Dodgers' Kershaw tops players for Sunday, May 29, extends lead in season Box-Toppers points

Dodgers pitcher Clayton Kershaw is Sunday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day and extends his lead in season Box-Toppers player rankings.

Top 10 players

Here are the top 10 players in Box-Toppers points (BTP) for the 2016 season as of May 29:  

	Player	Pos	Team	BTP
1	Kershaw, Clayton 2494	pi sp	lad nl	14.0
2	Cueto, Johnny 2400	pi sp	sf nl	9.0
3	Arrieta, Jake 2738	pi sp	chi nl	8.7
4	Sale, Chris 2806	pi sp	chi al	8.7
5	Machado, Manny 3087	ss 3b	bal al	8.7
6	Fernandez, Jose 3147	pi sp	fla nl	8.7
7	Matz, Steven 3516	pi sp	nym nl	8.7
8	Hill, Rich 2215	pi sp	oak al	8.4
9	Syndergaard, Noah 3472	pi sp	nym nl	7.0
10	Hamels, Cole 2135	pi sp	tex al	6.4

What are those numbers after players' names?

Also Sunday, Athletics pitcher Rich Hill maintained his rank of eighth place in Box-Toppers season player rankings after earning Player of the Game honors.

Player of the Day—Kershaw struck out 10 over 7 2/3 innings, allowing two runs and four hits, in the 4-2 win over the Mets. Kershaw picked up a no decision and did not earn the win because the Mets tied the game after he exited.

Kershaw earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day, giving him 14.0 for the season. He holds a dominating lead in player rankings, 5.0 points ahead of second-place player, Giants pitcher Johnny Cueto (9.0).

Kershaw also has 173.3 career Box-Toppers points, seventh among all players since 1995, when Box-Toppers tracking began. He trails sixth-ranked player, Albert Pujols of the Angels (176.3).

American League Player of the Day—Twins pitcher Ricky Nolasco struck out seven over six innings, allowing two runs and three hits, in the 5-4 win over the Mariners.

National League Batter of the Day—Wilson Ramos of the Nationals homered and went 3-for-3, scoring twice and driving in four runs, in the 10-2 win over the Cardinals.

American League Batter of the Day—Carlos Correa of the Astros hit a pinch-hit, three-run homer in the 13th inning in the 8-6 win over the Angels.

Rankings—Athletics pitcher Rich Hill maintained his rank of eighth place in Box-Toppers season player rankings after earning Player of the Game honors Sunday.

Hill (6.1IP 5H 2R 9K W in the 4-2 win over the Tigers) earns 1.0 Box-Toppers point, giving him 8.4 for the season. He ranks second among AL pitchers, behind Chris Sale of the White Sox (8.7).

Streak—Hunter Pence of the Giants has now earned Box-Toppers points in 10 straight seasons after earning Player of the Game honors Sunday.

Pence (3-2B 3-5 2R 3BI in the 8-3 win over the Rockies) earned his first Box-Toppers points in 2007 with the Astros and has 49.7 career points, 10th among active NL outfielders. His best season was 2008 with the Astros, when he had 8.2 Box-Toppers points, seventh among NL outfielders. In 2015, Pence had 2.0 Box-Toppers points with the Giants.

Notable—Cubs pitcher John Lackey rises to 46th place in Box-Toppers points among all players since 1995 after earning Player of the Game honors Sunday.

Lackey (7IP 4H R 6K W in the 7-2 win over the Phillies) earns 1.0 Box-Toppers point, giving him 113.5 for his career. Since Box-Toppers tracking began in 1995, Lackey now ranks 46th and with his point Sunday, he passes four players on Box-Toppers’ “all-time” list—Kevin Brown (112.8), Sammy Sosa (113.2), Dan Haren (113.2) and Chris Carpenter (113.3). Lackey now trails 45th-ranked player Josh Beckett (114.9). Lackey has 5.7 Box-Toppers points for the season, 11th among NL pitchers.

