Astros' Keuchel tops players for Tuesday, Aug. 25, rises to 6th in player rankings; Cubs' Arrieta rises to 4th

(Other duties have put us behind updating Box-Toppers. Playing catch up …)

Astros pitcher Dallas Keuchel is Box-Toppers Player of the Day for Tuesday, Aug. 25 and rises to sixth place in player rankings.

Also Tuesday, Cubs pitcher Jake Arrieta rose to fourth place in Box-Toppers player rankings after earning NL Player of the Day honors.

Top 10 players

Here are the top 10 players in Box-Toppers points (BTP) for the 2015 season as of Aug. 25.  

	Player	Pos	Team	BTP
1	deGrom, Jacob 3343	pi sp	nym nl	19.4
2	Price, David 2593	pi sp	tor al	17.1
3	Sale, Chris 2806	pi sp	chi al	17.1
4	Arrieta, Jake 2738	pi sp	chi nl	17.1
5	Kershaw, Clayton 2494	pi sp	lad nl	16.7
6	Keuchel, Dallas 3050	pi sp	hou al	16.7
7	Scherzer, Max 2588	pi sp	dc nl	16.0
8	Greinke, Zack 1871	pi sp	lad nl	16.0
9	Gray, Sonny 3259	pi sp	oak al	15.8
10	Hernandez, Felix 2064	pi sp	sea al	15.4

What are those numbers after players' names?

Player of the Day—Keuchel pitched seven scoreless innings, allowing three hits and striking out nine, in the 15-1 win over the Yankees.

Keuchel earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day, giving him 16.7 for the season, rising to sixth place in player rankings. He ranks third among AL pitchers, behind David Price of the Blue Jays and Chris Sale of the White Sox (both with 17.1 Box-Toppers points).

National League Player of the Day—Cubs pitcher Jake Arrieta struck out eight over six innings, allowing one run and four hits, in the 8-5 win over the Giants.

Arrieta earns 1.7 Box-Toppers points for being NL Player of the Day, giving him 17.1 for the season, rising to fourth place in player rankings. He ranks second among NL pitchers behind Jacob deGrom of the Mets (19.4 Box-Toppers points).

American League Batter of the Day—Michael Brantley of the Indians hit two homers and went 3-for-4, scoring three times and driving in four runs, in the 11-6 win over the Brewers.

National League Batter of the Day—DJ LaMahieu of the Rockies went 3-for-4, scoring once and driving in three runs, in the 5-1 win over the Braves.

Scoring—Keuchel earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day and Arrieta earns 1.7 Box-Toppers points for being NL Player of the Day. Brantley and LeMahieu each earn 1.5 Box-Toppers 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.

Top player from each game

Listed from highest to lowest Box-Toppers game score

8/25	Score	Team	Player	AB	R	H	BI	BB	K		IP	H	R	ER	BB	K
MLB	13.0	Astros	Dallas Keuchel (W,15-6)	-	-	-	-	-	-		7.0	3	0	0	0	9
NL	8.0	Cubs	Jake Arrieta (W,16-6)	-	-	-	-	-	-		6.0	4	1	0	1	8
BAT	6.0	Indians	Michael Brantley, LF	4	3	3	4	1	0		-	-	-	-	-	-
	6.0	Nationals	Stephen Strasburg (W,8-6)	-	-	-	-	-	-		6.0	2	2	2	1	7
	5.0	Cardinals	Jaime Garcia (W,6-4)	-	-	-	-	-	-		6.0	4	1	1	1	6
	4.0	`White Sox	Zach Duke (MR) (H,21)	-	-	-	-	-	-		1.0	0	0	0	0	3
	3.1	Mets	Jeurys Familia (S,34)	-	-	-	-	-	-		1.0	0	0	0	0	2
BAT	3.0	Rockies	DJ LeMahieu, 2B	4	1	3	3	0	0		-	-	-	-	-	-
	3.0	Royals	Wade Davis (S,12)	-	-	-	-	-	-		1.0	0	0	0	0	2
	2.0	Angels	Erick Aybar, SS	4	2	3	1	0	0		-	-	-	-	-	-
	2.0	Dodgers	Jimmy Rollins, SS	4	2	2	2	1	0		-	-	-	-	-	-
	2.0	Twins	Miguel Sano, DH	4	2	1	3	1	2		-	-	-	-	-	-
	2.0	Blue Jays	Roberto Osuna (S,15)	-	-	-	-	-	-		1.0	1	0	0	0	2
	1.0	Mariners	Austin Jackson, CF	4	1	2	2	0	1		-	-	-	-	-	-
	1.0	Marlins	Justin Bour, 1B	4	1	2	2	0	2		-	-	-	-	-	-
		`Denotes that the pitcher had a no-decision in the game and did not pick up a win or a save.

