Dodgers' Alex Wood tops players for Wednesday, July 6, rises to 5th in Box-Toppers player rankings

Dodgers pitcher Alex Wood is Wednesday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day and rises to fifth in season player rankings.

Wood struck out 10 over seven scoreless innings, allowing three hits and two walks, in the 1-0 win over the Diamondbacks.

Top 10 players

Here are the top 10 players in Box-Toppers points (BTP) for the 2017 season as of July 5:  

	Player	Pos	Team	BTP
1	Kershaw, Clayton 2494	pi sp	lad nl	20.1
2	Scherzer, Max 2588	pi sp	dc nl	16.0
3	Sale, Chris 2806	pi sp	bos al	13.1
4	Santana, Ervin 2005	pi sp	min al	12.4
5	Wood, Alex 3246	pi sp	lad nl	12.0
6	Strasburg, Stephen 2736	pi sp	dc nl	10.4
7	Carrasco, Carlos 2885	pi sp	cle al	10.4
8	Ray, Robbie 3502	pi sp	ari nl	10.0
9	Greinke, Zack 1871	pi sp	ari nl	9.7
10	McCullers, Lance 3488	pi sp	hou al	9.4

What are those numbers after players' names?

Wood earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day, giving him 12.0 for the season and rising from eighth to fifth place in season Box-Toppers player rankings, third among National League pitchers, behind overall leader Clayton Kershaw of the Dodgers (20.1) and Max Scherzer of the Nationals (16.0).

American League Player of the Day—Rougned Odor of the Rangers homered and went 1-for-1, scoring three times and driving in two runs, in the 8-2 win over the Red Sox.

National League Batter of the Day—Giancarlo Stanton of the Marlins hit two homers, including a three-run shot, in the 9-6 win over the Cardinals. Stanton also went 3-for-4, driving in four total runs.

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 is batter Rougned Odor.

Streak—Brewers pitcher Matt Garza has now earned Box-Toppers points for 11 straight seasons after earning his first Player of the Game honor of the season Wednesday.

Garza (6.1IP 5H 0R 2BB 4K W in the 4-0 win over the Orioles) earned his first Box-Toppers points in 2007 with the Twins and has 72.8 career points, 17th among active NL pitchers. His best season was 2008 with the Rays, when he had 12.7 Box-Toppers points, ninth among AL pitchers. In 2016, he had 3.7 points with the Brewers.

Debut—Two players made their Box-Toppers debut Wednesday with their first career Player of the Game honors:

• Angels pitcher Parker Bridwell (6IP 4H 0R 3BB 5K W in the 2-1 win over the Twins) made his Major League debut Aug. 21, 2016, and was playing in his eighth career game. He is the 3,844th player to debut in Box-Toppers since record keeping began in 1995.
• Carlos Asuaje of the Padres (2B 3-4 0R 2BI in the 6-2 win over the Indians) made his Major League debut Sept. 21, 2016, and was playing in his 20th career game. He is the 3,845th player to debut in Box-Toppers since record keeping began in 1995.

Scoring—Wood earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day and Odor earns 1.7 points for being AL Player of the Day. Stanton earns 1.5 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.

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.

Top player from each game

Listed from highest to lowest Box-Toppers game score 

7/5	Score	Game	Player of the Game	AB	R	H	BI		IP	H	R	ER	BB	K
MLB	12.0	LAD 1, ARI 0	Alex Wood (W, 10-0)	-	-	-	-		7.0	3	0	0	2	10
BAT	5.0	MIA 9, STL 6	Giancarlo Stanton (RF)	4	2	3	4		-	-	-	-	-	-
AL	5.0	TEX 8, BOS 2	Rougned Odor (2B)	1	3	1	2		-	-	-	-	-	-
	4.2	TOR 7, NYY 6	Danny Barnes (W, 2-2)	-	-	-	-		1.2	0	0	0	0	3
	4.0	CHC 7, TB 3	Jon Jay (PH)	1	1	1	3		-	-	-	-	-	-
	4.0	LAA 2, MIN 1	Parker Bridwell (W, 3-1)	-	-	-	-		6.0	4	0	0	3	5
	3.1	MIL 4, BAL 0	Matt Garza (W, 4-4)	-	-	-	-		6.1	5	0	0	2	4
	3.0	HOU 10, ATL 4	George Springer (RF-CF)	5	3	3	2		-	-	-	-	-	-
	3.0	COL 5, CIN 3	Pat Valaika (SS-2B)	4	1	3	3		-	-	-	-	-	-
	3.0	PIT 5, PHI 2	Felipe Rivero (S, 5)	-	-	-	-		1.0	1	0	0	0	3
	2.0	KC 9, SEA 6 (F/10)	Mike Moustakas (3B)	5	2	3	2		-	-	-	-	-	-
	2.0	OAK 7, CHW 4	Jed Lowrie (2B)	4	1	3	2		-	-	-	-	-	-
	1.0	SD 6, CLE 2	Carlos Asuaje (2B)	4	0	3	2		-	-	-	-	-	-
	1.0	SF 5, DET 4	Sam Dyson (S, 3)	-	-	-	-		1.0	0	0	0	0	0

