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Mariners pitcher James Paxton is Friday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day and rises to sixth place in season player rankings.
Also Friday, Diamondbacks pitcher Patrick Corbin rises to seventh place in Box-Toppers season player rankings after earning Player of the Game honors.
Read MoreMariners pitcher James Paxton is Saturday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day and rises to sixth place in season player rankings.
Paxton pitched a complete game, striking out eight and allowing two runs, three hits and one walk, in the 7-2 win over the Tigers.
Read MoreMariners pitcher James Paxton is Tuesday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day, pitching a no-hitter.
Also Tuesday, Yankees pitcher Luis Severino maintained his spot atop Box-Toppers season player rankings after earning Player of the Game honors, becoming the first player this season to reach 10.0 Box-Toppers points.
Read MoreNationals pitcher Max Scherzer, who led all National League players in 2017 Box-Toppers points, was voted NL Cy Young Award winner Wednesday.
However, Box-Toppers overall top player, Red Sox pitcher Chris Sale, finished second in voting for the American League Cy Young Award. He lost to Indians pitcher Corey Kluber, who ranked second among AL pitchers in Box-Toppers rankings, fifth overall.
Read MoreNationals pitcher Max Scherzer took the lead in season Box-Toppers player rankings this week, passing previous leader Dodgers pitcher Clayton Kershaw, who had led since mid-May.
Scherzer now has 23.0 Box-Toppers points in 2017, ahead of Kershaw’s 22.1. But Kershaw returns from five weeks on the disabled list Friday and could quickly regain the lead if he earns Player of the Game honors.
Read MoreMets pitcher Jacob deGrom is Friday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day and rises to sixth place in season player rankings.
deGrom struck out 10 over 7 2/3 innings, allowing one run, five hits and one walk, in the 4-2 win over the Nationals.
Read MoreMets pitcher Jacob deGrom is Thursday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day and rises to ninth in season player rankings.
deGrom struck out nine over 6 2/3 scoreless innings, allowing four hits and no walks, in the 10-0 win over the Phillies.
Read MoreDodgers pitcher Yu Darvish is Friday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day.
Also Friday, Mariners pitcher James Paxton rises to fifth place in Box-Toppers season player rankings after earning Player of the Game honors.
Read MoreReds pitcher Luis Castillo is Sunday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day.
Also Sunday, Mariners pitcher James Paxton rises to sixth place in Box-Toppers season player rankings after earning American League Player of the Day honors.
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Though he’s now on the disabled list, Dodgers pitcher Clayton Kershaw remains atop Box-Toppers weekly player rankings for the 11th straight week.
Meanwhile, Edwin Encarnacion of the Indians takes the lead among American League batters in Box-Toppers points, passing last week’s leader, Ryon Healy of the Athletics.
Read MoreMariners pitcher James Paxton is Monday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day and rises to ninth place in season player rankings.
Also Monday, two other players rise in Box-Toppers season player ranking after earning Player of the Game honors—Diamondbacks pitcher Zack Greinke rises to sixth and Mets pitcher Jacob deGrom rises to 10th.
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Angels pitcher Alex Meyer is Wednesday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day.
Meyer pitched seven scoreless innings, allowing one hit, one walk and striking out seven, in the 7-0 win over the Nationals.
| Player | Pos | Team | BTP | |
| 1 | Kershaw, Clayton 2494 | pi sp | lad nl | 22.1 |
| 2 | Scherzer, Max 2588 | pi sp | dc nl | 19.0 |
| 3 | Sale, Chris 2806 | pi sp | bos al | 13.1 |
| 4 | Wood, Alex 3246 | pi sp | lad nl | 13.0 |
| 5 | Strasburg, Stephen 2736 | pi sp | dc nl | 12.4 |
| 6 | Santana, Ervin 2005 | pi sp | min al | 12.4 |
| 7 | Carrasco, Carlos 2885 | pi sp | cle al | 11.4 |
| 8 | Greinke, Zack 1871 | pi sp | ari nl | 11.4 |
| 9 | Quintana, Jose 3040 | pi sp | chi nl | 10.0 |
| 10 | Ray, Robbie 3502 | pi sp | ari nl | 10.0 |
National League Player of the Day—Nolan Arenado of the Rockies hit three home runs, including a three-run shot, in the 18-4 win over the Padres. Arenado went 5-for-6, scoring four times and driving in seven runs.
