Nationals' Stephen Strasburg tops players for Wednesday, June 28, rises to 6th in Box-Toppers player rankings

Nationals pitcher Stephen Strasburg is Wednesday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day and rises to sixth place in season player rankings.

Top 10 players

Here are the top 10 players in Box-Toppers points (BTP) for the 2017 season as of June 28:  

	Player	Pos	Team	BTP
1	Kershaw, Clayton 2494	pi sp	lad nl	16.4
2	Scherzer, Max 2588	pi sp	dc nl	14.0
3	Santana, Ervin 2005	pi sp	min al	12.4
4	Sale, Chris 2806	pi sp	bos al	12.1
5	Ray, Robbie 3502	pi sp	ari nl	10.0
6	Strasburg, Stephen 2736	pi sp	dc nl	9.4
7	Carrasco, Carlos 2885	pi sp	cle al	9.4
8	McCullers, Lance 3488	pi sp	hou al	9.4
9	Wood, Alex 3246	pi sp	lad nl	9.0
10	Greinke, Zack 1871	pi sp	ari nl	8.7

What are those numbers after players' names?

Strasburg struck out 13 over seven innings, allowing three runs (two earned), four hits and one walk, in the 8-4 win over the Cubs.

Strasburg earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day, giving him 9.4 for the season. He now ranks fourth among National League pitchers.

With Strasburg’s rise back into Box-Toppers’ top 10 players, Ryon Healy of the Athletics (8.7 Box-Toppers points) falls to 11th. He had been the only batter among the top 10 players.

American League Player of the Day—Blue Jays pitcher Marcus Stroman pitched 7 2/3 scoreless innings, striking out eight and allowing five hits and one walk, in the 4-0 win over the Orioles.

American League Batter of the Day—Josh Reddick of the Athletics went 3-for-4, scoring twice and driving in three runs, in the 11-8 win over the Astros.

National League Batter of the Day—Nick Hundley of the Giants homered and went 2-for-3, driving in two runs, in the 5-3 win over the Rockies.

Notable—Cardinals pitcher Adam Wainwright rises to 44th place among all players in career Box-Toppers points since 1995 (when Box-Toppers tracking began) after earning Player of the Game honors Wednesday.

Wainwright (6.1IP 8H 2R BB 8K W in the 4-3 win over the Diamondbacks) earns 1.0 Box-Toppers point, giving him 116.5 career points. He passes two players on Box-Toppers’ “all-time” points list—Torii Hunter (115.9) and Todd Helton (116.4) and now trails 43rd-ranked player Mark Buehrle (116.7). Wainwright has 4.5 Box-Toppers points on the season, 23rd among NL pitchers.

Debut—Two players made their Box-Toppers debut Wednesday, with their first career Player of the Game honors:

• Miguel Andujar of the Yankees (3-4 0R 4BI in the 12-3 win over the White Sox) was also making his Major League debut. He is the 3,839th player to debut in Box-Toppers since record keeping began in 1995.
• Reds pitcher Luis Castillo (5.2IP 5H 2R 3BB 9K ND in the 4-3 win over the Brewers) made his Major League debut June 23 and was playing in his second career game. He is the 3,840th player to debut in Box-Toppers since record keeping began in 1995.

Scoring—Strasburg earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day and Stroman earns 1.7 points for being AL Player of the Day. Reddick and Hundley 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.

Top player from each game

Listed from highest to lowest Box-Toppers game score 

6/28	Score	Game	Player of the Game	AB	R	H	BI		IP	H	R	ER	BB	K
MLB	10.0	WSH 8, CHC 4	Stephen Strasburg (W, 9-2)	-	-	-	-		7.0	4	3	2	1	13
AL	9.2	TOR 4, BAL 0	Marcus Stroman (W, 8-4)	-	-	-	-		7.2	5	0	0	1	8
BAT	4.0	HOU 11, OAK 8	Josh Reddick (RF-LF)	4	2	3	3		-	-	-	-	-	-
	4.0	NYM 8, MIA 0	Steven Matz (W, 2-1)	-	-	-	-		7.0	6	0	0	1	4
	4.0	`LAA 3, LAD 2	Alex Meyer	-	-	-	-		6.0	1	0	0	5	4
	3.0	NYY 12, CHW 3	Miguel Andujar (DH)	4	0	3	4		-	-	-	-	-	-
	3.0	SD 7, ATL 4	Brandon Maurer (S, 15)	-	-	-	-		1.0	0	0	0	0	2
	2.2	MIN 4, BOS 1	Adalberto Mejia (W, 3-3)	-	-	-	-		5.2	5	0	0	1	3
	2.2	`CIN 4, MIL 3	Luis Castillo	-	-	-	-		5.2	5	2	2	3	9
	2.1	CLE 5, TEX 3	Trevor Bauer (W, 7-6)	-	-	-	-		6.1	4	1	1	1	3
	2.0	KC 8, DET 2	Salvador Perez (C)	5	2	2	3		-	-	-	-	-	-
BAT	2.0	SF 5, COL 3	Nick Hundley (C)	3	1	2	2		-	-	-	-	-	-
	2.0	PHI 5, SEA 4	Hector Neris (S, 7)	-	-	-	-		1.0	0	0	0	0	1
	1.1	STL 4, ARI 3	Adam Wainwright (W, 8-5)	-	-	-	-		6.1	8	2	2	1	8
	1.0	PIT 6, TB 2	Jose Osuna (RF)	4	1	2	2		-	-	-	-	-	-

MLB—Overall Box-Toppers Player of the Day, worth 2.0 total Box-Toppers points.
AL—Overall American League Player of the Day, worth 1.7 total Box-Toppers points.
NL—Overall National League Player of the Day, worth 1.7 total Box-Toppers points.
BAT—Top AL or NL Batter of the Day, worth 1.5 total Box-Toppers points.
All other players listed here earn Player of the Game honors, worth 1.0 Box-Toppers point.
` Pitcher had a no-decision in the game and did not pick up a win or a save.

Box-Toppers point totals of the day’s top players

Here are Box-Toppers point totals of each of the Players of the Game. Players are ranked by their Box-Toppers point total for the current season (’17). Also shown are each players’ Box-Toppers point total for this season and last (’16-17), the period 2012-2017 (’12-17) and each players’ career point total. Also shown is how their 2017 Box-Toppers point total compares with their 2016 total (+/-).  

