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Athletics pitcher Sean Manaea is Saturday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day, pitching a no-hitter and rising to seventh place in season player rankings.
Also Saturday, Dodgers pitcher Hyun-Jin Ryu rises to fourth place in Box-Toppers season player rankings after earning National League Player of the Day honors. Plus, Angels pitcher Garrett Richards rises to ninth place in player rankings after earning Player of the Game honors Saturday.
Diamondbacks pitcher Patrick Corbin is Wednesday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day.
Also Wednesday, Yankees pitcher Luis Severino rises to first place in Box-Toppers season player rankings after earning Player of the Game honors.
Read MoreThree of the four players who won Cy Young or Most Valuable Player awards in 2017 also led their teams in Box-Toppers points for the season.
The only exception: American League Most Valuable Player Jose Altuve did not lead Astros batters in Box-Toppers points. In fact, with only 2.5 Box-Toppers points, he finished 11th among Astros batters and 21st among all Astros players.
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Nationals pitcher Max Scherzer is Wednesday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day and rises to second place in season player rankings.
| Player | Pos | Team | BTP | |
| 1 | Kershaw, Clayton 2494 | pi sp | lad nl | 10.7 |
| 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 | Ray, Robbie 3502 | pi sp | ari nl | 7.0 |
| 6 | Wood, Alex 3246 | pi sp | lad nl | 7.0 |
| 7 | Greinke, Zack 1871 | pi sp | ari nl | 6.7 |
| 8 | Judge, Aaron 3767 | rf | nyy al | 6.5 |
| 9 | Strasburg, Stephen 2736 | pi sp | dc nl | 6.4 |
| 10 | Carrasco, Carlos 2885 | pi sp | cle al | 6.4 |
Scherzer struck out 11 in a five-hit complete game, allowing one run and no walks, in the 3-1 win over the Giants.
Scherzer earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day, giving him 10.0 for the season. He becomes the second player this season with 10.0 or more Box-Toppers points and is second overall and among National League pitchers, behind Clayton Kershaw of the Dodgers (10.7).
This is the sixth straight season Scherzer has earned 10.0 or more Box-Toppers points and his seventh season overall.
Scherzer also now has 141.7 career Box-Toppers points, 29th among all players since 1995, when Box-Toppers tracking began. He trails 28th-ranked player Jake Peavy (141.8).
American League Player of the Day—Athletics pitcher Sean Manaea struck out nine over seven innings, allowing one run, three hits and one walk, in the 3-1 win over the Indians.
American League Batter of the Day—George Springer of the Astros homered twice and went 4-for-4, scoring four times and driving in two runs, in the 17-6 win over the Twins.
National League Batter of the Day—Eric Thames of the Brewers homered, doubled and went 2-for-3, scoring twice and driving in two runs, in the 7-1 win over the Mets.
Scoring—Scherzer earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day and Manaea earns 1.7 points for being AL Player of the Day. Springer and Thames 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.
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.
| 5/31 | Score | Game | Player of the Game | AB | R | H | BI | IP | H | R | ER | BB | K | |
| MLB | 13.0 | WSH 3, SF 1 | Max Scherzer (W,6-3) | - | - | - | - | 9.0 | 5 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 11 | |
| AL | 10.0 | OAK 3, CLE 1 | Sean Manaea (W,4-3) | - | - | - | - | 7.0 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 9 | |
| 8.1 | SEA 5, COL 0 | James Paxton (W,4-0) | - | - | - | - | 5.1 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6 | ||
