Pirates pitcher Francisco Liriano is Thursday’s Player of the Day, while three pitchers in Box-Toppers player rankings top 10 also earned Player of the Game honors Thursday.
Liriano pitched eight scoreless innings and struck out 12 in the 4-1 win over the Phillies. Liriano earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day, giving him 10.1 for the season. He ranks 45th among all players and 21st among National League pitchers. He is the 46th player this season with 10.0 or more Box-Toppers points.
The three pitchers among Box-Toppers top 10 who earned Player of the Game honors Thursday are Corey Kluber of the Indians, Johnny Cueto of the Reds and Chris Sale of the White Sox. (See the updated top 10 player list on the home page.)
Kluber becomes the fourth player this season with 20.0 or more Box-Toppers points after earning Player of the Game honors. Kluber (8.1IP 2R 7K W in the 8-2 win over the Twins) earns 1.0 Box-Toppers point, giving him 20.4 for the season. He maintains his spot in fourth place in Box-Toppers player rankings and is second among American League pitchers. He now trails AL pitching leader Max Scherzer of the Tigers (21.1 Box-Toppers points) by only 0.7 points.
Cueto maintained his spot in fifth place in Box-Toppers player rankings after earning Player of the Game honors. Cueto (8IP 0R 7K W in the 1-0 win over the Cardinals) earns 1.0 Box-Toppers point, giving him 19.4 for the season. He ranks third among NL pitchers.
Sale moves up from eighth to seventh place in Box-Toppers player rankings after earning AL Player of the Day honors. Sale pitched eight scoreless innings, allowing two hits and striking out nine, in the 1-0 win over the Athletics. Sale earns 1.7 Box-Toppers points for being AL Player of the Day, giving him 17.4 for the season. He ranks fourth among AL pitchers.
Chris Young of the Yankees is AL Batter of the Day. Young hit a walk-off three-run homer and went 2-for-4, scoring twice, in the 5-4 win over the Rays.
Anthony Rendon of the Nationals is NL Batter of the Day. Rendon hit a two-run homer and went 3-for-5, scoring twice, in the 6-2 win over the Mets.
Liriano receives 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day. Sale receives 1.7 for AL Player of the Day. Young and Rendon each receive 1.5 for being top Batter of the Day in their league.
All of Thursday’s other Players of the Game (listed in the chart below) receive 1.0 Box-Toppers point.
Box-Toppers watches the daily performances of selected star players and Box-Toppers points leaders. To see how they performed, click here.
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
| 911 | Score | Team | Player | AB | R | H | BI | BB | K | IP | H | R | ER | BB | K | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| MLB | 14.0 | Pirates | Francisco Liriano (W, 5-10) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 8.0 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 12 | |
| AL | 13.0 | White Sox | Chris Sale (W, 12-3) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 8.0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 9 | |
| 11.0 | Reds | Johnny Cueto (W, 18-8) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 8.0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 7 | ||
| 11.0 | Indians | T.J. House (W, 3-3) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 7.0 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 8 | ||
| 7.0 | Brewers | Mike Fiers (W, 6-2) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 5.0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 8 | ||
| 5.2 | Giants | Jake Peavy (W, 5-4) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 5.2 | 6 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 8 | ||
| 3.1 | Indians | Corey Kluber (W, 15-9) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 8.1 | 8 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 7 | ||
| BAT | 3.0 | Yankees | Chris Young LF | 4 | 2 | 2 | 3 | 0 | 0 | - | - | - | - | - | - | |
| 2.1 | `Angels | Cory Rasmus | - | - | - | - | - | - | 3.1 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 3 | ||
| BAT | 2.0 | Nationals | Anthony Rendon 3B | 5 | 2 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 1 | - | - | - | - | - | - | |
| 1.0 | Red Sox | Will Middlebrooks 3B | 4 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | - | - | - | - | - | - |
` Denotes that the pitcher had a no-decision in the game and did not pick up a win or a save.