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Yankees pitcher Jamie Garcia is Monday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day.
Also Monday, Dodgers pitcher Clayton Kershaw failed to extend his Box-Toppers season player rankings lead in his start, a loss to the Phillies. Nationals pitcher Max Scherzer, ranked third, has the chance to take the lead in his start Tuesday.
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The Los Angeles Dodgers top Box-Toppers team rankings for the sixth straight week and are the week’s hottest team.
Meanwhile, the Houston Astros maintain their lead in Box-Toppers rankings among American League teams for the 11th straight week.
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The Los Angeles Dodgers top Box-Toppers team rankings for the fifth straight week.
Meanwhile, the Houston Astros maintain their lead in Box-Toppers rankings among American League teams for the 10th straight week and the Kansas City Royals are the week’s hottest team, thanks in part to recent player trades.
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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 MoreA comprehensive Box-Toppers analysis of all 2,428 games played in 2016 shows pitchers won Player of the Game honors more frequently than batters and won an overwhelming majority of overall Player of the Day honors.
Read MorePhillies pitcher Vince Velasquez has best single-game Box-Toppers game score in 2016. Clayton Kershaw, Jose Fernandez each had two of the 12 best game scores of the year.
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Cardinals pitcher Jaime Garcia is Friday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day.
Also Friday, Cubs pitcher Jon Lester bolstered his eighth-place rank in Box-Toppers season player rankings after earning Player of the Game honors.
| Player | Pos | Team | BTP | |
| 1 | Kershaw, Clayton 2494 | pi sp | lad nl | 20.0 |
| 2 | Scherzer, Max 2588 | pi sp | dc nl | 18.7 |
| 3 | Fernandez, Jose 3147 | pi sp | fla nl | 16.4 |
| 4 | Kluber, Corey 3200 | pi sp | cle al | 14.5 |
| 5 | Cueto, Johnny 2400 | pi sp | sf nl | 14.4 |
| 6 | Hamels, Cole 2135 | pi sp | tex al | 14.1 |
| 7 | Strasburg, Stephen 2736 | pi sp | dc nl | 14.1 |
| 8 | Lester, Jon 2173 | pi sp | chi nl | 13.4 |
| 9 | Bumgarner, Madison 2753 | pi sp | sf nl | 11.0 |
| 10 | Happ, J.A. 2536 | pi sp | tor al | 11.0 |
Player of the Day—Garcia pitched eight scoreless innings, striking out 11 and allowing three hits and one walk, in the 1-0 win over the Braves.
American League Player of the Day—Red Sox pitcher Steven Wright pitched a complete-game, three-hit shutout, striking out nine and allowing one walk, in the 9-0 win over the Dodgers.
American League Batter of the Day—Starlin Castro of the Yankees hit a grand slam and went 2-for-3, scoring three times, in the 13-7 win over the Indians.
National League Batter of the Day—Cameron Rupp of the Phillies hit a three-run homer and doubled, going 2-for-4 and driving in four total runs, in the 5-4 win over the Padres.
Rankings—Cubs pitcher Jon Lester bolstered his eighth-place spot in Box-Toppers season player rankings after earning Player of the Game honors Friday.
Lester (7IP 6H 2R 0BB 8K W in the 7-2 win over the Athletics) earns 1.0 Box-Toppers point, giving him 13.4 for the season. He ranks sixth among NL pitchers.
Lester now also has 134.5 career Box-Toppers points and ranks 28th among all players since 1995, when Box-Toppers tracking began. He trails 27th-ranked player Andy Pettitte (138.5).
Notable—Tigers pitcher Justin Verlander now has 131.6 career Box-Toppers points after earning Player of the Game honors Friday.
Verlander (6IP 4H 2R BB 9K W in the 4-3 win over the Mets) ranks 30th in career points among all players since 1995, when Box-Toppers tracking began. He trails 29th-ranked player Jason Giambi (133.4). Verlander has 7.0 Box-Toppers points for the season, 20th among AL pitchers, and exceeding his 6.4 point total he earned in 2015.
