White Sox pitcher Chris Sale is Friday’s Player of the Day, while Dodgers pitcher Clayton Kershaw increases his lead in Box-Toppers player rankings.
Sale pitched a complete game, allowing one run and striking out 12, in the 7-1 win over the Mariners. He earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day, giving him 10.0 for the season, putting him in 11th place in Box-Toppers player rankings. He is the 11th player this season to earn 10.0 or more Box-Toppers points.
Kershaw, already leading in Box-Toppers player rankings, earns 1.7 points for being National League Player of the Day. Kershaw pitched eight scoreless innings, allowing two hits and striking out eight, in the 9-0 win over the Rockies. Kershaw now has 16.1 Box-Toppers points for the season (see the updated top 10 player list on the home page).
Sale and Kershaw had identical Box-Toppers game scores of 13.0, but Sale was given the nod as Player of the Day because he had more innings pitched—nine vs. eight.
Albert Pujols of the Angels is American League Batter of the Day. Pujols homered, went 3-for-4, scored three times and drove in two runs in the 7-6 win over the Astros.
Lucas Duda of the Mets is NL Batter of the Day. Duda hit a two-run homer and scored twice in the 6-5 win over the Rangers.
Sale receives 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day. Kershaw receives 1.7 for NL Player of the Day. Pujols and Duda each receive 1.5 for being top Batter of the Day in their league.
All of Friday’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 Friday, 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
| 704 | Score | Team | Player | AB | R | H | BI | BB | K | IP | H | R | ER | BB | K | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| MLB | 13.0 | White Sox | Chris Sale (W, 8-1) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 9.0 | 6 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 12 | |
| NL | 13.0 | Dodgers | Clayton Kershaw (W, 10-2) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 8.0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 8 | |
| 8.0 | Pirates | Gerrit Cole (W, 7-4) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 5.0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 5 | ||
| 7.0 | Padres | Eric Stults (W, 3-11) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 7.0 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 6 | ||
| 7.0 | `Athletics | Tommy Milone | - | - | - | - | - | - | 6.0 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 6 | ||
| 6.0 | Yankees | David Huff (W, 2-0) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 3.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | ||
| 4.2 | Cardinals | Lance Lynn (W, 9-6) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 6.2 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 6 | ||
| BAT | 4.0 | Angels | Albert Pujols DH | 4 | 3 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 0 | - | - | - | - | - | - | |
| 3.0 | Royals | Christian Colon 2B | 4 | 3 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 1 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 3.0 | Rays | Evan Longoria 3B | 2 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 0 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| BAT | 3.0 | Mets | Lucas Duda 1B | 2 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 1 | - | - | - | - | - | - | |
| 2.1 | Braves | Ervin Santana (W, 7-5) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 7.1 | 6 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 6 | ||
| 2.0 | Cubs | Justin Ruggiano CF | 5 | 2 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 1 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 2.0 | Reds | Aroldis Chapman (S, 17) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 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.