Travis Wood tops players in Cubs' NLDS Game 2 win over Giants

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.

Top player from each game

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:

NL Division Series Game 2, Dodgers lead Nationals, 1-0

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.

See the season Box-Toppers point totals of all Dodgers and Nationals players who earned Player of the Game honors in 2016.

AL Division Series Game 3, Indians lead Red Sox, 2-0

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.

See the season Box-Toppers point totals of all Red Sox and Indians players who earned Player of the Game honors in 2016.

AL Division Series Game 3, Blue Jays lead Rangers, 2-0

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.

See the season Box-Toppers point totals of all Blue Jays and Rangers players who earned Player of the Game honors in 2016.

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.

Dodgers' Greinke tops players in Saturday, Oct. 10's NLDS games

Dodgers pitcher Zack Greinke is Box-Toppers top player in Saturday’s two National League Division Series playoff games.

Cubs pitcher Travis Wood is top player in the other NLDS game.

NLDS Game 2: Dodgers 5, Mets 2

Dodgers pitcher Zack Greinke struck out eight over seven innings, allowing two runs and five hits.

During the regular season, Greinke had 20.7 Box-Toppers points, seventh among all players, fifth among NL pitchers.

The best-of-five game series is now tied 1-1 and resumes Monday in New York.

NLDS Game 2: Cubs 6, Cardinals 3

Cubs pitcher Travis Wood pitched 2 1/3 innings of scoreless middle relief, allowing one hit and striking out two, picking up the win.

During the regular season, Wood had 3.0 Box-Toppers points, ranking 313th among all players and 82nd among NL pitchers.

The best-of-five game series is now tied 1-1 and resumes Monday in Chicago.

Top player from each game

Listed from highest to lowest Box-Toppers game score

10/10	Score	Team	Players	AB	R	H	BI	BB	K		IP	H	R	ER	BB	K
POG	6.0	Dodgers	Zack Greinke (W,1-0)	-	-	-	-	-	-		7.0	5	2	2	0	8
POG	3.1	Cubs	Travis Wood (W,1-0)	-	-	-	-	-	-		2.1	1	0	0	0	2

Coming Sunday: The American League Division Series playoffs resume with two Game 3s:

AL Division Series Game 3, Royals vs. Astros, tied 1-1

The pitching matchup Saturday:

Royals—Edinson Volquez, 7.0 Box-Toppers points, 105th among all players, 39th among AL pitchers.

Astros—Dallas Keuchel, 21.4 Box-Toppers points, fourth among all players, first among AL pitchers.

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

AL Division Series Game 3, Rangers lead Blue Jays, 2-0

The pitching matchup Saturday:

Blue Jays—Marco Estrada, 8.0 Box-Toppers points, 85th among all players, 34th among AL pitchers.

Rangers—Martin Perez, 1.0 Box-Toppers point, 550th among all players, 127th among AL pitchers.

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

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.

Cubs' Travis Wood (7IP 0R 7K) tops players for Wednesday, April 15

Cubs pitcher Travis Wood is Wednesday’s Player of the Day.

Wood pitched seven scoreless innings and struck out seven in the 5-0 win over the Reds.

American League Player of the Day—Astros pitcher Collin McHugh struck out 11 over 5 2/3 innings, allowing one run, in the 6-1 win over the Athletics.

Top 10 players

Here are the top 10 players in Box-Toppers points (BTP) for the 2015 season as of April 15.  

	Player	Pos	Team	BTP
1	Kazmir, Scott 1947	pi sp	oak al	3.7
2	Bauer, Trevor 3065	pi sp	cle al	3.0
3	Harvey, Matt 3075	pi sp	nym nl	2.7
4	Stanton, Giancarlo 2737	rf	fla nl	2.5
5	Hernandez, Felix 2064	pi sp	sea al	2.0
6	Wainwright, Adam 2150	pi sp	stl nl	2.0
7	Greinke, Zack 1871	pi sp	lad nl	2.0
8	Odorizzi, Jake 3291	pi sp	tb al	2.0
9	Gonzalez, Miguel 3062	pi sp	bal al	2.0
10	Wood, Travis 2777	pi sp	chi nl	2.0

What are those numbers after players' names?

National League Batter of the Day—Adeiny Hechavarria of the Marlins went 3-for-3 with a homer, two runs and three RBIs in the 6-2 win over the Braves. This was Hechavarria’s Box-Toppers debut, the first time he earned Player of the Game honors. Hechavarria made his Major League debut Aug. 4, 2012, and was playing in his 344th career game. He is the 3,445th player to debut in Box-Toppers since record keeping began in 1995.