Scoring—Garcia earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day and Wright earns 1.7 points for being AL Player of the Day. Castro and Rupp 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
| 8/5 | Score | Game | Player of Game | AB | R | H | BI | IP | H | R | ER | BB | K | |
| MLB | 15.0 | STL 1, ATL 0 | Jaime Garcia (W,8-8) | - | - | - | - | 8.0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 11 | |
| AL | 14.0 | BOS 9, LAD 0 | Steven Wright (W,13-5) | - | - | - | - | 9.0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 9 | |
| 11.0 | HOU 5, TEX 0 | Dallas Keuchel (W,7-11) | - | - | - | - | 9.0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 7 | ||
| 9.0 | WSH 5, SF 1 | Gio Gonzalez (W,7-9) | - | - | - | - | 7.0 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 7 | ||
| BAT | 6.0 | NYY 13, CLE 7 | Starlin Castro, SS-2B | 3 | 3 | 2 | 4 | - | - | - | - | - | - | |
| 6.0 | DET 4, NYM 3 | Justin Verlander (W,12-6) | - | - | - | - | 6.0 | 4 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 9 | ||
| 5.0 | CHC 7, OAK 2 | Jon Lester (W,12-4) | - | - | - | - | 7.0 | 6 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 8 | ||
| 4.1 | MIN 6, TB 2 | Ervin Santana (W,5-9) | - | - | - | - | 6.1 | 6 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 8 | ||
| 4.0 | BAL 7, CHW 5 | Zach Britton (S,34) | - | - | - | - | 1.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | ||
| 4.0 | SEA 6, LAA 4 | Edwin Diaz (S,3) | - | - | - | - | 1.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | ||
| 3.1 | `MIA 5, COL 3 | David Phelps | - | - | - | - | 4.1 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 4 | ||
| BAT | 3.0 | PHI 5, SD 4 | Cameron Rupp, C | 4 | 1 | 2 | 4 | - | - | - | - | - | - | |
| 3.0 | `PIT 3, CIN 2 | Jameson Taillon | - | - | - | - | 6.0 | 6 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 6 | ||
| 3.0 | ARI 3, MIL 2 (11) | Adam Loewen (W,1-0) | - | - | - | - | 1.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | ||
| 2.0 | TOR 4, KC 3 | Brett Cecil (W,1-6) | - | - | - | - | 1.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 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 | +/- |
| Lester, Jon 2173 | pi sp | chi nl | 13.4 | 25.4 | 71.6 | 134.5 | 1.4 |
| Wright, Steven 3224 | pi sp | bos al | 8.4 | 12.1 | 13.1 | 13.1 | 4.7 |
| Garcia, Jaime 2508 | pi sp | stl nl | 8.0 | 17.4 | 35.1 | 43.8 | -1.4 |
| Verlander, Justin 2112 | pi sp | det al | 7.0 | 13.4 | 76.6 | 131.6 | 0.6 |
| Rupp, Cameron 3556 | ca | phi nl | 6.5 | 7.5 | 7.5 | 7.5 | 5.5 |
| Keuchel, Dallas 3050 | pi sp | hou al | 6.0 | 27.4 | 41.8 | 41.8 | -15.4 |
| Castro, Starlin 2767 | ss 2b | nyy al | 5.5 | 10.0 | 23.0 | 24.0 | 1.0 |
| Gonzalez, Gio 2626 | pi sp | dc nl | 4.0 | 13.7 | 70.8 | 84.5 | -5.7 |
| Phelps, David 2994 | pi mr | fla nl | 4.0 | 7.4 | 20.8 | 20.8 | 0.6 |
| Taillon, Jameson 3658 | pi sp | pit nl | 4.0 | 4.0 | 4.0 | 4.0 | 4.0 |
| Britton, Zach 2835 | pi cp | bal al | 3.0 | 11.7 | 31.1 | 31.1 | -5.7 |
| Santana, Ervin 2005 | pi sp | min al | 3.0 | 8.4 | 46.8 | 96.3 | -2.4 |
| Diaz, Edwin 3690 | pi cp mr | sea al | 3.0 | 3.0 | 3.0 | 3.0 | 3.0 |
| Cecil, Brett 2566 | pi mr | tor al | 1.0 | 3.0 | 9.7 | 21.8 | -1.0 |
| Loewen, Adam 2212 | pi cp | ari nl | 1.0 | 2.0 | 3.0 | 5.7 | 0.0 |
Cardinals pitcher Jaime Garcia is Thursday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day.
| Player | Pos | Team | BTP | |
| 1 | Arrieta, Jake 2738 | pi sp | chi nl | 6.0 |
| 2 | Kershaw, Clayton 2494 | pi sp | lad nl | 6.0 |
| 3 | Altuve, Jose 3007 | 2b | hou al | 5.0 |
| 4 | Matz, Steven 3516 | pi sp | nym nl | 5.0 |
| 5 | Velasquez, Vince 3611 | pi sp | phi nl | 5.0 |
| 6 | Quintana, Jose 3040 | pi sp | chi al | 4.7 |
| 7 | Nola, Aaron 3569 | pi sp | phi nl | 4.7 |
| 8 | Cespedes, Yoenis 3008 | cf lf dh ph | nym nl | 4.5 |
| 9 | Cano, Robinson 2092 | 2b | sea al | 4.5 |
| 10 | Suarez, Eugenio 3355 | 3b | cin nl | 4.5 |
Garcia pitched seven scoreless innings, allowing two hits and striking out five, in the 4-0 win over the Phillies.
American League Player of the Day—Orioles pitcher Kevin Gausman pitched eight scoreless innings, allowing three hits and striking out four, in the 10-inning, 1-0 win over the Yankees. Gausman did not earn the win, picking up a no-decision, because he exited the game with the score tied, 0-0.
American League Batter of the Day—Edwin Encarnacion of the Blue Jays hit a three-run homer and doubled twice, going 3-for-4, scoring twice and driving in six runs, in the 12-2 win over the Rangers. This was the second straight day Encarnacion earned Player of the Game honors. He has 2.5 Box-Toppers points for the season.
