Rays pitcher Blake Snell is Box-Toppers Player of the Game in Wednesday’s World Series Game 2.
The Tampa Bay Rays win 6-4 to tie the Los Angeles Dodgers 1-1 in the best-of-seven game series.
Snell struck out nine over 4 2/3 innings, allowing two runs, two hits and four walks. He did not earn the win, picking up a no-decision, because he did not pitch the required five innings to earn the win.
However, because he pitched at least three innings, he qualified to be considered for Box-Toppers Player of the Game and had the highest game score (+3.2) of all Rays players Wednesday.
Snell earned 3.7 Box-Toppers points in the 2020 regular season, 63rd among all players, 25th among AL pitchers. Since the start of 2019, Snell has 13.7 Box-Toppers points, 36th among all players over 2019-20, 16th among AL pitchers.
Snell becomes the 10th player this postseason to earn Player of the Game honors more than once. He was also Player of the Game on Sept. 29, in the AL Wild Card Game 1 win over the Blue Jays. This was his fifth postseason appearance. He also started Oct. 5 in the AL Division Series Game 1, a loss to the Yankees, Oct. 11 in the AL Championship Series Game 1 win over the Astros and Oct. 16 in the ALCS Game 6 loss to the Astros.
Second baseman Brandon Lowe had the highest Box-Toppers game score (+2.0) among Rays batters (2HR 2-5 2R 3BI).
Dodgers starting pitcher Tony Gonsolin had a Box-Toppers game score of -1.9 (1.1IP H R BB K L). Dodgers’ top batter was shortstop Corey Seager with a Box-Toppers game score of 0.0 (HR 2-4 R BI).
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 Rays in World Series Game 2: Rays 6, Dodgers 4
Here are the Box-Toppers game scores (BTG) of all Rays who played in World Series Game 2, listed from highest to lowest Box-Toppers game score. Player of the Game (POG) is Blake Snell.| 10/21 | BTG | Player | AB | R | H | BI | IP | H | R | ER | BB | K | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| POG | +3.2 | `Blake Snell | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | 4.2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 4 | 9 | |
| +3.0 | Aaron Loup (H, 1) | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | 1.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | ||
| +2.0 | Brandon Lowe 2B | 5 | 2 | 2 | 3 | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ||
| +1.1 | Diego Castillo (S, 1) | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | 0.1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | ||
| +1.0 | Joey Wendle 3B | 3 | 0 | 1 | 3 | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ||
| +0.1 | Nick Anderson (W, 1‑0) | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | 1.1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 2 | ||
| +0.0 | Manuel Margot RF | 3 | 1 | 2 | 0 | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ||
| +0.0 | Ji‑Man Choi 1B | 3 | 2 | 1 | 0 | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ||
| +0.0 | Yandy Diaz PH‑DH | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ||
| +0.0 | Hunter Renfroe PR‑DH | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ||
| +0.0 | Brandon Phillips PR‑LF | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ||
| ‑1.0 | Austin Meadows DH | 3 | 1 | 1 | 0 | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ||
| ‑1.8 | Pete Fairbanks (H, 1) | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | 1.2 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | ||
| ‑2.0 | Randy Arozarena LF | 3 | 0 | 1 | 0 | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ||
| ‑2.0 | Mike Brosseau PH‑1B | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ||
| ‑3.0 | Willy Adames SS | 4 | 0 | 1 | 0 | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ||
| ‑4.0 | Kevin Kiermaier CF | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ||
| ‑4.0 | Mike Zunino C | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ |
The series takes a day off Thursday and resumes Friday at the neutral site, Globe Life Field in Arlington, Texas, with the Rays acting as home team for Games 3, 4 and 5 of the series.
World Series Game 3, Dodgers vs. Rays, series tied, 1-1
Friday’s starting pitchers:
Dodgers—Walker Buehler, 5.7 Box-Toppers points, 25th among all players, 12th among NL pitchers. Since the start of 2019, Buehler has 22.1 Box-Toppers points, eighth among all players over 2019-20, third among NL pitchers in that span and most among all players in the World Series.
Buehler has earned Player of the Game honors once in four previous 2020 postseason appearances. He was top player Oct. 17 in the NL Championship Series Game 6 win over the Braves. He also started in the NL Wild Card Game 1 win against the Brewers on Sept. 30, in the NL Division Series Game 1 win against the Padres on Oct. 6 and in the NLCS Game 1 loss to the Braves on Oct. 12.
Rays—Charlie Morton, 2.0 Box-Toppers points, 149th among all players, 44th among AL pitchers. Since the start of 2019, Morton has 20.8 Box-Toppers points, 10th among all players over 2019 and 2020, sixth among AL pitchers.
Morton has earned Player of the Game honors twice in three previous 2020 postseason appearances. He was top player Oct. 17 in the AL Championship Series Game 7 win over the Astros and Oct. 12 in the ALCS Game 2 win over the Astros. He also started in the AL Division Series Game 3 win against the Yankees on Oct. 7.
Related:
Box-Toppers World Series preview
Box-Toppers NL Championship Series preview
Box-Toppers AL Championship Series preview