Braves pitcher Bryse Wilson and Astros pitcher Ryan Pressly are Box-Toppers Player of the Game winners in Thursday’s two league championship series games.
National League Championship Series Game 4: Braves 10, Dodgers 2
Wilson struck out five over six innings, allowing one run, one hit and one walk.
Wilson had a Box-Toppers game score Thursday of +7.0, highest among Braves players. Designated hitter Marcell Ozuna had the highest game score (+6.0) among Braves batters (2HR 2B 4-5 3R 4BI).
Wilson earned 1.0 Box-Toppers point during the regular season, 97th among NL pitchers.
The Dodgers player with the highest Box-Toppers game score was designated hitter Edwin Rios (+1.0, HR 1-3 R 2BI). Dodgers starting pitcher Clayton Kershaw had a game score of -7.0 (5IP 7H 4R BB 4K L).
The Braves lead 3-1 over the Dodgers in the best-of-seven game series, which resumes Friday in Arlington, Texas.
American League Championship Series Game 5: Astros 4, Rays 3
Pressly struck out two over the final 1 1/3 innings, allowing no runs, one hit, no walks and picking up the win.
Pressly had a Box-Toppers game score Thursday of +2.1, highest among Astros players. Starting pitcher Luis Garcia had a game score of +1.0 (2IP 0H 0R 2BB K ND). Right fielder Josh Reddick had the highest game score (0.0) among Astros batters (1-2 R 0BI).
Pressly earned 3.0 Box-Toppers points during the regular season, third among AL closing pitchers, behind Liam Hendriks of the Athletics (4.0) and Greg Holland of the Royals (3.0).
Among the Rays players, first baseman Ji-Man Choi had the highest Box-Toppers game score (+2.0, HR 2-2 R BI). Rays starting pitcher John Curtiss had a game score of -0.9 (1.1IP H R BB 2K ND).
The Rays lead 3-2 over the Astros in the best-of-seven game series, which resumes Friday in Arlington, Texas.
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 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| +7.0 | ATL 10, LAD 2 | Bryse Wilson (W, 1‑0) | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | 6.0 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 5 | |
| +2.1 | HOU 4, TB 3 | Ryan Pressly (W, 1‑0) | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | 1.1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
Coming Friday:
AL Championship Series Game 6: Rays lead Astros, 3-2
The pitching matchup Friday is a rematch of Game 1, won by the Rays:
Astros—Framber Valdez, 4.7 Box-Toppers points, 35th among all players, 15th among AL pitchers.
This is Valdez’s fourth 2020 postseason appearance. On Sept. 29, he was Player of the Game in the AL Wild Card Game 1 win over the Twins, pitching five innings of relief. He also started Oct. 6 in the AL Division Series Game 2 win over the Athletics and Oct. 11 in the ALCS Game 1 loss to the Rays.
Rays—Blake Snell, 3.7 Box-Toppers points, 63rd among all players, 25th among AL pitchers.
This is Snell’s fourth 2020 postseason appearance. On Sept. 29, he was Player of the Game in the AL Wild Card Game 1 win over the Blue Jays. He also started Oct. 5 in the AL Division Series Game 1, a loss to the Yankees and Oct. 11 in the ALCS Game 1 win over the Astros.
Box-Toppers preview of the ALCS from Oct. 11.
NL Championship Series Game 5: Braves lead Dodgers, 3-1
The pitching matchup Friday:
Dodgers—Dustin May, 2.0 Box-Toppers points, 201st among all players, 55th among NL pitchers.
This is May’s fourth appearance of the 2020 postseason and his second start. May was Player of the Game, pitching two innings of relief, in the NL Division Series Game 1 on Oct. 6 in the win over the Padres. He started Oct. 8 in the NLDS Game 3 win over the Padres and appeared in relief Oct. 12 in the NLCS Game 1 loss to the Braves.
Braves—The Braves had yet to announce a starting pitcher as of Friday morning.
Box-Toppers preview of the NLCS from Oct. 12.
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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