Cardinals pitcher Adam Wainwright is Sunday’s Player of the Day and rises to first place in Box-Toppers season player rankings.
Wainwright won Player of the Day honors over Dodgers pitcher Josh Beckett who pitched a no-hitter (CG 0R 0H 3BB 6K) against the Phillies.
In addition Sunday, Yankees pitcher Masahiro Tanaka rose to first place among American League pitchers in Box-Toppers points. And five of Sunday’s Players of the Game are in the top 10 of Box-Toppers season player rankings.
Wainwright pitched eight scoreless innings and struck out 12 in the 4-0 win over the Reds. Wainwright earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Game, giving him 11.0 for the season—he is the first player to 10.0 Box-Toppers points in 2014. He passes Troy Tulowitzki of the Rockies (9.1 Box-Toppers points) to take the overall Box-Toppers points lead. (See the updated top 10 Box-Toppers player rankings on the home page.)
Tulowitzki had led all players since May 2. Wainwright had 20.2 Box-Toppers points in 2013, in second place overall, behind Dodgers pitcher Clayton Kershaw (21.7).
Wainwright had a Box-Toppers game score of +14.0, beating out Beckett, who despite the no-hitter, had the second-highest Box-Toppers game score of the day, +12.0—still earning Player of the Game honors and picking up 1.0 Box-Toppers point. (See the chart below.)
Astros pitcher Dallas Keuchel is American League Player of the Day. Keuchel pitched a complete game, allowing one unearned run, in the 4-1 win over the Mariners. He earns 1.7 Box-Toppers points for being AL Player of the Day, giving him 6.7 for the season. He is in eighth place in Box-Toppers season player rankings, third among AL pitchers. (See the updated top 10 Box-Toppers player rankings on the home page.)
Sean Rodriguez of the Rays is AL Batter of the Day. Rodriguez hit a pinch-hit, three-run home run in the 8-5 win over the Red Sox. Rodriguez earns 1.5 Box-Toppers points for being AL Batter of the Day, giving him 5.0 for the season and is now in fourth place among AL batters.
There is no National League Batter of the Day for Sunday because no NL batters earned Player of the Game honors.
Notables: In addition to Wainwright and Keuchel, three of Sunday’s other Players of the Game rank in Box-Toppers top 10 player rankings for the season:
• Yankees pitcher Masahiro Tanaka (6.2 IP 6K W in the 7-1 win over the White Sox) earns 1.0 Box-Toppers point, giving him 8.7 for the season, third among all players and first among AL pitchers. He passes previous AL pitching leader, Max Scherzer of the Tigers (7.7 Box-Toppers points).
• Braves pitcher Julio Teheran (6IP 0R 7K W in the 7-0 win over the Rockies) earns 1.0 Box-Toppers point, giving him 7.7 for the season and is in fifth place overall, second among NL pitchers.
• Giants pitcher Madison Bumgarner (7IP 1R 10K W in the 8-1 win over the Twins) earns 1.0 Box-Toppers point, giving him 6.5 for the season and is in ninth place overall, fifth among NL pitchers.
Wainwright receives 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day. Keuchel receives 1.7 for AL Player of the Day. Rodriguez receives 1.5 for being AL Batter of the Day.
All of Sunday’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.