In three league division series playoff games Monday, these are Box-Toppers Player of the Game winners:
Braves pitcher Ian Anderson is top player in Monday’s 3-0 win over the Brewers.
Giants pitcher Alex Wood is top player in Monday’s 1-0 win over the Dodgers.
Red Sox pitcher Eduardo Rodriguez is top player in Monday’s 6-5 win over the Rays.
A fourth league championship series game was postponed due to rain in Chicago. AL Division Series Game 4 between the Astros and White Sox will be played Tuesday.
NLDS Game 3: Braves 3, Brewers 0
Anderson struck out six over five scoreless innings, allowing three hits and no walks.
The Braves lead the best-of-five game series, 2-1. It resumes Tuesday in Atlanta.
Anderson earned 7.0 Box-Toppers points in 2021, 99th among all players, 40th among NL pitchers.
Anderson had a Box-Toppers game score Monday of +8.0, best among Braves players. Braves top batter, pinch hitter Joc Pederson, had a game score of +4.0 (HR 1-1 R 3BI). Brewers starting pitcher Freddy Peralta had a game score of +5.0 in the loss (4IP 3H 0R BB 5K ND).
NLDS Game 3: Giants 1, Dodgers 0
Wood struck out four over 4 2/3 scoreless innings, allowing two hits and two walks. Wood did not earn the win, picking up a no-decision, because he did not pitch the required five innings to earn the win.
The Giants lead the best-of-five game series, 2-1. It resumes Tuesday in Los Angeles.
Wood earned 13.0 Box-Toppers points in 2021, 22nd among all players, 14th among NL pitchers.
Wood had a Box-Toppers game score of +4.2, best among all Giants players Tuesday. Giants closing pitcher Camilo Doval had a game score of +3.0 (2IP 0H 0R 0BB K Sv). Giants top batter, third baseman Evan Longoria, had a game score of 0.0 (HR 1-3 R BI), scoring the game’s only run.
Dodgers pitcher Max Scherzer had a game score of +11.0 in the loss (7IP 3H R BB 10K L). He led all players in Box-Toppers points in 2021 with 25.1. Dodgers top batter was first baseman Albert Pujols with a game score of 0.0 (2-2 0R 0BI). The veteran made a rare start off the bench. He has more career Box-Toppers points than any batter since Box-Toppers tracking began in 1995 (204.8).
ALDS Game 4: Red Sox 6, Rays 5
Rodriguez struck out six over five innings, allowing two runs, three hits and no walks as the Red Sox win the best-of-five game series, 3-1.
Rodriguez did not earn the win, picking up a no-decision, because the Rays tied the game after he exited.
Rodriguez earned 10.0 Box-Toppers points in 2021, 47th among all players, 17th among AL pitchers.
Rodriguez had a Box-Toppers game score of +4.0, best of all Red Sox players Monday. Red Sox top batter is third baseman Rafael Devers with a game score of +3.0 (HR 3-4 R 3BI). Rays starting pitcher Collin McHugh had a game score of +1.0 in the loss (2IP H 0R 0BB 0K ND). Rays top batter was center fielder Kevin Kiermaier with a game score of +2.0 (2-2B 2-3 2R BI).
The Rays, now eliminated from the postseason, finished the regular season with its players accumulating 116.4 Box-Toppers points, seventh among all teams and third among AL teams. The Red Sox finished ninth with 115.9 points.
However, the Red Sox were the better-ranked of the two teams much of the season. The Rays finished the season stronger than the Red Sox, picking up 7.9 Box-Toppers points in the regular season’s final 10 days, compared to the Red Sox’ addition of 4.7 points over that span. In fact, the two teams swapped spots in the final two team rankings reports—the Rays moved from ninth to seventh and the Red Sox moved from seventh to ninth.
But the Rays’ late season surge didn’t carry into the postseason.
The Red Sox have now won four postseason games, three in the ALDS and their 6-2 win over the Yankees in the AL Wild Card Game on Oct. 5. They advance to the AL Championship Series beginning Friday, facing the winner of the other ALDS (resuming Tuesday), which the Astros lead 2-1 over the White Sox.
Box-Toppers Player of the Game winners
Here is the top player from each of the day’s games listed from highest to lowest Box‑Toppers game score (BTG).| BTG | Game | Player | AB | R | H | BI | IP | H | R | ER | BB | K | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| +8.0 | ATL 3, MIL 0 | Ian Anderson, (W 1‑0) | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | 5.0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6 | |
| +4.2 | `SF 1, LAD 0 | Alex Wood | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | 4.2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 4 | |
| +4.0 | `BOS 6, TB 5 | Eduardo Rodriguez | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | 5.0 | 3 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 6 |
` Pitcher had a no‑decision in the game and did not pick up a win or a save.
Coming Tuesday: Three league championship series resume, one in the American League and two in the National League:
ALDS Game 4: Astros lead White Sox, 2-1
The pitching matchup Tuesday:
Astros—Lance McCullers Jr., 8.7 Box-Toppers points, 68th among all players, 25th among AL pitchers.
White Sox—Carlos Rodon, 11.7 Box-Toppers points, 33rd among all players, 12th among AL pitchers.
NLDS Game 4: Braves lead Brewers, 2-1
The pitching matchup Tuesday:
Brewers—Eric Lauer, 6.0 Box-Toppers points, 146th among all players, 51st among NL pitchers.
Braves—Charlie Morton, 12.7 Box-Toppers points, 25th among all players, 16th among NL pitchers.
NLDS Game 4: Giants lead Dodgers, 2-1
The pitching matchup Tuesday:
Giants—Anthony DeSclafani, 12.7 Box-Toppers points, 24th among all players, 15th among NL pitchers.
Dodgers—Walker Buehler, 16.7 Box-Toppers points, 10th among all players, eighth 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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