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.