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Nationals pitcher Max Scherzer is Friday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day, rising to seventh place in Box-Toppers’ “all-time” rankings.
Scherzer struck out 10 over seven scoreless innings, allowing two hits and two walks, in the 1-0 win over the Diamondbacks. Scherzer did not earn the win, picking up a no-decision, because the game was in a scoreless tie when he exited.
Read MoreAstros pitcher Brandon Bielak is Sunday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day.
Bielak struck out four over the game’s final 4 2/3 innings, allowing no runs, no hits and no walks, in the 9-2 win over the Athletics.
Read MoreYankees pitcher J.A. Happ is Saturday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day.
Also Saturday, Cubs pitcher Yu Darvish rises to second place overall and first among National League pitchers after earning Player of the Game honors. Plus, Kyle Tucker of the Astros rises to 10th place—the only batter among the overall top 10—and rises to first place among American League batters after earning Player of the Game honors.
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Astros pitcher Justin Verlander maintains the lead in Box-Toppers weekly team rankings report for the eighth straight week. But barely.
Meanwhile, there are new batting leaders in each league as Brett Gardner of the Yankees rises to lead American League batters and Josh Bell of the Pirates rises to lead National League batters. Josh Hader of the Brewers continues his lead among NL pitchers.
Read MoreCubs pitcher Cole Hamels is Friday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day.
Also Friday, two players rise in Box-Toppers season player rankings top 10 list after earning Player of the Game honors—Astros pitcher Gerrit Cole rises to fifth place and Phillies pitcher Zach Eflin rises to 10th place.
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Astros pitcher Justin Verlander maintains the lead in Box-Toppers weekly team rankings report.
Also this week, all four main category leaders maintain their leads from last week: Verlander, Brewers pitcher Josh Hader, Cody Bellinger of the Dodgers and Joey Gallo of the Rangers.
Read MorePhillies pitcher Zach Eflin is Saturday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day and rises to third place in season player rankings.
Also Saturday, Albert Pujols ties Box-Toppers all-time record for most consecutive seasons earning Box-Toppers points at 19, after earning his first Player of the Game honor of 2019.
Read MoreIndians pitcher Mike Clevinger is Sunday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day, rising to second place in Box-Toppers season player rankings.
Also Sunday, Cody Bellinger of the Dodgers regained the lead in Box-Toppers season player rankings after earning National League Batter of the Day honors, his fourth Player of the Game honor already this season.
Plus, two other players rise in Box-Toppers season player rankings top 10 after earning Player of the Game honors Sunday—Brewers pitcher Josh Hader rises to third place and Phillies pitcher Zach Eflin rises to 10th.
Read MoreRays pitcher Blake Snell is Tuesday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day.
Also Tuesday, Cody Bellinger of the Dodgers extends his lead in Box-Toppers season player rankings after earning Player of the Game honors for the third time already in the first week of the season.
Read MoreTwins pitcher Fernando Romero is Monday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day.
Also Monday, Nomar Mazara of the Rangers rises to 10th place in Box-Toppers season player rankings after earning Player of the Game honors, becoming only the second batter currently in the top 10.
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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 |
Phillies pitcher Zach Eflin is Tuesday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day
| Player | Pos | Team | BTP | |
| 1 | Kershaw, Clayton 2494 | pi sp | lad nl | 20.0 |
| 2 | Fernandez, Jose 3147 | pi sp | fla nl | 13.4 |
| 3 | Scherzer, Max 2588 | pi sp | dc nl | 12.0 |
| 4 | Cueto, Johnny 2400 | pi sp | sf nl | 11.7 |
| 5 | Kluber, Corey 3200 | pi sp | cle al | 10.8 |
| 6 | Arrieta, Jake 2738 | pi sp | chi nl | 10.7 |
| 7 | Sale, Chris 2806 | pi sp | chi al | 10.7 |
| 8 | Salazar, Danny 3223 | pi sp | cle al | 10.5 |
| 9 | Hamels, Cole 2135 | pi sp | tex al | 10.4 |
| 10 | Syndergaard, Noah 3472 | pi sp | nym nl | 10.0 |
Eflin pitched a complete game, allowing one run, six hits and no walks, striking out six, in the 5-1 win over the Braves.
This was Eflin’s Box-Toppers debut, the first time in his career he earned Player of the Game honors. Eflin made his Major League debut June 14 and was playing in his fifth career game. He is the 3,679th player to debut in Box-Toppers since record keeping began in 1995.
American League Player of the Day—Yankees pitcher Masahiro Tanaka pitched 7 2/3 scoreless innings, allowing six hits and one walk, striking out six, in the 9-0 win over the White Sox.
National League Batter of the Day—Giancarlo Stanton of the Marlins hit two home runs and went 3-for-4, driving in five runs, in the 5-2 win over the Mets.
American League Batter of the Day—Andrelton Simmons of the Angels tripled, doubled and went 3-for-5, scoring three times and driving in three runs, in the 13-5 win over the Rays.
Notable—Pirates pitcher Juan Nicasio has the most 2016 Box-Toppers points of any of the 15 who earned Player of the Game honors Tuesday.