| 8.0 | STL 2, LAD 1 | Carlos Martinez (W,4-4) | - | - | - | - | 8.0 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 9 | ||
| BAT | 6.0 | HOU 17, MIN 6 | George Springer, DH | 4 | 4 | 4 | 2 | - | - | - | - | - | - | |
| 6.0 | BOS 4, CHW 1 | Drew Pomeranz (W,5-3) | - | - | - | - | 7.0 | 7 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 8 | ||
| 5.0 | BAL 10, NYY 4 | Adam Jones, CF | 5 | 2 | 3 | 5 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 5.0 | TB 7, TEX 5 (F/10) | Austin Pruitt (W,4-1) | - | - | - | - | 2.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | ||
| 4.0 | `SD 2, CHC 1 | Luis Perdomo | - | - | - | - | 7.0 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 4 | ||
| 3.2 | MIA 10, PHI 2 | Dan Straily (W,4-3) | - | - | - | - | 6.2 | 9 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 10 | ||
| BAT | 3.0 | MIL 7, NYM 1 | Eric Thames, LF | 3 | 2 | 2 | 2 | - | - | - | - | - | - | |
| 3.0 | ARI 6, PIT 5 (F/14) | T.J. McFarland (W,3-0) | - | - | - | - | 3.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | ||
| 3.0 | `LAA 2, ATL 1 | Jesse Chavez | - | - | - | - | 7.0 | 5 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 4 | ||
| 2.0 | DET 6, KC 5 | Justin Upton, LF | 2 | 0 | 2 | 2 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 2.0 | TOR 5, CIN 4 | Ryan Goins, SS | 1 | 2 | 1 | 0 | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| Player of the Game | Pos | Team | ’17 | ’16-17 | ’12-17 | Career | +/- |
| Scherzer, Max 2588 | pi sp | dc nl | 10.0 | 35.7 | 113.9 | 141.7 | -15.7 |
| Martinez, Carlos 3371 | pi sp | stl nl | 5.5 | 17.9 | 32.6 | 32.6 | -6.9 |
| Paxton, James 3280 | pi sp | sea al | 5.0 | 9.4 | 16.1 | 16.1 | 0.6 |
| Manaea, Sean 3637 | pi sp | oak al | 4.4 | 11.1 | 11.1 | 11.1 | -2.3 |
| Straily, Dan 3080 | pi sp | fla nl | 4.0 | 11.0 | 21.7 | 21.7 | -3.0 |
| Goins, Ryan 3478 | ss | tor al | 4.0 | 5.5 | 10.0 | 10.0 | 2.5 |
| Chavez, Jesse 2780 | pi sp | ana al | 3.0 | 3.0 | 22.1 | 23.1 | 3.0 |
| Thames, Eric 2909 | lf 1b | mil nl | 3.0 | 3.0 | 4.0 | 5.5 | 3.0 |
| Pruitt, Austin 3773 | pi mr cp | tb al | 3.0 | 3.0 | 3.0 | 3.0 | 3.0 |
| Pomeranz, Drew 3061 | pi sp | bos al | 2.7 | 15.1 | 26.1 | 26.1 | -9.7 |
| Springer, George 3337 | rf dh | hou al | 2.5 | 9.0 | 13.0 | 13.0 | -4.0 |
| Jones, Adam 2347 | cf | bal al | 2.5 | 3.5 | 34.5 | 52.0 | 1.5 |
| Upton, Justin 2411 | lf | det al | 2.0 | 8.7 | 34.9 | 53.1 | -4.7 |
| McFarland, T.J. 3585 | pi mr cp | ari nl | 2.0 | 2.0 | 4.0 | 4.0 | 2.0 |
| Perdomo, Luis D. 3715 | pi sp | sd nl | 1.0 | 3.0 | 3.0 | 3.0 | -1.0 |
Nationals pitcher Max Scherzer is Friday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day and rises to fourth place in season player rankings.
Scherzer struck out 13 over 8 2/3 innings, allowing one run, three hits and two walks, in the 5-1 win over the Padres.
| 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 | McCullers, Lance 3488 | pi sp | hou al | 6.0 |
| 8 | Harper, Bryce 3011 | rf | dc nl | 6.0 |
| 9 | Vargas, Jason 2055 | pi sp | kc al | 6.0 |
| 10 | Holland, Greg 2906 | pi cp | col nl | 6.0 |
Scherzer earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day, giving him 8.0 for the season and rises from fifth to fourth place in season player rankings. He is second among National League pitchers, behind overall leader Clayton Kershaw of the Dodgers (10.7).
Scherzer also now has 139.7 career Box-Toppers points, rising to 29th place among all players since 1995, when Box-Toppers tracking began. With his points Friday, he passes Andy Pettitte (138.5) on the “all-time” list. He now trails 28th-ranked player Jake Peavy (141.8).
American League Player of the Day—Athletics pitcher Sean Manaea struck out eight over seven scoreless innings, allowing four hits and one walk, in the 4-1 win over the Yankees.
