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Read MoreAstros' Wandy Rodriguez tops players in Friday, March 4's spring training games
Astros pitcher Wandy Rodriguez is Box-Toppers spring training Player of the Day for Friday.
Rodriguez started and pitched two scoreless innings, allowing one hit and striking out four in the 6-3 win over the Cardinals. He earned the win.
Rodriguez had 6.7 Box-Toppers points in 2015 with the Rangers and Royals. His best season was 2009 with the Astros, when he had 18.7 Box-Toppers points, second among National League pitchers.
National League Player of the Day—Maikel Franco of the Phillies hit a three-run homer and went 2-for-3, driving in four total runs, in the 12-11 win over the Braves. Franco had 3.2 Box-Toppers points in 2015.
Franco had a Box-Toppers game score of +4.0, tied with Gabby Guerrero, who was Player of the Game in the Diamondbacks 6-3 win over the Athletics. Franco and Guerrero also had similar batting lines, but Franco wins NL Player of the Day honors on a tiebreaker because he had fewer strikeouts than Guerrero—zero vs. one.
American League Batter of the Day—Miguel Cabrera of the Tigers hit a three-run homer in the 3-0 win over the Yankees.
Cabrera had 4.7 Box-Toppers points in 2015, his lowest total since his rookie year of 2003 with the Marlins, when he had 3.0. Cabrera has twice led AL batters in Box-Toppers points—in 2009 with 16.5 and in 2013, his best season, with 16.9. He has 132.9 career Box-Toppers points, fourth-most among active AL batters (behind Alex Rodriguez, Albert Pujols and David Ortiz).
National League Batter of the Day—There is no separate NL Batter of the Day for Friday because the overall NL Player of the Day was a batter, Maikel Franco.
Scoring—No Box-Toppers points are awarded in spring training games, but if it were the regular season, Rodriguez would earn 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day and Franco would earn 1.7 points for being NL Player of the Day. Cabrera would earn 1.5 points for being AL Batter of the Day. All of Friday’s other Players of the Game (listed in the chart below) would earn 1.0 Box-Toppers point.
Note—Sixteen spring training games were scheduled for Friday—12 are listed below. Four games are not included because they ended in ties (Indians vs. White Sox, Dodgers vs. Rangers, Twins vs. Pirates and Marlins vs. Mets).
About Box-Toppers—Box-Toppers points are a measure of how much a player provides key contributions to his team’s wins. Specifically, Box-Toppers tracks who most helps their team win the most games. Using standard box score statistics, Box-Toppers uses a simple formula to determine a Player of the Game for each Major League Baseball game played. That player is the person who contributed most to his team’s win. In regular season games, players earn 1.0 Box-Toppers point for being named Player of the Game and can earn bonus points for being Player of the Day or top player or batter in their league for the day.
Top player from each game
Listed from highest to lowest Box-Toppers game score
| 3/4 | Score | Team | Player | AB | R | H | BI | BB | K | IP | H | R | ER | BB | K | |
| MLB | 5.0 | Astros | Wandy Rodríguez (W, 1-0) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 2.0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | |
| NL | 4.0 | Phillies | Maikel Franco 3B | 3 | 1 | 2 | 4 | 0 | 0 | - | - | - | - | - | - | |
| 4.0 | Dbacks | Gabby Guerrero RF | 3 | 1 | 2 | 4 | 0 | 1 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| BAT | 4.0 | Tigers | Miguel Cabrera 1B | 1 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 1 | 0 | - | - | - | - | - | - | |
| 4.0 | Athletics | Sean Manaea (W, 1-0) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 2.0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 4 | ||
| 3.0 | Marlins | Justin Maxwell PR-RF | 3 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 1 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 3.0 | Red Sox | Sam Travis PR-1B | 1 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 3.0 | Brewers | Andy Wilkins 1B | 1 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 3.0 | Padres | Tayron Guerrero (W, 1-0) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 1.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | ||
| 2.0 | Cubs | Addison Russell SS | 2 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 1 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 2.0 | Giants | Ehire Adrianza 1B | 2 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 1.1 | Blue Jays | Chad Jenkins (SV, 1) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 0.1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
Braves' Miller tops players for Tuesday, May 5; Pujols earns Box-Toppers points for 15th straight season
Braves pitcher Shelby Miller is Tuesday’s Player of the Day.
