Both American League Division Series begin Monday.
The Houston Astros face the Oakland Athletics in one best-of-five game series and the New York Yankees take on the Tampa Bay Rays in the other series.
Read MorePatrick Corbin tops players in Game 7 as Nationals win World Series over Astros
Nationals pitcher Patrick Corbin is Box-Toppers Player of the Game in Wednesday’s World Series Game 7.
The Washington Nationals win 6-2, defeating the Houston Astros in the best-of-seven game series, 4-3, with each game in the series being won by the visiting team.
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World Series preview: In matchup of Box-Toppers’ top 2 teams, Astros hold advantages over Nationals
Box-Toppers’ top two-ranked teams square off in the 2019 World Series. Both have three starting pitchers among the top 15 in Box-Toppers season player rankings.
And while the Washington Nationals are the best possible team to match up against the Houston Astros, Box-Toppers still gives the Astros a considerable edge.
Read MoreJose Altuve tops players in Saturday's ALCS Game 6 as Astros win series over Yankees
Jose Altuve of the Astros is Box-Toppers Player of the Game in Saturday’s American League Championship Series Game 6 win over the Yankees.
Altuve hit a walk-off, two-run homer to give the Astros a 6-4 victory, also winning the best-of-seven game series, 4-2. Altuve also doubled and went 2-for-4, scoring three times and driving in two runs.
Read MoreYankees’ James Paxton tops players in Friday's ALCS Game 5 over Astros, forcing Game 6
Yankees pitcher James Paxton is Box-Toppers Player of the Game in Friday’s American League Championship Series Game 5 win over the Astros.
Paxton struck out nine over six innings, allowing one run, four hits and four walks, in the 4-1 win, forcing Game 6 of the series Saturday in Houston. The Astros lead the best-of-seven series, 3-2.
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Astros’ Justin Verlander leads Box-Toppers season player rankings report for sixth straight week
Astros pitcher Justin Verlander maintains the lead in Box-Toppers weekly team rankings report for the sixth straight week.
Also this week, there is a new leader in Box-Toppers points among American League batters as Eloy Jimenez of the White Sox passes previous leader Joey Gallo of the Rangers.
Read MoreNationals’ Corbin tops players for Saturday, May 25; Dodgers’ Bellinger rises to 3rd in player rankings
Nationals pitcher Patrick Corbin is Saturday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day.
Also Saturday, Cody Bellinger of the Dodgers rises to third place in Box-Toppers season player rankings after earning Player of the Game honors. Plus, Rays pitcher Charlie Morton and Astros pitcher Brad Peacock rise into Box-Toppers season player rankings top 10 after earning Player of the Game honors.
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Astros’ Justin Verlander maintains lead in Box-Toppers weekly team rankings report
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 MoreAstros’ Brad Peacock tops players for Monday, May 20; Padres’ Paddack rises to 3rd in player rankings
Astros pitcher Brad Peacock is Monday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Game.
Also Monday, Padres pitcher Chris Paddack rises to third place in Box-Toppers season player rankings after earning Player of the Game honors.
Read MoreCharlie Morton tops players in World Series Game 7 as Astros win 2017 title over Dodgers
Astros pitcher Charlie Morton is Box-Toppers Player of the Game in World Series Game 7, as Houston wins its first title in franchise history.
The Houston Astros beat the Los Angeles Dodgers 5-1 Wednesday, to win the best-of-seven series and become 2017 Major League champions for the first time since the franchise began in 1962.
Read MoreBrad Peacock tops players in World Series Game 3 as Astros take a 2-1 series lead
Astros pitcher Brad Peacock is Box-Toppers Player of the Game in World Series Game 3 Friday.
The Houston Astros win 5-3 to take a 2-1 lead in the best-of-seven game series.
Read MoreDodgers' Jansen, Nationals' Zimmerman top players in Saturday's NLDS Game 2s
Dodgers pitcher Kenley Jansen and Ryan Zimmerman of the Nationals are Box-Toppers Players of the Game in Saturday’s pair of National League League Division Series games.