Player of the Game	Pos	Team	’17	’16-17	’12-17	Career	+/-
Strasburg, Stephen 2736	pi sp	dc nl	9.4	24.5	83.6	92.3	-5.7
Perez, Salvador 2972	ca	kc al	5.5	9.5	24.7	27.2	1.5
Meyer, Alex 3742	pi sp	ana al	5.0	6.0	6.0	6.0	4.0
Wainwright, Adam 2150	pi sp	stl nl	4.5	14.7	65.8	116.5	-5.7
Reddick, Josh 2936	rf lf	hou al	4.5	8.0	27.9	28.9	1.0
Bauer, Trevor 3065	pi sp	cle al	4.0	15.4	33.5	33.5	-7.4
Stroman, Marcus 3327	pi sp	tor al	3.7	10.4	26.8	26.8	-3.0
Neris, Hector 3553	pi cp mr	phi nl	3.0	5.0	6.0	6.0	1.0
Hundley, Nick 2497	ca	sf nl	3.0	4.0	15.0	25.5	2.0
Mejia, Adalberto 3812	pi sp	min al	3.0	3.0	3.0	3.0	3.0
Maurer, Brandon 3157	pi cp	sd nl	2.0	4.0	7.0	7.0	0.0
Osuna, Jose 3795	1b rf	pit nl	2.0	2.0	2.0	2.0	2.0
Matz, Steven 3516	pi sp	nym nl	1.0	13.1	16.6	16.6	-11.1
Andujar, Miguel 3839	dh	nyy al	1.0	1.0	1.0	1.0	1.0
Castillo, Luis 3840	pi sp	cin nl	1.0	1.0	1.0	1.0	1.0

What are those numbers after players' names?

Andrew Miller tops players in ALCS Game 3 Monday, giving Indians 3-0 series lead over Blue Jays

Indians closing pitcher Andrew Miller is Box-Toppers Player of the Game Monday in Game 3 of the American League Championship Series.

Miller pitched 1 1/3 scoreless innings, allowing one hit, no walks, striking out three and earning the save, in the 4-2 win over the Blue Jays. The Indians take a 3-0 lead over the Blue Jays in the best-of-seven game series.

Miller had 8.0 Box-Toppers points during the regular season, ranked 92nd among all players and 32nd among AL pitchers. Miller earned 3.0 of his Box-Toppers points as a middle reliever and 5.0 as a closer during the season. He ranks third among AL closers and first among AL middle relievers. He started the season with the Yankees (earning 4.0 Box-Toppers points) before being traded to the Indians (earning 4.0 more points).

This is the second time this postseason Miller has earned Player of the Game honors. He was also Player of the Game on Oct. 6 in Game 1 of the AL Division Series against the Red Sox.

Miller had a Box-Toppers game score Monday of +3.1, most among Indians players. He narrowly beat first baseman Mike Napoli, who had a Box-Toppers game score of +3.0 (HR 2B 2-3 2R 2BI). 

Blue Jays starting pitcher Marcus Stroman had a Box-Toppers game score Monday of −3.9 (5.1IP 3H 4R 3BB 5K L).

The series resumes Tuesday with Game 4 in Toronto (more details below).

See Box-Toppers ALCS 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.

Top player from each game

Listed from highest to lowest Box-Toppers game score

BTG	Game	Player of Game	AB	R	H	BI		IP	H	R	ER	BB	K
3.1	CLE 4, TOR 2	Andrew Miller (S,1)	-	-	-	-		1.1	1	0	0	0	3
BTG: Box-Toppers game score

Coming Tuesday:

American League Championship Series Game 4: Indians lead Blue Jays, 3-0

The tentative pitching matchup Tuesday:

Indians—Corey Kluber, 21.2 Box-Toppers points, fifth among all players, first among AL pitchers. Kluber was also Player of the Game in ALCS Game 1 and ALDS Game 2.

Blue Jays—Aaron Sanchez, 10.7 Box-Toppers points, 45th among all players, 19th among AL pitchers.

See Box-Toppers ALCS series preview with player-by-player matchups.

National League Championship Series Game 3, Cubs at Dodgers, series tied, 1-1

The pitching matchup Tuesday:

Cubs—Jake Arrieta, 15.7 Box-Toppers points, ninth among all players, sixth among NL pitchers.

Dodgers—Rich Hill, 14.4 Box-Toppers points, 13th among all players, eighth among NL pitchers.

See Box-Toppers NLCS series preview with player-by-player matchups.

Dodgers' Clayton Kershaw tops players in NLCS Game 2 win to even series with Cubs, 1-1

Dodgers pitcher Clayton Kershaw is Box-Toppers Player of the Game in the National League Championship series Game 2 win Sunday over the Cubs.

Kershaw pitched seven scoreless innings, allowing two hits, one walk and striking out six, in the 1-0 win over the Cubs. The Dodgers have tied the best-of-seven series, 1-1.

Kershaw had 24.4 Box-Toppers points during the regular season, ranked second among all players. This was the second time this postseason he’s earned Player of the Game honors—he was Player of the Game Thursday in the NL Division Series Game 5 against the Nationals, when he picked up the save.

Kershaw had a Box-Toppers game score of +10.0, best of any Dodgers player. First baseman Adrian Gonzalez had the highest Box-Toppers game score (0.0) among Dodgers batters, providing the game’s only scoring with a solo home run (1-3 R BI).

Cubs starting pitcher Kyle Hendricks (13.4 Box-Toppers points, ranked 17th) had a Box-Toppers game score of +1.1 (5.1IP 3H R 4BB 5K L).

The series resumes Tuesday in Los Angeles.

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.

Top player from each game

Listed from highest to lowest Box-Toppers game score

BTG	Game	Player of Game	AB	R	H	BI		IP	H	R	ER	BB	K
10.0	LAD 1, CHC 0	Clayton Kershaw (W,2-0)	-	-	-	-		7.0	2	0	0	1	6
BTG: Box-Toppers game score

Coming Monday:

American League Championship Series Game 3: Indians lead Blue Jays, 2-0

The pitching matchup Monday:

Indians—Trevor Bauer, 11.4 Box-Toppers points, 34th among all players, 12th among AL pitchers.

Blue Jays—Marcus Stroman, 6.7 Box-Toppers points, 132nd among all players, 43rd among AL pitchers.

See Box-Toppers ALCS series preview with player-by-player matchups.

Marcus Stroman tops players as Blue Jays beat Orioles in AL Wild Card Game

Blue Jays pitcher Marcus Stroman is Box-Toppers Player of the Day in Tuesday’s American League Wild Card game.

Stroman pitched six innings, allowing two runs on four hits, striking out six and walking none, in the 5-2, 11-inning win over the Orioles. Stroman did not earn the win, picking up a no-decision, because the game was tied 2-2 when he exited.

Stroman had 6.7 Box-Toppers points during the regular season, ranked 43rd among AL pitchers, 112th overall.

While the Blue Jays were the top-ranked Wild Card team, they rank lower in Box-Toppers team rankings. The Blue Jays rank ninth among all teams with 114.0 accumulated Box-Toppers points. The Orioles ranked seventh with 116.6.

The Blue Jays will face the Texas Rangers in the best-of-five AL Division Series beginning Thursday in Texas. The Rangers have the AL’s best winning percentage (.586), but rank third among AL teams and fifth among all teams in Box-Toppers team rankings with 122.5 points.

