Rays closing pitcher Diego Castillo is Box-Toppers Player of the Game in Sunday’s American League Championship Series Game 1.
Castillo picked up the final five outs for the Rays, striking out one over 1 2/3 scoreless innings, allowing one hit, no walks and picking up the save, in the 2-1 win over the Astros.
Castillo had a Box-Toppers game score Sunday of +1.2, highest among Rays players. Randy Arozarena had the highest Box-Toppers game score among Rays batters (-1.0, HR 1-4 R BI). Rays starting pitcher Blake Snell had a Box-Toppers game score of -3.0 (5IP 6H R 2BB 2K W).
Castillo earned 2.0 Box-Toppers points in 2020, eighth among AL closing pitchers. It was his second Box-Toppers Player of the Game honor of the 2020 postseason. He was also top player in the Rays’ previous game Friday, the series-clinching win in the AL Division Series Game 5 over the Yankees. Castillo is now one of four players to earn Player of the Game honors more than once in the 2020 postseason. The others are Carlos Correa of the Astros, Dodgers pitcher Julio Urias and Braves pitcher Ian Anderson.
Astros top player Sunday was starting pitcher Framber Valdez, who had the game’s highest Box-Toppers game score of +2.0 (6IP 4H 2R 4BB 8K L). Astros top batter, pinch hitter Josh Reddick, had a game score of 0.0 (1-1 0R 0BI).
The Rays take a 1-0 lead over the Astros in the best-of-seven game series, which resumes Monday in San Diego.
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 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| +1.2 | TB 2, HOU 1 | Diego Castillo (S, 1) | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | 1.2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
Coming Monday:
AL Championship Series Game 2: Rays lead Astros, 1-0
The pitching matchup Monday:
Astros—Lance McCullers Jr., 2.7 Box-Toppers points, 124th among all players, 41st among AL pitchers.
This is his second postseason appearance of 2020. He started in the AL Division Series Game 1 win against the Athletics on Oct. 5.
Rays—Charlie Morton, 2.0 Box-Toppers points, 149th among all players, 44th among AL pitchers.
This is his second postseason appearance of 2020. He started in the AL Division Series Game 3 win against the Yankees on Oct. 7.
Box-Toppers preview of the ALCS from Oct. 11.
National League Championship Series Game 1: Braves vs. Dodgers
The pitching matchup Monday:
Braves—Max Fried, 5.7 Box-Toppers points, 26th among all players, 13th among NL pitchers.
This is his third postseason appearance of 2020. He started in the NL Wild Card Game 1 win against the Reds on Sept. 30 (in which he earned Player of the Game honors) and in the NL Division Series Game 1 win against the Marlins on Oct. 6.
Dodgers—Walker Buehler, 5.7 Box-Toppers points, 25th among all players, 12th among NL pitchers.
This is his third postseason appearance of 2020. He started in the NL Wild Card Game 1 win against the Brewers on Sept. 30 and in the NL Division Series Game 1 win against the Padres on Oct. 6.
While both Fried and Buehler had the same 5.7 Box-Toppers point total in 2020, Buehler ranks higher (25th overall vs. 26th) because he had more 2019 Box-Toppers points—16.4 vs. 10.0).
Full NL Championship Series preview.
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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