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Red Sox pitcher David Price is Box-Toppers Player of the Game in Sunday’s World Series Game 5 as Boston wins its fourth title since 2004.
The Boston Red Sox beat the Los Angeles Dodgers 5-1 Sunday to win the best-of-seven series, 4-1.
Price struck out five over seven innings, allowing one run, three hits and two walks.
Read MoreSteve Pearce of the Red Sox is Box-Toppers Player of the Game in Saturday’s World Series Game 4.
The Boston Red Sox win 9-6 to take a 3-1 lead over the Los Angeles Dodgers in the best-of-seven game series.
Pearce homered, doubled and went 2-for-4, scoring twice and driving in four runs. It is his first Player of the Game honor of the 2018 postseason.
Read MoreThe Boston Red Sox hold nearly all the advantages over the Houston Astros in the coming American League Championship Series.
But the Astros are the defending World Series champions and return in 2018 with a largely unchanged roster and even more wins than they had last season (103 vs. 101).
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The Boston Red Sox rise to lead Box-Toppers team rankings after acquiring Ian Kinsler from the Angels and winning five of six games they played this week.
Meanwhile, the Los Angeles Dodgers rise to lead National League teams after acquiring second baseman Brian Dozier from the Twins and pitcher John Axford from the Blue Jays.
Read MoreSteve Pearce of the Red Sox is Thursday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day.
Also Thursday, Nationals pitcher Max Scherzer extended his lead in Box-Toppers season player rankings after earning National League Player of the Day honors. Scherzer also became the first player to reach 20 Box-Toppers points this season, the fifth straight season he’s reached that milestone.
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Nationals pitcher Stephen Strasburg is Monday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day and rises to fifth place in season player rankings.
| Player | Pos | Team | BTP | |
| 1 | Kershaw, Clayton 2494 | pi sp | lad nl | 21.1 |
| 2 | Scherzer, Max 2588 | pi sp | dc nl | 19.0 |
| 3 | Sale, Chris 2806 | pi sp | bos al | 13.1 |
| 4 | Wood, Alex 3246 | pi sp | lad nl | 13.0 |
| 5 | Strasburg, Stephen 2736 | pi sp | dc nl | 12.4 |
| 6 | Santana, Ervin 2005 | pi sp | min al | 12.4 |
| 7 | Carrasco, Carlos 2885 | pi sp | cle al | 11.4 |
| 8 | Greinke, Zack 1871 | pi sp | ari nl | 11.4 |
| 9 | Quintana, Jose 3040 | pi sp | chi nl | 10.0 |
| 10 | Ray, Robbie 3502 | pi sp | ari nl | 10.0 |
Strasburg struck out 11 over seven innings, allowing one run, four hits and one walk, in the 6-1 win over the Reds.
Strasburg earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day, giving him 12.4 for the season, rising from eighth to fifth place in season player rankings, fourth place among National League pitchers.
American League Player of the Day—Rays pitcher Jake Odorizzi allowed one run and one hit over seven innings, striking out five and walking two, in the 3-2 win over the Athletics.
National League Batter of the Day—Gregory Polanco of the Pirates hit two doubles and went 4-for-4, scoring twice and driving in two runs, in the 4-2 win over the Brewers.
American League Batter of the Day—Steve Pearce of the Blue Jays homered and went 2-for-3, driving in two runs, in the 4-3 win over the Red Sox.
Notable—Cubs pitcher Jon Lester became the 21st player since 1995 to reach 150 career Box-Toppers points after earning Player of the Game honors Monday.
Lester (7IP 3H R BB 6K W in the 4-3 win over the Braves) earns 1.0 Box-Toppers point, giving him 150.2 career points, 21st-most since 1995, when Box-Toppers tracking began. He trails 20th-ranked player, Nationals pitcher Max Scherzer (150.7), who just passed Lester on the “all-time” list on Saturday.
Lester has 7.0 Box-Toppers points on the season, 14th among NL pitchers.
Scoring—Strasburg earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day and Odorizzi earns 1.7 points for being AL Player of the Day. Polanco and Pearce 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.