Top player from AL Wild Card Game

BTG	Game	Player of Game	AB	R	H	BI		IP	H	R	ER	BB	K
4.0	`TOR 5, BAL 2 (11)	Marcus Stroman	-	-	-	-		6.0	4	2	2	0	6
	`Denotes that the pitcher had a no-decision in the game and did not pick up a win or a save.
	BTG: Box-Toppers game score

Box-Toppers’ NL Wild Card Preview

Coming Wednesday—The National League Wild Card Game is in New York, with the Giants facing the Mets. Here is the pitching match-up:

Giants—Madison Bumgarner, 13.0 Box-Toppers points, ranked 19th among all players, 12th among NL pitchers.

Mets—Noah Syndergaard, 16.7 Box-Toppers points, ranked seventh among all players, fourth among NL pitchers.

Bumgarner and Syndergaard also both rank among the top 10 NL pitchers in Box-Toppers points over the past two seasons. Bumgarner has 30.0 points over 2015 and 2016, ranking seventh. Syndergaard has 27.1 points in that span, ranking 10th. Bumgarner also ranks third among pitchers in Box-Toppers points earned since the start of 2011—he has an even 100.0 points and trails only Clayton Kershaw, Dodgers (150.2), and Max Scherzer, Nationals (111.3). Syndergaard was a rookie in 2015.

The Mets are sixth in Box-Toppers team rankings with 119.1 accumulated points, third-most among NL teams. The Giants rank 10th, fifth among NL teams, with 112.7, the lowest-ranked team to qualify for the postseason. However, in the final 10 days of the season, the Giants were the slightly hotter team, picking up 8.7 Box-Toppers points, while the Mets picked up 6.7.

The Mets have two players among Box-Toppers top 10 NL batters:

• Outfielder Jay Bruce has 8.5 Box-Toppers points, ranking eighth.
• Outfielder Yoenis Cespedes has 8.0 Box-Toppers points, ranking 10th.

The Giants highest-ranking batter is first baseman Brandon Belt with 7.0 Box-Toppers points, ranking 18th among NL batters.

The winner of the NL Wild Card game will face the Chicago Cubs in the best-of-five NL Divisional Series beginning Friday in Chicago. The Cubs have baseball’s best winning percentage (.640) and rank first in Box-Toppers team rankings with 139.5 points.

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.

Giants vs. Mets

Here are players for both teams in the NL Wild Card Game Wednesday. Players are listed for both teams ranked by Box-Toppers points earned in 2016. All players listed were on active Major or Minor League rosters at the end of the season—not necessarily all of them will be included on postseason rosters.  

San Francisco Giants				New York Mets
Cueto, Johnny 2400	pi sp	16.4		Syndergaard, Noah 3472	pi sp	16.7
Bumgarner, Madison 2753	pi sp	13.0		Matz, Steven 3516	pi sp	12.1
Moore, Matt 2975	pi sp	12.4		deGrom, Jacob 3343	pi sp	9.7
Samardzija, Jeff 2495	pi sp	10.7		Bruce, Jay 2453	rf	8.5
Belt, Brandon 2943	1b	7.0		Colon, Bartolo	pi sp	8.4
Panik, Joe 3401	2b	5.5		Cespedes, Yoenis 3008	cf lf	8.0
Nunez, Eduardo 2795	3b 2b ss	5.5		Familia, Jeurys 3446	pi cp	8.0
Peavy, Jake 1635	pi sp	5.0		Conforto, Michael 3622	lf	5.0
Posey, Buster 2745	ca 1b	3.5		Granderson, Curtis 2051	rf cf ph	4.5
Pence, Hunter 2287	rf	3.5		Flores, Wilmer 3345	3b 1b 2b ph	4.5
Casilla, Santiago 2301	pi cp	3.0		Walker, Neil 2756	2b	3.5
Kontos, George 3106	pi cp mr	3.0		Harvey, Matt 3075	pi sp	3.0
Span, Denard 2502	cf	3.0		Niese, Jonathon 2531	pi sp	2.0
Tomlinson, Kelby 3619	2b ph	3.0		Cabrera, Asdrubal 2362	ss	2.0
Cain, Matt 2081	pi sp	2.7		Reed, Addison 3023	pi mr	2.0
Brown, Trevor 3610	ca	2.5		Salas, Fernando 2853	pi cp	2.0
Crawford, Brandon 2878	ss	2.0		Reyes, Jose 1759	3b ss	2.0
Gillaspie, Conor 3218	3b ph	2.0		Loney, James 2206	1b ph	2.0
Blach, Ty 3754	pi sp	2.0		Reynolds, Matt 3650	ss ph	2.0
Law, Derek 3657	pi sp mr	2.0		Smoker, Josh 3725	pi cp mr	2.0
Pagan, Angel 2184	lf	1.0		Gsellman, Robert 3748	pi sp	1.7
Beckham, Gordon 2620	2b	1.0		De Aza, Alejandro 2950	cf	1.5
Strickland, Hunter 3546	pi mr	1.0		Verrett, Logan 3518	pi sp	1.0
Okert, Steven 3745	pi mr	1.0		Robles, Hansel 3580	pi cp	1.0
Osich, Josh 3677	pi mr	1.0		d’Arnaud, Travis 3384	ca	1.0
				Wright, David 1911	3b	1.0
				Goeddel, Erik 3672	pi mr	1.0
				Lugo, Seth 3729	pi sp	1.0
				Rivera, T.J. 3710	3b 2b	1.0
				Ynoa, Gabriel 3743	pi sp	1.0
Totals		112.7		Totals		119.1

What are those numbers after players' names?

Orioles' Chris Tillman faces Blue Jays' Marcus Stroman in AL Wild Card Game

The Baltimore Orioles visit the Toronto Blue Jays in the American League one-game Wild Card playoff game Tuesday.

Starting pitchers are:

Orioles—Chris Tillman, 8.0 Box-Toppers points, ranked 30th among AL pitchers, 89th overall.

Blue Jays—Marcus Stroman, 6.7 Box-Toppers points, 43rd among AL pitchers, 112th overall.

Both teams have identical 89-73 records, but the Orioles rank higher in Box-Toppers team rankings—they are seventh with 116.6 Box-Toppers points, while the Blue Jays are ninth with 114.0. The Blue Jays are the lowest-ranked AL team to make the postseason. 

The Orioles finished the season as one of the hottest teams in baseball. In the final 10 days of the season, they earned 8.5 Box-Toppers points, third-most among all teams. The Blue Jays earned 6.0 points during that period.

Top-ranked player among both teams is Blue Jays pitcher J.A. Happ, 14.7 Box-Toppers points, ranked third among AL pitchers and 11th among all players. However, Happ started Saturday.