Reds' Mike Leake (8IP R 6K) tops players for Wednesday, July 22

Reds pitcher Mike Leake is Wednesday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day.

Leake allowed one run over eight innings, striking out six and allowing four hits, in the 9-1 win over the Cubs.

American League Player of the Day—Michael Brantley of the Indians homered, doubled and went 4-for-5, scoring twice and driving in four runs, in the 7-5 win over the Brewers.

Top 10 players

Here are the top 10 players in Box-Toppers points (BTP) for the 2015 season as of July 22.  

	Player	Pos	Team	BTP
1	Scherzer, Max 2588	pi sp	dc nl	15.0
2	Hernandez, Felix 2064	pi sp	sea al	14.4
3	deGrom, Jacob 3343	pi sp	nym nl	14.4
4	Sale, Chris 2806	pi sp	chi al	13.4
5	Price, David 2593	pi sp	det al	13.1
6	Keuchel, Dallas 3050	pi sp	hou al	12.7
7	Greinke, Zack 1871	pi sp	lad nl	12.0
8	Archer, Chris 3194	pi sp	tb al	12.0
9	Cole, Gerrit 3232	pi sp	pit nl	12.0
10	Martinez, Carlos 3371	pi sp	stl nl	11.7

What are those numbers after players' names?

National League Batter of the Day—Odubel Herrera of the Phillies hit a walk-off, pinch-hit, 10th-inning single in the 5-4 win over the Rays.

American League Batter of the Day—There is no separate AL Batter of the Day for Wednesday because the overall AL Player of the Day was a batter (Michael Brantley).

Notable—Cardinals pitcher Lance Lynn became the 17th player with 10 or more Box-Toppers points this season after earning Player of the Game honors Wednesday.

Lynn (6IP 5H 2R 8K ND in the 3-2 win over the White Sox) earns 1.0 Box-Toppers point, giving him 10.4 for the season. He ranks 15th among all players this season and ninth among NL pitchers.

Debut—Athletics pitcher Fernando Rodriguez made his Box-Toppers debut Wednesday, the first time in his career he earned Player of the Game honors. Rodriguez (1IP 0H 0R K W in the 4-3, 10-inning win over the Blue Jays) made his Major League debut May 2, 2009, and was playing in his 154th career game. He is the 3,537th player to debut in Box-Toppers since record keeping began in 1995.

Scoring—Leake earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day and Brantley earns 1.7 Box-Toppers points for being AL Player of the Day. Herrera earns 1.5 Box-Toppers points for being NL 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.

