Kelvin Herrera, who pitched a perfect seventh inning in relief for the Royals in their Game 3 American League Championship Series win over the Orioles, is Box-Toppers.com Player of the Day for Tuesday.
Herrera struck out two in one scoreless inning in the 2-1 win, as the Royals took a three games to zero lead over the Orioles in the best-of-seven game ALCS.
Herrera, who held the lead for the Royals, is an unconventional player to earn Box-Toppers Player of the Game honors—he did not pick up a win or a save and pitched only one inning. He had a Box-Toppers game score of 3.0, the highest of any Royals player Tuesday.
Normally, a pitcher without a win or a save who pitched fewer than three innings is not even considered for Player of the Game. But they can win the honor if they pitch the same or more innings as the pitcher who otherwise would earn Player of the Game honors and have a higher Box-Toppers game score.
In this game, Jason Frasor, who pitched the sixth inning for the Royals and earned the win (because the Royals scored the winning run in the bottom of the sixth) would normally be Player of the Game with a Box-Toppers game score of +1. But two other players who also pitched one inning actually had higher Box-Toppers game scores—Wade Davis, who pitched the eighth inning, struck out one and held the lead, had a Box-Toppers game score of +2. And Herrera, Player of the Game, had a game score of +3.
No Royals batter had a positive Box-Toppers game score in the low-scoring contest. The highest score was Jarrod Dyson’s, who had a Box-Toppers game score of 0—he went 0-for-1 with a run.
Three Royals relievers have earned Player of the Game honors so far during the postseason. Previously, closer Greg Holland was Player of the Game in the ALDS Game 1 on Oct. 2. Wade Davis was Player of the Day in the ALCS Game 1 on Oct. 10.
Herrera had 2.0 Box-Toppers points during the regular season, ranking 439th among all players and 114th among AL pitchers.
NLCS Game 3: Giants 5, Cardinals 4
Travis Ishikawa drove in three runs on a first inning double and is Box-Toppers.com Player of the Game in the Giants’ National League Championship Series Game 3 win over the Cardinals.
Ishikawa went 1-for-3, driving in three runs, in the 5-4, 10-inning win over the Cardinals, as the Giants take a 2-1 lead in the best-of-seven game series. He had a Box-Toppers game score of +1.
Giants reliever Santiago Casilla (1IP 1K) actually had a higher Box-Toppers game score than Ishikawa of +2. However, because Casilla pitched fewer than three innings and did not earn the win or save, the only way he could be considered for Player of the Game is if he had a higher Box-Toppers game score and the same or more innings pitched as a pitcher who otherwise would have earned Player of the Game.
During the regular season, Ishikawa had 1.0 Box-Toppers point, ranked 644th among all players and 159th among NL batters.
Coming Wednesday:
ALCS Game 4: Royals lead Orioles, 3-0
The pitching matchup Wednesday:
Orioles: Miguel Gonzalez, 8.7 Box-Toppers points, ranked 70th among all players, 31st among AL pitchers.
Royals: Jason Vargas, 7.0 Box-Toppers points, ranked 107th among all players, 38th among AL pitchers.
NLCS Game 4: Giants lead Cardinals, 2-1
The pitching matchup Wednesday:
Cardinals: Shelby Miller, 9.0 Box-Toppers points, ranked 64th among all players, 30th among NL pitchers.
Giants: Ryan Vogelsong, 8.7 Box-Toppers points, ranked 74th among all players, 36th among NL pitchers.
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
Players of the Game (POG) listed from highest to lowest Box-Toppers game score
| 1013 | Score | Team | Player of the Game | AB | R | H | BI | BB | K | IP | H | R | ER | BB | K | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| POG | 3.0 | `Royals | Kelvin Herrera (H, 1) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 1.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | |
| POG | 1.0 | Giants | Travis Ishikawa LF | 3 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 0 | - | - | - | - | - | - |
` Denotes that the pitcher had a no-decision in the game and did not pick up a win or a save.