Blog
Giants pitcher Jeff Samardzija is Saturday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day and becomes the 24th player this season with 10 or more Box-Toppers points.
Also Saturday, Nationals pitcher Max Scherzer had the chance to retake the Box-Toppers season player rankings lead, but did not earn Player of the Game honors in his team’s win; he remains in second place. Plus, Indians pitcher Corey Kluber rises to seventh place in Box-Toppers player rankings after earning Player of the Game honors.
Read MoreOnly 5 of 17 Silver Slugger Award winners also led their position in Box-Toppers points.
Read More
Troy Tulowitzki of the Blue Jays is Box-Toppers Player of the Day in Sunday’s two American League Division Series playoff games.
Astros pitcher Dallas Keuchel is top player in the other ALDS game.
Troy Tulowitzki of the Blue Jays hit a three-run homer and went 2-for-3, driving in four total runs.
During the regular season, Tulowitzki had 6.0 Box-Toppers points, 133rd among all players, 28th among AL batters and third among AL shortstops, behind Eduardo Escobar of the Twins (7.7) and Carlos Correa of the Astros (7.2). Tulowitzkiled all National League batters in Box-Toppers points in 2014 (11.6).
The Rangers lead the best-of-five game series 2-1 and it resumes Monday in Texas.
Astros pitcher Dallas Keuchel struck out seven over seven innings, allowing one run and five hits to earn Player of the Game honors.
During the regular season, Keuchel had 21.4 Box-Toppers points, fourth among all players, first among AL pitchers. It is the second time this postseason Keuchel has earned Player of the Game honors—he was also top player in the Astros’ Oct. 6 NL Wild Card playoff game win against the Yankees.
The Astros lead the best-of-five game series 2-1 and it resumes Monday in Houston.
Listed from highest to lowest Box-Toppers game score
| 10/11 | Score | Team | Players | AB | R | H | BI | BB | K | IP | H | R | ER | BB | K | |
| POG | 4.0 | Blue Jays | Troy Tulowitzki, SS | 3 | 1 | 2 | 4 | 1 | 0 | - | - | - | - | - | - | |
| POG | 4.0 | Astros | Dallas Keuchel (W,1-0) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 7.0 | 5 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 7 |
Coming Monday: League Division Series playoff games resume:
The pitching matchup Monday:
Royals—Yordano Ventura, 11.7 Box-Toppers points, 30th among all players, 15th among AL pitchers.
Astros—Lance McCullers, 6.7 Box-Toppers points, 120th among all players, 46th among AL pitchers.
The pitching matchup Monday:
Blue Jays—R.A. Dickey, 5.0 Box-Toppers points, 180th among all players, 64th among AL pitchers.
Rangers—Derek Holland, 2.7 Box-Toppers points, 369th among all players, 106th among AL pitchers.
The pitching matchup Monday:
Cardinals—Michael Wacha, 9.7 Box-Toppers points, 53rd among all players, 23rd among NL pitchers.
Cubs—Jake Arrieta, 29.1 Box-Toppers points, first among all players, first among NL pitchers.
The pitching matchup Monday:
Dodgers—Brett Anderson, 6.0 Box-Toppers points, 147th among all players, 46th among NL pitchers.
Mets—Matt Harvey, 15.4 Box-Toppers points, 16th among all players, eighth among NL pitchers.
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.
