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Astros pitcher Justin Verlander is Saturday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day, rising to third place in season player rankings.
Also Saturday, Javier Baez of the Cubs rises to first place among National League batters in 2018 Box-Toppers points after earning NL Batter of the Day honors.
Read MoreRoyals pitcher Jakob Junis is Monday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day.
Also Monday, Nationals pitcher Max Scherzer extends his lead in Box-Toppers season player rankings after earning Player of the Game honors.
Read MoreMarlins pitcher Jose Urena is Sunday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day.
Urena pitched a complete game, allowing one run, two hits, two walks and striking out four, in the 12-1 win over the Nationals.
Read MoreMarlins pitcher Jose Urena is Friday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day.
Urena pitched eight scoreless innings, allowing three hits, one walk and striking out four, in the 2-0 win over the Orioles.
Read More
Indians pitcher Corey Kluber is Sunday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day, rising to third in season player rankings and extending his lead among American League pitchers.
| Player | Pos | Team | BTP | |
| 1 | Scherzer, Max 2588 | pi sp | dc nl | 23.7 |
| 2 | Fernandez, Jose 3147 | pi sp | fla nl | 20.4 |
| 3 | Kluber, Corey 3200 | pi sp | cle al | 20.2 |
| 4 | Kershaw, Clayton 2494 | pi sp | lad nl | 20.0 |
| 5 | Lester, Jon 2173 | pi sp | chi nl | 18.1 |
| 6 | Hamels, Cole 2135 | pi sp | tex al | 16.8 |
| 7 | Strasburg, Stephen 2736 | pi sp | dc nl | 15.1 |
| 8 | Cueto, Johnny 2400 | pi sp | sf nl | 14.4 |
| 9 | Hill, Rich 2215 | pi sp | lad nl | 14.4 |
| 10 | Tanaka, Masahiro 3305 | pi sp | nyy al | 14.1 |
Kluber struck out 10 over seven innings, allowing one run, four hits and two walks, in the 7-1 win over the Twins.
Kluber earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day, giving him 20.2 for the season. He rises from fourth to third place in Box-Toppers season player rankings, passing Dodgers pitcher Clayton Kershaw (20.0). He extends his lead among AL pitchers, trailed by Cole Hamels of the Rangers (16.8).
Kluber becomes the fourth player this season with 20 or more Box-Toppers points. It is the second time in his career Kluber has earned 20 or more points. In 2014, he had 25.8 points to lead AL pitchers.
National League Player of the Day—Marlins pitcher Jose Urena pitched 8 2/3 scoreless innings, allowing four hits, no walks and striking out four, in the 3-0 win over the Dodgers.
National League Batter of the Day—Addison Russell of the Cubs homered and went 3-for-4, scoring three times and driving in two runs, in the 9-5 win over the Astros.
American League Batter of the Day—Jackie Bradley Jr. of the Red Sox hit a three-run homer and went 2-for-4, scoring twice, in the 11-8 win over the Blue Jays.
Notable—Royals pitcher Ian Kennedy becomes the 38th player in 2016 with 10 or more Box-Toppers points after earning Player of the Game honors Sunday.
Kennedy (6IP H 0R 4BB 6K W in the 2-0 win over the White Sox) earns 1.0 Box-Toppers point, giving him 10.0 for the season. He ranks 38th among all players and 15th among AL pitchers.
It is Kennedy’s second season with 10 or more Box-Toppers points. In 2011, he had 19.4 points with the Diamondbacks, fifth among NL pitchers.
Also notable—Angels pitcher Jered Weaver now has 126.1 career Box-Toppers points—37th-most since Box-Toppers tracking began in 1995—after earning Player of the Game honors Sunday.
Weaver (6.2IP 4H 2R 2BB 8K W in the 3-2 win over the Rangers) now trails 36th-ranked player Mariano Rivera (126.4) on the “all-time" list. Weaver has 3.0 Box-Toppers points on the season.
Scoring—Kluber earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day and Urena earns 1.7 points for being NL Player of the Day. Russell and Bradley 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.
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Listed from highest to lowest Box-Toppers game score
| 9/11 | Score | Game | Player of Game | AB | R | H | BI | IP | H | R | ER | BB | K | |
| MLB | 10.0 | CLE 7, MIN 1 | Corey Kluber (W,16-9) | - | - | - | - | 7.0 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 10 | |
| NL | 8.2 | MIA 3, LAD 0 | Jose Urena (W,4-6) | - | - | - | - | 8.2 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | |
| 7.0 | KC 2, CHW 0 | Ian Kennedy (W,11-9) | - | - | - | - | 6.0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 6 | ||
| 6.1 | `MIL 2, STL 1 | Zach Davies | - | - | - | - | 7.1 | 5 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 7 | ||
| 5.0 | SF 5, ARI 3 | Matt Moore (W,10-11) | - | - | - | - | 7.0 | 8 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 11 | ||
| 5.0 | WSH 3, PHI 2 | Gio Gonzalez (W,11-9) | - | - | - | - | 7.0 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 5 | ||
| 4.2 | LAA 3, TEX 2 | Jered Weaver (W,11-11) | - | - | - | - | 6.2 | 4 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 8 | ||
| BAT | 4.0 | CHC 9, HOU 5 | Addison Russell, SS | 4 | 3 | 3 | 2 | - | - | - | - | - | - | |
| 3.0 | CIN 8, PIT 0 | Brandon Phillips, 2B | 4 | 3 | 3 | 1 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| BAT | 3.0 | BOS 11, TOR 8 | Jackie Bradley, CF | 4 | 2 | 2 | 3 | - | - | - | - | - | - | |
| 3.0 | NYM 10, ATL 3 | Yoenis Cespedes, LF | 4 | 1 | 1 | 5 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 3.0 | `COL 3, SD 2 (10) | Chad Bettis | - | - | - | - | 7.0 | 4 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 5 | ||
| 3.0 | BAL 3, DET 1 | Chris Tillman (W,16-5) | - | - | - | - | 6.0 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 4 | ||
| 3.0 | TB 4, NYY 2 | Alex Colome (S,32) | - | - | - | - | 1.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | ||
| 3.0 | SEA 3, OAK 2 | Edwin Diaz (S,15) | - | - | - | - | 1.0 | 0 | 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 | +/- |
| Kluber, Corey 3200 | pi sp | cle al | 20.2 | 33.6 | 64.4 | 64.4 | 6.8 |
| Kennedy, Ian 2723 | pi sp | kc al | 10.0 | 16.7 | 60.5 | 66.5 | 3.3 |
| Moore, Matt 2975 | pi sp | sf nl | 9.7 | 9.7 | 35.2 | 35.2 | 9.7 |
| Cespedes, Yoenis 3008 | cf lf | nym nl | 8.0 | 18.9 | 39.9 | 39.9 | -2.9 |
| Colome, Alex 3189 | pi cp | tb al | 8.0 | 13.0 | 16.7 | 16.7 | 3.0 |
| Tillman, Chris 2754 | pi sp | bal al | 8.0 | 12.7 | 41.8 | 43.8 | 3.3 |
| Bettis, Chad 3481 | pi sp | col nl | 6.7 | 12.1 | 12.1 | 12.1 | 1.3 |
| Gonzalez, Gio 2626 | pi sp | dc nl | 6.0 | 15.7 | 72.8 | 86.5 | -3.7 |
| Davies, Zach 3581 | pi sp | mil nl | 6.0 | 9.0 | 9.0 | 9.0 | 3.0 |
| Diaz, Edwin 3690 | pi cp | sea al | 6.0 | 6.0 | 6.0 | 6.0 | 6.0 |
| Bradley, Jackie Jr. 3293 | cf | bos al | 5.5 | 15.0 | 16.0 | 16.0 | -4.0 |
| Russell, Addison 3559 | ss | chi nl | 3.5 | 6.0 | 6.0 | 6.0 | 1.0 |
| Weaver, Jered 2178 | pi sp | ana al | 3.0 | 10.7 | 65.3 | 126.1 | -4.7 |
| Urena, Jose 3492 | pi sp | fla nl | 2.7 | 3.7 | 3.7 | 3.7 | 1.7 |
| Phillips, Brandon 1691 | 2b | cin nl | 2.0 | 4.7 | 30.2 | 64.1 | -0.7 |
Rays pitcher Chris Archer is Sunday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day and rises to second 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 | deGrom, Jacob 3343 | pi sp | nym nl | 9.7 |
| 5 | Martinez, Carlos 3371 | pi sp | stl nl | 9.7 |
| 6 | Scherzer, Max 2588 | pi sp | dc nl | 9.0 |
| 7 | Sale, Chris 2806 | pi sp | chi al | 8.4 |
| 8 | Price, David 2593 | pi sp | det al | 8.1 |
| 9 | Keuchel, Dallas 3050 | pi sp | hou al | 7.7 |
| 10 | Gray, Sonny 3259 | pi sp | oak al | 7.7 |
Also Sunday, Pirates pitcher Gerrit Cole maintains his lead among National League pitchers, but falls from second to third in overall player rankings, despite earning Player of the Game honors. In addition, Mets pitcher Jacob deGrom rises to fourth place in player rankings. Plus, Yankees pitcher CC Sabathia now has 175.3 career Box-Toppers points, the most of any active pitcher.