American League Batter of the Day—Josh Donaldson of the Blue Jays went 3-for-5, drove in three and scored twice, in the 12-7 win over the Rays.

Rankings—Indians pitcher Trevor Bauer rose to second place in Box-Toppers player rankings after earning Player of the Game honors Wednesday. Bauer (6IP 4H 2R 8K W in the 4-2 win over the White Sox) earned 1.0 Box-Toppers point, giving him 3.0 for the season.

Streak—Andre Ethier of the Dodgers has now earned at least 1.0 Box-Toppers point for 10 straight seasons. Ethier (2-3 2R BI) was Player of the Game in the 5-2 win over the Mariners to earn 1.0 Box-Toppers point. He began his 10-season streak in 2006, when he earned his first Box-Toppers point with the Dodgers. His best year was 2009 when he earned 8.2 Box-Toppers points, ranking eighth among NL outfielders. In 2014, he had 1.0 point. Ethier has 46.3 career Box-Toppers points, which ranks him ninth among active outfielders currently in the NL.

Notable—Yadier Molina of the Cardinals on Wednesday earned his first Box-Toppers point since Sept. 15, 2013. Molina (3-4 BI) was Player of the Game in the 4-2 win over the Brewers and earned 1.0 Box-Toppers point. He earned no Box-Toppers points in the 2014 season. Molina has 30.7 career Box-Toppers points, ranking second among active catchers currently in the NL (behind A.J. Pierzynski of the Braves, who has 45.7 points).

Scoring—Wood earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day and McHugh earns 1.7 Box-Toppers points for being AL Player of the Day. Hechavarria and Donaldson each earn 1.5 Box-Toppers 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

4/15	Score	Team	Player	AB	R	H	BI	BB	K		IP	H	R	ER	BB	K
MLB	9.0	Cubs	Travis Wood (W, 1-1)	-	-	-	-	-	-		7.0	3	0	0	2	7
AL	8.2	Astros	Collin McHugh (W, 2-0)	-	-	-	-	-	-		5.2	6	1	1	0	11
	8.0	Tigers	Alfredo Simon (W, 2-0)	-	-	-	-	-	-		8.0	2	0	0	0	2
BAT	5.0	Marlins	Adeiny Hechavarria SS	3	2	3	3	0	0		-	-	-	-	-	-
	4.0	Angels	Hector Santiago (W, 1-1)	-	-	-	-	-	-		7.0	4	1	1	2	5
BAT	3.0	Blue Jays	Josh Donaldson 3B	5	2	3	3	0	0		-	-	-	-	-	-
	3.0	Orioles	Brad Brach (W, 1-0)	-	-	-	-	-	-		2.0	0	0	0	1	2
	3.0	Rockies	Adam Ottavino (S, 2)	-	-	-	-	-	-		1.0	0	0	0	0	2
	2.0	Nationals	Wilson Ramos C	5	2	2	3	0	1		-	-	-	-	-	-
	2.0	Padres	Justin Upton LF	4	2	3	1	0	0		-	-	-	-	-	-
	2.0	Dodgers	Andre Ethier RF	3	2	2	1	0	1		-	-	-	-	-	-
	2.0	Indians	Trevor Bauer (W, 2-0)	-	-	-	-	-	-		6.0	4	2	2	4	8
	2.0	Twins	Glen Perkins (S, 1)	-	-	-	-	-	-		1.0	0	0	0	0	1
	1.0	Mets	Travis d`Arnaud C	4	2	2	1	1	0		-	-	-	-	-	-
	0.0	Cardinals	Yadier Molina C	4	0	3	1	0	0		-	-	-	-	-	-

Cubs' Wood tops players for Sunday, June 15, Tulowitzki adds to NL batting Box-Toppers points lead

Cubs pitcher Travis Wood is Sunday’s Player of the Day while Troy Tulowitzki increases his Box-Toppers points lead among National League batters.

Wood pitched eight scoreless innings and struck out six in the 3-0 win over the Phillies to earn Player of the Day honors.

Tulowitzki, Sunday’s NL Batter of the Day, maintains his lead among NL batters in Box-Toppers player rankings and moves into fourth place among all players (see the updated top 10 player list on the home page). Tulowitzki homered and went 3-for-4 with two runs and two RBIs in the 8-7 win over the Giants. He earns 1.5 Box-Toppers points for being NL Batter of the Day, giving him 10.6 for the season.

Rays pitcher David Price is American League Player of the Day. Price struck out 10 over eight innings in the 4-3 win over the Astros.

Coco Crisp of the Athletics is AL Batter of the Day. Crisp homered and went 2-for-4 with three runs and three RBIs in the 10-5 win over the Yankees.