Arenado had a Box-Toppers game score of +10.0, the third-highest game score for a batter in 2017 and only the fourth that was +10.0 or greater. The others:
American League Batter of the Day—Brandon Moss of the Royals homered, doubled and went 3-for-4, scoring twice and driving in two runs, in the 4-3 win over the Tigers.
National League Batter of the Day—There is no separate NL Batter of the Day for Wednesday because the overall NL Player of the Day is batter Nolan Arenado.
Notable—Mariners pitcher James Paxton has the most 2017 Box-Toppers points among the 15 who earned Player of the Game honors Wednesday.
Paxton (7IP 6H R BB 7K W in the 4-1 win over the Astros) earns 1.0 Box-Toppers point, giving him 9.0 for the season and ranks 13th among all players, fifth among AL pitchers.
Scoring—Meyer earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day and Arenado earns 1.7 points for being NL Player of the Day. Moss earns 1.5 points for being AL 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.
| 7/19 | Score | Game | Player of the Game | AB | R | H | BI | IP | H | R | ER | BB | K | |
| MLB | 12.0 | LAA 7, WSH 0 | Alex Meyer (W, 4-5) | - | - | - | - | 7.0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 7 | |
| NL | 10.0 | COL 18, SD 4 | Nolan Arenado (3B) | 6 | 4 | 5 | 7 | - | - | - | - | - | - | |
| 9.0 | `PIT 3, MIL 2 (F/10) | Gerrit Cole | - | - | - | - | 7.0 | 6 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 10 | ||
| 6.0 | BAL 10, TEX 2 | Kevin Gausman (W, 6-7) | - | - | - | - | 6.0 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 8 | ||
| 6.0 | CHC 8, ATL 2 | Mike Montgomery (W, 2-6) | - | - | - | - | 6.0 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 5 | ||
| 5.0 | SEA 4, HOU 1 | James Paxton (W, 9-3) | - | - | - | - | 7.0 | 6 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 7 | ||
| 4.0 | LAD 9, CHW 1 (F/8) | Corey Seager (SS) | 4 | 2 | 3 | 3 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| BAT | 3.0 | KC 4, DET 3 | Brandon Moss (DH) | 4 | 2 | 3 | 2 | - | - | - | - | - | - | |
| 3.0 | CIN 4, ARI 3 (F/11) | Michael Lorenzen (W, 5-2) | - | - | - | - | 2.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 2 | ||
| 2.1 | NYM 7, STL 3 | Addison Reed (S, 16) | - | - | - | - | 1.1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | ||
| 2.0 | PHI 10, MIA 3 | Maikel Franco (3B) | 4 | 1 | 2 | 3 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 2.0 | BOS 5, TOR 1 | Dustin Pedroia (2B) | 3 | 0 | 2 | 3 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 2.0 | SF 5, CLE 4 | Buster Posey (PH) | 1 | 0 | 1 | 2 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 1.2 | MIN 6, NYY 1 | Jose Berrios (W, 9-3) | - | - | - | - | 6.2 | 6 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 5 | ||
