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Yankees pitcher Gerrit Cole is Box-Toppers’ top-ranked player over the past two seasons while Nationals pitcher Max Scherzer ranks first in points over the past six seasons.
Cole earned 29.8 Box-Toppers points combined in 2020 and 2021 to lead all players in that span, while Scherzer earned 120.3 from 2016-2021, most in that span.
Read MoreDiamondbacks pitcher Merrill Kelly is Tuesday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day.
Kelly struck out seven over 7 2/3 innings, allowing one run, three hits and one walk, in the 4-1 win over the Rangers.
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The New York Yankees are the top-ranked team in Box-Toppers’ 2020 preseason rankings, rising from fifth place at the end of the 2019 season.
The 2019 World Series-champion Washington Nationals, ranked second at the end of 2019, maintain second place in the 2020 preseason rankings.
Meanwhile, the Toronto Blue Jays made the biggest offseason improvement in players’ accumulated Box-Toppers points, while the Houston Astros—2019’s top-ranked team and American League champion—had the biggest decline.
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The Houston Astros rocketed to a huge lead in Box-Toppers team rankings this week, mainly due to acquiring Zack Greinke and other players at the July 31 trade deadline.
The Astros lead for the second week, but last week’s narrow lead has exploded to an enormous lead this week, as they gained the most Box-Toppers points of any team in the past week.
Read MoreAthletics pitcher Frankie Montas is Thursday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day.
Montas struck out nine over eight innings, allowing one run, four hits and no walks, in the 5-4 win over the Rays.
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The New York Yankees are the top-ranked team in Box-Toppers’ 2019 preseason rankings, rising from second place at the end of the 2018 season.
The 2018 World Series-champion Boston Red Sox fall from first at the end of last season to second place in the 2019 preseason rankings.
Meanwhile, the Cincinnati Reds made the biggest offseason improvement in players’ accumulated Box-Toppers points, while the Arizona Diamondbacks had the biggest decline.
Read MoreDiamondbacks pitcher Zack Godley is Tuesday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day.
Also Tuesday, Astros pitcher Charlie Morton rises to ninth place in Box-Toppers season player rankings after earning Player of the Game honors.
Read MoreNationals pitcher Tanner Roark is Wednesday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day.
Also Wednesday, Indians pitcher Trevor Bauer rises to 10th place in Box-Toppers season player rankings after earning American League Player of the Day honors.
Read MoreNationals pitcher Stephen Strasburg and Yankees closer Aroldis Chapman are Wednesday’s Box-Toppers Players of the Day in two League Division Series games.
Read MoreNo baseball Tuesday as the National League Division Series Game 4 was rained out and postponed until Wednesday.
There are two League Division Series games scheduled for Wednesday.
Read MoreCubs pitcher Jose Quintana is Monday’s Box-Toppers top Player of the Game among the four League Division Series playoff games.
The other three Players of the Game Monday are Dodgers pitcher Yu Darvish, Yankees closer Tommy Kahnle and George Springer of the Astros.
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A look at the top 100 players in Box-Toppers points at the midseason break. League-leading teams—Nationals, Astros, Dodgers—have the most players on the list.
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Nationals pitcher Tanner Roark is Monday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day.
| Player | Pos | Team | BTP | |
| 1 | Kershaw, Clayton 2494 | pi sp | lad nl | 10.7 |
| 2 | Santana, Ervin 2005 | pi sp | min al | 9.4 |
| 3 | Sale, Chris 2806 | pi sp | bos al | 8.4 |
| 4 | Scherzer, Max 2588 | pi sp | dc nl | 8.0 |
| 5 | Wood, Alex 3246 | pi sp | lad nl | 7.0 |
| 6 | Greinke, Zack 1871 | pi sp | ari nl | 6.7 |
| 7 | Judge, Aaron 3767 | rf | nyy al | 6.5 |
| 8 | Strasburg, Stephen 2736 | pi sp | dc nl | 6.4 |
| 9 | Carrasco, Carlos 2885 | pi sp | cle al | 6.4 |
| 10 | Keuchel, Dallas 3050 | pi sp | hou al | 6.4 |
Also Monday, Indians pitcher Carlos Carrasco rises to ninth place in Box-Toppers season player rankings after earning Player of the Game honors.
Player of the Day—Roark pitched seven scoreless innings, striking out six and allowing six hits, in the 3-0 win over the Giants.
American League Player of the Day—Carlos Beltran of the Astros hit a three-run homer and went 4-for-5, scoring three times, in the 16-8 win over the Twins.
Beltran earns 1.7 Box-Toppers points for being AL Player of the Day, giving him 107.6 career Box-Toppers points, rising to 59th place among all players since 1995, when Box-Toppers tracking began. With his points Monday, he passes three players on the “all-time” list—Frank Thomas (106.2), Red Sox pitcher David Price (106.2) and Twins pitcher Ervin Santana (106.7), who was the starting opposing pitcher in Beltran’s game Monday. Beltran ranks 19th among all batters in career points since 1995 and fourth among all active batters.
Beltran has 2.7 Box-Toppers points in 2017 and earlier this season tied the record for longest consecutive season streak earning Box-Toppers points at 19 (1999-2017).
