Mariners’ Kirby tops players for Saturday, April 27; Phillies’ Suárez rises to lead rankings

Mariners pitcher George Kirby is Saturday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day.

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▪️ Players of the Game.
▪️ B-T points of day’s top players.
▪️ Top 10 players in 2024.
▪️ Day’s highlights & lowlights.
▪️ Upcoming pitching matchups.
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Mariners pitcher George Kirby is Saturday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day.

Also Saturday, Phillies pitcher Ranger Suarez rises to first place in Box-Toppers season player rankings after earning National League Player of the Day honors. Plus, two other players rise in Box-Toppers season player rankings top 10: Dodgers pitcher Tyler Glasnow rises to fourth place and Guardians pitcher Tanner Bibee rises to ninth place.

Player of the Day

Kirby stuck out 12 over seven scoreless innings, allowing two hits and one walk, in the 3-1 win over the Diamondbacks.

Kirby earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day, giving him 3.7 for the season, 13th among all players and fifth among American League pitchers.

National League Player of the Day is Phillies pitcher Ranger Suarez.

National League Player of the Day

Phillies pitcher Ranger Suarez struck out eight over eight innings, allowing one run, three hits and no walks, in the 5-1 win over the Padres.

Suarez earns 1.7 Box-Toppers points for being NL Player of the Day, giving him 6.7 for the season, rising from fifth place to lead Box-Toppers season player rankings, passing previous leader, Brewers pitcher Freddy Peralta (5.0 points), who had led since April 12. Suarez also rises to first place among NL pitchers, passing Peralta.

American League Batter of the Day is Ceddanne Rafaela of the Red Sox.

American League Batter of the Day

Ceddanne Rafaela of the Red Sox homered, hit two doubles and a sacrifice fly, going 4-for-4, scoring three times and driving in seven runs, in the 17-0 win over the Cubs.

This was Rafaela’s Box-Toppers debut, his first career Player of the Game honor. Rafaela made his Major League debut Aug. 28, 2023, and was playing in his 56th career game.

National League Batter of the Day is Jacob Young of the Nationals.

National League Batter of the Day

Jacob Young of the Nationals went 2-for-4, scoring four times and driving in one run, in the 11-4 win over the Marlins.

Dodgers pitcher Tyler Glasnow rises from eighth to fourth place in Box-Toppers season player rankings.

Top 10 players

Here are the top 10 players in 2024 Box-Toppers points (BTP) through Saturday, April 27:
Player Pos Team BTP
1 Ranger Suárez pi sp Phillies 6.7
2 Freddy Peralta pi sp Brewers 5.0
3 Logan Gilbert pi sp Mariners 5.0
4 Tyler Glasnow pi sp Dodgers 5.0
5 Aaron Nola pi sp Phillies 5.0
6 Ryan Helsley pi cp Cardinals 5.0
7 Dylan Cease pi sp Padres 4.7
8 Shota Imanaga pi sp Cubs 4.7
9 Tanner Bibee pi sp Guardians 4.0
10 Tanner Houck pi sp Red Sox 4.0
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Rankings

In addition to Suarez, two other player rise in Box-Toppers season player rankings top 10 list after both earned Player of the Game honors Saturday:

  • Dodgers pitcher Tyler Glasnow (6IP 2H R 3BB 9K W in the 4-2 win over the Blue Jays) earns 1.0 Box-Toppers point, giving him 5.0 for the season, rising from eighth to fourth place in Box-Toppers season player rankings. Glasnow ranks third among NL pitchers, behind Suarez and Peralta. (While he and Peralta both have 5.0 points, Peralta ranks ahead because he has more 2023 points—17.7 vs. 12.4.)

  • Guardians pitcher Tanner Bibee (7IP 2H 0R 0BB 9K ND in the 4-2, 11-innning win over the Braves) earns 1.0 Box-Toppers point, giving him 4.0 for the season, rising to ninth place in season player rankings, second among AL pitchers, behind Logan Gilbert of the Mariners (5.0 points).

Guardians pitcher Tanner Bibee rises to ninth place in season player rankings

Notable

Cardinals pitcher Sonny Gray now has 100.9 career Box-Toppers points after earning 1.0 point as Player of the Game Saturday.

Gray (6IP 4H 4R ER 3BB 9K W in the 7-4 win over the Mets) becomes the 91st player since Box-Toppers tracking began in 1995 to reach the career 100-point threshold. Gray now ranks 86th among all players since 1995. With his 1.0 point Saturday, he passes five players on the “all-time” career points list—Larry Walker (100.1), Jeff Bagwell (100.4), Paul Konerko (100.7), Matt Cain (100.7) and Matt Holliday (100.8). He now trails 85th-ranked player Jason Schmidt (101.2).

Gray ranks 13th among active, signed players in career points, seventh among active NL pitchers. He has 3.0 points in 2024, 13th among NL pitchers.

Cardinals pitcher Sonny Gray now has 100.9 career Box-Toppers points after earning 1.0 point as Player of the Game Saturday.

