Blog
Yankees pitcher Gerrit Cole is Box-Toppers’ top-ranked player over the past two seasons while Nationals pitcher Max Scherzer ranks first in points over the past six seasons.
Cole earned 39.6 Box-Toppers points combined in 2019 and 2020 to lead all players in that span, while Scherzer earned 116.2 from 2015-2020, most in that span.
Read MoreDodgers pitcher Rich Hill is Wednesday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day.
Also Wednesday, Yankees pitcher Luis Severino rises to fifth place in Box-Toppers season player rankings after earning Player of the Game honors.
Read MoreIndians pitcher Danny Salazar is Tuesday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day.
Also Tuesday, Dodgers pitcher Alex Wood rises to seventh place in Box-Toppers season player rankings after earning Player of the Game honors.
Read MoreIndians pitcher Danny Salazar is Saturday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day.
Also Saturday, Cubs pitcher Jon Lester rises to 18th place on Box-Toppers “all-time” career points list after earning National League Player of the Day honors.
Read More
Los Angeles Dodgers edge out Washington Nationals as Box-Toppers' top preseason team. Champion Cubs slip to 5th after key player losses. Indians rank 1st among AL teams.
Read More
Chicago Cubs seem likely to end their 108-year World Series drought, holding Box-Toppers-point edges in most categories, but the Cleveland Indians have been resilient when outmatched this postseason.
Read More
Pitcher Ryan Merritt led the Indians to a clinching American League Championship Series Game 5 win Wednesday, even though he has never earned Box-Toppers Player of the Game honors during the regular season.
Also Wednesday, Anthony Rizzo was Box-Toppers Player of the Game in the Cubs’ Game 4 win to even the National League Championship Series with the Dodgers at two games apiece.
Merritt pitched 4 1/3 scoreless innings, allowing two hits, no walks and striking out three, to earn Box-Toppers Player of the Game honors.
The Indians win the best-of-seven-game series over the Blue Jays, 4-1, and advance to the World Series beginning next Tuesday in Cleveland.
Merritt picked up a no decision because he did not pitch the requisite five innings to earn the win. However, he did pitch at least three innings, enough to qualify to earn Box-Toppers Player of the Game.
Merritt had a Box-Toppers game score Wednesday of +5.1, most of any Indians player. Left fielder Coco Crisp had the highest Box-Toppers game score (+1.0) among Indians batters (HR 1-2 R BI).
Opposing pitcher Marco Estrada of the Blue Jays had a Box-Toppers game score of +3.0 (6IP 5H 3R 0BB 7K L).
Merritt had no Box-Toppers points during the regular season and in fact is unranked because he has yet to earn his first career Player of the Game honor during the regular season. Merritt made his Major League debut May 30 and has played in four games, pitching a total of 11 innings.
The Indians ranked higher than the Blue Jays in Box-Toppers team rankings. The Indians ranked fourth with an accumulated 123.7 Box-Toppers points earned by their players in 2016. The Blue Jays ranked ninth with 114.0, the lowest of the five AL teams to qualify for the playoffs.
Yet, the Indians were weakened by the loss of two of their top starting pitchers—Danny Salazar (12.5 Box-Toppers points, ranked eighth among AL pitchers) and Carlos Carrasco (12.4 points, ranked 10th among AL pitchers). Both were out with injuries. A third starter, Trevor Bauer (11.4 Box-Toppers points, ranked 12th among AL pitchers), was injured during the series—cutting his pinky finger repairing a drone—and could only pitch 2/3 of an inning in Game 3 before having to be removed because he was bleeding so profusely from his drone wound.
Yet, the Indians were able to cobble together four wins with bullpen stars like Andrew Miller (8.0 Box-Toppers points, first among AL middle relievers) and Cody Allen (7.0 Box-Toppers points, fourth among AL closers), plus their ace starter Corey Kluber (21.2 Box-Toppers points, first among AL pitchers).
One final note: In March, Box-Toppers somehow made the correct preseason forecast that the Indians and Blue Jays would face off in the American League Championship Series and the Cubs and Dodgers would face off in the National League Championship Series.
The only problem with that: Box-Toppers picked the Blue Jays to win the ALCS and the World Series. Now, that ain’t gonna happen.
See Box-Toppers ALCS series preview with player-by-player matchups.
Rizzo homered and went 3-for-5, scoring twice and driving in three runs, to earn Box-Toppers Player of the Game honors.
The Cubs now even the best-of-seven-game National League Championship Series with the Dodgers, 2-2.
Rizzo had a Box-Toppers game score Wednesday of +3.0, most among Cubs players. Cubs starting pitcher John Lackey (13.4 Box-Toppers points, ranked 16th, ninth among NL pitchers) had a Box-Toppers game score of −3.0 (4IP 3H 2R 3BB 3K ND).
Opposing pitcher Julio Urias of the Dodgers had a Box-Toppers game score of −6.8 (3.2IP 4H 4R 2BB 4K L).
Rizzo had 3.0 Box-Toppers points during the regular season, 71st among NL batters and 16th among NL first basemen.
The series resumes Thursday with Game 5 in Los Angeles.
See Box-Toppers NLCS series preview with player-by-player matchups.
| BTG | Game | Player of Game | AB | R | H | BI | IP | H | R | ER | BB | K | |
| 5.1 | `CLE 3, TOR 0 | Ryan Merritt | - | - | - | - | 4.1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | |
| 3.0 | CHC 10, LAD 2 | Anthony Rizzo, 1B | 5 | 2 | 3 | 3 | - | - | - | - | - | - | |
| `Denotes that the pitcher had a no-decision in the game and did not pick up a win or a save. | |||||||||||||
| BTG: Box-Toppers game score | |||||||||||||
The pitching matchup Thursday is a rematch of the Game 1 starters from Saturday. The Cubs won that game, 8-4:
Cubs—Jon Lester, 22.1 Box-Toppers points, ranked fourth among all players, third among NL pitchers.
Dodgers—Kenta Maeada, 10.0 Box-Toppers points, 54th among all players, 21st among NL pitchers.
See Box-Toppers NLCS series preview with player-by-player matchups.
Indians rank higher than the Blue Jays in Box-Toppers team rankings, but two pitchers who got them ranked so highly—Danny Salazar and Carlos Carrasco—are not available for the ALCS.
Read More
Giants pitcher Madison Bumgarner is Box-Toppers Player of the Day in Wednesday’s National League Wild Card game.
Bumgarner pitched a complete-game, four-hit shutout, striking out six and walking two, in the 3-0 win over the Mets.
Bumgarner had a Box-Toppers game score of +9.0. Third baseman Conor Gillaspie who hit the ninth-inning, three-run homer that put the Giants ahead, had a Box-Toppers game score of +2.0 (HR 2-4 R 3BI).
Bumgarner had 13.0 Box-Toppers points during the regular season, 19th among all players and 12th among NL pitchers. Over the past two seasons, Bumgarner has 30.0 Box-Toppers points, ranked seventh among NL pitchers. Gillaspie had 2.0 Box-Toppers points during the regular season.
The Giants, 10th-ranked in Box-Toppers team rankings (112.7), beat the Mets, ranked sixth (119.1). The Giants are the lowest-ranked team to qualify for the postseason but among the 10 teams in the playoffs, they were hottest down the stretch—in the season’s final 10 games, they picked up 8.7 Box-Toppers points.
The Giants will face the Cubs in the best-of-five NL Divisional Series beginning Friday in Chicago. The Cubs have baseball’s best record and highest accumulated Box-Toppers point total of 139.5.
| BTG | Game | Player of Game | AB | R | H | BI | IP | H | R | ER | BB | K | |
| 9.0 | SF 3, NYM 0 | Madison Bumgarner (W,1-0) | - | - | - | - | 9.0 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 6 | |
| BTG: Box-Toppers game score | |||||||||||||
Coming Thursday: The American League begins both division playoff series:
The Blue Jays rank 10th in Box-Toppers team rankings (114.0 Box-Toppers points) while the Rangers rank fifth (122.5). In the final 10 days of the season, the Rangers picked up 7.5 Box-Toppers points while the Blue Jays picked up 6.0.
The pitching matchup Thursday:
Blue Jays—Marco Estrada, 11.0 Box-Toppers points, ranked 37th among all players, 15th among AL pitchers.