Streak |
Player |
Pos |
Duration |
Career BTP |
|
| 1 | 19 | Jason Giambi | 1b | 1995-2013 | 133.4 |
| 1 | 19 | Carlos Beltran* | rf | 1999-2017 | 107.6 |
| 3 | 18 | Jim Thome | 1b dh | 1995-2012 | 146.7 |
| 3 | 18 | Chipper Jones | 3b | 1995-2012 | 149.0 |
| 3 | 18 | Johnny Damon | lf | 1995-2012 | 63.0 |
| 3 | 18 | Alex Rodriguez | 3b | 1996-2013 | 187.0 |
| 7 | 17 | Mariano Rivera | pi cp | 1995-2011 | 126.4 |
| 7 | 17 | Derek Jeter | ss | 1996-2012 | 76.4 |
| 7 | 17 | Paul Konerko | 1b | 1998-2014 | 100.7 |
| 7 | 17 | Tim Hudson | pi sp | 1999-2015 | 157.0 |
| 7 | 17 | Torii Hunter | cf | 1999-2015 | 115.9 |
| 7 | 17 | David Ortiz | dh | 2000-2016 | 145.9 |
| 7 | 17 | CC Sabathia* | pi sp | 2001-2017 | 188.0 |
| 14 | 16 | Manny Ramirez | lf | 1995-2010 | 167.2 |
| 14 | 16 | Andy Pettitte | pi sp | 1995-2010 | 138.5 |
| 14 | 16 | Jamie Moyer | pi sp | 1995-2010 | 104.0 |
| 14 | 16 | Scott Rolen | 3b | 1996-2011 | 97.6 |
| 14 | 16 | Kevin Millwood | pi sp | 1997-2012 | 108.3 |
| 14 | 16 | Derek Lowe | pi sp | 1998-2013 | 91.5 |
| 14 | 16 | Aramis Ramirez | 3b | 2000-2015 | 105.8 |
| 14 | 16 | Mark Buehrle | pi sp | 2000-2015 | 116.7 |
| 14 | 16 | Albert Pujols* | dh 1b | 2001-2016 | 182.3 |
| 14 | 16 | Ichiro Suzuki* | rf | 2001-2016 | 53.7 |
| 24 | 15 | Randy Johnson | pi sp | 1995-2009 | 278.8 |
| 24 | 15 | Garret Anderson | lf | 1995-2009 | 86.5 |
| 24 | 15 | Ivan Rodriguez | ca | 1995-2009 | 79.0 |
| 24 | 15 | Tony Clark | 1b | 1995-2009 | 63.8 |
| 24 | 15 | Gary Sheffield | lf | 1995-2009 | 124.1 |
| 24 | 15 | Jason Kendall | ca | 1996-2010 | 40.9 |
| 24 | 15 | Vladimir Guerrero | rf | 1997-2011 | 128.3 |
| 24 | 15 | Bobby Abreu | rf | 1997-2011 | 95.5 |
| 24 | 15 | Mike Cameron | cf | 1997-2011 | 70.3 |
| 24 | 15 | Miguel Tejada | ss | 1997-2011 | 102.3 |
| 24 | 15 | Jorge Posada | ca | 1997-2011 | 79.5 |
| 24 | 15 | Livan Hernandez | pi sp | 1997-2011 | 76.7 |
| 24 | 15 | Kyle Lohse | pi sp | 2001-2015 | 89.0 |
| 24 | 15 | Jake Peavy | pi sp | 2002-2016 | 141.8 |
| 24 | 15 | Miguel Cabrera* | 1b | 2003-2017 | 145.9 |
National League Batter of the Day—Hunter Renfroe of the Padres hit a grand slam, going 1-for-4, in the 5-2 win over the Cubs.
American League Batter of the Day—There is no separate AL Batter of the Day for Monday because the overall AL Player of the Day was batter Carlos Beltran.
Rankings—Indians pitcher Carlos Carrasco rises to ninth place in Box-Toppers season player rankings after earning Player of the Game honors Monday.
Carrasco (7IP 4H 2R BB 7K W in the 5-3 win over the Athletics) earns 1.0 Box-Toppers point, giving him 6.4 for the season. He ranks third among AL pitchers.
Streaks—Two players extended streaks of 10 or more consecutive seasons earning Box-Toppers points after earning their first Player of the Game honors of the season Monday:
Cabrera (2-3 R 3BI in the 10-7 win over the Royals) earned his first Box-Toppers points in 2003 with the Marlins, making his 15-season streak tied (with 14 others) for the 24th-longest streak in Box-Toppers tracking history. It is the fifth-longest currently active streak.
Cabrera has 145.9 career Box-Toppers points, rising to 23rd place among all players since 1995 when Box-Toppers tracking began. With his point Monday, he passes two players on the “all-time” list—Cubs pitcher Jon Lester (145.2) and David Ortiz (145.9). (While Cabrera and Ortiz both have the same career Box-Toppers point total, Cabrera ranks ahead because he has more 2017 points—1.0 vs. 0.0.) Cabrera now trails 22nd-ranked player Jim Thome (146.7).
Cabrera now has the seventh-most career Box-Toppers points among active players after passing Lester. And he has the seventh-most career points among all batters since 1995, passing Ortiz and trailing sixth-ranked Thome (146.7). Cabrera maintains his second-place rank in career points among active batters, trailing Albert Pujols of the Angels (182.3).
Cabrera’s best season was 2013 with the Tigers when he had 16.9 Box-Toppers points, first among AL batters and eighth among all players. Cabrera also led AL batters in 2009 with the Tigers with 16.5 points, ninth among all players that season. In 2016, Cabrera had 12.0 Box-Toppers points, fourth among AL batters.
Volquez (6IP 3H R 2BB 4K W in the 4-1 win over the Phillies) earned his first Box-Toppers points in 2006 with the Rangers and has 65.2 career points, 19th among active NL pitchers. His best season was 2008 with the Reds when he had 15.1 Box-Toppers points, sixth among NL pitchers. In 2016, he had 6.4 points with the Royals.
Scoring—Roark earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day and Beltran earns 1.7 points for being AL Player of the Day. Renfroe earns 1.5 points for being NL 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.
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.
| 5/29 | Score | Game | Player of the Game | AB | R | H | BI | IP | H | R | ER | BB | K | |
| MLB | 6.0 | WSH 3, SF 0 | Tanner Roark (W,5-2) | - | - | - | - | 7.0 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 6 | |
| AL | 5.0 | HOU 16, MIN 8 | Carlos Beltran, DH | 5 | 3 | 4 | 3 | - | - | - | - | - | - | |
| 5.0 | TOR 17, CIN 2 | Justin Smoak, 1B | 5 | 3 | 3 | 4 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 5.0 | CLE 5, OAK 3 | Carlos Carrasco (W,5-2) | - | - | - | - | 7.0 | 4 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 7 | ||
| 4.0 | NYM 4, MIL 2 | Robert Gsellman (W,3-3) | - | - | - | - | 7.0 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 5 | ||
| 4.0 | TB 10, TEX 8 | Alex Colome (S,14) | - | - | - | - | 1.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | ||
| 3.0 | CHW 5, BOS 4 | Melky Cabrera, LF | 4 | 1 | 2 | 4 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 3.0 | DET 10, KC 7 | Miguel Cabrera, 1B | 3 | 1 | 2 | 3 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| BAT | 3.0 | SD 5, CHC 2 | Hunter Renfroe, RF | 3 | 1 | 1 | 4 | - | - | - | - | - | - | |
| 3.0 | MIA 4, PHI 1 | Edinson Volquez (W,1-7) | - | - | - | - | 6.0 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 4 | ||
| 3.0 | `PIT 4, ARI 3 | Trevor Williams | - | - | - | - | 6.0 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 3 | ||
| 3.0 | LAD 5, STL 1 | Rich Hill (W,2-2) | - | - | - | - | 5.0 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 4 | ||
| 3.0 | BAL 3, NYY 2 | Brad Brach (S,10) | - | - | - | - | 1.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | ||
| 3.0 | SEA 6, COL 5 | Edwin Diaz (S,9) | - | - | - | - | 1.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | ||
| 2.0 | ATL 6, LAA 3 | Jim Johnson (S,11) | - | - | - | - | 1.0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| Player of the Game | Pos | Team | ’17 | ’16-17 | ’12-17 | Career | +/- |
| Carrasco, Carlos 2885 | pi sp | cle al | 6.4 | 18.8 | 47.5 | 52.9 | -6.0 |
| Roark, Tanner 3261 | pi sp | dc nl | 4.0 | 16.7 | 32.7 | 32.7 | -8.7 |
| Colome, Alex 3189 | pi cp | tb al | 4.0 | 13.0 | 21.7 | 21.7 | -5.0 |
| Smoak, Justin 2731 | 1b | tor al | 3.5 | 7.0 | 20.2 | 26.4 | 0.0 |
| Johnson, Jim 2417 | pi cp | atl nl | 3.0 | 7.0 | 18.0 | 24.7 | -1.0 |
| Cabrera, Melky 2143 | lf ph | chi al | 3.0 | 7.0 | 17.0 | 33.5 | -1.0 |
| Renfroe, Hunter 3749 | rf | sd nl | 3.0 | 5.5 | 5.5 | 5.5 | 0.5 |
| Beltran, Carlos 1194 | dh rf | hou al | 2.7 | 8.7 | 20.9 | 107.6 | -3.3 |
| Hill, Rich 2215 | pi sp | lad nl | 2.0 | 16.4 | 20.4 | 40.1 | -12.4 |
| Diaz, Edwin 3690 | pi cp | sea al | 2.0 | 9.0 | 9.0 | 9.0 | -5.0 |
| Williams, Trevor 3792 | pi sp | pit nl | 2.0 | 2.0 | 2.0 | 2.0 | 2.0 |
| Cabrera, Miguel 1776 | 1b | det al | 1.0 | 13.0 | 58.8 | 145.9 | -11.0 |
| Volquez, Edinson 2220 | pi sp | fla nl | 1.0 | 7.4 | 37.1 | 65.2 | -5.4 |
| Brach, Brad 3374 | pi cp mr | bal al | 1.0 | 4.0 | 8.0 | 8.0 | -2.0 |
| Gsellman, Robert 3748 | pi sp | nym nl | 1.0 | 2.7 | 2.7 | 2.7 | -0.7 |
Phillies pitcher Vince Velasquez has best single-game Box-Toppers game score in 2016. Clayton Kershaw, Jose Fernandez each had two of the 12 best game scores of the year.