| 1.0 | OAK 7, TB 2 | Yonder Alonso (1B) | 2 | 0 | 2 | 1 | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| Player of the Game | Pos | Team | ’17 | ’16-17 | ’12-17 | Career | +/- |
| Paxton, James 3280 | pi sp | sea al | 9.0 | 13.4 | 20.1 | 20.1 | 4.6 |
| Arenado, Nolan 3306 | 3b | col nl | 7.2 | 17.9 | 27.9 | 27.9 | -3.5 |
| Meyer, Alex 3742 | pi sp | ana al | 7.0 | 8.0 | 8.0 | 8.0 | 6.0 |
| Posey, Buster 2745 | ca 1b | sf nl | 6.5 | 10.0 | 35.0 | 39.5 | 3.0 |
| Cole, Gerrit 3232 | pi sp | pit nl | 6.0 | 12.5 | 41.9 | 41.9 | -0.5 |
| Gausman, Kevin 3191 | pi sp | bal al | 5.4 | 16.2 | 29.6 | 29.6 | -5.4 |
| Seager, Corey 3587 | ss | lad nl | 5.0 | 9.0 | 10.5 | 10.5 | 1.0 |
| Berrios, Jose 3791 | pi sp | min al | 5.0 | 5.0 | 5.0 | 5.0 | 5.0 |
| Alonso, Yonder 2945 | 1b | oak al | 4.0 | 6.0 | 15.5 | 17.0 | 2.0 |
| Moss, Brandon 2520 | dh | kc al | 3.5 | 7.5 | 28.5 | 30.5 | -0.5 |
| Montgomery, Mike 3513 | pi sp cp | chi nl | 3.0 | 8.0 | 12.0 | 12.0 | -2.0 |
| Lorenzen, Michael 3479 | pi cp | cin nl | 3.0 | 4.0 | 5.0 | 5.0 | 2.0 |
| Franco, Maikel 3510 | 3b | phi nl | 2.7 | 7.2 | 10.4 | 10.4 | -1.8 |
| Pedroia, Dustin 2320 | 2b | bos al | 2.0 | 7.0 | 20.0 | 39.5 | -3.0 |
| Reed, Addison 3023 | pi cp mr | nym nl | 1.0 | 3.0 | 12.0 | 12.0 | -1.0 |
Mariners pitcher James Paxton is Wednesday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day and rises to sixth place in season player rankings.
| 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 | Vargas, Jason 2055 | pi sp | kc al | 5.0 |
| 4 | Sale, Chris 2806 | pi sp | bos al | 4.7 |
| 5 | Scherzer, Max 2588 | pi sp | dc nl | 4.0 |
| 6 | Paxton, James 3280 | pi sp | sea al | 4.0 |
| 7 | Harper, Bryce 3011 | rf | dc nl | 4.0 |
| 8 | Holland, Greg 2906 | pi cp | col nl | 4.0 |
| 9 | Carrasco, Carlos 2885 | pi sp | cle al | 3.7 |
| 10 | Chacin, Jhoulys 2711 | pi mr sp | sd nl | 3.7 |
Paxton struck out nine over seven scoreless innings, allowing four hits and one walk, in the 8-0 win over the Tigers.
Paxton earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day, giving him 4.0 for the season, rising to sixth in season player rankings, fourth among American League pitchers.
National League Player of the Day—Maikel Franco of the Phillies hit a grand slam and went 3-for-4, in the 7-4 win over the Marlins.
American League Batter of the Day—Shin-Soo Choo of the Rangers hit a three-run homer and tripled, going 3-for-5, scoring three times, in the 14-3 win over the Twins.
Choo has now earned Box-Toppers points in 11 straight seasons. He earned his first Box-Toppers point in 2007 with the Indians and has 49.2 career points, sixth among active AL outfielders. His best season was 2010 with the Indians, when he had 9.0 points, seventh among AL batters. He had 1.0 point in 2016 with the Rangers.
National League Batter of the Day—There is no separate NL Batter of the Day for Wednesday because the overall NL Player of the Day is batter Maikel Franco.