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| 7/17 | Score | Game | Player of the Game | AB | R | H | BI | IP | H | R | ER | BB | K | |
| MLB | 11.0 | WSH 6, CIN 1 | Stephen Strasburg (W, 10-3) | - | - | - | - | 7.0 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 11 | |
| 7.0 | CHC 4, ATL 3 | Jon Lester (W, 6-6) | - | - | - | - | 7.0 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 6 | ||
| AL | 7.0 | TB 3, OAK 2 | Jake Odorizzi (W, 6-4) | - | - | - | - | 7.0 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 5 | |
| 4.2 | DET 10, KC 2 | Jordan Zimmermann (W, 6-7) | - | - | - | - | 6.2 | 7 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 7 | ||
| BAT | 4.0 | PIT 4, MIL 2 | Gregory Polanco (RF) | 4 | 2 | 4 | 2 | - | - | - | - | - | - | |
| 4.0 | MIA 6, PHI 5 (F/10) | Giancarlo Stanton (RF) | 3 | 2 | 2 | 3 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 3.0 | STL 6, NYM 3 | Tommy Pham (LF) | 3 | 1 | 2 | 3 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 3.0 | COL 9, SD 6 | Trevor Story (SS) | 3 | 1 | 2 | 3 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 3.0 | SEA 9, HOU 7 (F/10) | Edwin Diaz (S, 17) | - | - | - | - | 1.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | ||
| 2.1 | `MIN 4, NYY 2 | Adalberto Mejia | - | - | - | - | 5.1 | 5 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 4 | ||
| BAT | 2.0 | TOR 4, BOS 3 | Steve Pearce (LF-1B) | 3 | 1 | 2 | 2 | - | - | - | - | - | - | |
| 1.0 | `BAL 3, TEX 1 | Chris Tillman | - | - | - | - | 6.0 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 4 | 3 | ||
| 1.0 | CLE 5, SF 3 | Cody Allen (S, 17) | - | - | - | - | 1.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Player of the Game | Pos | Team | ’17 | ’16-17 | ’12-17 | Career | +/- |
| Strasburg, Stephen 2736 | pi sp | dc nl | 12.4 | 27.5 | 86.6 | 95.3 | -2.7 |
| Lester, Jon 2173 | pi sp | chi nl | 7.0 | 29.1 | 74.6 | 150.2 | -15.1 |
| Odorizzi, Jake 3291 | pi sp | tb al | 5.1 | 11.5 | 31.2 | 31.2 | -1.3 |
| Diaz, Edwin 3690 | pi cp | sea al | 5.0 | 12.0 | 12.0 | 12.0 | -2.0 |
| Stanton, Giancarlo 2737 | rf | fla nl | 4.5 | 11.0 | 35.2 | 43.7 | -2.0 |
| Polanco, Gregory 3361 | rf | pit nl | 4.5 | 10.0 | 17.0 | 17.0 | -1.0 |
| Mejia, Adalberto 3812 | pi sp | min al | 4.0 | 4.0 | 4.0 | 4.0 | 4.0 |
| Pearce, Steve 2371 | lf 1b | tor al | 3.5 | 5.5 | 17.5 | 19.5 | 1.5 |
| Pham, Thomas 3596 | lf | stl nl | 3.5 | 5.0 | 6.5 | 6.5 | 2.0 |
| Tillman, Chris 2754 | pi sp | bal al | 2.0 | 10.0 | 41.8 | 45.8 | -6.0 |
| Allen, Cody 3265 | pi cp mr | cle al | 2.0 | 9.0 | 18.0 | 18.0 | -5.0 |
| Story, Trevor 3607 | ss | col nl | 1.0 | 7.5 | 7.5 | 7.5 | -5.5 |
| Zimmermann, Jordan 2612 | pi sp | det al | 1.0 | 4.0 | 54.4 | 61.4 | -2.0 |
With trade deadline acquisitions, Dodgers are hottest team of the week. Other teams strengthened by trades include Mets, Blue Jays, Rangers, Giants, Twins, Orioles.
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Mets pitcher Jacob deGrom is Thursday’s Player of the Day and rises to eighth place in Box-Toppers player rankings for the season.
Striking out 11 and allowing only one hit over eight scoreless innings in the 5-0 win over the Cardinals, deGrom had the second-highest Box-Toppers game score by any Player of the Game this season—18. (Corey Kluber of the Indians had a Box-Toppers game score of 25 on May 13.)
| Player | Pos | Team | BTP | |
| 1 | Hernandez, Felix 2064 | pi sp | sea al | 8.7 |
| 2 | Archer, Chris 3194 | pi sp | tb al | 7.0 |
| 3 | Miller, Shelby 3134 | pi sp | atl nl | 7.0 |
| 4 | Harvey, Matt 3075 | pi sp | nym nl | 6.7 |
| 5 | Harper, Bryce 3011 | lf rf | dc nl | 6.5 |
| 6 | Scherzer, Max 2588 | pi sp | dc nl | 6.0 |
| 7 | Cole, Gerrit 3232 | pi sp | pit nl | 6.0 |
| 8 | deGrom, Jacob 3343 | pi sp | nym nl | 5.7 |
| 9 | Keuchel, Dallas 3050 | pi sp | hou al | 5.7 |
| 10 | Lincecum, Tim 2288 | pi sp | sf nl | 5.7 |
deGrom earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day, giving him 5.7 for the season and now ranks fifth among NL pitchers for the season.