(Other duties have put us behind updating Box-Toppers. Playing catch up …)
Tigers pitcher Justin Verlander, pitching a complete-game one-hit shutout, is Box-Toppers Player of the Day for Wednesday, Aug. 26.
| Player | Pos | Team | BTP | |
| 1 | deGrom, Jacob 3343 | pi sp | nym nl | 19.4 |
| 2 | Price, David 2593 | pi sp | tor al | 18.1 |
| 3 | Sale, Chris 2806 | pi sp | chi al | 17.1 |
| 4 | Arrieta, Jake 2738 | pi sp | chi nl | 17.1 |
| 5 | Kershaw, Clayton 2494 | pi sp | lad nl | 16.7 |
| 6 | Keuchel, Dallas 3050 | pi sp | hou al | 16.7 |
| 7 | Hernandez, Felix 2064 | pi sp | sea al | 16.4 |
| 8 | Scherzer, Max 2588 | pi sp | dc nl | 16.0 |
| 9 | Greinke, Zack 1871 | pi sp | lad nl | 16.0 |
| 10 | Gray, Sonny 3259 | pi sp | oak al | 15.8 |
Verlander now has 122.9 career Box-Toppers points and rises to 34th place among all players since 1995.
In addition Wednesday:
Player of the Day—Verlander allowed one hit in the ninth inning, striking out nine and walking two, in the 5-0 shutout of the Angels.
Verlander earned 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day, giving him 122.9 for his career, rising to 34th among all players since 1995 (when Box-Toppers record keeping began). With his points Wednesday, Verlander passes Jered Weaver (122.1) on the “all-time” list and trails 33rd-ranked player, Gary Sheffield (124.1). Verlander has 4.7 Box-Toppers points this season.
National League Player of the Day—Mets pitcher Bartolo Colon pitched seven scoreless innings, allowing five hits and striking out eight, in the 9-4 win over the Phillies.
Colon earns 1.7 Box-Toppers points for being NL Player of the Day, giving him 138.1 career Box-Toppers points, maintaining his rank of 23rd among all players since 1995 (when Box-Toppers record keeping began). Colon trails 22nd-ranked player Andy Pettitte (138.1). Colon has 4.7 Box-Toppers points this season.
National League Batter of the Day—Brandon Barnes of the Rockies homered, doubled and went 3-for-4, scoring twice and driving in two runs, in the 6-3 win over the Braves.
American League Batter of the Day—Eduardo Escobar of the Twins hit two solo home runs, going 2-for-4, in the 5-3 win over the Rays.
Rankings—Two players in Box-Toppers top 10 season player rankings earned Player of the Game honors Wednesday:
Hernandez also now has 159.7 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). Hernandez ranks fourth among active players in Box-Toppers points and second among active pitchers, behind CC Sabathia of the Yankees (187.0).
Notable—Andrew McCutchen of the Pirates rose to second place in Box-Toppers points among NL batters after earning Player of the Game honors Wednesday. McCutchen (HR 2-5 R 4BI in the 7-2 win over the Marlins) earned 1.0 Box-Toppers point, giving him 9.5 for the season. He trails NL batting leader Yoenis Cespedes of the Mets (9.9 Box-Toppers points).
Debut—Indians pitcher Jeff Manship made his Box-Toppers debut Wednesday, the first time in his career he earned Player of the Game honors.
Manship (1IP 0H 0R K W in the 6-2 win over the Brewers) made his Major League debut Aug. 15, 2009, and was playing in his 91st career game. He is the 3,571st player to debut in Box-Toppers since record keeping began in 1995.
Scoring—Verlander earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day and Colon earns 1.7 Box-Toppers points for being NL Player of the Day. Barnes and Escobar each earn 1.5 Box-Toppers 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.