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Cubs pitcher Travis Wood is Box-Toppers Player of the Day in Saturday’s National League Division Series Game 2 win over the Giants.
Wood pitched 1 1/3 scoreless innings of middle relief, allowing no hits, no walks and striking out two, in the 5-2 win.
During the regular season, Wood had just 1.0 Box-Toppers point (earned May 30), which ranks him 563rd among all players, 144th among NL pitchers and 33rd among NL middle relievers. Wood had 8.0 Box-Toppers points in both 2013 and 2014 when he was a starter for the Cubs, his two best seasons.
Wood had a Box-Toppers game score of +3.1. Cubs’ top batter in the game was pitcher Kyle Hendricks, who had a Box-Toppers game score of +2.0 for batting. Hendricks (1-1 2BI) hit a second-inning single, driving in two runs. Hendricks had a Box-Toppers game score of −4.8 as starting pitcher (3.2IP 4H 2R 0BB 0K ND).
Wood had the second-highest Box-Toppers game score among Cubs’ batters. His score was also +2.0, tied with Hendricks, but Hendricks ranked ahead because he had more runs batted in (2 vs. 1). Wood (1-1 R BI) hit a solo home run in the fourth inning.
The Cubs now lead the best-of-five game series 2-0. The series resumes Monday in San Francisco.
NLDS Game 2 between the Dodgers and Nationals was rained out Saturday and rescheduled for Sunday. More details below.
Listed from highest to lowest Box-Toppers game score
| BTG | Game | Player of Game | AB | R | H | BI | IP | H | R | ER | BB | K | |
| 3.1 | CHC 5, SF 2 | Travis Wood (W,1-0) | - | - | - | - | 1.1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | |
| BTG: Box-Toppers game score | |||||||||||||
Coming Sunday: Three division series playoff games:
NLDS Game 2 between the Dodgers and Nationals was rained out Saturday and rescheduled for Sunday.
The pitching matchup Sunday:
Dodgers—Rich Hill, 14.4 Box-Toppers points, 13th among all players, eighth among NL pitchers.
Nationals—Tanner Roark, 12.7 Box-Toppers points, 22nd among all players, 14th among NL pitchers.
The pitching matchup Sunday:
Indians—Josh Tomlin, 5.0 Box-Toppers points, 202nd among all players, 63rd among AL pitchers.
Red Sox—Clay Buchholz, 5.0 Box-Toppers points, 200th among all players, 62nd among AL pitchers.
The pitching matchup Sunday:
Rangers—Colby Lewis, 7.7 Box-Toppers points, 96th among all players, 34th among AL pitchers.
Blue Jays—Aaron Sanchez, 10.7 Box-Toppers points, 45th among all players, 19th among AL pitchers.
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.
Cubs pitcher Jon Lester is Box-Toppers top player in Friday’s four league division series playoff games.
The other three Players of the Game Friday:
Cubs pitcher Jon Lester pitched eight scoreless innings, allowing five hits, no walks and striking out five.
During the regular season, Lester had 22.1 Box-Toppers points, ranked fourth among all players, third among National League pitchers.
He outdueled fellow Box-Toppers top 10 pitcher, Johnny Cueto of the Giants (8IP 3H R 0BB 10K L). In the loss, Cueto had a higher Box-Toppers game score than Lester (+13.0 vs. +8.0) but Lester still wins Player of the Game since he had the highest score on the winning team. Cueto, during the regular season, had 16.4 Box-Toppers points, eighth among all players and fifth among NL pitchers.
Second baseman Javier Baez had the highest Box-Toppers game score (+2.0) among Cubs batters, hitting the eighth-inning home run that was the only scoring of the game (2-3 R BI).
The Cubs now lead the best-of-five game series, 1-0, which resumes Saturday in Chicago.
Indians pitcher Corey Kluber pitched seven scoreless innings, striking out seven and allowing three hits and three walks.
During the regular season, Kluber led all American League pitchers with 21.2 Box-Toppers points and ranked fifth among all players.
Kluber had a Box-Toppers game score of +8.0, same as Lester had for the Cubs in they NLDS win, but Lester’s game score ranks higher because he had more innings pitched (8 vs. 7).
Left fielder Brandon Guyer had the highest Box-Toppers game score (+2.0) among Indians batters (3-4 2R BI).
The Indians now lead the best-of-five game series, 2-0, which resumes Sunday in Boston.
Dodgers closing pitcher Kenley Jansen pitched a five-out save, going 1 2/3 innings, allowing one hit, no runs, no walks and striking out two.
During the regular season, Jansen had 6.0 Box-Toppers points, ranking 163rd among all players, 46th among NL pitchers and third among NL closing pitchers.
Jansen had a Box-Toppers game score of +3.2, most of any Dodgers player in the win. Third baseman Justin Turner had the highest Box-Toppers game score (+2.0) among Dodgers batters (HR 2-3 R 2BI).