Nicasio (2IP H 0R BB 2K W in the 5-2 win over the Cardinals) earns 1.0 Box-Toppers point, giving him 7.0 for the season, 34th among all players, 16th among NL pitchers.
Scoring—Elfin earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day and Tanaka earns 1.7 points for being AL Player of the Day. Stanton and Simmons each earn 1.5 points for being their league’s Batter of the Day. All of Tuesday’s other Players of the Game (listed in the chart below) earn 1.0 Box-Toppers point.
About Box-Toppers—Box-Toppers tracks who most helps their team win the most games. Using standard box score statistics, Box-Toppers uses a simple formula to determine a Player of the Game for each Major League Baseball game played. That player is the person who contributed most to his team’s win. In regular season games, players earn 1.0 Box-Toppers point for being named Player of the Game and can earn bonus points for being Player of the Day or top player or batter in their league for the day.
Listed from highest to lowest Box-Toppers game score
| 7/5 | Score | Game | Player of Game | AB | R | H | BI | IP | H | R | ER | BB | K | |
| MLB | 7.0 | PHI 5/ATL 1 | Zach Eflin (W,1-2) | - | - | - | - | 9.0 | 6 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 6 | |
| AL | 6.2 | NYY 9/CHW 0 | Masahiro Tanaka (W,6-2) | - | - | - | - | 7.2 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 6 | |
| BAT | 6.0 | MIA 5/NYM 2 | Giancarlo Stanton, RF | 4 | 2 | 3 | 5 | - | - | - | - | - | - | |
| 6.0 | TOR 8/KC 3 | R.A. Dickey (W,6-9) | - | - | - | - | 7.0 | 4 | 2 | 0 | 3 | 8 | ||
| BAT | 4.0 | LAA 13/TB 5 | Andrelton Simmons, SS | 5 | 3 | 3 | 3 | - | - | - | - | - | - | |
| 4.0 | CIN 9/CHC 5 | Joey Votto, 1B | 1 | 2 | 1 | 2 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 4.0 | `BAL 4/LAD 1 | Brad Brach (H,14) | - | - | - | - | 1.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | ||
| 3.0 | CLE 12/DET 1 | Lonnie Chisenhall, RF | 5 | 1 | 4 | 3 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 3.0 | MIL 5/DC 2 | Aaron Hill, 2B | 4 | 1 | 3 | 3 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 3.0 | ARI 7/SD 5 | Jean Segura, 2B | 4 | 3 | 3 | 1 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 3.0 | TEX 7/BOS 2 | Elvis Andrus, SS | 2 | 2 | 2 | 1 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 2.0 | COL 7/SF 3 | DJ LeMahieu, 2B | 4 | 1 | 3 | 2 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 2.0 | MIN 11/OAK 4 | Kennys Vargas, 1B | 4 | 2 | 2 | 2 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 2.0 | HOU 5/SEA 2 | Dallas Keuchel (W,6-9) | - | - | - | - | 6.0 | 5 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 6 | ||
| 2.0 | PIT 5/STL 2 | Juan Nicasio (W,7-6) | - | - | - | - | 2.0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 2 | ||
| `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 | +/- |
| Nicasio, Juan 2888 | pi sp mr | pit nl | 7.0 | 8.0 | 23.4 | 23.4 | 6.0 |
| Tanaka, Masahiro 3305 | pi sp | nyy al | 6.7 | 14.7 | 27.4 | 27.4 | -1.3 |
| LeMahieu, DJ 3091 | 2b | col nl | 5.5 | 12.5 | 18.5 | 18.5 | -1.5 |
| Hill, Aaron 2056 | 2b | mil nl | 5.5 | 8.5 | 22.5 | 41.5 | 2.5 |
| Andrus, Elvis 2582 | ss | tex al | 4.7 | 4.7 | 12.2 | 15.2 | 4.7 |
| Stanton, Giancarlo 2737 | rf | fla nl | 4.5 | 10.0 | 31.7 | 37.2 | -1.0 |
| Keuchel, Dallas 3050 | pi sp | hou al | 4.0 | 25.4 | 39.8 | 39.8 | -17.4 |
| Dickey, R.A. 1734 | pi sp | tor al | 4.0 | 9.0 | 53.2 | 74.9 | -1.0 |
| Chisenhall, Lonnie 2959 | rf | cle al | 3.5 | 3.5 | 13.5 | 13.5 | 3.5 |
| Votto, Joey 2366 | 1b | cin nl | 3.0 | 8.0 | 24.7 | 56.7 | -2.0 |
| Segura, Jean 3173 | 2b | ari nl | 2.0 | 4.0 | 8.5 | 8.5 | 0.0 |
| Eflin, Zach 3679 | pi sp | phi nl | 2.0 | 2.0 | 2.0 | 2.0 | 2.0 |
| Simmons, Andrelton 3165 | ss | ana al | 1.5 | 5.5 | 7.0 | 7.0 | -2.5 |
| Brach, Brad 3374 | pi mr | bal al | 1.0 | 4.0 | 5.0 | 5.0 | -2.0 |
| Vargas, Kennys 3511 | 1b | min al | 1.0 | 2.5 | 2.5 | 2.5 | -0.5 |
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.