Dodgers pitcher Walker Buehler is Box-Toppers Player of the Game Saturday as Los Angeles eliminates the Milwaukee Brewers in Game 7 of the National League Championship Series.
Read MoreGiants' Jeff Samardzija tops players for Saturday, Sept. 2; Scherzer fails to retake Box-Toppers points lead
Giants pitcher Jeff Samardzija is Saturday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day and becomes the 24th player this season with 10 or more Box-Toppers points.
Also Saturday, Nationals pitcher Max Scherzer had the chance to retake the Box-Toppers season player rankings lead, but did not earn Player of the Game honors in his team’s win; he remains in second place. Plus, Indians pitcher Corey Kluber rises to seventh place in Box-Toppers player rankings after earning Player of the Game honors.
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Dodgers maintain Box-Toppers team rankings lead; Cubs are week's hottest team
While the Dodgers and Astros continue leading Box-Toppers team rankings, the Cubs, Nationals and Yankees make big gains thanks in part to post All-Star Game trades.
Read MoreBrewers' Chase Anderson top players for Friday, April 8; Indians' Salazar tops AL players
Brewers pitcher Chase Anderson is Friday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day.
Anderson pitched five scoreless innings, striking out five, in the 6-4 win over the Astros. Anderson earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day and is in fifth place in Box-Toppers player rankings for the season.
Top 10 players
Here are the top 10 players in Box-Toppers points (BTP) for the 2016 season as of April 8:| Player | Pos | Team | BTP | |
| 1 | Kershaw, Clayton 2494 | pi sp | lad nl | 2.0 |
| 2 | Liriano, Francisco 2104 | pi sp | pit nl | 2.0 |
| 3 | Syndergaard, Noah 3472 | pi sp | nym nl | 2.0 |
| 4 | Rizzo, Anthony 3063 | 1b | chi nl | 2.0 |
| 5 | Anderson, Chase 3328 | pi sp | mil nl | 2.0 |
| 6 | Nicasio, Juan 2888 | pi sp | pit nl | 2.0 |
| 7 | Hamels, Cole 2135 | pi sp | tex al | 1.7 |
| 8 | Salazar, Danny 3223 | pi sp | cle al | 1.7 |
| 9 | Odorizzi, Jake 3291 | pi sp | tb al | 1.7 |
| 10 | Volquez, Edinson 2220 | pi sp | kc al | 1.7 |
American League Player of the Day—Indians pitcher Danny Salazar struck out seven over 5 1/3 innings, allowing one run on two hits, in the 7-1 win over the White Sox.
National League Batter of the Day—Starling Marte of the Pirates hit an eighth-inning, go-ahead grand slam in the 6-5 win over the Reds. Marte also went 3-for-4.
American League Batter of the Day—Brock Holt of the Red Sox hit a grand slam and doubled, going 2-for-4, driving in five total runs, in the 8-7 win over the Blue Jays.
Notable—Athletics closing pitcher Ryan Madson earned his first Player of the Game honors in nearly five years. Madson (1IP 0H 0R 2K Sv in the 3-2 win over the Mariners) last earned a Box-Toppers point when he earned Player of the Game honors on May 30, 2011, with the Phillies. Madson now has 21.7 career Box-Toppers points.
Debut—Trevor Brown of the Giants made his Box-Toppers debut Friday, the first time in his career he earned Player of the Game honors. Brown (HR 1-3 2BI in the 3-2 win over the Dodgers) made his Major League debut Sept. 19, 2015, and was playing in his 15th career game. He is the 3,610th player to debut in Box-Toppers since record keeping began in 1995.
Scoring—Anderson 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. Marte and Holt 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.
Top player from each game
Listed from highest to lowest Box-Toppers game score
| 4/8 | Score | Team | Player | AB | R | H | BI | BB | K | IP | H | R | ER | BB | K | |
| MLB | 6.0 | Brewers | Chase Anderson (W,1-0) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 5.0 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5 | |
| AL | 5.1 | Indians | Danny Salazar (W,1-0) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 5.1 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 7 | |
| 5.0 | Tigers | Jordan Zimmermann (W,1-0) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 7.0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 3 | ||
| 5.0 | Mets | Jacob deGrom (W,1-0) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 6.0 | 5 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 6 | ||
| 4.2 | Padres | Robbie Erlin (W,1-0) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 3.2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | ||
| BAT | 4.0 | Pirates | Starling Marte, LF | 4 | 1 | 3 | 4 | 0 | 1 | - | - | - | - | - | - | |
| BAT | 4.0 | Red Sox | Brock Holt, 3B | 4 | 1 | 2 | 5 | 0 | 0 | - | - | - | - | - | - | |
| 3.0 | Orioles | Chris Davis, 1B | 2 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 0 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 3.0 | Cardinals | Trevor Rosenthal (S,1) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 1.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | ||
| 3.0 | Athletics | Ryan Madson (S,2) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 1.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | ||
| 2.0 | Royals | Wade Davis (S,2) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 1.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 2 | ||
| 1.0 | Dbacks | Jean Segura, 2B | 4 | 2 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 1.0 | Giants | Trevor Brown, C | 3 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 2 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 0.0 | Rangers | Delino DeShields, CF | 4 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | - | - | - | - | - | - |
Kelvin Herrera tops players as Royals defeat Mets in World Series in 5 games
Kelvin Herrera pitched three scoreless innings—the seventh, eighth and ninth—to earn Player of the Game honors as the Kansas City Royals won the 2015 World Series Sunday.
