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Nationals pitcher Max Scherzer maintains top spot in Box-Toppers season player rankings this week.
However, Rays pitcher Blake Snell, in second overall, has closed in to within 1.0 point of Scherzer. Snell leads American League players in Box-Toppers points.
Read MoreRed Sox pitcher Eduardo Rodriguez is Thursday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day.
Rodriguez struck out seven over six innings, allowing one run, five hits and no walks, in the 4-3 win over the Blue Jays.
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The Boston Red Sox maintain their lead in Box-Toppers team rankings for the fifth straight week.
Meanwhile, the Chicago Cubs rise to regain the lead among National League teams and the New York Yankees are the hottest team of the past week.
Read MoreRockies pitcher German Marquez is Saturday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day.
Marquez struck out nine over seven scoreless innings, allowing three hits and one walk, in the 9-1 win over the Cardinals. Marquez did not earn the win, picking up a no-decision, because the game was tied when he exited. The Rockies scored eight runs in the bottom of the eighth inning to take the lead.
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The Boston Red Sox maintain their lead in Box-Toppers team rankings for the third straight week and are also the week’s hottest team.
Meanwhile, the Chicago Cubs rise past the Los Angeles Dodgers to top National League teams in rankings.
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Freddie Freeman of the Braves may be seeded seventh among the eight players in Monday’s Home Run Derby, but he has the most 2018 Box-Toppers points in the group.
Freeman has 6.5 Box-Toppers points this season and ranks third among National League batters in Box-Toppers season player rankings. However, his 16 home runs this season is seventh-most among the eight derby participants and has him seeded seventh in the tournament-style derby.
Read MoreDiamondbacks pitcher Zack Greinke is Saturday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day.
Also Saturday, Astros pitcher Gerrit Cole rises to seventh place in Box-Toppers season player rankings after earning Player of the Game honors.
Read MoreFrancisco Lindor, Javier Baez and Willson Contreras are among the players rising onto Box-Toppers’ All-Star teams in the past week.
With Major League All-Star voting coming to a close today (Thursday, July 5), here is a look at who is leading at Box-Toppers points at each position in both leagues.
Read MoreMets pitcher Zack Wheeler is Wednesday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day.
Wheeler struck out seven over seven innings, allowing one run, two hits and one walk, in the 4-1 win over the Marlins.
Read MoreYankees pitcher Masahiro Tanaka and Cubs pitcher Jake Arrieta are Box-Toppers Players of the Game in Wednesday’s League Championship Series games.
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Twins pitcher Jose Berrios is Thursday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day.
| Player | Pos | Team | BTP | |
| 1 | Kershaw, Clayton 2494 | pi sp | lad nl | 8.7 |
| 2 | Sale, Chris 2806 | pi sp | bos al | 8.4 |
| 3 | Santana, Ervin 2005 | pi sp | min al | 7.7 |
| 4 | Scherzer, Max 2588 | pi sp | dc nl | 6.0 |
| 5 | Harper, Bryce 3011 | rf | dc nl | 6.0 |
| 6 | Vargas, Jason 2055 | pi sp | kc al | 6.0 |
| 7 | Holland, Greg 2906 | pi cp | col nl | 6.0 |
| 8 | Carrasco, Carlos 2885 | pi sp | cle al | 5.4 |
| 9 | Keuchel, Dallas 3050 | pi sp | hou al | 5.4 |
| 10 | Triggs, Andrew 3723 | pi sp | oak al | 5.4 |
Also Thursday, Rockies closing pitcher Greg Holland rises to seventh place in Box-Toppers season player rankings after earning Player of the Game honors.
Player of the Day—Berrios struck out 11 over 7 2/3 scoreless innings, allowing two hits and one walk, in the 2-0 win over the Rockies.
National League Player of the Day—Javier Baez of the Cubs hit a grand slam and went 3-for-3, scoring twice and driving in five runs, in the 9-5 win over the Reds.