American League Player of the Day—Tigers pitcher David Price struck out 12 over 6 2/3 innings, allowing three runs, in the 6-5, 11-inning win over the Astros. Price did not pick up the win in the game. Though he exited the game with the lead, the Astros later tied the game before the Tigers went ahead in the 11th inning.
American League Batter of the Day—Steve Pearce of the Orioles hit a first-inning grand slam in the 5-4 win over the Mariners.
National League Batter of the Day—Michael McKenry of the Rockies homered, drove in two runs and scored twice, in the 7-3 win over the Phillies.
Scoring—deGrom earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day and Price earns 1.7 Box-Toppers points for being AL Player of the Day. Pearce and McKenry each earn 1.5 Box-Toppers points for being their league’s Batter of the Day. All of Thursday’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
| 5/21 | Score | Team | Player | AB | R | H | BI | BB | K | IP | H | R | ER | BB | K | |
| MLB | 18.0 | Mets | Jacob deGrom (W, 5-4) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 8.0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 11 | |
| 11.0 | Cubs | Kyle Hendricks (W, 1-1) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 9.0 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 7 | ||
| 10.0 | Braves | Julio Teheran (W, 4-1) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 7.0 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 8 | ||
| AL | 7.2 | `Tigers | David Price | - | - | - | - | - | - | 6.2 | 5 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 12 | |
| 6.0 | Indians | Danny Salazar (W, 5-1) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 6.0 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 8 | ||
| 3.2 | Rangers | Wandy Rodriguez (W, 2-2) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 6.2 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 5 | ||
| 3.1 | Giants | Madison Bumgarner (W, 5-2) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 6.1 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 6 | ||
| BAT | 3.0 | Orioles | Steve Pearce 2B | 3 | 1 | 1 | 4 | 1 | 1 | - | - | - | - | - | - | |
| BAT | 3.0 | Rockies | Michael McKenry C | 2 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 0 | - | - | - | - | - | - | |
| 3.0 | Rays | Alex Colome (W, 3-1) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 5.0 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 3 | ||
| 3.0 | Dbacks | Brad Ziegler (S, 1) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 1.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | ||
| 2.0 | Blue Jays | Steve Tolleson 2B | 2 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| `Denotes that the pitcher had a no-decision in the game and did not pick up a win or a save. | ||||||||||||||||
Indians pitcher Carlos Carrasco is Wednesday’s Player of the Day, while Cardinals pitcher Adam Wainwright scored to maintain his ninth-place spot in Box-Toppers player rankings.
Carrasco pitched a complete game, two-hit shutout, striking out 12 and walking one, in the 2-0 win over the Astros. Carrasco becomes the 51st player this season with 10.0 or more Box-Toppers points. He earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day, giving him 10.7 for the season. He ranks 45th among all players and 23rd among American League pitchers.
Wainwright earned Player of the Game honors Wednesday to remain in ninth place in Box-Toppers player rankings. (See the updated top 10 player list on the home page.) Wainwright (CG 0R 7H 7K W in the 2-0 win over the Brewers) earns 1.0 Box-Toppers point, giving him 17.0 for the season. He ranks fourth among National League pitchers.
Justin Morneau of the Rockies is NL Player of the Day. Morneau homered and went 3-for-4, scoring twice and driving in six runs, in the 16-2 win over the Dodgers.
Steve Pearce of the Orioles is AL Batter of the Day. Pearce hit two home runs, going 2-for-3 with four RBIs, in the 6-1 win over the Blue Jays.
Notables: Phillies pitcher Cole Hamels rose to 26th place in Box-Toppers player rankings after earning Player of the Game honors Wednesday. Hamels (7IP R 9K W in the 5-2 win over the Padres) earns 1.0 Box-Toppers point, giving him 12.4 for the season. He ranks ninth among NL pitchers.
Marlins pitcher Steve Cishek rose to 51st place in Box-Toppers player rankings after earning Player of the Game honors Wednesday. Cishek (1IP 0R K Sv in the 4-3 win over the Mets) earns 1.0 Box-Toppers point, giving him 10.0 for the season. He ranks 22nd among NL pitchers and is the 52nd player this season with 10.0 or more Box-Toppers points.
Carrasco receives 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day. Morneau receives 1.7 for NL Player of the Day. Pearce receives 1.5 for being AL Batter of the Day.
All of Wednesday’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, 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.