Read MoreCardinals' Michael Wacha tops players for Tuesday, July 19; Dodgers' Kershaw extends Box-Toppers points lead
Cardinals pitcher Michael Wacha is Tuesday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day.
Also Tuesday, Dodgers pitcher Clayton Kershaw extended his lead in Box-Toppers season player rankings after earning Player of the Game honors.
Top 10 players
Here are the top 10 players in Box-Toppers points (BTP) for the 2017 season as of July 18:| Player | Pos | Team | BTP | |
| 1 | Kershaw, Clayton 2494 | pi sp | lad nl | 22.1 |
| 2 | Scherzer, Max 2588 | pi sp | dc nl | 19.0 |
| 3 | Sale, Chris 2806 | pi sp | bos al | 13.1 |
| 4 | Wood, Alex 3246 | pi sp | lad nl | 13.0 |
| 5 | Strasburg, Stephen 2736 | pi sp | dc nl | 12.4 |
| 6 | Santana, Ervin 2005 | pi sp | min al | 12.4 |
| 7 | Carrasco, Carlos 2885 | pi sp | cle al | 11.4 |
| 8 | Greinke, Zack 1871 | pi sp | ari nl | 11.4 |
| 9 | Quintana, Jose 3040 | pi sp | chi nl | 10.0 |
| 10 | Ray, Robbie 3502 | pi sp | ari nl | 10.0 |
Player of the Day—Wacha pitched a complete-game, three-hit shutout, striking out eight and walking one, in the 5-0 win over the Mets.
American League Player of the Day—Astros pitcher Brad Peacock struck out nine over seven innings, allowing one run, three hits and one walk in the 6-2 win over the Mariners.
American League Batter of the Day—Nicholas Castellanos of the Tigers homered twice and tripled, going 4-for-5 and driving in five runs, in the 9-3 win over the Royals.
National League Batter of the Day—Gerardo Parra of the Rockies doubled and went 3-for-3, scoring three times and driving in one run, in the 9-7 win over the Padres.
Rankings—Dodgers pitcher Clayton Kershaw extends his lead in Box-Toppers season player rankings after earning Player of the Game honors Tuesday.
Kershaw (7IP 7H 0R BB 7K W in the 1-0 win over the White Sox) earns 1.0 Box-Toppers point, giving him 22.1 for the season, leading second-place player, Nationals pitcher Max Scherzer (19.0 Box-Toppers points).
Kershaw is on pace to earn about 38.0 Box-Toppers points in 2017, which would break the single-season record of 33.7, set by Randy Johnson of the Diamondbacks in both 2000 and 2002. Box-Toppers record keeping began in 1995.
Kershaw also now has 205.8 career Box-Toppers points, third-most among all players since 1995, when Box-Toppers tracking began. He trails second-ranked player Pedro Martinez (244.8). Kershaw leads all active players in career points.
Remarkably, Kershaw has more career Box-Toppers points than the combined total of the 14 others who earned Player of the Game honors Tuesday. The 14 other players have 190.5 career Box-Toppers points combined. Kershaw still beats them by more than 10.0 with 205.8. Granted, none of the other 14 has significantly high career Box-Toppers point totals—Bryce Harper of the Nationals has the most with 34.4, which ranks 540th among all players since 1995.
Notable—Phillies pitcher Pat Neshek Tuesday earned his first Player of the Game honor in nearly three years.
Neshek (1IP 0H 0R 0BB K W in the 5-2 win over the Marlins) last earned Player of the Game honors on Aug. 5, 2014. Despite his lack of recent Player of the Game honors and Box-Toppers points, Neshek was selected to be a 2017 National League All-Star.
Debut—Red Sox pitcher Hector Velazquez made his Box-Toppers debut Tuesday after earning his first career Player of the Game honor.
Velazquez (4IP 2H 0R BB 3K W in the 5-4, 15-inning win over the Blue Jays) made his Major League debut May 18 and was playing in his fourth career game. He is the 3,853rd player to debut in Box-Toppers since record keeping began in 1995.
Scoring—Wacha earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day and Peacock earns 1.7 points for being AL Player of the Day. Castellanos and Parra 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.