American League Batter of the Day—Darrell Ceciliani of the Blue Jays hit a homer and doubled, going 2-for-2, scoring twice and driving in three runs, in the 9-0 win over the Braves.
This was Ceciliani’s Box-Toppers debut, the first time in his career he earned Player of the Game honors. Ceciliani made his Major League debut May 19, 2015, and was playing in his 55th career game. He is the 3,801st player to debut in Box-Toppers since record keeping began in 1995.
National League Batter of the Day—There is no separate NL Batter of the Day for Thursday because the overall NL Player of the Day is batter Javier Baez.
Rankings—Rockies closing pitcher Greg Holland rises to seventh place in Box-Toppers season player rankings after earning Player of the Game honors Thursday.
Holland (0.1IP 0H 0R 0BB K Sv in the 5-1 win over the Twins) earns 1.0 Box-Toppers point, giving him 6.0 for the season, third among NL pitchers and most among all relief pitchers.
Debut—Mariners pitcher Sam Gaviglio made his Box-Toppers debut Thursday with his first career Player of the Game honor.
Gaviglio (5IP 3H 0R BB 2K ND in the 5-4 win over the White Sox) made his Major League debut May 11 and was playing in his second career game. He is the 3,802nd player to debut in Box-Toppers since record keeping began in 1995.
Scoring—Berrios earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day and Baez earns 1.7 points for being NL Player of the Day. Ceciliani earns 1.5 points for being AL 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.
| 5/18 | Score | Game | Player of the Game | AB | R | H | BI | IP | H | R | ER | BB | K | |
| MLB | 15.2 | MIN 2, COL 0 | Jose Berrios (W,2-0) | - | - | - | - | 7.2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 11 | |
| 12.0 | KC 5, NYY 1 | Danny Duffy (W,3-3) | - | - | - | - | 7.0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 10 | ||
| NL | 7.0 | CHC 9, CIN 5 | Javier Baez, 2B | 3 | 2 | 3 | 5 | - | - | - | - | - | - | |
| 6.0 | TEX 8, PHI 4 | Martin Perez (W,2-5) | - | - | - | - | 7.0 | 5 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 8 | ||
| 5.1 | LAD 7, MIA 2 | Kenley Jansen (S,8) | - | - | - | - | 1.1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | ||
| BAT | 5.0 | TOR 9, ATL 0 | Darrell Ceciliani, CF | 2 | 2 | 2 | 3 | - | - | - | - | - | - | |
| 5.0 | DET 6, BAL 5 | J.D. Martinez, RF | 1 | 2 | 1 | 3 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 4.0 | PIT 10, WSH 4 | Adam Frazier, LF | 5 | 2 | 3 | 4 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 3.0 | MIL 4, SD 2 | Eric Sogard, 2B | 4 | 0 | 4 | 3 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 3.0 | `SEA 5, CHW 4 | Sam Gaviglio | - | - | - | - | 5.0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 2 | ||
| 2.0 | OAK 8, BOS 3 | Trevor Plouffe, 3B | 4 | 2 | 3 | 1 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 1.1 | COL 5, MIN 1 | Greg Holland (S,18) | - | - | - | - | 0.1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Player of the Game | Pos | Team | ’17 | ’16-17 | ’12-17 | Career | +/- |
| Holland, Greg 2906 | pi cp | col nl | 6.0 | 6.0 | 36.0 | 39.0 | 6.0 |
| Baez, Javier 3395 | 2b 3b | chi nl | 3.2 | 5.2 | 7.7 | 7.7 | 1.2 |
| Sogard, Eric 3174 | ss 3b 2b | mil nl | 3.0 | 3.0 | 7.0 | 7.0 | 3.0 |
| Berrios, Jose 3791 | pi sp | min al | 3.0 | 3.0 | 3.0 | 3.0 | 3.0 |
| Martinez, J.D. 2922 | rf | det al | 2.5 | 8.0 | 17.7 | 19.7 | -3.0 |
| Duffy, Danny 2915 | pi sp | kc al | 2.0 | 12.7 | 30.7 | 31.7 | -8.7 |
| Jansen, Kenley 2871 | pi cp mr | lad nl | 2.0 | 8.0 | 33.7 | 38.4 | -4.0 |
| Frazier, Adam 3771 | lf | pit nl | 2.0 | 2.0 | 2.0 | 2.0 | 2.0 |
| Ceciliani, Darrell 3801 | cf | tor al | 1.5 | 1.5 | 1.5 | 1.5 | 1.5 |
| Plouffe, Trevor 2869 | 3b | oak al | 1.0 | 5.5 | 21.5 | 24.5 | -3.5 |
| Perez, Martin 3213 | pi sp | tex al | 1.0 | 3.0 | 14.0 | 14.0 | -1.0 |
| Gaviglio, Sam 3802 | pi sp | sea al | 1.0 | 1.0 | 1.0 | 1.0 | 1.0 |
Red Sox pitcher Chris Sale is Tuesday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day and rises to take the lead in season player rankings.