Wood receives 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day. Price receives 1.7 for AL Player of the Day. Crisp and Tulowitzki each receive 1.5 for being top Batter of the Day in their league.

All of Sunday’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 Sunday, click here.

Box-Toppers tracks who most helps their team win the most games. Using standard box score statistics, Box-Toppers uses a simple formula to determine a Player of the Game for each Major League Baseball game played. That player is the person who contributed most to his team’s win. Players earn Box-Toppers points for being named Player of the Game and can earn bonus points for being Player of the Day or top player or batter in their league for the day.

Top player from each game

Listed from highest to lowest Box-Toppers game score

615	Score	Team	Player	AB	R	H	BI	BB	K		IP	H	R	ER	BB	K
MLB	8.0	Cubs	Travis Wood (W, 7-5)	-	-	-	-	-	-		8.0	3	0	0	3	6
AL	7.0	Rays	David Price (W, 5-6)	-	-	-	-	-	-		8.0	5	3	3	0	10
	6.0	Mariners	Hisashi Iwakuma (W, 5-3)	-	-	-	-	-	-		8.0	6	1	1	0	6
	5.0	Indians	Cody Allen (W, 3-1)	-	-	-	-	-	-		2.0	0	0	0	0	3
	5.0	Braves	Anthony Varvaro (W, 2-1)	-	-	-	-	-	-		2.0	0	0	0	0	3
BAT	4.0	Athletics	Coco Crisp CF	4	3	2	3	1	2		-	-	-	-	-	-
	4.0	Cardinals	Jaime Garcia (W, 3-0)	-	-	-	-	-	-		7.0	5	1	1	2	6
BAT	3.0	Rockies	Troy Tulowitzki SS	4	2	3	2	1	0		-	-	-	-	-	-
	3.0	Royals	Salvador Perez C	3	1	2	3	1	0		-	-	-	-	-	-
	3.0	Blue Jays	J.A. Happ (W, 6-3)	-	-	-	-	-	-		6.0	7	1	1	0	6
	2.0	Marlins	Casey McGehee 3B	4	0	3	3	0	0		-	-	-	-	-	-
	2.0	Reds	Brandon Phillips 2B	4	1	2	3	0	0		-	-	-	-	-	-
	2.0	Dbacks	Miguel Montero C	4	2	2	2	0	1		-	-	-	-	-	-
	2.0	Mets	Carlos Torres (W, 3-4)	-	-	-	-	-	-		4.0	3	1	1	1	4
	1.0	Tigers	Victor Martinez DH	3	1	2	1	2	0		-	-	-	-	-	-

Giants' Bumgarner tops players for Thursday, June 5, rises to 3rd in Box-Toppers player rankings; Tanaka solidifies lead among AL pitchers

Giants pitcher Madison Bumgarner is Thursday’s Player of the Day. Bumgarner gave up one run over eight innings in the 6-1 win over the Reds.

Bumgarner earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day, giving him 10.5 for the season and moving up to third place in Box-Toppers season player rankings (see the updated top 10 list on the home page). Bumgarner moves to second place among National League pitchers, behind overall Box-Toppers points leader, Adam Wainwright of the Cardinals (12.0).

Rangers pitcher Robbie Ross Jr. Is American League Player of the Day. Ross struck out two over two scoreless innings of middle relief, earning the win, in the 8-6 win over the Orioles.

Marcell Ozuna of the Marlins is NL Batter of the Day. Ozuna homered, went 3-for-5, scored three times and drove in four runs in the 11-6 win over the Rays.

Robbie Grossman of the Astros is NL Batter of the Day. Grossman went 2-for-2 and drove in the go-ahead run on a squeeze bunt in the 8-5 win over the Angels.

Notables: Masahiro Tanaka of the Yankees solidified his lead in Box-Toppers points among AL pitchers after earning Player of the Game honors Thursday. Tanaka (6IP 1R 4K W in the 2-1 win over the Athletics, earns 1.0 Box-Toppers point, giving him 10.7 for the season. He remains in second place overall, behind only Wainwright with 12.0 (see the updated top 10 list on the home page) and is the top AL pitcher, ahead of Chris Sale of the White Sox with 8.0.

Cubs pitcher Travis Wood earned Player of the Game honors for batting. He is the fourth pitcher this season to earn Player of the Game for batting. Wood hit a two-run homer and drove in another run on a fielder’s choice in the 7-4 win over the Mets.

Bumgarner receives 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day. Ross receives 1.7 for AL Player of the Day. Ozuna and Grossman each receive 1.5 for being top Batter of the Day in their league.