National League Batter of the Day—Gerardo Parra of the Rockies doubled and went 3-for-5, scoring three times and driving in three runs, in the 17-7 win over the Giants.
Rankings—Robinson Cano of the Mariners rose to ninth place in Box-Toppers season player rankings after earning Player of the Game honors Thursday.
Cano (2B 3-5 4BI in the 6-3 win over the Astros) earns 1.0 Box-Toppers point, giving him 4.5 for the season. He ranks second among AL batters, behind Jose Altuve of the Astros (5.0).
Streak—Brandon Phillips of the Reds has now earned Box-Toppers points in 11 straight seasons after earning Player of the Game honors Thursday.
Phillips (HR 2B 2-3 R 3BI in the 9-5 win over the Brewers) earned his first Box-Toppers points in 2002 with the Indians, but his 11-season streak began in 2006 with the Indians and Reds. He has 63.1 career Box-Toppers points, second among active NL second basemen, behind Chase Utley of the Dodgers (72.1). His best season was 2012 with the Reds, when he had 9.5 points, seventh among NL batters. He had 2.7 points in 2015 with the Reds.
Scoring—Garcia earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day and Gausman earns 1.7 points for being AL Player of the Day. Encarnacion and Parra each earn 1.5 points for being their league’s 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.
Listed from highest to lowest Box-Toppers game score
| 5/5 | Score | Team | Player | AB | R | H | BI | BB | K | IP | H | R | ER | BB | K | |
| MLB | 10.0 | Cardinals | Jaime Garcia (W,2-2) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 7.0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5 | |
| AL | 9.0 | `Orioles | Kevin Gausman | - | - | - | - | - | - | 8.0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | |
| 8.1 | Marlins | Adam Conley (W,2-1) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 5.1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 6 | ||
| BAT | 7.0 | Blue Jays | Edwin Encarnacion, DH | 4 | 2 | 3 | 6 | 1 | 0 | - | - | - | - | - | - | |
| 7.0 | Padres | Colin Rea (W,3-1) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 8.0 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 5 | ||
| 6.0 | Cubs | Kyle Hendricks (W,2-2) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 6.0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 4 | ||
| BAT | 4.0 | Rockies | Gerardo Parra, RF | 5 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | - | - | - | - | - | - | |
| 4.0 | `Red Sox | Robbie Ross | - | - | - | - | - | - | 2.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 3 | ||
| 3.0 | Indians | Michael Brantley, LF | 5 | 1 | 4 | 3 | 0 | 0 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 3.0 | Reds | Brandon Phillips, 2B | 3 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 0 | 1 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 2.0 | Mariners | Robinson Cano, 2B | 5 | 0 | 3 | 4 | 0 | 0 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| `Denotes that the pitcher had a no-decision in the game and did not pick up a win or a save. | ||||||||||||||||
| Player | Pos | Team | 16 | 15-16 | 11-16 | Career | +/- |
| Cano, Robinson 2092 | 2b | sea al | 4.5 | 11.0 | 40.0 | 71.9 | -2.0 |
| Garcia, Jaime 2508 | pi sp | stl nl | 3.0 | 12.4 | 30.1 | 38.8 | -6.4 |
| Encarnacion, Edwin 2098 | dh | tor al | 2.5 | 12.9 | 41.1 | 61.6 | -7.9 |
| Conley, Adam 3594 | pi sp | fla nl | 2.0 | 5.0 | 5.0 | 5.0 | -1.0 |
| Gausman, Kevin 3191 | pi sp | bal al | 1.7 | 7.4 | 15.1 | 15.1 | -4.0 |
| Parra, Gerardo 2746 | rf | col nl | 1.5 | 8.0 | 19.0 | 20.0 | -5.0 |
| Hendricks, Kyle 3386 | pi sp | chi nl | 1.0 | 10.7 | 15.7 | 15.7 | -8.7 |
| Brantley, Michael 2785 | lf | cle al | 1.0 | 5.2 | 19.9 | 21.4 | -3.2 |
| Phillips, Brandon 1691 | 2b | cin nl | 1.0 | 3.7 | 29.2 | 63.1 | -1.7 |
| Rea, Colin 3582 | pi sp | sd nl | 1.0 | 2.0 | 2.0 | 2.0 | 0.0 |
| Ross, Robbie 2999 | pi cp | bos al | 1.0 | 1.0 | 10.7 | 10.7 | 1.0 |
Phillies pitcher Vince Velasquez is Thursday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day and rises to first in season player rankings.
| Player | Pos | Team | BTP | |
| 1 | Velasquez, Vince 3611 | pi sp | phi nl | 4.0 |
| 2 | Salazar, Danny 3223 | pi sp | cle al | 3.4 |
| 3 | Kershaw, Clayton 2494 | pi sp | lad nl | 3.0 |
| 4 | Volquez, Edinson 2220 | pi sp | kc al | 2.7 |
| 5 | Latos, Mat 2644 | pi sp | chi al | 2.7 |
| 6 | Davis, Chris 2478 | 1b | bal al | 2.5 |
| 7 | Brown, Trevor 3610 | ca | sf nl | 2.5 |
| 8 | Liriano, Francisco 2104 | pi sp | pit nl | 2.0 |
| 9 | Syndergaard, Noah 3472 | pi sp | nym nl | 2.0 |
| 10 | Wacha, Michael 3276 | pi sp | stl nl | 2.0 |
Also Thursday, two players—Velasquez and Cardinals pitcher Jaime Garcia—had Box-Toppers game scores of +20.0 or more, a feat achieved only nine times in all of 2015. It is the first time this season players have had Box-Toppers game scores of +20.0 or more and so are the two highest game scores of the season.
Player of the Day—Velasquez struck out 16 in a complete game, 3-0 shutout against the Padres. He allowed three hits and no walks.
Velasquez earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day, giving him 4.0 for the season (he was previously Player of the Day Saturday, April 9 when he made his Box-Toppers debut) and rises to first in Box-Toppers season player rankings, passing Dodgers pitcher Clayton Kershaw (3.0 Box-Toppers points).
Velasquez had a Box-Toppers game score of +22.0, the highest so far this season. It would have ranked fourth among all game scores in 2015. There were nine times in 2015 in which a player had a Box-Toppers game score of +20.0 or more. Thursday, there were two when both Velasquez and Cardinals pitcher Jaime Garcia did it.
Garcia (CG H 0R BB 13K W in the 7-0 win over the Brewers) had a Box-Toppers game score Thursday of +20.0. Despite the high game score, Garcia loses overall Player of the Day to fellow National League pitcher Velasquez and only earns Player of the Game honors and 1.0 Box-Toppers point. And he earns only 1.0 point despite more than doubling the Box-Toppers game score of Thursday’s next-highest player, Indians pitcher Danny Salazar (+9.0), who earns American League Player of the Day honors and 1.7 Box-Toppers points.
American League Player of the Day—Indians pitcher Danny Salazar struck out nine over six scoreless innings, allowing three hits, in the 6-0 win over the Rays. Salazar earns 1.7 Box-Toppers points for being AL Player of the Day and now has 3.4 points for the season, rising to second place in player rankings.
American League Batter of the Day—Nick Castellanos hit a two-run homer and a two-run double, going 3-for-4, scoring twice, in the 7-4 win over the Pirates.
National League Batter of the Day—Mark Reynolds of the Rockies hit two doubles, going 2-for-4, scoring twice and driving in three runs, in the 11-6 win over the Giants.
Reynolds has now earned Box-Toppers points in 10 consecutive seasons. He earned his first points in 2007 with the Diamondbacks and has 48.9 career points, ranking fifth among active NL first basemen. His best season was 2011 with the Orioles when he had 9.5 points, ranking fifth among AL batters. In 2015, he had 4.0 points with the Cardinals.
Notable—White Sox pitcher Mat Latos rises to fifth in Box-Toppers season player rankings after earning Player of the Game honors Thursday. Latos (6IP 3H R 4K W in the 3-1 win over the Twins) earns 1.0 Box-Toppers point for being Player of the Game, giving him 2.7 for the season.
Scoring—Velasquez 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. Castellanos and Reynolds each earn 1.5 points for being their league’s 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.
Listed from highest to lowest Box-Toppers game score
| 4/14 | Score | Team | Player | AB | R | H | BI | BB | K | IP | H | R | ER | BB | K | |
| MLB | 22.0 | Phillies | Vince Velasquez (W,2-0) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 9.0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 16 | |
| 20.0 | Cardinals | Jaime Garcia (W,1-0) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 9.0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 13 | ||
| AL | 9.0 | Indians | Danny Salazar (W,2-0) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 6.0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 9 | |
| 8.0 | Royals | Ian Kennedy (W,2-0) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 7.0 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 7 | ||
| BAT | 5.0 | Tigers | Nick Castellanos, 3B | 4 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 0 | 0 | - | - | - | - | - | - | |
| 4.2 | Nationals | Stephen Strasburg (W,2-0) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 7.2 | 4 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 7 | ||
| 4.0 | White Sox | Mat Latos (W,2-0) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 6.0 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 4 | ||
| BAT | 3.0 | Rockies | Mark Reynolds, 1B | 4 | 2 | 2 | 3 | 0 | 1 | - | - | - | - | - | - | |
| 3.0 | Dodgers | J.P. Howell (W,1-0) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 1.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | ||
| 2.0 | Cubs | Addison Russell, SS | 4 | 2 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 2.0 | Blue Jays | Josh Donaldson, 3B | 4 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 0 | 1 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 1.0 | Rangers | Rougned Odor, 2B | 4 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 2 | - | - | - | - | - | - |
Mets pitcher Jacob deGrom is Box-Toppers top player in Friday’s four league division series playoff games.
Other Players of the Game Friday:
Mets pitcher Jacob deGrom pitched seven scoreless innings, striking out 13 and allowing five hits.
During the regular season deGrom had 22.4 Box-Toppers points, third among all players, third among NL pitchers.