The Blue Jays also feature two players ranked in the top 10 list of AL batters for 2016:

• Catcher Russell Martin, 10.5 Box-Toppers points, ranks sixth among AL batters, 48th among all players.
• Third baseman Josh Donaldson, 9.7 Box-Toppers points, ranks seventh among AL batters, 57th among all players.

The Orioles top-ranked player is third baseman-shortstop Manny Machado, whose 12.7 Box-Toppers points leads all AL batters. He ranks 21st among all players.

Also in the top 10 among AL batters is Orioles catcher Matt Wieters, 11.0 Box-Toppers points, ranked fifth, 38th among all players.

The winner of the AL Wild Card game will face the Texas Rangers in the best-of-five AL Division Series beginning Thursday in Texas. The Rangers rank fifth in Box-Toppers team rankings, third among AL teams, with 122.5 Box-Toppers points.

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.

Orioles vs. Blue Jays

Here are players for both teams in the AL Wild Card Game Tuesday. Players are listed for both teams ranked by Box-Toppers points earned in 2016. All players listed were on active Major or Minor League rosters at the end of the season—not necessarily all of them will be included on postseason rosters.  

Baltimore Orioles				Toronto Blue Jays
Player	Pos	BTP		Player	Pos	BTP
Machado, Manny 3087	3b ss	12.7		Happ, J.A. 2536	pi sp	14.7
Wieters, Matt 2643	ca	11.0		Estrada, Marco 2847	pi sp	11.0
Gausman, Kevin 3191	pi sp	10.8		Sanchez, Aaron 3392	pi sp	10.7
Trumbo, Mark 2851	rf	8.2		Martin, Russell 2202	ca	10.5
Tillman, Chris 2754	pi sp	8.0		Donaldson, Josh 3144	3b	9.7
Davis, Chris 2478	1b	7.5		Liriano, Francisco 2104	pi sp	8.0
Hardy, J.J. 2071	ss	6.2		Encarnacion, Edwin 2098	dh 1b	8.0
Miley, Wade 3006	pi sp	6.0		Dickey, R.A. 1734	pi sp	7.0
Bundy, Dylan 3655	pi sp	6.0		Stroman, Marcus 3327	pi sp	6.7
Britton, Zach 2835	pi cp	5.0		Saunders, Michael 2768	lf	5.2
Jimenez, Ubaldo 2349	pi sp	4.7		Smoak, Justin 2731	1b	3.5
Schoop, Jonathan 3307	2b	4.5		Osuna, Roberto 3512	pi cp	3.0
Brach, Brad 3374	pi mr	3.0		Upton, Melvin 1922	lf cf	2.5
O’Day, Darren 2577	pi mr cp	3.0		Pillar, Kevin 3486	cf	2.0
Wilson, Tyler 3608	pi mr sp	3.0		Biagini, Joe 3646	pi mr	2.0
Gallardo, Yovani 2333	pi sp	2.0		Goins, Ryan 3478	2b	1.5
Pearce, Steve 2371	1b	2.0		Bautista, Jose Antonio 2169	rf	1.0
Bourn, Michael 2505	rf cf	2.0		Tulowitzki, Troy 2308	ss	1.0
Givens, Mychal 3599	pi mr	2.0		Bolsinger, Mike 3318	pi sp	1.0
Lobstein, Kyle 3406	pi sp mr	2.0		Grilli, Jason 2209	pi mr cp	1.0
Kim, Hyun Soo 3671	lf	2.0		Travis, Devon 3436	2b	1.0
Jones, Adam 2347	cf	1.0		Benoit, Joaquin 1663	pi mr	1.0
Alvarez, Pedro 2817	dh 1b	1.0		Cecil, Brett 2566	pi mr	1.0
Wright, Mike 3471	pi sp	1.0		Navarro, Dioner 2087	dh ca	1.0
Hunter, Tommy 2623	pi cp	1.0
Reimold, Nolan 2607	lf	1.0
Totals		116.6		Totals		114.0

What are those numbers after players' names?

Dodgers' Kershaw tops players for Sunday, May 1, rises to 1st in season player rankings, 10th in ‘all-time' rankings

Dodgers pitcher Clayton Kershaw is Sunday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day and rises to first place in season player rankings.

Top 10 players

Here are the top 10 players in Box-Toppers points (BTP) for the 2016 season as of May 1:  

	Player	Pos	Team	BTP
1	Kershaw, Clayton 2494	pi sp	lad nl	6.0
2	Arrieta, Jake 2738	pi sp	chi nl	5.0
3	Velasquez, Vince 3611	pi sp	phi nl	5.0
4	Cespedes, Yoenis 3008	cf lf dh ph	nym nl	4.5
5	Volquez, Edinson 2220	pi sp	kc al	4.4
6	Hill, Rich 2215	pi sp	oak al	4.4
7	Machado, Manny 3087	3b ss	bal al	4.2
8	Sale, Chris 2806	pi sp	chi al	4.0
9	Cueto, Johnny 2400	pi sp	sf nl	4.0
10	De La Rosa, Rubby 3342	pi sp mr	ari nl	4.0

What are those numbers after players' names?

In addition, Kershaw rises to 10th place among all players in career Box-Toppers points since 1995 (when Box-Toppers tracking began).

Kershaw pitched a complete game shutout, striking out 14 and allowing three hits, in the 1-0 win over the Padres.

Kershaw earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day, giving him 6.0 for the season, rising to first place in player rankings, displacing previous leader, Cubs pitcher Jake Arrieta (5.0 Box-Toppers points).

Kershaw also now has 165.3 career Box-Toppers points, rising to 10th place in “all-time” rankings, passing two players—Mariners pitcher Felix Hernandez (163.7) and Roger Clemens (164.8). Kershaw now trails ninth-place player Johan Santana (166.6).

Kershaw had a Box-Toppers game score Sunday of +20.0, the third time this season a player has had a game score of +20.0 or more. It is the second-highest game score of the season, behind only the +22.0 earned April 14 by Phillies pitcher Vince Velasquez.

American League Player of the Day—Blue Jays pitcher Marcus Stroman struck out nine over eight innings, allowing one run and three hits, in the 5-1 win over the Rays.

All-time leaders

Here are Box-Toppers top 20 players since record keeping began in 1995:

	Player	Pos	Team	BTP
1	Randy Johnson	pi sp	retired	278.8
2	Pedro Martinez	pi sp	retired	244.8
3	Curt Schilling	pi sp	retired	194.1
4	Alex Rodriguez	dh	nyy al	187.0
5	CC Sabathia	pi sp	nyy al	179.0
6	Albert Pujols	1b dh	ana al	175.3
7	Roy Halladay	pi sp	retired	170.7
8	Manny Ramirez	lf dh	retired	167.2
9	Johan Santana	pi sp	free agent	166.6
10	Clayton Kershaw	pi sp	lad nl	165.3
11	Roger Clemens	pi sp	retired	164.8
12	Felix Hernandez	pi sp	sea al	163.7
13	John Smoltz	pi sp	retired	160.9
14	Tim Hudson	pi sp	retired	157.0
15	Mike Mussina	pi sp	retired	155.6
16	Barry Bonds	lf	retired	153.2
17	Greg Maddux	pi sp	retired	151.7
18	Chipper Jones	3b	retired	149.0
19	Zack Greinke	pi sp	ari nl	148.4
20	Javier Vazquez	pi sp	retired	148.3

List of top 100 players since 1995 (through the 2015 season)

National League Batter of the Day—Chris Carter of the Brewers homered twice and doubled, going 3-for-5, scoring three times and driving in three runs, in the 14-5 win over the Marlins.

