Adam Eaton of the Nationals is Box-Toppers Player of the Game in Wednesday’s World Series Game 2.
The Washington Nationals win 12-3 to take a 2-0 lead over the Houston Astros in the best-of-seven game series.
Eaton homered and went 2-for-4, scoring twice and driving in two runs. He had a Box-Toppers game score of +2.0, highest among all Nationals players.
Eaton had 1.0 Box-Toppers point during the regular season (earned April 13), 613th among all players, 157th among National League batters and 68th among NL outfielders. It is his first Player of the Game honor of the 2019 postseason.
Nationals reliever Tanner Rainey also had a Box-Toppers game score of +2.0 (1IP 0H 0R 0BB K ND), but in cases when a batter and pitcher have the same Box-Toppers game score, the batter holds the tiebreaking advantage. Also, Rainey did not qualify to be considered for Player of the Game because he did not pitch at least three innings, did not earn the win or save and did not pitch at least as many innings as the pitcher who otherwise would be considered Player of the Game.
Nationals starting pitcher Stephen Strasburg had a Box-Toppers game score of +1.0 (6IP 7H 2R BB 7K W). Strasburg has earned Player of the Game honors three times this season, tied for the most with Astros pitcher Gerrit Cole. Strasburg led NL pitchers in 2019 with 20.7 Box-Toppers points, ranking third overall.
Astros starting pitcher Justin Verlander had a Box-Toppers game score of -6.0 (6IP 7H 4R 3BB 6K L). Verlander had been Player of the Game twice in the 2019 postseason and had 27.5 Box-Toppers points in 2019, ranked second overall and second among AL pitchers (behind Cole’s 32.2).
For a series that was supposed to be about the dominance of starting pitching, neither of the first two games has featured the sort of dominant performance these dominant starters have routinely performed this season (did I say “dominant” enough?). The top two overall pitchers in Box-Toppers season player rankings, Cole and Verlander, both had negative Box-Toppers game scores in back-to-back losses. And even the winning pitchers, Max Scherzer and Stephen Strasburg, had such low Box-Toppers game scores that they were beaten out for Player of the Game honors by relatively low-ranking batters with relatively low Box-Toppers game scores, Juan Soto (6.0 points) and Adam Eaton (1.0 point).
Catcher Martin Maldonado had the highest Box-Toppers game score among Astros players of +2.0 (HR 1-1 R BI), hitting a ninth-inning solo home run.
The series resumes with Game 3 Friday in Washington.
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 Nationals in World Series Game 2: Nationals 12, Astros 3
Here are the Box-Toppers game scores (BTG) of all Nationals who played in World Series Game 2, listed from highest to lowest Box-Toppers game score. Player of the Game (POG) is Adam Eaton.| 10/23 | BTG | Player | AB | R | H | BI | IP | H | R | ER | BB | K | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| POG | +2.0 | Adam Eaton RF | 4 | 2 | 2 | 2 | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | |
| +2.0 | Tanner Rainey | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | 1.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | ||
| +1.0 | Asdrubal Cabrera 2B | 5 | 1 | 2 | 3 | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ||
| +1.0 | Michael Taylor CF | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ||
| +1.0 | Stephen Strasburg (W, 4‑0) | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | 6.0 | 7 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 7 | ||
| 0.0 | Juan Soto LF | 3 | 2 | 1 | 0 | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ||
| 0.0 | Fernando Rodney | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | 1.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | ||
| ‑1.0 | Howie Kendrick DH | 5 | 1 | 2 | 1 | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ||
| ‑1.0 | Kurt Suzuki C | 5 | 1 | 2 | 1 | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ||
| ‑1.0 | Anthony Rendon 3B | 4 | 0 | 1 | 2 | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ||
| ‑1.0 | Trea Turner SS | 4 | 2 | 1 | 0 | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ||
| ‑1.0 | Victor Robles CF | 3 | 2 | 0 | 0 | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ||
| ‑1.0 | Gerardo Parra PH‑RF | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ||
| ‑2.0 | Ryan Zimmerman 1B | 5 | 0 | 2 | 1 | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ||
| ‑3.0 | Javy Guerra | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | 1.0 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
POG—Player of the Game
World Series Game 3, Nationals lead Astros, 2-0
Friday’s starting pitchers:
Astros—Zack Greinke, 17.9 Box-Toppers points, seventh among all players, fifth among AL pitchers.
Greinke has not earned Box-Toppers Player of the Game honors in his three previous 2019 postseason appearances. On Oct. 7, he appeared in the American League Division Series Game 3 loss to the Rays. On Oct. 12, he appeared in the AL Championship Series Game 1 loss to the Yankees. On Oct. 17, he appeared in the ALCS Game 4 win over the Yankees, in which teammate and reliever Will Harris was Player of the Game.
Nationals—Anibal Sanchez, 7.0 Box-Toppers points, 104th among all players, 43rd among NL pitchers.
Sanchez has appeared twice in the 2019 postseason. On Oct. 6, he started the NL Division Series Game 3 against the Dodgers, which the Nationals lost. On Oct. 11, Sanchez was Player of the Game in the NL Championship Series Game 1 win over the Cardinals, carrying a no-hitter into the eighth inning.
Related:
Box-Toppers World Series preview
Box-Toppers NL Championship Series preview
Box-Toppers AL Championship Series preview