Streaks—Two players have now earned Box-Toppers points for 12 straight seasons after both earned Player of the Game honors Wednesday:
Scoring—Paxton earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day and Franco earns 1.7 points for being NL Player of the Day. Choo earns 1.5 points for being AL 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.
| 4/26 | Score | Game | Player of the Game | AB | R | H | BI | IP | H | R | ER | BB | K | |
| MLB | 11.0 | SEA 8, DET 0 | James Paxton (W,3-0) | - | - | - | - | 7.0 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 9 | |
| 8.0 | NYY 3, BOS 1 | Luis Severino (W,2-1) | - | - | - | - | 7.0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 6 | ||
| 6.0 | CHW 5, KC 2 | Jose Quintana (W,1-4) | - | - | - | - | 6.0 | 5 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 10 | ||
| BAT | 4.0 | TEX 14, MIN 3 | Shin-Soo Choo, RF | 5 | 3 | 3 | 3 | - | - | - | - | - | - | |
| NL | 4.0 | PHI 7, MIA 4 | Maikel Franco, 3B | 4 | 1 | 3 | 4 | - | - | - | - | - | - | |
| 3.1 | CLE 7, HOU 6 | Cody Allen (S,4) | - | - | - | - | 1.1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | ||
| 3.0 | WSH 11, COL 4 | Ryan Zimmerman, 1B | 5 | 2 | 3 | 3 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 3.0 | LAA 8, OAK 5 | Cameron Maybin, LF | 4 | 1 | 3 | 3 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 3.0 | MIL 9, CIN 4 | Jett Bandy, C | 4 | 2 | 3 | 2 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 3.0 | SD 8, ARI 5 | Ryan Schimpf, 3B | 2 | 1 | 1 | 3 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 2.0 | ATL 8, NYM 2 | Nick Markakis, RF | 4 | 2 | 3 | 1 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 2.0 | PIT 6, CHC 5 | Josh Harrison, 3B | 3 | 2 | 2 | 1 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 2.0 | SF 4, LAD 3 (F/10) | Michael Morse, PH | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 1.0 | BAL 5, TB 4 (F/11) | Craig Gentry, PR | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| Player of the Game | Pos | Team | ’17 | ’16-17 | ’12-17 | Career | +/- |
| Paxton, James 3280 | pi sp | sea al | 4.0 | 8.4 | 15.1 | 15.1 | -0.4 |
| Schimpf, Ryan 3686 | 3b 2b | sd nl | 2.0 | 7.2 | 7.2 | 7.2 | -3.2 |
| Severino, Luis 3567 | pi sp mr | nyy al | 2.0 | 4.0 | 7.0 | 7.0 | 0.0 |
| Franco, Maikel 3510 | 3b | phi nl | 1.7 | 6.2 | 9.4 | 9.4 | -2.8 |
| Choo, Shin-Soo 2267 | rf | tex al | 1.5 | 2.5 | 22.5 | 49.2 | 0.5 |
| Quintana, Jose 3040 | pi sp | chi al | 1.0 | 11.4 | 36.2 | 36.2 | -9.4 |
| Allen, Cody 3265 | pi cp mr | cle al | 1.0 | 8.0 | 17.0 | 17.0 | -6.0 |
| Markakis, Nick 2116 | rf | atl nl | 1.0 | 6.0 | 19.0 | 48.1 | -4.0 |
| Maybin, Cameron 2672 | lf | ana al | 1.0 | 4.0 | 9.5 | 16.5 | -2.0 |
| Harrison, Josh 2947 | 3b 2b | pit nl | 1.0 | 3.0 | 7.5 | 9.0 | -1.0 |
| Zimmerman, Ryan 2180 | 1b | dc nl | 1.0 | 2.5 | 22.2 | 57.3 | -0.5 |
| Bandy, Jett 3711 | ca | mil nl | 1.0 | 2.0 | 2.0 | 2.0 | 0.0 |
| Morse, Michael 2020 | lf 1b ph | sf nl | 1.0 | 1.0 | 11.0 | 24.0 | 1.0 |
| Gentry, Craig 2977 | lf cf pr | bal al | 1.0 | 1.0 | 5.0 | 6.0 | 1.0 |
Cubs pitcher Jake Arrieta is Friday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day and rises to seventh place in season player rankings.