The Royals again came from behind in Game 5, scoring two runs in the top of the ninth to tie the game 2-2 and scoring five in the top of the 12th inning to defeat the Mets, 7-2 in the 12-inning game and 4-1 in the best-of-seven series.
Herrera kept the Mets off the board for three innings, giving up one hit and striking out three. He had a Box-Toppers game score of +3.0, highest among Royals players. While he did not earn the win or the save, picking up a no-decision, he did pitch the requisite three innings required to be eligible to earn Player of the Game honors. He is the only pitcher this postseason to earn Player of the Game honors without earning a win or a save.
Had Herrera not pitched three innings, Player of the Game honors would have gone to Royals top batter, pinch hitter Christian Colon, who hit the go-ahead 12th-inning single (1-1 R BI). Colon had a Box-Toppers game score of +2.0.
Closing pitcher Wade Davis had a Box-Toppers game score of +3.0 (1IP H 0R 3K), but was not eligible to earn Player of the Game honors because he pitched fewer than three innings and did not pick up the win or the save. Davis was not eligible to earn the save because the Royals led by more than three runs when he entered.
Herrera, during the regular season, had no Box-Toppers points. In both 2013 and 2014, Herrera had 2.0 points each season. It is the third straight World Series game in which the Player of the Game had zero regular season Box-Toppers points:
Royals starting pitcher Edinson Volquez had a Box-Toppers game score of +1.0 (6IP 2H 2R 5K ND). Mets starting pitcher Matt Harvey had a Box-Toppers game score of +6.0 (8IP 5H 2R 2BB 9K ND), highest among all players Sunday.
Mets pitcher Jeurys Familia, who had a blown save pitching in the ninth and 10th innings, had the Mets second-highest Box-Toppers game score of +4.0 (2IP 0H 0R 2K). Curtis Granderson had the highest Box-Toppers game score among Mets batters of 0.0 (HR 1-4 2R BI). Addison Reed, who picked up the loss for the Mets, had the lowest Box-Toppers game score of all players of −5.9 (0.1IP 3H 5R BB 0K).
Royals catcher Salvador Perez was named World Series Most Valuable Player. He did not earn Player of the Game honors in any World Series game and had a positive Box-Toppers game score in only one game the Royals won—in Game 4, he had a score of +1.0, highest among Royals batters.
Game 5 narrative via Box-Toppers Twitter feed
Mets pitcher Matt Harvey had complete control of World Series Game 5—until he didn't. Here are real-time tweets from @BoxToppers as the game progressed, complete with real-time statistical errors:
#WorldSeries Gm 5
#Royals Edinson Volquez (7.0 Box-Toppers pts, ranked 105th)
#Mets Matt Harvey (15.4 B-T pts, 16th)
https://t.co/oIAGjoxNUz
— Box-Toppers (@BoxToppers) November 2, 2015Curtis Granderson #Mets takes early lead as Box-Toppers Player of Game w/solo HR in #WorldSeries Game 5, B-T game score +2.
NY 1-KC 0 B1
— Box-Toppers (@BoxToppers) November 2, 2015Matt Harvey #Mets takes lead as Box-Toppers Player of Game in #WorldSeries Game 5 vs. #Royals (3IP 2H 0R 2K, B-T gm score +3).
NY 1-KC 0 E3
— Box-Toppers (@BoxToppers) November 2, 2015Matt Harvey #Mets extends lead as Box-Toppers Player of Game in #WorldSeries Gm 5 vs. #Royals (4IP 2H 0R 5K, B-T gm score +7).
NY 1-KC 0 M4
— Box-Toppers (@BoxToppers) November 2, 2015Matt Harvey #Mets extends lead as Box-Toppers Player of Gm in #WorldSeries Gm 5 v. #Royals (5IP 2H 0R BB 8K, B-T gm score +10).
NY 1-KC 0 M5
— Box-Toppers (@BoxToppers) November 2, 2015Matt Harvey #Mets extends lead as Box-Toppers Player of Gm in #WorldSeries Gm5 v. #Royals (6IP 3H 0R 1BB 9K, B-T gm score +11).