MLB—Overall Box-Toppers Player of the Day, worth 2.0 total Box-Toppers points.
AL—Overall American League Player of the Day, worth 1.7 total Box-Toppers points.
NL—Overall National League Player of the Day, worth 1.7 total Box-Toppers points.
BAT—Top AL or NL Batter of the Day, worth 1.5 total Box-Toppers points.
All other players listed here earn Player of the Game honors, worth 1.0 Box-Toppers point.
` Pitcher had a no-decision in the game and did not pick up a win or a save.

Box-Toppers point totals of the day’s top players

Here are Box-Toppers point totals of each of the Players of the Game. Players are ranked by their Box-Toppers point total for the current season (’17). Also shown are each players’ Box-Toppers point total for this season and last (’16-17), the period 2012-2017 (’12-17) and each players’ career point total. Also shown is how their 2017 Box-Toppers point total compares with their 2016 total (+/-).  

Player of the Game	Pos	Team	’17	’16-17	’12-17	Career	+/-
Wood, Alex 3246	pi sp	lad nl	12.0	13.0	31.4	31.4	11.0
Stanton, Giancarlo 2737	rf	fla nl	3.5	10.0	34.2	42.7	-3.0
Springer, George 3337	rf cf dh	hou al	3.5	10.0	14.0	14.0	-3.0
Moustakas, Mike 2967	3b dh	kc al	3.0	4.0	23.2	25.2	2.0
Lowrie, Jed 2437	2b	oak al	3.0	4.0	18.5	30.0	2.0
Barnes, Danny 3807	pi mr	tor al	3.0	3.0	3.0	3.0	3.0
Odor, Rougned 3336	2b	tex al	2.7	9.2	13.7	13.7	-3.8
Valaika, Patrick 3793	ss 2b	col nl	2.7	2.7	2.7	2.7	2.7
Dyson, Sam 3399	pi mr cp	sf nl	2.0	2.0	5.0	5.0	2.0
Rivero, Felipe 3579	pi cp	pit nl	2.0	2.0	3.0	3.0	2.0
Garza, Matt 2343	pi sp	mil nl	1.0	4.7	26.1	72.8	-2.7
Jay, Jon 2861	cf ph	chi nl	1.0	1.0	10.5	13.0	1.0
Asuaje, Carlos 3845	2b	sd nl	1.0	1.0	1.0	1.0	1.0
Bridwell, Parker 3844	pi sp	ana al	1.0	1.0	1.0	1.0	1.0

What are those numbers after players' names?

Angels' Ricky Nolasco tops players for Wednesday, Aug. 31; Indians' Kluber extends Box-Toppers points lead among AL pitchers

Angels pitcher Ricky Nolasco is Wednesday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day.

Top 10 players

Here are the top 10 players in Box-Toppers points (BTP) for the 2016 season as of Aug. 31:  

	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	Hamels, Cole 2135	pi sp	tex al	16.8
6	Lester, Jon 2173	pi sp	chi nl	15.4
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

What are those numbers after players' names?

Also Wednesday, Indians pitcher Corey Kluber extends his Box-Toppers points lead among American League pitchers after earning Player of the Game honors.

Player of the Day—Nolasco pitched a complete-game, four-hit shutout, striking out seven and walking none, in the 3-0 win over the Reds.

