Padres pitcher Andrew Cashner is Friday’s Player of the Day. Cashner pitched a complete-game, one-hit shutout, striking out 11, in the 6-0 win over the Tigers.
Cashner earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day, giving him 4.0 for the season, moving him into third place among all players in Box-Toppers player rankings.
Rangers pitcher Yu Darvish is American League Player of the Day. Darvish pitched eight scoreless innings, giving up just one hit and striking out nine, in the 1-0, 12-inning win over the Astros. Darvish earned a no-decision and did not pick up the win because he left when the game was in a scoreless tie.
Giants pitcher Madison Bumgarner is National League Batter of the Day. Bumgarner hit a grand slam and a sacrifice fly, driving in five runs and going 1-1 in the 6-5 win over the Rockies. Bumgarner also picked up the win as pitcher, though his Box-Toppers game score as pitcher was −6, while his Box-Toppers game score as batter of +6 topped all players for the Giants. He is the first pitcher to earn Player of the Game honors for batting in 2014. In 2013, six pitchers won Player of the Game honors for batting.
Connor Gillaspie of the White Sox is AL Batter of the Day. Gillaspie drove in four runs and went 2-3 in the 9-6 win over the Indians.
Notable: Box-Toppers points leader for 2014 Felix Hernandez scored again to maintain his lead. The Mariners pitcher was Player of the Game in the 6-4 win over the Athletics. Hernandez (7IP 2R 11K W) earns 1.0 Box-Toppers point, giving him 4.4 for the season, in first place among all players.
Hernandez now has 126.9 career Box-Toppers points, ranked 25th on the all-time list (Box-Toppers record keeping began in 1995). With Friday's point, Hernandez passed both David Ortiz and Mariano Rivera on the list, both of whom have 126.4 career Box-Toppers points.
Chris Colabello of the Twins maintained his hold on second place in Box-Toppers player rankings after earning Player of the Game honors in the 10-1 win over the Royals. Colabello (2-3 3RBI R) earns 1.0 Box-Toppers point, giving him 4.2 for the season.
Cashner receives 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day. Darvish receives 1.7 for AL Player of the Day. Bumgarner and Gillaspie each receive 1.5 for being top Batter of the Day in their league.
All of Friday’s other Players of the Game (listed in the chart below) receive 1.0 Box-Toppers point.
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.
Top player from each game
Listed from highest to lowest Box-Toppers game score
` Denotes that the pitcher had a no-decision in the game and did not pick up a win or a save.