Miller pitched a complete game, three-hit shutout, striking out eight, in the 9-0 win over the Phillies.
American League Player of the Day—Rangers pitcher Wandy Rodriguez struck out eight over eight innings, allowing one run on three hits, in the 7-1 win over the Astros.
American League Batter of the Day—Eric Hosmer of the Royals hit a three-run homer, a triple and drove in four runs, in the 5-3 win over the Indians.
Top 10 players
Here are the top 10 players in Box-Toppers points (BTP) for the 2015 season as of May 5.| Player | Pos | Team | BTP | |
| 1 | Hernandez, Felix 2064 | pi sp | sea al | 7.7 |
| 2 | Cole, Gerrit 3232 | pi sp | pit nl | 6.0 |
| 3 | Archer, Chris 3194 | pi sp | tb al | 5.0 |
| 4 | Cabrera, Miguel 1776 | 1b | det al | 4.7 |
| 5 | Keuchel, Dallas 3050 | pi sp | hou al | 4.7 |
| 6 | Gray, Sonny 3259 | pi sp | oak al | 4.7 |
| 7 | Harvey, Matt 3075 | pi sp | nym nl | 4.7 |
| 8 | Stanton, Giancarlo 2737 | rf | fla nl | 4.5 |
| 9 | Cueto, Johnny 2400 | pi sp | cin nl | 4.4 |
| 10 | Bumgarner, Madison 2753 | pi sp | sf nl | 4.0 |
National League Batter of the Day—Matt Carpenter of the Cardinals hit a game-tying three-run homer and drove in four total runs, in the 7-4 win over the Cubs.
Streak—Albert Pujols of the Angels has now earned at least 1.0 Box-Toppers point for 15 straight seasons. He was Player of the Game Tuesday in the 5-4 win over the Mariners (HR 2-3 2R 2BI) and earns 1.0 Box-Toppers point, his first of the season.
Pujols earned his first Box-Toppers points in 2001 with the Cardinals. He led all NL batters in Box-Toppers points in five different seasons, the most times a batter has led his league in Box-Toppers points (since record keeping began in 1995). Here are the seasons he led NL batters, all with the Cardinals:
- 2003—16.5 Box-Toppers points
- 2004—15.9
- 2008—15.2
- 2009—16.7 (his best overall season)
- 2010—15.4
In 2014, Pujols had 7.5 Box-Toppers points with the Angels, fourth among AL designated hitters.
Pujols has 168.3 career Box-Toppers points, seventh among all players since Box-Toppers record keeping began in 1995. He trails Roy Halladay (170.7) for sixth place. Pujols ranks second among all batters on that list (behind only Alex Rodriguez of the Yankees with 182.8).
Notables—Two other players with more than 100 career Box-Toppers points also earned Player of the Game honors Tuesday:
- Mets pitcher Bartolo Colon now has 136.4 career Box-Toppers points and ranks 21st among all players since 1995 (trailing Andy Pettitte with 138.5). Colon ranks 15th among pitchers on that list and second among active pitchers currently in the NL (behind Tim Hudson of the Giants with 153.0).
Colon was Player of the Game Tuesday in the Mets 3-2 win over the Orioles (7.2IP R 9K W) and earns 1.0 Box-Toppers point, giving him 3.0 for the season.
- Dodgers pitcher Zack Greinke now has 129.7 career Box-Toppers points and ranks 27th among all players since 1995. With Tuesday’s point, he passes Trevor Hoffman (129.4) on that list. Greinke ranks 18th among pitchers on that list and is fifth among active pitchers currently in the NL.
Greinke was Player of the Game Tuesday in the Dodgers 8-2 win over the Brewers (7.2IP 2H R 7K W) and earns 1.0 Box-Toppers point, giving him 4.0 for the season, putting him in 11th place in Box-Toppers player rankings for the season.
