Nationals pitcher Max Scherzer is Tuesday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day and maintains his second-place spot in Box-Toppers season player rankings.
Top 10 players
Here are the top 10 players in Box-Toppers points (BTP) for the 2017 season as of June 6:| Player | Pos | Team | BTP | |
| 1 | Kershaw, Clayton 2494 | pi sp | lad nl | 12.7 |
| 2 | Scherzer, Max 2588 | pi sp | dc nl | 12.0 |
| 3 | Santana, Ervin 2005 | pi sp | min al | 9.4 |
| 4 | Sale, Chris 2806 | pi sp | bos al | 8.4 |
| 5 | Ray, Robbie 3502 | pi sp | ari nl | 8.0 |
| 6 | Greinke, Zack 1871 | pi sp | ari nl | 7.7 |
| 7 | Strasburg, Stephen 2736 | pi sp | dc nl | 7.4 |
| 8 | Keuchel, Dallas 3050 | pi sp | hou al | 7.4 |
| 9 | Wood, Alex 3246 | pi sp | lad nl | 7.0 |
| 10 | Vargas, Jason 2055 | pi sp | kc al | 7.0 |
Also Tuesday, Diamondbacks pitcher Robbie Ray rises to fifth place in Box-Toppers season player rankings after earning Player of the Game honors.
Plus, Scooter Gennett of the Reds on Tuesday became the 17th player in Major League history to hit four home runs in a game and earned what seems to the be the second-highest Box-Toppers game score for a batter since player tracking began in 1995. However, that game score was not high enough to be the highest of Tuesday’s Players of the Game. And it also was not high enough to be the highest game score by a batter this season.
Player of the Day—Scherzer struck out 14 over seven innings, allowing one run, three hits and two walks, in the 2-1 win over the Dodgers.
Scherzer earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day, giving him 12.0 for the season, maintaining his second-place spot in Box-Toppers season player rankings, behind Dodgers pitcher Clayton Kershaw (12.7). Scherzer also ranks second among NL pitchers behind Kershaw.
Scherzer also rises to 27th place in career Box-Toppers points among all players since 1995, when Box-Toppers tracking began. With his points Tuesday, he now has 143.7 career points and passes two players on the “all-time” list—Jake Peavy (141.8) and Tigers pitcher and former teammate Justin Verlander (142.0). Scherzer now trails 26th-ranked player, Rangers pitcher Cole Hamels (144.0).
Scherzer rises to 10th in career points among active players, eighth among active pitchers.
It took Scherzer three fewer seasons than Verlander to rack up a comparable career Box-Toppers point total. Verlander was the 2,112nd player to debut in Box-Toppers, earning his first Player of the Game honor April 8, 2006. Scherzer was the 2,588th player to debut on May 26, 2009. Both Scherzer and Verlander have led their league’s pitchers in Box-Toppers points in past seasons. Verlander led American League pitchers in 2011 (24.4) and 2012 (24.8). Scherzer led AL pitchers in 2013 with the Tigers (18.1) and National League pitchers in 2016 (25.7).
American League Player of the Day—Red Sox closing pitcher Craig Kimbrel struck out five over 1 1/3 scoreless innings, allowing one walk, in the 5-4 win over the Yankees.
National League Batter of the Day—Scooter Gennett of the Reds hit four home runs—only the 17th time in history that feat has been accomplished—in the 13-1 win over the Cardinals. Gennett went 5-for-5 and drove in 10 runs.
Gennett had a Box-Toppers game score Tuesday of +14.0, which appears to be the second-highest game score for a batter in the 23 seasons of Box-Toppers record keeping. The only batter to have a higher score happened earlier this season—Anthony Rendon of the Nationals on April 30 had a Box-Toppers game score of +15.0 (3HR 2B 6-6 5R 10BI in the 23-5 win over the Mets).
While Rendon earned 2.0 Box-Toppers points on April 30 for having the highest Box-Toppers game score of the day and earning overall Player of the Day honors, Gennett only earned 1.5 Box-Toppers points for his high game score on Tuesday. Gennett’s +14.0 game score was second-best of Tuesday, behind Scherzer’s +15.0. That meant Gennett could not earn overall Player of the Day nor could he earn overall NL Player of the Day (worth 1.7). Tuesday’s AL Player of the Day Craig Kimbrel of the Red Sox earned 1.7 Box-Toppers points even though his Box-Toppers game score was far lower than Gennett’s (+5.1). Gennett easily beat out the next-highest NL batter who earned Player of the Game honors Tuesday, Carlos Gonzalez of the Rockies, who had a game score of +6.0.
