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Box-Toppers favors the Philadelphia Phillies in the National League Championship Series, though the Arizona Diamondbacks have the slight edge among starting pitchers.
Both teams fought through higher-ranked teams to make their way to the league championship series, so neither is particularly highly ranked in Box-Toppers team rankings for 2023.
Read MoreRangers pitcher Jordan Montgomery is Box-Toppers Player of the Game in Sunday’s American League Championship Series Game 1.
Montgomery struck out six over 6 1/3 scoreless innings, allowing five hits and one walk.
Read MoreThough the Texas Rangers finished first overall in Box-Toppers team rankings for 2023, Box-Toppers favors the Houston Astros to beat them in the American League Championship Series.
Read MoreNick Castellanos of the Phillies is Box-Toppers Player of the Game in Thursday’s National League Division Series win over the Braves.
Castellanos hit two solo home runs and went 3-for-3, scoring twice and driving in two runs.
Read MorePhillies pitcher Zack Wheeler and Jeremy Pena of the Astros are Box-Toppers Player of the Game winners in Sunday’s two deciding league championship series games.
The Philadelphia Phillies and the Houston Astros both win their series and advance to the World Series, which begins Friday in Houston.
Read MoreAstros pitcher Cristian Javier and Rhys Hoskins of the Phillies are Box-Toppers Player of the Game winners in Saturday’s two league championship series games.
Read MorePhillies closing pitcher Seranthony Dominguez is Box-Toppers Player of the Game in Friday’s National League Championship Series Game 3.
Dominguez struck out three over two scoreless innings, allowing one hit, no walks and earning the save.
Read MoreAstros pitcher Framber Valdez is Box-Toppers Player of the Game in Thursday’s American League Championship Series Game 2.
Valdez struck out nine over seven innings, allowing two runs (none earned), four hits and no walks.
Read MoreAstros pitcher Justin Verlander and Padres closing pitcher Josh Hader are Box-Toppers Player of the Game winners in Wednesday’s two league championship series games.
Read MorePhillies pitcher Zack Wheeler is Box-Toppers Player of the Game in Tuesday’s National League Championship Series Game 1.
Wheeler struck out eight over seven scoreless innings, allowing one hit and one walk.
Read MoreBox-Toppers numbers favor the Houston Astros over the New York Yankees in the upcoming American League Championship Series.
Both teams were the two top seeds among AL postseason teams (Astros in first, Yankees in second) and both teams dominated the AL all season, with one or the other leading Box-Toppers team rankings nearly every week of the season.
Read MoreThe San Diego Padres hold the advantage over the Philadelphia Phillies in the upcoming 2022 National League Championship Series.
Going into the postseason, both teams would have been voted Least Likely to Succeed, as they are the two-lowest seeded NL playoff teams and both rank lowest in Box-Toppers rankings among NL postseason teams.
Read MoreBraves relief pitcher Tyler Matzek is Box-Toppers Player of the Game in Saturday’s clinching National League Championship Series Game 6.
Matzek struck out four over two scoreless innings (the seventh and eighth), allowing no hits and no walks, in the 4-2 win over the Dodgers. The Braves win the best-of-seven game series, 4-2, and advance to the World Series.
Read MoreAstros pitcher Luis Garcia is Box-Toppers Player of the Game in Friday’s clinching American League Championship Series Game 6.
Garcia struck out seven over 5 2/3 scoreless innings, allowing one hit and one walk, in the 5-0 win over the Red Sox. The Astros win the best-of-seven game series, 4-2, and advance to the World Series.
Read MoreChris Taylor of the Dodgers is Box-Toppers Player of the Game in Thursday’s National League Championship Series Game 5.
Taylor hit three home runs and went 4-for-5, scoring three times and driving in six runs, in the 11-2 win over the Braves. The Dodgers trail the Braves in the best-of-seven game series, 3-2.
Taylor had a Box-Toppers game score Thursday of +8.0, best among Dodgers players. In the 2021 regular season, there were only eight instances of batters earning Box-Toppers Player of the Game honors with a higher game score, led by the +11.0 achieved by Lourdes Gurriel Jr. of the Blue Jays on Sept. 12 (2HR 2-3 5R 7BI).
Dodgers starting pitcher Joe Kelly had a Box-Toppers game score of -5.8 (0.2IP 2H 2R 0BB 0K ND). AJ Pollock of the Dodgers had a Box-Toppers game score of +5.0 (2HR 3-5 3R 4BI).
Braves starting pitcher Max Fried had a game score of -12.8 (4.2IP 8H 5R 2BB 3K L). Freddie Freeman of the Braves had a game score of 0.0 (HR 1-4 R 2BI).
Taylor earned 4.7 Box-Toppers points in the 2021 regular season, 203rd among all players and 34th among NL batters.
The series resumes with Game 6 in Atlanta on Saturday.
| BTG | Game | Player | AB | R | H | BI | IP | H | R | ER | BB | K | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| +8.0 | LAD 11, ATL 2 | Chris Taylor, 3B | 5 | 3 | 4 | 6 | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ |
Coming Friday:
The pitching matchup:
Red Sox—Nathan Eovaldi, 14.1 Box-Toppers points, 16th among all players, sixth among AL pitchers.
This is Eovaldi’s fifth appearance of the 2021 postseason. He was Player of the Game Oct. 5 in the AL Wild Card Game win over the Yankees. He also started Oct. 10 in the AL Division Series Game 3 win over the Rays, started Oct. 16 in the AL Championship Series win over the Astros and served as closer Oct. 19 in the ALCS loss to the Astros.
Astros—Luis Garcia, 10.0 Box-Toppers points, 49th among all players, 18th among AL pitchers.
This is Garcia’s third appearance of the 2021 postseason. He started Oct. 10 in the AL Division Series Game 3 loss to the White Sox and Oct. 16 in the AL Championship Series loss to the Red Sox.
Box-Toppers preview of the ALCS from Oct. 14
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.
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Astros pitcher Framber Valdez and Eddie Rosario of the Braves are Box-Toppers Player of the Game winners in Wednesday’s two league championship series games.
Read MoreDodgers closing pitcher Kenley Jansen and Astros middle reliever Kendall Graveman are Box-Toppers Player of the Game winners in Tuesday’s two league championship series games.
Read MoreJ.D. Martinez of the Red Sox is Box-Toppers Player of the Game in Monday’s American League Championship Series Game 3.
Martinez homered, doubled and went 2-for-3, scoring twice and driving in two runs, in the 12-3 win over the Astros. The Red Sox take a 2-1 lead in the best-of-seven game series.
Read MoreBraves closing pitcher Will Smith is Box-Toppers Player of the Game in Sunday’s National League Championship Series Game 2.
Smith struck out two over one scoreless inning, allowing no hits, no walks and picking up the win, in the 5-4 win over the Dodgers. The Braves take a 2-0 lead in the best-of-seven game series.
Read MoreRafael Devers of the Red Sox and Austin Riley of the Braves are Box-Toppers Player of the Game winners in Saturday’s two league championship series games.
Read MoreBox-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.