Scoring—Miller earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day and Rodriguez earns 1.7 Box-Toppers points for being AL Player of the Day. Hosmer and Carpenter each earn 1.5 Box-Toppers points for being their league’s Batter of the Day. All of Sunday’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
| 5/5 | Score | Team | Player | AB | R | H | BI | BB | K | IP | H | R | ER | BB | K | |
| MLB | 13.0 | Braves | Shelby Miller (W, 4-1) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 9.0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 8 | |
| AL | 10.0 | Rangers | Wandy Rodriguez (W, 1-1) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 8.0 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 8 | |
| 9.2 | Dodgers | Zack Greinke (W, 5-0) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 7.2 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 7 | ||
| 8.2 | Mets | Bartolo Colon (W, 5-1) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 7.2 | 6 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 9 | ||
| 8.1 | Athletics | Jesse Chavez (W, 1-2) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 7.1 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 7 | ||
| 8.0 | Yankees | Michael Pineda (W, 4-0) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 8.0 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 6 | ||
| 6.0 | Giants | Ryan Vogelsong (W, 1-2) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 7.0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 4 | ||
| 5.0 | Red Sox | Rick Porcello (W, 3-2) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 7.0 | 8 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6 | ||
| 3.1 | Marlins | Mat Latos (W, 1-3) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 6.1 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 5 | 6 | ||
| BAT | 3.0 | Royals | Eric Hosmer 1B | 4 | 1 | 2 | 4 | 0 | 2 | - | - | - | - | - | - | |
| 3.0 | Angels | Albert Pujols 1B | 3 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 0 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| BAT | 3.0 | Cardinals | Matt Carpenter 3B | 3 | 1 | 1 | 4 | 1 | 1 | - | - | - | - | - | - | |
| 2.0 | Reds | Marlon Byrd LF | 5 | 1 | 2 | 4 | 0 | 1 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 2.0 | White Sox | Jeff Samardzija (W, 2-2) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 7.0 | 7 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 7 |
Darvish, W. Rodriguez top players for Friday, April 19
Rangers pitcher Yu Darvish is Friday's Player of the Day. Darvish pitched seven shutout innings and struck out 10 in the 7-0 win over the Mariners.
Pirates pitcher Wandy Rodriguez is National League Player of the Day. Rodriguez gave up only one hit over seven innings in the 6-0 win over the Braves.
Darvish and Rodriguez had identical 11.0 Box-Toppers games scores. But that tie was broken in Darvish's favor because he had more strikeouts.
Peter Bourjos of the Angels is American League Batter of the Day. Bourjos went 3-for-4 with three RBI in the 8-1 win over the Tigers.
Ryan Braun of the Brewers is NL Batter of the Day. Braun hit a three-run home run in the 5-4 win over the Cubs.
Note: Mets pitcher Matt Harvey takes over the lead in Box-Toppers player points for the season so far. Harvey threw seven innings and struck out seven and was Player of the Game in the 7-1 win over the Nationals. With the additional 1.0 Box-Toppers point, Harvey now has 5.0 for the season, passing Braves pitcher Paul Maholm (4.7).
Darvish receives 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being named Player of the Day. Rodriguez receives 1.7 for NL Player of the Day. Bourjos receives 1.5 points for AL Batter of the Day. Braun receives 1.5 points for NL Batter of the Day.
All of Friday's other Players of the Game (listed in the chart below) receive one Box-Toppers point:
| 419 | Score | Team | BATTERS | AB | R | H | RBI | BB | SO | - | - | PITCHERS | IP | H | R | ER | BB | SO |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| MLB | 11.0 | Rangers | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Yu Darvish (W, 3-1) | 7.0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 10 | ||
| NL | 11.0 | Pirates | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Wandy Rodriguez (W, 2-0) | 7.0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5 | ||
| 8.0 | `Giants | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Madison Bumgarner | 6.0 | 4 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 10 | |||
| 7.1 | Rockies | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Jhoulys Chacin (W, 3-0) | 6.1 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 5 | |||
| 5.0 | Mets | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Matt Harvey (W, 4-0) | 7.0 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 7 | |||
| 5.0 | Phillies | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Roy Halladay (W, 2-2) | 7.0 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 6 | |||
| BAT | 3.0 | Angels | Peter Bourjos CF | 4 | 1 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||
| 3.0 | Astros | J.D. Martinez LF | 1 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |||
| 3.0 | `Marlins | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Kevin Slowey | 6.0 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 4 | |||
| 2.0 | Rays | Ben Zobrist RF | 4 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |||
| BAT | 2.0 | Brewers | Ryan Braun LF | 3 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||
| 1.0 | Yankees | Vernon Wells LF | 5 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 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.