The game pitted Box-Toppers two top-ranked players against each other as starting pitchers, but neither had positive Box-Toppers game scores:
The Dodgers now lead the best-of-five game series, 1-0, which resumes Saturday in Washington.
Blue Jays closer Roberto Osuna pitched a five-out save, going 1 2/3 innings, allowing one hit, no runs, no walks and striking out two.
During the regular season, Osuna had 3.0 Box-Toppers points (all in April) and ranked 319th among all players, 87th among AL pitchers and 15th among AL closers.
Shortstop Troy Tulowitzki had the highest Box-Toppers game score (+1.0) among Blue Jays batters (HR 2-4 R 2BI).
The Blue Jays now lead the best-of-five game series, 2-0, which resumes Sunday in Toronto.
| BTG | Game | Player of Game | AB | R | H | BI | IP | H | R | ER | BB | K | |
| 8.0 | CHC 1, SF 0 | Jon Lester (W,1-0) | - | - | - | - | 8.0 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5 | |
| 8.0 | CLE 6, BOS 0 | Corey Kluber (W,1-0) | - | - | - | - | 7.0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 7 | |
| 3.2 | LAD 4, WSH 3 | Kenley Jansen (S,1) | - | - | - | - | 1.2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | |
| 2.2 | TOR 5, TEX 3 | Roberto Osuna (S,1) | - | - | - | - | 1.2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | |
| BTG: Box-Toppers game score | |||||||||||||
Coming Saturday: The National League Division Series playoffs resume with two Game 2s:
The pitching matchup Saturday:
Dodgers—Rich Hill, 14.4 Box-Toppers points, 13th among all players, eighth among NL pitchers.
Nationals—Tanner Roark, 12.7 Box-Toppers points, 22nd among all players, 14th among NL pitchers.
The pitching matchup Saturday:
Giants—Jeff Samardzija, 10.7 Box-Toppers points, 41st among all players, 18th among NL pitchers.
Cubs—Kyle Hendricks, 13.4 Box-Toppers points, 17th among all players, 10th among NL pitchers.
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.
Cubs pitcher Jon Lester is Wednesday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day, becoming the fifth player this season with 20 Box-Toppers points.
| Player | Pos | Team | BTP | |
| 1 | Scherzer, Max 2588 | pi sp | dc nl | 23.7 |
| 2 | Kershaw, Clayton 2494 | pi sp | lad nl | 21.0 |
| 3 | Fernandez, Jose 3147 | pi sp | fla nl | 20.4 |
| 4 | Kluber, Corey 3200 | pi sp | cle al | 20.2 |
| 5 | Lester, Jon 2173 | pi sp | chi nl | 20.1 |
| 6 | Hamels, Cole 2135 | pi sp | tex al | 16.8 |
| 7 | Syndergaard, Noah 3472 | pi sp | nym al | 15.7 |
| 8 | Strasburg, Stephen 2736 | pi sp | dc nl | 15.1 |
| 9 | Cueto, Johnny 2400 | pi sp | sf nl | 14.4 |
| 10 | Hill, Rich 2215 | pi sp | lad nl | 14.4 |
Also Wednesday, Dodgers pitcher Clayton Kershaw earns his first Box-Toppers point in nearly three months and despite not earning points for almost half the season, rises to second place in Box-Toppers player rankings for 2016.
Player of the Day—Lester pitched eight scoreless innings, allowing three hits, one walk and striking out eight, in the 7-0 win over the Cardinals.
Lester earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day, giving him 20.1 for the season. He maintains his rank of fifth place in Box-Toppers season player rankings, fourth among National League pitchers.
This is Lester’s second season with 20 or more Box-Toppers points. In 2010, he had 23.4 points with the Red Sox, leading American League pitchers.
Lester also now has 141.2 career Box-Toppers points, 27th-most among players since Box-Toppers tracking began in 1995. He trails 26th-ranked player Giants pitcher Jake Peavy (141.8) on the “all-time” list.
American League Player of the Day—Orioles pitcher Kevin Gausman pitched eight scoreless innings, allowing four hits, one walk and striking out six, in the 1-0 win over the Red Sox.
Gausman earns 1.7 Box-Toppers point for being AL Player of the Day, giving him 10.8 for the season. He becomes the 40th player this season with 10 or more Box-Toppers points. He ranks 32nd among all players, 13th among AL pitchers.
National League Batter of the Day—Jean Segura of the Diamondbacks hit two homers and went 5-for-6, scoring three times and driving in three runs, in the 11-6 win over the Rockies.
American League Batter of the Day—Ian Kinsler of the Tigers tripled, doubled and went 4-for-5, scoring twice and driving in three runs, in the 9-6 win over the Twins.
Rankings—Dodgers pitcher Clayton Kershaw rises to second place in Box-Toppers season player rankings after earning his first Player of the Game honor Wednesday in nearly three months.
Kershaw (5IP H 0R 0BB 5K ND in the 2-0 win over the Yankees) earns 1.0 Box-Toppers point, giving him 21.0 for the season, rising from fourth to second in player rankings. Kershaw trails overall leader, Nationals pitcher Max Scherzer (23.7 Box-Toppers points) by 2.7.
Kershaw’s second-place spot is remarkable since he was on the disabled list for two months with lower back issues and last earned Player of the Game honors June 20. Kershaw held a dominant lead in Box-Toppers points for much of the middle of the season, leading in points from May 7 to Aug. 25, when Scherzer passed him.
Kershaw also now has 180.3 career Box-Toppers points, seventh-most among all players since Box-Toppers tracking began in 1995 and third-most among all active players, behind Yankees pitcher CC Sabathia (184.0) and Albert Pujols of the Angels (182.3). (See the homepage for the updated top 20 list of all players since 1995.)
Fernandez—Marlins pitcher Jose Fernandez, now ranked third in Box-Toppers player rankings with 20.4 Box-Toppers points, did not earn Player of the Game in his start Wednesday.
Fernandez (7IP 6H 4R 2BB 3K W in the 7-5 win over the Braves) had a Box-Toppers game score Wednesday of −6.0. Teammate Marcell Ozuna earned Player of the Game honors (HR 2-4 R 4BI) with a Box-Toppers game score of +3.0.
Notable—Nationals pitcher Tanner Roark now has 12.7 Box-Toppers points for the season after earning Player of the Game honors Wednesday.
Roark (7IP 3H 0R 4BB 7K W in the 1-0 win over the Mets) now ranks 18th among all players and 13th among NL pitchers.
Scoring—Lester earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day and Gausman earns 1.7 points for being AL Player of the Day. Segura and Kinsler 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.