Listed from highest to lowest Box-Toppers game score
| 8/26 | Score | Team | Player | AB | R | H | BI | BB | K | IP | H | R | ER | BB | K | |
| MLB | 15.0 | Tigers | Justin Verlander (W,2-6) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 9.0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 9 | |
| NL | 8.0 | Mets | Bartolo Colon (W,11-11) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 7.0 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 8 | |
| 7.0 | Mariners | Felix Hernandez (W,15-8) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 8.0 | 3 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 7 | ||
| 7.0 | Red Sox | Rick Porcello (W,6-11) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 7.0 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5 | ||
| 4.0 | Blue Jays | David Price (W,13-4) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 6.0 | 5 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 8 | ||
| 3.1 | Astros | Collin McHugh (W,14-7) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 6.1 | 5 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 8 | ||
| BAT | 3.0 | Rockies | Brandon Barnes, LF | 4 | 2 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 1 | - | - | - | - | - | - | |
| 3.0 | Padres | Justin Upton, LF | 4 | 2 | 2 | 3 | 0 | 2 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 3.0 | Giants | Santiago Casilla (S,31) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 1.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | ||
| 2.1 | Indians | Jeff Manship (MR) (W,1-0) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 1.1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | ||
| 2.0 | Pirates | Andrew McCutchen, CF | 5 | 1 | 2 | 4 | 0 | 2 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| BAT | 2.0 | Twins | Eduardo Escobar, SS | 4 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 1 | - | - | - | - | - | - | |
| 2.0 | Orioles | Ryan Flaherty, SS | 3 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 2.0 | Cardinals | Trevor Rosenthal (S,40) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 1.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 2 | ||
| 1.2 | Dodgers | Brett Anderson (W,8-8) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 6.2 | 5 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 4 |
Nationals pitcher Max Scherzer is Saturday’s Player of the Day and rises to second place in Box-Toppers player rankings for the season.
| Player | Pos | Team | BTP | |
| 1 | Hernandez, Felix 2064 | pi sp | sea al | 8.7 |
| 2 | Scherzer, Max 2588 | pi sp | dc nl | 6.0 |
| 3 | Archer, Chris 3194 | pi sp | tb al | 6.0 |
| 4 | Cole, Gerrit 3232 | pi sp | pit nl | 6.0 |
| 5 | Harang, Aaron 1599 | pi sp | phi nl | 5.1 |
| 6 | Miller, Shelby 3134 | pi sp | atl nl | 5.0 |
| 7 | Hosmer, Eric 2886 | 1b | kc al | 5.0 |
| 8 | Harper, Bryce 3011 | lf rf | dc nl | 5.0 |
| 9 | Heston, Chris 3437 | pi sp | sf nl | 5.0 |
| 10 | Cabrera, Miguel 1776 | 1b | det al | 4.7 |
Also Saturday, CC Sabathia and Jonathan Papelbon extended their streaks of consecutive seasons with at least 1.0 Box-Toppers point—Sabathia now has 15 seasons and Papelbon has 10—and Kris Bryant earned Player of the Game honors two days in a row, the third time in six days.
Player of the Day—Scherzer struck out 11 over seven scoreless innings, allowing four hits, in the 4-1 win over the Padres.
Scherzer earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day, giving him 6.0 for the season, rising to second place in overall player rankings for the season. He now ranks first among all NL players, passing Gerrit Cole of the Pirates. Both Scherzer and Cole have 6.0 Box-Toppers points, but Scherzer wins the tie-breaker because he had more Box-Toppers points in 2014—22.1 vs. 5.7.
American League Player of the Day—Angels pitcher Matt Shoemaker struck out seven over seven innings, allowing one run and three hits, in the 6-1 win over the Orioles.
National League Batter of the Day—Brandon Crawford of the Giants homered, doubled and went 3-for-5, scoring twice and driving in six runs, in the 11-2 win over the Reds.
American League Batter of the Day—Eduardo Escobar of the Twins doubled and went 4-for-4, with one run and one RBI, in the 6-4 win over the Rays.
Streaks—Two players extended their streaks of consecutive seasons with at least 1.0 Box-Toppers point after earning Player of the Game honors Friday:
Sabathia (7IP R 5K W in the 5-1 win over the Royals) earns 1.0 Box-Toppers point, his first of the season. He earned his first points in 2001 with the Indians. His best year was 2008 with the Indians and Brewers when he had 26.7 Box-Toppers points, first among NL pitchers that year (while he played in both leagues in 2008, he is counted as an NL pitcher since that’s where he ended his season).
In 2014, Sabathia had 1.0 Box-Toppers point with the Yankees. Saturday marked the first time Sabathia earned Player of the Game honors since April 24, 2014.