Top player from each game
Listed from highest to lowest Box-Toppers game score| 7/18 | Score | Game | Player of the Game | AB | R | H | BI | IP | H | R | ER | BB | K | |
| MLB | 13.0 | STL 5, NYM 0 | Michael Wacha (W, 7-3) | - | - | - | - | 9.0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 8 | |
| AL | 10.0 | HOU 6, SEA 2 | Brad Peacock (W, 8-1) | - | - | - | - | 7.0 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 9 | |
| BAT | 6.0 | DET 9, KC 3 | Nicholas Castellanos (3B) | 5 | 2 | 4 | 5 | - | - | - | - | - | - | |
| 6.0 | LAD 1, CHW 0 | Clayton Kershaw (W, 15-2) | - | - | - | - | 7.0 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 7 | ||
| 5.0 | `TB 4, OAK 3 | Erasmo Ramirez | - | - | - | - | 3.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | ||
| BAT | 4.0 | COL 9, SD 7 | Gerardo Parra (LF) | 3 | 3 | 3 | 1 | - | - | - | - | - | - | |
| 4.0 | BOS 5, TOR 4 (F/15) | Hector Velazquez (W, 2-1) | - | - | - | - | 4.0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 3 | ||
| 3.0 | WSH 4, LAA 3 | Bryce Harper (RF) | 4 | 2 | 4 | 1 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 3.0 | ARI 11, CIN 2 | Rey Fuentes (PH-CF) | 2 | 1 | 1 | 3 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 3.0 | BAL 12, TEX 1 | Dylan Bundy (W, 9-8) | - | - | - | - | 6.0 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 4 | ||
| 2.0 | NYY 6, MIN 3 | Didi Gregorius (SS) | 4 | 1 | 3 | 2 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 2.0 | PHI 5, MIA 2 | Pat Neshek (W, 3-2) | - | - | - | - | 1.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | ||
| 2.0 | PIT 4, MIL 3 | Felipe Rivero (S, 8) | - | - | - | - | 1.0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | ||
| 1.0 | CHC 5, ATL 1 | Javier Baez (2B) | 4 | 1 | 3 | 1 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 1.0 | SF 2, CLE 1 (F/10) | Sam Dyson (W, 1-1) | - | - | - | - | 2.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
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 | +/- |
| Kershaw, Clayton 2494 | pi sp | lad nl | 22.1 | 46.5 | 146.2 | 205.8 | -2.3 |
| Harper, Bryce 3011 | rf | dc nl | 7.0 | 10.0 | 34.4 | 34.4 | 4.0 |
| Parra, Gerardo 2746 | rf lf | col nl | 6.5 | 9.0 | 21.0 | 27.5 | 4.0 |
| Peacock, Brad 2968 | pi sp | hou al | 6.4 | 6.4 | 13.1 | 15.8 | 6.4 |
| Baez, Javier 3395 | 2b 3b | chi nl | 5.2 | 7.2 | 9.7 | 9.7 | 3.2 |
| Wacha, Michael 3276 | pi sp | stl nl | 5.0 | 7.0 | 24.7 | 24.7 | 3.0 |
| Bundy, Dylan 3655 | pi sp | bal al | 4.0 | 10.0 | 10.0 | 10.0 | -2.0 |
| Castellanos, Nicholas 3349 | 3b | det al | 3.5 | 9.0 | 17.2 | 17.2 | -2.0 |
| Ramirez, Erasmo 1786 | pi cp sp mr | tb al | 3.0 | 6.7 | 15.7 | 17.7 | -0.7 |
| Dyson, Sam 3399 | pi cp mr | sf nl | 3.0 | 3.0 | 6.0 | 6.0 | 3.0 |
| Rivero, Felipe 3579 | pi cp | pit nl | 3.0 | 3.0 | 4.0 | 4.0 | 3.0 |
| Gregorius, Didi 3184 | ss | nyy al | 2.0 | 4.0 | 8.5 | 8.5 | 0.0 |
| Neshek, Pat 2196 | pi mr | phi nl | 1.0 | 1.0 | 4.0 | 12.0 | 1.0 |
| Fuentes, Reymond 3301 | cf ph | ari nl | 1.0 | 1.0 | 2.0 | 2.0 | 1.0 |
| Velazquez, Hector 3853 | pi cp | bos al | 1.0 | 1.0 | 1.0 | 1.0 | 1.0 |
Nationals, Astros each have most players (seven) in Box-Toppers top 100 of 2017 at All-Star break
A look at the top 100 players in Box-Toppers points at the midseason break. League-leading teams—Nationals, Astros, Dodgers—have the most players on the list.