Saturday’s highlights & lowlights

Top pitching matchup

▪️Tyler Glasnow, Dodgers, 16.4 Box-Toppers points over 2023-24, 13th among all players.
▪️Yusei Kikuchi, Blue Jays, 12.7 Box-Toppers points over 2023-24, 34th among all pitchers.
Results—LAD 4, TOR 2
Glasnow was Player of the Game with +8.0 B-T game score (6IP 2H R 3BB 9K W), giving him 17.4 B-T points over 2023-24, 11th among all players.
Kikuchi had -8.0 game score (6IP 9H 4R 0BB 3K L).

High scores, no points

Highest Box-Toppers game scores for the day among players who did not earn Player of the Game honors:
▪️+8.0—Charlie Morton, Braves (7IP 4H 0R BB 6K ND)
Was not Player of the Game because ATL lost to CLE.
Player of the Game—Tanner Bibee, Guardians (7IP 2H 0R 0BB 9K ND) with +14.0 game score.
▪️+8.0—Jordan Hicks, Giants (6IP 5H R 0BB 9K ND)
Was not Player of the Game because SF lost to PIT.
Player of the Game—Martín Pérez, Pirates (6IP 4H R 0ER 2BB 4K ND) with +3.0 game score.
▪️+8.0—Slade Cecconi, Diamondbacks (6IP 3H R BB 8K L)
Was not Player of the Game because ARI lost to SEA.
Player of the Game—George Kirby, Mariners (7IP 2H 0R BB 12K W) with +16.0 game score, also winning overall Player of the Day honors..

Lowest Box-Toppers game scores

-18.8—Matt Mervis, Cubs (0.2IP 7H 6R 0BB 0K ND vs. BOS)
-16.9—Adrian Houser, Mets
-14.0—Joe Ross, Brewers
-13.9—Tyler Kinley, Rockies
-13.0—Chris Stratton, Royals
-13.0—Cal Quantrill, Rockies

Lowest Box-Toppers game scores by batters

-5.0—Francisco Lindor, Mets 0-5 4K
-5.0—Elly De La Cruz, Reds 0-5 3K
-5.0—Ronald Acuña Jr., Braves 0-5 2K
-5.0—Alex Bregman, Astros 0-5 K
-5.0—Zach Neto, Angels 0-5 K
-5.0—Isaac Paredes, Rays 0-5 K
-5.0—Austin Riley, Braves 0-5 K
Box-Toppers uses Baseball-Reference.com, MLB.com and other sources to compile this information.

Scoring

  • Kirby earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day.

  • Suarez earns 1.7 points for being NL Player of the Day.

  • Rafaela and Young each earn 1.5 points for being their league’s Batter of the Day.

  • All of Saturday’s other Player of the Game winners (listed in the chart) earn 1.0 Box-Toppers point.

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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Box‑Toppers Player of the Game winners

Here is the top player from each of the day’s games listed from highest to lowest Box‑Toppers game score (BTG).

4/27 BTG Game Player AB R H BI IP H R ER BB K
MLB +16.0 SEA 3, ARI 1 George Kirby (W, 3‑2) 7.0 2 0 0 1 12
+14.0 `CLE 4, ATL 2 (F/11) Tanner Bibee 7.0 2 0 0 0 9
NL +11.0 PHI 5, SD 1 Ranger Suárez (W, 5‑0) 8.0 3 1 1 0 8
+11.0 CIN 8, TEX 4 Hunter Greene (W, 1‑2) 7.0 1 0 0 1 6
BAT +10.0 BOS 17, CHC 0 Ceddanne Rafaela SS 4 3 4 7
+9.0 NYY 15, MIL 3 Carlos Rodón (W, 2‑1) 6.0 2 1 1 1 8
+8.0 BAL 7, OAK 0 Cole Irvin (W, 2‑1) 7.0 4 0 0 0 5
+8.0 LAD 4, TOR 2 Tyler Glasnow (W, 5‑1) 6.0 2 1 1 3 9
+6.0 CHW 8, TB 7 (F/10) Andrew Benintendi LF 5 2 3 6
+5.0 MIN 16, LAA 5 Carlos Santana 1B 4 3 2 4
+3.0 HOU 12, COL 4 Yordan Alvarez DH 5 2 3 3
BAT +3.0 WSH 11, MIA 4 Jacob Young CF 4 4 2 1
+3.0 DET 6, KC 5 Matt Vierling PH‑3B 2 1 1 3
+3.0 STL 7, NYM 4 Sonny Gray (W, 3‑1) 6.0 4 4 1 3 9
+3.0 `PIT 4, SF 3 (F/10) Martín Pérez 6.0 4 1 0 2 4
MLB—Overall Box‑Toppers Player of the Day, worth 2.0 total Box‑Toppers points.
AL—Overall American League Player of the Day, worth 1.7 total Box‑Toppers points.
NL—Overall National League Player of the Day, worth 1.7 total Box‑Toppers points.
BAT—Top AL or NL Batter of the Day, worth 1.5 total Box‑Toppers points.
All other players listed here earn Player of the Game honors, worth 1.0 Box‑Toppers point.
` Pitcher had a no‑decision in the game and did not pick up a win or a save.
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Box-Toppers point totals of the day’s Player of the Game winners

