Cardinals pitcher Adam Wainwright is Thursday’s Player of the Day, while Chris Colabello of the Twins takes the lead in Box-Toppers season player standings.
Wainwright pitched a complete-game, two-hit shutout, striking out eight, in the 8-0 win over the Nationals. He earned 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day, giving him 4.0 for the season, rising to third place in Box-Toppers player rankings. (See updated Top 10 Box-Toppers player rankings for 2014 on the home page.)
Colabello rose from second to first place among players in Box-Toppers points for the season after earning Player of the Game honors in the Twins 9-5 win over the Blue Jays. Colabello (3-4 3RBI) earned 1.0 Box-Toppers point for being Player of the Game, giving him 5.2 this season. (See updated Top 10 Box-Toppers player rankings for 2014 on the home page.)
Royals pitcher James Shields is American League Player of the Day. Shields allowed one run over eight innings and struck out 12 in the 5-1 win over the Astros. Shields and Wainwright were tied with Box-Toppers game scores of 12.0, but Wainwright was given the nod as Player of the Day because he had more innings pitched (nine vs. eight).
Mitch Moreland of the Rangers is AL Batter of the Day. Moreland went 2-for-3 and drove in three runs in the 8-6 win over the Mariners.
Pedro Alvarez of the Pirates is National League Batter of the Day. Alvarez hit a three-run homer and went 2-for-3 in the 11-2 win over the Brewers.
Notable: Hyun-Jin Ryu rose to fourth place among players in Box-Toppers points for the season after earning Player of the Game honors. Ryu (7IP 0R W in the 2-1 win over the Giants) earned 1.0 Box-Toppers point, giving him 4.0 for the season. (See updated Top 10 Box-Toppers player rankings for 2014 on the home page.)
Wainwright receives 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day. Shields receives 1.7 for AL Player of the Day. Moreland and Alvarez 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.
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. Players earn Box-Toppers points 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
` Denotes that the pitcher had a no-decision in the game and did not pick up a win or a save.