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Reds pitcher Luis Castillo is Tuesday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day and rises to eighth place in Box-Toppers season player rankings.
Castillo struck out eight over seven scoreless innings, allowing two hits and one walk, in the 14-0 win over the Marlins.
Read MoreRockies pitcher German Marquez is Saturday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day.
Also Saturday, Diamondbacks pitcher Zack Greinke rises to fourth place in Box-Toppers season player rankings after earning Player of the Game honors.
Read More
Marlins pitcher Jose Fernandez is Monday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day, maintaining his rank of second place in season player rankings.
| Player | Pos | Team | BTP | |
| 1 | Kershaw, Clayton 2494 | pi sp | lad nl | 20.0 |
| 2 | Fernandez, Jose 3147 | pi sp | fla nl | 16.4 |
| 3 | Scherzer, Max 2588 | pi sp | dc nl | 14.0 |
| 4 | Cueto, Johnny 2400 | pi sp | sf nl | 13.4 |
| 5 | Kluber, Corey 3200 | pi sp | cle al | 12.5 |
| 6 | Hamels, Cole 2135 | pi sp | tex al | 12.1 |
| 7 | Strasburg, Stephen 2736 | pi sp | dc nl | 11.4 |
| 8 | Bumgarner, Madison 2753 | pi sp | sf nl | 11.0 |
| 9 | Arrieta, Jake 2738 | pi sp | chi nl | 10.7 |
| 10 | Sale, Chris 2806 | pi sp | chi al | 10.7 |
Fernandez struck out 14 over 6 1/3 innings, allowing two runs, four hits and two walks, in the 3-2, 11-inning win over the Phillies. Fernandez picked up a no decision and did not earn the win because the Marlins were trailing when he exited the game.
Fernandez earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day, giving him 16.4 for the season. He ranks second, 3.6 points (and at least two more stellar starts) behind Dodgers pitcher Clayton Kershaw (20.0 Box-Toppers points), who went on the disabled list with a herniated disk in late June. Kershaw’s return date is uncertain.
American League Player of the Day—Tigers pitcher Matt Boyd pitched six scoreless innings, striking out seven and allowing three hits and one walk, in the 1-0 win over the Twins.
American League Batter of the Day—Jarrod Dyson of the Royals hit a grand slam and tripled, going 2-for-3, in the 7-3 win over the Indians.
National League Batter of the Day—Joey Votto of the Reds hit a two-run homer and went 2-for-3, scoring twice and driving in three runs, in the 8-2 win over the Braves.
Notable—Cubs pitcher Jon Lester became the 15th player this season with 10 or more Box-Toppers points after earning Player of the Game honors Monday.
Lester (7.2IP 4H R 3BB 3K W in the 5-1 win over the Mets) now has 10.7 Box-Toppers points on the season, 11th among all players and eighth among NL pitchers. This is the eighth season in which Lester has earned 10 or more Box-Toppers points, the fourth consecutive season.
Lester now has 131.8 career Box-Toppers points, maintaining his rank of 29th place among all players since 1995, when Box-Toppers tracking began. He trails 28th-place player Jason Giambi (133.4.). Lester ranks 12th among active players in career Box-Toppers points.
Scoring—Fernandez earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day and Boyd earns 1.7 points for being AL Player of the Day. Dyson and Votto each earn 1.5 points for being their league’s Batter of the Day. All of Monday’s other Players of the Game (listed in the chart below) earn 1.0 Box-Toppers point.
About Box-Toppers—Box-Toppers tracks who most helps their team win the most games. Using standard box score statistics, Box-Toppers uses a simple formula to determine a Player of the Game for each Major League Baseball game played. That player is the person who contributed most to his team’s win. In regular season games, players earn 1.0 Box-Toppers point for being named Player of the Game and can earn bonus points for being Player of the Day or top player or batter in their league for the day.