Rangers—Cole Hamels, 17.8 Box-Toppers points, ranked sixth among all players, second among AL pitchers.
The Blue Jays have three players who are among the top 10 in their Box-Toppers category:
The Rangers also have three players who are among the top 10 in their Box-Toppers category:
| Toronto Blue Jays | Texas Rangers | |||||
| Player | Pos | BTP | Player | Pos | BTP | |
| Happ, J.A. 2536 | pi sp | 14.7 | Hamels, Cole 2135 | pi sp | 17.8 | |
| Estrada, Marco 2847 | pi sp | 11.0 | Darvish, Yu 3003 | pi sp | 10.4 | |
| Sanchez, Aaron 3392 | pi sp | 10.7 | Beltre, Adrian 1141 | 3b | 9.5 | |
| Martin, Russell 2202 | ca | 10.5 | Andrus, Elvis 2582 | ss | 9.2 | |
| Donaldson, Josh 3144 | 3b | 9.7 | Lewis, Colby 1567 | pi sp | 7.7 | |
| Liriano, Francisco 2104 | pi sp | 8.0 | Mazara, Nomar 3614 | rf lf | 7.0 | |
| Encarnacion, Edwin 2098 | dh 1b | 8.0 | Odor, Rougned 3336 | 2b | 6.5 | |
| Dickey, R.A. 1734 | pi sp | 7.0 | Beltran, Carlos 1194 | dh rf | 6.0 | |
| Stroman, Marcus 3327 | pi sp | 6.7 | Lucroy, Jonathan 2744 | ca | 5.7 | |
| Saunders, Michael 2768 | lf | 5.2 | Griffin, A.J. 3074 | pi sp | 5.7 | |
| Smoak, Justin 2731 | 1b | 3.5 | Gomez, Carlos 2397 | lf | 4.5 | |
| Osuna, Roberto 3512 | pi cp | 3.0 | Holland, Derek 2634 | pi sp | 4.0 | |
| Upton, Melvin 1922 | lf cf | 2.5 | Desmond, Ian 2673 | cf lf | 4.0 | |
| Pillar, Kevin 3486 | cf | 2.0 | Moreland, Mitch 2799 | 1b | 3.5 | |
| Biagini, Joe 3646 | pi mr | 2.0 | Harrell, Lucas 2988 | pi sp | 3.0 | |
| Goins, Ryan 3478 | 2b | 1.5 | Rua, Ryan 3631 | 1b lf | 3.0 | |
| Bautista, Jose 2169 | rf | 1.0 | DeShields, Delino 3557 | cf lf | 2.0 | |
| Tulowitzki, Troy 2308 | ss | 1.0 | Perez, Martin 3213 | pi sp | 2.0 | |
| Bolsinger, Mike 3318 | pi sp | 1.0 | Barnette, Tony 3670 | pi mr | 2.0 | |
| Grilli, Jason 2209 | pi mr cp | 1.0 | Bush, Matt 3673 | pi mr cp | 2.0 | |
| Travis, Devon 3436 | 2b | 1.0 | Tolleson, Shawn 3077 | pi cp | 1.0 | |
| Benoit, Joaquin 1663 | pi mr | 1.0 | Choo, Shin-Soo 2267 | rf | 1.0 | |
| Cecil, Brett 2566 | pi mr | 1.0 | Claudio, Alex 3459 | pi mr | 1.0 | |
| Navarro, Dioner 2087 | dh ca | 1.0 | Jeffress, Jeremy 3473 | pi cp | 1.0 | |
| Diekman, Jake 3266 | pi mr | 1.0 | ||||
| Alvarez, Dario 3663 | pi mr | 1.0 | ||||
| Profar, Jurickson 3665 | ph | 1.0 | ||||
| Totals | 114.0 | Totals | 122.5 | |||
The Red Sox rank second in Box-Toppers team rankings (128.3 Box-Toppers points) while the Indians rank fourth (123.7). In the final 10 days of the season, the Indians picked up 6.0 Box-Toppers points while the Red Sox picked up 5.0.
The pitching matchup Thursday:
Red Sox—Rick Porcello, 8.0 Box-Toppers points, 91st among all players, 31st among AL pitchers. (Despite leading all pitchers with 22 wins, Porcello did not rank highly in Box-Toppers player rankings in 2016.)
Indians—Trevor Bauer, 11.4 Box-Toppers points, 34th among all players, 12th among AL pitchers. (Bauer ranks higher than Porcello in Box-Toppers player rankings but has 10 fewer wins—he was 12-8 in 2016.)
The Red Sox are the AL’s top-ranked team in Box-Toppers points, but have only one player ranked in the top 10 in a Box-Toppers category—David Price, 12.4 Box-Toppers points, ranks ninth among AL pitchers.
The Indians have three pitchers in Box-Toppers top 10 pitchers list, none of whom is starting Game 1:
| Boston Red Sox | Cleveland Indians | |||||
| Player | Pos | BTP | Player | Pos | BTP | |
| Price, David 2593 | pi sp | 12.4 | Kluber, Corey 3200 | pi sp | 21.2 | |
| Pomeranz, Drew 3061 | pi sp | 12.4 | Salazar, Danny 3223 | pi sp | 12.5 | |
| Wright, Steven 3224 | pi sp | 8.4 | Carrasco, Carlos 2885 | pi sp | 12.4 | |
| Kimbrel, Craig 2825 | pi cp | 8.0 | Bauer, Trevor 3065 | pi sp | 11.4 | |
| Ortiz, David | dh | 8.0 | Miller, Andrew 2436 | pi cp mr | 8.0 | |
| Porcello, Rick 2573 | pi sp | 8.0 | Allen, Cody 3265 | pi cp mr | 7.0 | |
| Shaw, Travis 3544 | 1b 3b | 7.0 | Lindor, Francisco 3586 | ss | 7.0 | |
| Ramirez, Hanley 2119 | 1b | 7.0 | Napoli, Mike 2161 | 1b | 6.5 | |
| Betts, Mookie 3404 | rf | 6.2 | Tomlin, Josh 2771 | pi sp | 5.0 | |
| Bradley, Jackie Jr. 3293 | cf | 5.5 | Chisenhall, Lonnie 2959 | rf | 3.5 | |
| Hill, Aaron 2056 | 2b | 5.5 | Crisp, Coco 1876 | lf | 3.0 | |
| Buchholz, Clay 2363 | pi sp | 5.0 | Otero, Dan 3365 | pi mr | 3.0 | |
| Pedroia, Dustin 2320 | 2b | 5.0 | Shaw, Bryan 2995 | pi mr | 3.0 | |
| Rodriguez, Eduardo 3480 | pi sp | 4.7 | Clevinger, Mike 3707 | pi mr sp | 3.0 | |
| Uehara, Koji 2802 | pi cp | 4.0 | Byrd, Marlon 1751 | rf | 2.5 | |
| Ross, Robbie Jr. 2999 | pi cp mr sp | 3.0 | Santana, Carlos 2757 | dh 1b | 2.5 | |
| Leon, Sandy 3676 | ca | 3.0 | Almonte, Abraham 3554 | rf ph | 2.0 | |
| Holt, Brock 3340 | 3b lf | 2.5 | Naquin, Tyler 3662 | cf ph | 2.0 | |
| Ziegler, Brad 2504 | pi cp | 2.0 | Anderson, Cody 3509 | pi sp | 1.7 | |
| Abad, Fernando 3653 | pi mr | 2.0 | Ramirez, Jose 3436 | 3b | 1.5 | |
| Hembree, Heath 3620 | pi cp | 1.7 | Brantley, Michael 2785 | lf | 1.0 | |
| Swihart, Blake 3565 | lf ca | 1.0 | McAllister, Zach 3088 | pi mr sp | 1.0 | |
| Kelly, Joe 3066 | pi sp | 1.0 | Gomes, Yan 3177 | ca | 1.0 | |
| Bogaerts, Xander 3383 | ss | 1.0 | Guyer, Brandon 3363 | lf | 1.0 | |
| Hanigan, Ryan 2708 | ca | 1.0 | Gimenez, Chris 2870 | ca | 1.0 | |
| Tazawa, Junichi 3151 | pi mr | 1.0 | ||||
| Vazquez, Christian 3380 | ca | 1.0 | ||||
| Brentz, Bryce 3680 | lf | 1.0 | ||||
| Totals | 128.3 | Totals | 123.7 | |||
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.
