Jayson Werth of the Nationals is top player in Monday’s three league division series playoff games.
Other Players of the Game Monday:
- Giants middle reliever Derek Law.
- Coco Crisp of the Indians.
National League Division Series Game 3: Nationals 8, Dodgers 3
Werth homered, doubled and went 3-for-4, scoring twice and driving in two runs to earn Player of the Game.
Werth had 6.0 Box-Toppers points during the regular season, ranked 165th among all players and 23rd among NL batters.
Werth had a Box-Toppers game score of +3.0 Monday to lead all Nationals players.
The Nationals now lead the Dodgers in the best-of-five game series, 2-1, which resumes Tuesday in Los Angeles.
National League Division Series Game 3: Giants 6, Cubs 5 (13 innings)
Giants middle reliever Derek Law pitched two scoreless innings—the sixth and seventh—and allowed no hits, one walk and struck out two.
So how did Law earn Box-Toppers Player of the Game? Under Box-Toppers rules, pitchers can qualify to earn Player of the Game honors if they pitch a minimum of three innings or earn the win or save. Law did not meet any of those requirements. However, pitchers can also earn Player of the Game honors if their Box-Toppers game score is higher than the pitcher who otherwise would have earned Player of the Game—if they have the same or more innings pitched. Closer Ty Blach (2IP 2H 0R 0BB K W) was in line to earn Player of the Game based on the fact that he earned the decision and had the highest Box-Toppers game score of qualifying pitchers (+1.0). But since Law pitched the same number of innings and had a higher Box-Toppers game score (+3.0), he wins Player of the Game.
Giants starting pitcher Madison Bumgarner would have qualified to earn Player of the Game honors (because he had more than three innings pitched) but he had a Box-Toppers game score Monday of −5.0 (5IP 7H 3R BB 4K ND). Giants top batter was catcher Buster Posey (3-5 R BI) who had a Box-Toppers game score of 0.0.
Law has 2.0 Box-Toppers points on the season.
Cubs starting pitcher Jake Arrieta (15.7 Box-Toppers points, ranked ninth among all players) had a Box-Toppers game score Monday of 0.0 in the loss (6IP 6H 2R BB 5K ND).
The Giants now trail the Cubs in the best-of-five game series, 2-1, which resumes Tuesday in San Francisco.
American League Division Series Game 3: Indians 4, Red Sox 3
Coco Crisp of the Indians hit a sixth-inning two-run homer to earn Player of the Game honors as the Indians swept the Red Sox to advance to the AL Championship Series.
Crisp went 1-for-2 and had a Box-Toppers game score of +2.0.
During the regular season, Crisp had 3.0 Box-Toppers points.
The Indians sweep the Red Sox in the NL Division Series in three games and now face the Blue Jays in the AL Championship Series beginning Friday in Cleveland.
The Red Sox ranked first among all AL teams in Box-Toppers rankings with 128.3 Box-Toppers points (ranking second overall behind the Cubs). The Indians ranked fourth with 123.7, second among AL teams.
About Box-Toppers—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. In regular season games, players earn 1.0 Box-Toppers point 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.
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Top player from each game
Listed from highest to lowest Box-Toppers game score
| BTG | Game | Player of Game | AB | R | H | BI | IP | H | R | ER | BB | K | |
| 3.0 | WSH 8, LAD 3 | Jayson Werth, LF | 4 | 2 | 3 | 2 | - | - | - | - | - | - | |
| 3.0 | `SF 6, CHC 5 (13) | Derek Law | - | - | - | - | 2.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 2 | |
| 2.0 | CLE 4, BOS 3 | Coco Crisp, LF | 2 | 1 | 1 | 2 | - | - | - | - | - | - | |
| `Denotes that the pitcher had a no-decision in the game and did not pick up a win or a save. | |||||||||||||
| BTG: Box-Toppers game score | |||||||||||||
Coming Tuesday, the NL Division Series playoff games resume:
NL Division Series Game 4: Nationals lead Dodgers, 2-1
The pitching matchup Tuesday:
Nationals—Joe Ross, 5.7 Box-Toppers points, 173rd among all players, 50th among NL pitchers.
Dodgers—Clayton Kershaw, 24.4 Box-Toppers points, second among all players, second among NL pitchers.
NL Division Series Game 4: Cubs lead Giants, 2-1
The pitching matchup Tuesday:
Cubs—John Lackey, 13.4 Box-Toppers points, ranked 16th, ninth among NL pitchers.
Giants—Matt Moore, 12.4 Box-Toppers points, ranked 31st, 16th among NL pitchers.