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Yankees pitcher Carlos Rodon and Mets closing pitcher Edwin Diaz are Box-Toppers Player of the Game winners in Monday’s two League Championship Series games.
The Yankees take a 1-0 lead over the Guardians in the American League, while in the National League, the Mets tie the series with the Dodgers, 1-1.
Read MoreDodgers pitcher Jack Flaherty is Box-Toppers Player of the Game in Sunday’s National League Championship Series Game 1.
Flaherty struck out six over seven scoreless innings, allowing two hits and two walks. The Dodgers take a 1-0 lead in the best-of-seven-game series.
Read MoreThe New York Yankees, Box-Toppers’ top-ranked American League team and the top seed among AL teams in the postseason, are favored over the Cleveland Guardians in the AL Championship Series.
The Yankees have the edge in overall Box-Toppers points and in starting and relief pitchers. However, the Guardians hold a surprising edge among the likely starting nine batters.
Read MoreMets pitcher Jose Quintana tops players in Wednesday’s four league division series playoff games.
Other Player of the Game winners in Wednesday’s league division series games:
Beau Brieske of the Tigers.
Tommy Kahnle of the Yankees.
Gavin Lux of the Dodgers.
Mets pitcher Sean Manaea and Padres closing pitcher Robert Suarez are Box-Toppers Player of the Game winners in Tuesday’s two National League Division Series playof games.
The Mets and Padres both take 2-1 leads in their best-of-five game series as both series resume Wednesday with Game 4s. Both American League Division Series also resume Wednesday’s with two Game 3s.
Read MoreGiants pitcher Alex Cobb is Tuesday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day.
Cobb came within one out of a no-hitter, giving up the game’s only hit (and only run) to the Reds with two out in the ninth. Cobb did pick up the game’s final out and finished a complete game, striking out eight, allowing one run, one hit and one walk, in the 6-1 win over the Reds.
Read MoreGiants pitcher Alex Cobb is Tuesday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day.
Cobb struck out nine over six scoreless innings, allowing three hits and one walk, in the 2-1 win over the Athletics. Cobb did not earn the win, picking up a no-decision, because the Athletics tied the game after he exited.
Read MoreAstros pitcher Framber Valdez is Monday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day.
Valdez pitched a complete game shutout, striking out eight and allowing six hits and one walk, in the 7-0 win over the Tigers.
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The Milwaukee Brewers are the top-ranked team going into 2022, leading Box-Toppers offseason team rankings as of mid-December.
Players currently signed to the Brewers 40-man roster accumulated 111.1 Box-Toppers points during the 2021 season, most of any team. The Chicago White Sox rank second overall with 109.2 Box-Toppers points, leading all American League teams.
Read MoreBryce Harper of the Phillies is Thursday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day.
Harper hit a three-run homer and doubled twice in the 17-8 win over the Cubs. Harper went 3-for-4, scoring three times and driving in four runs.
Read MoreEric Haase of the Tigers is Saturday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day.
Haase hit a pair of two-run home runs and went 3-for-4, scoring twice and driving in six runs, in the 11-5 win over the White Sox.
Read MoreDodgers pitcher Trevor Bauer is Friday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day, rising to sixth place in season player rankings.
Also Friday, Adam Duvall of the Marlins rises to first place among National League batters in 2021 Box-Toppers points after earning NL Batter of the Day honors.
Read MoreAngels pitcher Alex Cobb is Saturday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day.
Also Saturday, White Sox pitcher Lance Lynn rises to ninth place in Box-Toppers season player rankings after earning Player of the Game honors.
Read MoreAthletics pitcher Trevor Cahill is Saturday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day.
Cahill struck out seven over seven scoreless innings, allowing one hit and one walk, in the 7-1 win over the Astros.
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The Cleveland Indians are the top-ranked team in Box-Toppers’ 2018 preseason rankings, the same position where they finished the 2017 season.
The Nationals top NL teams and the World Series-champion Astros fall to 8th.
Meanwhile, the New York Mets made the biggest offseason improvement in players’ accumulated Box-Toppers points, while the Tampa Bay Rays and the Kansas City Royals had the biggest declines.
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Reds pitcher Luis Castillo is Saturday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day.
Also Saturday, Cody Bellinger of the Dodgers rises to lead National League batters in 2017 Box-Toppers points after earning NL Batter of the Day honors.
| Player | Pos | Team | BTP | |
| 1 | Kershaw, Clayton 2494 | pi sp | lad nl | 20.1 |
| 2 | Scherzer, Max 2588 | pi sp | dc nl | 17.0 |
| 3 | Sale, Chris 2806 | pi sp | bos al | 13.1 |
| 4 | Santana, Ervin 2005 | pi sp | min al | 12.4 |
| 5 | Wood, Alex 3246 | pi sp | lad nl | 12.0 |
| 6 | Carrasco, Carlos 2885 | pi sp | cle al | 11.4 |
| 7 | Greinke, Zack 1871 | pi sp | ari nl | 11.4 |
| 8 | Strasburg, Stephen 2736 | pi sp | dc nl | 10.4 |
| 9 | Ray, Robbie 3502 | pi sp | ari nl | 10.0 |
| 10 | McCullers, Lance 3488 | pi sp | hou al | 9.4 |
Player of the Day—Castillo struck out eight over 6 2/3 scoreless innings, allowing three hits and one walk, in the 7-0 win over the Diamondbacks.
American League Player of the Day—Rays pitcher Alex Cobb pitched 7 2/3 scoreless innings, allowing two hits, one walk and striking out three, in the 1-0 win over the Red Sox.
American League Batter of the Day—Josh Donaldson of the Blue Jays hit a three-run homer and went 1-for-1, scoring twice, in the 7-2 win over the Astros.
National League Batter of the Day—Cody Bellinger of the Dodgers homered, doubled and went 2-for-3, scoring twice and driving in two runs, in the 5-4, 10-inning win over the Royals.
Bellinger earns 1.5 Box-Toppers points for being NL Batter of the Day, giving him 7.7 for the season, rising to first among NL batters this season, passing previous leader Jay Bruce of the Mets (7.0).
Bellinger’s 7.7 Box-Toppers points is the most among the 15 who earned Player of the Game honors Saturday. He ranks 22nd among all players.
Notable—Cardinals pitcher Adam Wainwright rises to 42nd place in career Box-Toppers points among all players since 1995 (when Box-Toppers tracking began) after earning Player of the Game honors Saturday.
Wainwright (6.2IP 5H R 0BB 7K W in the 4-1 win over the Mets) earns 1.0 Box-Toppers point, giving him 117.5 career points. He passes two players on the “all-time” list—Mark Buehrle (116.7) and Barry Zito (117.4) and now trails 41st-ranked player Carlos Delgado (117.7). Wainwright has 5.5 Box-Toppers points this season, 23rd among NL pitchers.
Debuts—Two players made their Box-Toppers debut Saturday, the first time in their careers they earned Player of the Game honors:
Scoring—Castillo earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day and Cobb earns 1.7 points for being AL Player of the Day. Donaldson and Bellinger each earn 1.5 points for being their league’s Batter of the Day. All of Saturday’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.