American League Batter of the Day—Devon Travis of the Blue Jays hit a grand slam and doubled in the 7-6 win over the Rangers. Travis went 3-for-4, scoring twice and driving in four runs.
National League Batter of the Day—Justin Bour of the Marlins hit a three-run homer and went 2-for-4 in the 8-5 win over the Angels.
Rankings—Dodgers pitcher Alex Wood rises to fifth place in Box-Toppers season player rankings after earning Player of the Game honors Friday.
Wood (5IP 2H 0R 2BB 8K W in the 4-0 win over the Cubs) earns 1.0 Box-Toppers point, giving him 7.0 for the season. He rises from eighth to fifth place in rankings. He ranks third among NL pitchers, behind Kershaw (10.7) and Scherzer (8.0).
Scoring—Scherzer earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day and Manaea earns 1.7 points for being AL Player of the Day. Travis and Bour 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.
| 5/26 | Score | Game | Player of the Game | AB | R | H | BI | IP | H | R | ER | BB | K | |
| MLB | 14.2 | WSH 5, SD 1 | Max Scherzer (W,5-3) | - | - | - | - | 8.2 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 13 | |
| AL | 10.0 | OAK 4, NYY 1 | Sean Manaea (W,3-3) | - | - | - | - | 7.0 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 8 | |
| 9.1 | NYM 8, PIT 1 | Jacob deGrom (W,4-1) | - | - | - | - | 8.1 | 6 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 10 | ||
| 9.0 | CIN 5, PHI 2 | Tim Adleman (W,3-2) | - | - | - | - | 8.0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 4 | ||
| 9.0 | HOU 2, BAL 0 | Joe Musgrove (W,4-4) | - | - | - | - | 7.0 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6 | ||
| 9.0 | LAD 4, CHC 0 | Alex Wood (W,6-0) | - | - | - | - | 5.0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 8 | ||
| 8.2 | TB 5, MIN 2 | Chris Archer (W,4-3) | - | - | - | - | 7.2 | 5 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 11 | ||
| 6.0 | COL 10, STL 0 | Antonio Senzatela (W,7-1) | - | - | - | - | 8.0 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | ||
| 6.0 | `ARI 4, MIL 2 (F/10) | Zack Godley | - | - | - | - | 6.0 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 6 | ||
| 5.2 | ATL 2, SF 0 | Jaime Garcia (W,2-3) | - | - | - | - | 6.2 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 5 | ||
| BAT | 5.0 | TOR 7, TEX 6 | Devon Travis, 2B | 4 | 2 | 3 | 4 | - | - | - | - | - | - | |
| 4.0 | CHW 8, DET 2 | Melky Cabrera, LF | 5 | 2 | 3 | 4 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 4.0 | KC 6, CLE 4 | Mike Minor (W,2-1) | - | - | - | - | 2.0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | ||
| BAT | 2.0 | MIA 8, LAA 5 | Justin Bour, 1B | 4 | 1 | 2 | 3 | - | - | - | - | - | - | |
| 2.0 | BOS 3, SEA 0 | Eduardo Rodriguez (W,4-1) | - | - | - | - | 6.0 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 4 |
| Player of the Game | Pos | Team | ’17 | ’16-17 | ’12-17 | Career | +/- |
| Scherzer, Max 2588 | pi sp | dc nl | 8.0 | 33.7 | 111.9 | 139.7 | -17.7 |
| Wood, Alex 3246 | pi sp | lad nl | 7.0 | 8.0 | 26.4 | 26.4 | 6.0 |
| Rodriguez, Eduardo 3480 | pi sp | bos al | 5.7 | 10.4 | 16.4 | 16.4 | 1.0 |
| Godley, Zack 3538 | pi sp | ari nl | 4.0 | 5.0 | 8.7 | 8.7 | 3.0 |
| deGrom, Jacob 3343 | pi sp | nym nl | 3.7 | 13.4 | 48.8 | 48.8 | -6.0 |
| Bour, Justin 3433 | 1b | fla nl | 3.5 | 6.0 | 16.0 | 16.0 | 1.0 |
| Archer, Chris 3194 | pi sp | tb al | 3.0 | 12.0 | 52.1 | 52.1 | -6.0 |
| Senzatela, Antonio 3760 | pi sp | col nl | 3.0 | 3.0 | 3.0 | 3.0 | 3.0 |
| Manaea, Sean 3637 | pi sp | oak al | 2.7 | 9.4 | 9.4 | 9.4 | -4.0 |
| Cabrera, Melky 2143 | lf ph | chi al | 2.0 | 6.0 | 16.0 | 32.5 | -2.0 |
| Travis, Devon 3436 | 2b | tor al | 1.5 | 2.5 | 5.5 | 5.5 | 0.5 |
| Garcia, Jaime 2508 | pi sp | atl nl | 1.0 | 9.0 | 27.1 | 44.8 | -7.0 |
| Musgrove, Joe 3705 | pi sp | hou al | 1.0 | 4.7 | 4.7 | 4.7 | -2.7 |
| Adleman, Tim 3625 | pi sp | cin nl | 1.0 | 3.0 | 3.0 | 3.0 | -1.0 |
| Minor, Mike 2894 | pi mr sp | kc al | 1.0 | 1.0 | 25.4 | 28.1 | 1.0 |
3 of 4 major postseason award winners are among Box-Toppers top-ranked pitchers or batters on their teams. The exception: AL Cy Young Rick Porcello, who ranks 6th among Red Sox players.