NY 1-KC 0 M5
— Box-Toppers (@BoxToppers) November 2, 2015Matt Harvey #Mets still leads as Box-Toppers Player of Gm in #WorldSeries Gm5 v. #Royals (7IP 4H 0R 1BB 9K, B-T gm score +11).
NY 2-KC 0 M7
— Box-Toppers (@BoxToppers) November 2, 2015Edinson Volquez #Royals exits #WorldSeries Game 5 vs. #Mets (6IP 2H 2R 5BB 5K, B-T gm score +1) on hook for L.
NY 2-KC 0 E7.
— Box-Toppers (@BoxToppers) November 2, 2015Matt Harvey #Mets extends lead as Box-Toppers Player of Gm in #WorldSeries Gm5 v. #Royals (8IP 4H 0R 1BB 9K, B-T gm score +12).
NY 2-KC 0 M8
— Box-Toppers (@BoxToppers) November 2, 2015Matt Harvey #Mets exits #WorldSeries Gm5 w/lead as Box-Toppers Player of Gm (8+IP 5H R 3BB 9K, B-T gm score +8).
NY 2-KC 1 T9.
— Box-Toppers (@BoxToppers) November 2, 2015#Royals tie #Mets in #WorldSeries Game 5, 2-2 B9
Herrera leads KC as Player of Game (2IP H 0R 3K), Harvey leads NY (8IP 5H 2R 2BB 9K).
— Box-Toppers (@BoxToppers) November 2, 2015In T10, #Royals, #Mets tied 2-2 in #WorldSeries Game 5.
Box-Toppers Player of Game leaders:
KC-Herrera B-T gm score +5
NY-Harvey +6
— Box-Toppers (@BoxToppers) November 2, 2015As #Royals take 3-2 lead over #Mets in #WorldSeries Gm5 in T12, Herrera leads as Box-Toppers Player of Game (3IP H 0R 3K, B-T gm score +5).
— Box-Toppers (@BoxToppers) November 2, 2015#WorldSeries MVP? #Royals Game 2 CG winner Johnny Cueto? https://t.co/NpJxBiVnT1
— Box-Toppers (@BoxToppers) November 2, 2015Kelvin Herrera #Royals (3IP H 0R 3K ND) is Box-Toppers Player of the Game in #WorldSeries Game 5 win, 7-2, as KC beats #Mets in series, 4-1.
— Box-Toppers (@BoxToppers) November 2, 2015About 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 Royals in World Series Game 5
Here are the Box-Toppers game scores of all Royals who played in World Series Game 5 listed from highest-to-lowest Box-Toppers game score (pitchers are listed twice—once for batting and once for pitching). Kelvin Herrera is Player of the Game (POG).
| 11/1 | Score | Team | Players | AB | R | H | BI | BB | K | IP | H | R | ER | BB | K | |
| POG | 5.0 | `Royals | Kelvin Herrera | - | - | - | - | - | - | 3.0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | |
| 3.0 | Royals | Wade Davis | - | - | - | - | - | - | 1.0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | ||
| 2.0 | Royals | Christian Colon, PH | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 1.0 | Royals | Lorenzo Cain, CF | 5 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 1 | 2 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 1.0 | Royals | Jarrod Dyson, PR | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 1.0 | Royals | Edinson Volquez | - | - | - | - | - | - | 6.0 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 5 | 5 | ||
| 1.0 | Royals | Luke Hochevar (W,2-0) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 2.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | ||
| 0.0 | Royals | Drew Butera, C | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 0.0 | Royals | Kelvin Herrera, P | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 0.0 | Royals | Luke Hochevar, P | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 0.0 | Royals | Wade Davis, P | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| -1.0 | Royals | Edinson Volquez, P | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| -1.0 | Royals | Kendrys Morales, PH | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| -2.0 | Royals | Eric Hosmer, 1B | 6 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 2 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| -2.0 | Royals | Paulo Orlando, RF | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| -3.0 | Royals | Alcides Escobar, SS | 6 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 2 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| -3.0 | Royals | Salvador Perez, C | 5 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| -3.0 | Royals | Ben Zobrist, 2B | 5 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| -3.0 | Royals | Alex Rios, RF | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| -4.0 | Royals | Alex Gordon, LF | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| -5.0 | Royals | Mike Moustakas, 3B | 6 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| `Denotes that the pitcher had a no-decision in the game and did not pick up a win or a save. | ||||||||||||||||
Though the baseball season is now over, in coming days, Box-Toppers will feature season-end features, including Box-Toppers 2015 All-Star teams, top 100 player rankings and analysis of the Most Valuable Player and Cy Young Awards, among many other things. Stay current on Twitter, Facebook or subscribe to Box-Toppers’ RSS feed.
