Cardinals pitcher Michael Wacha, who was one out from pitching a no-hitter, is Tuesday's Player of the Day.
Wacha gave up his one and only hit with two outs in the ninth inning against the Nationals when Ryan Zimmerman reached on an infield single. Wacha pitched 8 2/3 shutout innings and struck out nine in the 2-0 win.
Mariners pitcher James Paxton is American League Player of the Day. Paxton pitched seven shutout innings and struck out 10 in the 4-0 win over the Royals.
Michael Brantley of the Indians is AL Batter of the Day. Brantley homered and went 3-for-4 in the 5-4 win over the White Sox.
Pedro Alvarez of the Pirates is National League Batter of the Day. Alvarez drove in three runs and went 2-for-5 in the 8-2 win over the Cubs.
Notables: Braves closing pitcher Craig Kimbrel rises to 29th place in Box-Toppers player rankings after earning Player of the Game honors Tuesday. Kimbrel (1IP 3K W in 3-2 win vs. Brewers) earns 1.0 Box-Toppers point, giving him 12.7 for the season.
Blue Jays pitcher Dustin McGowan scored his first Box-Toppers point in more than five years Tuesday. McGowan, the former starter now pitching middle relief was Player of the Game in the 3-2 win over the Orioles. It is the first time he has earned Box-Toppers points since he last earned Player of the Game honors on June 10, 2008, when he started for the Blue Jays. McGowan earned 9.7 Box-Toppers points as a starter for the Blue Jays in 2007 and 3.7 in 2008.
Coming Wednesday: Two pitchers among the top 10 in Box-Toppers player rankings (see the list on the home page) are scheduled to start Wednesday:
- Tigers pitcher Max Scherzer starts against the Twins. Scherzer has 17.1 Box-Toppers points, is in sixth place overall and leads all AL players.
- Pirates pitcher Francisco Liriano starts against the Cubs. Liriano has 16.7 Box-Toppers points and is in ninth place overall.
Neither Scherzer nor Liriano is in position to take the outright lead in Box-Toppers points (held by Dodgers pitcher Clayton Kershaw with 20.7) since the most they could earn is 2.0 Box-Toppers points. This is the final scheduled regular season start for both pitchers.
Wacha receives 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day. Paxton receives 1.7 for AL Player of the Day. Brantley and Alvarez 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
| 924 | Score | Team | BATTERS | AB | R | H | RBI | BB | SO | - | - | PITCHERS | IP | H | R | ER | BB | SO |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| MLB | 14.2 | Cardinals | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Michael Wacha (W, 4-1) | 8.2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 9 | ||
| AL | 13.0 | Mariners | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | James Paxton (W, 3-0) | 7.0 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 10 | ||
| 9.0 | Angels | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Jason Vargas (W, 9-7) | 9.0 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 5 | |||
| 8.0 | `Diamondbacks | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Wade Miley | 6.0 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 7 | |||
| 6.0 | Dodgers | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Hyun-Jin Ryu (W, 14-7) | 7.0 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 6 | |||
| 4.0 | Rockies | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Tyler Chatwood (W, 8-5) | 7.0 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 2 | |||
| 4.0 | Rays | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Jake Odorizzi (S, 1) | 3.0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 3 | |||
| 4.0 | `Tigers | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Bruce Rondon (H, 5) | 1.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | |||
| 4.0 | Braves | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Craig Kimbrel (W, 4-3) | 1.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | |||
| 3.1 | `Blue Jays | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Dustin McGowan | 1.1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | |||
| BAT | 3.0 | Indians | Michael Brantley LF | 4 | 2 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||
| 3.0 | Rangers | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Joe Nathan (S, 41) | 1.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | |||
| 3.0 | Mets | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Vic Black (S, 1) | 1.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | |||
| 2.0 | Phillies | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Michael Stutes (W, 3-1) | 1.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | |||
| BAT | 1.0 | Pirates | Pedro Alvarez 3B | 5 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 0 | 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.