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Cubs pitcher Jake Arrieta is Tuesday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day and rises to ninth place in season player rankings.
| 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 | Kluber, Corey 3200 | pi sp | cle al | 17.2 |
| 4 | Fernandez, Jose 3147 | pi sp | fla nl | 16.4 |
| 5 | Lester, Jon 2173 | pi sp | chi nl | 15.4 |
| 6 | Hamels, Cole 2135 | pi sp | tex al | 15.1 |
| 7 | Cueto, Johnny 2400 | pi sp | sf nl | 14.4 |
| 8 | Strasburg, Stephen 2736 | pi sp | dc nl | 14.1 |
| 9 | Arrieta, Jake 2738 | pi sp | chi nl | 13.7 |
| 10 | Syndergaard, Noah 3472 | pi sp | nym nl | 13.0 |
Also Tuesday, Yankees pitcher CC Sabathia earned his first Player of the Game honor since becoming the active career Box-Toppers points leader after Alex Rodriguez was released earlier this month.
Player of the Day—Arrieta pitched eight scoreless innings, allowing two hits, three walks and striking out six, in the 5-3 win over the Padres.
Arrieta earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day, giving him 13.7 for the season. His rise to ninth place displaces Blue Jays pitcher J.A. Happ (12.7 points) from the top 10. Arrieta ranks seventh among NL pitchers. Arrieta led all players in Box-Toppers points in 2015 with 29.1.
American League Player of the Day—Athletics pitcher Sean Manaea struck out eight over seven innings, allowing one run, three hits and two walks, in the 9-1 win over the Indians.
National League Batter of the Day—Andrew Toles of the Dodgers homered, doubled and went 2-for-2, scoring twice and driving in three runs, in the 9-5 win over the Giants.
American League Batter of the Day—Victor Martinez of the Tigers homered and went 3-for-5, scoring three times and driving in two runs, in the 8-3 win over the Twins.
Sabathia—Yankees pitcher CC Sabathia earned his first Player of the Game honor Tuesday since becoming the active career Box-Toppers points leader on Aug. 13, when previous active leader Alex Rodriguez was released.
Sabathia (7IP 3H R B 7K W in the 5-1 win over the Mariners) earns 1.0 Box-Toppers point, giving him 183.0 for his career, ranking fifth among all players since 1995 when Box-Toppers tracking began (see updated "all-time" top 20 list on the homepage). He trails fourth-place player (and previous active leader) Rodriguez (187.0). Sabathia leads second-ranked active leader Albert Pujols of the Angels (181.3) by only 1.7 points.
Sabathia had a Box-Toppers game score Tuesday of +8.0, but Mariners pitcher Sean Manaea, who also had a game score of +8.0, won AL Player of the Day honors over Sabathia because he had more strikeouts—eight vs. seven.
Streak—Adam Jones of the Orioles has now earned Box-Toppers points in 10 straight seasons after earning his first Player of the Game honor of 2016 Tuesday.
Jones (4-5 R BI in the 8-1 win over the Nationals) earned his first Box-Toppers points in 2007 with the Mariners and has 49.5 career points, fifth among active AL outfielders. His best year was 2014 with the Orioles, when he had 11.5 points, third among AL batters. In 2015, he had 5.5 points with the Orioles.