| Player | Pos | Team | BTP | |
| 1 | Sale, Chris 2806 | pi sp | bos al | 6.7 |
| 2 | Santana, Ervin 2005 | pi sp | min al | 6.7 |
| 3 | Kershaw, Clayton 2494 | pi sp | lad nl | 6.0 |
| 4 | Nova, Ivan 2796 | pi sp | pit nl | 5.0 |
| 5 | Vargas, Jason 2055 | pi sp | kc al | 5.0 |
| 6 | Holland, Greg 2906 | pi cp | col nl | 5.0 |
| 7 | Judge, Aaron 3767 | rf | nyy al | 5.0 |
| 8 | Keuchel, Dallas 3050 | pi sp | hou al | 4.4 |
| 9 | Triggs, Andrew 3723 | pi sp | oak al | 4.4 |
| 10 | Scherzer, Max 2588 | pi sp | dc nl | 4.0 |
Also Tuesday, Twins pitcher Ervin Santana maintains his second-place spot in Box-Toppers season player rankings and Aaron Judge of the Yankees rises to seventh place after both earned Player of the Game honors.
Player of the Day—Sale struck out 11 over eight innings, allowing two runs and three hits, in the 5-2 win over the Orioles.
Sale earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day, giving him 6.7 for the season, rising from sixth to first place in season player rankings. He passes previous leader, Dodgers pitcher Clayton Kershaw (5.0 Box-Toppers points), who had been leading since April 19. It is the second time in his career Sale has led Box-Toppers season player rankings—previously, he led May 17-18, 2013, when he had 8.7 points with the White Sox.
National League Player of the Day—Padres pitcher Trevor Cahill struck out seven over six innings, allowing one run and three hits, in the 6-2 win over the Rockies.
American League Batter of the Day—Marwin Gonzalez of the Astros hit two home runs, including a grand slam, in the 8-7 win over the Rangers. Gonzalez went 2-for-3, driving in five runs.
National League Batter of the Day—Javier Baez of the Cubs homered, tripled and went 4-for-4, scoring twice and driving in three runs, in the 8-3 win over the Phillies.
Rankings—In addition to Sale, two other players earning Player of the Game honors Tuesday are also among Box-Toppers top 10 players in season player rankings:
Santana also now has 104.0 career Box-Toppers points, rising to 66th place among all players since 1995, when Box-Toppers tracking began. With his point Tuesday, he passes Jamie Moyer (104.0) on the “all-time” list and now trails 65th-ranked player, Blue Jays pitcher Francisco Liriano (104.2).
Scoring—Sale earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day and Cahill earns 1.7 points for being NL Player of the Day. Gonzalez and Baez 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.