| 7/8 | Score | Game | Player of the Game | AB | R | H | BI | IP | H | R | ER | BB | K | |
| MLB | 10.2 | CIN 7, ARI 0 | Luis Castillo (W, 1-1) | - | - | - | - | 6.2 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 8 | |
| AL | 7.2 | TB 1, BOS 0 | Alex Cobb (W, 7-6) | - | - | - | - | 7.2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 3 | |
| 6.2 | STL 4, NYM 1 | Adam Wainwright (W, 10-5) | - | - | - | - | 6.2 | 5 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 7 | ||
| 6.0 | ATL 13, WSH 0 | Julio Teheran (W, 7-6) | - | - | - | - | 7.0 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 5 | ||
| 5.1 | SD 2, PHI 1 | Jhoulys Chacin (W, 8-7) | - | - | - | - | 6.1 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 6 | ||
| BAT | 5.0 | TOR 7, HOU 2 | Josh Donaldson (3B) | 1 | 2 | 1 | 3 | - | - | - | - | - | - | |
| 5.0 | CLE 4, DET 0 | Mike Clevinger (W, 5-3) | - | - | - | - | 6.0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 4 | ||
| 4.2 | PIT 4, CHC 2 | Ivan Nova (W, 9-6) | - | - | - | - | 6.2 | 3 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 6 | ||
| 4.0 | NYY 5, MIL 3 | Clint Frazier (LF) | 4 | 1 | 3 | 4 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| BAT | 3.0 | LAD 5, KC 4 (F/10) | Cody Bellinger (1B-RF) | 3 | 2 | 2 | 2 | - | - | - | - | - | - | |
| 3.0 | CHW 5, COL 4 | David Robertson (S, 13) | - | - | - | - | 1.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | ||
| 2.0 | TEX 5, LAA 2 | Drew Robinson (LF) | 2 | 1 | 1 | 2 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 2.0 | OAK 4, SEA 3 | Sean Doolittle (W, 1-0) | - | - | - | - | 1.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | ||
| 1.0 | BAL 5, MIN 1 | Manny Machado (3B) | 4 | 2 | 2 | 1 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 0.0 | MIA 5, SF 4 | Marcell Ozuna (LF) | 4 | 0 | 2 | 2 | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| Player of the Game | Pos | Team | ’17 | ’16-17 | ’12-17 | Career | +/- |
| Bellinger, Cody 3781 | 1b rf lf | lad nl | 7.7 | 7.7 | 7.7 | 7.7 | 7.7 |
| Nova, Ivan 2796 | pi sp | pit nl | 7.0 | 15.0 | 30.7 | 38.1 | -1.0 |
| Chacin, Jhoulys 2711 | pi sp | sd nl | 6.7 | 12.4 | 19.1 | 34.5 | 1.0 |
| Wainwright, Adam 2150 | pi sp | stl nl | 5.5 | 15.7 | 66.8 | 117.5 | -4.7 |
| Cobb, Alex 2916 | pi sp | tb al | 4.4 | 4.4 | 34.8 | 35.8 | 4.4 |
| Robertson, David 2774 | pi cp | chi al | 4.0 | 9.0 | 26.0 | 30.0 | -1.0 |
| Ozuna, Marcell 3190 | lf | fla nl | 3.7 | 8.7 | 22.2 | 22.2 | -1.3 |
| Clevinger, Mike 3707 | pi sp | cle al | 3.7 | 6.7 | 6.7 | 6.7 | 0.7 |
| Machado, Manny 3087 | 3b | bal al | 3.5 | 16.2 | 27.2 | 27.2 | -9.2 |
| Teheran, Julio 3176 | pi sp | atl nl | 3.0 | 13.7 | 49.5 | 49.5 | -7.7 |
| Castillo, Luis Miguel 3840 | pi sp | cin nl | 3.0 | 3.0 | 3.0 | 3.0 | 3.0 |
| Doolittle, Sean 3052 | pi cp | oak al | 2.0 | 3.0 | 15.0 | 15.0 | 1.0 |
| Donaldson, Josh 3144 | 3b | tor al | 1.5 | 11.2 | 41.1 | 41.1 | -8.2 |
| Frazier, Clint 3847 | lf | nyy al | 1.0 | 1.0 | 1.0 | 1.0 | 1.0 |
| Robinson, Drew 3848 | lf | tex al | 1.0 | 1.0 | 1.0 | 1.0 | 1.0 |
Dodgers pitcher Kenta Maeda is Tuesday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day.