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Listed from highest to lowest Box-Toppers game score
| 9/14 | Score | Game | Player of Game | AB | R | H | BI | IP | H | R | ER | BB | K | |
| MLB | 12.0 | CHC 7, STL 0 | Jon Lester (W,17-4) | - | - | - | - | 8.0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 8 | |
| AL | 9.0 | BAL 1, BOS 0 | Kevin Gausman (W,8-10) | - | - | - | - | 8.0 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 6 | |
| 9.0 | `LAD 2, NYY 0 | Clayton Kershaw | - | - | - | - | 5.0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5 | ||
| 7.0 | WSH 1, NYM 0 | Tanner Roark (W,15-8) | - | - | - | - | 7.0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 7 | ||
| 6.0 | MIL 7, CIN 0 | Junior Guerra (W,9-3) | - | - | - | - | 6.0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 5 | ||
| 6.0 | OAK 8, KC 0 | Sean Manaea (W,6-9) | - | - | - | - | 5.0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 5 | ||
| BAT | 5.0 | ARI 11, COL 6 | Jean Segura, 2B | 6 | 3 | 5 | 3 | - | - | - | - | - | - | |
| 4.1 | SD 3, SF 1 | Luis Perdomo (W,8-9) | - | - | - | - | 6.1 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 5 | ||
| BAT | 4.0 | DET 9, MIN 6 | Ian Kinsler, 2B | 5 | 2 | 4 | 3 | - | - | - | - | - | - | |
| 3.0 | TB 8, TOR 1 | Corey Dickerson, LF | 5 | 1 | 3 | 4 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 3.0 | MIA 7, ATL 5 | Marcell Ozuna, RF | 4 | 1 | 2 | 4 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 2.0 | CLE 6, CHW 1 | Coco Crisp, LF | 4 | 1 | 2 | 3 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 2.0 | PHI 6, PIT 2 | Tommy Joseph, 1B | 4 | 3 | 2 | 1 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 2.0 | HOU 8, TEX 4 | Evan Gattis, C | 3 | 2 | 2 | 1 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 2.0 | SEA 2, LAA 1 | Edwin Diaz (S,16) | - | - | - | - | 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. | ||||||||||||||
| Player of Game | Pos | Team | 16 | 15-16 | 11-16 | Career | +/- |
| Kershaw, Clayton 2494 | pi sp | lad nl | 21.0 | 46.7 | 146.8 | 180.3 | -4.7 |
| Lester, Jon 2173 | pi sp | chi nl | 20.1 | 32.1 | 78.3 | 141.2 | 8.1 |
| Roark, Tanner 3261 | pi sp | dc nl | 12.7 | 13.7 | 28.7 | 28.7 | 11.7 |
| Gausman, Kevin 3191 | pi sp | bal al | 10.8 | 16.5 | 24.2 | 24.2 | 5.1 |
| Guerra, Junior 3633 | pi sp | mil nl | 9.0 | 9.0 | 9.0 | 9.0 | 9.0 |
| Diaz, Edwin 3690 | pi cp | sea al | 7.0 | 7.0 | 7.0 | 7.0 | 7.0 |
| Manaea, Sean 3637 | pi sp | oak al | 6.7 | 6.7 | 6.7 | 6.7 | 6.7 |
| Kinsler, Ian 2144 | 2b | det al | 6.0 | 12.5 | 31.7 | 62.1 | -0.5 |
| Ozuna, Marcell 3190 | cf rf | fla nl | 5.0 | 8.0 | 18.5 | 18.5 | 2.0 |
| Dickerson, Corey 3222 | lf | tb al | 4.5 | 7.5 | 16.5 | 16.5 | 1.5 |
| Segura, Jean 3173 | 2b | ari nl | 4.5 | 6.5 | 11.0 | 11.0 | 2.5 |
| Gattis, Evan 3179 | ca | hou al | 4.0 | 8.0 | 10.0 | 10.0 | 0.0 |
| Crisp, Coco 1876 | lf | cle al | 3.0 | 5.0 | 21.5 | 38.7 | 1.0 |
| Joseph, Tommy 3681 | 1b ph | phi nl | 2.0 | 2.0 | 2.0 | 2.0 | 2.0 |
| Perdomo, Luis D. 3715 | pi sp | sd nl | 2.0 | 2.0 | 2.0 | 2.0 | 2.0 |
Marlins pitcher Jose Fernandez is Friday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day and rises to second place in season player rankings.
Also Friday, Cubs pitcher Jon Lester maintained his spot in fifth place in Box-Toppers season player rankings after earning Player of the Game honors. Plus, Mark Teixeira of the Yankees reached 100 career Box-Toppers points after earning American League Batter of the Day honors Friday.
| Player | Pos | Team | BTP | |
| 1 | Scherzer, Max 2588 | pi sp | dc nl | 22.7 |
| 2 | Fernandez, Jose 3147 | pi sp | fla nl | 20.4 |
| 3 | Kershaw, Clayton 2494 | pi sp | lad nl | 20.0 |
| 4 | Kluber, Corey 3200 | pi sp | cle al | 18.2 |
| 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 | Syndergaard, Noah 3472 | pi sp | nym nl | 14.0 |
| 10 | Arrieta, Jake 2738 | pi sp | chi nl | 13.7 |
Player of the Day—Fernandez pitched seven scoreless innings, striking out 14 and allowing three hits and three walks, in the 4-1 win over the Dodgers.
Fernandez earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day, giving him 20.4 for the season and rising to second place in season player rankings.
Fernandez passed Dodgers pitcher Clayton Kershaw (20.0) in the rankings, who just happened to be making his return from more than two months on the disabled list in the same game. Kershaw (3IP 5H 2R 0BB 5K L) had a Box-Toppers game score of −1.0 in his return. Kershaw, who led Box-Toppers season rankings from May 7 to Aug. 24, now falls to third place.
Fernandez becomes the third player with 20.0 or more Box-Toppers points this season and now trails overall season leader, Nationals pitcher Max Scherzer (22.7). This is now Fernandez’s best season; his previous best year was his rookie year of 2013, when he had 19.0 Box-Toppers points.
American League Player of the Day—Rangers pitcher Yu Darvish struck out nine over 6 2/3 innings, allowing one run, three hits and one walk, in the 2-1 win over the Angels. Darvish did not earn the win, picking up a no-decision, because the game was tied when he exited.
American League Batter of the Day—Mark Teixeira of the Yankees hit a grand slam and went 2-for-3, scoring twice, in the 7-5 win over the Rays.
Teixeira earns 1.5 Box-Toppers points for being AL Batter of the Day, giving him 100.3 points over his 14-year career. Teixeira, who has announced his retirement at the end of the season, becomes the 74th player and 27th batter with 100 or more career points since Box-Toppers tracking began in 1995. Teixeira now ranks 73rd on the “all-time” list, just ahead of Larry Walker (100.1) and just behind Jeff Bagwell (100.4).
Teixeira earned his first points in 2003 with the Rangers. His best season was 2009 with the Yankees when he had 11.5 points, ranked sixth among AL batters. He had 7.5 points in 2015 with the Yankees, 17th among AL batters. He has 3.0 Box-Toppers points in 2016.
