George Springer of the Astros is Box-Toppers Player of the Game in World Series Game 2 Wednesday.
The Houston Astros win 7-6 in 11 innings to tie the best-of-seven game series with the Los Angeles Dodgers at 1-1.
Springer hit an 11th-inning, two-run, go-ahead homer and also doubled in the game, going 3-for-5.
Springer had a Box-Toppers game score of +1.0, which was tied for the highest game score among Astros qualified to earn Player of the Game honors Wednesday. Relief pitcher Will Harris had a higher game score (+3.0), but did not qualify to earn Player of the Game because he did not pitch at least three innings and did not earn a win or save. Harris also could have earned Player of the Game honors if he had a higher Box-Toppers game score than another pitcher who earned Player of the Game who had the same or fewer innings pitched than he did. He did not.
Three other Astros players had Box-Toppers game scores of +1.0, same as Springer. But Springer beat them on tiebreakers. He beat Cameron Maybin (1-1 R) because he had more at-bats. And he beat pitchers Justin Verlander (6IP 2H 3R 2BB 5K ND) and Joe Musgrove (1IP 0H 0R 0BB 0K ND) because in cases of game score ties, batters rank ahead of pitchers.
Springer had 5.0 Box-Toppers points in the regular season, ranked 192nd among all players, 48th among American League batters and 21st among AL outfielders. It is the second time this postseason Springer has earned Player of the Game honors. Springer was Box-Toppers top player on Oct. 9 in the AL Division Series Game 4 win over the Red Sox. He is the sixth player—and first batter—to earn Box-Toppers Player of the Game honors twice in the 2017 postseason, joining teammates Verlander and Dallas Keuchel, plus Kenley Jansen and Yu Darvish of the Dodgers and Masahiro Tanaka of the Yankees.
Verlander (14.7 Box-Toppers points in 2017, ranked 16th among all players, sixth among AL pitchers) had the opportunity to become the first player to earn Player of the Game honors three times in the postseason Wednesday, but fell just short, losing top player honors to Springer on the aforementioned tiebreaker.
Dodgers starting pitcher Rich Hill (12.7 Box-Toppers points, 21st among all players, 12th among NL pitchers) had a Box-Toppers game score of +3.0 Wednesday (4IP 3H R 3BB 7K ND) in the losing effort.
The series takes a day off Thursday and moves to Houston for Game 3 Friday.
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 Astros in World Series Game 2: Astros 7, Dodgers 6 (F/11)
Here are the Box-Toppers game scores of all Astros who played in World Series Game 2 listed from highest to lowest Box-Toppers game score:| 10/25 | BTG | Player | AB | R | H | BI | IP | H | R | ER | BB | K | |
| 3.0 | Will Harris | - | - | - | - | 1.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | ||
| POG | 1.0 | George Springer CF - RF | 5 | 1 | 3 | 2 | - | - | - | - | - | - | |
| 1.0 | Cameron Maybin CF | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 1.0 | Justin Verlander | - | - | - | - | 6.0 | 2 | 3 | 3 | 2 | 5 | ||
| 1.0 | Joe Musgrove | - | - | - | - | 1.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||
| 0.0 | Carlos Correa SS | 6 | 1 | 3 | 2 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 0.0 | Marwin González LF | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 0.0 | Evan Gattis PH | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 0.0 | Chris Devenski P | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 0.0 | Will Harris P | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 0.0 | Joe Musgrove P | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 0.0 | Brian Giles P | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| -0.9 | Chris Devenski W (1-0) | - | - | - | - | 1.1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | ||
| -1.0 | Justin Verlander P | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| -1.0 | Carlos Beltrán PH | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| -2.0 | Alex Bregman 3B | 6 | 1 | 2 | 1 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| -2.0 | Josh Reddick RF | 4 | 1 | 1 | 0 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| -2.8 | Brian Giles | - | - | - | - | 1.2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 3 | ||
| -3.0 | Jose Altuve 2B | 6 | 1 | 1 | 1 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| -3.0 | Yuli Gurriel 1B | 4 | 0 | 1 | 0 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| -5.0 | Brian McCann C | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | - | - | - | - | - | - |
POG—Player of the Game
Coming Friday in Houston:
World Series Game 3, Dodgers at Astros, series tied, 1-1
Friday’s starting pitchers:
Dodgers—Yu Darvish, 13.0 Box-Toppers points, 20th among all players, 11th among NL pitchers.
Astros—Lance McCullers, 9.4 Box-Toppers points, 49th among all players, 16th among AL pitchers.
Darvish is one of six players to earn Player of the Game honors twice so far this postseason. McCullers has earned Player of the Game honors once in three 2017 postseason appearances and did it in an unusual four-inning closer role.
Darvish’s 2017 postseason appearances:
NLDS Game 3 on Oct. 9—Darvish started and earned Player of the Game honors in the 3-1 win over the Diamondbacks with a Box-Toppers game score of +8.0 (5IP 2H R 0BB 7K W).
NLCS Game 3 on Oct. 17—Darvish started and earned Player of the Game in the 6-1 win over the Cubs with a Box-Toppers game score of +4.1 (6.1IP 6H R BB 7K W).
McCuller’s 2017 postseason appearances:
ALDS Game 3 on Oct. 8—McCullers appeared in relief and did not earn Player of the Game honors in the 10-3 loss to the Astros. McCullers had a Box-Toppers game score of -2.0 (3IP 3H 2R 2BB 4K ND).
ALCS Game 4 on Oct. 17—McCullers started and did not earn Player of the Game honors in the 6-4 loss to the Yankees. McCullers had a Box-Toppers game score of +3.0 (6IP 2H R 2BB 3K ND).
ALCS Game 7 on Oct. 21—McCullers appeared in relief and earned Player of the Game honors in the 4-0 win over the Yankees. McCullers had a Box-Toppers game score of +8.0 (4IP H 0R BB 6K Sv) in the unusual four-inning closer role to shutdown the Yankees and win the pennant for the Astros.
Box-Toppers World Series preview
Box-Toppers 2017 final team rankings
Box-Toppers 2017 final top 10 player rankings
Box-Toppers point totals of all Dodgers players active at season’s end
Box-Toppers point totals of all Astros players active at season’s end
Box-Toppers
Tracking who most helps their teams win the most games, based on box score stats. A method to measure & compare baseball's top players.
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.