Batters have hit four home runs in a game 17 times in Major League history, including five times during the Box-Toppers era (since 1995). Gennett’s Box-Toppers game of +14.0 is the highest of all four-home-run hitters in the Box-Toppers era. The other four-home run games during the Box-Toppers era:
- On May 2, 2002, Mike Cameron of the Mariners (4HR 4-5 4R 4BI in the 15-4 win over the White Sox) had a Box-Toppers game score of +7.0.
- On May 23, 2002, Shawn Green of the Dodgers (4HR 2B 6-6 6R 7BI in the 16-3 win over the Brewers) had a Box-Toppers game score of +13.0, apparently now the third-highest game score by a batter in the Box-Toppers era.
- On Sept. 25, 2002, Carlos Delgado of the Blue Jays (4HR 4-4 4R 6BI in the 10-8 win over the Devil Rays) had a Box-Toppers game score of +10.0.
- On May 8, 2012, Josh Hamilton of the Rangers (4HR 2B 5-5 4R 8BI in the 10-3 win over the Orioles) had a Box-Toppers game score of +12.0.
Gennett became the 14th player in Major League history to have a game with 10 runs batted in. That’s a club that’s even rarer than the four-home run club. During the Box-Toppers era (since 1995), there have been four other games in which a player has had 10 RBIs:
- On May 10, 1999, Nomar Garciaparra of the Red Sox (3HR 3-4 3R 10BI in the 12-4 win over the Mariners) had a Box-Toppers game score of +12.0.
- On April 26, 2005, Alex Rodriguez of the Yankees (3HR 4-5 3R 10BI in the 12-4 win over the Angels) had a Box-Toppers game score of +12.0.
- On Aug. 21, 2007, Garret Anderson of the Angels (2HR 2-2B 4-6 3R 10BI in the 18-9 win over the Yankees) had a Box-Toppers game score of +11.0.
- On April 30, 2017, Rendon had his 10 RBI game in which he had a +15.0 game score, apparently the highest for a batter in the Box-Toppers era.
While Gennett’s Box-Toppers game score is the second-highest for a batter this season, it is only the 14th-highest for a player this season. The highest score of +18.0 was by Nationals pitcher Stephen Strasburg on May 27 (7IP 3H 0R BB 15K W in the 3-0 win over the Padres). Scherzer’s +15.0 game score Tuesday is the 11th-highest of the season. Scherzer also has the 12th-highest score of the season (+14.2 on May 26).
National League Batter of the Day—Robinson Cano of the Mariners hit a three-run homer and went 2-for-3, scoring three times and driving in three runs, in the 12-3 win over the Twins.
Rankings—Diamondbacks pitcher Robbie Ray rises from eighth to fifth in Box-Toppers season player rankings after earning Player of the Game honors.
Ray (6.2IP 3H R 2BB 11K W in the 10-2 win over the Padres) earns 1.0 Box-Toppers point, giving him 8.0 for the season. He ranks third among NL pitchers, behind Kershaw (12.7) and Scherzer (12.0).
Streak—Carlos Gonzalez of the Rockies has now earned Box-Toppers points in 10 straight seasons after earning his first Player of the Game honor of the season Tuesday.
Gonzalez (HR 2-2 4R 2BI in the 11-3 win over the Indians) earned his first Box-Toppers point in 2008 with the Athletics and has 59.7 career points, 12th among active NL batters, fifth among active NL outfielders. He has three seasons with 10.0 or more Box-Toppers points. His best season was 2015 with the Rockies when he had 11.5 points, first among NL batters. In 2016, he had 5.5 points.
Scoring—Scherzer earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day and Kimbrel earns 1.7 points for being AL Player of the Day. Gennett and Cano each earn 1.5 points for being their league’s Batter of the Day. All of Tuesday’s other Players of the Game (listed in the chart below) earn 1.0 Box-Toppers point.