Royals' Ryan Madson, with perfect 7th inning, tops players in World Series Game 4, Saturday, Oct. 31
Royals pitcher Ryan Madson pitched a perfect seventh inning, striking out two and picking up the win, to earn Box-Toppers Player of the Game honors Saturday in World Series Game 4.
The Kansas City Royals came from behind, scoring three runs in the eighth inning, to beat the New York Mets, 5-3. The Royals take a 3-1 lead in the best-of-seven game series.
Madson entered the game with the Royals trailing 3-2 and retired the side on 16 pitches, striking out Travis d’Arnaud of Michael Conforto, who had homered in his previous two at bats. After Madson exited, the Royals scored three runs in the eighth, making Madson the pitcher of record and allowing him to pick up the win.
Madson had a Box-Toppers game score of +3.0, highest among Royals players. Closer Wade Davis, who pitched two innings to earn the save, was leading Madson in the ninth inning in Box-Toppers game score until he gave up two hits. Davis had the second-highest Box-Toppers game score among Royals of +2.0.
Catcher Salvador Perez had the highest Box-Toppers game score among Royals batters of +1.0 (2B 3-4 R BI).
Madson, during the regular season, had 0.0 Box-Toppers points. In fact, Madson has not earned Box-Toppers points since the last time he was Player of the Game more than four years ago—May 30, 2011, when he was with the Phillies. Madson has 20.7 career Box-Toppers points from 2004 to 2011, all with the Phillies.
Royals starting pitcher Chris Young had a Box-Toppers game score of 0.0 (4IP 2H 2R BB 3K ND). Mets starting pitcher Steven Matz had a Box-Toppers game score of −1.0. (5IP 7H 2R 5K ND).
Left fielder Michael Conforto had the highest Box-Toppers game score among Mets players of +3.0 (2HR 2-3 2R 2BI). Mets middle reliever Tyler Clippard, who picked up the loss pitching in the eighth inning, had the lowest Box-Toppers game score of the night of −5.9 (0.1IP 0H 2R 2BB 0K L).
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 Royals in World Series Game 4
Here are the Box-Toppers game score of all Royals who played in World Series Game 4 listed from highest-to-lowest Box-Toppers game score (pitchers are listed twice—once for batting and once for pitching). Ryan Madson is Player of the Game (POG).
| 10/31 | Score | Team | Players | AB | R | H | BI | BB | K | IP | H | R | ER | BB | K | |
| POG | 3.0 | Royals | Ryan Madson (W,2-0) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 1.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | |
| 2.0 | Royals | Wade Davis (S,4) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 2.0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | ||
| 1.0 | Royals | Salvador Perez, C | 4 | 1 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 1 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 1.0 | Royals | Luke Hochevar | - | - | - | - | - | - | 1.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||
| 0.0 | Royals | Lorenzo Cain, CF | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 0.0 | Royals | Ben Zobrist, 2B | 3 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 2 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 0.0 | Royals | Kendrys Morales, PH | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 0.0 | Royals | Chris Young | - | - | - | - | - | - | 4.0 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 3 | ||
| 0.0 | Royals | Danny Duffy, P | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 0.0 | Royals | Luke Hochevar, P | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 0.0 | Royals | Ryan Madson, P | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| -1.0 | Royals | Paulo Orlando, RF | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| -1.0 | Royals | Chris Young, P | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| -1.0 | Royals | Jarrod Dyson, PH | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| -1.0 | Royals | Wade Davis, P | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| -2.0 | Royals | Mike Moustakas, 3B | 4 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| -2.0 | Royals | Alex Gordon, LF | 4 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| -2.0 | Royals | Danny Duffy | - | - | - | - | - | - | 1.0 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | ||
| -3.0 | Royals | Eric Hosmer, 1B | 4 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| -3.0 | Royals | Alex Rios, RF | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| -4.0 | Royals | Alcides Escobar, SS | 5 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | - | - | - | - | - | - |
Coming Sunday in New York:
World Series Game 5, Royals lead Mets, 3-1
The pitching match-up Sunday:
Royals—Edinson Volquez, 7.0 Box-Toppers points, 105th among all players, 39th among AL pitchers. Volquez has been Player of the Game once during the postseason—on Oct. 16, he was top player in the American League Championship Series Game 1.
Mets—Matt Harvey, 15.4 Box-Toppers points, ranked 16th among all players, eighth among NL pitchers. Harvey has been Player of the Game once during the postseason—on Oct. 17, he was top player in the National League Championship Series Game 1.
This is a rematch of World Series Game 1, which the Royals won 5-4 in 14 innings. Neither starting pitcher was particularly effective. Volquez had a Box-Toppers game score of −4.0 and Harvey had a Box-Toppers game score of −5.0.
Box-Toppers season-end player rankings report
Box-Toppers point totals of all Royals players active at season's end
Box-Toppers point totals of all Mets players active at season's end