National League Player of the Day—Brewers pitcher Matt Garza struck out eight over seven innings, allowing one run, three hits and two walks, in the 3-1 win over the Cardinals.

American League Batter of the Day—Rougned Odor of the Rangers hit two home runs and went 3-for-5, scoring twice and driving in five runs, in the 14-1 win over the Mariners.

National League Batter of the Day—Andrew Toles of the Dodgers hit a ninth-inning, go-ahead grand slam in the 10-8 win over the Rockies. Toles also doubled and went 3-for-4, driving in five runs.

Rankings—Indians pitcher Corey Kluber extended his season Box-Toppers points lead among AL pitchers after earning Player of the Game honors Wednesday.

Kluber (8IP 6H 3R 2BB 11K W in the 8-4 win over the Twins) earns 1.0 Box-Toppers point, giving him 18.2 for the season, ahead of second-place AL pitcher Cole Hamels of the Rangers (16.8). Kluber maintains his rank of fourth place among all players. Kluber led AL pitchers in Box-Toppers points in 2014 with 25.8.

Notable—Two other players with 10 or more Box-Toppers points this season also earned Player of the Game honors Wednesday:

• Cubs pitcher Jason Hammel (6IP 3H R 3BB 6K W in the 6-5 win over the Pirates) earns 1.0 Box-Toppers point, giving him 12.0 for the season. He ranks 18th among all players and 12th among NL pitchers.
• Tigers pitcher Justin Verlander (7IP 3H 2R 0BB 9K ND in the 3-2 win over the White Sox) earns 1.0 Box-Toppers point, giving him 10.0 for the season. He ranks 33rd among all players and 13th among AL pitchers. He becomes the 34th player this season with 10.0 or more Box-Toppers points. This is his eighth season with 10.0 or more Box-Toppers points, his first since 2013 (10.0). In 2014, he had 4.0 points and in 2015 he had 6.4. Verlander led AL pitchers in both 2011 (24.4) and 2012 (24.8).

Verlander now has 134.6 career Box-Toppers points, 29th-most since Box-Toppers tracking began in 1995. He trails 28th-ranked player, Cubs pitcher Jon Lester (136.5).

Scoring—Nolasco earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day and Garza earns 1.7 points for being NL Player of the Day. Odor and Toles 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.

Top player from each game

Listed from highest to lowest Box-Toppers game score

8/31	Score	Game	Player of Game	AB	R	H	BI		IP	H	R	ER	BB	K
MLB	12.0	LAA 3, CIN 0	Ricky Nolasco (W,5-12)	-	-	-	-		9.0	4	0	0	0	7
	9.0	`DET 3, CHW 2	Justin Verlander	-	-	-	-		7.0	3	2	2	0	9
NL	8.0	MIL 3, STL 1	Matt Garza (W,5-6)	-	-	-	-		7.0	3	1	1	2	8
	7.0	ATL 8, SD 1	Matt Wisler (W,6-11)	-	-	-	-		6.0	4	1	1	3	10
BAT	5.0	TEX 14, SEA 1	Rougned Odor, 2B	5	2	3	5		-	-	-	-	-	-
BAT	5.0	LAD 10, COL 8	Andrew Toles, LF	4	1	3	5		-	-	-	-	-	-
	5.0	CLE 8, MIN 4	Corey Kluber (W,15-8)	-	-	-	-		8.0	6	3	3	2	11
	5.0	WSH 2, PHI 1	Gio Gonzalez (W,10-9)	-	-	-	-		6.0	2	1	1	1	4
	4.1	SF 4, ARI 2	Matt Moore (W,9-10)	-	-	-	-		5.1	5	1	1	1	7
	4.0	BOS 8, TB 6	Hanley Ramirez, 1B	3	2	1	4		-	-	-	-	-	-
	4.0	CHC 6, PIT 5	Jason Hammel (W,14-7)	-	-	-	-		6.0	3	1	1	3	6
	4.0	HOU 4, OAK 3	Michael Feliz (W,8-1)	-	-	-	-		1.0	0	0	0	0	3
	4.0	`NYY 5, KC 4 (13)	Chasen Shreve	-	-	-	-		2.0	0	0	0	1	3
	3.1	COL 7, LAD 0	Tyler Anderson (W,5-5)	-	-	-	-		6.1	6	0	0	2	5
	2.0	TOR 5, BAL 3	Michael Saunders, LF	2	2	1	1		-	-	-	-	-	-
	2.0	NYM 5, MIA 2	Addison Reed (W,4-2)	-	-	-	-		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.