National League Batter of the Day—Curtis Granderson of the Mets homered and went 2-for-2, scoring twice and driving in three runs, in the 6-4 win over the Braves.
Rankings—Cubs pitcher Jon Lester bolstered his fifth-place spot in Box-Toppers season player rankings after earning Player of the Game honors Friday.
Lester (7IP 7H 0R 0BB 7K W in the 2-0 win over the Astros) earns 1.0 Box-Toppers point, giving him 18.1 for the season. He ranks fourth among NL pitchers.
Lester now has 139.2 career Box-Toppers points, rising to 27th among all players since 1995, when Box-Toppers tracking began. With his point Friday, he passes Andy Pettitte (138.5) on the “all-time” list and now trails 26th-ranked player, Giants pitcher Jake Peavy (141.8).
Notable—Two other players with more than 10 Box-Toppers points for the season earned Player of the Game honors Friday:
Also notable—Tim Adleman of the Reds (2B 2-2 R BI in the 4-3 win over the Pirates) became the sixth pitcher this season to earn Player of the Game honors for batting. Pitchers have earned Player of the Game honors seven times in 2016—Adam Wainwright of the Cardinals did it twice.
Scoring—Fernandez earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day and Darvish earns 1.7 points for being AL Player of the Day. Teixeira and Granderson 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.
Listed from highest to lowest Box-Toppers game score
| 9/9 | Score | Game | Player of Game | AB | R | H | BI | IP | H | R | ER | BB | K | |
| MLB | 15.0 | MIA 4, LAD 1 | Jose Fernandez (W,14-8) | - | - | - | - | 7.0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 14 | |
| AL | 9.2 | `TEX 2, LAA 1 | Yu Darvish | - | - | - | - | 6.2 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 9 | |
| 7.0 | CHC 2, HOU 0 | Jon Lester (W,16-4) | - | - | - | - | 7.0 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 7 | ||
| BAT | 5.0 | NYY 7, TB 5 | Mark Teixeira, 1B | 3 | 2 | 2 | 4 | - | - | - | - | - | - | |
| BAT | 5.0 | NYM 6, ATL 4 | Curtis Granderson, CF | 2 | 2 | 2 | 3 | - | - | - | - | - | - | |
| 4.0 | BOS 13, TOR 3 | Dustin Pedroia, 2B | 4 | 1 | 3 | 4 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 4.0 | `DET 4, BAL 3 | Michael Fulmer | - | - | - | - | 7.0 | 3 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 5 | ||
| 4.0 | CHW 7, KC 2 | Carlos Rodon (W,7-8) | - | - | - | - | 6.0 | 6 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 9 | ||
| 4.0 | `WSH 5, PHI 4 | Tanner Roark | - | - | - | - | 6.0 | 6 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 8 | ||
| 3.0 | SF 7, ARI 6 (12) | Hunter Pence, RF | 5 | 4 | 4 | 0 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 3.0 | CLE 5, MIN 4 | Cody Allen (S,27) | - | - | - | - | 1.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | ||
| 3.0 | `STL 4, MIL 3 | Kevin Siegrist (H,15) | - | - | - | - | 1.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | ||
| 3.0 | `SEA 3, OAK 2 | Steve Cishek (H,4) | - | - | - | - | 1.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | ||
| 3.0 | COL 4, SD 1 | Adam Ottavino (S,3) | - | - | - | - | 1.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | ||
| 2.0 | CIN 4, PIT 3 | Tim Adleman, P | 2 | 1 | 2 | 1 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| `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 | +/- |
| Fernandez, Jose 3147 | pi sp | fla nl | 20.4 | 25.1 | 51.1 | 51.1 | 15.7 |
| Lester, Jon 2173 | pi sp | chi nl | 18.1 | 30.1 | 76.3 | 139.2 | 6.1 |
| Roark, Tanner 3261 | pi sp | dc nl | 11.7 | 12.7 | 27.7 | 27.7 | 10.7 |
| Fulmer, Michael 3640 | pi sp | det al | 11.7 | 11.7 | 11.7 | 11.7 | 11.7 |
| Allen, Cody 3265 | pi cp mr | cle al | 7.0 | 11.0 | 16.0 | 16.0 | 3.0 |
| Darvish, Yu 3003 | pi sp | tex al | 6.4 | 6.4 | 51.6 | 51.6 | 6.4 |
| Rodon, Carlos 3494 | pi sp | chi al | 5.0 | 13.1 | 13.1 | 13.1 | -3.1 |
| Cishek, Steve 2997 | pi cp | sea al | 5.0 | 6.0 | 25.0 | 25.0 | 4.0 |
| Granderson, Curtis 2051 | rf cf ph | nym nl | 4.5 | 8.5 | 33.4 | 65.8 | 0.5 |
| Siegrist, Kevin 3260 | pi mr cp | stl nl | 4.0 | 8.0 | 10.0 | 10.0 | 0.0 |
| Pedroia, Dustin 2320 | 2b | bos al | 4.0 | 4.0 | 24.4 | 36.5 | 4.0 |
| Teixeira, Mark 1738 | 1b | nyy al | 3.0 | 10.5 | 31.2 | 100.3 | -4.5 |
| Pence, Hunter 2287 | rf | sf nl | 2.0 | 4.0 | 23.0 | 50.7 | 0.0 |
| Ottavino, Adam 3054 | pi cp | col nl | 2.0 | 4.0 | 6.0 | 6.0 | 0.0 |
| Adleman, Tim 3625 | pi sp | cin nl | 2.0 | 2.0 | 2.0 | 2.0 | 2.0 |
Cardinals pitcher Carlos Martinez is Monday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day.
| Player | Pos | Team | BTP | |
| 1 | Scherzer, Max 2588 | pi sp | dc nl | 20.7 |
| 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 | 17.2 |
| 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 |
Martinez struck out 13 over six innings, allowing one run, four hits and two walks, in the 6-5 win over the Brewers. Martinez did not earn the win, picking up a no decision, because after he exited, the Brewers went ahead before the Cardinals came back to take the lead in the ninth inning.
American League Player of the Day—Astros pitcher Joe Musgrove pitched 5 1/3 scoreless innings, striking out seven and allowing three hits and three walks, in the 6-0 win over the Athletics.
American League Batter of the Day—Mike Trout of the Angels homered, doubled and went 3-for-4, scoring twice and driving in two runs, in the 9-2 win over the Reds.
Trout earns 1.5 Box-Toppers points for being AL Batter of the Day, giving him 10.0 points for the season. He becomes the 33rd player—and fifth batter—this season with 10.0 or more Box-Toppers points. He ranks 32nd among all players and third among AL batters, behind Jose Altuve of the Astros (12.5) and Manny Machado of the Orioles (11.7). This is Trout’s second straight 10-point season, his third overall.