Player of the Day—Archer struck out 11 over seven innings, allowing one unearned run and six hits, in the 3-1 win over the Mariners.
Archer earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day, giving him 11.0 for the season, rising to second among all players, behind overall leader, Mariners pitcher Felix Hernandez (12.4 Box-Toppers points). Archer also ranks second among AL pitchers behind Hernandez. Archer is the third player this season with 10.0 or more Box-Toppers points.
National League Player of the Day—Reds pitcher Johnny Cueto pitched seven scoreless innings and struck out nine in the 4-0 win over the Padres.
American League Batter of the Day—Jose Bautista of the Blue Jays hit two home runs and went 3-for-4, scoring three times, in the 7-6 win over the Astros.
National League Batter of the Day—There is no NL Batter of the Day for Sunday because no NL batter earned Player of the Game honors.
Rankings—Two other players in Box-Toppers top 10 player rankings earned Player of the Game honors Sunday:
While Cole maintains his lead among NL pitchers, he actually falls from second to third in overall player rankings because he was passed by Sunday’s overall Player of the Day Chris Archer. Cole and Archer both have 11.0 Box-Toppers points for the season but Archer holds the tiebreaker because he has more Box-Toppers points in 2014—12.4 vs. 5.7.
Notable—Yankees pitcher CC Sabathia now has 175.3 career Box-Toppers points after earning Player of the Game honors Sunday.
Sabathia (6IP 2R 7K W in the 6-2 win over the Angels) earns 1.0 Box-Toppers point and now has 2.0 for the season. His 175.3 career Box-Toppers points ranks fifth among all players since 1995, when Box-Toppers record keeping began. He ranks fourth among pitchers, behind Curt Schilling (194.1) and second among active players, behind Alex Rodriguez (183.8). He is the top-ranked active pitcher in Box-Toppers points.
Debut—Marlins pitcher Jose Urena made his Box-Toppers debut Sunday, the first time in his career he earned Player of the Game honors. Urena (6IP R 4K ND in the 3-2 win over the Rockies) made his Major League debut April 14 and was playing in his fifth career game. He is the 3,492nd player to debut in Box-Toppers since record keeping began in 1995.
Scoring—Archer earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day and Cueto earns 1.7 Box-Toppers points for being NL Player of the Day. Bautista earns 1.5 Box-Toppers points for AL 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
| 6/7 | Score | Team | Player | AB | R | H | BI | BB | K | IP | H | R | ER | BB | K | |
| MLB | 11.0 | Rays | Chris Archer (W, 7-4) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 7.0 | 6 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 11 | |
| NL | 10.0 | Reds | Johnny Cueto (W, 4-4) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 7.0 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 9 | |
| 6.0 | Twins | Mike Pelfrey (W, 5-2) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 8.0 | 8 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 7 | ||
| 5.0 | Pirates | Gerrit Cole (W, 9-2) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 7.0 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 7 | ||
| 4.0 | Mets | Jacob deGrom (W, 7-4) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 7.0 | 5 | 3 | 2 | 3 | 10 | ||
| BAT | 4.0 | Blue Jays | Jose Bautista RF | 4 | 3 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 0 | - | - | - | - | - | - | |
| 4.0 | Orioles | Bud Norris (W, 2-4) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 5.0 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 7 | ||
| 4.0 | Cardinals | Kevin Siegrist (W, 3-0) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 1.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | ||
| 3.2 | Phillies | Ken Giles (W, 2-1) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 1.2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 3 | ||
| 3.1 | Red Sox | Steven Wright (W, 3-2) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 3.1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 2 | ||
| 3.0 | Tigers | Tyler Collins LF | 3 | 2 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 3.0 | Yankees | CC Sabathia (W, 3-7) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 6.0 | 5 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 7 | ||
| 3.0 | `Marlins | Jose Urena | - | - | - | - | - | - | 6.0 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 4 | ||
| 2.1 | `Royals | Jeremy Guthrie | - | - | - | - | - | - | 6.1 | 3 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 5 | ||
| 2.1 | `Cubs | Justin Grimm (H, 4) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 1.1 | 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. | ||||||||||||||||
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.