Indians pitcher Danny Salazar is Sunday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day.
| Player | Pos | Team | BTP | |
| 1 | Scherzer, Max 2588 | pi sp | dc nl | 22.7 |
| 2 | Kershaw, Clayton 2494 | pi sp | lad nl | 20.0 |
| 3 | Fernandez, Jose 3147 | pi sp | fla nl | 18.4 |
| 4 | Kluber, Corey 3200 | pi sp | cle al | 18.2 |
| 5 | Lester, Jon 2173 | pi sp | chi nl | 17.1 |
| 6 | Hamels, Cole 2135 | pi sp | tex al | 16.8 |
| 7 | Cueto, Johnny 2400 | pi sp | sf nl | 14.4 |
| 8 | Strasburg, Stephen 2736 | pi sp | dc nl | 14.1 |
| 9 | Syndergaard, Noah 3472 | pi sp | nym nl | 14.0 |
| 10 | Arrieta, Jake 2738 | pi sp | chi nl | 13.7 |
Salazar struck out 11 over 5 2/3 innings, allowing one run, six hits and two walks, in the 6-5 win over the Marlins. Salazar did not earn the win, picking up a no-decision, because he exited the game with the Indians trailing, 1-0.
Salazar earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day, giving him 12.5 for the season. He ranks 14th among all players and fourth among American League pitchers.
National League Player of the Day—Braves pitcher Julio Teheran pitched six scoreless innings, striking out seven and allowing five hits and two walks, in the 2-0 win over the Phillies.
American League Batter of the Day—Jose Abreu of the White Sox hit a pair of three-run homers in the 13-11, 12-inning win over the Twins. Abreu went 3-for-7, driving in seven total runs.
Abreu earns 1.5 Box-Toppers points for being AL Batter of the Day, his first points of the 2016 season. Abreu led AL batters in Box-Toppers points in his rookie year of 2014 with 15.5 and had 3.0 points in 2015.
National League Batter of the Day—Yasiel Puig of the Dodgers hit a three-run homer and went 1-for-2, scoring three times and driving in three runs, in the 7-4 win over the Padres.
Puig earns 1.5 Box-Toppers points for being NL Batter of the Day and has 2.5 points for the season. It is his first Player of the Game honor since being called back up after spending a month in the minors. Puig, despite his star status, has only 8.5 career Box-Toppers points over four seasons—1.5 in 2013, 1.0 in 2014, 3.5 in 2015 and 2.5 in 2016.
Notable—Cubs pitcher John Lackey has the most season Box-Toppers points among the 15 who earned Player of the Game honors Sunday.
Lackey (5IP H 2R BB 4K ND in the 3-2, 13-inning win over the Giants) earns 1.0 Box-Toppers point, giving him 13.4 for the season. He ranks 11th among all players and ninth among NL pitchers. He is the third Cubs starting pitcher among Box-Toppers top 10 NL pitchers—Jon Lester (17.1) ranks fourth and Jake Arrieta (13.7) ranks eighth.
Lackey now has 121.1 career Box-Toppers points, 39th-most among all players since Box-Toppers tracking began in 1995. He trails 38th-ranked player Gary Sheffield (124.1).
Also notable—Albert Pujols of the Angels extends his lead in career Box-Toppers points among active batters after earning Player of the Game honors Sunday.
Pujols (HR 3-4 R 2BI in the 4-2 win over the Mariners) earns 1.0 Box-Toppers point, giving him 182.3 career points. It is the first point Pujols has earned since becoming the active career leader in points after the Yankees released previous leader Alex Rodriguez (187.0) on Aug. 13. Pujols ranks sixth among all players since 1995 when Box-Toppers tracking began and trails fifth-ranked player, Yankees pitcher CC Sabathia (183.0) by only 0.7 points. Sabathia is the active career leader in points. (See the updated list of top 20 players in career Box-Toppers points on the home page.)
Pujols has 8.0 Box-Toppers points on the season, his best year since 2011 when he had 12.5 points with the Cardinals. Pujols ranks 11th among AL batters this season.
Debut—Mets pitcher Seth Lugo made his Box-Toppers debut Sunday with his first career Player of the Game honor.
Lugo (7IP 6H R 0BB 4K W in the 5-1 win over the Nationals) made his Major League debut July 1 and was playing in his 13th career game. He is the 3,729th player to debut in Box-Toppers since record keeping began in 1995.
Scoring—Salazar earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day and Teheran earns 1.7 points for being AL Player of the Day. Abreu and Puig 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.
Listed from highest to lowest Box-Toppers game score
| 9/4 | Score | Game | Player of Game | AB | R | H | BI | IP | H | R | ER | BB | K | |
| MLB | 6.2 | `CLE 6, MIA 5 | Danny Salazar | - | - | - | - | 5.2 | 6 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 11 | |
| NL | 6.0 | ATL 2, PHI 0 | Julio Teheran (W,5-9) | - | - | - | - | 6.0 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 7 | |
| 5.1 | `OAK 1, BOS 0 | Kendall Graveman | - | - | - | - | 6.1 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 7 | ||
| BAT | 5.0 | CHW 13, MIN 11 (12) | Jose Abreu, 1B | 7 | 2 | 3 | 7 | - | - | - | - | - | - | |
| BAT | 5.0 | LAD 7, SD 4 | Yasiel Puig, RF | 2 | 3 | 1 | 3 | - | - | - | - | - | - | |
| 5.0 | MIL 10, PIT 0 | Jonathan Villar, PH | 1 | 1 | 1 | 4 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 4.0 | `CHC 3, SF 2 (13) | John Lackey | - | - | - | - | 5.0 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 4 | ||
| 3.1 | NYY 5, BAL 2 | Dellin Betances (S,8) | - | - | - | - | 1.1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | ||
| 3.0 | NYM 5, WSH 1 | Seth Lugo (W,3-2) | - | - | - | - | 7.0 | 6 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 4 | ||
| 3.0 | TOR 5, TB 3 | Joaquin Benoit (W,3-1) | - | - | - | - | 1.0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | ||
| 2.2 | HOU 7, TEX 6 | Chris Devenski (W,3-4) | - | - | - | - | 1.2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | ||
| 2.0 | LAA 4, SEA 2 | Albert Pujols, DH | 4 | 1 | 3 | 2 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 2.0 | DET 6, KC 5 | Justin Upton, LF | 4 | 1 | 2 | 3 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 2.0 | STL 5, CIN 2 | Seung Hwan Oh (S,15) | - | - | - | - | 1.0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | ||
| 1.0 | ARI 8, COL 5 | Jean Segura, 2B | 4 | 2 | 3 | 0 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| `Denotes that the pitcher had a no-decision in the game and did not pick up a win or a save. | ||||||||||||||
| Player of Game | Pos | Team | 16 | 15-16 | 11-16 | Career | +/- |
| Lackey, John 1640 | pi sp | chi nl | 13.4 | 23.1 | 42.8 | 121.2 | 3.7 |
| Salazar, Danny 3223 | pi sp | cle al | 12.5 | 25.9 | 35.3 | 35.3 | -0.9 |
| Teheran, Julio 3176 | pi sp | atl nl | 8.7 | 16.4 | 44.5 | 44.5 | 1.0 |
| Pujols, Albert 1438 | dh 1b | ana al | 8.0 | 15.0 | 45.0 | 182.3 | 1.0 |
| Upton, Justin 2411 | lf | det al | 6.7 | 15.7 | 42.6 | 51.1 | -2.3 |
| Graveman, Kendall 3444 | pi sp | oak al | 6.0 | 10.7 | 10.7 | 10.7 | 1.3 |
| Oh, Seung Hwan 3693 | pi cp | stl nl | 5.0 | 5.0 | 5.0 | 5.0 | 5.0 |
| Betances, Dellin 3333 | pi mr cp | nyy al | 4.0 | 8.0 | 12.7 | 12.7 | 0.0 |
| Segura, Jean 3173 | 2b | ari nl | 3.0 | 5.0 | 9.5 | 9.5 | 1.0 |
| Villar, Jonathan 3233 | ss ph | mil nl | 3.0 | 3.0 | 5.0 | 5.0 | 3.0 |
| Devenski, Chris 3702 | pi sp | hou nl | 2.7 | 2.7 | 2.7 | 2.7 | 2.7 |
| Puig, Yasiel 3193 | rf | lad nl | 2.5 | 6.0 | 8.5 | 8.5 | -1.0 |
| Abreu, Jose 3308 | 1b | chi al | 1.5 | 4.5 | 20.0 | 20.0 | -1.5 |
| Benoit, Joaquin 1663 | pi mr | tor al | 1.0 | 3.0 | 9.0 | 29.5 | -1.0 |
| Lugo, Seth 3729 | pi sp | nym nl | 1.0 | 1.0 | 1.0 | 1.0 | 1.0 |
Kershaw, on disabled list since late June with return date uncertain, has not earned Box-Toppers points since June 20, but still holds lead in player rankings.
