Dodgers pitcher Clayton Kershaw, Saturday’s Player of the Day, extends his lead in Box-Toppers player rankings, becoming the first this season to 20.0 Box-Toppers points, the fourth straight season he has reached that milestone.
Kershaw pitched a complete game shutout, allowing two hits and one walk and striking out seven, in the 5-0 win over the Giants. He earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day, giving him 20.1 for the season and remains No. 1 in Box-Toppers player rankings. (See the updated top 10 player list on the home page.)
Last year, Kershaw led all players with 21.7 Box-Toppers points—he is only 1.6 points behind that with more than two months to go in the season. Here are his Box-Toppers point totals for the past four seasons:
• 2011: 26.1.
• 2012: 20.8
• 2013: 21.7
• 2014: 20.1 (so far)
Simply projecting his point total out to rest of the season based on what he’s done already, Kershaw would have at least 30.0 Box-Toppers points by the end of the season. But Kershaw was out with injury for about a month early in the season and so has achieved his impressive point total in an already shortened season.
White Sox pitcher Chris Sale, American League Player of the Day, rises to ninth place in Box-Toppers player rankings. (See the updated top 10 player list on the home page.) Sale pitched eight shutout innings and struck out 12 in the 7-0 win over the Twins. Sale earns 1.7 Box-Toppers points for being AL Player of the Day, giving him 12.7 for the season. He ranks fifth among AL pitchers.
Kershaw and Sale had identical Box-Toppers game scores of 13.0, but Kershaw won overall Player of the Day on a tie-breaker—he had more innings pitched than Sale, nine vs. eight.
Martin Prado of the Diamondbacks is National League Batter of the Day. Prado homered, went 3-for-4 and drove in five runs, in the 10-6 win over the Phillies.
Dan Johnson of the Blue Jays is AL Batter of the Day. Johnson homered and went 2-for-5, driving in four runs, in the 6-4 win over the Yankees. This was the first time Johnson has earned Player of the Game honors and earned Box-Toppers points in nearly four years. He last earned Box-Toppers Player of the Game honors Sept. 15, 2010.
Notables: Reds pitcher Johnny Cueto rose to seventh place in Box-Toppers player rankings after earning Player of the Game honors Saturday. (See the updated top 10 player list on the home page.) Cueto (7IP 0R 9K W in the 1-0 win over the Nationals) earns 1.0 Box-Toppers point, giving him 13.7 for the season. He ranks fourth among NL pitchers.
Braves closing pitcher Craig Kimbrel becomes the 20th player this season with 10.0 or more Box-Toppers points after earning Player of the Game honors Saturday. Kimbrel (1IP 0R 3K Sv in the 5-3 win over the Padres) earns 1.0 Box-Toppers point, giving him 10.0 for the season. He is in 19th place among all players and ranks eighth among NL pitchers.
Kershaw receives 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day. Sale receives 1.7 for AL Player of the Day. Prado and Johnson each receive 1.5 for being top Batter of the Day in their league.
All of Saturday’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 Saturday, 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
| 726 | Score | Team | Player | AB | R | H | BI | BB | K | IP | H | R | ER | BB | K | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| MLB | 13.0 | Dodgers | Clayton Kershaw (W, 12-2) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 9.0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 7 | |
| AL | 13.0 | White Sox | Chris Sale (W, 10-1) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 8.0 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 12 | |
| 10.0 | Mariners | Chris Young (W, 9-6) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 7.0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 8 | ||
| 9.0 | Reds | Johnny Cueto (W, 11-6) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 7.0 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 9 | ||
| 9.0 | Angels | Matt Shoemaker (W, 8-3) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 7.0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5 | ||
| BAT | 5.0 | Dbacks | Martin Prado 3B | 4 | 1 | 3 | 5 | 1 | 1 | - | - | - | - | - | - | |
| 5.0 | Rockies | Tyler Matzek (W, 2-4) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 7.0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 3 | ||
| 4.0 | Braves | Craig Kimbrel (S, 31) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 1.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | ||
| 3.0 | `Brewers | Zach Duke (H, 11) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 1.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 3 | ||
| 3.0 | Rays | Jake McGee (S, 11) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 1.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | ||
| 3.0 | Royals | Greg Holland (S, 27) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 1.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | ||
| BAT | 2.0 | Blue Jays | Dan Johnson DH | 5 | 1 | 2 | 4 | 0 | 0 | - | - | - | - | - | - | |
| 2.0 | Cardinals | Matt Adams 1B | 5 | 1 | 2 | 4 | 0 | 1 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 1.0 | Marlins | Christian Yelich LF | 4 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 0.0 | Athletics | John Jaso C | 4 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 1 | - | - | - | - | - | - |
` Denotes that the pitcher had a no-decision in the game and did not pick up a win or a save.