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| 6/6 | Score | Game | Player of the Game | AB | R | H | BI | IP | H | R | ER | BB | K | |
| MLB | 15.0 | WSH 2, LAD 1 | Max Scherzer (W,7-3) | - | - | - | - | 7.0 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 14 | |
| BAT | 14.0 | CIN 13, STL 1 | Scooter Gennett, LF | 5 | 4 | 5 | 10 | - | - | - | - | - | - | |
| 10.2 | ARI 10, SD 2 | Robbie Ray (W,6-3) | - | - | - | - | 6.2 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 11 | ||
| 6.0 | COL 11, CLE 3 | Carlos Gonzalez, RF | 2 | 4 | 2 | 2 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 6.0 | PHI 3, ATL 1 | Aaron Nola (W,3-3) | - | - | - | - | 8.0 | 5 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 6 | ||
| AL | 5.1 | BOS 5, NYY 4 | Craig Kimbrel (S,17) | - | - | - | - | 1.1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 5 | |
| BAT | 5.0 | SEA 12, MIN 3 | Robinson Cano, 2B | 3 | 3 | 2 | 3 | - | - | - | - | - | - | |
| 4.2 | MIL 5, SF 2 | Chase Anderson (W,5-1) | - | - | - | - | 7.2 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 4 | ||
| 4.0 | KC 9, HOU 7 | Mike Moustakas, DH | 5 | 2 | 4 | 3 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 3.0 | CHC 10, MIA 2 | Anthony Rizzo, 1B | 5 | 2 | 2 | 4 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 3.0 | BAL 6, PIT 5 (F/10) | Jonathan Schoop, 2B | 4 | 2 | 2 | 3 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 3.0 | LAA 5, DET 3 | Kole Calhoun, RF | 2 | 1 | 2 | 2 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 2.1 | `CHW 4, TB 2 | Jose Quintana | - | - | - | - | 5.1 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 4 | 7 | ||
| 2.1 | `OAK 4, TOR 1 | Ryan Madson (H,9) | - | - | - | - | 1.1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 2 | ||
| 2.0 | TEX 10, NYM 8 | Nomar Mazara, RF | 5 | 1 | 4 | 2 | - | - | - | - | - | - |
AL—Overall American League Player of the Day, worth 1.7 total Box-Toppers points.
NL—Overall National League Player of the Day, worth 1.7 total Box-Toppers points.
BAT—Top AL or NL Batter of the Day, worth 1.5 total Box-Toppers points.
All other players listed here earn Player of the Game honors, worth 1.0 Box-Toppers point.
` Pitcher had a no-decision in the game and did not pick up a win or a save.
Box-Toppers point totals of the day’s top players
Here are Box-Toppers point totals of each of the Players of the Game. Players are ranked by their Box-Toppers point total for the current season (’17). Also shown are each players’ Box-Toppers point total for this season and last (’16-17), the period 2012-2017 (’12-17) and each players’ career point total. Also shown is how their 2017 Box-Toppers point total compares with their 2016 total (+/-).| Player of the Game | Pos | Team | ’17 | ’16-17 | ’12-17 | Career | +/- |
| Scherzer, Max 2588 | pi sp | dc nl | 12.0 | 37.7 | 115.9 | 143.7 | -13.7 |
| Ray, Robbie 3502 | pi sp | ari nl | 8.0 | 14.7 | 18.7 | 18.7 | 1.3 |
| Kimbrel, Craig 2825 | pi cp | bos al | 6.7 | 14.7 | 59.4 | 65.4 | -1.3 |
| Quintana, Jose 3040 | pi sp | chi al | 5.0 | 15.4 | 40.2 | 40.2 | -5.4 |
| Anderson, Chase 3328 | pi sp | mil nl | 4.7 | 11.7 | 20.7 | 20.7 | -2.3 |
| Rizzo, Anthony 3063 | 1b | chi nl | 3.5 | 6.5 | 30.5 | 30.5 | 0.5 |
| Cano, Robinson 2092 | 2b | sea al | 3.0 | 11.0 | 40.5 | 78.4 | -5.0 |
| Mazara, Nomar 3614 | rf | tex al | 3.0 | 10.0 | 10.0 | 10.0 | -4.0 |
| Schoop, Jonathan 3307 | 2b | bal al | 3.0 | 7.5 | 12.5 | 12.5 | -1.5 |
| Gennett, Scooter 3254 | 2b lf | cin nl | 2.5 | 5.0 | 14.0 | 14.0 | 0.0 |
| Madson, Ryan 1841 | pi cp mr | oak al | 2.0 | 5.0 | 5.0 | 25.7 | -1.0 |
| Nola, Aaron 3569 | pi sp | phi nl | 1.0 | 7.7 | 9.7 | 9.7 | -5.7 |
| Gonzalez, Carlos 2460 | rf | col nl | 1.0 | 6.5 | 39.7 | 59.7 | -4.5 |
| Calhoun, Kole 3279 | rf | ana al | 1.0 | 6.0 | 16.7 | 16.7 | -4.0 |
| Moustakas, Mike 2967 | dh 3b | kc al | 1.0 | 2.0 | 21.2 | 23.2 | 0.0 |