| Player | Pos | Team | BTP | |
| 1 | Scherzer, Max 2588 | pi sp | dc nl | 24.7 |
| 2 | Kershaw, Clayton 2494 | pi sp | lad nl | 22.7 |
| 3 | Fernandez, Jose 3147 | pi sp | fla nl | 22.4 |
| 4 | Kluber, Corey 3200 | pi sp | cle al | 21.2 |
| 5 | Lester, Jon 2173 | pi sp | chi nl | 21.1 |
| 6 | Hamels, Cole 2135 | pi sp | tex al | 17.8 |
| 7 | Arrieta, Jake 2738 | pi sp | chi nl | 15.7 |
| 8 | Syndergaard, Noah 3472 | pi sp | nym al | 15.7 |
| 9 | Cueto, Johnny 2400 | pi sp | sf nl | 15.4 |
| 10 | Strasburg, Stephen 2736 | pi sp | dc nl | 15.1 |
Also Friday, Rangers pitcher Cole Hamels maintained his spot of sixth place in Box-Toppers season player rankings after earning Player of the Game honors.
Player of the Day—Arrieta pitched seven scoreless innings, striking out 10 and allowing five hits and one walk, in the 5-0 win over the Cardinals.
Arrieta earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day, giving him 15.7 for the season, rising to seventh place in season player rankings, fifth among National League pitchers.
With Arrieta rising back into Box-Toppers top 10 list, he displaces Blue Jays pitcher J.A. Happ (14.7 points) from the list, who falls to 11th.
Arrieta led all players in Box-Toppers points in 2015 with 29.1. This was Arrieta’s first Player of the Game honor in a month—he was Player of the Day on Aug. 23.
American League Player of the Day—Mariners pitcher James Paxton struck out nine over seven innings, allowing one run, five hits and no walks, in the 10-1 win over the Twins.
American League Batter of the Day—Jose Ramirez of the Indians homered, doubled and went 2-for-5, scoring three times and driving in four runs, in the 10-4 win over the White Sox.
National League Batter of the Day—Wil Myers of the Padres hit a three-run homer and went 2-for-3, scoring twice, in the 7-2 win over the Giants.
Myers earns 1.5 Box-Toppers points for being NL Batter of the Day, giving him 9.7 for the season. He ranks fifth among NL batters, 1.0 point behind leader Nolan Arenado of the Rockies (10.7).
Rankings—Rangers pitcher Cole Hamels maintained his rank of sixth place in Box-Toppers season player rankings after earning Player of the Game honors Friday.
Hamels (7IP 6H 0R 2BB 7K W in the 3-0 win over the Athletics) earns 1.0 Box-Toppers point, giving him 17.8 for the season. He ranks second among AL pitchers, behind Corey Kluber of the Indians (21.2).
Hamels now has 144.0 career Box-Toppers points, rising to 24th place among all players since 1995, when Box-Toppers tracking began. He passes Miguel Cabrera of the Tigers (143.9) on the “all-time” list and now trails 23rd-ranked player David Ortiz of the Red Sox (144.9). Hamels also rises to eighth place in career points among active players.
Hamels has earned Box-Toppers points for 11 straight seasons and in each season has earned 10 or more points. The 17.8 points he’s earned in 2016 is his best season; his previous best was 2011 with the Phillies when he had 15.8.
Notable—Two other players who have more than 10 Box-Toppers points for the season earned Player of the Game honors Friday:
Also notable—Blue Jays pitcher Francisco Liriano now has 103.2 career Box-Toppers points after earning Player of the Game honors Friday.
Liriano (6IP 3H 0R 2BB 6K in the 9-0 win over the Yankees) rises to 66th place among all players since Box-Toppers tracking began in 1995, passing Miguel Tejada (102.3) on the “all-time” list. He trails 65th-ranked player Jamie Moyer (104.0). Liriano has 8.0 Box-Toppers points on the season, 24th among AL pitchers.
Debut—Two players made their Box-Toppers debut Friday, 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 Paxton earns 1.7 points for being AL Player of the Day. Ramirez and Myers 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.