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.
| 5/2 | Score | Game | Player of the Game | AB | R | H | BI | IP | H | R | ER | BB | K | |
| MLB | 10.0 | BOS 5, BAL 2 | Chris Sale (W,2-2) | - | - | - | - | 8.0 | 3 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 11 | |
| 9.0 | CHW 6, KC 0 | Jose Quintana (W,2-4) | - | - | - | - | 8.0 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 7 | ||
| NL | 9.0 | SD 6, COL 2 | Trevor Cahill (W,2-2) | - | - | - | - | 6.0 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 7 | |
| 7.0 | MIN 9, OAK 1 | Ervin Santana (W,5-0) | - | - | - | - | 6.0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 7 | ||
| BAT | 6.0 | HOU 8, TEX 7 | Marwin Gonzalez, LF | 3 | 2 | 2 | 5 | - | - | - | - | - | - | |
| 6.0 | NYY 11, TOR 5 | Aaron Judge, RF | 3 | 3 | 2 | 4 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 5.1 | STL 2, MIL 1 | Carlos Martinez (W,1-3) | - | - | - | - | 7.1 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 4 | ||
| BAT | 5.0 | CHC 8, PHI 3 | Javier Baez, 2B-3B | 4 | 2 | 4 | 3 | - | - | - | - | - | - | |
| 4.0 | LAD 13, SF 5 | Yasiel Puig, RF | 5 | 2 | 3 | 4 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 4.0 | PIT 12, CIN 3 | Wade LeBlanc (S,1) | - | - | - | - | 3.0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 3 | ||
| 4.0 | LAA 6, SEA 4 (F/11) | Deolis Guerra (W,2-1) | - | - | - | - | 2.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 3 | ||
| 3.0 | TB 3, MIA 1 | Alex Colome (S,7) | - | - | - | - | 1.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 3 | ||
| 2.1 | ARI 6, WSH 3 | T.J. McFarland (W,1-0) | - | - | - | - | 1.1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | ||
| 1.1 | ATL 9, NYM 7 | Jim Johnson (S,5) | - | - | - | - | 0.1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | ||
| 0.0 | DET 5, CLE 2 | Alex Avila, C | 4 | 1 | 2 | 1 | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| Player of the Game | Pos | Team | ’17 | ’16-17 | ’12-17 | Career | +/- |
| Sale, Chris 2806 | pi sp | bos al | 6.7 | 20.1 | 88.1 | 93.1 | -6.7 |
| Santana, Ervin 2005 | pi sp | min al | 6.7 | 10.7 | 43.5 | 104.0 | 2.7 |
| Judge, Aaron 3767 | rf | nyy al | 5.0 | 5.0 | 5.0 | 5.0 | 5.0 |
| Cahill, Trevor 2658 | pi sp mr | sd nl | 3.4 | 6.4 | 21.1 | 43.6 | 0.4 |
| Martinez, Carlos 3371 | pi sp | stl nl | 3.0 | 15.4 | 30.1 | 30.1 | -9.4 |
| Puig, Yasiel 3193 | rf | lad nl | 3.0 | 6.5 | 12.5 | 12.5 | -0.5 |
| Quintana, Jose 3040 | pi sp | chi al | 2.0 | 12.4 | 37.2 | 37.2 | -8.4 |
| Colome, Alex 3189 | pi cp | tb al | 2.0 | 11.0 | 19.7 | 19.7 | -7.0 |
| Johnson, Jim 2417 | pi cp | atl nl | 2.0 | 6.0 | 17.0 | 23.7 | -2.0 |
| Avila, Alex 2642 | ca | det al | 2.0 | 3.0 | 9.5 | 19.0 | 1.0 |
| Baez, Javier 3395 | 2b 3b | chi nl | 1.5 | 3.5 | 6.0 | 6.0 | -0.5 |
| Gonzalez, Marwin 3078 | lf | hou al | 1.5 | 2.5 | 7.0 | 7.0 | 0.5 |
| LeBlanc, Wade 2669 | pi cp sp | pit nl | 1.0 | 4.0 | 4.0 | 11.0 | -2.0 |
| Guerra, Deolis 3521 | pi cp mr | ana al | 1.0 | 2.0 | 4.0 | 4.0 | 0.0 |
| McFarland, T.J. 3585 | pi mr | ari nl | 1.0 | 1.0 | 3.0 | 3.0 | 1.0 |
Cubs pitcher Jon Lester is Box-Toppers Player of the Game in Thursday’s National League Championship Series Game 5.