Read MoreA look at the All-Star rosters based on Box-Toppers points. Which players were worthy but unchosen? Which players made it but probably shouldn't have?
Read MoreIf Kershaw comes back, he could break single-season Box-Toppers points record of 33.7. If he doesn't come back, his 20 points could still lead NL pitchers.
Read More
Nationals pitcher Max Scherzer is Wednesday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day and rises to third in player rankings.
| Player | Pos | Team | BTP | |
| 1 | Kershaw, Clayton 2494 | pi sp | lad nl | 20.0 |
| 2 | Fernandez, Jose 3147 | pi sp | fla nl | 13.4 |
| 3 | Scherzer, Max 2588 | pi sp | dc nl | 12.0 |
| 4 | Cueto, Johnny 2400 | pi sp | sf nl | 11.7 |
| 5 | Kluber, Corey 3200 | pi sp | cle al | 10.8 |
| 6 | Arrieta, Jake 2738 | pi sp | chi nl | 10.7 |
| 7 | Sale, Chris 2806 | pi sp | chi al | 10.7 |
| 8 | Salazar, Danny 3223 | pi sp | cle al | 10.5 |
| 9 | Hamels, Cole 2135 | pi sp | tex al | 10.4 |
| 10 | Syndergaard, Noah 3472 | pi sp | nym nl | 10.0 |
Also Wednesday, Indians pitcher Danny Salazar rises to eighth place in Box-Toppers season player rankings.
Player of the Day—Scherzer struck out 10 over 7 1/3 scoreless innings, allowing two hits and one walk, in the 4-2 win over the Mets.
Scherzer earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day, giving him 12.0 for the season, rising to third among all players and third among National League pitchers, behind Clayton Kershaw of the Dodgers (20.0) and Jose Fernandez of the Marlins (13.4).
Scherzer also now has 118.0 career Box-Toppers points and rises to 39th place among all players since 1995, when Box-Toppers tracking began. With his points Wednesday, he passes five players on the “all-time” list—Todd Helton (116.4), Mark Buehrle (116.7), Cubs pitcher John Lackey (117.2), Barry Zito (117.4) and Carlos Delgado (117.7).
American League Player of the Day—Indians pitcher Danny Salazar pitched eight scoreless innings, striking out seven and allowing five hits and no walks, in the 3-0 win over the Braves.
Salazar earns 1.7 Box-Toppers points for being AL Player of the Day, giving him 10.5 for the season and rising to eighth in player rankings, third among AL pitchers, behind Corey Kluber of the Indians (10.8) and Chris Sale of the White Sox (10.7).
Salazar also becomes the 10th player this season with 10 or more Box-Toppers points.
American League Batter of the Day—Brian McCann of the Yankees hit two home runs, going 2-for-3, scoring three times and driving in four, in the 9-7 win over the Rangers.
With his first Player of the Game honor of the season, McCann has now earned Box-Toppers points in 11 straight seasons, beginning in 2006 with the Braves. He has 56.7 career Box-Toppers points, first among active catchers and fifth among all catchers since 1995, when Box-Toppers tracking began. His best season was 2009 with the Braves when he had 8.5 points, first among NL catchers. In 2015, he had 6.5 points with the Yankees, first among AL catchers.
National League Batter of the Day—Sean Rodriguez of the Pirates hit two doubles and went 2-for-3, scoring twice and driving in four runs, in the 8-1 win over the Mariners.
Scoring—Scherzer earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day and Salazar earns 1.7 points for being AL Player of the Day. McCann and Rodriguez 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.
Listed from highest to lowest Box-Toppers game score
| 6/29 | Score | Game | Player of Game | AB | R | H | BI | IP | H | R | ER | BB | K | |
| MLB | 14.1 | DC 4/NYM 2 | Max Scherzer (W,9-5) | - | - | - | - | 7.1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 10 | |
| 11.0 | MIL 7/LAD 0 | Junior Guerra (W,5-1) | - | - | - | - | 8.0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 7 | ||
| AL | 10.0 | CLE 3/ATL 0 | Danny Salazar (W,10-3) | - | - | - | - | 7.0 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 8 | |
| 8.0 | TB 4/BOS 0 | Matt Moore (W,4-5) | - | - | - | - | 7.0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 6 | ||
| BAT | 6.0 | NYY 9/TEX 7 | Brian McCann, C | 3 | 3 | 2 | 4 | - | - | - | - | - | - | |
| BAT | 5.0 | PIT 8/SEA 1 | Sean Rodriguez, RF | 3 | 2 | 2 | 4 | - | - | - | - | - | - | |
| 4.0 | HOU 10/LAA 4 | Jose Altuve, 2B | 5 | 4 | 4 | 1 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 3.2 | `KC 3/STL 2 | Edinson Volquez | - | - | - | - | 6.2 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 4 | ||
| 3.0 | BAL 12/SD 6 | Mark Trumbo, RF | 5 | 2 | 2 | 4 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 3.0 | DET 10/MIA 3 | Jarrod Saltalamacchia, C | 3 | 1 | 3 | 2 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 2.2 | OAK 7/SF 1 | Sean Manaea (W,3-4) | - | - | - | - | 5.2 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 4 | ||
| 2.0 | CHW 9/MIN 6 | Tyler Saladino, 3B | 4 | 2 | 2 | 2 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 2.0 | TOR 5/COL 3 | Edwin Encarnacion, 1B | 3 | 2 | 2 | 1 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 1.0 | PHI 9/ARI 8 | Cody Asche, LF | 5 | 0 | 3 | 3 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 0.0 | CHC 9/CIN 2 | Javier Baez, 2B | 5 | 1 | 3 | 1 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| `Denotes that the pitcher had a no-decision in the game and did not pick up a win or a save. | ||||||||||||||
| Player of Game | Pos | Team | 16 | 15-16 | 11-16 | Career | +/- |
| Scherzer, Max 2588 | pi sp | dc nl | 12.0 | 33.0 | 97.6 | 118.0 | -9.0 |
| Salazar, Danny 3223 | pi sp | cle al | 10.5 | 23.9 | 33.3 | 33.3 | -2.9 |
| Altuve, Jose 3007 | 2b | hou al | 8.5 | 15.5 | 25.0 | 25.0 | 1.5 |
| Volquez, Edinson 2220 | pi sp | kc al | 6.4 | 13.4 | 38.1 | 64.2 | -0.6 |
| Trumbo, Mark 2851 | rf | bal al | 6.2 | 8.7 | 31.9 | 31.9 | 3.7 |
| Encarnacion, Edwin 2098 | dh | tor al | 6.0 | 16.4 | 44.6 | 65.1 | -4.4 |
| Moore, Matt 2975 | pi sp | tb al | 5.7 | 5.7 | 31.2 | 31.2 | 5.7 |
| Guerra, Junior 3633 | pi sp | mil nl | 5.0 | 5.0 | 5.0 | 5.0 | 5.0 |
| Manaea, Sean 3637 | pi sp | oak al | 3.0 | 3.0 | 3.0 | 3.0 | 3.0 |
| Saladino, Tyler 3645 | ss 3b | chi al | 2.0 | 2.0 | 2.0 | 2.0 | 2.0 |
| McCann, Brian 2179 | ca | nyy al | 1.5 | 8.0 | 33.7 | 56.7 | -5.0 |
| Asche, Cody 3268 | lf 3b | phi nl | 1.0 | 4.5 | 10.0 | 10.0 | -2.5 |
| Rodriguez, Sean 2729 | rf1b 2b | pit nl | 1.0 | 1.0 | 12.5 | 17.5 | 1.0 |
| Baez, Javier 3395 | 2b | chi nl | 1.0 | 1.0 | 3.5 | 3.5 | 1.0 |
| Saltalamacchia, Jarod 2355 | ca | det al | 1.0 | 1.0 | 12.0 | 18.0 | 1.0 |
Kershaw had dominating lead with 20 Box-Toppers points. Indians' Kluber takes AL pitching lead. Machado, Suarez maintain leads among batters.
