Padres pitcher Jordan Lyles is Friday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day.
Top 10 players
Here are the top 10 players in Box-Toppers points (BTP) for the 2018 season as of April 6:| Player | Pos | Team | BTP | |
| 1 | Severino, Luis 3567 | pi sp | nyy al | 3.0 |
| 2 | Corbin, Patrick 3027 | pi sp | ari nl | 3.0 |
| 3 | Sano, Miguel 3527 | 3b | min al | 3.0 |
| 4 | Price, David 2593 | pi sp | bos al | 2.7 |
| 5 | Polanco, Gregory 3361 | rf | pit nl | 2.5 |
| 6 | Dejong, Paul 3827 | ss | stl nl | 2.5 |
| 7 | Freeman, Freddie 2887 | 1b | atl nl | 2.5 |
| 8 | Scherzer, Max 2588 | pi sp | dc nl | 2.0 |
| 9 | Maeda, Kenta 3609 | pi sp | lad nl | 2.0 |
| 10 | Diaz, Edwin 3690 | pi cp | sea al | 2.0 |
Lyles struck out four over two scoreless innings of middle relief, allowing no hits and no walks, in the 4-1 win over the Astros. Lyles picked up a no-decision and did not earn the win or the save. He pitched the sixth and seventh innings, holding the Padres’ lead, before handing it off to two subsequent relievers.
Closer Brad Hand would have been Player of the Game with a Box-Toppers game score of +2.0 (1IP 0H 0R BB 2K Sv). But under Box-Toppers rules, a pitcher earning a no decision can earn Player of the Game honors over the pitcher earning the win or save if he has a higher Box-Toppers game score and the same or more innings pitched. Lyles pitched more innings than Hand (two vs. one) and had a higher Box-Toppers game score (+6.0 vs. +2.0).
Lyles earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day and has the most 2018 points (2.0) of any of the eight players earning Player of the Game honors Friday. He ranks 15th in Box-Toppers season player rankings.
American League Player of the Day—Pedro Alvarez of the Orioles hit a 14th-inning grand slam in the 7-3 win over the Yankees. Alvarez went 2-for-2.
National League Batter of the Day—Colin Moran of the Pirates doubled and went 4-for-5, scoring three times and driving in three runs, in the 14-3 win over the Reds.
This was Moran’s Box-Toppers debut, the first time in his career he earned Player of the Game honors. Moran made his Major League debut May 18, 2016, and was playing in his 22nd career game. He is the 3,931st player to debut in Box-Toppers since record keeping began in 1995.
American League Batter of the Day—There is no separate AL Batter of the Day for Friday because the overall American League Player of the Day is batter Pedro Alvarez.
Streak—Justin Upton of the Angels has now earned Box-Toppers points in 11 straight seasons after earning his first Player of the Game honor of 2018 Friday.
Upton (HR 2B 3-5 2R 3BI in the 13-9 win over the Athletics) earned his first Box-Toppers points in 2008 with the Diamondbacks and has 59.6 career points, 15th among active AL batters, second among active AL outfielders, behind Curtis Granderson of the Blue Jays (69.0). Upton’s best season was 2011 with the Diamondbacks when he had 9.7 Box-Toppers points, 10th among NL batters. In 2017, he had 7.5 Box-Toppers points with the Tigers and Angels, fourth among AL outfielders.
Scoring—Lyles earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day and Alvarez earns 1.7 points for being AL Player of the Day. Moran earns 1.5 points for being NL Batter of the Day. All of Friday’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 (BTG)| 4/6 | Score | Game | Player | AB | R | H | BI | IP | H | R | ER | BB | K | |
| MLB | 6.0 | `SD 4, HOU 1 | Jordan Lyles (H, 1) | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | 2.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | |
| BAT | 5.0 | PIT 14, CIN 3 | Colin Moran (3B) | 5 | 3 | 4 | 3 | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | |
| AL | 5.0 | BAL 7, NYY 3 (F/14) | Pedro Alvarez (PH‑DH) | 2 | 1 | 2 | 4 | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | |
| 5.0 | TOR 8, TEX 5 | Marco Estrada (W, 1‑0) | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | 6.0 | 5 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 7 | ||
| 3.0 | LAA 13, OAK 9 | Justin Upton (LF) | 5 | 2 | 3 | 3 | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ||
| 2.0 | ATL 8, COL 3 | Dansby Swanson (SS) | 5 | 1 | 3 | 3 | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ||
| 2.0 | MIL 5, CHC 4 | Matt Albers (W, 1‑0) | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | 2.0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 2 | ||
| 2.0 | `CLE 3, KC 2 | Andrew Miller | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | 1.0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 3 |
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 (’18). also shown are each players’ Box-Toppers point total for this season and last (’17-18), the period 2013-2018 (’13-18) and each players’ career point total. also shown is how their 2018 Box-Toppers point total compares with their 2017 total (+/-).| Player of Game | Pos | Team | ’18 | ’17‑18 | ’13‑18 | Career | +/‑ |
| Lyles, Jordan 3100 | pi mr sp | sd nl | 2.0 | 2.0 | 6.0 | 9.7 | 2.0 |
| Alvarez, Pedro 2817 | dh ph | bal al | 1.7 | 1.7 | 16.9 | 24.4 | 1.7 |
| Moran, Colin 3931 | 3b | pit nl | 1.5 | 1.5 | 1.5 | 1.5 | 1.5 |
| Upton, Justin 2411 | lf | ana al | 1.0 | 8.5 | 36.9 | 59.6 | -6.5 |
| Estrada, Marco 2847 | pi sp | tor al | 1.0 | 7.0 | 37.4 | 50.1 | -5.0 |
| Miller, Andrew 2436 | pi mr | cle al | 1.0 | 5.0 | 19.0 | 28.0 | -3.0 |
| Swanson, Dansby 3751 | ss | atl nl | 1.0 | 4.5 | 5.5 | 5.5 | -2.5 |
| Albers, Matt 2274 | pi cp | mil nl | 1.0 | 4.0 | 6.0 | 9.0 | -2.0 |
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.