Trout had a Box-Toppers game score Monday of +3.0 and had an identical line score (HR 2B 3-4 2R 2BI) with teammate C.J. Cron. But Trout won Player of the Game honors on a tiebreaker because he had one walk and Cron had none.
National League Batter of the Day—Jorge Soler of the Cubs homered, doubled and went 3-for-5, driving in two runs, in the 8-7, 13-inning win over the Pirates.
Notable—Indians pitcher Trevor Bauer has the most season Box-Toppers points of any of the 13 who earned Player of the Game honors Monday.
Bauer (6IP 5H 0R BB 4K ND in the 1-0, 10-inning win over the Twins) earns 1.0 Box-Toppers point, giving him 11.4 for the season. He ranks 19th among all players and sixth among AL pitchers.
Also notable—Nationals pitcher Tanner Roark became the 32nd player this season to reach 10 Box-Toppers points after earning Player of the Game honors Monday.
Roark (7IP 4H 0R BB 5K W in the 4-0 win over the Phillies) earns 1.0 Box-Toppers point, giving him 10.7 for the season. He ranks 25th among all players and 15th among NL pitchers.
Additionally notable—Carlos Beltran of the Rangers now has 103.9 career Box-Toppers points—64th-most since Box-Toppers tracking began in 1995—after earning Player of the Game honors Monday.
Beltran (HR 2B 3-4 2R 2BI in the 6-3 win over the Mariners) passes Red Sox pitcher David Price (103.2) on the “all-time” list and now trails 63rd-ranked player Jamie Moyer (104.0). Beltran has 5.0 Box-Toppers points on the season. This was his first Player of the Game honor since being traded from the Yankees.
Beltran had a Box-Toppers game score Monday of +3.0, tied with AL Batter of the Day Mike Trout. Both Beltran and Trout had identical line scores, but Trout won AL Batter of the Day honors on a tiebreaker because he had fewer strikeouts than Beltran—zero vs. one.
Debut—Mets pitcher Josh Smoker made his Box-Toppers debut Monday with his first career Player of the Game honor.
Smoker (1IP 0H 0R 0BB 2K W in the 2-1, 10-inning win over the Marlins) made his Major League debut Aug. 19 and was playing in his seventh career game. He is the 3,725th player to debut in Box-Toppers since record keeping began in 1995.
Scoring—Martinez earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day and Musgrove earns 1.7 points for being AL Player of the Day. Trout and Soler 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.
Listed from highest to lowest Box-Toppers game score
| 8/29 | Score | Game | Player of Game | AB | R | H | BI | IP | H | R | ER | BB | K | |
| MLB | 11.0 | `STL 6, MIL 5 | Carlos Martinez | - | - | - | - | 6.0 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 13 | |
| 7.0 | WSH 4, PHI 0 | Tanner Roark (W,14-7) | - | - | - | - | 7.0 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 5 | ||
| 7.0 | COL 8, LAD 1 | Jon Gray (W,9-6) | - | - | - | - | 6.0 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 8 | ||
| AL | 6.1 | HOU 6, OAK 0 | Joe Musgrove (W,2-2) | - | - | - | - | 5.1 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 7 | |
| 4.0 | TOR 5, BAL 1 | Marco Estrada (W,8-6) | - | - | - | - | 7.0 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 4 | ||
| 4.0 | `CLE 1, MIN 0 (10) | Trevor Bauer | - | - | - | - | 6.0 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 4 | ||
| BAT | 3.0 | LAA 9, CIN 2 | Mike Trout, CF | 4 | 2 | 3 | 2 | - | - | - | - | - | - | |
| 3.0 | TEX 6, SEA 3 | Carlos Beltran, DH | 4 | 2 | 3 | 2 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 3.0 | KC 8, NYY 5 | Dillon Gee (W,6-7) | - | - | - | - | 6.0 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 4 | ||
| 3.0 | NYM 2, MIA 1 (10) | Josh Smoker (W,1-0) | - | - | - | - | 1.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | ||
| 2.0 | BOS 9, TB 4 | Travis Shaw, 3B-1B | 4 | 2 | 3 | 1 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| BAT | 1.0 | CHC 8, PIT 7 (13) | Jorge Soler, LF | 5 | 1 | 3 | 2 | - | - | - | - | - | - | |
| 1.0 | DET 4, CHW 3 | Francisco Rodriguez (S,37) | - | - | - | - | 1.0 | 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. | ||||||||||||||
| Player of Game | Pos | Team | 16 | 15-16 | 11-16 | Career | +/- |
| Bauer, Trevor 3065 | pi sp | cle al | 11.4 | 20.8 | 29.5 | 29.5 | 2.0 |
| Roark, Tanner 3261 | pi sp | dc nl | 10.7 | 11.7 | 26.7 | 26.7 | 9.7 |
| Trout, Mike 2949 | cf | ana al | 10.0 | 22.0 | 46.5 | 46.5 | -2.0 |
| Martinez, Carlos 3371 | pi sp | stl nl | 9.7 | 23.4 | 24.4 | 24.4 | -4.0 |
| Estrada, Marco 2847 | pi sp | tor al | 8.0 | 16.0 | 40.1 | 40.1 | 0.0 |
| Shaw, Travis 3544 | 1b 3b | bos al | 5.5 | 9.7 | 9.7 | 9.7 | 1.3 |
| Beltran, Carlos 1194 | dh rf | tex al | 5.0 | 8.5 | 25.9 | 103.9 | 1.5 |
| Gray, Jon 3634 | pi sp | col nl | 5.0 | 5.0 | 5.0 | 5.0 | 5.0 |
| Gee, Dillon 2808 | pi sp | kc al | 4.7 | 5.7 | 32.5 | 33.5 | 3.7 |
| Rodriguez, Francisco 1707 | pi cp | det al | 3.0 | 4.0 | 17.0 | 63.4 | 2.0 |
| Musgrove, Joe 3705 | pi sp | hou al | 2.7 | 2.7 | 2.7 | 2.7 | 2.7 |
| Soler, Jorge 3403 | lf | chi nl | 2.5 | 5.7 | 6.7 | 6.7 | -0.7 |
| Smoker, Josh 3725 | pi cp | nym nl | 1.0 | 1.0 | 1.0 | 1.0 | 1.0 |
Angels pitcher Matt Shoemaker is Saturday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day.
| Player | Pos | Team | BTP | |
| 1 | Kershaw, Clayton 2494 | pi sp | lad nl | 20.0 |
| 2 | Fernandez, Jose 3147 | pi sp | fla nl | 14.4 |
| 3 | Scherzer, Max 2588 | pi sp | dc nl | 14.0 |
| 4 | Cueto, Johnny 2400 | pi sp | sf nl | 13.4 |
| 5 | Kluber, Corey 3200 | pi sp | cle al | 12.5 |
| 6 | Strasburg, Stephen 2736 | pi sp | dc nl | 11.4 |
| 7 | Bumgarner, Madison 2753 | pi sp | sf nl | 11.0 |
| 8 | Arrieta, Jake 2738 | pi sp | chi nl | 10.7 |
| 9 | Sale, Chris 2806 | pi sp | chi al | 10.7 |
| 10 | Salazar, Danny 3223 | pi sp | cle al | 10.5 |
Shoemaker pitched a complete-game shutout, striking out 13 and allowing six hits and no walks, in the 1-0 win over the White Sox.