Read More
Indians pitcher Corey Kluber is Tuesday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day and rises to lead American League pitchers in season player rankings.
| Player | Pos | Team | BTP | |
| 1 | Kershaw, Clayton 2494 | pi sp | lad nl | 20.0 |
| 2 | Cueto, Johnny 2400 | pi sp | sf nl | 11.7 |
| 2 | Fernandez, Jose 3147 | pi sp | fla nl | 11.7 |
| 3 | Arrieta, Jake 2738 | pi sp | chi nl | 10.7 |
| 4 | Scherzer, Max 2588 | pi sp | dc nl | 10.0 |
| 6 | Syndergaard, Noah 3472 | pi sp | nym nl | 10.0 |
| 7 | Kluber, Corey 3200 | pi sp | cle al | 9.8 |
| 8 | Greinke, Zack 1871 | pi sp | ari nl | 9.7 |
| 9 | Sale, Chris 2806 | pi sp | chi al | 9.7 |
| 10 | Lackey, John 1640 | pi sp | chi nl | 9.4 |
Also Tuesday, Giants pitcher Johnny Cueto rises to second in Box-Toppers player rankings and White Sox pitcher Chris Sale rises to ninth after both earned Player of the Game honors.
Player of the Day—Kluber pitched a complete game shutout, striking out nine and allowing three hits and two walks, in the 6-0 win over the Rays.
Kluber earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day, giving him 9.8 for the season, rising to seventh among all players in season rankings. Kluber also passes teammate Danny Salazar (8.8 points) to take the season points lead among AL pitchers.
National League Player of the Day—Giants pitcher Johnny Cueto allowed one run over 6 2/3 innings, striking out six and allowing four hits and one walk, in the 15-4 win over the Pirates.
Cueto earns 1.7 Box-Toppers points for being NL Player of the Day, giving him 11.7 for the season and rising to second in season player rankings. Cueto still trails overall leader, Dodgers pitcher Clayton Kershaw (20.0) by a significant 8.3-point margin.
American League Batter of the Day—Kurt Suzuki of the Twins homered and hit two doubles, going 4-for-5, scoring twice and driving in six runs, in the 14-10 win over the Phillies.
Suzuki has now earned at least 1.0 Box-Toppers point in 10 straight seasons. He earned his first points in 2007 with the Athletics and has 32.0 career Box-Toppers points, third among active AL catchers. His best season was 2009 with the Athletics when he had 6.0 points, fourth among AL catchers. In 2015, he had 1.5 points with the Twins.
National League Batter of the Day—Jay Bruce of the Reds hit a three-run homer and a double, going 3-for-4 and driving in four total runs, in the 8-2 win over the Rangers.
Rankings—White Sox pitcher Chris Sale rises to ninth place in Box-Toppers season player rankings after earning Player of the Game honors Tuesday.
Sale (7IP 4H R BB 9K W in the 3-1 win over the Red Sox) earns 1.0 Box-Toppers point, giving him 9.7 for the season. He ranks second among AL pitchers.
Debut—Andrew Romine of the Tigers made his Box-Toppers debut Tuesday, the first time in his career he earned Player of the Game honors.
Romine (pinch run in the 4-2 win over the Mariners) made his Major League debut Sept. 24, 2010, and was playing in his 323rd career game. He is the 3,666th player to debut in Box-Toppers since record keeping began in 1995.
Scoring—Kluber earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day and Cueto earns 1.7 points for being NL Player of the Day. Suzuki and Bruce 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.
Listed from highest to lowest Box-Toppers game score
| 6/21 | Score | Game | Player of Game | AB | R | H | BI | IP | H | R | ER | BB | K | |
| MLB | 13.0 | CLE 6/TB 0 | Corey Kluber (W,7-7) | - | - | - | - | 9.0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 9 | |
| 9.0 | CHW 3/BOS 1 | Chris Sale (W,12-2) | - | - | - | - | 7.0 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 9 | ||
| BAT | 7.0 | MIN 14/PHI 10 | Kurt Suzuki, C | 5 | 2 | 4 | 6 | - | - | - | - | - | - | |
| NL | 5.2 | SF 15/PIT 4 | Johnny Cueto (W,11-1) | - | - | - | - | 6.2 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 6 | |
| BAT | 4.0 | CIN 8/TEX 2 | Jay Bruce, RF | 4 | 1 | 3 | 4 | - | - | - | - | - | - | |
| 4.0 | COL 8/NYY 4 | Nolan Arenado, 3B | 4 | 2 | 3 | 3 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 3.0 | `HOU 3/LAA 2 | Collin McHugh | - | - | - | - | 7.0 | 5 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 6 | ||
| 3.0 | `SD 10/BAL 7 | Brad Hand (H,3) | - | - | - | - | 1.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | ||
| 2.2 | ATL 3/MIA 2 | Chris Withrow (W,2-0) | - | - | - | - | 1.2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | ||
| 2.0 | OAK 5/MIL 3 | Marcus Semien, SS | 4 | 0 | 3 | 3 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 2.0 | LAD 3/DC 2 | Yasmani Grandal, C | 3 | 1 | 1 | 3 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 2.0 | NYM 2/KC 1 | Jeurys Familia (S,23) | - | - | - | - | 1.0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | ||
| 2.0 | `ARI 4/TOR 2 | Tyler Clippard (H,10) | - | - | - | - | 1.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | ||
| 1.0 | DET 4/SEA 2 | Andrew Romine, PR-DH | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 1.0 | STL 4/CHC 3 | Trevor Rosenthal (S,14) | - | - | - | - | 1.0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 2 | ||
| `Denotes that the pitcher had a no-decision in the game and did not pick up a win or a save. | ||||||||||||||
| Player of Game | Pos | Team | 16 | 15-16 | 11-16 | Career | +/- |
| Cueto, Johnny 2400 | pi sp | sf nl | 11.7 | 24.5 | 75.7 | 95.1 | -1.1 |
| Kluber, Corey 3200 | pi sp | cle al | 9.8 | 23.2 | 54.0 | 54.0 | -3.6 |
| Sale, Chris 2806 | pi sp | chi al | 9.7 | 28.5 | 80.7 | 82.7 | -9.1 |
| Bruce, Jay 2453 | rf | cin nl | 5.0 | 8.2 | 28.2 | 55.3 | 1.8 |
| Arenado, Nolan 3306 | 3b | col nl | 4.5 | 13.0 | 14.5 | 14.5 | -4.0 |
| McHugh, Collin 3316 | pi sp | hou al | 4.0 | 13.7 | 25.5 | 25.5 | -5.7 |
| Familia, Jeurys 3446 | pi cp | nym nl | 3.0 | 11.0 | 11.0 | 11.0 | -5.0 |
| Rosenthal, Trevor 3124 | pi cp | stl nl | 3.0 | 9.0 | 21.0 | 21.0 | -3.0 |
| Hand, Brad 2907 | pi mr sp | sd nl | 2.0 | 3.0 | 7.0 | 7.0 | 1.0 |
| Clippard, Tyler 2291 | pi mr | ari nl | 2.0 | 3.0 | 18.0 | 29.4 | 1.0 |
| Withrow, Chris 3273 | pi cp mr | atl nl | 2.0 | 2.0 | 3.0 | 3.0 | 2.0 |
| Suzuki, Kurt 2344 | ca | min al | 1.5 | 3.0 | 16.0 | 32.0 | 0.0 |
| Grandal, Yasmani 3058 | ca | lad nl | 1.0 | 3.0 | 11.0 | 11.0 | -1.0 |
| Semien, Marcus 3302 | ss | oak al | 1.0 | 1.0 | 4.5 | 4.5 | 1.0 |
| Romine, Andrew 3666 | dh pr | det al | 1.0 | 1.0 | 1.0 | 1.0 | 1.0 |
Kershaw extends Box-Toppers points lead. Indians' Danny Salazar takes lead among AL pitchers. Machado, Suarez lead batters.