Sabathia’s career 174.3 Box-Toppers points is fifth among all players since 1995 (when Box-Toppers record keeping began). He trails Randy Johnson (278.8), Pedro Martinez (244.8), Curt Schilling (194.1) and Alex Rodriguez (183.8).
Papelbon earned his first Box-Toppers points in 2006 with the Red Sox. His two best seasons were 2006 with the Red Sox and 2012 with the Phillies—he had 7.0 Box-Toppers points in both seasons. In 2006, he ranked seventh among AL closing pitchers. In 2012, he ranked fifth among NL closing pitchers.
In 2014, he had 3.0 Box-Toppers points with the Phillies.
Papelbon has 49.4 career Box-Toppers points, which ranks 20th among all closing pitchers since 1995, when Box-Toppers record keeping began. His career 49.4 points ranks second among active closing pitchers currently in the NL (behind Francisco Rodriguez of the Brewers with 59.4).
Notable—Kris Bryant of the Cubs earned Player of the Game honors for the second day in a row and the third time in six days.
Bryant (2-2 2R in the 4-1 win over the Pirates) earns 1.0 Box-Toppers point. He was also Player of the Game Thursday and on May 11, when he made his Box-Toppers debut. He has 3.0 Box-Toppers points for the season (and for his career) and currently ranks eighth among NL batters for 2015.
Debut—Two players made their Box-Toppers debut Saturday, the first time in their career they earned Player of the Game honors:
Scoring—Scherzer earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day and Shoemaker earns 1.7 Box-Toppers points for being AL Player of the Day. Crawford and Escobar each earn 1.5 Box-Toppers 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.
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 | 12.0 | Nationals | Max Scherzer (W, 4-3) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 7.0 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 11 | |
| AL | 9.0 | Angels | Matt Shoemaker (W, 3-3) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 7.0 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 7 | |
| 8.1 | Rockies | Jorge De La Rosa (W, 1-2) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 7.1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | ||
| BAT | 6.0 | Giants | Brandon Crawford SS | 5 | 2 | 3 | 6 | 0 | 1 | - | - | - | - | - | - | |
| 4.0 | Mets | Wilmer Flores SS | 4 | 2 | 2 | 4 | 0 | 0 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 4.0 | Yankees | CC Sabathia (W, 2-5) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 7.0 | 6 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 5 | ||
| 3.0 | White Sox | John Danks (W, 2-3) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 7.0 | 3 | 2 | 2 | 3 | 6 | ||
| 3.0 | `Red Sox | Tommy Layne (H, 1) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 1.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | ||
| 3.0 | Phillies | Jonathan Papelbon (S, 9) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 1.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | ||
| 2.2 | Astros | Scott Feldman (W, 3-4) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 6.2 | 5 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 10 | ||
| 2.0 | Braves | Jace Peterson 2B | 5 | 1 | 2 | 4 | 0 | 1 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| BAT | 2.0 | Twins | Eduardo Escobar SS | 4 | 1 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 0 | - | - | - | - | - | - | |
| 2.0 | Cubs | Kris Bryant 3B | 2 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 2.0 | Tigers | Blaine Hardy (W, 1-0) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 1.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 2 | ||
| 2.0 | Indians | Cody Allen (S, 6) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 1.0 | 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. | ||||||||||||||||
Bryce Harper of the Nationals is Wednesday’s Player of the Day.