National League Player of the Day—Cardinals pitcher Adam Wainwright pitched a complete-game, three-hit shutout, allowing two walks and striking out five, in the 5-0 win over the Marlins.
Wainwright earns 1.7 Box-Toppers points for being NL Player of the Day, giving him 109.0 for his career, rising to 54th place among all players since 1995, when Box-Toppers tracking began. With his points Saturday, Wainwright passes three players on the “all-time” list—Lance Berkman (108.1), Kevin Millwood (108.3) and Billy Wagner (108.7). Wainwright now trails 53rd-place player Jeff Kent (109.7). Wainwright has 7.2 Box-Toppers points on the season, 14th among NL pitchers.
American League Batter of the Day—Sandy Leon of the Red Sox hit a three-run homer and went 2-for-4, driving in four runs, in the 5-2 win over the Yankees.
National League Batter of the Day—Ryan Schimpf of the Padres homered, tripled and went 2-for-3, driving in two runs, in the 7-6, 10-inning win over the Giants.
This was Schimpf’s Box-Toppers debut, the first time in his career he earned Player of the Game honors. Schimpf made his Major League debut June 14 and was playing in his 23rd career game. He is the 3,686th player to debut in Box-Toppers since record keeping began in 1995.
Notable—Nationals pitcher Tanner Roark has the most season Box-Toppers points of any of the 15 who earned Player of the Game honors Saturday.
Roark (8IP 5H 0R BB 5K W in the 6-0 win over the Pirates) has 8.7 Box-Toppers points for the season, ranking 21st among all players, 13th among NL pitchers.
Debut—Ryon Healy of the Athletics made his Box-Toppers debut Saturday,the first time in his career he earned Player of the Game honors.
Healy (three-run HR 2-3 3BI in the 5-4 win over the Blue Jays) made his Major League debut July 15 and was playing in his second career game. He is the 3,685th player to debut in Box-Toppers since record keeping began in 1995.
Scoring—Shoemaker earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day and Wainwright earns 1.7 points for being NL Player of the Day. Leon and Schimpf each earn 1.5 points for being their league’s Batter of the Day. All of Saturday’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
| 7/16 | Score | Game | Player of Game | AB | R | H | BI | IP | H | R | ER | BB | K | |
| MLB | 16.0 | LAA 1/CHW 0 | Matt Shoemaker (W,5-9) | - | - | - | - | 9.0 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 13 | |
| 12.0 | SEA 1/HOU 0 | Hisashi Iwakuma (W,10-6) | - | - | - | - | 7.0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 8 | ||
| NL | 9.0 | STL 5/MIA 0 | Adam Wainwright (W,9-5) | - | - | - | - | 9.0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 5 | |
| 7.0 | DC 6/PIT 0 | Tanner Roark (W,9-5) | - | - | - | - | 8.0 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 5 | ||
| 7.0 | CHC 3/TEX 1 | Jason Hammel (W,8-5) | - | - | - | - | 6.0 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 7 | ||
| 6.0 | MIL 9/CIN 1 | Jimmy Nelson (W,6-7) | - | - | - | - | 7.0 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 7 | ||
| BAT | 3.0 | BOS 5/NYY 2 | Sandy Leon, C | 4 | 1 | 2 | 4 | - | - | - | - | - | - | |
| 3.0 | OAK 5/TOR 4 | Ryon Healy, 3B | 3 | 1 | 2 | 3 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 3.0 | BAL 2/TB 1 | Zach Britton (S,29) | - | - | - | - | 1.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | ||
| BAT | 2.0 | SD 7/SF 6 | Ryan Schimpf, 2B | 3 | 1 | 2 | 2 | - | - | - | - | - | - | |
| 2.0 | `MIN 5/CLE 4 | Fernando Abad | - | - | - | - | 1.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | ||
| 2.0 | PHI 4/NYM 2 | Jeanmar Gomez (S,25) | - | - | - | - | 1.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | ||
| 2.0 | COL 4/ATL 3 | Carlos Estevez (S,5) | - | - | - | - | 1.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | ||
| 1.0 | `ARI 2/LAD 1 | Tyler Clippard | - | - | - | - | 2.0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||
| 0.0 | KC 8/DET 4 | Eric Hosmer, 1B | 4 | 1 | 2 | 1 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| `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 | +/- |
| Roark, Tanner 3261 | pi sp | dc nl | 8.7 | 9.7 | 24.7 | 24.7 | 7.7 |
| Wainwright, Adam 2150 | pi sp | stl nl | 7.2 | 10.2 | 58.3 | 109.0 | 4.2 |
| Hammel, Jason 2235 | pi sp | chi nl | 6.0 | 15.7 | 39.1 | 52.2 | -3.7 |
| Shoemaker, Matt 3290 | pi sp | ana al | 6.0 | 11.7 | 24.4 | 24.4 | 0.3 |
| Hosmer, Eric 2886 | 1b | kc al | 4.0 | 13.0 | 26.5 | 26.5 | -5.0 |
| Nelson, Jimmy 3299 | pi sp | mil nl | 3.0 | 11.4 | 13.4 | 13.4 | -5.4 |
| Clippard, Tyler 2291 | pi mr | ari nl | 3.0 | 4.0 | 19.0 | 30.4 | 2.0 |
| Gomez, Jeanmar 2759 | pi cp | phi nl | 3.0 | 3.0 | 8.0 | 10.0 | 3.0 |
| Leon, Sandy 3676 | ca | bos al | 3.0 | 3.0 | 3.0 | 3.0 | 3.0 |
| Iwakuma, Hisashi 3048 | pi sp | sea al | 2.0 | 15.1 | 50.2 | 50.2 | -11.1 |
| Britton, Zachary 2835 | pi cp | bal al | 2.0 | 10.7 | 30.1 | 30.1 | -6.7 |
| Abad, Fernando 3653 | pi mr | min al | 2.0 | 2.0 | 2.0 | 2.0 | 2.0 |
| Estevez, Carlos 3641 | pi mr cp | col nl | 2.0 | 2.0 | 2.0 | 2.0 | 2.0 |
| Schimpf, Ryan 3686 | 3b | sd nl | 1.5 | 1.5 | 1.5 | 1.5 | 1.5 |
| Healy, Ryon 3685 | 3b | oak al | 1.0 | 1.0 | 1.0 | 1.0 | 1.0 |
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.