Debuts—Two players made their Box-Toppers debut Tuesday, the first time in their careers they earned Player of the Game honors:
Scoring—Arrieta earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day and Manaea earns 1.7 points for being AL Player of the Day. Toles and Martinez each earn 1.5 points for being their league’s Batter of the Day. All of Tuesday’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.
Listed from highest to lowest Box-Toppers game score
| 8/23 | Score | Game | Player of Game | AB | R | H | BI | IP | H | R | ER | BB | K | |
| MLB | 9.0 | CHC 5, SD 3 | Jake Arrieta (W,16-5) | - | - | - | - | 8.0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 6 | |
| AL | 8.0 | OAK 9, CLE 1 | Sean Manaea (W,5-8) | - | - | - | - | 7.0 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 8 | |
| 8.0 | NYY 5, SEA 1 | CC Sabathia (W,8-10) | - | - | - | - | 7.0 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 7 | ||
| 6.2 | CHW 9, PHI 1 | Carlos Rodon (W,4-8) | - | - | - | - | 6.2 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 4 | ||
| 6.1 | BOS 2, TB 1 | Clay Buchholz (W,5-9) | - | - | - | - | 6.1 | 5 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 9 | ||
| 6.0 | PIT 7, HOU 1 | Ivan Nova (W,10-6) | - | - | - | - | 9.0 | 6 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 6 | ||
| 6.0 | CIN 3, TEX 0 | Dan Straily (W,10-6) | - | - | - | - | 6.0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 5 | ||
| BAT | 5.0 | LAD 9, SF 5 | Andrew Toles, PH-CF-LF | 2 | 2 | 2 | 3 | - | - | - | - | - | - | |
| 5.0 | KC 1, MIA 0 | Yordano Ventura (W,9-9) | - | - | - | - | 6.0 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 6 | ||
| BAT | 3.0 | DET 8, MIN 3 | Victor Martinez, DH | 5 | 3 | 3 | 2 | - | - | - | - | - | - | |
| 3.0 | NYM 7, STL 4 | Jose Reyes, 3B | 4 | 3 | 3 | 1 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 3.0 | TOR 7, LAA 2 | Russell Martin, DH | 3 | 1 | 3 | 2 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 3.0 | ATL 7, ARI 4 | Jose Ramirez (W,2-0) | - | - | - | - | 1.0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | ||
| 1.0 | BAL 8, WSH 1 | Adam Jones, CF | 5 | 1 | 4 | 1 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 1.0 | MIL 6, COL 4 | Orlando Arcia, PH | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| Player of Game | Pos | Team | 16 | 15-16 | 11-16 | Career | +/- |
| Arrieta, Jake 2738 | pi sp | chi nl | 13.7 | 42.8 | 70.5 | 73.5 | -15.4 |
| Martin, Russell 2202 | ca | tor al | 9.5 | 14.5 | 31.0 | 52.0 | 4.5 |
| Martinez, Victor 1695 | dh | det al | 7.5 | 11.0 | 30.9 | 71.1 | 4.0 |
| Ventura, Yordano 3294 | pi sp | kc al | 7.0 | 18.7 | 28.4 | 28.4 | -4.7 |
| Manaea, Sean 3637 | pi sp | oak al | 5.7 | 5.7 | 5.7 | 5.7 | 5.7 |
| Straily, Dan 3080 | pi sp | cin nl | 5.0 | 5.0 | 15.7 | 15.7 | 5.0 |
| Sabathia, C.C. 1492 | pi sp | nyy al | 4.0 | 9.7 | 44.5 | 183.0 | -1.7 |
| Nova, Ivan 2796 | pi sp | pit nl | 4.0 | 5.0 | 26.1 | 27.1 | 3.0 |
| Rodon, Carlos 3494 | pi sp | chi al | 3.0 | 11.1 | 11.1 | 11.1 | -5.1 |
| Buchholz, Clay 2363 | pi sp mr | bos al | 3.0 | 9.0 | 37.2 | 56.9 | -3.0 |
| Toles, Andrew 3692 | rf cf lf ph | lad nl | 2.5 | 2.5 | 2.5 | 2.5 | 2.5 |
| Jones, Adam 2347 | cf | bal al | 1.0 | 6.5 | 37.5 | 49.5 | -4.5 |
| Reyes, Jose 1759 | 3b ss | nym nl | 1.0 | 1.0 | 13.0 | 29.0 | 1.0 |
| Arcia, Orlando 3717 | ph | mil nl | 1.0 | 1.0 | 1.0 | 1.0 | 1.0 |
| Ramirez, Jose A. 3716 | pi mr | atl nl | 1.0 | 1.0 | 1.0 | 1.0 | 1.0 |
Phillies pitcher Zach Eflin is Friday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day.
