In four league division series playoff games Wednesday these are Box-Toppers Player of the Game winners:
Braves pitcher Ian Anderson is top player in Wednesday’s 2-0 win over the Marlins.
Athletics closing pitcher Liam Hendriks is top player in Wednesday’s 9-7 win over the Astros.
Corey Seager of the Dodgers is top player in Wednesday’s 6-5 win over the Padres.
Kevin Kiermaier of the Rays is top player in Wednesday’s 8-4 win over the Yankees.
NLDS Game 2: Braves 2, Marlins 0
Anderson struck out eight over 5 2/3 scoreless innings, allowing three hits and one walk.
Anderson had 2.7 Box-Toppers points in 2020. He had a Box-Toppers game score of +9.2 Wednesday, best among all Braves players. Anderson was also Player of the Game previously this postseason—on Oct. 1 in the NL Wild Card Game 2 win over the Reds.
The Braves lead the best-of-five game series, 2-0.
ALDS Game 3: Athletics 9, Astros 7
Hendriks struck out four over the final three innings, allowing no runs, one hit and no walks.
Hendriks had 4.0 Box-Toppers points in 2020, first among AL closing pitchers. Hendriks had a Box-Toppers game score of +6.0 Wednesday, best among all Athletics players. Previously, in a now-deleted tweet, I said Chad Pinder was Player of the Game, but that was wrong. Pinder had a Box-Toppers game score of +4.0 (HR 2B 3-4 R 4BI).
The Astros lead the best-of-five game series, 2-1.
NLDS Game 2: Dodgers 6, Padres 5
Seager hit two doubles and went 3-for-4, scoring twice and driving in two runs.
Seager had 3.5 Box-Toppers points in 2020, 13th among NL batters. Seager had a Box-Toppers game score of +3.0 Wednesday, best among all Dodgers players. Starting pitcher Clayton Kershaw had a Box-Toppers game score of 0.0 (6IP 6H 3R 0BB 6K W).
The Dodgers lead the best-of-five game series, 2-0.
ALDS Game 3: Rays 8, Yankees 4
Kiermaier hit a three-run homer and doubled, going 2-for-4, scoring twice and driving in three runs.
Kiermaier had 1.0 Box-Toppers point in 2020. He had a Box-Toppers game score of +3.0 Wednesday, highest among all Rays players. Starting pitcher Charlie Morton had a Box-Toppers game score of +2.0 (5IP 4H 2R 1ER 2BB 6K W).
The Rays lead the best-of-five game series, 2-1.
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 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| +9.2 | ATL 2, MIA 0 | Ian Anderson, (W 1‑0) | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | 5.2 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 8 | |
| +6.0 | OAK 9, HOU 7 | Liam Hendriks, (W 1‑0) | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | 3.0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | |
| +3.0 | LAD 6, SD 5 | Corey Seager, SS | 4 | 2 | 3 | 2 | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | |
| +3.0 | TB 8, NYY 4 | Kevin Kiermaier, CF | 4 | 2 | 2 | 3 | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ |
Coming Thursday: The league division series playoffs continue:
NLDS Game 3: Braves lead Marlins, 2-0
The pitching matchup Thursday:
Braves—Kyle Wright, 1.0 Box-Toppers point, 496th among all players, 126th among NL pitchers.
Marlins—Sixto Sanchez, 3.0 Box-Toppers points, 111th among all players, 34th among NL pitchers.
ALDS Game 4: Astros lead Athletics, 2-1
The pitching matchup Thursday:
Athletics—Frankie Montas, 6.0 Box-Toppers points, 19th among all players, 10th among AL pitchers.
Astros—Zack Greinke, 2.0 Box-Toppers points, 150th among all players, 45th among AL pitchers.
ALDS Game 4: Rays lead Yankees, 2-1
The pitching matchup Thursday:
Rays—Ryan Thompson, 0.0 Box-Toppers points. Thompson has yet to make his Box-Toppers debut by earning his first career Player of the Game honor. He played in 25 games in the 2020 regular season, starting once.
Yankees—Jordan Montgomery, 1.0 Box-Toppers point, 425th among all players, 108th among AL pitchers.
NLDS Game 3: Dodgers lead Padres, 2-0
The pitching matchup Thursday:
Dodgers—Dustin May, 2.0 Box-Toppers points, 201st among all players, 55th among NL pitchers.
Padres—Adrian Morejon, 2.0 Box-Toppers points, 231st among all players, 63rd among NL pitchers.
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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