| 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 | Carrasco, Carlos 2885 | pi sp | cle al | 9.4 |
| 7 | McCullers, Lance 3488 | pi sp | hou al | 9.4 |
| 8 | Wood, Alex 3246 | pi sp | lad nl | 9.0 |
| 9 | Greinke, Zack 1871 | pi sp | ari nl | 8.7 |
| 10 | Healy, Ryon 3685 | dh 1b 3b | oak al | 8.7 |
Also Tuesday, Ryon Healy of the Athletics rises to lead all batters in 2017 Box-Toppers points after earning Player of the Game honors. He rises to 10th in overall season player rankings. Plus, Nationals pitcher Max Scherzer maintains his second-place spot in Box-Toppers season player rankings after earning Player of the Game honors Tuesday.
Player of the Day—Maeda pitched seven scoreless innings, striking out six and allowing four hits and no walks, in the 4-0 win over the Angels.
American League Player of the Day—Rays pitcher Alex Cobb pitched eight scoreless innings, allowing two hits, one walk and striking out four, in the 4-2, 10-inning win over the Pirates. Cobb picked up a no-decision and did not earn the win because the Pirates tied the game in the ninth inning, 2-2, after he exited.
Cobb had a Box-Toppers game score Tuesday of +9.0, tied with overall Player of the Day Maeda. Normally because Cobb had more innings pitched than Maeda (8 vs. 7), he would have won overall Player of the Day. But in this case, Maeda won the tiebreaker to earn Player of the Day because he earned the win in his game, while Cobb had a no-decision.
National League Batter of the Day—Christian Yelich of the Marlins doubled and went 3-for-4, scoring once and driving in two runs, in the 6-3 win over the Mets.
American League Batter of the Day—Ryon Healy of the Athletics hit a grand slam in the 6-4 win over the Astros.
Healy earns 1.5 Box-Toppers points for being AL Batter of the Day, giving him 8.7 for the season, rising to 10th place in season player rankings. He also rises to first among all batters, passing previous leader Aaron Judge of the Yankees (8.2). Healy replaces Judge in the 10th-place spot in Box-Toppers player rankings and is now the only batter among Box-Toppers’ top 10 players for 2017.
Rankings—Nationals pitcher Max Scherzer maintains his second-place spot in Box-Toppers season player rankings after earning Player of the Game honors Tuesday.
Scherzer (6IP 2H R 0BB 6K W in the 6-1 win over the Cubs) earns 1.0 Box-Toppers point, giving him 14.0 for the season. He trails overall leader and NL pitching leader Clayton Kershaw of the Dodgers (16.4).
Scherzer also now has 145.7 career Box-Toppers points, 26th-most among all players since 1995, when Box-Toppers tracking began. He trails 25th-ranked player on the “all-time” list, David Ortiz (145.9).
Debut—Giants pitcher Cory Gearrin made his Box-Toppers debut Tuesday with his first career Player of the Game honor.
Gearrin (3IP 2H 0R BB K W in the 4-3, 14-inning win over the Rockies) made his Major League debut April 25, 2011, and was playing in his 171st career game. He is the 3,838th player to debut in Box-Toppers since record keeping began in 1995.
Scoring—Maeda earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day and Cobb earns 1.7 points for being AL Player of the Day. Yelich and Healy 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.