Eflin pitched a complete-game, three-hit shutout, striking out six and walking none, in the 4-0 win over the Pirates.
| Player | Pos | Team | BTP | |
| 1 | Kershaw, Clayton 2494 | pi sp | lad nl | 20.0 |
| 2 | Fernandez, Jose 3147 | pi sp | fla nl | 16.4 |
| 3 | Scherzer, Max 2588 | pi sp | dc nl | 14.0 |
| 4 | Cueto, Johnny 2400 | pi sp | sf nl | 13.4 |
| 5 | Kluber, Corey 3200 | pi sp | cle al | 12.5 |
| 6 | Hamels, Cole 2135 | pi sp | tex al | 12.1 |
| 7 | Strasburg, Stephen 2736 | pi sp | dc nl | 11.4 |
| 8 | Bumgarner, Madison 2753 | pi sp | sf nl | 11.0 |
| 9 | Syndergaard, Noah 3472 | pi sp | nym nl | 11.0 |
| 10 | Arrieta, Jake 2738 | pi sp | chi nl | 10.7 |
American League Player of the Day—Mariners pitcher James Paxton struck out nine over seven innings, allowing one run, three hits and one walk, in the 2-1 win over the Blue Jays.
Paxton had a Box-Toppers game score of +10.0, tied with Athletics pitcher Sean Manaea, who was Player of the Game in the 1-0, 13-inning win over the Blue Jays. But Paxton edged Manaea to earn AL Player of the Day because he earned the win in his game, while Manaea picked up a no decision (8IP 5H 0R 7K ND).
National League Batter of the Day—Dexter Fowler of the Cubs homered, doubled and went 3-for-4, scoring twice and driving in three runs, in the 5-2 win over the Brewers.
American League Batter of the Day—Miguel Cabrera of the Tigers hit two doubles and went 4-for-4, scoring once and driving in two runs, in the 7-5 win over the White Sox.
Cabrera earns 1.5 Box-Toppers points for being AL Batter of the Day, giving him 138.4 for his career, regaining the 26th place spot among all players since 1995, when Box-Toppers tracking began. He passes Rangers pitcher Cole Hamels (138.3) on the “all-time” list. Hamels had passed Cabrera on July 17 when he earned Player of the Day. Cabrera now trails 25th-ranked player Andy Pettitte (138.5). Cabrera again ranks 10th among active players in career Box-Toppers points.
Cabrera has 5.5 points on the season, more than the 4.7 points he earned in 2015, which was his lowest total since his 2003 rookie season. Cabrera’s 5.5 points ranks 15th among AL batters this season.
Notable—Yankees pitcher Masahiro Tanaka has the most season Box-Toppers points among the 15 who earned Player of the Game honors Friday.
Tanaka (6IP 4H 0R 2BB 4K ND in the 3-2 win over the Giants) earns 1.0 Box-Toppers point, giving him 8.7 for the season, 20th among all players and eighth among AL pitchers.
Scoring—Eflin earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day and Paxton earns 1.7 points for being AL Player of the Day. Fowler and Cabrera 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.