Scoring—Kershaw earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day and Nolasco earns 1.7 points for being AL Player of the Day. Ramos and Correa each earn 1.5 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

5/29	Score	Game	Player of Game	AB	R	H	BI		IP	H	R	ER	BB	K
MLB	9.2	`LAD 4/NYM 2	Clayton Kershaw	-	-	-	-		7.2	4	2	2	0	10
BAT	6.0	DC 10/STL 2	Wilson Ramos, C	3	2	3	4		-	-	-	-	-	-
	5.1	ARI 6/SD 3	Archie Bradley (W,2-0)	-	-	-	-		7.1	4	3	3	1	9
	5.0	MIA 7/ATL 3	Derek Dietrich, 2B	3	1	3	4		-	-	-	-	-	-
AL	5.0	MIN 5/SEA 4	Ricky Nolasco (W,2-3)	-	-	-	-		6.0	3	2	2	1	7
	4.0	MIL 5/CIN 4	Jonathan Villar, SS	2	3	2	1		-	-	-	-	-	-
BAT	4.0	HOU 8/LAA 6	Carlos Correa, SS	1	1	1	3		-	-	-	-	-	-
	3.1	OAK 4/DET 2	Rich Hill (W,8-3)	-	-	-	-		6.1	5	2	2	3	9
	3.0	SF 8/COL 3	Hunter Pence, RF	5	2	3	3		-	-	-	-	-	-
	3.0	CHC 7/PHI 2	John Lackey (W,5-2)	-	-	-	-		7.0	4	1	1	4	6
	3.0	NYY 2/TB 1	Nathan Eovaldi (W,6-2)	-	-	-	-		6.0	6	1	1	2	7
	3.0	BOS 5/TOR 3	Koji Uehara (S,1)	-	-	-	-		1	0	0	0	0	2
	2.0	KC 5/CHW 4	Lorenzo Cain, CF	4	2	2	2		-	-	-	-	-	-
	2.0	`BAL 6/CLE 4	Darren O'Day	-	-	-	-		1.0	0	0	0	1	2
	1.0	TEX 6/PIT 2	Mitch Moreland, 1B	4	1	1	3		-	-	-	-	-	-
		`Denotes that the pitcher had a no-decision in the game and did not pick up a win or a save.

Box-Toppers point totals of the day’s top players

Here are Box-Toppers point totals of each of the Players of the Game. Players are ranked by their Box-Toppers point total for the current season (16). Also shown are each players’ Box-Toppers point total for this season and last (15-16), the period 2011-2016 (11-16) and each players’ career point total. Also shown is how their 2016 Box-Toppers point total compares with their 2015 total (+/-).  

Player of Game	Pos	Team	16	15-16	11-16	Career	+/-
Kershaw, Clayton 2494	pi sp	lad nl	14.0	39.7	139.8	173.3	-11.7
Hill, Rich 2215	pi sp	oak al	8.4	12.4	12.4	32.1	4.4
Lackey, John 1640	pi sp	chi nl	5.7	15.4	35.1	113.5	-4.0
Eovaldi, Nathan 2928	pi sp	nyy al	5.7	7.7	24.8	24.8	3.7
Cain, Lorenzo 3171	cf	kc al	4.0	12.2	18.2	18.2	-4.2
Nolasco, Ricky 2125	pi sp	min al	3.7	5.7	26.4	79.5	1.7
Correa, Carlos 3506	ss	hou al	2.5	9.7	9.7	9.7	-4.7
Uehara, Koji 2802	pi mr cp	bos al	2.0	7.0	24.0	28.0	-3.0
O’Day, Darren 2577	pi mr	bal al	2.0	3.7	11.7	12.7	0.3
Ramos, Wilson 2904	ca	dc nl	1.5	2.5	16.0	16.0	0.5
Moreland, Mitch 2799	1b	tex al	1.0	7.2	15.2	16.2	-5.2
Pence, Hunter 2287	rf	sf nl	1.0	3.0	22.0	49.7	-1.0
Dietrich, Derek 3199	2b	fla nl	1.0	2.0	4.0	4.0	0.0
Bradley, Archie 3438	pi sp	ari nl	1.0	2.0	2.0	2.0	0.0
Villar, Jonathan 3233	ss	mil nl	1.0	1.0	3.0	3.0	1.0

What are those numbers after players' names?