American League Batter of the Day—Nick Castellanos of the Tigers homered and went 1-for-3, driving in four runs, in the 6-5 win over the Twins.

Rankings—Phillies pitcher Vince Velasquez rose to third place in Box-Toppers season player rankings after earning Player of the Game honors Sunday. Velasquez (6IP 2H 0R 6K W in the 2-1 win over the Indians) earns 1.0 Box-Toppers point, giving him 5.0 for the season.

Notable—Nationals pitcher Max Scherzer rose to 53rd place in “all-time” Box-Toppers player rankings after earning Player of the Game honors Sunday. 

Scherzer (7IP 4H 0R 9K W in the 6-1 win over the Cardinals) earns 1.0 Box-Toppers point, giving him 109.0 for his career. With his point, he passes three players on Box-Toppers “all-time” list—Lance Berkman (108.1), Kevin Millwood (108.3) and Billy Wagner (108.7). Scherzer now trails the 52nd-ranked player on the list, Jeff Kent (109.7). (Box-Toppers tracking began in 1995.) Scherzer has 3.0 Box-Toppers points for the season.

Debut—Reds pitcher Tim Adleman made his Box-Toppers debut Sunday, the first time in his career he earned Player of the Game honors. Adleman (6IP 3H 2R 6K ND in the 6-5 win over the Pirates) was making his Major League debut. He is the 3,625th player to debut in Box-Toppers since record keeping began in 1995.

Scoring—Kershaw earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day and Stroman earns 1.7 points for being AL Player of the Day. Carter and Castellanos each earn 1.5 points for being their league’s Batter of the Day. All of Sunday’s other Players of the Game (listed in the chart below) earn 1.0 Box-Toppers point.

About Box-Toppers—Box-Toppers tracks who most helps their team win the most games. Using standard box score statistics, Box-Toppers uses a simple formula to determine a Player of the Game for each Major League Baseball game played. That player is the person who contributed most to his team’s win. In regular season games, players earn 1.0 Box-Toppers point for being named Player of the Game and can earn bonus points for being Player of the Day or top player or batter in their league for the day.

Top player from each game

Listed from highest to lowest Box-Toppers game score

5/1	Score	Team	Player	AB	R	H	BI	BB	K		IP	H	R	ER	BB	K
MLB	20.0	Dodgers	Clayton Kershaw (W,3-1)	-	-	-	-	-	-		9.0	3	0	0	0	14
	13.0	`Braves	Julio Teheran	-	-	-	-	-	-		7.0	2	0	0	1	9
	12.0	Nationals	Max Scherzer (W,3-1)	-	-	-	-	-	-		7.0	4	0	0	0	9
AL	10.0	Blue Jays	Marcus Stroman (W,4-0)	-	-	-	-	-	-		8.0	3	1	1	2	9
	6.0	Phillies	Vince Velasquez (W,4-1)	-	-	-	-	-	-		6.0	2	0	0	4	6
BAT	4.0	Brewers	Chris Carter, 1B	5	3	3	3	0	1		-	-	-	-	-	-
	4.0	Giants	Madison Bumgarner (W,3-2)	-	-	-	-	-	-		6.0	6	0	0	3	7
	3.0	Rockies	Nolan Arenado, 3B	4	2	2	3	0	0		-	-	-	-	-	-
BAT	3.0	Tigers	Nick Castellanos, 3B	3	1	1	4	0	0		-	-	-	-	-	-
	3.0	`Reds	Tim Adleman	-	-	-	-	-	-		6.0	3	2	2	2	6
	3.0	Royals	Ian Kennedy (W,3-2)	-	-	-	-	-	-		5.0	4	1	1	2	6
	3.0	Red Sox	Craig Kimbrel (S,8)	-	-	-	-	-	-		1.0	0	0	0	0	2
	2.0	Angels	Kole Calhoun, RF	4	1	3	2	1	0		-	-	-	-	-	-
	2.0	White Sox	Melky Cabrera, LF	4	2	3	1	1	0		-	-	-	-	-	-
	2.0	Astros	Luke Gregerson (S,5)	-	-	-	-	-	-		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 point totals of the day’s top players

Here are Box-Toppers point totals of each of the Players of the Game. Players are ranked by their Box-Toppers point total for the current season (16). Also shown are each players’ Box-Toppers point total for this season and last (15-16), the period 2011-2016 (11-16) and each players’ career point total. Also shown is how their 2016 Box-Toppers point total compares with their 2015 total (+/-).  

Player	Pos	Team	16	15-16	11-16	Career	+/-
Kershaw, Clayton 2494	pi sp	lad nl	6.0	31.7	131.8	165.3	-19.7
Velasquez, Vince 3611	pi sp	phi nl	5.0	5.0	5.0	5.0	5.0
Arenado, Nolan 3306	3b	col nl	3.5	12.0	13.5	13.5	-5.0
Scherzer, Max 2588	pi sp	dc nl	3.0	24.0	88.6	109.0	-18.0
Kennedy, Ian 2723	pi sp	kc al	3.0	9.7	53.5	59.5	-3.7
Castellanos, Nick 3349	3b	det al	3.0	9.2	11.2	11.2	-3.2
Carter, Chris 2828	1b dh	mil nl	2.5	3.5	21.4	22.4	1.5
Bumgarner, Madison 2753	pi sp	sf nl	2.0	19.0	89.0	94.7	-15.0
Kimbrel, Craig 2825	pi cp	bos al	2.0	8.0	51.7	52.7	-4.0
Gregerson, Luke 2563	pi cp	hou al	2.0	8.0	12.0	17.0	-4.0
Stroman, Marcus 3327	pi sp	tor al	1.7	4.4	18.1	18.1	-1.0
Teheran, Julio 3176	pi sp	atl nl	1.0	8.7	36.8	36.8	-6.7
Calhoun, Kole 3279	rf	ana al	1.0	4.2	11.7	11.7	-2.2
Cabrera, Melky 2143	lf	chi al	1.0	2.0	16.5	27.5	0.0
Adleman, Tim 3625	pi sp	cin nl	1.0	1.0	1.0	1.0	1.0

What are those numbers after players' names?