He outdueled Dodgers pitcher Clayton Kershaw who was ranked second overall in Box-Toppers points with 25.7. Kershaw (6.2IP 4H 3R 11K) had a Box-Toppers game score of +3.2 and picked up the loss.
The Mets now lead the best-of-five game series, 1-0, which resumes Saturday in Los Angeles.
Cardinals pitcher John Lackey pitched 7 1/3 scoreless innings, allowing two hits and striking out five.
During the regular season, Lackey had 9.7 Box-Toppers points, ranked 51st among all players, 21st among NL pitchers.
The Cardinals now lead the best-of-five game series, 1-0, which resumes Saturday in St. Louis.
Rangers pitcher Ross Ohlendorf pitched a scoreless ninth inning, striking out the side, allowing no hits and earning the save.
During the regular season, Ohlendorf had 1.0 Box-Toppers point, ranked 651st among all players and 163rd among the 189 AL pitchers who earned Box-Toppers points this season.
The Rangers now lead the best-of-five game series, 2-0, which resumes Sunday in Texas.
Salvador Perez of the Royals homered and went 2-for-3, driving in two runs.
During the regular season, Perez had 4.5 Box-Toppers points, 211th among all players, 45th among AL batters and third among AL catchers, behind Brian McCann of the Yankees (6.5) and Russell Martin of the Blue Jays (5.0).
The best-of-five game series is tied 1-1 and resumes Sunday in Houston.
Listed from highest to lowest Box-Toppers game score
| 10/9 | Score | Team | BATTERS | AB | R | H | BI | BB | K | IP | H | R | ER | BB | K | |
| POG | 14.0 | Mets | Jacob deGrom (W,1-0) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 7.0 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 13 | |
| POG | 9.1 | Cardinals | John Lackey (W,1-0) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 7.1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 5 | |
| POG | 4.0 | Rangers | Ross Ohlendorf (S,1) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 1.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | |
| POG | 2.0 | Royals | Salvador Perez, C | 3 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 1 | - | - | - | - | - | - |
Coming Saturday: The National League Division Series playoffs resume with two Game 2s:
The pitching matchup Saturday:
Cubs—Kyle Hendricks, 9.7 Box-Toppers points, 54th among all players, 24th among NL pitchers.
Cardinals—Jaime Garcia, 9.4 Box-Toppers points, 59th among all players, 25th among NL pitchers.
The pitching matchup Saturday:
Mets—Noah Syndergaard, 10.4 Box-Toppers points, 41st among all players, 16th among NL pitchers.
Dodgers—Zack Greinke, 20.7 Box-Toppers points, seventh among all players, fifth among NL pitchers.
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.
(Other duties have put us behind updating Box-Toppers. Playing catch up …)
Cubs pitcher Jake Arrieta is Box-Toppers Player of the Day for Saturday, Sept. 5, and rises to the top of Box-Toppers season player rankings.
| Player | Pos | Team | BTP | |
| 1 | Arrieta, Jake 2738 | pi sp | chi nl | 21.1 |
| 2 | Kershaw, Clayton 2494 | pi sp | lad nl | 20.7 |
| 3 | deGrom, Jacob 3343 | pi sp | nym nl | 19.4 |
| 4 | Price, David 2593 | pi sp | tor al | 19.1 |
| 5 | Greinke, Zack 1871 | pi sp | lad nl | 18.0 |
| 6 | Keuchel, Dallas 3050 | pi sp | hou al | 17.7 |
| 7 | Hernandez, Felix 2064 | pi sp | sea al | 17.4 |
| 8 | Sale, Chris 2806 | pi sp | chi al | 17.1 |
| 9 | Scherzer, Max 2588 | pi sp | dc nl | 16.0 |
| 10 | Archer, Chris 3194 | pi sp | tb al | 16.0 |
Also Saturday, two other players in Box-Toppers top 10 season player rankings earned Player of the Game honors—Blue Jays pitcher David Price (fourth place) and Mariners pitcher Felix Hernandez (seventh place).
Player of the Day—Arrieta took the Box-Toppers season player ranking lead for the first time in his career, passing Dodgers pitcher Clayton Kershaw (20.7 Box-Toppers points) who took the lead Wednesday, Sept. 2.
Arrieta has 21.1 Box-Toppers points and becomes the second player this season with 20.0 or more Box-Toppers points.
Arrieta pitched eight scoreless innings, allowing four hits and striking out seven, in the 2-0 win over the Diamondbacks. Arrieta earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day, giving him 21.1 for the season, his most points in a season, beating his previous high of 14.7 in 2014.
Arrieta had a Box-Toppers game score Saturday of +11.0, the same as Cardinals pitcher Jaime Garcia (Player of the Game in his team’s 4-1 win over the Pirates). But Arrieta won overall Player of the Day on a tiebreaker because he had more innings pitched—eight vs. seven.
American League Player of the Day—Twins pitcher Ervin Santana struck out 11 over eight innings, allowing one run and six hits, in the 3-2 win over the Astros.
