Hill struck out nine over seven innings, allowing one run, two hits and no walks, in the 5-4 win over the Diamondbacks. Hill did not earn the win, picking up a no-decision, because when he exited, the game was tied, 1-1.
It is the third straight day that a Dodgers pitcher has earned Box-Toppers overall Player of the Day honors. Clayton Kershaw did it Tuesday. Alex Wood did it Wednesday.
American League Player of the Day—Edwin Encarnacion of the Indians homered, doubled and went 4-for-5, scoring four times and driving in two runs, in the 11-2 win over the Padres.
Encarnacion earns 1.7 Box-Toppers points for being AL Player of the Day, giving him 7.9 for the season, most among the 12 who earned Player of the Game honors Thursday. Encarnacion ranks 18th among all players in season Box-Toppers points, third among AL batters, behind Ryon Healy of the Athletics (8.7) and Aaron Judge of the Yankees (8.2).
National League Batter of the Day—Domingo Santana of the Brewers hit two doubles and went 4-for-5, scoring three times and driving in two runs, in the 11-2 win over the Cubs.
American League Batter of the Day—There is no separate AL Batter of the Day for Thursday because the overall AL Player of the Day is batter Edwin Encarnacion.
Streak—Russell Martin of the Blue Jays has now earned Box-Toppers points in 12 straight seasons after earning his first Player of the Game honors of the season Thursday.
Martin (HR 3-5 2R BI in the 7-4 win over the Astros) earned his first Box-Toppers points in 2006 with the Dodgers and now has 54.0 career points, second among active AL catchers, behind Brian McCann of the Astros (60.4). Martin’s best season was 2016 with the Blue Jays, when he had 10.5 points, sixth among AL batters.
Scoring—Hill earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day and Encarnacion earns 1.7 points for being AL Player of the Day. Santana earns 1.5 points for being NL Batter of the Day. All of Thursday’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.
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Note—Friday’s usual Box-Toppers team power rankings report and player rankings report will be delayed until the All-Star break on Monday.