Blue Jays' Ryan Goins tops players in ALCS Game 3 win, Monday, Oct. 19

Ryan Goins homered and went 2-for-4, scoring twice and driving in three runs, as the Blue Jays beat the Royals Monday in Game 3 of the American League Championship Series.

Goins is Box-Toppers Player of the Day for Monday in the 11-8 win, the Blue Jays’ first in the best-of-seven series, which the Royals now lead 2-1.

Goins, who started at second base and moved to shortstop, had a Box-Toppers game score of +3.0, tied for highest among all Blue Jays players with second baseman Troy Tulowitzki, who had an identical line (HR 2-4 2R 3BI). But Goins won Player of the Game on a tiebreaker because he had fewer strikeouts—one vs. two. After Tulowitzki’s second strikeout in the seventh inning, he was ejected for arguing and Goins replaced him defensively at shortstop.

During the regular season, Goins had 4.5 Box-Toppers points, ranked 221st among all players, 52nd among AL batters, fourth among AL shortstops and sixth among AL second basemen (Goins was Player of the Game four times in 2015—twice at shortstop and twice at second base).

In a game dominated by offense, neither starting pitcher fared well in Box-Toppers game score. Blue Jays starting pitcher Marcus Stroman picked up the win, but had a Box-Toppers game score of −12.9 (6.1IP 11H 4R K). Royals starter Johnny Cueto, who picked up the loss, had a Box-Toppers game score of −22.0 (2IP 6H 8R 2K).

The series resumes Tuesday with Game 4 in Toronto (more details below).

See Box-Toppers ALCS series preview with player-by-player match ups.

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.

Top player from each game

Listed from highest to lowest Box-Toppers game score

10/19	Score	Team	Players	AB	R	H	BI	BB	K		IP	H	R	ER	BB	K
POG	3.0	Blue Jays	Ryan Goins, 2B-SS	4	2	2	3	0	1		-	-	-	-	-	-

Coming Tuesday:

ALCS Game 4, Royals lead Blue Jays, 2-1

The pitching match-up Tuesday:

Royals—Chris Young, 8.0 Box-Toppers points, 78th among all players, 29th among AL pitchers.

Blue Jays—R.A. Dickey, 5.0 Box-Toppers points, 180th among all players, 64th among AL pitchers.

See Box-Toppers ALCS series preview with player-by-player match ups.

NLCS Game 3, Mets lead Cubs, 2-0

The pitching match-up Tuesday:

Mets—Jacob deGrom, 22.4 Box-Toppers points, third among all players, third among NL pitchers.

Cubs—Kyle Hendricks, 9.7 Box-Toppers points, ranked 54th among all players, 24th among NL pitchers.

See Box-Toppers NLCS series preview with player-by-player match ups.

Mets' Noah Syndergaard tops players in NLCS Game 2 win Sunday, Oct. 18

Noah Syndergaard struck out nine over 5 2/3 innings, allowing one run and three hits, to lead the Mets to a Game 2 win Sunday over the Cubs in the National League League Championship Series.

Syndergaard was Box-Toppers Player of the Day as the Mets beat the Cubs 4-1 to take a 2-0 lead in the best-of-seven game series.

Syndergaard had a Box-Toppers game score of +8.2 to lead all Mets players. Second baseman Daniel Murphy had the highest Box-Toppers game score among Mets batters of +2.0 (HR 2B 2-3 R 2BI).

Syndergaard, during the regular season, had 10.4 Box-Toppers points, ranked 41st among all players, 16th among NL pitchers.

Cubs starting pitcher Jake Arrieta, Box-Toppers points leader in 2015 (29.1), had a Box-Toppers game score of −1.0, as he picked up the loss (5IP 4H 4R 8K).

The series resumes Tuesday with Game 3 in Chicago.

See Box-Toppers NLCS series preview with player-by-player match ups.

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.

Top player from each game

Listed from highest to lowest Box-Toppers game score

10/18	Score	Team	Players	AB	R	H	BI	BB	K		IP	H	R	ER	BB	K
POG	8.2	Mets	Noah Syndergaard (W,1-1)	-	-	-	-	-	-		5.2	3	1	1	1	9

Coming Monday:

ALCS Game 3, Royals lead Blue Jays, 2-0

The pitching match-up Monday:

Royals—Johnny Cueto, 12.8 Box-Toppers points, 25th among all players, 13th 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.)

See Box-Toppers ALCS series preview with player-by-player match ups.

Baez tops players in Cubs' NLDS series win; Dodgers' Kershaw tops players for Tuesday, Oct. 13

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.

National League Division Series Game 4: Cubs 6, Cardinals 4

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.

National League Division Series Game 4: Dodgers 3, Mets 1

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.

Top player from each game

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:

American League Division Series Game 5, Rangers at Blue Jays, series tied, 2-2

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.)

See series preview and Box-Toppers point totals of all Blue Jays and Rangers who earned Player of the Game honors in the 2015 regular season.

American League Division Series Game 5, Astros at Royals, series tied, 2-2

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.

See series preview and Box-Toppers point totals of all Royals and Astros who earned Player of the Game honors in the 2015 regular season.

Rangers' Odor, Astros' Gregerson top players in pair of opening ALDS games for Thursday, Oct. 8

Rougned Odor of the Rangers and Luke Gregerson of the Astros are Box-Toppers Players of the Game in Thursday’s pair of American League Division Series openers.

Odor homered and scored three runs in the 5-3 win over the Blue Jays in Game 1 of the AL Division Series. The Rangers lead the best-of-five series, 1-0.

During the regular season, Odor earned 3.0 Box-Toppers points, 337th among all players, 76th among AL batters.

Blue Jays pitcher David Price, Box-Toppers’ fifth-ranked player, started the game and picked up the loss. Price (7IP 5H 5R 5K) had a Box-Toppers game score of −5. He had 21.1 Box-Toppers points for the season, ranked second among AL pitchers.

Astros closing pitcher Luke Gregerson is Player of the Game in the other AL Division Series Game 1. Gregerson picked up the save, pitching a scoreless ninth inning, allowing no hits and striking out two, in the 5-2 win over the Royals. The Astros lead the best-of-five series, 1-0.

Gregerson had 6.0 Box-Toppers points during the regular season, 150th among all players, 53rd among AL pitchers and sixth among AL closing pitchers.

Top player from each game

Listed from highest to lowest Box-Toppers game score

10/8	Score	Team	BATTERS	AB	R	H	BI	BB	K		IP	H	R	ER	BB	K
POG	3.0	Rangers	Rougned Odor, 2B	2	3	1	1	0	0		-	-	-	-	-	-
POG	3.0	Astros	Luke Gregerson (S,1)	-	-	-	-	-	-		1.0	0	0	0	0	2

Coming Friday: The National League Division Series playoffs begin with two Game 1s and the American League Division Series resume with two Game 2s:

AL Division Series Game 2, Rangers lead Blue Jays, 1-0

The pitching matchup Friday:

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 injury much of 2015. In 2014, he had 13.7 Box-Toppers points, ranked 12th among AL pitchers.)