Listed from highest to lowest Box-Toppers game score
| 7/18 | Score | Game | Player of Game | AB | R | H | BI | IP | H | R | ER | BB | K | |
| MLB | 10.1 | `MIA 3, PHI 2 (11) | Jose Fernandez | - | - | - | - | 6.1 | 4 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 14 | |
| 9.0 | STL 10, SD 2 | Mike Leake (W,7-7) | - | - | - | - | 6.0 | 6 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 11 | ||
| AL | 9.0 | DET 1, MIN 0 | Matt Boyd (W,1-2) | - | - | - | - | 6.0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 7 | |
| 5.0 | `LAA 9, TEX 5 | Jhoulys Chacin | - | - | - | - | 4.0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | ||
| BAT | 4.0 | KC 7, CLE 3 | Jarrod Dyson, CF | 3 | 1 | 2 | 4 | - | - | - | - | - | - | |
| BAT | 4.0 | CIN 8, ATL 2 | Joey Votto, 1B | 3 | 2 | 2 | 3 | - | - | - | - | - | - | |
| 4.0 | SEA 4, CHW 3 | Adam Lind, PH | 1 | 1 | 1 | 3 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 3.0 | COL 7, TB 4 | Trevor Story, SS | 3 | 2 | 2 | 2 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 2.0 | OAK 7, HOU 4 | Yonder Alonso, 1B | 4 | 1 | 2 | 3 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 1.2 | CHC 5, NYM 1 | Jon Lester (W,10-4) | - | - | - | - | 7.2 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 3 | ||
| 1.0 | NYY 2, BAL 1 | Ivan Nova (W,7-5) | - | - | - | - | 6.0 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 4 | ||
| `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 | +/- |
| Fernandez, Jose 3147 | pi sp | fla nl | 16.4 | 21.1 | 47.1 | 47.1 | 11.7 |
| Lester, Jon 2173 | pi sp | chi nl | 10.7 | 22.7 | 68.9 | 131.8 | -1.3 |
| Story, Trevor 3607 | ss | col nl | 5.0 | 5.0 | 5.0 | 5.0 | 5.0 |
| Votto, Joey 2366 | 1b | cin nl | 4.5 | 9.5 | 26.2 | 58.2 | -0.5 |
| Leake, Mike 2709 | pi sp | stl nl | 4.0 | 14.0 | 39.1 | 43.6 | -6.0 |
| Nova, Ivan 2796 | pi sp | nyy al | 3.0 | 4.0 | 25.1 | 26.1 | 2.0 |
| Chacin, Jhoulys 2711 | pi sp mr | ana al | 3.0 | 3.0 | 17.4 | 25.1 | 3.0 |
| Lind, Adam 2238 | 1b ph | sea al | 2.7 | 9.2 | 29.2 | 56.8 | -3.8 |
| Boyd, Matt 3550 | pi sp | det al | 2.7 | 3.7 | 3.7 | 3.7 | 1.7 |
| Dyson, Jarrod 2813 | cf | kc al | 1.5 | 3.5 | 7.0 | 8.0 | -0.5 |
| Alonso, Yonder 2945 | 1b | oak al | 1.0 | 2.5 | 12.0 | 12.0 | -0.5 |
Kelvin Herrera, who pitched a perfect seventh inning in relief for the Royals in their Game 3 American League Championship Series win over the Orioles, is Box-Toppers.com Player of the Day for Tuesday.
Herrera struck out two in one scoreless inning in the 2-1 win, as the Royals took a three games to zero lead over the Orioles in the best-of-seven game ALCS.
Herrera, who held the lead for the Royals, is an unconventional player to earn Box-Toppers Player of the Game honors—he did not pick up a win or a save and pitched only one inning. He had a Box-Toppers game score of 3.0, the highest of any Royals player Tuesday.
Normally, a pitcher without a win or a save who pitched fewer than three innings is not even considered for Player of the Game. But they can win the honor if they pitch the same or more innings as the pitcher who otherwise would earn Player of the Game honors and have a higher Box-Toppers game score.
In this game, Jason Frasor, who pitched the sixth inning for the Royals and earned the win (because the Royals scored the winning run in the bottom of the sixth) would normally be Player of the Game with a Box-Toppers game score of +1. But two other players who also pitched one inning actually had higher Box-Toppers game scores—Wade Davis, who pitched the eighth inning, struck out one and held the lead, had a Box-Toppers game score of +2. And Herrera, Player of the Game, had a game score of +3.
No Royals batter had a positive Box-Toppers game score in the low-scoring contest. The highest score was Jarrod Dyson’s, who had a Box-Toppers game score of 0—he went 0-for-1 with a run.
Three Royals relievers have earned Player of the Game honors so far during the postseason. Previously, closer Greg Holland was Player of the Game in the ALDS Game 1 on Oct. 2. Wade Davis was Player of the Day in the ALCS Game 1 on Oct. 10.
Herrera had 2.0 Box-Toppers points during the regular season, ranking 439th among all players and 114th among AL pitchers.
Travis Ishikawa drove in three runs on a first inning double and is Box-Toppers.com Player of the Game in the Giants’ National League Championship Series Game 3 win over the Cardinals.
Ishikawa went 1-for-3, driving in three runs, in the 5-4, 10-inning win over the Cardinals, as the Giants take a 2-1 lead in the best-of-seven game series. He had a Box-Toppers game score of +1.
Giants reliever Santiago Casilla (1IP 1K) actually had a higher Box-Toppers game score than Ishikawa of +2. However, because Casilla pitched fewer than three innings and did not earn the win or save, the only way he could be considered for Player of the Game is if he had a higher Box-Toppers game score and the same or more innings pitched as a pitcher who otherwise would have earned Player of the Game.
During the regular season, Ishikawa had 1.0 Box-Toppers point, ranked 644th among all players and 159th among NL batters.
Coming Wednesday:
The pitching matchup Wednesday:
Orioles: Miguel Gonzalez, 8.7 Box-Toppers points, ranked 70th among all players, 31st among AL pitchers.
Royals: Jason Vargas, 7.0 Box-Toppers points, ranked 107th among all players, 38th among AL pitchers.
The pitching matchup Wednesday:
Cardinals: Shelby Miller, 9.0 Box-Toppers points, ranked 64th among all players, 30th among NL pitchers.
Giants: Ryan Vogelsong, 8.7 Box-Toppers points, ranked 74th among all players, 36th among NL pitchers.
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.
Players of the Game (POG) listed from highest to lowest Box-Toppers game score
| 1013 | Score | Team | Player of the Game | AB | R | H | BI | BB | K | IP | H | R | ER | BB | K | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| POG | 3.0 | `Royals | Kelvin Herrera (H, 1) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 1.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | |
| POG | 1.0 | Giants | Travis Ishikawa LF | 3 | 0 | 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.