| 6/27 | Score | Game | Player of the Game | AB | R | H | BI | IP | H | R | ER | BB | K | |
| MLB | 9.0 | LAD 4, LAA 0 | Kenta Maeda (W, 6-3) | - | - | - | - | 7.0 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6 | |
| AL | 9.0 | `TB 4, PIT 2 (F/10) | Alex Cobb | - | - | - | - | 8.0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 4 | |
| 8.0 | WSH 6, CHC 1 | Max Scherzer (W, 9-5) | - | - | - | - | 6.0 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 6 | ||
| 7.0 | ATL 3, SD 0 | Sean Newcomb (W, 1-2) | - | - | - | - | 6.0 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 8 | ||
| 7.0 | BOS 9, MIN 2 | Drew Pomeranz (W, 7-4) | - | - | - | - | 5.0 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 7 | ||
| 6.1 | `CHW 4, NYY 3 | Jose Quintana | - | - | - | - | 6.1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 6 | ||
| 5.0 | `TEX 2, CLE 1 | Tyson Ross | - | - | - | - | 6.0 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 5 | ||
| 3.1 | BAL 3, TOR 1 | Kevin Gausman (W, 4-7) | - | - | - | - | 5.1 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 4 | ||
| 3.0 | PHI 8, SEA 2 | Aaron Nola (W, 5-5) | - | - | - | - | 7.0 | 5 | 2 | 2 | 4 | 9 | ||
| 3.0 | DET 5, KC 3 | Justin Wilson (S, 7) | - | - | - | - | 1.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | ||
| BAT | 2.0 | MIA 6, NYM 3 | Christian Yelich (CF) | 4 | 1 | 3 | 2 | - | - | - | - | - | - | |
| 2.0 | CIN 8, MIL 6 | Adam Duvall (LF) | 4 | 2 | 2 | 2 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| BAT | 2.0 | OAK 6, HOU 4 | Ryon Healy (3B) | 4 | 1 | 1 | 4 | - | - | - | - | - | - | |
| 2.0 | ARI 6, STL 5 (F/10) | Chris Herrmann (PH-CA) | 1 | 0 | 1 | 2 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 1.0 | SF 4, COL 3 (F/14) | Cory Gearrin (W, 2-2) | - | - | - | - | 3.0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| Player of the Game | Pos | Team | ’17 | ’16-17 | ’12-17 | Career | +/- |
| Scherzer, Max 2588 | pi sp | dc nl | 14.0 | 39.7 | 117.9 | 145.7 | -11.7 |
| Healy, Ryon 3685 | dh 1b 3b | oak al | 8.7 | 11.7 | 11.7 | 11.7 | 5.7 |
| Quintana, Jose 3040 | pi sp | chi al | 8.0 | 18.4 | 43.2 | 43.2 | -2.4 |
| Maeda, Kenta 3609 | pi sp | lad nl | 6.0 | 16.0 | 16.0 | 16.0 | -4.0 |
| Duvall, Adam 3573 | lf | cin nl | 4.5 | 11.0 | 12.5 | 12.5 | -2.0 |
| Pomeranz, Drew 3061 | pi sp | bos al | 3.7 | 16.1 | 27.1 | 27.1 | -8.7 |
| Nola, Aaron 3569 | pi sp | phi nl | 3.7 | 10.4 | 12.4 | 12.4 | -3.0 |
| Wilson, Justin 3140 | pi cp | det al | 3.0 | 4.0 | 9.0 | 9.0 | 2.0 |
| Gausman, Kevin 3191 | pi sp | bal al | 2.7 | 13.5 | 26.9 | 26.9 | -8.1 |
| Cobb, Alex 2916 | pi sp | tb al | 2.7 | 2.7 | 33.1 | 34.1 | 2.7 |
| Yelich, Christian 3334 | cf | fla nl | 2.5 | 8.0 | 18.0 | 18.0 | -3.0 |
| Herrmann, Chris 3196 | ca ph | ari nl | 2.0 | 3.0 | 7.5 | 7.5 | 1.0 |
| Newcomb, Sean 3831 | pi sp | atl nl | 2.0 | 2.0 | 2.0 | 2.0 | 2.0 |
| Ross, Tyson 2840 | pi sp | tex al | 1.0 | 1.0 | 20.4 | 23.4 | 1.0 |
| Gearrin, Cory 3838 | pi cp | sf nl | 1.0 | 1.0 | 1.0 | 1.0 | 1.0 |
Adam Wainwright of the Cardinals, out with injury much of 2015, had the biggest Box-Toppers point decline from 2014. Jose Abreu of the White Sox had biggest dip among AL players.