See the season Box-Toppers point totals of all Rangers and Blue Jays players who earned Player of the Game honors in 2015.

AL Division Series Game 2, Astros lead Royals, 1-0

The pitching matchup Friday:

Astros—Scott Kazmir, 12.7 Box-Toppers points, 26th among all players, 14th among AL pitchers, 

Royals—Johnny Cueto, 12.8 Box-Toppers points, 25th among all players, 13th among AL pitchers.

See the season Box-Toppers point totals of all Astros and Royals players who earned Player of the Game honors in 2015.

NL Division Series Game 1, Cubs at Cardinals

Though the Chicago Cubs are the Wild Card team and have a lesser win-loss record than the NL Central champ St. Louis Cardinals, they have 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, rank 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 during that period.

The two teams are 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.

The pitching matchup Friday:

Cubs—Jon Lester, 12.0 Box-Toppers points, 28th among all players, 13th among NL pitchers.

Cardinals—John Lackey, 9.7 Box-Toppers points, 51st among all players, 21st among NL pitchers.

Cubs vs. Cardinals

Here are players for both teams in the NL Divisional Series beginning Friday. Players are listed for both teams ranked by Box-Toppers points earned in 2015. All players listed were on active Major or Minor League rosters at the end of the season—not necessarily all of them will be included on postseason rosters.  

Chicago Cubs				St. Louis Cardinals
Player	Pos	BTP		Player	Pos	BTP
Arrieta, Jake 2738	pi sp	29.1		Martinez, Carlos 3371	pi sp	13.7
Lester, Jon 2173	pi sp	12.0		Lynn, Lance 2992	pi sp	11.4
Hammel, Jason 2235	pi sp	9.7		Lackey, John 1640	pi sp	9.7
Hendricks, Kyle 3386	pi sp	9.7		Wacha, Michael 3276	pi sp	9.7
Rizzo, Anthony 3063	1b	8.5		Grichuk, Randal 3474	rf lf cf	9.5
Bryant, Kris 3465	3b	8.5		Garcia, Jaime 2508	pi sp	9.4
Montero, Miguel 2304	ca	5.5		Rosenthal, Trevor 3124	pi cp	6.0
Haren, Danny 1787	pi sp	5.0		Carpenter, Matt 2987	3b	5.5
Schwarber, Kyle 3536	lf ca	5.0		Moss, Brandon 2520	rf lf	5.0
Castro, Starlin 2767	ss 2b	4.5		Piscotty, Stephen 3570	lf rf 1b	4.2
Wada, Tsuyoshi 3389	pi sp	3.7		Wong, Kolten 3377	2b	4.0
Soler, Jorge 3403	rf ph	3.2		Reynolds, Mark 2297	1b	4.0
Wood, Travis 2777	pi sp	3.0		Siegrist, Kevin 3260	pi mr	4.0
Fowler, Dexter 2698	cf	2.5		Villanueva, Carlos 2241	pi mr cp	3.7
Russell, Addison 3559	ss	2.5		Wainwright, Adam 2150	pi sp	3.0
Jackson, Austin 2694	cf	2.0		Lyons, Tyler 3178	pi sp	3.0
Rondon, Hector 3201	pi cp	2.0		Adams, Matt 3220	1b ph	2.5
Strop, Pedro 3005	pi mr	2.0		Maness, Seth 3362	pi cp mr	2.0
Coghlan, Chris 2610	lf	1.0		Kozma, Pete 3138	2b pr	2.0
Rodney, Fernando 1803	pi cp mr	1.0		Scruggs, Xavier 3514	1b	2.0
Cahill, Trevor 2658	pi mr	1.0		Holliday, Matt 1836	lf dh	1.5
Hunter, Tommy 2623	pi mr	1.0		Pham, Thomas 3596	lf cf	1.5
Grimm, Justin 3153	pi mr	1.0		Cishek, Steve 2997	pi cp	1.0
Richard, Clayton 2584	pi sp	1.0		Bourjos, Peter 2790	cf ph	1.0
Motte, Jason 2926	pi mr	1.0		Garcia, Greg 3331	ph	1.0
Beeler, Dallas 3528	pi sp	1.0		Molina, Yadier 1967	ca	1.0
Ramirez, Neil 3439	pi mr	1.0		Walden, Jordan 2864	pi mr	1.0
				Broxton, Jonathan 2108	pi mr	1.0
				Socolovich, Miguel 3456	pi cp	1.0
Totals		127.4		Totals		124.3

What are those numbers after players' names?

NL Division Series Game 1, Mets at Dodgers

In Box-Toppers team rankings, the Dodgers and the Mets are almost identical.

The Dodgers hold the slight edge, ranking sixth among all teams, with 122.5 Box-Toppers points. But the Mets are only 0.5 points behind, with 122.0, ranking seventh among all teams. During the final 10 days of the season, the Dodgers picked up 6.0 Box-Toppers points, while the Mets earned 4.7.

The pitching matchup Friday:

Mets—Jacob deGrom, 22.4 Box-Toppers points, third among all players, third among NL pitchers.

Dodgers—Clayton Kershaw, 25.7 Box-Toppers points, second among all players, second among NL pitchers.

Mets vs. Dodgers

Here are players for both teams in the NL Divisional Series beginning Friday. Players are listed for both teams ranked by Box-Toppers points earned in 2015. All players listed were on active Major or Minor League rosters at the end of the season—not necessarily all of them will be included on postseason rosters.  

