Brewers pitcher Matt Garza is Saturday’s Player of the Day. Garza pitched a complete game, two-hit shutout, striking out nine, in the 1-0 win over the Reds.
Athletics pitcher Scott Kazmir is American League Player of the Day. Kazmir struck out eight over seven innings, allowing one run, in the 5-1 win over the Blue Jays. Kazmir rises to ninth place in Box-Toppers player rankings after earning 1.7 Box-Toppers points for being AL Player of the Day. (See the updated top 10 player list on the home page.) He has 11.4 points for the season and moves up to ninth place among all players. He is in fourth place among AL pitchers. He becomes the 12th player this season with 10.0 or more Box-Toppers points.
Kazmir had a Box-Toppers game score of 8.0, the same as two other AL players (Felix Hernandez of the Mariners and Jon Lester of the Red Sox), but Kazmir won AL Player of the Day on a tie-breaker—he earned the win in his game, while the other two pitchers had no-decisions.
Nelson Cruz of the Orioles is AL Batter of the Day. Cruz homered and went 5-for-5 with two RBIs in the 7-4 win over the Red Sox.
Justin Upton of the Braves is National League Batter of the Day. Upton homered and tripled, going 2-for-3 with three RBIs, in the 10-4 win over the Diamondbacks.
Notable: Mariners pitcher Felix Hernandez rises 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.) Hernandez (8IP 2R 8K ND in the 3-2 win over the White Sox) earns 1.0 Box-Toppers point, giving him 11.8 for the season. He ranks third among AL pitchers in Box-Toppers points.
Garza receives 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day. Kazmir receives 1.7 for AL Player of the Day. Cruz and Upton 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
| 705 | Score | Team | Player | AB | R | H | BI | BB | K | IP | H | R | ER | BB | K | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| MLB | 14.0 | Brewers | Matt Garza (W, 6-5) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 9.0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 9 | |
| 10.0 | Nationals | Gio Gonzalez (W, 6-4) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 8.0 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 7 | ||
| AL | 8.0 | Athletics | Scott Kazmir (W, 10-3) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 7.0 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 8 | |
| 8.0 | `Mariners | Felix Hernandez | - | - | - | - | - | - | 8.0 | 3 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 8 | ||
| 8.0 | `Red Sox | Jon Lester | - | - | - | - | - | - | 8.0 | 5 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 7 | ||
| 5.0 | `Giants | Tim Hudson | - | - | - | - | - | - | 6.0 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 4 | ||
| 4.0 | Angels | Michael Roth (W, 1-0) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 2.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | ||
| BAT | 3.0 | Orioles | Nelson Cruz LF | 5 | 1 | 5 | 2 | 0 | 0 | - | - | - | - | - | - | |
| 3.0 | Rays | Kevin Kiermaier RF | 4 | 1 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| BAT | 3.0 | Braves | Justin Upton LF | 3 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 1 | 0 | - | - | - | - | - | - | |
| 2.0 | Marlins | Christian Yelich LF | 5 | 2 | 2 | 3 | 0 | 2 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 2.0 | Rangers | Robinson Chirinos C | 4 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 0 | 1 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 2.0 | Rockies | Drew Stubbs CF | 4 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 2.0 | Pirates | Edinson Volquez (W, 7-6) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 7.0 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 4 | 5 | ||
| 2.0 | `Twins | Yohan Pino | - | - | - | - | - | - | 6.0 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 3 | ||
| 1.0 | Indians | Jason Kipnis 2B | 4 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | - | - | - | - | - | - |
` Denotes that the pitcher had a no-decision in the game and did not pick up a win or a save.