Lester allowed one run over seven innings, allowing five hits, one walk and striking out six, as the Cubs take a 3-2 lead in the best-of-seven game series.
Lester had a Box-Toppers game score Thursday of +5.0, highest among Cubs players. Second baseman Javier Baez had the highest Box-Toppers game score (+2.0) among Cubs batters (2B 3-5 R 3BI).
Opposing starting pitcher Kenta Maeda of the Dodgers had a Box-Toppers game score of +2.2 (3.2IP 3H R 2BB 6K ND).
Lester, during the regular season, had 22.1 Box-Toppers points, ranked fourth among all players, third among NL pitchers. This was the second time this postseason he’s earned Box-Toppers Player of the Game honors. He was also Player of the Game in the NL Division Series Game 1 win over the Giants, 1-0, on Oct. 7.
The series resumes Saturday with Game 6 in Chicago. There are no games scheduled for Friday.
See Box-Toppers NLCS series preview with player-by-player matchups.
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
| BTG | Game | Player of Game | AB | R | H | BI | IP | H | R | ER | BB | K | |
| 5.0 | CHC 8, LAD 4 | Jon Lester (W,2-0) | - | - | - | - | 7.0 | 5 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 6 | |
| BTG: Box-Toppers game score | |||||||||||||
Cubs pitcher Jon Lester is Box-Toppers top player in Friday’s four league division series playoff games.
The other three Players of the Game Friday:
Cubs pitcher Jon Lester pitched eight scoreless innings, allowing five hits, no walks and striking out five.
During the regular season, Lester had 22.1 Box-Toppers points, ranked fourth among all players, third among National League pitchers.
He outdueled fellow Box-Toppers top 10 pitcher, Johnny Cueto of the Giants (8IP 3H R 0BB 10K L). In the loss, Cueto had a higher Box-Toppers game score than Lester (+13.0 vs. +8.0) but Lester still wins Player of the Game since he had the highest score on the winning team. Cueto, during the regular season, had 16.4 Box-Toppers points, eighth among all players and fifth among NL pitchers.
Second baseman Javier Baez had the highest Box-Toppers game score (+2.0) among Cubs batters, hitting the eighth-inning home run that was the only scoring of the game (2-3 R BI).
The Cubs now lead the best-of-five game series, 1-0, which resumes Saturday in Chicago.
Indians pitcher Corey Kluber pitched seven scoreless innings, striking out seven and allowing three hits and three walks.
During the regular season, Kluber led all American League pitchers with 21.2 Box-Toppers points and ranked fifth among all players.
Kluber had a Box-Toppers game score of +8.0, same as Lester had for the Cubs in they NLDS win, but Lester’s game score ranks higher because he had more innings pitched (8 vs. 7).
Left fielder Brandon Guyer had the highest Box-Toppers game score (+2.0) among Indians batters (3-4 2R BI).
The Indians now lead the best-of-five game series, 2-0, which resumes Sunday in Boston.
Dodgers closing pitcher Kenley Jansen pitched a five-out save, going 1 2/3 innings, allowing one hit, no runs, no walks and striking out two.
During the regular season, Jansen had 6.0 Box-Toppers points, ranking 163rd among all players, 46th among NL pitchers and third among NL closing pitchers.
Jansen had a Box-Toppers game score of +3.2, most of any Dodgers player in the win. Third baseman Justin Turner had the highest Box-Toppers game score (+2.0) among Dodgers batters (HR 2-3 R 2BI).
The game pitted Box-Toppers two top-ranked players against each other as starting pitchers, but neither had positive Box-Toppers game scores:
The Dodgers now lead the best-of-five game series, 1-0, which resumes Saturday in Washington.
Blue Jays closer Roberto Osuna pitched a five-out save, going 1 2/3 innings, allowing one hit, no runs, no walks and striking out two.