National League Batter of the Day—Travis d’Arnaud of the Mets homered and went 2-for-4, driving in four runs, in the 7-0 win over the Marlins.
| Date | Player | Team | BTP |
| 4/5 | Adam Wainwright | stl nl | 2.0 |
| 4/6 | Felix Hernandez | sea al | 2.0 |
| 4/13 | Scott Kazmir | oak al | 3.7 |
| 4/18 | Felix Hernandez | sea al | 4.0 |
| 6/26 | Max Scherzer | dc nl | 14.0 |
| 7/9 | Felix Hernandez | sea al | 14.4 |
| 7/12 | Max Scherzer | dc nl | 15.0 |
| 7/24 | Felix Hernandez | sea al | 15.4 |
| 7/26 | Jacob deGrom | nym nl | 16.4 |
| 9/2 | Clayton Kershaw | lad nl | 20.7 |
| 9/5 | Jake Arrieta | chi nl | 21.1 |
American League Batter of the Day—There is no AL Batter of the Day for Saturday because no AL batter earned Player of the Game honors.
Rankings—In addition to Arrieta, two other players in Box-Toppers top 10 player rankings earned Player of the Game honors Saturday:
Debut—Rays pitcher Xavier Cedeno made his Box-Toppers debut Saturday, the first time in his career he earned Player of the Game honors. Cedeno (1.2 IP 0R 0H 4K W in the 3-2 win over the Yankees) made his Major League debut June 9, 2012, and was playing in his 132nd career game. He is the 3,578th player to debut in Box-Toppers since record keeping began in 1995.
Scoring—Arrieta earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day and Santana earns 1.7 Box-Toppers points for being AL Player of the Day. d’Arnaud earns 1.5 Box-Toppers points for being NL 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.
Listed from highest to lowest Box-Toppers game score
| 9/5 | Score | Team | Player | AB | R | H | BI | BB | K | IP | H | R | ER | BB | K | |
| MLB | 11.0 | Cubs | Jake Arrieta (W,18-6) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 8.0 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 7 | |
| 11.0 | Cardinals | Jaime Garcia (W,8-4) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 7.0 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 9 | ||
| 10.0 | Nationals | Gio Gonzalez (W,10-7) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 6.0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 10 | ||
| AL | 9.0 | Twins | Ervin Santana (W,4-4) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 8.0 | 6 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 11 | |
| 8.0 | Red Sox | Wade Miley (W,11-10) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 9.0 | 5 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 8 | ||
| 6.0 | Rangers | Derek Holland (W,3-1) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 8.0 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 5 | ||
| 6.0 | Blue Jays | David Price (W,14-5) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 7.0 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 4 | 8 | ||
| 6.0 | Tigers | Alfredo Simon (W,12-9) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 7.0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 5 | ||
| 5.0 | Mariners | Felix Hernandez (W,16-8) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 8.0 | 6 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 9 | ||
| 5.0 | White Sox | Jose Quintana (W,8-10) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 7.0 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5 | ||
| 4.2 | Rays | Xavier Cedeno (MR) (W,4-1) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 1.2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 4 | ||
| 4.0 | Dodgers | Alex Wood (W,10-9) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 7.0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 4 | ||
| BAT | 3.0 | Mets | Travis d'Arnaud, C | 4 | 1 | 2 | 4 | 0 | 0 | - | - | - | - | - | - | |
| 3.0 | Brewers | Adam Lind, PH | 1 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 2.0 | Brewers | Elian Herrera, 3B | 5 | 2 | 2 | 3 | 0 | 2 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 1.0 | Giants | Gregor Blanco, RF | 4 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | - | - | - | - | - | - |
(Other duties have put us behind updating Box-Toppers. Playing catch up …)
Indians pitcher Corey Kluber, throwing a one-hitter, is Box-Toppers Player of the Day for Friday, Aug. 14.
| Player | Pos | Team | BTP | |
| 1 | deGrom, Jacob 3343 | pi sp | nym nl | 18.4 |
| 2 | Kershaw, Clayton 2494 | pi sp | lad nl | 16.7 |
| 3 | Price, David 2593 | pi sp | tor al | 16.1 |
| 4 | Scherzer, Max 2588 | pi sp | dc nl | 16.0 |
| 5 | Gray, Sonny 3259 | pi sp | oak al | 15.8 |
| 6 | Hernandez, Felix 2064 | pi sp | sea al | 15.4 |
| 7 | Harvey, Matt 3075 | pi sp | nym nl | 15.4 |
| 8 | Greinke, Zack 1871 | pi sp | lad nl | 15.0 |
| 9 | Keuchel, Dallas 3050 | pi sp | hou al | 14.7 |
| 10 | Sale, Chris 2806 | pi sp | chi al | 14.4 |
Also, Astros pitcher Dallas Keuchel rose to ninth place in Box-Toppers player rankings and Carlos Beltran of the Yankees earned Box-Toppers points in his 17th straight season, tying the record for the longest-active season streak.
Player of the Day—Kluber pitched a complete-game, one-hitter, allowing one run and striking out seven, in the 6-1 win over the Twins.
Kluber earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day, giving him 11.7 for the season. He becomes the 26th player this season with 10.0 or more Box-Toppers points. He ranks 17th among all players and ninth among AL pitchers.