Harper hit three home runs and drove in five runs in the 7-5 win over the Marlins.
| Player | Pos | Team | BTP | |
| 1 | Hernandez, Felix 2064 | pi sp | sea al | 7.7 |
| 2 | Cole, Gerrit 3232 | pi sp | pit nl | 6.0 |
| 3 | Archer, Chris 3194 | pi sp | tb al | 5.0 |
| 4 | Cabrera, Miguel 1776 | 1b | det al | 4.7 |
| 5 | Keuchel, Dallas 3050 | pi sp | hou al | 4.7 |
| 6 | Gray, Sonny 3259 | pi sp | oak al | 4.7 |
| 7 | Harvey, Matt 3075 | pi sp | nym nl | 4.7 |
| 8 | Stanton, Giancarlo 2737 | rf | fla nl | 4.5 |
| 9 | Cueto, Johnny 2400 | pi sp | cin nl | 4.4 |
| 10 | Bumgarner, Madison 2753 | pi sp | sf nl | 4.0 |
Harper had a Box-Toppers game score of +7, the same as Mets pitcher Jacob deGrom, who was Player of the Game in the 5-1 win over the Mets. But Harper earned overall Player of the Day honors because in cases of Box-Toppers game score ties, batters beat pitchers.
American League Player of the Day—Eduardo Escobar of the Twins homered, doubled and went 3-for-4, driving in five runs, in the 13-0 win over the Athletics.
Escobar had a Box-Toppers game score of +5, tied with Carlos Peguero of the Rangers, who was Player of the Game in the 11-3 win over the Astros. Escobar won the tie-breaker to earn AL Player of the Day because he had more runs batted in—five vs. three.
American League and National League Batters of the Day—There are no separate AL and NL Batters of the Day since the top players in both leagues Wednesday were batters. It is the only time this season that batters have had the top overall player in both leagues. Wednesday was also unusual because 12 of the 15 Players of the Game were batters—only three were pitchers.
Streak—Adam Lind of the Brewers has now earned at least 1.0 Box-Toppers point in 10 straight seasons. Lind was Player of the Game in Wednesday’s 6-3 win over the Dodgers (HR 2B 2-4 2R 2BI) and earned 1.0 Box-Toppers point, his first of the season.
Lind earned his first Box-Toppers points in 2006 with the Blue Jays. His best season was 2009 with the Blue Jays, when he had 16.4 Box-Toppers points, second among AL batters (behind Miguel Cabrera of the Tigers with 16.5). In 2014, he had 2.5 Box-Toppers points with the Blue Jays.
Lind has 48.6 career Box-Toppers points and ranks 19th among active batters currently in the NL.
Debut—Carlos Peguero of the Rangers made his Box-Toppers debut Wednesday, the first time in his career he earned Player of the Game honors. Peguero (2HR 3-4 2R 2BI in the 11-3 win over the Astros) made his Major League debut April 19, 2011, and was playing in his 89th career game. He is the 3,458th player to debut in Box-Toppers since record keeping began in 1995.
Scoring—Harper earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day and Escobar earns 1.7 Box-Toppers points for being AL Player 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.
Listed from highest to lowest Box-Toppers game score
| 5/6 | Score | Team | Player | AB | R | H | BI | BB | K | IP | H | R | ER | BB | K | |
| MLB | 7.0 | Nationals | Bryce Harper RF | 4 | 3 | 3 | 5 | 0 | 0 | - | - | - | - | - | - | |
| 7.0 | Mets | Jacob deGrom (W, 3-3) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 7.0 | 6 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 9 | ||
| AL | 5.0 | Twins | Eduardo Escobar LF | 4 | 1 | 3 | 5 | 0 | 1 | - | - | - | - | - | - | |
| 5.0 | Rangers | Carlos Peguero LF | 4 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 1 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 4.0 | Dbacks | Aaron Hill 2B | 5 | 1 | 4 | 4 | 0 | 0 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 4.0 | Rays | Evan Longoria 3B | 3 | 3 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 0 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 4.0 | Reds | Mike Leake (W, 2-1) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 8.0 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | ||
| 4.0 | Padres | Ian Kennedy (W, 2-1) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 7.0 | 6 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 5 | ||
| 3.0 | Blue Jays | Chris Colabello LF | 4 | 2 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 0 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 3.0 | Braves | Andrelton Simmons SS | 4 | 3 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 3.0 | White Sox | Melky Cabrera LF | 3 | 1 | 1 | 4 | 1 | 0 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 2.0 | Indians | Brandon Moss RF | 5 | 2 | 2 | 3 | 0 | 1 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 2.0 | Cubs | Anthony Rizzo 1B | 4 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 0 | 0 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 2.0 | Brewers | Adam Lind 1B | 4 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 0.0 | Angels | Mike Trout CF | 4 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | - | - | - | - | - | - |
Brewers pitcher Wily Peralta is Saturday’s Player of the Day, while Nationals pitcher Stephen Strasburg rises to 10th place in Box-Toppers player rankings.