Listed from highest to lowest Box-Toppers game score
| 9/23 | Score | Game | Player of Game | AB | R | H | BI | IP | H | R | ER | BB | K | |
| MLB | 11.0 | CHC 5, STL 0 | Jake Arrieta (W,18-7) | - | - | - | - | 7.0 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 10 | |
| AL | 9.0 | SEA 10, MIN 1 | James Paxton (W,5-7) | - | - | - | - | 7.0 | 5 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 9 | |
| 7.0 | TOR 9, NYY 0 | Francisco Liriano (W,8-13) | - | - | - | - | 6.0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 6 | ||
| 6.0 | DET 8, KC 3 | Michael Fulmer (W,11-7) | - | - | - | - | 7.0 | 8 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 9 | ||
| 6.0 | TEX 3, OAK 0 | Cole Hamels (W,15-5) | - | - | - | - | 7.0 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 7 | ||
| 5.2 | NYM 10, PHI 5 | Hansel Robles (S,1) | - | - | - | - | 2.2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | ||
| BAT | 4.0 | CLE 10, CHW 4 | Jose Ramirez, 3B | 5 | 3 | 2 | 4 | - | - | - | - | - | - | |
| BAT | 4.0 | SD 7, SF 2 | Wil Myers, 1B | 3 | 2 | 2 | 3 | - | - | - | - | - | - | |
| 3.0 | LAA 10, HOU 6 | Rafael Ortega, PH | 1 | 0 | 1 | 3 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 3.0 | BOS 2, TB 1 | Drew Pomeranz (W,11-12) | - | - | - | - | 5.0 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 4 | ||
| 3.0 | LAD 5, COL 2 | Ross Stripling (W,5-8) | - | - | - | - | 3.0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 4 | ||
| 3.0 | `BAL 3, ARI 2 (12) | Mychal Givens | - | - | - | - | 1.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | ||
| 3.0 | ATL 3, MIA 2 | Brandon Cunniff (W,2-0) | - | - | - | - | 1.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | ||
| 1.0 | MIL 5, CIN 4 | Chris Carter, 1B | 4 | 1 | 2 | 2 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 1.0 | PIT 6, WSH 5 (11) | Alen Hanson, 2B | 3 | 2 | 2 | 0 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| `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 | +/- |
| Hamels, Cole 2135 | pi sp | tex al | 17.8 | 33.2 | 84.8 | 144.0 | 2.4 |
| Arrieta, Jake 2738 | pi sp | chi nl | 15.7 | 44.8 | 72.5 | 75.5 | -13.4 |
| Fulmer, Michael 3640 | pi sp | det al | 12.7 | 12.7 | 12.7 | 12.7 | 12.7 |
| Pomeranz, Drew 3061 | pi sp | bos al | 12.4 | 15.4 | 23.4 | 23.4 | 9.4 |
| Myers, Wil 3228 | 1b | sd nl | 9.7 | 12.7 | 18.2 | 18.2 | 6.7 |
| Carter, Chris 2828 | 1b | mil nl | 9.5 | 10.5 | 28.4 | 29.4 | 8.5 |
| Liriano, Francisco 2104 | pi sp | tor al | 8.0 | 22.9 | 63.4 | 103.2 | -6.9 |
| Stripling, Ross 3629 | pi sp | lad nl | 4.7 | 4.7 | 4.7 | 4.7 | 4.7 |
| Paxton, James 3280 | pi sp | sea al | 4.4 | 5.4 | 11.1 | 11.1 | 3.4 |
| Givens, Mychal 3599 | pi mr | bal al | 2.0 | 3.0 | 3.0 | 3.0 | 1.0 |
| Cunniff, Brandon 3698 | pi mr | atl nl | 2.0 | 2.0 | 2.0 | 2.0 | 2.0 |
| Ramirez, Jose 3436 | 3b | cle al | 1.5 | 4.0 | 5.0 | 5.0 | -1.0 |
| Robles, Hansel 3580 | pi cp | nym nl | 1.0 | 3.7 | 3.7 | 3.7 | -1.7 |
| Hanson, Alen 3747 | 2b | pit nl | 1.0 | 1.0 | 1.0 | 1.0 | 1.0 |
| Ortega, Rafael 3746 | ph | ana al | 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 |
Cardinals pitcher Michael Wacha, who was one out from pitching a no-hitter, is Tuesday's Player of the Day.