National League Player of the Day—Cardinals pitcher Jaime Garcia allowed one run over eight innings, striking out six and allowing six hits, in the 3-1 win over the Marlins.
National League Batter of the Day—Matt Kemp of the Padres hit for the cycle (homer, triple, double and single) and went 4-for-5, scoring twice and driving in four runs, in the 9-5 win over the Rockies.
American League Batter of the Day—Carlos Beltran of the Yankees hit a three-run, pinch-hit homer in the 4-3 win over the Blue Jays.
Beltran earned 1.5 Box-Toppers points for being AL Batter of the Day, his first points of the season, and has now earned Box-Toppers points for 17 straight seasons, tied with two other players for the longest active streak of seasons with at least 1.0 Box-Toppers point.
Giants pitcher Tim Hudson and Torii Hunter of the Twins also have active streaks of 17 straight seasons with at least 1.0 Box-Toppers point. The longest streak of seasons with at least 1.0 Box-Toppers point is 19, by Jason Giambi from 1995 to 2013. (Box-Toppers record keeping began in 1995.)
Beltran earned his first Box-Toppers points in 1999 with the Royals. His best year was 2003 with the Royals, when he had 13.9 Box-Toppers points, second among AL batters. In 2014, he had 1.0 Box-Toppers point with the Yankees.
Beltran has 96.9 career Box-Toppers points and ranks 73rd among all players since 1995, when Box-Toppers record keeping began. He ranks second among active AL outfielders, behind Torii Hunter of the Twins (115.9 Box-Toppers points).
Rankings—Astros pitcher Dallas Keuchel rose to ninth place in Box-Toppers player rankings after earning Player of the Game honors. Keuchel (7IP 6H R 8K W in the 5-1 win over the Tigers) earned 1.0 Box-Toppers point, giving him 14.7 for the season. He ranks fourth among AL pitchers.
Debut—Delino DeShields of the Rangers made his Box-Toppers debut Friday, the first time in his career he earned Player of the Game honors. DeShields (HR 1-2 2R BI in the 5-3 win over the Rays) made his Major League debut April 8 and was playing in his 78th career game. He is the 3,557th 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 Garcia earns 1.7 Box-Toppers points for being NL Player of the Day. Kemp and Beltran each earn 1.5 Box-Toppers 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
| 8/14 | Score | Team | Player | AB | R | H | BI | BB | K | IP | H | R | ER | BB | K | |
| MLB | 12.0 | Indians | Corey Kluber (W,8-12) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 9.0 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 7 | |
| NL | 6.1 | Cardinals | Jaime Garcia (W,5-4) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 8.0 | 6 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 6 | |
| 6.0 | Astros | Dallas Keuchel (W,14-6) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 7.0 | 6 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 8 | ||
| 6.0 | Braves | Julio Teheran (W,8-6) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 6.0 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 7 | ||
| BAT | 5.0 | Padres | Matt Kemp, RF | 5 | 2 | 4 | 4 | 0 | 0 | - | - | - | - | - | - | |
| 4.0 | Cubs | Chris Coghlan, LF | 4 | 2 | 2 | 4 | 0 | 2 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 4.0 | Giants | Matt Duffy, 3B | 3 | 1 | 3 | 3 | 1 | 0 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| BAT | 4.0 | Yankees | Carlos Beltran, PH-RF | 1 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 0 | - | - | - | - | - | - | |
| 4.0 | Red Sox | Joe Kelly (W,5-6) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 6.0 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 6 | ||
| 3.0 | Orioles | Adam Jones, CF | 5 | 1 | 3 | 4 | 0 | 1 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 3.0 | Royals | Greg Holland (S,26) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 1.0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | ||
| 3.0 | Dodgers | Kenley Jansen (S,23) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 1.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | ||
| 2.1 | `Pirates | J.A. Happ | - | - | - | - | - | - | 5.0 | 7 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 7 | ||
| 2.0 | Rangers | Delino DeShields, CF | 2 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 2.0 | Brewers | Wily Peralta (W,3-7) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 7.0 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 3 | ||
| `Denotes that the pitcher had a no-decision in the game and did not pick up a win or a save. | ||||||||||||||||
Tigers pitcher David Price is Friday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day and rises to fifth place in player rankings.
Also Friday, Dodgers pitcher Clayton Kershaw rose to 10th place in player rankings.
| Player | Pos | Team | BTP | |
| 1 | Hernandez, Felix 2064 | pi sp | sea al | 12.4 |
| 2 | Archer, Chris 3194 | pi sp | tb al | 11.0 |
| 3 | Cole, Gerrit 3232 | pi sp | pit nl | 11.0 |
| 4 | Sale, Chris 2806 | pi sp | chi al | 10.4 |
| 5 | Price, David 2593 | pi sp | det al | 10.1 |
| 6 | deGrom, Jacob 3343 | pi sp | nym nl | 9.7 |
| 7 | Martinez, Carlos 3371 | pi sp | stl nl | 9.7 |
| 8 | Scherzer, Max 2588 | pi sp | dc nl | 9.0 |
| 9 | Heston, Chris 3437 | pi sp | sf nl | 8.7 |
| 10 | Kershaw, Clayton 2494 | pi sp | lad nl | 8.0 |
Player of the Day—Price pitched a complete game shutout, striking out eight and allowing seven hits, in the 4-0 win over the Indians.