Read MoreDbacks' Zack Greinke tops players for Monday, May 22, rises to 4th in Box-Toppers season player rankings
Diamondbacks pitcher Zack Greinke is Monday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day and rises to fourth 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 May 22:| Player | Pos | Team | BTP | |
| 1 | Kershaw, Clayton 2494 | pi sp | lad nl | 8.7 |
| 2 | Sale, Chris 2806 | pi sp | bos al | 8.4 |
| 3 | Santana, Ervin 2005 | pi sp | min al | 7.7 |
| 4 | Greinke, Zack 1871 | pi sp | ari nl | 6.7 |
| 5 | Scherzer, Max 2588 | pi sp | dc nl | 6.0 |
| 6 | Harper, Bryce 3011 | rf | dc nl | 6.0 |
| 7 | Wood, Alex 3246 | pi sp | lad nl | 6.0 |
| 8 | Vargas, Jason 2055 | pi sp | kc al | 6.0 |
| 9 | Holland, Greg 2906 | pi cp | col nl | 6.0 |
| 10 | Sano, Miguel 3527 | 3b | min al | 5.5 |
Greinke also rises to 13th place in career points among all players since 1995, when Box-Toppers tracking began.
Also Monday, Miguel Sano of the Twins rises to 10th place in season player rankings, first among American League batters, after earning Player of the Game honors.
Player of the Day—Greinke struck out 12 over 8 2/3 innings, allowing one run and four hits, in the 5-1 win over the White Sox.
Greinke earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day, giving him 6.7 for the season, rising to fourth in season player rankings, second among National League pitchers, behind overall leader Clayton Kershaw of the Dodgers (8.7 Box-Toppers points).
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 | Clayton Kershaw | pi sp | lad nl | 192.4 |
| 5 | CC Sabathia | pi sp | nyy al | 188.0 |
| 6 | Alex Rodriguez | dh | released | 187.0 |
| 7 | Albert Pujols | 1b dh | ana al | 182.3 |
| 8 | Roy Halladay | pi sp | retired | 170.7 |
| 9 | Felix Hernandez | pi sp | sea al | 169.7 |
| 10 | Manny Ramirez | lf dh | retired | 167.2 |
| 11 | Johan Santana | pi sp | free agent | 166.6 |
| 12 | Roger Clemens | pi sp | retired | 164.8 |
| 13 | Zack Greinke | pi sp | ari nl | 162.8 |
| 14 | John Smoltz | pi sp | retired | 160.9 |
| 15 | Tim Hudson | pi sp | retired | 157.0 |
| 16 | Mike Mussina | pi sp | retired | 155.6 |
| 17 | Barry Bonds | lf | retired | 153.2 |
| 18 | Greg Maddux | pi sp | retired | 151.7 |
| 19 | Bartolo Colon | pi sp | atl nl | 151.2 |
| 20 | Chipper Jones | 3b | retired | 149.0 |
List of top 100 players since 1995 at the close of the 2016 season.
Greinke also now has 162.8 career Box-Toppers points, rising to 13th place among all players since 1995, when Box-Toppers tracking began. He passes John Smoltz (160.9) on the “all-time” list and now trails 12th-ranked player Roger Clemens (164.8). It should be noted that both Smoltz and Clemens began their careers before Box-Toppers tracking began in 1995 and so their career totals would likely be higher. Rough Box-Toppers projected estimates put Smoltz’s actual career total at 255 and Clemens’s at 320. (A look at projected Box-Toppers points totals for pitchers who began their careers before 1995.)