Read More
Mets pitcher Noah Syndergaard is Wednesday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day and rises to fifth place in season player rankings.
| Player | Pos | Team | BTP | |
| 1 | Kershaw, Clayton 2494 | pi sp | lad nl | 18.0 |
| 2 | Fernandez, Jose 3147 | pi sp | fla nl | 11.7 |
| 3 | Scherzer, Max 2588 | pi sp | dc nl | 10.0 |
| 4 | Cueto, Johnny 2400 | pi sp | sf nl | 10.0 |
| 5 | Syndergaard, Noah 3472 | pi sp | nym nl | 10.0 |
| 6 | Lackey, John 1640 | pi sp | chi nl | 9.4 |
| 7 | Bumgarner, Madison 2753 | pi sp | sf nl | 9.0 |
| 8 | Salazar, Danny 3223 | pi sp | cle al | 8.8 |
| 9 | Arrieta, Jake 2738 | pi sp | chi nl | 8.7 |
| 10 | Sale, Chris 2806 | pi sp | chi al | 8.7 |
Also Wednesday, Dodgers pitcher Clayton Kershaw extended his dominant lead in season player rankings and Giants pitcher Johnny Cueto rose to fourth in player rankings.
Player of the Day—Syndergaard struck out 11 over 8 1/3 innings, allowing two runs, five hits and no walks, in the 11-2 win over the Pirates.
Syndergaard earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day, giving him 10.0 for the season, becoming the fourth player this season with 10 or more points. It is the second straight year Syndergaard has reached 10 points—in 2015, he had 10.4.
American League Player of the Day—Rays pitcher Drew Smyly struck out 12 over 6 2/3 innings, allowing two runs, four hits and no walks, in the 3-2, 13-inning win over the Mariners. Smyly did not earn the win, picking up a no-decision, because the game was tied when he exited.
National League Batter of the Day—Melvin Upton of the Padres homered and went 3-for-3, scoring twice and driving in two runs, in the 6-3 win over the Marlins.
Upton had a Box-Toppers game score of +4, the same as DJ LeMahieu of the Rockies, who was Player of the Game in the 6-3 win over the Yankees. While both players also had similar batting lines (3-3 2R 2BI), Upton won NL Batter of the Day honors on a tiebreaker because he hit a home run.
American League Batter of the Day—Hanley Ramirez of the Red Sox hit a three-run homer, going 2-for-3 and scoring twice, in the 6-4 win over the Orioles.
Kershaw—Dodgers pitcher Clayton Kershaw extends his dominant lead in Box-Toppers season player rankings after earning Player of the Game honors Wednesday.
Kershaw (7.1IP 5H 2R BB 11K W in the 3-2 win over the Diamondbacks) earns 1.0 Box-Toppers point for being Player of the Game, giving him 18.0 for the season. He now leads second-place player, Marlins pitcher Jose Fernandez (11.7) by 6.3 points, meaning Fernandez would need at least four starts to have a chance of catching Kershaw.
Kershaw also now has 177.3 career Box-Toppers points, maintaining his rank of sixth place among all players since 1995, when Box-Toppers tracking began (see homepage for updated list of “all-time” top 20 players in career points). Kershaw trails fifth-ranked player, Yankees pitcher CC Sabathia (182.0).
Rankings—Giants pitcher Johnny Cueto rises to fourth place in Box-Toppers season player rankings after earning Player of the Game honors Wednesday.
Cueto (7IP 7H R BB 9K W in the 10-1 win over the Brewers) earns 1.0 Box-Toppers point, giving him 10.0 for the season. He becomes the fifth player this season with 10.0 or more Box-Toppers points. It is the fifth season Cueto has reached 10 points, the third straight season.
Notable—With the rise of Syndergaard and Cueto in Box-Toppers top 10 player rankings, the only batter—Manny Machado of the Orioles—has slipped off the top 10 list. Machado, who leads AL batters with 8.7 Box-Toppers points, now ranks 11th among all players. Machado had been in the top 10 overall rankings since May 8.
The top NL batter, Eugenio Suarez of the Reds (7.0), ranks 20th among all players.
Also, with Machado sliding out of the top 10, eight of the top 10 players are now from the NL. The only two from the AL are Indians pitcher Danny Salazar (8.8 points, eighth place) and White Sox pitcher Chris Sale (8.7 points, 10th place).
Debut—Tim Anderson of the White Sox made his Box-Toppers debut Wednesday, the first time in his career he earned Player of the Game honors.
Anderson (3B 3-5 3R in the 5-3 win over the Tigers) made his Major League debut June 10 and was playing in his sixth career game. He is the 3,659th player to debut in Box-Toppers since record keeping began in 1995.
Scoring—Syndergaard earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day and Smyly earns 1.7 points for being AL Player of the Day. Upton and Ramirez 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.
Listed from highest to lowest Box-Toppers game score
| 6/15 | Score | Game | Player of Game | AB | R | H | BI | IP | H | R | ER | BB | K | |
| MLB | 11.1 | NYM 11/PIT 2 | Noah Syndergaard (W,7-2) | - | - | - | - | 8.1 | 5 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 11 | |
| AL | 10.2 | `TB 3/SEA 2 | Drew Smyly | - | - | - | - | 6.2 | 4 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 12 | |
| 8.1 | LAD 3/ARI 2 | Clayton Kershaw (W,10-1) | - | - | - | - | 7.1 | 5 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 11 | ||
| 6.0 | SF 10/MIL 1 | Johnny Cueto (W,10-1) | - | - | - | - | 7.0 | 7 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 9 | ||
| 6.0 | `DC 5/CHC 4 | Stephen Strasburg | - | - | - | - | 7.0 | 6 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 8 | ||
| 5.0 | LAA 10/MIN 2 | Hector Santiago (W,4-4) | - | - | - | - | 6.0 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 5 | ||
| BAT | 4.0 | SD 6/MIA 3 | Melvin Upton, LF | 3 | 2 | 3 | 2 | - | - | - | - | - | - | |
| 4.0 | COL 6/NYY 3 | DJ LeMahieu, 2B | 3 | 2 | 3 | 2 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| BAT | 4.0 | BOS 6/BAL 4 | Hanley Ramirez, 1B | 3 | 2 | 2 | 3 | - | - | - | - | - | - | |
| 3.0 | TEX 7/OAK 5 | Rougned Odor, 2B | 4 | 2 | 2 | 3 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 2.2 | TOR 7/PHI 2 | Marco Estrada (W,5-2) | - | - | - | - | 6.2 | 4 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 5 | ||
| 1.2 | `HOU 4/STL 1 | Collin McHugh | - | - | - | - | 6.2 | 7 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 6 | ||
| 1.0 | CHW 5/DET 3 | Tim Anderson, SS | 5 | 3 | 3 | 0 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 1.0 | KC 9/CLE 4 | Eric Hosmer, 1B | 5 | 2 | 2 | 2 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 1.0 | `ATL 9/CIN 8 | Bud Norris | - | - | - | - | 5.0 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 2 | 7 | ||
| `Denotes that the pitcher had a no-decision in the game and did not pick up a win or a save. | ||||||||||||||
| Player of Game | Pos | Team | 16 | 15-16 | 11-16 | Career | +/- |
| Kershaw, Clayton 2494 | pi sp | lad nl | 18.0 | 43.7 | 143.8 | 177.3 | -7.7 |
| Cueto, Johnny 2400 | pi sp | sf nl | 10.0 | 22.8 | 74.0 | 93.4 | -2.8 |
| Syndergaard, Noah 3472 | pi sp | nym nl | 10.0 | 20.4 | 20.4 | 20.4 | -0.4 |
| Strasburg, Stephen 2736 | pi sp | dc nl | 8.4 | 22.4 | 68.5 | 76.2 | -5.6 |
| Santiago, Hector 3109 | pi sp | ana al | 6.4 | 14.4 | 26.8 | 26.8 | -1.6 |
| Estrada, Marco 2847 | pi sp | tor al | 6.0 | 14.0 | 38.1 | 38.1 | -2.0 |
| Smyly, Drew 3009 | pi sp | tb al | 4.7 | 10.7 | 32.8 | 32.8 | -1.3 |
| LeMahieu, DJ 3091 | 2b | col nl | 4.5 | 11.5 | 17.5 | 17.5 | -2.5 |
| McHugh, Collin 3316 | pi sp | hou al | 3.0 | 12.7 | 24.5 | 24.5 | -6.7 |
| Hosmer, Eric 2886 | 1b | kc al | 3.0 | 12.0 | 25.5 | 25.5 | -6.0 |
| Odor, Rougned 3336 | 2b | tex al | 3.0 | 6.0 | 7.5 | 7.5 | 0.0 |
| Norris, Bud 2638 | pi sp | atl nl | 2.0 | 3.0 | 33.4 | 42.4 | 1.0 |
| Ramirez, Hanley 2119 | 1b ss | bos al | 1.5 | 1.5 | 24.2 | 52.1 | 1.5 |
| Upton, Melvin 1922 | lf | sd nl | 1.5 | 1.5 | 14.5 | 36.2 | 1.5 |
| Anderson, Tim 3659 | ss | chi al | 1.0 | 1.0 | 1.0 | 1.0 | 1.0 |
Rays pitcher Matt Moore is Sunday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day.