Box-Toppers point totals of the day’s top players

Here are Box-Toppers point totals of each of the Players of the Game. Players are ranked by their Box-Toppers point total for the current season (16). Also shown are each players’ Box-Toppers point total for this season and last (15-16), the period 2011-2016 (11-16) and each players’ career point total. Also shown is how their 2016 Box-Toppers point total compares with their 2015 total (+/-).  

Player of Game	Pos	Team	16	15-16	11-16	Career	+/-
Kluber, Corey 3200	pi sp	cle al	18.2	31.6	62.4	62.4	4.8
Hammel, Jason 2235	pi sp	chi nl	12.0	21.7	45.1	58.2	2.3
Verlander, Justin 2112	pi sp	det al	10.0	16.4	79.6	134.6	3.6
Moore, Matt 2975	pi sp	sf nl	8.7	8.7	34.2	34.2	8.7
Nolasco, Ricky 2125	pi sp	ana al	7.7	9.7	30.4	83.5	5.7
Ramirez, Hanley 2119	1b	bos al	6.0	6.0	28.7	56.6	6.0
Odor, Rougned 3336	2b	tex al	5.5	8.5	10.0	10.0	2.5
Saunders, Michael 2768	lf	tor al	5.2	5.2	14.9	15.9	5.2
Gonzalez, Gio 2626	pi sp	dc nl	5.0	14.7	71.8	85.5	-4.7
Wisler, Matt 3522	pi sp	atl nl	4.0	7.0	7.0	7.0	1.0
Toles, Andrew 3692	rf lf cf ph	lad nl	4.0	4.0	4.0	4.0	4.0
Feliz, Michael 3632	pi cp mr	hou al	3.7	3.7	3.7	3.7	3.7
Garza, Matt 2343	pi sp	mil nl	2.7	4.4	34.1	70.8	1.0
Reed, Addison 3023	pi mr	nym nl	2.0	3.0	11.0	11.0	1.0
Anderson, Tyler 3656	pi sp	col nl	2.0	2.0	2.0	2.0	2.0
Shreve, Chasen 3482	pi mr	nyy al	1.0	3.0	3.0	3.0	-1.0

What are those numbers after players' names?

Twins' Ervin Santana tops players in Friday, March 25's spring training games

Twins pitcher Ervin Santana is Box-Toppers spring training Player of the Day for Friday.

Santana pitched six scoreless innings, striking out eight and allowing three hits, in the 6-1 win over the Rays. Santana had 5.4 Box-Toppers points in 2015 with the Twins. He has 93.3 career Box-Toppers points since 2005, which ranks seventh among active American League pitchers. His best year was 2008 with the Angels, when he had 16.7 points, ranked first among AL pitchers.

National League Player of the Day—Diamondbacks pitcher Shelby Miller allowed one run over 6 2/3 innings, striking out four and allowing three hits, in the 7-5 win over the Indians. Miller had 10.0 Box-Toppers points in 2015 with the Braves. His best year was 2013 with the Cardinals when he had 15.4 Box-Toppers points, ninth among NL pitchers.

American League Batter of the Day—Rougned Odor of the Rangers hit three solo home runs and went 4-for-4, driving in four runs, in the 12-11 win over the Padres. Odor had 3.0 Box-Toppers points in 2015.

National League Batter of the Day—Rob Segedin of the Dodgers went 3-for-3, scoring once and driving in two runs, in the 13-0 win over the Giants. Segedin has yet to make his regular season Major League debut and so has no Box-Toppers points.

Scoring—No Box-Toppers points are awarded in spring training games, but if it were the regular season, Santana would earn 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day and Miller would earn 1.7 points for being NL Player of the Day. Odor and Segedin would each earn 1.5 points for being top batter in their league for the day. All of Friday’s other Players of the Game (listed in the chart below) would earn 1.0 Box-Toppers point.