Top player from each game

Listed from highest to lowest Box-Toppers game score

7/22	Score	Team	Player	AB	R	H	BI	BB	K		IP	H	R	ER	BB	K
MLB	8.0	Reds	Mike Leake (W,8-5)	-	-	-	-	-	-		8.0	4	1	1	0	6
	6.0	Dodgers	Mike Bolsinger (W,5-3)	-	-	-	-	-	-		7.0	3	1	0	1	4
AL	5.0	Indians	Michael Brantley, CF	5	2	4	4	0	0		-	-	-	-	-	-
	5.0	Rangers	Rougned Odor, 2B	4	4	3	2	1	0		-	-	-	-	-	-
	5.0	Marlins	Jose Fernandez (W,3-0)	-	-	-	-	-	-		7.0	5	3	3	2	11
	4.2	Royals	Edinson Volquez (W,9-5)	-	-	-	-	-	-		7.2	8	1	1	1	8
	4.0	Tigers	Nick Castellanos, 3B	3	1	2	4	1	1		-	-	-	-	-	-
	4.0	`Cardinals	Lance Lynn	-	-	-	-	-	-		6.0	5	2	2	1	8
	4.0	Giants	Matt Cain (W,2-1)	-	-	-	-	-	-		6.0	5	1	1	1	6
	4.0	Nationals	Drew Storen (S,29)	-	-	-	-	-	-		1.0	0	0	0	0	3
	3.2	`Cubs	Pedro Strop	-	-	-	-	-	-		1.2	0	0	0	2	4
	3.0	Astros	Preston Tucker, LF	4	2	2	3	0	0		-	-	-	-	-	-
	2.0	Angels	Johnny Giavotella, 2B	4	3	3	0	0	0		-	-	-	-	-	-
	2.0	Athletics	Fernando Rodriguez (W,1-1)	-	-	-	-	-	-		1.0	0	0	0	0	1
	1.0	Yankees	Mark Teixeira, 1B	4	1	2	2	0	0		-	-	-	-	-	-
BAT	1.0	Phillies	Odubel Herrera, PH	1	0	1	1	0	0		-	-	-	-	-	-
		`Denotes that the pitcher had a no-decision in the game and did not pick up a win or a save.

Mets' Jacob deGrom (7IP 0R 11K) tops players for Tuesday, July 8

Mets pitcher Jacob deGrom is Tuesday’s Player of the Day. deGrom pitched seven scoreless innings and struck out 11 in the 8-3 win over the Braves.

Twins pitcher Phil Hughes is American League Player of the Day. Hughes pitched 7 1/3 scoreless innings and struck out eight in the 2-0 win over the Mariners. Hughes earns 1.7 Box-Toppers points for being AL Player of the Day, giving him 8.4 points for the season, moving up to 26th place in Box-Toppers player rankings.

Domonic Brown of the Phillies is National League Batter of the Day. Brown homered and went 2-for-3, scoring twice and driving in three runs, in the 9-7 win over the Brewers.

Michael Brantley of the Indians is AL Batter of the Day. Brantley homered and hit two doubles, driving in three runs, in the 5-3 win over the Yankees.

deGrom receives 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day. Hughes receives 1.7 for AL Player of the Day. Brown and Brantley each receive 1.5 for being top Batter of the Day in their league.

All of Tuesday’s other Players of the Game (listed in the chart below) receive 1.0 Box-Toppers point.

Box-Toppers watches the daily performances of selected star players and Box-Toppers points leaders. To see how they performed Tuesday, click here.

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.