New York Mets				Los Angeles Dodgers
Player	Pos	BTP		Player	Pos	BTP
deGrom, Jacob 3343	pi sp	22.4		Kershaw, Clayton 2494	pi sp	25.7
Harvey, Matt 3075	pi sp	15.4		Greinke, Zack 1871	pi sp	20.7
Cespedes, Yoenis 3008	lf cf	10.9		Wood, Alex 3246	pi sp	7.7
Syndergaard, Noah 3472	pi sp	10.4		Ethier, Andre 2137	rf lf	6.5
Familia, Jeurys 3446	pi cp	8.0		Anderson, Brett 2597	pi sp	6.0
Colon, Bartolo	pi sp	6.7		Bolsinger, Mike 3318	pi sp	5.7
Niese, Jonathon 2531	pi sp	6.0		Gonzalez, Adrian 2193	1b	4.0
Granderson, Curtis 2051	rf	4.0		Jansen, Kenley 2871	pi cp	4.0
Nieuwenhuis, Kirk 3022	cf rf lf ph	4.0		Kendrick, Howie 2191	2b	4.0
Matz, Steven 3516	pi sp	3.5		Van Slyke, Scott 3033	cf lf 1b	4.0
Uribe, Juan 1542	3b ph	3.0		Turner, Justin 2865	2b 3b ph	4.0
Verrett, Logan 3518	pi mr	3.0		Puig, Yasiel 3193	rf	3.5
Robles, Hansel 3580	pi mr	2.7		Guerrero, Alex 3442	lf ph	3.5
Duda, Lucas 2818	1b	2.5		Rollins, Jimmy 1516	ss	3.0
d’Arnaud, Travis 3384	ca	2.5		McCarthy, Brandon 2082	pi sp	2.0
Flores, Wilmer 3345	ss 2b	2.5		Grandal, Yasmani 3058	ca 1b	2.0
Tejada, Ruben 2801	ss	2.0		Ruggiano, Justin 2396	lf ph	2.0
Johnson, Kelly 2018	lf 1b	2.0		Frias, Carlos 3434	pi sp	2.0
Murphy, Daniel 2589	2b	1.5		Johnson, Jim 2417	pi mr	2.0
Gee, Dillon 2808	pi sp	1.0		Thomas, Ian 3539	pi sp	1.7
Lagares, Juan 3243	cf ph	1.0		Seager, Corey 3587	ss	1.5
Cuddyer, Michael 1826	lf 1b	1.0		Heisey, Chris 2866	cf rf	1.0
Reed, Addison 3023	pi mr cp	1.0		Nicasio, Juan 2888	pi sp	1.0
Torres, Carlos 2668	pi mr	1.0		Hatcher, Chris 3420	pi cp	1.0
Blevins, Jerry 2788	pi mr	1.0		Howell, J.P. 2016	pi mr	1.0
Clippard, Tyler 2291	pi cp	1.0		Garcia, Yimi 3440	pi cp	1.0
Gilmartin, Sean 3500	pi mr	1.0		Hernandez, Enrique 3541	ph	1.0
Monell, Johnny 3463	ph	1.0		Ravin, Josh 3501	pi mr	1.0
Total		122.0		Total		122.5

What are those numbers after players' names?

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.

Marlins' Adam Conley (6IP R 3H 8K ND) tops players for Wednesday, Sept. 23

Marlins pitcher Adam Conley is Wednesday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day.

Conley struck out eight over six innings, allowing one run and three hits, in the 4-3, 11-inning win over the Marlins. Conley did not pick up the win, earning a no-decision, because after he exited, the Phillies tied the game 2-2 in the eighth inning.

Top 10 players

Here are the top 10 players in Box-Toppers points (BTP) for the 2015 season as of Sept. 23.  

	Player	Pos	Team	BTP
1	Arrieta, Jake 2738	pi sp	chi nl	25.1
2	Kershaw, Clayton 2494	pi sp	lad nl	22.7
3	Price, David 2593	pi sp	tor al	21.1
4	deGrom, Jacob 3343	pi sp	nym nl	20.4
5	Keuchel, Dallas 3050	pi sp	hou al	20.4
6	Greinke, Zack 1871	pi sp	lad nl	19.7
7	Hernandez, Felix 2064	pi sp	sea al	19.4
8	Cole, Gerrit 3232	pi sp	pit nl	18.0
9	Sale, Chris 2806	pi sp	chi al	17.1
10	Bumgarner, Madison 2753	pi sp	sf nl	17.0

What are those numbers after players' names?

American League Player of the Day—Blue Jays pitcher Marcus Stroman pitched seven scoreless innings, striking out five and allowing five hits, in the 4-0 win over the Yankees. This was Stroman’s first Player of the Game honor this season. He was out much of the season after an ACL injury in spring training. In 2014, he had 13.7 Box-Toppers points.

National League Batter of the Day—Neil Walker of the Pirates homered and went 4-for-5, scoring twice and driving in six runs, in the 13-7 win over the Rockies.

American League Batter of the Day—Adrian Beltre of the Rangers hit a three-run homer and went 2-for-5, scoring twice and driving in three runs, in the 10-3 win over the Athletics.

Beltre earns 1.5 Box-Toppers points for being AL Batter of the Day, giving him 9.5 for the season, rising to sixth place among AL batters.

Notable—Cardinals pitcher Lance Lynn has the highest Box-Toppers point total of any of the 15 who earned Player of the Game honors Wednesday.

Lynn (6IP 3H 0R 4K W in the 10-2 win over the Reds) earns 1.0 Box-Toppers point, giving him 11.4 for the season. He rises to 29th place among all players and 12th among NL pitchers.

Debut—Orioles pitcher Mychal Givens made his Box-Toppers debut Wednesday, the first time in his career he earned Player of the Game honors. Givens (2IP 0H 0R 2K ND in the 4-3 win over the Nationals) made his Major League debut June 24 and was playing in his 19th career game. He is the 3,599th player to debut in Box-Toppers since record keeping began in 1995.

Scoring—Conley earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day and Stroman earns 1.7 Box-Toppers points for being AL Player of the Day. Walker and Beltre 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.

Top player from each game

Listed from highest to lowest Box-Toppers game score

9/23	Score	Team	Player	AB	R	H	BI	BB	K		IP	H	R	ER	BB	K
MLB	8.0	`Marlins	Adam Conley	-	-	-	-	-	-		6.0	3	1	1	1	8
BAT	7.0	Pirates	Neil Walker, 2B	5	2	4	6	1	0		-	-	-	-	-	-
	7.0	Cardinals	Lance Lynn (W,12-10)	-	-	-	-	-	-		6.0	3	0	0	0	4
	7.0	Brewers	Zach Davies (W,2-2)	-	-	-	-	-	-		6.0	2	0	0	1	4
	6.0	Braves	Freddie Freeman, PH-1B	2	1	2	5	0	0		-	-	-	-	-	-
AL	6.0	Blue Jays	Marcus Stroman (W,3-0)	-	-	-	-	-	-		7.0	5	0	0	1	5
	5.1	Rays	Drew Smyly (W,4-2)	-	-	-	-	-	-		6.1	5	0	0	3	7
	5.0	Twins	Phil Hughes (W,11-9)	-	-	-	-	-	-		5.0	4	0	0	0	4
	4.0	`Orioles	Mychal Givens (MR) (H,4)	-	-	-	-	-	-		2.0	0	0	0	0	2
	3.0	`Dodgers	Carlos Frias	-	-	-	-	-	-		4.0	1	1	1	0	2
	2.0	Padres	Jedd Gyorko, SS-2B	5	2	4	1	0	0		-	-	-	-	-	-
BAT	2.0	Rangers	Adrian Beltre, 3B	5	2	2	3	0	0		-	-	-	-	-	-
	2.0	Tigers	Rajai Davis, LF	4	3	3	0	0	1		-	-	-	-	-	-
	1.1	`Angels	Nick Tropeano	-	-	-	-	-	-		4.1	4	2	0	2	5
	1.0	Royals	Jarrod Dyson, PR-CF	0	0	0	1	0	0		-	-	-	-	-	-
		`Denotes that the pitcher had a no-decision in the game and did not pick up a win or a save.