Price earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day, giving him 10.1 points for the season and rises to fifth place in season player rankings, fourth among American League pitchers. He is the fifth player this season with 10.0 or more Box-Toppers points.
Price had a Box-Toppers game score of 10, tied with Cardinals pitcher Jaime Garcia (Player of the Game in the win over the Royals), but Price won overall Player of the Day on a tiebreaker because he had more innings pitched—nine vs. eight.
National League Player of the Day—Cardinals pitcher Jaime Garcia pitched eight scoreless innings, allowing four hits and striking out six, in the 4-0 win over the Royals.
National League Batter of the Day—Aramis Ramirez of the Brewers drove in five runs on three doubles in the 8-4 win over the Nationals.
Ramirez earns 1.5 Box-Toppers points for being NL Batter of the Day and rises to 57th place among all players since 1995 when Box-Toppers record keeping began. Ramirez now has 102.3 career Box-Toppers points and with his points Friday, passes six players on Box-Toppers “all-time” list:
Ramirez, who has 2.5 Box-Toppers points on the season, now trails 56th-place player Jamie Moyer (104.0 Box-Toppers points).
American League Batter of the Day—Chris Davis of the Orioles hit a three-run home run and went 3-for-5, driving in four total runs, in the 11-3 win over the Yankees.
Rankings—Dodgers pitcher Clayton Kershaw rose to 10th place in Box-Toppers player rankings after earning Player of the Game honors Friday. Kershaw (6.2IP 4H R 11K ND in the 4-3 win over the Padres) earns 1.0 Box-Toppers point, giving him 8.0 for the season. He ranks sixth among NL pitchers.
Kershaw led all players in Box-Toppers points with 31.5, the fourth-highest single-season total since record keeping began in 1995. While Kershaw is just now making his debut in Box-Toppers top 10 player rankings, he is actually just ahead of his pace for 2014. At this point in 2014, Kershaw had 7.7 Box-Toppers points.
With his point Friday, Kershaw now has 141.6 career Box-Toppers points and remains in 20th place among all players since record keeping began in 1995. He ranks 14th among all pitchers on that list.
Notable—Box-Toppers points leader for 2015 Felix Hernandez had a very un-Box-Toppers points leader kind of day Friday.
Hernandez allowed eight runs and five hits in only one-third of an inning in the 10-0 loss to the Astros. Astros pitcher Brett Oberholtzer (8IP 3H 0R 5K W) was Player of the Game.
Hernandez leads players in Box-Toppers points this season with 12.4.
Debut—Pirates pitcher Arquimedes Caminero made his Box-Toppers debut Friday, the first time in his career he earned Player of the Game honors. Caminero (1IP 0H 0R 2K ND in the 1-0 win over the Phillies) made his Major League debut Aug. 16, 2013, and was playing in his 60th career game. He is the 3,498th player to debut in Box-Toppers since record keeping began in 1995.
Scoring—Price earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day and Garcia earns 1.7 Box-Toppers points for being NL Player of the Day. Ramirez and Davis each earn 1.5 Box-Toppers 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
| 6/12 | Score | Team | Player | AB | R | H | BI | BB | K | IP | H | R | ER | BB | K | |
| MLB | 10.0 | Tigers | David Price (W, 6-2) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 9.0 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 8 | |
| NL | 10.0 | Cardinals | Jaime Garcia (W, 2-3) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 8.0 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6 | |
| 8.2 | `Dodgers | Clayton Kershaw | - | - | - | - | - | - | 6.2 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 11 | ||
| 8.0 | Astros | Brett Oberholtzer (W, 1-1) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 8.0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 5 | ||
| 7.0 | Dbacks | Chase Anderson (W, 2-1) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 7.0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 2 | ||
| 4.2 | `Rangers | Wandy Rodriguez | - | - | - | - | - | - | 6.2 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 6 | ||
| BAT | 4.0 | Brewers | Aramis Ramirez 3B | 4 | 0 | 3 | 5 | 0 | 0 | - | - | - | - | - | - | |
| 4.0 | Mets | John Mayberry Jr. LF | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 0 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| BAT | 3.0 | Orioles | Chris Davis 1B | 5 | 1 | 3 | 4 | 0 | 0 | - | - | - | - | - | - | |
| 3.0 | Blue Jays | Justin Smoak 1B | 5 | 2 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 3.0 | Angels | Mike Trout CF | 3 | 2 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 0 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 3.0 | Rays | Jake McGee (S, 2) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 1.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | ||
| 3.0 | `Pirates | Arquimedes Caminero | - | - | - | - | - | - | 1.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | ||
| 2.0 | Reds | Todd Frazier 3B | 5 | 3 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 1 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 1.0 | Marlins | J.T. Realmuto C | 4 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 0 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| `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.