Athletics pitcher A.J. Griffin is Thursday's Player of the Day, while Dodgers pitcher Zack Greinke scored a Box-Toppers point to remain in third place in player rankings.
Griffin gave up one run and two hits over seven innings, striking out eight, in the 8-2 win over the Twins.
Greinke maintained his spot in third place on Box-Toppers' player rankings list (see the updated top 10 list on the home page) after earning Player of the Game honors Thursday. Greinke (6IP 1R 5K ND in 3-2, 10-inning win vs. Giants) earns 1.0 Box-Toppers point, giving him 18.4 for the season. He trails overall leader, Marlins pitcher Jose Fernandez (19.0) and teammate, Dodgers pitcher Clayton Kershaw (18.7), in a tight, late-season race atop the player rankings list.
Pirates pitcher Jeff Locke is National League Player of the Day. Locke gave up one run over seven innings in the 3-1 win over the Cubs.
Ryan Raburn of the Indians is American League Batter of the Day. Raburn hit a three-run homer, drove in five runs and went 3-for-3 in the 14-3 win over the White Sox.
Carlos Ruiz of the Phillies is NL Batter of the Day. Ruiz drove in three runs and went 3-for-3 in the 10-5 win over the Padres.
Notable: Freddie Freeman of the Braves rises to 32nd place in Box-Toppers player rankings for the season after earning Player of the Game honors Thursday. Freeman (HR 2RBI 3-4 in 6-1 win vs. Marlins) earns 1.0 Box-Toppers point, giving him 11.5 for the season.
Griffin receives 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day. Locke receives 1.7 for NL Player of the Day. Raburn and Ruiz 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.
Top player from each game
Listed from highest to lowest Box-Toppers game score
| 912 | Score | Team | BATTERS | AB | R | H | RBI | BB | SO | - | - | PITCHERS | IP | H | R | ER | BB | SO |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| MLB | 10.0 | Athletics | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | A.J. Griffin (W, 14-9) | 7.0 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 8 | ||
| BAT | 7.0 | Indians | Ryan Raburn LF | 3 | 2 | 3 | 5 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||
| NL | 6.0 | Pirates | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Jeff Locke (W, 10-5) | 7.0 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 5 | ||
| 4.2 | `Rays | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Jamey Wright (BS, 1) | 1.2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | |||
| BAT | 4.0 | Phillies | Carlos Ruiz C | 3 | 1 | 3 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||
| 3.0 | Braves | Freddie Freeman 1B | 4 | 2 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |||
| 3.0 | Brewers | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Tyler Thornburg (W, 2-1) | 6.0 | 3 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 6 | |||
| 3.0 | `Dodgers | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Zack Greinke | 6.0 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 5 | |||
| 2.0 | Nationals | Ryan Zimmerman 3B | 4 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |||
| 1.0 | Angels | Kole Calhoun RF | 3 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |||
| 1.0 | Yankees | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Mariano Rivera (W, 6-2) | 1.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
` Denotes that the pitcher had a no-decision in the game and did not pick up a win or a save.