 1.0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | ||
| 1.2 | `BAL 3, TOR 2 (F/11) | Mychal Givens (BS,1) | - | - | - | - | 1.2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | ||
| 1.0 | PHI 4, CIN 3 | Freddy Galvis, SS | 4 | 2 | 2 | 1 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| `Pitcher had a no-decision in the game and did not pick up a win or a save. | ||||||||||||||
| Player of Game | Pos | Team | ’17 | ’16-17 | ’12-17 | Career | +/- |
| Kershaw, Clayton 2494 | pi sp | lad nl | 2.0 | 26.4 | 126.1 | 185.7 | -22.4 |
| Keuchel, Dallas 3050 | pi sp | hou al | 1.7 | 8.7 | 44.5 | 44.5 | -5.3 |
| Davis, Khris 3242 | lf | oak al | 1.5 | 8.2 | 18.2 | 18.2 | -5.2 |
| Reynolds, Mark 2297 | 1b | col nl | 1.5 | 5.5 | 20.2 | 52.9 | -2.5 |
| Syndergaard, Noah 3472 | pi sp | nym nl | 1.0 | 17.7 | 28.1 | 28.1 | -15.7 |
| Kimbrel, Craig 2825 | pi cp | bos al | 1.0 | 9.0 | 53.7 | 59.7 | -7.0 |
| Miller, Andrew 2436 | pi mr cp | cle al | 1.0 | 9.0 | 16.0 | 24.0 | -7.0 |
| Lind, Adam 2238 | 1b ph | dc nl | 1.0 | 6.4 | 25.4 | 60.5 | -4.4 |
| Santana, Ervin 2005 | pi sp | min al | 1.0 | 5.0 | 37.8 | 98.3 | -3.0 |
| Galvis, Freddy 3202 | ss | phi nl | 1.0 | 5.0 | 13.0 | 13.0 | -3.0 |
| Givens, Mychal 3599 | pi mr | bal al | 1.0 | 3.0 | 4.0 | 4.0 | -1.0 |
Athletics pitcher Sonny Gray had the biggest decline in Box-Toppers point total from 2015 to 2016—16.8. Both 2015 Cy Young Award winners, Dallas Keuchel and Jake Arrieta, are among the top four "big dippers" in points from 2015 to 2016.
Read MoreNationals pitcher Max Scherzer leads the list of the top 100 players for 2016 with 25.7 Box-Toppers points, the 20th-highest single-season point total since 1995, when Box-Toppers tracking began.
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.