Reds' Simon top players for Wednesday, July 9, Tigers' Scherzer bolsters Box-Toppers AL pitching lead

Reds pitcher Alfredo Simon is Wednesday’s Player of the Day, while Tigers pitcher Max Scherzer bolstered his Box-Toppers points lead among American League pitchers.

Simon struck out eight over 6 2/3 innings, allowing one run, in the 4-1 win over the Cubs.

Scherzer, American League Player of the Day, added to his lead among AL pitchers in Box-Toppers points and maintained his second-place spot in overall player rankings. (See the updated top 10 player list on the home page.) Scherzer struck out seven over seven innings, allowing one run, in the 4-1 win over the Dodgers. He earns 1.7 Box-Toppers points for being AL Player of the Day, giving him 16.1 for the season. He widens his lead over second-place AL pitcher Masahiro Tanaka of the Yankees (12.7 Box-Toppers points). He ties Dodgers pitcher Clayton Kershaw with 16.1 Box-Toppers points, but Kershaw maintains the overall player rankings lead on a tie-breaker—he has more points since the start of the 2013 season—37.8 vs. 34.2.

Scherzer is only 2.0 Box-Toppers points away from his 2013 total of 18.1, his best season, a year in which he led all AL players.

Robbie Grossman of the Astros is AL Batter of the Day. Grossman went 4-for-5, scored twice and drove in two runs, in the 8-4 win over the Rangers.

Jayson Werth of the Nationals is National League Batter of the Day. Werth homered and went 2-for-3, scoring twice and driving in two runs, in the 6-2 win over the Orioles.

Notables: Troy Tulowitzki of the Rockies rose to eighth place in Box-Toppers player rankings after earning Player of the Game honors Wednesday. (See the updated top 10 player list on the home page.) Tulowitzki homered twice in the 6-3 win over the Padres, earning 1.0 Box-Toppers point, giving him 11.6 for the season. He rejoins the overall top 10 after being bumped July 6 and is again the only batter on the list.

Tulowitzki also surpassed his highest Box-Toppers points total for a season with 11.6. His previous high was 11.5 during the 2011 season.

Chris Colabello of the Twins, who early in the season led all players in Box-Toppers points before slumping and being sent to the minors, earned Player of the Game honors Wednesday for the first time since his return to the Majors. Colabello (2-4 R 2BI in the 8-1 win over the Mariners) earns 1.0 Box-Toppers point, giving him 6.2 for the season. He ranks sixth among all AL batters. He last earned Player of the Game honors April 17.

Simon receives 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day. Scherzer receives 1.7 for AL Player of the Day. Grossman and Werth each receive 1.5 for being top Batter of the Day in their league.

All of Wednesday’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 Wednesday, 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

709 Score Team Player AB R H BI BB K IP H R ER BB K
MLB 6.2 Reds Alfredo Simon (W, 12-3) - - - - - - 6.2 4 1 1 2 8
AL 6.0 Tigers Max Scherzer (W, 11-3) - - - - - - 7.0 4 1 1 2 7
4.0 Phillies Roberto Hernandez (W, 4-8) - - - - - - 8.0 3 1 1 2 3
4.0 Yankees Chase Whitley (W, 4-2) - - - - - - 2.0 1 0 0 0 3
4.0 Red Sox Koji Uehara (W, 5-2) - - - - - - 1.0 0 0 0 0 3
BAT 3.0 Astros Robbie Grossman RF 5 2 4 2 0 1 - - - - - -
BAT 3.0 Nationals Jayson Werth RF 3 2 2 2 1 0 - - - - - -
3.0 `Ddbacks Josh Collmenter - - - - - - 7.0 7 1 1 1 6
3.0 Angels Joe Smith (S, 12) - - - - - - 1.0 0 0 0 0 2
3.0 Royals Greg Holland (S, 24) - - - - - - 1.0 0 0 0 0 2
3.0 `Giants Sergio Romo (H, 1) - - - - - - 1.0 0 0 0 0 2
2.0 Rockies Troy Tulowitzki SS 4 2 2 2 0 2 - - - - - -
2.0 Cardinals Matt Holliday LF 3 2 2 1 2 0 - - - - - -
2.0 Mets Dillon Gee (W, 4-1) - - - - - - 7.0 6 1 1 1 4
1.0 Twins Chris Colabello 1B 4 1 2 2 0 1 - - - - - -

` Denotes that the pitcher had a no-decision in the game and did not pick up a win or a save.