Nats & Tigers have most players on Box-Toppers' 2014 preseason all-star teams

The Washington Nationals and the Detroit Tigers lead the way with the most players on Box-Toppers’ 2014 preseason all-star team.

The Nationals have four players on the National League team and the Tigers have three players on the American League team. The teams were selected based on which player had the highest Box-Toppers points total at their position in 2013. (The top three outfielders and top four starting pitchers in each league were also selected.)

Preseason All-Star Team

Here is Box-Toppers' 2014 preseason all-star team, featuring top players in each position in both the American and National Leagues. The column at right (BTP) shows the number of Box-Toppers points the player scored in 2013. Players are listed based on positions they primarily played during 2013. It is expected some players will change positions in 2014, including Miguel Cabrera, moving from third to first base. The bottom four lines list the top overall pitchers and batters in both leagues in 2013.

POS	PLAYER	TEAM	BTP
	AL
1B	Davis, Chris 2478	bal al	12.7
2B	Cano, Robinson 2092	sea al	12.5
SS	Lowrie, Jed 2437	oak al	8.0
3B	Cabrera, Miguel 1776	det al	16.9
CA	McCann, Brian 2179	nyy al	7.0
OF	Soriano, Alfonso 1445	nyy al	12.9
OF	Raburn, Ryan 2340	cle al	9.5
OF	Jones, Adam 2347	bal al	8.0
DH	Ortiz, David	bos al	12.4
SP	Scherzer, Max 2588	det al	18.1
SP	Sanchez, Anibal 2187	det al	17.1
SP	Masterson, Justin 2462	cle al	16.4
SP	Sale, Chris 2806	chi al	16.1
CP	Holland, Greg 2906	kc al	11.0
	NL
1B	Goldschmidt, Paul 2935	ari nl	13.7
2B	Murphy, Daniel 2589	nym nl	8.5
SS	Desmond, Ian 2673	dc nl	5.5
3B	Zimmerman, Ryan 2180	dc nl	9.2
CA	Ramos, Wilson 2904	dc nl	7.5
OF	Cuddyer, Michael 1826	col nl	11.5
OF	Gonzalez, Carlos 2460	col nl	11.0
OF	Harper, Bryce 3011	dc nl	9.4
SP	Kershaw, Clayton 2494	lad nl	21.7
SP	Wainwright, Adam 2150	stl nl	20.2
SP	Greinke, Zack 1871	lad nl	19.4
SP	Fernandez, Jose 3147	fla nl	19.0
CP	Kimbrel, Craig 2825	atl nl	12.7
ALMVP	Scherzer, Max 2588	det al	18.1
ALBAT	Cabrera, Miguel 1776	det al	16.9
NLMVP	Kershaw, Clayton 2494	lad nl	21.7
NLBAT	Goldschmidt, Paul 2935	ari nl	13.7

The four Nationals players include:

• Shortstop Ian Desmond, who had 5.5 Box-Toppers points in 2013.

• Third baseman Ryan Zimmerman with 9.2.

• Catcher Wilson Ramos with 7.5.

• Outfielder Bryce Harper with 9.4.

The three Tigers players include:

• Third baseman Miguel Cabrera with 16.9 (Cabrera is slated to move to first base for the 2014 season). 

• Starting pitcher Max Scherzer with 18.1.

• Starting pitcher Anibal Sanchez with 17.1.

If Cabrera’s move to first base were taken into account, he would bump Chris Davis of the Orioles (12.7 Box-Toppers points) from the AL first base all-star spot. Cabrera’s third base spot would be filled by Josh Donaldson of the Athletics, who had the second-most points among AL third basemen in 2013 with 9.5.

The NL team is led by overall Box-Toppers points leader for 2013, pitcher Clayton Kershaw of the Dodgers, who had 21.7 points. The top NL batter is first baseman Paul Goldschmidt of the Diamondbacks, who had 13.7 Box-Toppers points in 2013.