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Royals pitcher James Shields is Friday’s Player of the Day. Shields pitched 8 1/3 scoreless innings, allowing three hits and striking out six, in the 1-0 win over the Yankees.
Shields earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day, giving him 11.7 for the season. He ranks 24th among all players and 15th among American League pitchers. He becomes the 43rd player this season with 10.0 or more Box-Toppers points. In 2013, 54 players had 10.0 or more Box-Toppers points.
Rockies pitcher Tyler Matzek is National League Player of the Day. Matzek pitched a complete game, three-hit shutout, striking out six, in the 3-0 win over the Padres.
Marcell Ozuna of the Marlins is NL Batter of the Day. Ozuna hit two doubles and went 4-for-5, scoring twice and driving in four runs, in the 11-3 win over the Braves.
Kendrys Morales of the Mariners is AL Batter of the Day. Morales homered twice, driving in four runs, in the 7-5 win over the Rangers.
Notable: Rays pitcher Alex Cobb rose to 25th place in Box-Toppers player rankings after earning Player of the Game honors Friday. Cobb (7IP 0R 6K ND in the 3-0 win over the Orioles) earns 1.0 Box-Toppers point, giving him 11.7 for the season. He ranks 16th among AL pitchers.
Shields receives 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day. Matzek receives 1.7 for NL Player of the Day. Ozuna and Morales each receive 1.5 for being top Batter of the Day in their league.
All of Friday’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, 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
| 905 | Score | Team | Player | AB | R | H | BI | BB | K | IP | H | R | ER | BB | K | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| MLB | 11.1 | Royals | James Shields (W, 13-7) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 8.1 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6 | |
| NL | 11.0 | Rockies | Tyler Matzek (W, 5-9) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 9.0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 6 | |
| 6.0 | `Rays | Alex Cobb | - | - | - | - | - | - | 7.0 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 6 | ||
| 6.0 | Astros | Tony Sipp (S, 3) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 2.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | ||
| BAT | 5.0 | Marlins | Marcell Ozuna CF | 5 | 2 | 4 | 4 | 0 | 0 | - | - | - | - | - | - | |
| 5.0 | Mets | Travis d`Arnaud C | 4 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 1 | 0 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 5.0 | `Indians | T.J. House | - | - | - | - | - | - | 7.0 | 7 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 7 | ||
| 5.0 | Dodgers | Dan Haren (W, 12-10) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 6.0 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 6 | ||
| BAT | 4.0 | Mariners | Kendrys Morales DH | 4 | 2 | 2 | 4 | 0 | 0 | - | - | - | - | - | - | |
| 3.0 | Angels | Kole Calhoun RF | 6 | 4 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 2 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 2.0 | Phillies | Ben Revere CF | 5 | 1 | 3 | 3 | 1 | 0 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 2.0 | Brewers | Scooter Gennett 2B | 4 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 0 | 0 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 2.0 | Red Sox | Mookie Betts CF | 4 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 1 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 1.0 | Giants | Gregor Blanco LF | 4 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | - | - | - | - | - | - |
` Denotes that the pitcher had a no-decision in the game and did not pick up a win or a save.
Angels pitcher Matt Shoemaker is Thursday’s Player of the Day, while Dodgers pitcher Clayton Kershaw and Giants pitcher Madison Bumgarner bolstered their spots in the top three in Box-Toppers player rankings.
Shoemaker pitched 7 2/3 scoreless innings, allowing one hit and striking out nine, in the 2-0 win over the Red Sox.