Listed from highest to lowest Box-Toppers game score
| 7/22 | Score | Game | Player of Game | AB | R | H | BI | IP | H | R | ER | BB | K | |
| MLB | 12.0 | PHI 4, PIT 0 | Zach Eflin (W,3-3) | - | - | - | - | 9.0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6 | |
| AL | 10.0 | SEA 2, TOR 1 | James Paxton (W,3-4) | - | - | - | - | 7.0 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 9 | |
| 10.0 | `OAK 1, TB 0 (13) | Sean Manaea | - | - | - | - | 8.0 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 7 | ||
| 9.0 | MIN 2, BOS 1 | Kyle Gibson (W,3-6) | - | - | - | - | 8.0 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 6 | ||
| 8.0 | HOU 2, LAA 1 | Lance McCullers (W,5-4) | - | - | - | - | 8.0 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 4 | 10 | ||
| 6.0 | COL 4, ATL 3 | Jon Gray (W,6-4) | - | - | - | - | 7.0 | 6 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 8 | ||
| 4.2 | `STL 4, LAD 3 (16) | Tyler Lyons | - | - | - | - | 4.2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 2 | ||
| BAT | 4.0 | CHC 5, MIL 2 | Dexter Fowler, CF | 4 | 2 | 3 | 3 | - | - | - | - | - | - | |
| 4.0 | SD 5, WSH 3 | Matt Kemp, RF | 4 | 2 | 2 | 4 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 4.0 | `NYY 3, SF 2 | Masahiro Tanaka | - | - | - | - | 6.0 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 4 | ||
| 4.0 | BAL 5, CLE 1 | Dylan Bundy (W,3-2) | - | - | - | - | 5.0 | 5 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 5 | ||
| BAT | 3.0 | DET 7, CHW 5 | Miguel Cabrera, 1B | 4 | 1 | 4 | 2 | - | - | - | - | - | - | |
| 3.0 | CIN 6, ARI 2 | Joey Votto, 1B | 3 | 2 | 1 | 3 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 3.0 | NYM 5, MIA 3 | James Loney, PH | 1 | 1 | 1 | 2 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 2.2 | KC 3, TEX 1 | Danny Duffy (W,6-1) | - | - | - | - | 6.2 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 4 | ||
| `Denotes that the pitcher had a no-decision in the game and did not pick up a win or a save. | ||||||||||||||
| Player of Game | Pos | Team | 16 | 15-16 | 11-16 | Career | +/- |
| Tanaka, Masahiro 3305 | pi sp | nyy al | 8.7 | 16.7 | 29.4 | 29.4 | 0.7 |
| Duffy, Danny 2915 | pi sp | kc al | 6.7 | 10.7 | 25.7 | 25.7 | 2.7 |
| Votto, Joey 2366 | 1b | cin nl | 5.5 | 10.5 | 27.2 | 59.2 | 0.5 |
| Cabrera, Miguel 1776 | 1b | det al | 5.5 | 10.2 | 58.8 | 138.4 | 0.8 |
| McCullers, Lance 3488 | pi sp | hou al | 4.4 | 11.1 | 11.1 | 11.1 | -2.3 |
| Kemp, Matt 2151 | rf | sd nl | 4.0 | 9.5 | 34.0 | 55.6 | -1.5 |
| Eflin, Zach 3679 | pi sp | phi nl | 4.0 | 4.0 | 4.0 | 4.0 | 4.0 |
| Manaea, Sean 3637 | pi sp | oak al | 4.0 | 4.0 | 4.0 | 4.0 | 4.0 |
| Gibson, Kyle 3312 | pi sp | min al | 3.0 | 11.0 | 17.0 | 17.0 | -5.0 |
| Gray, Jon 3634 | pi sp | col nl | 3.0 | 3.0 | 3.0 | 3.0 | 3.0 |
| Loney, James 2206 | 1b ph | nym nl | 2.0 | 2.0 | 13.0 | 34.4 | 2.0 |
| Bundy, Dylan 3655 | pi mr sp | bal al | 2.0 | 2.0 | 2.0 | 2.0 | 2.0 |
| Paxton, James 3280 | pi sp | sea al | 1.7 | 2.7 | 8.4 | 8.4 | 0.7 |
| Fowler, Dexter 2698 | cf | chi nl | 1.5 | 4.0 | 17.0 | 18.0 | -1.0 |
| Lyons, Tyler 3178 | pi mr sp | stl nl | 1.0 | 4.0 | 6.0 | 6.0 | -2.0 |
Matt Joyce of the Pirates is Monday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day.