Scherzer led all AL players with 18.1 Box-Toppers points and Cabrera’s 16.9 led all AL batters.

Five other teams had two players on the all-star teams, the Orioles, the Yankees, the Indians, the Rockies and the Dodgers. 

Two of the all-stars are on new teams in 2014:

• AL second baseman Robinson Cano (12.5 points) moved from the Yankees to the Mariners.

• AL catcher Brian McCann (7.0 points) moved from the Braves to the Yankees.

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.

What are those numbers after players' names?

Kershaw leads Box-Toppers 2013 All-Star teams, Nationals have most team members

The Box-Toppers All-Star teams for the 2013 regular season are led by overall top player, Dodgers pitcher Clayton Kershaw.

The Washington Nationals have the most representatives of any team, with four players.

The All-Star teams are comprised of the players with the highest Box-Toppers point totals by position in each league. In addition to the batters—eight in the National League and nine (including the designated hitter) in the American League—are the top four starting pitchers in each league, the top player who was predominately a middle-reliever and the top closing pitcher.

Kershaw was Box-Toppers Player of the Season, the top overall player, with 21.7 Box-Toppers points. The top four overall players were starting pitchers from the NL. Tigers pitcher Max Scherzer is the top AL player with 18.1 points, ranked fifth overall. 

The top AL batter is Tigers third baseman Miguel Cabrera with 16.9 points, ranked eighth overall. The top NL batter is Diamondbacks first baseman Paul Goldschmidt with 13.7 points, ranked 22nd overall.

Four Nationals players made the list, more than any other team: 

• Shortstop Ian Desmond with 5.5 Box-Toppers points, ranked 163rd overall.
• Third baseman Ryan Zimmerman with 9.2 points, ranked 66th.
• Catcher Wilson Ramos, 7.5 points, ranked 101st.
• Outfielder Bryce Harper, the third-ranked outfielder, with 9.4 points, ranked 65th overall. 

Only two members of both leagues' All-Star teams are still active this season, playing in the World Series: 

• AL designated hitter David Ortiz of the Red Sox has 12.4 Box-Toppers points, ranked 36th overall.
• NL starting pitcher Adam Wainwright of the Cardinals has 20.2 Box-Toppers points, ranked second overall. 

Box-Toppers is set up to determine the players who most help their team win the most games. Top players from the winning team of each game are determined by a formula using standard box score statistics. These top players earn 1.0 Box-Toppers point for being Player of the Game. Among each day's top players, bonus points are awarded for the top players and batters of the day in each league. Players accumulate points through the season to provide a data point for comparison, such as determining which players are most worthy as All-Stars.  

End-of-season 2013 Box-Toppers All-Star teams 

Here are the Box-Toppers All-Stars by position for both leagues. It includes players with the highest Box-Toppers points (BTP) by position in each league. Also included is the players' overall rank among all players.

	AL	Team	BTP	Rank		NL	Team	BTP	Rank
1B	Davis, Chris 2478	Orioles	12.7	32		Goldschmidt, Paul 2935	D-Backs	13.7	22
2B	Cano, Robinson 2092	Yankees	12.5	35		Murphy, Daniel 2589	Mets	8.5	79
SS	Lowrie, Jed 2437	Athletics	8.0	90		Desmond, Ian 2673	Nationals	5.5	163
3B	Cabrera, Miguel 1776	Tigers	16.9	8		Zimmerman, Ryan 2180	Nationals	9.2	66
CA	Arencibia, J.P. 2781	Blue Jays	5.5	158		Ramos, Wilson 2904	Nationals	7.5	101
OF	Soriano, Alfonso 1445	Yankees	12.9	28		Cuddyer, Michael 1826	Rockies	11.5	40
OF	Raburn, Ryan 2340	Indians	9.5	62		Gonzalez, Carlos 2460	Rockies	11.0	43
OF	Jones, Adam 2347	Orioles	8.0	86		Harper, Bryce 3011	Nationals	9.4	65
DH	Ortiz, David	Red Sox	12.4	36
SP	Scherzer, Max 2588	Tigers	18.1	5		Kershaw, Clayton 2494	Dodgers	21.7	1
SP	Sanchez, Anibal 2187	Tigers	17.1	7		Wainwright, Adam 2150	Cardinals	20.2	2
SP	Masterson, Justin 2462	Indians	16.4	10		Greinke, Zack 1871	Dodgers	19.4	3
SP	Sale, Chris 2806	White Sox	16.1	12		Fernandez, Jose 3147	Marlins	19.0	4
MR	Chen, Bruce 1170	Royals	6.4	129		Collmenter, Josh 2863	D-Backs	8.0	89
CP	Holland, Greg 2906	Royals	11.0	37		Kimbrel, Craig 2825	Braves	12.7	31

