Hunter Pence had three hits, three RBIs and two runs, earning Box-Toppers Player of the Day honors Saturday, as the Giants evened the World Series with the Royals at two games apiece.
Pence went 3-for-5 in Game 4 in which the Giants defeated the Royals 11-4. Pence had a Box-Toppers game score of +3, highest of any Giants player.
During the regular season, Pence had 2.5 Box-Toppers points, ranked 367th among all players, 82nd among National League batters and 35th among NL outfielders. This is the first time this postseason Pence has earned Player of the Game honors.
Coming Sunday:
World Series Game 5: Royals at Giants, series tied 2-2
The pitching matchup Sunday:
Royals: James Shields, 13.7 Box-Toppers points, ranked 22nd among all players, 11th among AL pitchers.
Giants: Madison Bumgarner, 22.6 Box-Toppers points, ranked third among all players, second among NL pitchers.
This is a rematch of Game 1 starting pitchers, won by the Giants, 7-1. Bumgarner was Player of the Game. Bumgarner has been Player of the Game three times this postseason, more than any other player. The other two times: NL Wild Card Game and NL Championship Series Game 1.
Shields has not earned Player of the Game honors this postseason.
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.
Previous Box-Toppers 2014 World Series previews:
Royals sweep Giants in series—in regular season, interleague series back in August, that is
Top 7 players in World Series Game 4
Here are the top seven Giants players in Saturday’s World Series Game 4, ranked from highest to lowest Box-Toppers game score (how game score is calculated). Hunter Pence, who had a Box-Toppers game score of +3.0, is Player of the Game (POG). Yusmeiro Petit, who pitched the fourth through sixth innings and earned the win, also had a Box-Toppers game score of +3.0. But under Box-Toppers rules, batters beat pitchers in cases of game score ties.
| 1025 | Score | Team | Player | AB | R | H | BI | BB | K | IP | H | R | ER | BB | K | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| POG | 3.0 | Giants | Hunter Pence RF | 5 | 2 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | - | - | - | - | - | - | |
| 3.0 | Giants | Yusmeiro Petit (W, 1-0) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 3.0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | ||
| 2.0 | Giants | Joe Panik 2B | 4 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 1.0 | Giants | Matt Duffy PH | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 1.0 | Giants | Michael Morse PH | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 1.0 | Giants | Sergio Romo | - | - | - | - | - | - | 1.0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | ||
| 1.0 | Giants | Hunter Strickland | - | - | - | - | - | - | 1.0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |