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Source: MLB.com
Both American League Division Series begin Saturday.
The Detroit Tigers face the Cleveland Guardians in one best-of-five game series and the Kansas City Royals face the New York Yankees in the other. The top two AL seeds, the Yankees (first) and the Guardians (second) received byes from the first round of playoffs and face the winners of the best-of-three Wild Card series played this week.
Read MoreYankees pitcher Gerrit Cole is Thursday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day.
Cole struck out five over 6 2/3 scoreless innings, allowing two hits and one walk, in the 10-1 win over the Orioles.
Read MoreYankees pitcher Marcus Stroman is Saturday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day.
Stroman struck out five over six scoreless innings, allowing three hits and one walk, in the 4-1 win over the Padres.
Read MoreOnly one of the top 10 batting average leaders for 2021 is among Box-Toppers’ top 100 ranked players for the season.
Nick Castellanos of the Reds, whose .309 batting average ranked ninth among all players, ranked 35th among all players with 11.5 Box-Toppers points. That also led all NL batters.
Read MoreRays pitcher Tyler Glasnow is the most deserving player not selected to the 2021 Major League Baseball All-Star teams.
Glasnow has 12.7 Box-Toppers points in 2021, fifth among all players and second among American League pitchers.
Read MoreRoyals pitcher Jakob Junis is Monday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day.
Also Monday, Nationals pitcher Max Scherzer extends his lead in Box-Toppers season player rankings after earning Player of the Game honors.
Read More
Athletics pitcher Sonny Gray is Wednesday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day.
| Player | Pos | Team | BTP | |
| 1 | Kershaw, Clayton 2494 | pi sp | lad nl | 10.7 |
| 2 | Santana, Ervin 2005 | pi sp | min al | 9.4 |
| 3 | Sale, Chris 2806 | pi sp | bos al | 8.4 |
| 4 | Greinke, Zack 1871 | pi sp | ari nl | 6.7 |
| 5 | Scherzer, Max 2588 | pi sp | dc nl | 6.0 |
| 6 | McCullers, Lance 3488 | pi sp | hou al | 6.0 |
| 7 | Harper, Bryce 3011 | rf | dc nl | 6.0 |
| 8 | Wood, Alex 3246 | pi sp | lad nl | 6.0 |
| 9 | Vargas, Jason 2055 | pi sp | kc al | 6.0 |
| 10 | Holland, Greg 2906 | pi cp | col nl | 6.0 |
Gray struck out 11 over seven innings, allowing one run and three hits, in the 4-1 win over the Marlins.
National League Player of the Day—Rockies pitcher Tyler Chatwood pitched seven scoreless innings, striking out eight and allowing one hit, in the 7-2 win over the Phillies.
National League Batter of the Day—Adam Frazier of the Pirates hit a three-run homer and went 2-for-2, scoring three times and driving in three runs, in the 12-5, 10-inning win over the Braves.
American League Batter of the Day—Jose Iglesias of the Tigers homered, doubled and went 3-for-4, scoring three times and driving in two runs, in the 6-3 win over the Astros.
Notable—Yankees pitcher Luis Severino has the most season Box-Toppers points of any of the 15 who earned Player of the Game honors Wednesday.
Severino (8IP 4H 0R BB 7K W in the 3-0 win over the Royals) earns 1.0 Box-Toppers point, giving him 4.7 for the season, ranked 20th among all players this season. He ranks 11th among AL pitchers.
Scoring—Gray earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day and Chatwood earns 1.7 points for being NL Player of the Day. Frazier and Iglesias 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.
| 5/24 | Score | Game | Player of the Game | AB | R | H | BI | IP | H | R | ER | BB | K | |
| MLB | 12.0 | OAK 4, MIA 1 | Sonny Gray (W,2-1) | - | - | - | - | 7.0 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 11 | |
| 10.0 | NYY 3, KC 0 | Luis Severino (W,3-2) | - | - | - | - | 8.0 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 7 | ||
| NL | 10.0 | COL 7, PHI 2 | Tyler Chatwood (W,4-6) | - | - | - | - | 7.0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 8 | |
| 7.0 | STL 6, LAD 1 | Mike Leake (W,5-2) | - | - | - | - | 8.0 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 5 | ||
| BAT | 6.0 | PIT 12, ATL 5 (F/10) | Adam Frazier, LF-CF | 2 | 3 | 2 | 3 | - | - | - | - | - | - | |
| 5.0 | WSH 5, SEA 1 | Tanner Roark (W,4-2) | - | - | - | - | 7.0 | 8 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 8 | ||
| BAT | 4.0 | DET 6, HOU 3 | Jose Iglesias, SS | 4 | 3 | 3 | 2 | - | - | - | - | - | - | |
| 4.0 | CHC 5, SF 4 | Anthony Rizzo, 1B | 3 | 2 | 3 | 2 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 4.0 | TB 5, LAA 2 | Steven Souza Jr., RF | 3 | 2 | 2 | 3 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 3.1 | `ARI 8, CHW 6 | J.J. Hoover (H,6) | - | - | - | - | 1.1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | ||
| 3.0 | TOR 8, MIL 4 | Ryan Goins, SS | 4 | 1 | 2 | 4 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 3.0 | BOS 9, TEX 4 | Mitch Moreland, PH-1B | 2 | 2 | 2 | 1 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 2.0 | SD 6, NYM 5 | Matt Szczur, CF | 1 | 2 | 1 | 0 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 1.1 | MIN 4, BAL 3 | Jose Berrios (W,3-0) | - | - | - | - | 6.1 | 4 | 3 | 3 | 2 | 7 | ||
| 1.0 | CIN 4, CLE 3 | Arismendy Alcantara, PR | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| Player of the Game | Pos | Team | ’17 | ’16-17 | ’12-17 | Career | +/- |
| Severino, Luis 3567 | pi sp | nyy al | 4.7 | 6.7 | 9.7 | 9.7 | 2.7 |
| Chatwood, Tyler 2856 | pi sp | col nl | 4.4 | 11.4 | 18.1 | 21.1 | -2.6 |
| Frazier, Adam 3771 | lf cf | pit nl | 3.5 | 3.5 | 3.5 | 3.5 | 3.5 |
| Leake, Mike 2709 | pi sp | stl nl | 3.0 | 8.0 | 38.4 | 47.6 | -2.0 |
| Goins, Ryan 3478 | ss | tor al | 3.0 | 4.5 | 9.0 | 9.0 | 1.5 |
| Berrios, Jose 3791 | pi sp | min al | 3.0 | 3.0 | 3.0 | 3.0 | 3.0 |
| Rizzo, Anthony 3063 | 1b | chi nl | 2.5 | 5.5 | 29.5 | 29.5 | -0.5 |
| Iglesias, Jose 3532 | ss | det al | 2.5 | 2.5 | 3.5 | 3.5 | 2.5 |
| Roark, Tanner 3261 | pi sp | dc nl | 2.0 | 14.7 | 30.7 | 30.7 | -10.7 |
| Souza, Steven Jr. 3461 | rf | tb al | 2.0 | 7.7 | 13.2 | 13.2 | -3.7 |
| Gray, Sonny 3259 | pi sp | oak al | 2.0 | 3.0 | 34.8 | 34.8 | 1.0 |
| Moreland, Mitch 2799 | 1b ph | bos al | 1.0 | 4.5 | 17.7 | 19.7 | -2.5 |
| Szczur, Matt 3704 | cf | sd nl | 1.0 | 2.5 | 2.5 | 2.5 | -0.5 |
| Hoover, J.J. 3163 | pi mr | ari nl | 1.0 | 1.0 | 10.0 | 10.0 | 1.0 |
| Alcantara, Arismendy 3378 | 2b pr | cin nl | 1.0 | 1.0 | 2.5 | 2.5 | 1.0 |
Royals pitcher Ian Kennedy is Sunday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day.
Kennedy struck out 10 over eight scoreless innings, allowing two hits and two walks, in the 1-0 win over the Angels. Kennedy picked up a no-decision and did not earn the win or save because when he exited, the game was in a scoreless tie.
| Player | Pos | Team | BTP | |
| 1 | Santana, Ervin 2005 | pi sp | min al | 4.7 |
| 2 | Kershaw, Clayton 2494 | pi sp | lad nl | 4.0 |
| 3 | Keuchel, Dallas 3050 | pi sp | hou al | 3.4 |
| 4 | Morrison, Logan 2794 | 1b | tb al | 3.2 |
| 5 | Syndergaard, Noah 3472 | pi sp | nym nl | 3.0 |
| 6 | Marte, Starling 3122 | lf cf | pit nl | 3.0 |
| 7 | Vargas, Jason 2055 | pi sp | kc al | 3.0 |
| 8 | Holland, Greg 2906 | pi cp | col nl | 3.0 |
| 9 | Verlander, Justin 2112 | pi sp | det al | 2.7 |
| 10 | Sale, Chris 2806 | pi sp | bos al | 2.7 |
National League Player of the Day—Braves pitcher Bartolo Colon allowed one hit and one run in seven innings, striking out six, in the 9-2 win over the Padres.
Colon earns 1.7 Box-Toppers points for being NL Player of the Day, giving him 151.2 for his career. He ranks 19th among all players since 1995, when Box-Toppers tracking began, trailing 18th-ranked player Greg Maddux (151.7). (It should be noted that Maddux made his debut in 1986 and had seven 15-plus win seasons before Box-Toppers tracking began in 1995 and so, based on very rough extrapolations, would likely have about 250 career Box-Toppers points if his entire career were tracked.)
National League Batter of the Day—Bryce Harper of the Nationals hit two home runs, including a game-winning, walk-off, three-run homer, in the 6-4 win over the Phillies. Harper also hit a two-run homer and went 3-for-5, driving in five total runs.