Top player from each game

Listed from highest to lowest Box-Toppers game score

708	Score	Team	Player	AB	R	H	BI	BB	K		IP	H	R	ER	BB	K
MLB	11.0	Mets	Jacob deGrom (W, 2-5)	-	-	-	-	-	-		7.0	7	0	0	0	11
AL	7.1	Twins	Phil Hughes (W, 9-5)	-	-	-	-	-	-		7.1	8	0	0	0	8
	7.0	Blue Jays	R.A. Dickey (W, 7-8)	-	-	-	-	-	-		7.0	4	0	0	1	5
	6.0	Athletics	Sonny Gray (W, 9-3)	-	-	-	-	-	-		7.0	6	1	1	1	8
	5.0	`Reds	J.J. Hoover	-	-	-	-	-	-		2.0	2	0	0	1	6
BAT	4.0	Phillies	Domonic Brown LF	3	2	2	3	1	0		-	-	-	-	-	-
BAT	3.0	Indians	Michael Brantley CF	4	1	3	3	0	0		-	-	-	-	-	-
	3.0	Tigers	Rajai Davis LF	4	1	3	3	0	0		-	-	-	-	-	-
	3.0	White Sox	Conor Gillaspie 3B	4	2	3	2	0	1		-	-	-	-	-	-
	2.2	Rockies	Franklin Morales (W, 5-4)	-	-	-	-	-	-		5.2	4	1	1	3	6
	2.0	Cardinals	Kolten Wong 2B	4	1	2	3	0	0		-	-	-	-	-	-
	2.0	Astros	Chris Carter DH	4	2	2	2	0	1		-	-	-	-	-	-
	2.0	Marlins	Steve Cishek (S, 20)	-	-	-	-	-	-		1.0	0	0	0	0	1
	1.2	Rays	Brad Boxberger (W, 2-1)	-	-	-	-	-	-		1.2	1	0	0	0	1
	1.0	Reds	Chris Heisey LF	3	1	3	0	1	0		-	-	-	-	-	-

` Denotes that the pitcher had a no-decision in the game and did not pick up a win or a save.

Cards' Michael Wacha, one out from no-hitter, tops players for Tuesday, Sept. 24

Cardinals pitcher Michael Wacha, who was one out from pitching a no-hitter, is Tuesday's Player of the Day.

Wacha gave up his one and only hit with two outs in the ninth inning against the Nationals when Ryan Zimmerman reached on an infield single. Wacha pitched 8 2/3 shutout innings and struck out nine in the 2-0 win.

Mariners pitcher James Paxton is American League Player of the Day. Paxton pitched seven shutout innings and struck out 10 in the 4-0 win over the Royals. 

Michael Brantley of the Indians is AL Batter of the Day. Brantley homered and went 3-for-4 in the 5-4 win over the White Sox. 

Pedro Alvarez of the Pirates is National League Batter of the Day. Alvarez drove in three runs and went 2-for-5 in the 8-2 win over the Cubs. 

Notables: Braves closing pitcher Craig Kimbrel rises to 29th place in Box-Toppers player rankings after earning Player of the Game honors Tuesday. Kimbrel (1IP 3K W in 3-2 win vs. Brewers) earns 1.0 Box-Toppers point, giving him 12.7 for the season.

Blue Jays pitcher Dustin McGowan scored his first Box-Toppers point in more than five years Tuesday. McGowan, the former starter now pitching middle relief was Player of the Game in the 3-2 win over the Orioles. It is the first time he has earned Box-Toppers points since he last earned Player of the Game honors on June 10, 2008, when he started for the Blue Jays. McGowan earned 9.7 Box-Toppers points as a starter for the Blue Jays in 2007 and 3.7 in 2008.

Coming Wednesday: Two pitchers among the top 10 in Box-Toppers player rankings (see the list on the home page) are scheduled to start Wednesday:

• Tigers pitcher Max Scherzer starts against the Twins. Scherzer has 17.1 Box-Toppers points, is in sixth place overall and leads all AL players.
• Pirates pitcher Francisco Liriano starts against the Cubs. Liriano has 16.7 Box-Toppers points and is in ninth place overall.

Neither Scherzer nor Liriano is in position to take the outright lead in Box-Toppers points (held by Dodgers pitcher Clayton Kershaw with 20.7) since the most they could earn is 2.0 Box-Toppers points. This is the final scheduled regular season start for both pitchers.

Wacha receives 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day. Paxton receives 1.7 for AL Player of the Day. Brantley and Alvarez each receive 1.5 for being top Batter of the Day in their league.

All of Tuesday's other Players of the Game (listed in the chart below) receive 1.0 Box-Toppers point.