Note—Sixteen spring training games were scheduled for Friday—11 are listed below. Three games are not included because they ended in ties (Astros vs. Braves, Cardinals vs. Mets and Blue Jays vs. Phillies) and two games were postponed or cancelled (Braves vs. Tigers and Nationals vs. Marlins).

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

3/25	Score	Team	Player	AB	R	H	BI	BB	K		IP	H	R	ER	BB	K
MLB	11.0	Twins	Ervin Santana (W, 1-0)	-	-	-	-	-	-		6.0	3	0	0	0	8
BAT	7.0	Rangers	Rougned Odor 2B	4	3	4	4	0	0		-	-	-	-	-	-
NL	4.2	Dbacks	Shelby Miller (W, 1-0)	-	-	-	-	-	-		6.2	3	1	1	1	4
	4.0	`Mariners	Félix Hernández	-	-	-	-	-	-		6.0	5	0	0	0	3
	4.0	Giants	Sergio Romo (SV, 1)	-	-	-	-	-	-		1.0	0	0	0	0	3
BAT	3.0	Dodgers	Rob Segedin 3B	3	1	3	2	0	0		-	-	-	-	-	-
	3.0	Red Sox	Dustin Pedroia 2B	3	1	2	3	0	0		-	-	-	-	-	-
	3.0	Orioles	Nolan Reimold LF	2	1	2	2	0	0		-	-	-	-	-	-
	3.0	Rockies	Pat Valaika 2B	2	1	1	3	1	0		-	-	-	-	-	-
	3.0	Angels	Jefry Marte 3B	1	1	1	2	0	0		-	-	-	-	-	-
	2.0	Brewers	Kirk Nieuwenhuis RF	1	0	1	2	0	1		-	-	-	-	-	-
		`Denotes that the pitcher had a no-decision in the game and did not pick up a win or a save.

Rangers' Odor, Astros' Gregerson top players in pair of opening ALDS games for Thursday, Oct. 8

Rougned Odor of the Rangers and Luke Gregerson of the Astros are Box-Toppers Players of the Game in Thursday’s pair of American League Division Series openers.

Odor homered and scored three runs in the 5-3 win over the Blue Jays in Game 1 of the AL Division Series. The Rangers lead the best-of-five series, 1-0.

During the regular season, Odor earned 3.0 Box-Toppers points, 337th among all players, 76th among AL batters.

Blue Jays pitcher David Price, Box-Toppers’ fifth-ranked player, started the game and picked up the loss. Price (7IP 5H 5R 5K) had a Box-Toppers game score of −5. He had 21.1 Box-Toppers points for the season, ranked second among AL pitchers.

Astros closing pitcher Luke Gregerson is Player of the Game in the other AL Division Series Game 1. Gregerson picked up the save, pitching a scoreless ninth inning, allowing no hits and striking out two, in the 5-2 win over the Royals. The Astros lead the best-of-five series, 1-0.

Gregerson had 6.0 Box-Toppers points during the regular season, 150th among all players, 53rd among AL pitchers and sixth among AL closing pitchers.

Top player from each game

Listed from highest to lowest Box-Toppers game score

10/8	Score	Team	BATTERS	AB	R	H	BI	BB	K		IP	H	R	ER	BB	K
POG	3.0	Rangers	Rougned Odor, 2B	2	3	1	1	0	0		-	-	-	-	-	-
POG	3.0	Astros	Luke Gregerson (S,1)	-	-	-	-	-	-		1.0	0	0	0	0	2

Coming Friday: The National League Division Series playoffs begin with two Game 1s and the American League Division Series resume with two Game 2s:

AL Division Series Game 2, Rangers lead Blue Jays, 1-0

The pitching matchup Friday:

Rangers—Cole Hamels, 15.4 Box-Toppers points, 15th among all players, eighth among AL pitchers.

Blue Jays—Marcus Stroman, 2.7 Box-Toppers points, 368th among all players, 105th among AL pitchers. (Stroman was out recovering from injury much of 2015. In 2014, he had 13.7 Box-Toppers points, ranked 12th among AL pitchers.)

See the season Box-Toppers point totals of all Rangers and Blue Jays players who earned Player of the Game honors in 2015.