| Player | Pos | Team | BTP | |
| 1 | Kershaw, Clayton 2494 | pi sp | lad nl | 9.0 |
| 2 | Arrieta, Jake 2738 | pi sp | chi nl | 7.7 |
| 3 | Sale, Chris 2806 | pi sp | chi al | 6.7 |
| 4 | Machado, Manny 3087 | 3b ss | bal al | 6.7 |
| 5 | Cueto, Johnny 2400 | pi sp | sf nl | 6.0 |
| 6 | Quintana, Jose 3040 | pi sp | chi al | 5.7 |
| 7 | De La Rosa, Rubby 3342 | pi sp | ari nl | 5.7 |
| 8 | Nola, Aaron 3569 | pi sp | phi nl | 5.7 |
| 9 | Davis, Chris 2478 | 1b | bal al | 5.5 |
| 10 | Santiago, Hector 3109 | pi sp | ana al | 5.4 |
Joyce homered and went 3-for-4, scoring twice and driving in three runs, in the 8-5 win over the Braves.
American League Player of the Day—Desmond Jennings of the Rays homered and went 3-for-5, scoring twice and driving in three runs, in the 13-2 win over the Blue Jays.
American League and National League Batters of the Day—There are no separate AL and NL Batters of the Day for Monday because the overall Player of the Day is NL batter Matt Joyce and the overall AL Player of the Day is AL batter Desmond Jennings. In fact, most of Monday’s Players of the Games are batters—only one of eight is a pitcher.
Notable—Albert Pujols of the Angels, who ranks sixth among all players in Box-Toppers points since 1995, now has 176.3 points after earning Player of the Game honors Monday.
Pujols (3-4 3BI in the 7-6 win over the Dodgers) trails the fifth-ranked player on the “all-time” Box-Toppers points list, Yankees pitcher CC Sabathia (180.0). Pujols ranks second among all batters since 1995 (when Box-Toppers tracking began), behind Alex Rodriguez of the Yankees (187.0). Pujols has 2.0 Box-Toppers points for the season.
Debut—Athletics pitcher Sean Manaea made his Box-Toppers debut Monday, the first time in his career he earned Player of the Game honors.
Manaea (6.2IP 4H R 3K W in the 3-1 win over the Rangers) made his Major League debut April 29 and was playing in his fourth career game. He is the 3,637th player to debut in Box-Toppers since record keeping began in 1995.
Scoring—Joyce earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day and Jennings earns 1.7 points for being AL Player 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.
Listed from highest to lowest Box-Toppers game score
| 5/16 | Score | Team | Player | AB | R | H | BI | BB | K | IP | H | R | ER | BB | K | |
| MLB | 4.0 | Pirates | Matt Joyce, RF | 4 | 2 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | - | - | - | - | - | - | |
| AL | 3.0 | Rays | Desmond Jennings, LF | 5 | 2 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 1 | - | - | - | - | - | - | |
| 3.0 | Indians | Marlon Byrd, RF | 5 | 3 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 1 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 3.0 | Dbacks | Jake Lamb, 3B | 4 | 1 | 3 | 3 | 1 | 1 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 3.0 | Tigers | J.D. Martinez, RF | 4 | 2 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 0 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 2.2 | Athletics | Sean Manaea (W,1-1) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 6.2 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 3 | ||
| 2.0 | Angels | Albert Pujols, 1B | 4 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 1 | 0 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 1.0 | Marlins | Ichiro Suzuki, PH | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| Player | Pos | Team | 16 | 15-16 | 11-16 | Career | +/- |
| Byrd, Marlon 1751 | rf | cle al | 2.5 | 7.5 | 16.5 | 41.0 | -2.5 |
| Martinez, J.D. 2922 | rf | det al | 2.5 | 4.2 | 14.2 | 14.2 | 0.8 |
| Lamb, Jake 3517 | 3b | ari nl | 2.5 | 3.5 | 3.5 | 3.5 | 1.5 |
| Pujols, Albert 1438 | 1b dh | ana al | 2.0 | 9.0 | 39.0 | 176.3 | -5.0 |
| Suzuki, Ichiro 1467 | rf ph | fla nl | 2.0 | 3.0 | 10.5 | 53.7 | 1.0 |
| Joyce, Matt 2480 | lf rf dh | pit nl | 2.0 | 2.0 | 18.2 | 27.7 | 2.0 |
| Jennings, Desmond 2919 | lf | tb al | 1.7 | 1.7 | 11.2 | 11.2 | 1.7 |
| Manaea, Sean 3637 | pi sp | oak al | 1.0 | 1.0 | 1.0 | 1.0 | 1.0 |
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.