During the regular season, Osuna had 3.0 Box-Toppers points (all in April) and ranked 319th among all players, 87th among AL pitchers and 15th among AL closers.
Shortstop Troy Tulowitzki had the highest Box-Toppers game score (+1.0) among Blue Jays batters (HR 2-4 R 2BI).
The Blue Jays now lead the best-of-five game series, 2-0, which resumes Sunday in Toronto.
| BTG | Game | Player of Game | AB | R | H | BI | IP | H | R | ER | BB | K | |
| 8.0 | CHC 1, SF 0 | Jon Lester (W,1-0) | - | - | - | - | 8.0 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5 | |
| 8.0 | CLE 6, BOS 0 | Corey Kluber (W,1-0) | - | - | - | - | 7.0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 7 | |
| 3.2 | LAD 4, WSH 3 | Kenley Jansen (S,1) | - | - | - | - | 1.2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | |
| 2.2 | TOR 5, TEX 3 | Roberto Osuna (S,1) | - | - | - | - | 1.2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | |
| BTG: Box-Toppers game score | |||||||||||||
Coming Saturday: The National League Division Series playoffs resume with two Game 2s:
The pitching matchup Saturday:
Dodgers—Rich Hill, 14.4 Box-Toppers points, 13th among all players, eighth among NL pitchers.
Nationals—Tanner Roark, 12.7 Box-Toppers points, 22nd among all players, 14th among NL pitchers.
The pitching matchup Saturday:
Giants—Jeff Samardzija, 10.7 Box-Toppers points, 41st among all players, 18th among NL pitchers.
Cubs—Kyle Hendricks, 13.4 Box-Toppers points, 17th among all players, 10th 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.
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.
Javier Baez hit a three-run homer and went 2-for-3, earning Box-Toppers Player of the Game as the Chicago Cubs won the National League Division Series in four games, eliminating the St. Louis Cardinals.
Also Tuesday, Dodgers pitcher Clayton Kershaw earned overall Player of the Day honors with his performance in the NL Division Game 4 win over the Mets, which forces a Game 5 in the series Thursday.
Baez had a Box-Toppers game score of +3.0, the highest of any Cubs player in the 6-4 win, as the Cubs beat the Cardinals in the best-of-five game series, 3-1.
The Cubs face the winner of the other NL Division Series between the Los Angeles Dodgers and New York Mets, who are now tied at two games apiece in their best-of-five game series.
During the regular season, Baez had no Box-Toppers points—he had 2.5 points in 2014. Baez played in 28 regular season games in 2015.
Though the Cubs were the Wild Card team and had a lesser win-loss record than the NL Central champ Cardinals, they held an edge in Box-Toppers team rankings. The Cubs passed the Cardinals in the final 10 days of the season to rank third in Box-Toppers team points with 127.4. The Cardinals, with baseball’s best record, ranked fourth with 124.3. The Cubs surged at the end of the season, earning 11.0 Box-Toppers points in the final 10 days of the season. The Cardinals, by comparison, picked up only 3.5 points during that period.
The two teams were the highest ranked NL teams remaining in the playoffs after the Cubs knocked off the top-rated Pittsburgh Pirates (129.6) in the NL Wild Card playoff.
Dodgers pitcher Clayton Kershaw struck out eight over seven innings, allowing one run and three hits, to even the series and force Game 5 Thursday in Los Angeles.
Kershaw had a Box-Toppers game score of +9.0, the highest of all Dodgers players, to win Player of the Day honors, beating Tuesday’s other Player of the Game, Javier Baez of the Cubs, who had a Box-Toppers game score of +3.0.
During the regular season, Kershaw had 25.7 Box-Toppers points, second among all players and second among NL pitchers, behind Jake Arrieta of the Cubs (29.1).
Notable—Through 18 postseason games, the team with a starting pitcher ranked higher in Box-Toppers player rankings has won 13 of those games and lost only five, which bodes well Wednesday for the Rangers and Royals (see below).