AL Division Series Game 2, Astros lead Royals, 1-0

The pitching matchup Friday:

Astros—Scott Kazmir, 12.7 Box-Toppers points, 26th among all players, 14th among AL pitchers, 

Royals—Johnny Cueto, 12.8 Box-Toppers points, 25th among all players, 13th among AL pitchers.

See the season Box-Toppers point totals of all Astros and Royals players who earned Player of the Game honors in 2015.

NL Division Series Game 1, Cubs at Cardinals

Though the Chicago Cubs are the Wild Card team and have a lesser win-loss record than the NL Central champ St. Louis Cardinals, they have an edge in Box-Toppers team rankings. The Cubs passed the Cardinals in the final 10 days of the season to rank third in Box-Toppers team points with 127.4. The Cardinals, with baseball’s best record, rank fourth with 124.3. The Cubs surged at the end of the season, earning 11.0 Box-Toppers points in the final 10 days of the season. The Cardinals, by comparison, picked up only 3.5 during that period.

The two teams are the highest ranked NL teams remaining in the playoffs after the Cubs knocked off the top-rated Pittsburgh Pirates (129.6) in the NL Wild Card playoff.

The pitching matchup Friday:

Cubs—Jon Lester, 12.0 Box-Toppers points, 28th among all players, 13th among NL pitchers.

Cardinals—John Lackey, 9.7 Box-Toppers points, 51st among all players, 21st among NL pitchers.

Cubs vs. Cardinals

Here are players for both teams in the NL Divisional Series beginning Friday. Players are listed for both teams ranked by Box-Toppers points earned in 2015. All players listed were on active Major or Minor League rosters at the end of the season—not necessarily all of them will be included on postseason rosters.  

Chicago Cubs				St. Louis Cardinals
Player	Pos	BTP		Player	Pos	BTP
Arrieta, Jake 2738	pi sp	29.1		Martinez, Carlos 3371	pi sp	13.7
Lester, Jon 2173	pi sp	12.0		Lynn, Lance 2992	pi sp	11.4
Hammel, Jason 2235	pi sp	9.7		Lackey, John 1640	pi sp	9.7
Hendricks, Kyle 3386	pi sp	9.7		Wacha, Michael 3276	pi sp	9.7
Rizzo, Anthony 3063	1b	8.5		Grichuk, Randal 3474	rf lf cf	9.5
Bryant, Kris 3465	3b	8.5		Garcia, Jaime 2508	pi sp	9.4
Montero, Miguel 2304	ca	5.5		Rosenthal, Trevor 3124	pi cp	6.0
Haren, Danny 1787	pi sp	5.0		Carpenter, Matt 2987	3b	5.5
Schwarber, Kyle 3536	lf ca	5.0		Moss, Brandon 2520	rf lf	5.0
Castro, Starlin 2767	ss 2b	4.5		Piscotty, Stephen 3570	lf rf 1b	4.2
Wada, Tsuyoshi 3389	pi sp	3.7		Wong, Kolten 3377	2b	4.0
Soler, Jorge 3403	rf ph	3.2		Reynolds, Mark 2297	1b	4.0
Wood, Travis 2777	pi sp	3.0		Siegrist, Kevin 3260	pi mr	4.0
Fowler, Dexter 2698	cf	2.5		Villanueva, Carlos 2241	pi mr cp	3.7
Russell, Addison 3559	ss	2.5		Wainwright, Adam 2150	pi sp	3.0
Jackson, Austin 2694	cf	2.0		Lyons, Tyler 3178	pi sp	3.0
Rondon, Hector 3201	pi cp	2.0		Adams, Matt 3220	1b ph	2.5
Strop, Pedro 3005	pi mr	2.0		Maness, Seth 3362	pi cp mr	2.0
Coghlan, Chris 2610	lf	1.0		Kozma, Pete 3138	2b pr	2.0
Rodney, Fernando 1803	pi cp mr	1.0		Scruggs, Xavier 3514	1b	2.0
Cahill, Trevor 2658	pi mr	1.0		Holliday, Matt 1836	lf dh	1.5
Hunter, Tommy 2623	pi mr	1.0		Pham, Thomas 3596	lf cf	1.5
Grimm, Justin 3153	pi mr	1.0		Cishek, Steve 2997	pi cp	1.0
Richard, Clayton 2584	pi sp	1.0		Bourjos, Peter 2790	cf ph	1.0
Motte, Jason 2926	pi mr	1.0		Garcia, Greg 3331	ph	1.0
Beeler, Dallas 3528	pi sp	1.0		Molina, Yadier 1967	ca	1.0
Ramirez, Neil 3439	pi mr	1.0		Walden, Jordan 2864	pi mr	1.0
				Broxton, Jonathan 2108	pi mr	1.0
				Socolovich, Miguel 3456	pi cp	1.0
Totals		127.4		Totals		124.3

What are those numbers after players' names?