American League Player of the Day—Astros pitcher Brad Peacock struck out eight over 4 1/3 scoreless innings, allowing one hit, in the 1-0 win over the Tigers. Peacock did not earn the win, picking up a no-decision, because he did not pitch the requisite five innings to earn the win. But he did pitch at least three innings to automatically qualify to be considered as Player of the Game.
American League Batter of the Day—Miguel Sano of the Twins homered and went 4-for-6, scoring three times and driving in three runs, in the 14-7 win over the Orioles.
Sano earns 1.5 Box-Toppers points for being AL Batter of the Day, giving him 5.5 for the season. He rises to 10th place in Box-Toppers seasonplayer rankings and first among AL batters, passing previous leader Aaron Judge of the Yankees (5.0 Box-Toppers points).
National League Batter of the Day—Joe Panik of the Giants homered and doubled twice in the 6-4 win over the Cubs. Panik went 3-for-4, scoring twice and driving in two runs.
Debut—Rockies pitcher Jeff Hoffman made his Box-Toppers debut Monday, the first time in his career he earned Player of the Game honors.
Hoffman (7IP 3H R 0BB 7K W in the 8-1 win over the Phillies) made his Major League debut Aug. 20, 2016, and was playing in his 11th career game. He is the 3,806th player to debut in Box-Toppers since record keeping began in 1995.
Scoring—Greinke earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day and Peacock earns 1.7 points for being AL Player of the Day. Sano and Panik each earn 1.5 points for being their league’s Batter of the Day. All of Monday’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| 5/22 | Score | Game | Player of the Game | AB | R | H | BI | IP | H | R | ER | BB | K | |
| MLB | 13.2 | ARI 5, CHW 1 | Zack Greinke (W,6-2) | - | - | - | - | 8.2 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 12 | |
| AL | 9.1 | `HOU 1, DET 0 | Brad Peacock | - | - | - | - | 4.1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 8 | |
| 9.0 | COL 8, PHI 1 | Jeff Hoffman (W,2-0) | - | - | - | - | 7.0 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 7 | ||
| 7.0 | CIN 5, CLE 1 | Scott Feldman (W,3-4) | - | - | - | - | 6.0 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 9 | ||
| BAT | 4.0 | MIN 14, BAL 7 | Miguel Sano, 3B | 6 | 3 | 4 | 3 | - | - | - | - | - | - | |
| BAT | 3.0 | SF 6, CHC 4 | Joe Panik, 2B | 4 | 2 | 3 | 2 | - | - | - | - | - | - | |
| 2.1 | LAA 3, TB 2 | Bud Norris (S,9) | - | - | - | - | 1.1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 3 | ||
| 2.0 | ATL 5, PIT 2 | Ender Inciarte, CF | 5 | 1 | 5 | 1 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 2.0 | NYY 4, KC 2 | Didi Gregorius, SS | 3 | 1 | 2 | 2 | - | - | - | - | - | - |
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 | +/- |
| Greinke, Zack 1871 | pi sp | ari nl | 6.7 | 16.4 | 85.7 | 162.8 | -3.0 |
| Sano, Miguel 3527 | 3b | min al | 5.5 | 8.5 | 14.5 | 14.5 | 2.5 |
| Feldman, Scott 2632 | pi sp | cin nl | 4.0 | 4.0 | 20.7 | 28.7 | 4.0 |
| Norris, Bud 2638 | pi cp | ana al | 3.0 | 8.7 | 33.4 | 49.1 | -2.7 |
| Inciarte, Ender 3360 | cf | atl nl | 3.0 | 5.0 | 9.0 | 9.0 | 1.0 |
| Peacock, Brad 2968 | pi sp | hou al | 2.7 | 2.7 | 9.4 | 12.1 | 2.7 |
| Panik, Joe 3401 | 2b | sf nl | 1.5 | 7.0 | 12.0 | 12.0 | -4.0 |
| Gregorius, Didi 3184 | ss | nyy al | 1.0 | 3.0 | 7.5 | 7.5 | -1.0 |
| Hoffman, Jeff 3806 | pi sp | col nl | 1.0 | 1.0 | 1.0 | 1.0 | 1.0 |
D-backs' Josh Collmenter (CG 3H 0R) tops players for Thursday, May 29
Diamondbacks pitcher Josh Collmenter is Thursday’s Player of the Day. Collmenter pitched a complete-game, three-hit shutout, facing the minimum 27 batters, in the 4-0 win over the Reds.