BTP: Box-Toppers points

What are those numbers after players' names?

Padres' Burch Smith tops players for Sunday, Sept. 15, Tigers' Scherzer leads AL pitchers in Box-Toppers points

Padres pitcher Burch Smith is Sunday's Player of the Day, while Tigers pitcher Max Scherzer takes the Box-Toppers points lead among American League pitchers.

Smith pitched seven shutout innings and struck out 10 in the 4-0 win over the Braves. Smith gave up only three hits and didn't give up the first hit until the sixth inning. This was Smith's Box-Toppers debut, the first time he has earned Player of the Game honors. He is the 3,281st player to make his Box-Toppers debut since record keeping began in 1995. 

Scherzer, American League Player of the Day, rises to sixth place in Box-Toppers player rankings (see the updated top 10 list on the home page) and now has more points than any other AL pitcher. Scherzer struck out 12 and gave up only one run over seven innings in the 3-2 win over the Royals. Scherzer, however picked up a no-decision because the Royals tied the game 2-2 in the eighth inning after he left—but the Tigers went ahead to stay 3-2 in the bottom of the eighth. So even though Scherzer again failed to pick up his 20th win of the season (he's 19-3), he is still the Box-Toppers Player of the Game—and AL Player of the Day.

Scherzer earns 1.7 Box-Toppers points for being AL Player of the Day, giving him 17.1 for the season, passing previous AL pitching leader Justin Masterson of the Indians (16.4). Scherzer also becomes top overall AL player in Box-Toppers points, passing Tigers teammate Miguel Cabrera (16.9).

Wilson Ramos of the Nationals is National League Batter of the Day. Ramos drove in five runs and went 4-for-4 in the 11-2 win over the Phillies.

Matt Carson of the Indians is AL Batter of the Day. Carson homered, drove in two runs and went 3-for-3 in the 7-1 win over the White Sox. This was Carson's Box-Toppers debut, the first time he has earned Player of the Game honors. He is the 3,282nd player to make his Box-Toppers debut since record keeping began in 1995. 

Notables: Two other players who earned Player of the Game honors Sunday are among the top 40 in Box-Toppers player rankings for the season: 

• Paul Goldschmidt of the Diamondbacks rises to 18th place and remains top NL batter. He earns 1.0 Box-Toppers point for being Player of the Game (HR 5RBI 4-4 in 8-2 win vs. Rockies), giving him 13.7 for the season.
• Mets pitcher Dillon Gee rises to 40th place. He earns 1.0 Box-Toppers point for being Player of the Game (7.1IP 0R 8K ND in 1-0, 12-inning win vs. Marlins), giving him 10.7 for the season.

Smith receives 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day. Scherzer receives 1.7 for AL Player of the Day. Ramos and Carson 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.

