Nationals pitcher Jordan Zimmermann, pitching a no-hitter in the final game of the season, is Sunday’s Player of the Day.
Meanwhile, three other pitchers in Box-Toppers top 10 player rankings earned Player of the Game honors in their final start—Reds pitcher Johnny Cueto rose to fourth place, Mariners pitcher Felix Hernandez maintained his sixth place spot and Tigers pitcher David Price rose to seventh place.
Also Sunday, Buster Posey of the Giants rose to second place among National League batters in Box-Toppers points after earning Player of the Game honors. Plus, Lucas Duda of the Mets rose to third place among NL batters.
Zimmermann struck out 10 and allowed only one baserunner on a walk, as he no-hit the Marlins, 1-0. Zimmermann earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day, giving him 15.0 for the season. He rises to 16th in Box-Toppers player rankings and ranks seventh among NL pitchers.
Cueto rose from fifth to fourth place in Box-Toppers player rankings after earning Player of the Game honors Sunday. (See the updated top 10 player list on the home page.) Cueto (8IP R 7K W in the 4-1 win over the Pirates) earns 1.0 Box-Toppers point, giving him 22.4 for the season. He ranks third among NL pitchers.
Hernandez became the sixth player this season with 20 or more Box-Toppers points after earning Player of the Game honors Sunday. (See the updated top 10 player list on the home page.) Hernandez (5.1IP 0R 7K W in the 4-1 win over the Angels) earns 1.0 Box-Toppers point, giving him 20.8 for the season. He ranks third among AL pitchers.
Price rose from eighth to seventh in Box-Toppers player rankings afte earning Player of the Game honors Sunday. (See the updated top 10 player list on the home page.) Price (7.1IP 0R 8K in the 3-0 win over the Twins) earns 1.0 Box-Toppers point, giving him 19.1 for the season. He ranks fourth among American League pitchers.
Posey rises to second place among NL batters after earning Player of the Game honors Sunday. Posey (HR 1-2 R 2BI in the 9-3 win over the Padres) earns 1.0 Box-Toppers point, giving him 8.5 for the season. He trails NL batting leader Troy Tulowitzki of the Rockies (11.6 Box-Toppers points). He ranks 76th among all players.
Duda rises to third place among NL batters after earning Player of the Game honors Sunday. Duda (HR 2-4, R 4BI in the 8-3 win over the Astros) earns 1.0 Box-Toppers point, giving him 8.5 for the season. (Though both Duda and Posey have 8.5 points on the season, Posey has the edge in the tie-breaker, having more points over the past two seasons—15.5 vs. 8.5.) Duda ranks 79th among all players.
Also Sunday:
Yankees pitcher Michael Pineda is AL Player of the Day. Pineda struck out 10 over 6 1/3 innings, allowing one run, in the 9-5 win over the Red Sox.
Roger Bernadina of the Dodgers is NL Batter of the Day. Bernadina homered and went 2-for-2, scoring once and driving in four runs, in the 10-5 win over the Rockies.
Christian Colon of the Royals is AL Batter of the Day. Colon doubled and went 2-for-2, scoring once and driving in two runs, in the 6-4 win over the White Sox.
Notables: Athletics pitcher Sonny Gray becomes the 58th player this season with 10 or more Box-Toppers points after earning Player of the Game honors Sunday. Gray (CG 0R 5K W in the 4-0 win over the Rangers) earns 1.0 Box-Toppers point, giving him 10.0 for the season. He ranks 57th among all players and 26th among AL pitchers. In 2013, there were 54 players who had 10 or more Box-Toppers points.
Two players made their Box-Toppers debut on the final day of the season. Players make their debut the first time they earn Player of the Game honors:
• Braves pitcher James Russell (4IP 0R ND in the 2-1 win over the Phillies) is the 3,435th player to debut since Box-Toppers record keeping began in 1995.
• Jose Ramirez of the Indians (2B 3-4 R BI in the 7-2 win over the Rays) is the 3,436th player to debut since Box-Toppers record keeping began in 1995.
There were 135 players who debuted in Box-Toppers during the 2014 season. In 2013, 168 players debuted in Box-Toppers.
Zimmermann receives 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day. Pineda receives 1.7 for AL Player of the Day. Rizzo and Colon each receive 1.5 for being top Batter of the Day in their league.
All of Sunday’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
| 928 | Score | Team | Player of the Game | AB | R | H | BI | BB | K | IP | H | R | ER | BB | K | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| MLB | 18.0 | Nationals | Jordan Zimmermann (W, 14-5) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 9.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 10 | |
| AL | 11.1 | Yankees | Michael Pineda (W, 5-5) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 6.1 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 10 | |
| 11.1 | Mariners | Felix Hernandez (W, 15-6) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 5.1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 7 | ||
| 9.1 | Tigers | David Price (W, 15-12) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 7.1 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 8 | ||
| 8.0 | Athletics | Sonny Gray (W, 14-10) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 9.0 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5 | ||
| 7.0 | Reds | Johnny Cueto (W, 20-9) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 8.0 | 6 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 7 | ||
| BAT | 5.0 | Dodgers | Roger Bernadina RF | 2 | 1 | 2 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| 5.0 | `Braves | James Russell | - | - | - | - | - | - | 4.0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 4 | ||
| 4.0 | `Cardinals | Marco Gonzales (H, 1) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 3.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 2 | ||
| 3.0 | Cubs | Anthony Rizzo 1B | 4 | 2 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 1 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 3.0 | Mets | Lucas Duda 1B | 4 | 1 | 2 | 4 | 0 | 1 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| BAT | 3.0 | Royals | Christian Colon 3B | 2 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | - | - | - | - | - | - | |
| 2.0 | Giants | Buster Posey C | 2 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 1 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 2.0 | Orioles | Miguel Gonzalez (W, 10-9) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 5.0 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | ||
| 1.0 | Indians | Jose Ramirez SS | 4 | 1 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | - | - | - | - | - | - |
` Denotes that the pitcher had a no-decision in the game and did not pick up a win or a save.