Astros pitcher Brad Peacock is American League Player of the Day. Peacock struck out eight over six innings in the 3-1 win over the Orioles. Peacock did not earn the win because he left with the game tied, 1-1.
Erick Aybar of the Angels is AL Batter of the Day. Aybar hit a three-run homer and went 3-for-5 in the 7-5 win over the Mariners.
Michael Morse of the Giants is National League Batter of the Day. Morse homered and hit a two-run, go-ahead double in the 6-5 win over the Giants. Morse earns 1.5 Box-Toppers points for being NL Batter of the Day, giving him 5.5 for the season. He is in 24th among all players in Box-Toppers rankings and third place among NL batters.
Notable: Miguel Cabrera of the Tigers rose to 12th place in Box-Toppers player rankings—and maintained his spot as top AL batter—after earning Player of the Game honors Thursday. Cabrera (1-3 2RBI in the 5-4 win over the Athletics) earns 1.0 Box-Toppers point, giving him 6.5 for the season.
Collmenter receives 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day. Peacock receives 1.7 for AL Player of the Day. Aybar and Morse each receive 1.5 for being top Batter of the Day in their league.
All of Thursday’s other Players of the Game (listed in the chart below) receive 1.0 Box-Toppers point.
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.
Top player from each game
Listed from highest to lowest Box-Toppers game score
` Denotes that the pitcher had a no-decision in the game and did not pick up a win or a save.
Astros' Peacock, Orioles' Gonzalez top players for Thursday, Sept. 5
Astros pitcher Brad Peacock is Thursday's Player of the Day. Peacock struck out nine over seven innings in the 3-2 win over the Athletics.
Orioles pitcher Miguel Gonzalez is American League Player of the Day. Gonzalez gave up one run over seven innings and struck out six in the 3-1 win over the White Sox.
Todd Frazier of the Reds is National League Batter of the Day. Frazier hit two homers and went 3-for-4 in the 6-2 win over the Cardinals.
Billy Butler of the Royals is AL Batter of the Day. Butler went 5-for-5 in the 13-inning, 7-6 win over the Mariners. Butler earns 1.5 Box-Toppers points for AL Batter of the Day, giving him 9.0 for the season. He has the most Box-Toppers points for the season among all seven of Thursday's Players of the Game and is in 49th place overall.
Peacock receives 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day. Gonzalez receives 1.7 for AL Player of the Day. Frazier and Butler each receive 1.5 for being top Batter of the Day in their league.
All of Thursday's other Players of the Game (listed in the chart below) receive 1.0 Box-Toppers point.
Top player from each game
Listed from highest to lowest Box-Toppers game score
| 905 | Score | Team | BATTERS | AB | R | H | RBI | BB | SO | - | - | PITCHERS | IP | H | R | ER | BB | SO |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| MLB | 6.0 | Astros | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Brad Peacock (W, 4-5) | 7.0 | 5 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 9 | ||
| AL | 6.0 | Orioles | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Miguel Gonzalez (W, 9-7) | 7.0 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 6 | ||
| BAT | 3.0 | Reds | Todd Frazier 3B | 4 | 2 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||
| 3.0 | Red Sox | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Craig Breslow (W, 5-2) | 2.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 2 | |||
| BAT | 2.0 | Royals | Billy Butler DH | 5 | 1 | 5 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||
| 2.0 | `Diamondbacks | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Tony Sipp (H, 2) | 1.0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | |||
| 1.1 | Angels | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Jerome Williams (W, 6-10) | 6.1 | 6 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 7 |
` Denotes that the pitcher had a no-decision in the game and did not pick up a win or a save.