Wacha gave up his one and only hit with two outs in the ninth inning against the Nationals when Ryan Zimmerman reached on an infield single. Wacha pitched 8 2/3 shutout innings and struck out nine in the 2-0 win.
Mariners pitcher James Paxton is American League Player of the Day. Paxton pitched seven shutout innings and struck out 10 in the 4-0 win over the Royals.
Michael Brantley of the Indians is AL Batter of the Day. Brantley homered and went 3-for-4 in the 5-4 win over the White Sox.
Pedro Alvarez of the Pirates is National League Batter of the Day. Alvarez drove in three runs and went 2-for-5 in the 8-2 win over the Cubs.
Notables: Braves closing pitcher Craig Kimbrel rises to 29th place in Box-Toppers player rankings after earning Player of the Game honors Tuesday. Kimbrel (1IP 3K W in 3-2 win vs. Brewers) earns 1.0 Box-Toppers point, giving him 12.7 for the season.
Blue Jays pitcher Dustin McGowan scored his first Box-Toppers point in more than five years Tuesday. McGowan, the former starter now pitching middle relief was Player of the Game in the 3-2 win over the Orioles. It is the first time he has earned Box-Toppers points since he last earned Player of the Game honors on June 10, 2008, when he started for the Blue Jays. McGowan earned 9.7 Box-Toppers points as a starter for the Blue Jays in 2007 and 3.7 in 2008.
Coming Wednesday: Two pitchers among the top 10 in Box-Toppers player rankings (see the list on the home page) are scheduled to start Wednesday:
Neither Scherzer nor Liriano is in position to take the outright lead in Box-Toppers points (held by Dodgers pitcher Clayton Kershaw with 20.7) since the most they could earn is 2.0 Box-Toppers points. This is the final scheduled regular season start for both pitchers.
Wacha receives 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day. Paxton receives 1.7 for AL Player of the Day. Brantley and Alvarez each receive 1.5 for being top Batter of the Day in their league.
All of Tuesday's other Players of the Game (listed in the chart below) receive 1.0 Box-Toppers point.
Listed from highest to lowest Box-Toppers game score
| 924 | Score | Team | BATTERS | AB | R | H | RBI | BB | SO | - | - | PITCHERS | IP | H | R | ER | BB | SO |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| MLB | 14.2 | Cardinals | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Michael Wacha (W, 4-1) | 8.2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 9 | ||
| AL | 13.0 | Mariners | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | James Paxton (W, 3-0) | 7.0 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 10 | ||
| 9.0 | Angels | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Jason Vargas (W, 9-7) | 9.0 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 5 | |||
| 8.0 | `Diamondbacks | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Wade Miley | 6.0 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 7 | |||
| 6.0 | Dodgers | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Hyun-Jin Ryu (W, 14-7) | 7.0 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 6 | |||
| 4.0 | Rockies | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Tyler Chatwood (W, 8-5) | 7.0 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 2 | |||
| 4.0 | Rays | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Jake Odorizzi (S, 1) | 3.0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 3 | |||
| 4.0 | `Tigers | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Bruce Rondon (H, 5) | 1.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | |||
| 4.0 | Braves | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Craig Kimbrel (W, 4-3) | 1.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | |||
| 3.1 | `Blue Jays | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Dustin McGowan | 1.1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | |||
| BAT | 3.0 | Indians | Michael Brantley LF | 4 | 2 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||
| 3.0 | Rangers | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Joe Nathan (S, 41) | 1.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | |||
| 3.0 | Mets | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Vic Black (S, 1) | 1.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | |||
| 2.0 | Phillies | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Michael Stutes (W, 3-1) | 1.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | |||
| BAT | 1.0 | Pirates | Pedro Alvarez 3B | 5 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
` 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.