Nationals pitcher Stephen Strasburg is Box-Toppers Player of the Game in Monday’s National League Championship Series Game 3 win over the Cardinals.
Strasburg struck out 12 over seven innings, allowing one run (none earned), seven hits and no walks, in the 8-1 win over the Cardinals.
The Nationals take a 3-0 lead over the Cardinals in the best-of-seven series, which resumes Tuesday in Washington.
Stephen Strasburg earned 20.7 Box-Toppers points during the regular season, third among all players and first among NL pitchers.
He becomes the first player this postseason to earn Player of the Game honors for the third time. Previously, he was Player of the Game in the NL Wild Card Game against the Brewers on Oct. 1 and in the NLDS Game 2 win over the Dodgers on Oct. 4. He also appeared in the NLDS Game 5 win over the Dodgers on Oct. 9.
Strasburg had a Box-Toppers game score Monday of +11.0, highest among all Nationals players. Second baseman Howie Kendrick had a Box-Toppers game score of +4.0, highest among all Nationals batters (3-2B 3-4 2R 3BI). Cardinals starting pitcher Jack Flaherty had a Box-Toppers game score of -5.0 (4IP 5H 4R 2BB 6K L).
Top player from each game
Listed from highest to lowest Box-Toppers game score (BTG)| BTG | Game | Player | AB | R | H | BI | IP | H | R | ER | BB | K | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| +11.0 | WSH 8, STL 1 | Stephen Strasburg (W, 3‑0) | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | 7.0 | 7 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 12 |
` Pitcher had a no-decision in the game and did not pick up a win or a save.
Coming Tuesday:
ALCS Game 3: Astros at Yankees, series tied, 1-1
The pitching matchup Tuesday:
Astros—Gerrit Cole, 32.2 Box-Toppers points, first among all players, first among American League pitchers.
Cole has earned Player of the Game honors twice this postseason in two appearances—in the AL Division Series Game 2 win over the Rays on Oct. 5 and in the Game 5 win on Oct. 10.
Yankees—Luis Severino, 2.0 Box-Toppers points, 441st among all players, 94th among AL pitchers. (Severino was out injured much of the 2019 season. In 2018, he had 17.7 Box-Toppers points, 10th among all players.)
Severino has appeared once this postseason, in the AL Division Series Game 3 win over the Twins on Oct. 7. Teammate Gleyber Torres was Player of the Game.
NLCS Game 4: Nationals lead Cardinals, 3-0
The pitching matchup Tuesday:
Cardinals—Dakota Hudson, 7.7 Box-Toppers points, 95th among all players, 41st among NL pitchers.
Hudson has appeared once this postseason, in the NL Division Series Game 4 win over the Braves on Oct. 7. Teammate Paul Goldschmidt was Player of the Game.
Nationals—Patrick Corbin, 16.4 Box-Toppers points, 12th among all players, sixth among NL pitchers.
Corbin has made four appearances this postseason, including one start and three relief appearances, but has not earned Player of the Game honors. He started NL Division Series Game 1 on Oct. 3, a loss to the Dodgers. He appeared in relief in the NLDS Game 3 loss to the Dodgers on Oct. 6, in the NLDS Game 5 win over the Dodgers on Oct. 9 and in the NLCS Game 2 win over the Cardinals on Oct. 12.
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.
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