Nationals pitcher Gio Gonzalez, Thursday’s Player of the Day, becomes the 57th player this season with 10.0 or more Box-Toppers points.
Gonzalez pitched seven scoreless innings, allowing one hit and striking out 12, in the 3-0 win over the Mets. He earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day, giving him 11.0 for the season. He ranks 44th among all players and 18th among National League pitchers.
In 2013, 54 players earned 10.0 or more Box-Toppers points.
Yankees pitcher Hiroki Kuroda is American League Player of the Day. Kuroda struck out nine over eight innings in the 6-5 win over the Orioles. After Kuroda left the game, the Orioles tied it at 5-5, so he was not eligible for the win, picking up the no decision.
Kuroda earned Player of the Game honors over teammate, the retiring Derek Jeter, who drove in the winning run on a dramatic, walk-off single in the bottom of the ninth in his final game at Yankee Stadium. However, Jeter had the second-highest Box-Toppers game score among Yankees Thursday of +1 (he went 2-for-5 with a run and three RBIs) while Kuroda’s score was +10.
Christian Vazquez of the Red Sox is AL Batter of the Day. Vazquez homered and doubled and went 4-for-4, scoring twice and driving in three runs, in the 11-1 win over the Rays.
Pablo Sandoval of the Giants is NL Batter of the Day. Sandoval went 3-for-3 and drove in four runs in the 9-8 win over the Padres.
Notable: Marlins pitcher Steve Cishek ranks 21st among NL pitchers in Box-Toppers points after earning Player of the Game honors Thursday. Cishek (1IP 0R 2K Sv in the 6-4 win over the Phillies) earns 1.0 Box-Toppers point, giving him 11.0 for the season. He ranks 47th among all players.
Gonzalez receives 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day. Kuroda receives 1.7 for AL Player of the Day. Vazquez and Morrison each receive 1.5 for being top Batter of the Day in their league.
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.
NOTE: The usual weekly Friday reports of Box-Toppers team and player rankings will wait this week until the season's final games are completed Sunday. Look for Box-Toppers final team rankings and player rankings reports for the season on Monday—or thereabouts.
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
| 925 | Score | Team | Player of the Game | AB | R | H | BI | BB | K | IP | H | R | ER | BB | K | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| MLB | 16.0 | Nationals | Gio Gonzalez (W, 10-10) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 7.0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 12 | |
| 12.0 | Pirates | Edinson Volquez (W, 13-7) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 7.0 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 10 | ||
| AL | 10.0 | `Yankees | Hiroki Kuroda | - | - | - | - | - | - | 8.0 | 3 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 9 | |
| BAT | 5.0 | Red Sox | Christian Vazquez C | 4 | 2 | 4 | 3 | 0 | 0 | - | - | - | - | - | - | |
| 4.0 | Mariners | Logan Morrison LF, 1B | 4 | 2 | 2 | 4 | 0 | 0 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| BAT | 4.0 | Giants | Pablo Sandoval 3B | 3 | 0 | 3 | 4 | 0 | 0 | - | - | - | - | - | - | |
| 3.0 | Mets | Curtis Granderson RF | 4 | 1 | 3 | 3 | 1 | 1 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 3.0 | Tigers | Joe Nathan (S, 34) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 1.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | ||
| 3.0 | Marlins | Steve Cishek (S, 39) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 1.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | ||
| 2.0 | Royals | Lorenzo Cain CF, RF | 5 | 2 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 0 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 2.0 | Reds | Aroldis Chapman (S, 35) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 1.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | ||
| 1.0 | `Rangers | Colby Lewis | - | - | - | - | - | - | 7.0 | 6 | 1 | 1 | 5 | 7 |
` Denotes that the pitcher had a no-decision in the game and did not pick up a win or a save.