All of Thursday’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

605	Score	Team	Player	AB	R	H	BI	BB	K		IP	H	R	ER	BB	K
MLB	8.0	Giants	Madison Bumgarner (W, 8-3)	-	-	-	-	-	-		8.0	3	1	1	0	5
BAT	5.0	Marlins	Marcell Ozuna CF	5	3	3	4	0	2		-	-	-	-	-	-
	4.0	Dbacks	Chris Owings SS	5	2	3	4	0	1		-	-	-	-	-	-
	4.0	Nationals	Doug Fister (W, 4-1)	-	-	-	-	-	-		7.0	4	2	2	0	5
AL	4.0	Rangers	Robbie Ross Jr. (W, 2-4)	-	-	-	-	-	-		2.0	0	0	0	0	2
BAT	3.0	Astros	Robbie Grossman LF	2	2	2	1	1	0		-	-	-	-	-	-
	3.0	Cubs	Travis Wood P	2	1	1	3	0	0		-	-	-	-	-	-
	3.0	Royals	Greg Holland (S, 17)	-	-	-	-	-	-		1.0	1	0	0	0	3
	2.0	Yankees	Masahiro Tanaka (W, 9-1)	-	-	-	-	-	-		6.0	5	1	1	1	4
	2.0	Brewers	Francisco Rodriguez (S, 18)	-	-	-	-	-	-		1.0	0	0	0	0	1
	1.0	Blue Jays	Brett Lawrie 2B, 3B	3	2	1	1	1	1		-	-	-	-	-	-

Mets' Dillon Gee, Orioles' Freddy Garcia top players for Thursday, May 30

Mets pitcher Dillon Gee is Thursday's Player of the Day. Gee struck out 12 over 7 1/3 innings in the 3-1 win over the Yankees.

Orioles pitcher Freddy Garcia is American League Player of the Day. Garcia gave up no runs over eight innings and struck out six in the 2-0 win over the Nationals.​

Ramiro Pena of the Braves is National League Batter of the Day. Pena went 3-for-4 with four RBIs in the 11-3 win over the Blue Jays.​

Chris Carter of the Astros is AL Batter of the Day. Carter homered and drove in three runs in the 7-5 win over the Rockies.​

Note: Cubs pitcher Travis Wood is Player of the Game in the team's 8-3 win over the White Sox. However, Wood was given the honor for his batting performance. He went 2-for-4 and hit a grand slam. (He also pitched six innings, struck out six and gave up only two runs.)

Gee receives 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day. Garcia receives 1.7 for AL Player of the Day. Pena and Carter each receive 1.5 for being top Batter of the Day in their league.

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

530	Score	Team	BATTERS	AB	R	H	RBI	BB	SO	-	-	PITCHERS	IP	H	R	ER	BB	SO
MLB	13.1	Mets	0	0	0	0	0	0	0			Dillon Gee (W, 3-6)	7.1	4	1	1	0	12
AL	11.0	Orioles	0	0	0	0	0	0	0			Freddy Garcia (W, 2-2)	8.0	3	0	0	0	6
	6.0	Mariners	0	0	0	0	0	0	0			Felix Hernandez (W, 6-4)	8.0	3	1	1	3	6
	4.2	Rays	0	0	0	0	0	0	0			Alex Colome (W, 1-0)	5.2	5	1	0	2	7
BAT	4.0	Braves	Ramiro Pena 2B	4	1	3	4	0	0			0	0.0	0	0	0	0	0
	4.0	Cubs	Travis Wood P	3	1	2	4	0	0			0	0.0	0	0	0	0	0
BAT	2.0	Astros	Chris Carter LF	3	1	1	3	0	0			0	0.0	0	0	0	0	0
	2.0	Red Sox	David Ortiz 1B	2	2	1	1	2	0			0	0.0	0	0	0	0	0
	2.0	Indians	Ryan Raburn RF	1	1	1	1	1	0			0	0.0	0	0	0	0	0
	2.0	Royals	Jeff Francoeur RF	1	1	1	1	0	0			0	0.0	0	0	0	0	0
	2.0	Angels	0	0	0	0	0	0	0			Jason Vargas (W, 5-3)	7.0	5	2	2	2	6
	2.0	`Pirates	0	0	0	0	0	0	0			Mark Melancon	1.0	0	0	0	0	1
	2.0	Twins	0	0	0	0	0	0	0			Jared Burton (S, 2)	1.0	0	0	0	0	1
	1.0	Giants	Pablo Sandoval 3B	4	1	2	2	0	0			0	0.0	0	0	0	0	0
	1.0	Rangers	Nelson Cruz RF	4	2	2	1	1	1			0	0.0	0	0	0	0	0

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