Also Sunday, Indians pitcher Danny Salazar rises to lead American League pitchers in Box-Toppers points after earning Player of the Game honors.
| Player | Pos | Team | BTP | |
| 1 | Kershaw, Clayton 2494 | pi sp | lad nl | 17.0 |
| 2 | Fernandez, Jose 3147 | pi sp | fla nl | 11.7 |
| 3 | Cueto, Johnny 2400 | pi sp | sf nl | 9.0 |
| 4 | Salazar, Danny 3223 | pi sp | cle al | 8.8 |
| 5 | Arrieta, Jake 2738 | pi sp | chi nl | 8.7 |
| 6 | Sale, Chris 2806 | pi sp | chi al | 8.7 |
| 7 | Machado, Manny 3087 | ss 3b | bal al | 8.7 |
| 8 | Matz, Steven 3516 | pi sp | nym nl | 8.7 |
| 9 | Lackey, John 1640 | pi sp | chi nl | 8.4 |
| 10 | Hill, Rich 2215 | pi sp | oak al | 8.4 |
Player of the Day—Moore pitched seven scoreless innings, striking out 10 and allowing two hits, in the 5-0 win over the Astros.
National League Player of the Day—Diamondbacks pitcher Robbie Ray pitched 7 2/3 scoreless innings, striking out six and allowing three hits, in the 6-0 win over the Marlins.
National League Batter of the Day—Matt Holliday of the Cardinals homered and went 3-for-4, scoring twice and driving in two runs, in the 8-3 win over the Pirates.
Sunday was the second straight day Holliday earned NL Batter of the Day honors. He has 6.0 Box-Toppers points on the season (3.0 earned in two days) and ranks third among NL batters.
American League Batter of the Day—Russell Martin of the Blue Jays hit a three-run homer and went 2-for-5, scoring twice, in the 10-9 win over the Orioles.
Rankings—Indians pitcher Danny Salazar rises to lead AL pitchers in Box-Toppers player rankings after earning Player of the Game honors.
Salazar (5.2IP 3H R 8K W in the 8-3 win over the Angels) earns 1.0 Box-Toppers point, giving him 8.8 for the season. He passes White Sox pitcher Chris Sale (8.7) for the lead among AL pitchers. Salazar now ranks fourth among all players.
Notable—Three players with more than 100 career Box-Toppers points earned Player of the Game honors Sunday:
Debut—Rockies pitcher Tyler Anderson made his Box-Toppers debut Sunday, the first time in his career he earned Player of the Game honors.
Anderson (6.1IP 6H R 6K ND in the 2-1 win over the Padres) was also making his Major League debut. He is the 3,656th player to debut in Box-Toppers since record keeping began in 1995.
Scoring—Moore earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day and Ray earns 1.7 points for being NL Player of the Day. Holliday and Martin 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.
Listed from highest to lowest Box-Toppers game score
| 6/12 | Score | Game | Player of Game | AB | R | H | BI | IP | H | R | ER | BB | K | |
| MLB | 14.0 | TB 5/HOU 0 | Matt Moore (W,3-4) | - | - | - | - | 7.0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 10 | |
| NL | 9.2 | ARI 6/MIA 0 | Robbie Ray (W,3-5) | - | - | - | - | 7.2 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 6 | |
| 9.0 | KC 3/CHW 1 | Yordano Ventura (W,5-4) | - | - | - | - | 7.0 | 5 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 10 | ||
| 8.0 | CHC 13/ATL 2 | Jon Lester (W,8-3) | - | - | - | - | 7.0 | 5 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 7 | ||
| 7.0 | MIL 5/NYM 3 | Zach Davies (W,5-3) | - | - | - | - | 6.0 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 7 | ||
| 4.2 | CLE 8/LAA 3 | Danny Salazar (W,7-3) | - | - | - | - | 5.2 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 4 | 8 | ||
| 4.1 | `COL 2/SD 1 | Tyler Anderson | - | - | - | - | 6.1 | 6 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 6 | ||
| 4.0 | `DC 5/PHI 4 | Joe Ross | - | - | - | - | 7.0 | 5 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 8 | ||
| 4.0 | TEX 6/SEA 4 | Cole Hamels (W,6-1) | - | - | - | - | 7.0 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 5 | ||
| 4.0 | DET 4/NYY 1 | Michael Fulmer (W,7-1) | - | - | - | - | 6.0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 3 | ||
| 4.0 | SF 2/LAD 1 | Jake Peavy (W,3-6) | - | - | - | - | 6.0 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 3 | ||
| BAT | 3.0 | STL 8/PIT 3 | Matt Holliday, LF | 4 | 2 | 3 | 2 | - | - | - | - | - | - | |
| BAT | 2.0 | TOR 10/BAL 9 | Russell Martin, C | 5 | 2 | 2 | 3 | - | - | - | - | - | - | |
| 2.0 | OAK 6/CIN 1 | Fernando Rodriguez (W,2-0) | - | - | - | - | 2.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||
| 2.0 | MIN 7/BOS 4 | Michael Tonkin (W,2-2) | - | - | - | - | 1.0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | ||
| `Denotes that the pitcher had a no-decision in the game and did not pick up a win or a save. | ||||||||||||||
| Player of Game | Pos | Team | 16 | 15-16 | 11-16 | Career | +/- |
| Salazar, Danny 3223 | pi sp | cle al | 8.8 | 22.2 | 31.6 | 31.6 | -4.6 |
| Lester, Jon 2173 | pi sp | chi nl | 8.0 | 20.0 | 66.2 | 129.1 | -4.0 |
| Hamels, Cole 2135 | pi sp | tex al | 7.4 | 22.8 | 74.4 | 133.6 | -8.0 |
| Fulmer, Michael 3640 | pi sp | det al | 6.7 | 6.7 | 6.7 | 6.7 | 6.7 |
| Holliday, Matt 1836 | 1b lf dh | stl nl | 6.0 | 7.5 | 37.7 | 97.8 | 4.5 |
| Ross, Joe 3499 | pi sp | dc nl | 5.7 | 10.7 | 10.7 | 10.7 | 0.7 |
| Martin, Russell 2202 | ca | tor al | 5.0 | 10.0 | 26.5 | 47.5 | 0.0 |
| Moore, Matt 2975 | pi sp | tb al | 4.7 | 4.7 | 30.2 | 30.2 | 4.7 |
| Davies, Zach 3581 | pi sp | mil nl | 4.0 | 7.0 | 7.0 | 7.0 | 1.0 |
| Ventura, Yordano 3294 | pi sp | kc al | 3.0 | 14.7 | 24.4 | 24.4 | -8.7 |
| Peavy, Jake 1635 | pi sp | sf nl | 3.0 | 8.0 | 36.1 | 139.8 | -2.0 |
| Ray, Robbie 3502 | pi sp | ari nl | 2.7 | 6.7 | 6.7 | 6.7 | -1.3 |
| Rodriguez, Fernando 3537 | pi mr | oak al | 2.0 | 3.0 | 3.0 | 3.0 | 1.0 |
| Tonkin, Michael 3615 | pi cp | min al | 2.0 | 2.0 | 2.0 | 2.0 | 2.0 |
| Anderson, Tyler 3656 | pi sp | col nl | 1.0 | 1.0 | 1.0 | 1.0 | 1.0 |
Padres pitcher Drew Pomeranz is Friday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day.
| Player | Pos | Team | BTP | |
| 1 | Kershaw, Clayton 2494 | pi sp | lad nl | 14.0 |
| 2 | Fernandez, Jose 3147 | pi sp | fla nl | 9.7 |
| 3 | Cueto, Johnny 2400 | pi sp | sf nl | 9.0 |
| 4 | Arrieta, Jake 2738 | pi sp | chi nl | 8.7 |
| 5 | Sale, Chris 2806 | pi sp | chi al | 8.7 |
| 6 | Machado, Manny 3087 | ss 3b | bal al | 8.7 |
| 7 | Matz, Steven 3516 | pi sp | nym nl | 8.7 |
| 8 | Hill, Rich 2215 | pi sp | oak al | 8.4 |
| 9 | Syndergaard, Noah 3472 | pi sp | nym nl | 8.0 |
| 10 | Salazar, Danny 3223 | pi sp | cle al | 7.8 |
Also Friday, two players rose into Box-Toppers season player rankings top 10 list—Mets pitcher Noah Syndergaard and Indians pitcher Danny Salazar. Plus, Eugenio Suarez of the Reds earned Player of the Game honors for the second straight day to take the season Box-Toppers points lead among National League batters, passing Yoenis Cespedes of the Mets.