Here are Box-Toppers point totals of each of the Player of the Game winners. Players are ranked by their Box-Toppers point total in 2024 (’24). Also shown is their point total for this season and last (’23-24), the period 2019-2024 (’19-24) and each players’ career point total. Also shown is how their 2024 Box-Toppers point total compares with their 2023 total (+/-).
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Player of the Game Pos Team ’24 ’23‑24 ’19‑24 Career +/‑
Suarez, Ranger 4228 pi sp phi nl 6.7 10.4 25.4 25.4 +3.0
Glasnow, Tyler 3948 pi sp lad nl 5.0 17.4 47.8 53.8 -7.4
Bibee, Tanner 4792 pi sp cle al 4.0 12.7 12.7 12.7 -4.7
Kirby, George 4595 pi sp sea al 3.7 17.4 28.8 28.8 -10.0
Gray, Sonny 3259 pi sp stl nl 3.0 13.4 51.0 100.9 -7.4
Alvarez, Yordan 4209 dh lf hou al 2.5 9.0 28.2 28.2 -4.0
Rodon, Carlos 3494 pi sp nyy al 2.0 3.0 36.5 59.6 +1.0
Young, Jacob 4950 cf dc nl 1.5 2.5 2.5 2.5 +0.5
Rafaela, Ceddane 4988 ss bos al 1.5 1.5 1.5 1.5 +1.5
Vierling, Matt 4652 3b rf cf ph det al 1.0 7.5 10.5 10.5 -5.5
Greene, Hunter 4651 pi sp cin nl 1.0 6.7 12.7 12.7 -4.7
Perez, Martin 3213 pi sp mr pit nl 1.0 5.7 18.5 35.5 -3.7
Irvin, Cole 4140 pi sp bal al 1.0 4.0 19.4 19.4 -2.0
Santana, Carlos 2757 1b min al 1.0 3.7 15.2 42.4 -1.7
Benintendi, Andrew 3815 lf chi al 1.0 2.0 11.7 23.4 0.0
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A Box-Toppers look at Sunday’s pitching matchups

A Box-Toppers look at the upcoming day’s probable pitching matchups. Teams are paired below with visiting teams on top and home teams on the bottom. Each team’s starting pitcher is shown with their Box-Toppers point total from 2024 (’24), this year and last year (’23-24), over a six-year period (’19-24) and their career point total.
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Game Starter ’24 ’23-24 ’19‑24 Career
CLE Lively, Ben 3903 1.0 2.0 2.0 4.0
ATL Elder, Bryce 4709 1.0 9.0 13.7 13.7
OAK Blackburn, Paul 3869 3.0 7.7 11.7 14.7
BAL Suarez, Albert 3870 2.0 2.0 2.0 3.0
LAD Grove, Michael 4774 0.0 1.0 1.0 1.0
TOR Gausman, Kevin 3191 1.0 19.7 50.1 89.1
KC Wacha, Michael 3276 2.0 13.0 32.5 63.2
DET Skubal, Tarik 4414 3.7 14.4 33.8 33.8
STL Lynn, Lance 2992 1.0 5.7 51.9 119.5
NYM Quintana, Jose 3040 0.0 0.0 22.8 83.1
WSH Corbin, Patrick 3027 0.0 7.1 34.2 92.4
MIA Weathers, Ryan 4388 1.0 1.0 3.7 3.7
NYY Stroman, Marcus 3327 1.0 8.7 32.4 63.2
MIL Myers, Tobias* 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0
TB Littell, Zack 4533 1.0 3.0 7.0 7.0
CHW Fedde, Erick 4065 1.0 1.0 17.8 19.5
CIN Abbott, Andrew 4839 1.0 12.0 12.0 12.0
TEX Dunning, Dane 4317 0.0 4.0 13.4 13.4
HOU Valdez, Framber 4048 0.0 10.0 39.4 41.4
COL Gomber, Austin 3985 0.0 1.0 14.0 18.7
PIT Jones, Jared 4956 2.0 2.0 2.0 2.0
SF Winn, Keaton 4931 2.0 3.0 3.0 3.0
MIN Lopez, Pablo 4028 1.0 14.4 46.5 48.2
LAA Detmers, Reid 4513 3.7 10.4 18.4 18.4
ARI Pfaadt, Brandon 4812 1.0 4.7 4.7 4.7
SEA Gilbert, Logan 4439 5.0 18.4 39.5 39.5
PHI Walker, Taijuan 3453 0.0 7.7 30.8 57.2
SD King, Michael 4549 1.0 10.0 15.7 15.7
CHC Wicks, Jordan 4912 0.0 1.0 1.0 1.0
BOS Houck, Tanner 4342 4.0 6.0 17.7 17.7
Starters subject to change.
* Player has yet to earn any career Box-Toppers points.
What are those numbers after players' names?
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