Listed from highest to lowest Box-Toppers game score
| 917 | Score | Team | Player | AB | R | H | BI | BB | K | IP | H | R | ER | BB | K | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| MLB | 18.0 | Indians | Carlos Carrasco (W, 8-5) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 9.0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 12 | |
| 10.0 | Angels | C.J. Wilson (W, 13-9) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 7.0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 7 | ||
| NL | 7.0 | Rockies | Justin Morneau 1B | 4 | 2 | 3 | 6 | 0 | 1 | - | - | - | - | - | - | |
| 7.0 | Cardinals | Adam Wainwright (W, 19-9) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 9.0 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 7 | ||
| 7.0 | Royals | Yordano Ventura (W, 13-10) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 7.0 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 7 | ||
| 6.0 | Phillies | Cole Hamels (W, 9-7) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 7.0 | 7 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 9 | ||
| 6.0 | Braves | Alex Wood (W, 11-10) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 6.0 | 5 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 8 | ||
| BAT | 5.0 | Orioles | Steve Pearce RF, 1B | 3 | 2 | 2 | 4 | 1 | 1 | - | - | - | - | - | - | |
| 3.0 | Twins | Danny Santana CF | 5 | 3 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 1 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 3.0 | Giants | Brandon Crawford SS | 4 | 2 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 0 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 3.0 | Pirates | Ike Davis 1B | 4 | 2 | 2 | 3 | 0 | 0 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 2.2 | Rangers | Robbie Ross Jr. (W, 3-6) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 1.2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | ||
| 2.0 | Yankees | Brandon McCarthy (W, 7-4) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 7.0 | 4 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 4 | ||
| 2.0 | Cubs | Kyle Hendricks (W, 7-2) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 7.0 | 7 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 4 | ||
| 2.0 | Marlins | Steve Cishek (S, 37) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 1.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
Tigers pitcher Max Scherzer, Thursday’s Player of the Day, rises to second place in Box-Toppers player rankings and takes the lead among American League pitchers in Box-Toppers points.
Scherzer struck out seven over eight innings, allowing two hits and one run, in the 8-1 win over the Rays. He earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day, giving him 14.4 for the season, moving from sixth to second in season player rankings (see the updated top 10 player list on the home page).
Scherzer passes Masahiro Tanaka of the Yankees (12.7 points) to take the Box-Toppers points lead among AL pitchers. He trails only Dodgers pitcher Clayton Kershaw (14.4) in the rankings. (Scherzer and Kershaw both have 14.4 Box-Toppers points, but Kershaw ranks ahead because he has more points since the start of 2013—36.1 vs. 32.5.) In 2013, both Kershaw and Scherzer led their leagues in the final Box-Toppers points standings—Kershaw had 21.7, Scherzer had 18.1.
David Peralta of the Diamondbacks is National League Player of the Day. Peralta homered, went 3-for-5, scored twice and drove in four runs in the 10-2 win over the Pirates. This was Peralta’s Box-Toppers debut, the first time he has earned Player of the Game honors. He is the 3,370th player to debut in Box-Toppers since record keeping began in 1995. He made his Major League debut June 1 and was playing in his 27th game.
Steve Pearce of the Orioles is AL Batter of the Day. Pearce went 4-for-5 and drove in two runs in the 5-2 win over the Rangers.
Notable: Dodgers pitcher Zack Greinke rose to 10th place in Box-Toppers player rankings after earning Player of the Game honors Thursday. (See the updated top 10 player list on the home page.) Greinke (8IP 8K W in the 3-2 win over the Rockies) earns 1.0 Box-Toppers point, giving him 10.1 for the season.
Scherzer receives 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day. Peralta receives 1.7 for NL Player of the Day. Pearce receives 1.5 for being AL Batter of the Day.
All of Thursday’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 Thursday, 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.
Listed from highest to lowest Box-Toppers game score
| 703 | Score | Team | Player | AB | R | H | BI | BB | K | IP | H | R | ER | BB | K | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| MLB | 10.0 | Tigers | Max Scherzer (W, 10-3) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 8.0 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 7 | |
| NL | 4.0 | Dbacks | David Peralta LF | 5 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 0 | 1 | - | - | - | - | - | - | |
| 3.0 | Athletics | Sonny Gray (W, 8-3) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 7.0 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 5 | ||
| 3.0 | Cardinals | Carlos Martinez (W, 2-3) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 5.0 | 5 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 6 | ||
| 3.0 | Yankees | David Robertson (S, 19) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 1.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 3 | ||
| BAT | 2.0 | Orioles | Steve Pearce LF | 5 | 1 | 4 | 2 | 0 | 1 | - | - | - | - | - | - | |
| 2.0 | Angels | David Freese 3B | 3 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 1 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 2.0 | Dodgers | Zack Greinke (W, 11-4) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 8.0 | 9 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 8 | ||
| 2.0 | Phillies | Jonathan Papelbon (S, 19) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 1.0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
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.