Royals pitcher Edinson Volquez pitched six scoreless innings, allowing two hits and striking out five, to win Game 1 of the American League Championship Series and earn Box-Toppers Player of the Day honors.
The Kansas City Royals beat the Toronto Blue Jays 5-0 to take a 1-0 lead in the best-of-seven game series.
Volquez had a Box-Toppers game score of +5.0. Alcides Escobar, who hit two doubles and went 2-for-3, scoring twice and driving in a run, had the highest Box-Toppers game score among Royals batters, +2.0.
Volquez, during the regular season had 7.0 Box-Toppers points, ranked 105th among all players, 39th among AL pitchers.
About Box-Toppers—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
Listed from highest to lowest Box-Toppers game score
| 10/16 | Score | Team | Players | AB | R | H | BI | BB | K | IP | H | R | ER | BB | K | |
| POG | 5.0 | Royals | Edinson Volquez (W,1-1) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 6.0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 5 |
Coming Saturday:
ALCS Game 2, Royals lead Blue Jays, 1-0
The pitching match-up Saturday:
Blue Jays—David Price, 21.1 Box-Toppers points, fifth among all players, second among AL pitchers.
Royals—Yordano Ventura, 11.7 Box-Toppers points, 30th among all players, 15th among AL pitchers.
NLCS Game 1, Cubs at Mets
The pitching match-up Saturday:
Cubs—Jon Lester, 12.0 Box-Toppers points, ranked 28th among all players, 13th among NL pitchers.
Mets—Matt Harvey, 15.4 Box-Toppers points, ranked 16th among all players, eighth among NL pitchers.