NL Division Series Game 1, Mets at Dodgers

In Box-Toppers team rankings, the Dodgers and the Mets are almost identical.

The Dodgers hold the slight edge, ranking sixth among all teams, with 122.5 Box-Toppers points. But the Mets are only 0.5 points behind, with 122.0, ranking seventh among all teams. During the final 10 days of the season, the Dodgers picked up 6.0 Box-Toppers points, while the Mets earned 4.7.

The pitching matchup Friday:

Mets—Jacob deGrom, 22.4 Box-Toppers points, third among all players, third among NL pitchers.

Dodgers—Clayton Kershaw, 25.7 Box-Toppers points, second among all players, second among NL pitchers.

Mets vs. Dodgers

Here are players for both teams in the NL Divisional Series beginning Friday. Players are listed for both teams ranked by Box-Toppers points earned in 2015. All players listed were on active Major or Minor League rosters at the end of the season—not necessarily all of them will be included on postseason rosters.  

New York Mets				Los Angeles Dodgers
Player	Pos	BTP		Player	Pos	BTP
deGrom, Jacob 3343	pi sp	22.4		Kershaw, Clayton 2494	pi sp	25.7
Harvey, Matt 3075	pi sp	15.4		Greinke, Zack 1871	pi sp	20.7
Cespedes, Yoenis 3008	lf cf	10.9		Wood, Alex 3246	pi sp	7.7
Syndergaard, Noah 3472	pi sp	10.4		Ethier, Andre 2137	rf lf	6.5
Familia, Jeurys 3446	pi cp	8.0		Anderson, Brett 2597	pi sp	6.0
Colon, Bartolo	pi sp	6.7		Bolsinger, Mike 3318	pi sp	5.7
Niese, Jonathon 2531	pi sp	6.0		Gonzalez, Adrian 2193	1b	4.0
Granderson, Curtis 2051	rf	4.0		Jansen, Kenley 2871	pi cp	4.0
Nieuwenhuis, Kirk 3022	cf rf lf ph	4.0		Kendrick, Howie 2191	2b	4.0
Matz, Steven 3516	pi sp	3.5		Van Slyke, Scott 3033	cf lf 1b	4.0
Uribe, Juan 1542	3b ph	3.0		Turner, Justin 2865	2b 3b ph	4.0
Verrett, Logan 3518	pi mr	3.0		Puig, Yasiel 3193	rf	3.5
Robles, Hansel 3580	pi mr	2.7		Guerrero, Alex 3442	lf ph	3.5
Duda, Lucas 2818	1b	2.5		Rollins, Jimmy 1516	ss	3.0
d’Arnaud, Travis 3384	ca	2.5		McCarthy, Brandon 2082	pi sp	2.0
Flores, Wilmer 3345	ss 2b	2.5		Grandal, Yasmani 3058	ca 1b	2.0
Tejada, Ruben 2801	ss	2.0		Ruggiano, Justin 2396	lf ph	2.0
Johnson, Kelly 2018	lf 1b	2.0		Frias, Carlos 3434	pi sp	2.0
Murphy, Daniel 2589	2b	1.5		Johnson, Jim 2417	pi mr	2.0
Gee, Dillon 2808	pi sp	1.0		Thomas, Ian 3539	pi sp	1.7
Lagares, Juan 3243	cf ph	1.0		Seager, Corey 3587	ss	1.5
Cuddyer, Michael 1826	lf 1b	1.0		Heisey, Chris 2866	cf rf	1.0
Reed, Addison 3023	pi mr cp	1.0		Nicasio, Juan 2888	pi sp	1.0
Torres, Carlos 2668	pi mr	1.0		Hatcher, Chris 3420	pi cp	1.0
Blevins, Jerry 2788	pi mr	1.0		Howell, J.P. 2016	pi mr	1.0
Clippard, Tyler 2291	pi cp	1.0		Garcia, Yimi 3440	pi cp	1.0
Gilmartin, Sean 3500	pi mr	1.0		Hernandez, Enrique 3541	ph	1.0
Monell, Johnny 3463	ph	1.0		Ravin, Josh 3501	pi mr	1.0
Total		122.0		Total		122.5

What are those numbers after players' names?

