Reds pitcher Mike Leake is Thursday’s Player of the Day. Leake struck out 12 over eight innings, allowing one run, in the 3-1 win over the Giants.
Blue Jays pitcher J.A. Happ is American League Player of the Day. Happ pitched 7 2/3 scoreless innings, striking out eight, in the 7-0 win over the White Sox.
Gregory Polanco of the Pirates is National League Batter of the Day. Polanco homered, went 2-for-3 and drove in four runs in the 5-0 win over the Mets. This was Polanco’s Box-Toppers debut, the first time he has earned Player of the Game honors—he is the 3,361st player to debut in Box-Toppers since record keeping began in 1995. Polanco made his Major League debut June 10 and was playing in his 15th game.
Albert Pujols of the Angels is AL Batter of the Day. Pujols went 3-for-4 with two runs and two RBIs in the 6-4 win over the Twins.
Pujols earns 1.5 Box-Toppers points, giving him 3.0 for the season. He is in 10th place on Box-Toppers “all-time” leaderboard (Box-Toppers began record keeping in 1995) with 162.8 points, just ahead of John Smoltz (160.9) and just behind Roger Clemens (164.8). So far in 2014, only 4.0 Box-Toppers points have been earned by players in the all-time top 10 list—3.0 by Pujols and 1.0 by Yankees pitcher C.C. Sabathia (in fifth place with 173.3 Box-Toppers points). They are the only two players on the top 10 list who have seen playing time this season.
Leake receives 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day. Happ receives 1.7 for AL Player of the Day. Polanco and Pujols 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 watches the daily performances of selected star players and Box-Toppers points leaders. To see how they performed Thursday, click here.
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
| 626 | Score | Team | Player | AB | R | H | BI | BB | K | IP | H | R | ER | BB | K | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| MLB | 13.0 | Reds | Mike Leake (W, 6-6) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 8.0 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 12 | |
| AL | 9.2 | Blue Jays | J.A. Happ (W, 7-4) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 7.2 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 8 | |
| 9.0 | Tigers | Rick Porcello (W, 10-4) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 9.0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 6 | ||
| 5.0 | `Dodgers | Josh Beckett | - | - | - | - | - | - | 7.0 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 4 | ||
| BAT | 4.0 | Pirates | Gregory Polanco RF | 3 | 1 | 2 | 4 | 1 | 0 | - | - | - | - | - | - | |
| BAT | 3.0 | Angels | Albert Pujols DH | 4 | 2 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 0 | - | - | - | - | - | - | |
| 3.0 | Astros | Matt Dominguez 3B | 3 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 2 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 3.0 | Brewers | Scooter Gennett PH, 2B | 1 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 2.0 | `Phillies | Cole Hamels | - | - | - | - | - | - | 7.0 | 6 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 7 | ||
| 2.0 | Cubs | Hector Rondon (S, 9) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 1.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
` Denotes that the pitcher had a no-decision in the game and did not pick up a win or a save.