Top player from each game

Listed from highest to lowest Box-Toppers game score

915	Score	Team	BATTERS	AB	R	H	RBI	BB	SO	-	-	PITCHERS	IP	H	R	ER	BB	SO
MLB	12.0	Padres	0	0	0	0	0	0	0			Burch Smith (W, 1-1)	7.0	3	0	0	2	10
AL	11.0	`Tigers	0	0	0	0	0	0	0			Max Scherzer	7.0	5	1	1	1	12
	7.1	`Mets	0	0	0	0	0	0	0			Dillon Gee	7.1	6	0	0	2	8
BAT	7.0	Nationals	Wilson Ramos C	4	2	4	5	0	0			0	0.0	0	0	0	0	0
	6.0	Diamondbacks	Paul Goldschmidt 1B	4	1	4	5	0	0			0	0.0	0	0	0	0	0
	5.0	Angels	0	0	0	0	0	0	0			Ernesto Frieri (S, 34)	2.0	1	0	0	0	4
	4.0	Giants	Hunter Pence RF	3	2	2	3	1	0			0	0.0	0	0	0	0	0
	3.1	`Orioles	0	0	0	0	0	0	0			Tommy Hunter (H, 20)	1.1	0	0	0	0	2
	3.0	Cardinals	Yadier Molina C	5	3	4	1	0	0			0	0.0	0	0	0	0	0
BAT	3.0	Indians	Matt Carson RF	3	1	3	2	0	0			0	0.0	0	0	0	0	0
	2.0	Twins	Josmil Pinto C	3	1	1	3	1	0			0	0.0	0	0	0	0	0
	2.0	Red Sox	Dustin Pedroia 2B	3	2	1	2	2	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
	2.0	Pirates	0	0	0	0	0	0	0			Mark Melancon (S, 16)	1.0	0	0	0	0	1
	1.0	Brewers	Jean Segura SS	4	1	2	2	0	0			0	0.0	0	0	0	0	0
	1.0	Athletics	Josh Reddick RF	4	1	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.

Reds' Bailey, Rays' Hernandez top players for Tuesday, Sept. 3

Reds pitcher Homer Bailey is Tuesday's Player of the Day. Bailey pitched seven shutout innings, giving up only two hits and striking out eight, in the 1-0 win over the Cardinals.

Bailey rises to 23rd place in Box-Toppers player standings for the season. He earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day, giving him 12.0 for the season. 

Rays pitcher Roberto Hernandez is American League Player of the Day. Hernandez pitched the final 3 2/3 innings of the game, striking out seven and earning the save in the 7-1 win over the Angels. 

Wilson Ramos of the Nationals is National League Batter of the Day. Ramos hit a three-run homer and drove in four runs in the 9-6 win over the Phillies. 

Edwin Encarnacion of the Blue Jays is AL Batter of the Day. Encarnacion homered and went 3-for-3 in the 10-4 win over the Diamondbacks. 

Notables: Red Sox pitcher Jon Lester rises to 32nd place in Box-Toppers player rankings and Royals closing pitcher Greg Holland rises to 40th place after both earned Player of the Game honors Tuesday.

• Lester (7IP 1R 9K W in 2-1 win vs. Tigers) earns 1.0 Box-Toppers point, giving him 10.7 for the season.
• Holland (1IP 0H 0R 2K Sv in 4-3 win vs. Mariners) earns 1.0 Box-Toppers point, giving him 10.0 for the season. 

Bailey receives 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day. Hernandez receives 1.7 for NL Player of the Day. Ramos and Encarnacion each receive 1.5 for being top Batter of the Day in their league.

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

Top player from each game

Listed from highest to lowest Box-Toppers game score

903	Score	Team	BATTERS	AB	R	H	RBI	BB	SO	-	-	PITCHERS	IP	H	R	ER	BB	SO
MLB	12.0	Reds	0	0	0	0	0	0	0			Homer Bailey (W, 10-10)	7.0	2	0	0	1	8
AL	10.2	Rays	0	0	0	0	0	0	0			Roberto Hernandez (S, 1)	3.2	0	0	0	0	7
	7.0	Braves	0	0	0	0	0	0	0			Kris Medlen (W, 12-12)	7.0	7	1	1	0	9
	6.0	Red Sox	0	0	0	0	0	0	0			Jon Lester (W, 13-8)	7.0	8	1	1	0	9
BAT	4.0	Nationals	Wilson Ramos C	2	1	1	4	2	0			0	0.0	0	0	0	0	0
	4.0	Indians	0	0	0	0	0	0	0			Ubaldo Jimenez (W, 10-9)	6.0	4	0	0	2	4
	4.0	Twins	0	0	0	0	0	0	0			Caleb Thielbar (W, 3-2)	2.0	0	0	0	0	2
	3.0	Marlins	Donovan Solano 2B	4	2	3	2	1	0			0	0.0	0	0	0	0	0
BAT	3.0	Blue Jays	Edwin Encarnacion 1B	3	2	3	1	2	0			0	0.0	0	0	0	0	0
	3.0	Padres	Nick Hundley C	2	2	2	1	1	0			0	0.0	0	0	0	0	0
	3.0	Yankees	0	0	0	0	0	0	0			Mariano Rivera (S, 40)	1.0	0	0	0	0	2
	3.0	Royals	0	0	0	0	0	0	0			Greg Holland (S, 38)	1.0	0	0	0	0	2
	2.0	Pirates	Andrew McCutchen CF	4	3	2	1	1	0			0	0.0	0	0	0	0	0
	2.0	Rangers	0	0	0	0	0	0	0			Martin Perez (W, 9-3)	7.0	8	1	1	0	5
	1.1	Dodgers	0	0	0	0	0	0	0			Chris Withrow (S, 1)	0.1	0	0	0	0	1

White Sox' Jose Quintana, Phillies' Cole Hamels top players for Thursday, July 4

White Sox pitcher Jose Quintana is Thursday's Player of the Day. Quintana struck out 11 and allowed no runs over seven innings in the 3-2 win over the Orioles.

Phillies pitcher Cole Hamels is National League Player of the Day. Hamels struck out eight over seven innings in the 6-4 win over the Pirates. 

Wilson Ramos of the Nationals is NL Batter of the Day. Ramos homered, drove in five runs and went 3-for-4 in the 8-5 win over the Brewers. 

Yunel Escobar of the Rays is American League Batter of the Day. Escobar went 3-for-5 and drove in three runs in the 7-5 win over the Astros. 

Quintana receives 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day. Hamels receives 1.7 for NL Player of the Day. Ramos and Escobar 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:

704	Score	Team	BATTERS	AB	R	H	RBI	BB	SO	-	-	PITCHERS	IP	H	R	ER	BB	SO
MLB	15.0	`White Sox	0	0	0	0	0	0	0			Jose Quintana	7.0	2	0	0	1	11
	9.0	Athletics	0	0	0	0	0	0	0			Dan Straily (W, 5-2)	7.0	1	0	0	3	6
NL	7.0	Phillies	0	0	0	0	0	0	0			Cole Hamels (W, 3-11)	7.0	5	2	1	0	8
	7.0	Tigers	0	0	0	0	0	0	0			Justin Verlander (W, 9-5)	7.0	3	0	0	2	5
BAT	5.0	Nationals	Wilson Ramos C	4	1	3	5	0	1			0	0.0	0	0	0	0	0
	5.0	Rockies	Michael Cuddyer RF	3	3	2	3	1	1			0	0.0	0	0	0	0	0
	5.0	Marlins	0	0	0	0	0	0	0			A.J. Ramos (W, 3-2)	2.0	1	0	0	0	4
BAT	3.0	Rays	Yunel Escobar SS	5	2	3	3	0	0			0	0.0	0	0	0	0	0
	3.0	Rangers	Adrian Beltre 3B	4	2	3	2	0	0			0	0.0	0	0	0	0	0
	3.0	Red Sox	Jacoby Ellsbury CF	4	3	3	1	0	0			0	0.0	0	0	0	0	0
	3.0	Royals	Lorenzo Cain RF	4	1	2	4	0	0			0	0.0	0	0	0	0	0
	3.0	`Diamondbacks	0	0	0	0	0	0	0			Ian Kennedy	7.0	6	2	2	2	8
	2.0	Yankees	Ichiro Suzuki CF	5	2	3	2	0	1			0	0.0	0	0	0	0	0
	1.0	Angels	Erick Aybar SS	4	1	3	1	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.