Brock Holt of the Red Sox was one of three Box-Toppers Player of the Game honorees in Monday’s three league Division Series games.
Holt hit for the cycle, going 4-for-5, scoring three times and driving in five runs, as the Red Sox beat the Yankees in Game 3 of the American League Division Series.
The other two Player of the Game winners:
Astros pitcher Collin McHugh in Game 3 of the other AL Division Series, as the Houston Astros sweep the series, 3-0, eliminating the Cleveland Indians.
Manny Machado of the Dodgers in Game 4 of the National League Division Series, as the Los Angeles Dodgers win the series, 3-1, eliminating the Atlanta Braves.
ALDS Game 3: Red Sox 16, Yankees 1
Holt homered, tripled, doubled and went 4-for-6, scoring three times and driving in five runs, as the Red Sox take a 2-1 series lead in the best-of-five game series.
Holt had 3.5 Box-Toppers points in 2018, 297th among all players, 67th among AL batters and eighth among AL second basemen. Holt was Player of the Game three times in 2018, including twice when he entered the game as a pinch hitter, both in September.
Holt had a Box-Toppers game score Monday of +6.0, highest among Red Sox players. Starting pitcher for the Red Sox, Nathan Eovaldi, had a Box-Toppers game score of +5.0 (7IP 5H R 0BB 5K W). Yankees starting pitcher Luis Severino had a Box-Toppers game score of -16.0 (3IP 7H 6R 2BB 2K L). No Yankees batter had a positive Box-Toppers game score.
The series resumes with Game 4 Tuesday in New York. See preview below.
ALDS Game 3: Astros 11, Indians 3
Astros pitcher Collin McHugh struck out four over two scoreless innings, allowing no hits and no walks, as the Astros sweep the Indians, 3-0, in the best-of-five game series.
McHugh had 3.0 Box-Toppers points in 2018, 326th among all players, 78th among AL pitchers and seventh among AL relief pitchers.
McHugh had a Box-Toppers game score of +6.0, highest among Astros players. He qualified to earn Player of the Game honors because he earned the win.
Starting pitcher for the Astros, Dallas Keuchel, had a Box-Toppers game score of -2.0 (5IP 4H 2R BB 2K ND). Astros top batter was Alex Bregman with a Box-Toppers game score of +2.0 (2B 3-2 2R BI).
Indians starting pitcher Mike Clevinger fared well, with a Box-Toppers game score of +6.0 (5IP 3H R 3BB 9K ND).
The Astros face the winner of the other AL Division Series (Red Sox or Yankees) in the AL Championship Series beginning Saturday.
The Astros ranked slightly higher in Box-Toppers team rankings than the now-eliminated Indians. The Astros rank fourth (132.2 Box-Toppers points) while the Indians were fifth (128.3).
NLDS Game 4: Dodgers 6, Braves 2
Manny Machado of the Dodgers hit a three-run homer and doubled, going 2-for-5, scoring once and driving in four runs, as the Dodgers win the best-of-five game series over the Braves, 3-1.
Machado had 5.7 Box-Toppers points in 2018, 156th among all players, 25th among NL batters and fifth among NL shortstops.
Machado had a Box-Toppers game score of +2.0. Closing pitcher Kenley Jansen had a higher Box-Toppers game score of +3.0 (1IP 0H 0R 0BB 2K ND) but was not eligible to earn Player of the Game because he pitched fewer than three innings and did not pick up the win or the save. Dodgers starter Rich Hill had a Box-Toppers game score of -5.9 (4.1IP 4H 2R 2BB 5K ND). Braves starter Mike Foltynewicz had a Box-Toppers game score of +1.0 in the loss (4IP 2H R 4BB 5K ND).
The Dodgers now face the Brewers in the best-of-seven game NL Championship Series beginning Friday in Milwaukee.
The Dodgers ranked higher in Box-Toppers team rankings than the now-eliminated Braves. The Braves rank ninth (116.3 Box-Toppers points), while the Dodgers rank sixth (128.0 points). The Braves rank fourth among NL teams while the Dodgers rank second.
Top player from each game
Listed from highest to lowest Box-Toppers game score (BTG)| BTG | Game | Player | AB | R | H | BI | IP | H | R | ER | BB | K | |
| +6.0 | BOS 16, NYY 1 | Brock Holt 2B‑1B | 6 | 3 | 4 | 5 | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | |
| +6.0 | HOU 11, CLE 3 | Collin McHugh (W, 1‑0) | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | 2.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | |
| +2.0 | LAD 6, ATL 2 | Manny Machado SS | 5 | 1 | 2 | 4 | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ |
Coming Tuesday: One final league Division Series playoff resumes:
AL Division Series, Game 4: Red Sox lead Yankees, 2-1
The pitching matchup Tuesday:
Red Sox—Rick Porcello, 11.4 Box-Toppers points, 36th among all players, 17th among AL pitchers.
Yankees—CC Sabathia, 7.7 Box-Toppers points, 86th among all players, 34th among AL pitchers.
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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