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
| 10/13 | Score | Team | Players | AB | R | H | BI | BB | K | IP | H | R | ER | BB | K | |
| POG | 9.0 | Dodgers | Clayton Kershaw (W,1-1) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 7.0 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 8 | |
| POG | 3.0 | Cubs | Javier Baez, SS | 3 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 0 | 0 | - | - | - | - | - | - |
Coming Wednesday: AL Division Series playoff games conclude with two Game 5 matchups:
The pitching matchup Wednesday:
Rangers—Cole Hamels, 15.4 Box-Toppers points, 15th among all players, eighth among AL pitchers.
Blue Jays—Marcus Stroman, 2.7 Box-Toppers points, 368th among all players, 105th among AL pitchers. (Stroman was out recovering from injurymuch of 2015. In 2014, he had 13.7 Box-Toppers points, ranked 12th among AL pitchers.)
The pitching matchup Wednesday:
Astros—Collin McHugh, 9.7 Box-Toppers points, 49th among all players, 19th among AL pitchers.
Royals—Johnny Cueto, 12.8 Box-Toppers points, 25th among all players, 13th among AL pitchers.
Athletics pitcher Jon Lester is Thursday’s Player of the Day, earning his first Box-Toppers points since being traded from the Red Sox.
Lester pitched a complete game shutout and struck out eight in the 3-0 win over the Twins. He earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day, giving him 12.0 for the season and moving into 16th place in Box-Toppers player rankings. He ranks 10th among American League pitchers.
Reds pitcher Homer Bailey is National League Player of the Day. Bailey pitched seven scoreless innings and struck out eight in the 4-0 win over the Indians.
Javier Baez of the Cubs is NL Batter of the Day. Baez homered twice and went 3-for-4, scoring twice and driving in four runs, in the 6-2 win over the Rockies. This was Baez’s Box-Toppers debut, the first time he has earned Player of the Game honors. He is the 3,395th player to debut in Box-Toppers since record keeping began in 1995. He made his Major League debut Aug. 5 and was playing in his third game.
Dustin Ackley of the Mariners is AL Batter of the Day. Ackley homered and went 2-for-4, scoring twice and driving in four runs, in the 13-3 win over the White Sox.
Lester receives 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day. Bailey receives 1.7 for NL Player of the Day. Baez and Ackley each receive 1.5 for being top Batter of the Day in their league.
All of Thursday’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 Thursday, 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
| 807 | Score | Team | Player | AB | R | H | BI | BB | K | IP | H | R | ER | BB | K | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| MLB | 12.0 | Athletics | Jon Lester (W, 12-7) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 9.0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 8 | |
| NL | 10.0 | Reds | Homer Bailey (W, 9-5) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 7.0 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 8 | |
| 10.0 | Pirates | Edinson Volquez (W, 9-7) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 7.0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 7 | ||
| 8.0 | Dodgers | Hyun-Jin Ryu (W, 13-5) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 7.0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 4 | ||
| 5.2 | Brewers | Wily Peralta (W, 14-6) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 6.2 | 7 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 9 | ||
| BAT | 5.0 | Cubs | Javier Baez 2B | 4 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 0 | 0 | - | - | - | - | - | - | |
| 5.0 | Yankees | Shane Greene (W, 3-1) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 8.0 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 5 | ||
| 4.0 | Cardinals | Kolten Wong 2B | 4 | 3 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 0 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| BAT | 4.0 | Mariners | Dustin Ackley LF | 4 | 2 | 2 | 4 | 1 | 0 | - | - | - | - | - | - | |
| 2.0 | Nationals | Ian Desmond SS | 5 | 2 | 2 | 3 | 1 | 1 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 2.0 | Phillies | Ryan Howard 1B | 4 | 1 | 1 | 4 | 0 | 2 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 2.0 | Royals | Jeremy Guthrie (W, 8-9) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 9.0 | 7 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 4 | ||
| 2.0 | Orioles | Miguel Gonzalez (W, 6-6) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 6.0 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 4 |
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.