Also Saturday, Justin Upton of the Braves rose to second place among National League batters in Box-Toppers points.
Peralta struck out 13 over seven innings, allowing one run, in the 2-1 win over the Cubs.
Strasburg rose to 10th place in Box-Toppers player rankings after earning Player of the Game honors Saturday. (See the updated top 10 player list on the home page.) Strasburg (6IP 0R 7K in the 5-1 win over the Marlins) earns 1.0 Box-Toppers point, giving him 16.7 for the season. He ranks fifth among NL pitchers.
Upton rose to second place among NL batters in Box-Toppers points after earning Player of the Game honors Saturday. Upton (HR 2B 2-4 2R 2BI in the 4-2 win over the Phillies) earns 1.0 Box-Toppers point, giving him 8.2 for the season. He trails overall NL batting leader Troy Tulowitzki of the Rockies (11.6 Box-Toppers points). Upton ranks 77th among all players.
Rays pitcher Alex Colome is American League Player of the Day. Colome pitched 6 1/3 scoreless innings and struck out six in the 2-0 win over the Indians.
Eduardo Escobar of the Twins is AL Batter of the Day. Escobar homered and went 4-for-5, scoring twice and driving in six runs, in the 12-3 win over the Tigers.
Todd Frazier of the Reds is NL Batter of the Day. Frazier homered and went 1-for-2, scoring four times and driving in two runs, in the 10-6, 10-inning win over the Pirates.
Peralta receives 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day. Colome receives 1.7 for AL Player of the Day. Escobar and Frazier each receive 1.5 for being top Batter of the Day in their league.
All of Saturday’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, 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.
Listed from highest to lowest Box-Toppers game score
| 927 | Score | Team | Player of the Game | AB | R | H | BI | BB | K | IP | H | R | ER | BB | K | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| MLB | 12.0 | Brewers | Wily Peralta (W, 17-11) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 7.0 | 5 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 13 | |
| 10.0 | Nationals | Stephen Strasburg (W, 14-11) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 6.0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 7 | ||
| AL | 7.1 | Rays | Alex Colome (W, 2-0) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 6.1 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 6 | |
| BAT | 7.0 | Twins | Eduardo Escobar 3B | 5 | 2 | 4 | 6 | 0 | 0 | - | - | - | - | - | - | |
| 7.0 | Dodgers | Carlos Frias (W, 1-1) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 3.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 5 | ||
| 6.0 | Diamondbacks | Randall Delgado (W, 4-4) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 3.0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | ||
| BAT | 5.0 | Reds | Todd Frazier 1B | 2 | 4 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 1 | - | - | - | - | - | - | |
| 4.0 | `Giants | Jeremy Affeldt | - | - | - | - | - | - | 2.0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | ||
| 3.0 | Red Sox | Daniel Nava RF | 4 | 1 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 3.0 | White Sox | Josh Phegley C | 3 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 1 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 3.0 | `Mariners | Fernando Rodney | - | - | - | - | - | - | 1.0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | ||
| 2.0 | Braves | Justin Upton LF | 4 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 1 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 2.0 | Blue Jays | Jose Reyes SS | 3 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 2.0 | Rangers | Jake Smolinski RF | 3 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 2.0 | Mets | Jenrry Mejia (W, 6-6) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 1.0 | 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.
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.