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.

Giants' Ryan Vogelsong (6.2IP 7K) tops players for Saturday, May 24

Giants pitcher Ryan Vogelsong is Saturday’s Player of the Day. Vogelsong pitched 6 2/3 scoreless innings and struck out seven in the 2-1 win over the Twins.

Indians pitcher Corey Kluber is American League Player of the Day. Kluber pitched seven scoreless innings and struck out nine in the 9-0 win over the Orioles. Kluber earns 1.7 Box-Toppers points for being AL Player of the Day, giving him 5.7 for the season. He is now 14th among all players in Box-Toppers player rankings and fifth among AL pitchers.

Rougned Odor of the Rangers is AL Batter of the Day. Odor tripled, went 4-for-5 and drove in five runs in the 12-2 win over the Tigers. This was Odor’s Box-Toppers debut, the first time he earned Player of the Game honors. He is the 3,336th player to debut in Box-Toppers since record keeping began in 1995. Odor made his Major League debut May 14 and was playing in his 12th big league game.

Odor also has our current favorite baseball name, pronounced “ROOG-ned oh-DORE,” according to Baseball-Reference.com. The Venezuelan-born player passes previous favorite name, Joey Terdoslavich of the Braves. (Terdoslavich is current on the Braves’ Triple-A minor league team. He played in Atlanta last season, but has yet to make his Box-Toppers debut.)

Ben Revere of the Phillies is National League Batter of the Day. Revere went 4-for-4 with a double and scored three runs in the 5-3 win over the Dodgers.

Vogelsong receives 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day. Kluber receives 1.7 for AL Player of the Day. Odor and Revere each receive 1.5 for being top Batter of the Day in their league.

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

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

524	Score	Team	Player	AB	R	H	BI	BB	K		IP	H	R	ER	BB	K
MLB	9.2	Giants	Ryan Vogelsong (W, 3-2)	-	-	-	-	-	-		6.2	3	0	0	1	7
AL	9.0	Indians	Corey Kluber (W, 5-3)	-	-	-	-	-	-		7.0	5	0	0	2	9
BAT	5.0	Rangers	Rougned Odor 2B	5	1	4	5	0	0		-	-	-	-	-	-
	5.0	Rockies	Juan Nicasio (W, 5-2)	-	-	-	-	-	-		6.0	2	0	0	4	5
	4.0	Astros	George Springer RF	5	2	2	5	0	0		-	-	-	-	-	-
BAT	4.0	Phillies	Ben Revere CF	4	3	4	1	0	0		-	-	-	-	-	-
	4.0	`Royals	Wade Davis	-	-	-	-	-	-		2.0	0	0	0	0	2
	3.1	Marlins	Steve Cishek (S, 10)	-	-	-	-	-	-		1.1	1	0	0	0	3
	3.0	Rays	Cesar Ramos (W, 2-3)	-	-	-	-	-	-		3.0	1	0	0	2	3
	3.0	Yankees	David Robertson (S, 10)	-	-	-	-	-	-		1.0	1	0	0	0	3
	2.2	Cardinals	Jaime Garcia (W, 1-0)	-	-	-	-	-	-		5.2	6	2	2	0	7
	2.1	Blue Jays	R.A. Dickey (W, 5-4)	-	-	-	-	-	-		8.1	5	2	2	1	4
	2.0	Cubs	Luis Valbuena 3B	2	2	1	1	2	0		-	-	-	-	-	-
	2.0	Pirates	Mark Melancon (S, 9)	-	-	-	-	-	-		1.0	0	0	0	0	1
	1.0	Dbacks	Martin Prado 3B	3	0	2	2	0	1		-	-	-	-	-	-

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