American League Batter of the Day—Greg Bird of the Yankees homered, doubled and went 3-for-3, scoring twice and driving in two runs, in the 9-3 win over the Cardinals.
Rankings—Rockies closing pitcher Greg Holland rises to eighth place in Box-Toppers season player rankings after earning Player of the Game honors Sunday.
Holland (1IP 0H 0R 0BB K Sv in the 4-3 win over the Giants) earns 1.0 Box-Toppers point, giving him 3.0 for the season.
Debuts—Two players made their Box-Toppers debut Sunday, the first time in their career they earned Player of the Game honors:
Scoring—Kennedy earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day and Colon earns 1.7 points for being NL Player of the Day. Harper and Bird 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.
Box-Toppers strives for accuracy. See a mistake in a post? A wrong name, wrong team, grammar error, spelling goof, etc.? Thanks for pointing it out! Contact Box-Toppers here. Let's fix it and make it right.
| 4/16 | Score | Game | Player of the Game | AB | R | H | BI | IP | H | R | ER | BB | K | |
| MLB | 14.0 | `KC 1, LAA 0 | Ian Kennedy | - | - | - | - | 8.0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 10 | |
| NL | 9.0 | ATL 9, SD 2 | Bartolo Colon (W,1-1) | - | - | - | - | 7.0 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 6 | |
| 6.0 | BAL 11, TOR 4 | Dylan Bundy (W,2-1) | - | - | - | - | 6.0 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 6 | ||
| 5.1 | `MIA 4, NYM 2 | Dan Straily | - | - | - | - | 5.1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 5 | ||
| BAT | 5.0 | WSH 6, PHI 4 | Bryce Harper, RF | 5 | 2 | 3 | 5 | - | - | - | - | - | - | |
| 5.0 | ARI 3, LAD 1 | Taijuan Walker (W,2-1) | - | - | - | - | 5.0 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 7 | ||
| BAT | 4.0 | NYY 9, STL 3 | Greg Bird, 1B | 3 | 2 | 3 | 2 | - | - | - | - | - | - | |
| 3.0 | PIT 6, CHC 1 | Adam Frazier, LF | 4 | 1 | 3 | 3 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 3.0 | SEA 8, TEX 7 | Mitch Haniger, RF | 3 | 1 | 1 | 4 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 3.0 | DET 4, CLE 1 | Alex Avila, C | 2 | 1 | 2 | 2 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 3.0 | MIL 4, CIN 2 | Neftali Feliz (S,4) | - | - | - | - | 1.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | ||
| 3.0 | BOS 7, TB 5 | Craig Kimbrel (S,5) | - | - | - | - | 1.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | ||
| 3.0 | CHW 3, MIN 1 (F/10) | Nate Jones (W,1-0) | - | - | - | - | 1.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | ||
| 2.0 | COL 4, SF 3 | Greg Holland (S,7) | - | - | - | - | 1.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Player of the Game | Pos | Team | ’17 | ’16-17 | ’12-17 | Career | +/- |
| Holland, Greg 2906 | pi cp | col nl | 3.0 | 3.0 | 33.0 | 36.0 | 3.0 |
| Colon, Bartolo | pi sp | atl nl | 2.7 | 11.1 | 52.0 | 151.2 | -5.7 |
| Kennedy, Ian 2723 | pi sp | kc al | 2.0 | 12.0 | 43.1 | 68.5 | -8.0 |
| Kimbrel, Craig 2825 | pi cp | bos al | 2.0 | 10.0 | 54.7 | 60.7 | -6.0 |
| Bundy, Dylan 3655 | pi sp | bal al | 2.0 | 8.0 | 8.0 | 8.0 | -4.0 |
| Harper, Bryce 3011 | rf | dc nl | 1.5 | 4.5 | 28.9 | 28.9 | -1.5 |
| Bird, Greg 3562 | 1b | nyy al | 1.5 | 1.5 | 4.5 | 4.5 | 1.5 |
| Walker, Taijuan 3453 | pi sp | ari nl | 1.0 | 8.7 | 22.4 | 22.4 | -6.7 |
| Straily, Dan 3080 | pi sp | fla nl | 1.0 | 8.0 | 18.7 | 18.7 | -6.0 |
| Jones, Nate 3125 | pi mr | chi al | 1.0 | 5.0 | 13.0 | 13.0 | -3.0 |
| Feliz, Neftali 2651 | pi cp mr | mil nl | 1.0 | 2.0 | 8.0 | 19.7 | 0.0 |
| Avila, Alex 2642 | ca | det al | 1.0 | 2.0 | 8.5 | 18.0 | 0.0 |
| Frazier, Adam 3771 | lf | pit nl | 1.0 | 1.0 | 1.0 | 1.0 | 1.0 |
| Haniger, MItch 3772 | rf | sea al | 1.0 | 1.0 | 1.0 | 1.0 | 1.0 |
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.