Player of the Day—Pomeranz pitched seven scoreless innings, striking out eight and allowing two hits, in the 4-0 win over the Rockies.
American League Player of the Day—Indians pitcher Danny Salazar struck out nine over eight innings, allowing one run and three hits, in the 6-1 win over the Royals.
Salazar earns 1.7 Box-Toppers points for being AL Player of the Day, giving him 7.8 for the season, rising to 10th place in season player rankings, third among AL pitchers.
National League Batter of the Day—Corey Seager of the Dodgers hit three home runs, going 3-for-4, in the 4-2 win over the Braves.
American League Batter of the Day—Adrian Beltre of the Rangers hit a three-run homer and doubled, going 2-for-3 and driving in five total runs, in the 7-3 win over the Mariners.
Beltre earns 1.5 Box-Toppers points for being AL Batter of the Day, giving him 105.8 for his career, rising to 58th place among all players since 1995, when Box-Toppers tracking began. He passes Aramis Ramirez (105.8) on the “all-time” list and now trails 57th-ranked player Frank Thomas (106.2). Beltre ranks fifth in career Box-Toppers points among active AL batters.
Rankings—Mets pitcher Noah Syndergaard rises to ninth place in Box-Toppers season player rankings after earning Player of the Game honors Friday.
Syndergaard (7IP 6H 2R 9K W in the 6-2 win over the Marlins) earns 1.0 Box-Toppers point, giving him 8.0 for the season. He ranks sixth among NL pitchers.
Suarez—Eugenio Suarez of the Reds earned Player of the Game honors for the second straight day Friday and takes the Box-Toppers points lead among NL batters, passing Yoenis Cespedes of the Mets.
Suarez (HR 3-4 2R 2BI in the 7-2 win over the Nationals) earns 1.0 Box-Toppers point, giving him 7.0 for the season, passing previous NL batting leader, Cespedes (6.0). Suarez ranks 14th among all players.
Suarez also earned NL Batter of the Day honors Thursday.
Notable—Cubs pitcher John Lackey now has 114.5 career Box-Toppers points after earning Player of the Game honors Friday.
Lackey (6.2IP 5H 0R 9K W in the 6-0 win over the Diamondbacks) maintains his rank of 46th place among all players since 1995, when Box-Toppers tracking began. He trails 45th-ranked player Josh Beckett (114.9). Lackey has 6.7 Box-Toppers points for the season, 10th-most among NL pitchers.
Debut—James McCann of the Tigers made his Box-Toppers debut Friday, the first time in his career he earned Player of the Game honors.
McCann (HR 3B 3-4 2R 2BI in the 10-3 win over the White Sox) made his Major League debut Sept. 1, 2014, and was playing in his 149th career game. He is the 3,649th player to debut in Box-Toppers since record keeping began in 1995.
Scoring—Pomeranz earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day and Salazar earns 1.7 points for being AL Player of the Day. Seager and Beltre each earn 1.5 points for being their league’s Batter of the Day. All of Friday’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.
Listed from highest to lowest Box-Toppers game score
| 6/3 | Score | Game | Player of Game | AB | R | H | BI | IP | H | R | ER | BB | K | |
| MLB | 11.0 | SD 4/COL 0 | Drew Pomeranz (W,5-5) | - | - | - | - | 7.0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 8 | |
| 8.2 | CHC 6/ARI 0 | John Lackey (W,6-2) | - | - | - | - | 6.2 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 9 | ||
| AL | 7.0 | CLE 6/KC 1 | Danny Salazar (W,6-3) | - | - | - | - | 8.0 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 5 | 9 | |
| BAT | 5.0 | LAD 4/ATL 2 | Corey Seager, SS | 4 | 3 | 3 | 3 | - | - | - | - | - | - | |
| BAT | 5.0 | TEX 7/SEA 3 | Adrian Beltre, 3B | 3 | 1 | 2 | 5 | - | - | - | - | - | - | |
| 5.0 | NYM 6/MIA 2 | Noah Syndergaard (W,6-2) | - | - | - | - | 7.0 | 6 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 9 | ||
| 4.0 | HOU 12/OAK 2 | Evan Gattis, C | 5 | 1 | 4 | 4 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 3.0 | DET 10/CHW 3 | James McCann, C | 4 | 2 | 3 | 2 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 3.0 | CIN 7/DC 2 | Eugenio Suarez, 3B | 4 | 2 | 3 | 2 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 3.0 | PHI 6/MIL 3 | Cameron Rupp, C | 2 | 2 | 2 | 1 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 2.2 | TOR 5/BOS 2 | R.A. Dickey (W,3-6) | - | - | - | - | 6.2 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 5 | 4 | ||
| 2.0 | LAA 9/PIT 2 | Kole Calhoun, RF | 4 | 2 | 2 | 2 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 1.1 | BAL 6/NYY 5 | Mychal Givens (W,5-0) | - | - | - | - | 1.1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||
| 1.0 | SF 5/STL 1 | Kelby Tomlinson, PH | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 1.0 | TB 4/MIN 2 | Erasmo Ramirez (W,7-4) | - | - | - | - | 1.0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Player of Game | Pos | Team | 16 | 15-16 | 11-16 | Career | +/- |
| Syndergaard, Noah 3472 | pi sp | nym nl | 8.0 | 18.4 | 18.4 | 18.4 | -2.4 |
| Salazar, Danny 3223 | pi sp | cle al | 7.8 | 21.2 | 30.6 | 30.6 | -5.6 |
| Suarez, Eugenio 3355 | 3b | cin nl | 7.0 | 10.0 | 12.5 | 12.5 | 4.0 |
| Lackey, John 1640 | pi sp | chi nl | 6.7 | 16.4 | 36.1 | 114.5 | -3.0 |
| Pomeranz, Drew 3061 | pi sp mr | sd nl | 6.0 | 9.0 | 17.0 | 17.0 | 3.0 |
| Beltre, Adrian 1141 | 3b | tex al | 4.0 | 16.5 | 42.4 | 105.8 | -8.5 |
| Dickey, R.A. 1734 | pi sp | tor al | 3.0 | 8.0 | 52.2 | 73.9 | -2.0 |
| Calhoun, Kole 3279 | rf | ana al | 3.0 | 6.2 | 13.7 | 13.7 | -0.2 |
| Ramirez, Erasmo 1786 | pi sp mr | tb al | 2.7 | 9.7 | 11.7 | 13.7 | -4.3 |
| Tomlinson, Kelby 3619 | ph | sf nl | 2.0 | 2.0 | 2.0 | 2.0 | 2.0 |
| Seager, Corey 3587 | ss | lad nl | 1.5 | 3.0 | 3.0 | 3.0 | 0.0 |
| Gattis, Evan 3179 | ca dh | hou al | 1.0 | 5.0 | 7.0 | 7.0 | -3.0 |
| Givens, Mychal 3599 | pi mr | bal al | 1.0 | 2.0 | 2.0 | 2.0 | 0.0 |
| Rupp, Cameron 3556 | ca | phi nl | 1.0 | 2.0 | 2.0 | 2.0 | 0.0 |
| McCann, James 3649 | ca | det 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.