Angels pitcher Matt Shoemaker is Thursday’s Player of the Day, while Dodgers pitcher Clayton Kershaw and Giants pitcher Madison Bumgarner bolstered their spots in the top three in Box-Toppers player rankings.
Shoemaker pitched 7 2/3 scoreless innings, allowing one hit and striking out nine, in the 2-0 win over the Red Sox.
Kershaw, Thursday’s National League Player of the Day, extends his lead among all players in Box-Toppers player rankings. (See the updated top 10 player list on the home page.) Kershaw struck out 10 over eight innings, allowing one run, in the 2-1 win over the Padres. Kershaw earns 1.7 Box-Toppers points for being NL Player of the Day, giving him 23.8 for the season. He is now only 2.3 points behind his season high of 26.1 Box-Toppers points he scored in 2010.
Bumgarner maintained his third-place spot in Box-Toppers player rankings after earning Player of the Game honors Thursday. (See the updated top 10 player list on the home page.) Bumgarner (7IP 12K W in the 5-3 win over the Cubs) earns 1.0 Box-Toppers point, giving him 18.9 for the season. He ranks second among NL pitchers, behind Kershaw.
No batters earned Box-Toppers points Thursday because no batters earned Player of the Game honors—in all nine games, pitchers beat batters as top player of the game.
Notables: Twins pitcher Phil Hughes rose to 14th place in Box-Toppers player rankings after earning Player of the Game honors Thursday. Hughes (7IP R 8K W in the 4-1 win over the Indians) earns 1.0 Box-Toppers point, giving him 13.1 for the season. He ranks eighth among American League pitchers.
Braves pitcher Julio Teheran rose to 18th place in Box-Toppers player rankings after earning Player of the Game honors Thursday. Teheran (6IP 0R W in the 8-0 win over the Reds) earns 1.0 Box-Toppers point, giving him 12.4 for the season. He ranks seventh among NL pitchers.
Rays pitcher Alex Cobb becomes the 33rd player with 10.0 or more Box-Toppers points this season after earning Player of the Game honors Thursday. Cobb (7IP 0R 6K W in the 1-0 win over the Tigers) earns 1.0 Box-Toppers point, giving him 10.7 for the season. He ranks 29th among all players and 15th among AL pitchers.
Cubs pitcher Tsuyoshi Wada is Player of the Game in the completion Thursday of a rain-shortened game against the Giants started Tuesday. Wada (5IP 0R 3K W in the 2-1 win) actually did all his work Tuesday, though earns the Box-Toppers point for Thursday. Initially, the game was ruled a rain-shortened, 4 1/2-inning final and a Cubs win Tuesday. At the time, Anthony Rizzo was deemed Player of the Game. He went 2-for-2 with a run and two RBIs, giving him a Box-Toppers game score of 3.0. However, after the Giants protested and baseball ordered the game be resumed Thursday, the Cubs win was taken away, as was Rizzo’s Box-Toppers point for Player of the Game. After the game resumed, Rizzo went 0-for-2, reducing his Box-Toppers game score to 1.0. Wada’s Box-Toppers game score of 2.0 was enough to beat out Rizzo for Player of the Game.
Shoemaker receives 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day. Kershaw receives 1.7 for NL Player of the Day.
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, 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
| 821 | Score | Team | Player | AB | R | H | BI | BB | K | IP | H | R | ER | BB | K | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| MLB | 14.2 | Angels | Matt Shoemaker (W, 12-4) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 7.2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 9 | |
| 13.0 | Yankees | Brandon McCarthy (W, 5-2) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 9.0 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 8 | ||
| NL | 11.0 | Dodgers | Clayton Kershaw (W, 15-3) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 8.0 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 10 | |
| 9.0 | Rays | Alex Cobb (W, 9-6) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 7.0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 6 | ||
| 8.0 | Twins | Phil Hughes (W, 14-8) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 7.0 | 5 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 8 | ||
| 6.0 | `Nationals | Gio Gonzalez | - | - | - | - | - | - | 7.0 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 6 | ||
| 5.0 | Giants | Madison Bumgarner (W, 14-9) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 7.0 | 7 | 3 | 3 | 1 | 12 | ||
| 5.0 | Braves | Julio Teheran (W, 12-9) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 6.0 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | ||
| 2.0 | Cubs | Tsuyoshi Wada (W, 3-1) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 5.0 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 |
` Denotes that the pitcher had a no-decision in the game and did not pick up a win or a save.