Top player from each game

Listed from highest to lowest Box-Toppers game score

924	Score	Team	BATTERS	AB	R	H	RBI	BB	SO	-	-	PITCHERS	IP	H	R	ER	BB	SO
MLB	14.2	Cardinals	0	0	0	0	0	0	0			Michael Wacha (W, 4-1)	8.2	1	0	0	2	9
AL	13.0	Mariners	0	0	0	0	0	0	0			James Paxton (W, 3-0)	7.0	4	0	0	0	10
	9.0	Angels	0	0	0	0	0	0	0			Jason Vargas (W, 9-7)	9.0	4	0	0	1	5
	8.0	`Diamondbacks	0	0	0	0	0	0	0			Wade Miley	6.0	4	0	0	1	7
	6.0	Dodgers	0	0	0	0	0	0	0			Hyun-Jin Ryu (W, 14-7)	7.0	4	1	1	1	6
	4.0	Rockies	0	0	0	0	0	0	0			Tyler Chatwood (W, 8-5)	7.0	3	1	0	1	2
	4.0	Rays	0	0	0	0	0	0	0			Jake Odorizzi (S, 1)	3.0	1	0	0	1	3
	4.0	`Tigers	0	0	0	0	0	0	0			Bruce Rondon (H, 5)	1.0	0	0	0	0	3
	4.0	Braves	0	0	0	0	0	0	0			Craig Kimbrel (W, 4-3)	1.0	0	0	0	0	3
	3.1	`Blue Jays	0	0	0	0	0	0	0			Dustin McGowan	1.1	0	0	0	0	2
BAT	3.0	Indians	Michael Brantley LF	4	2	3	2	0	0			0	0.0	0	0	0	0	0
	3.0	Rangers	0	0	0	0	0	0	0			Joe Nathan (S, 41)	1.0	0	0	0	0	2
	3.0	Mets	0	0	0	0	0	0	0			Vic Black (S, 1)	1.0	0	0	0	0	2
	2.0	Phillies	0	0	0	0	0	0	0			Michael Stutes (W, 3-1)	1.0	0	0	0	0	1
BAT	1.0	Pirates	Pedro Alvarez 3B	5	1	2	3	0	1			0	0.0	0	0	0	0	0

` Denotes that the pitcher had a no-decision in the game and did not pick up a win or a save.

D-Backs' Patrick Corbin, Indians' Michael Brantley top players for Sunday, July 7

Diamondbacks pitcher Patrick Corbin, Sunday's Player of the Day, rises to third place among players in Box-Toppers points for the season.

Corbin struck out 10 over eight innings in the 6-1 win over the Rockies. He earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day, giving him 13.4 for the season, moving him from fifth to third place for the season.  Corbin now leads all National League pitchers in Box-Toppers points, passing Dodgers pitcher Clayton Kershaw (who also was a Player of the Game Sunday.)

Michael Brantley of the Indians is American League Player of the Day. Brantley hit two home runs, drove in five runs and went 3-for-4 in the 9-6 win over the Tigers.

Ryan Zimmerman of the Nationals is NL Batter of the Day. Zimmerman hit a grand slam in the 11-7 win over the Padres. 

Standings update: Dodgers pitcher Clayton Kershaw (8IP 1R in 4-1 win vs. Giants) earned 1.0 Box-Toppers point for being Player of the Game, giving him 12.7 for the season. However, Kershaw remains in fourth place in Box-Toppers points and actually falls to second place among NL pitchers, after he was passed by Box-Toppers Player of the Day Patrick Corbin of the Diamondbacks.

Notable: Cardinals pitcher Lance Lynn is the 14th player this season with 10.0 or more Box-Toppers points. Lynn was a Player of the Game (7IP 7K in 3-2 win vs. Marlins) and earned 1.0 Box-Toppers point, giving him 10.4 for the season.

Corbin receives 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day. Brantley receives 1.7 for AL Player of the Day. Zimmerman receives 1.5 for being NL Batter of the Day.