Kershaw, Thursday’s National League Player of the Day, extends his lead among all players in Box-Toppers player rankings. (See the updated top 10 player list on the home page.) Kershaw struck out 10 over eight innings, allowing one run, in the 2-1 win over the Padres. Kershaw earns 1.7 Box-Toppers points for being NL Player of the Day, giving him 23.8 for the season. He is now only 2.3 points behind his season high of 26.1 Box-Toppers points he scored in 2010.
Bumgarner maintained his third-place spot in Box-Toppers player rankings after earning Player of the Game honors Thursday. (See the updated top 10 player list on the home page.) Bumgarner (7IP 12K W in the 5-3 win over the Cubs) earns 1.0 Box-Toppers point, giving him 18.9 for the season. He ranks second among NL pitchers, behind Kershaw.
No batters earned Box-Toppers points Thursday because no batters earned Player of the Game honors—in all nine games, pitchers beat batters as top player of the game.
Notables: Twins pitcher Phil Hughes rose to 14th place in Box-Toppers player rankings after earning Player of the Game honors Thursday. Hughes (7IP R 8K W in the 4-1 win over the Indians) earns 1.0 Box-Toppers point, giving him 13.1 for the season. He ranks eighth among American League pitchers.
Braves pitcher Julio Teheran rose to 18th place in Box-Toppers player rankings after earning Player of the Game honors Thursday. Teheran (6IP 0R W in the 8-0 win over the Reds) earns 1.0 Box-Toppers point, giving him 12.4 for the season. He ranks seventh among NL pitchers.
Rays pitcher Alex Cobb becomes the 33rd player with 10.0 or more Box-Toppers points this season after earning Player of the Game honors Thursday. Cobb (7IP 0R 6K W in the 1-0 win over the Tigers) earns 1.0 Box-Toppers point, giving him 10.7 for the season. He ranks 29th among all players and 15th among AL pitchers.
Cubs pitcher Tsuyoshi Wada is Player of the Game in the completion Thursday of a rain-shortened game against the Giants started Tuesday. Wada (5IP 0R 3K W in the 2-1 win) actually did all his work Tuesday, though earns the Box-Toppers point for Thursday. Initially, the game was ruled a rain-shortened, 4 1/2-inning final and a Cubs win Tuesday. At the time, Anthony Rizzo was deemed Player of the Game. He went 2-for-2 with a run and two RBIs, giving him a Box-Toppers game score of 3.0. However, after the Giants protested and baseball ordered the game be resumed Thursday, the Cubs win was taken away, as was Rizzo’s Box-Toppers point for Player of the Game. After the game resumed, Rizzo went 0-for-2, reducing his Box-Toppers game score to 1.0. Wada’s Box-Toppers game score of 2.0 was enough to beat out Rizzo for Player of the Game.
Shoemaker receives 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day. Kershaw receives 1.7 for NL Player of the Day.
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, 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
| 821 | Score | Team | Player | AB | R | H | BI | BB | K | IP | H | R | ER | BB | K | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| MLB | 14.2 | Angels | Matt Shoemaker (W, 12-4) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 7.2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 9 | |
| 13.0 | Yankees | Brandon McCarthy (W, 5-2) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 9.0 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 8 | ||
| NL | 11.0 | Dodgers | Clayton Kershaw (W, 15-3) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 8.0 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 10 | |
| 9.0 | Rays | Alex Cobb (W, 9-6) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 7.0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 6 | ||
| 8.0 | Twins | Phil Hughes (W, 14-8) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 7.0 | 5 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 8 | ||
| 6.0 | `Nationals | Gio Gonzalez | - | - | - | - | - | - | 7.0 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 6 | ||
| 5.0 | Giants | Madison Bumgarner (W, 14-9) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 7.0 | 7 | 3 | 3 | 1 | 12 | ||
| 5.0 | Braves | Julio Teheran (W, 12-9) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 6.0 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | ||
| 2.0 | Cubs | Tsuyoshi Wada (W, 3-1) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 5.0 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 |
` Denotes that the pitcher had a no-decision in the game and did not pick up a win or a save.
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.