All of Sunday's other Players of the Game (listed in the chart below) receive 1.0 Box-Toppers point:

707	Score	Team	BATTERS	AB	R	H	RBI	BB	SO	-	-	PITCHERS	IP	H	R	ER	BB	SO
MLB	12.0	Diamondbacks	0	0	0	0	0	0	0			Patrick Corbin (W, 10-1)	8.0	3	1	1	1	10
	10.0	Mets	0	0	0	0	0	0	0			Jeremy Hefner (W, 4-6)	7.0	2	1	1	1	8
AL	7.0	Indians	Michael Brantley LF	4	3	3	5	0	0			0	0.0	0	0	0	0	0
	5.2	Angels	0	0	0	0	0	0	0			Jered Weaver (W, 3-4)	6.2	5	0	0	2	6
	5.0	Dodgers	0	0	0	0	0	0	0			Clayton Kershaw (W, 8-5)	8.0	3	1	1	1	3
	4.0	Blue Jays	Colby Rasmus CF	4	2	3	3	1	0			0	0.0	0	0	0	0	0
	4.0	Rays	0	0	0	0	0	0	0			David Price (W, 3-4)	9.0	8	1	1	0	5
	4.0	Athletics	0	0	0	0	0	0	0			Jesse Chavez (S, 1)	4.0	3	0	0	1	4
	3.1	Phillies	0	0	0	0	0	0	0			Jonathan Pettibone (W, 5-3)	5.1	5	1	1	1	6
BAT	3.0	Nationals	Ryan Zimmerman 3B	4	2	1	4	1	2			0	0.0	0	0	0	0	0
	3.0	`Cubs	0	0	0	0	0	0	0			Carlos Villanueva	4.0	3	1	1	1	5
	3.0	`Rangers	0	0	0	0	0	0	0			Neal Cotts (H, 7)	1.0	1	0	0	0	3
	3.0	Orioles	0	0	0	0	0	0	0			Jim Johnson (S, 30)	1.0	0	0	0	0	2
	2.0	Cardinals	0	0	0	0	0	0	0			Lance Lynn (W, 11-3)	7.0	7	2	2	1	7
	1.0	Mariners	0	0	0	0	0	0	0			Joe Saunders (W, 7-8)	7.0	6	1	1	0	2

` Denotes that the pitcher had a no-decision in the game and did not pick up a win or a save.

Rays' Jeremy Hellickson, Dodgers' Kenley Jansen top players for Monday, June 24

Rays pitcher Jeremy Hellickson is Monday's Player of the Day. Hellickson threw seven shutout innings and gave up only one hit in the 4-1 win over the Blue Jays.

Dodgers pitcher Kenley Jansen is National League Player of the Day. Jansen earned the save, pitching one inning and struck out three in the 3-1 win over the Giants. 

Kyle Blanks of the Padres is NL Batter of the Day. Blanks went 4-for-5 and drove in three runs in the 4-3 win over the Phillies. 

Michael Brantley of the Indians is American League Batter of the Day. Brantley homered and drove in four runs in the 5-2 win over the Orioles. 

Hellickson receives 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day. Jansen receives 1.7 for NL Player of the Day. Blanks and Brantley each receive 1.5 for being top Batter of the Day in their league.

Only four games were played Monday and all four Players of the Game received bonus points. Here are Monday's results:

624	Score	Team	BATTERS	AB	R	H	RBI	BB	SO	-	-	PITCHERS	IP	H	R	ER	BB	SO
MLB	6.0	Rays	0	0	0	0	0	0	0			Jeremy Hellickson (W, 6-3)	7.0	1	0	0	4	4
NL	4.0	Dodgers	0	0	0	0	0	0	0			Kenley Jansen (S, 5)	1.0	0	0	0	0	3
BAT	3.0	Padres	Kyle Blanks RF	5	1	4	3	0	1			0	0.0	0	0	0	0	0
BAT	3.0	Indians	Michael Brantley LF	4	1	2	4	0	1			0	0.0	0	0	0	0	0