Astros pitcher Luis Garcia is Box-Toppers Player of the Game in Friday’s clinching American League Championship Series Game 6.
Garcia struck out seven over 5 2/3 scoreless innings, allowing one hit and one walk, in the 5-0 win over the Red Sox. The Astros win the best-of-seven game series, 4-2, and advance to the World Series.
Garcia had a Box-Toppers game score Friday of +10.2, best of all Astros players. Astros top batter Yordan Alvarez had a game score of +3.0 (3B 2B 4-4 2R BI). Red Sox starting pitcher Nathan Eovaldi had a game score of +0.1 (4.1IP 5H R BB 4K L).
Garcia earned 10.0 Box-Toppers points in the 2021 regular season, 49th among all players, 18th among AL pitchers and most among all Astros players.
The Astros are Box-Toppers’ lowest-ranking team among AL postseason qualifiers. They rank 10th, with its players accumulating 114.0 Box-Toppers points during the regular season.
The Boston Red Sox, now eliminated, fared only slightly better than the Astros, in ninth place with 115.9 Box-Toppers points. Both the Astros and Red Sox rank behind the eighth-place Toronto Blue Jays (116.0), who did not qualify for the postseason. They also rank behind AL teams they have collectively defeated in the playoffs: The Chicago White Sox (second overall with 124.9 points), the New York Yankees (sixth with 119.8) and the Tampa Bay Rays (seventh with 116.4).
The Astros advance to the World Series to face the winner of the NL Championship Series, in which the Braves currently lead the Dodgers, 3-2.
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 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| +10.2 | HOU 5, BOS 0 | Luis Garcia, (W 1‑1) | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | 5.2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 7 |
` Pitcher had a no‑decision in the game and did not pick up a win or a save.
Coming Saturday:
NL Championship Series Game 6: Braves lead series over Dodgers, 3-2
The pitching matchup:
Dodgers—Walker Buehler, 16.7 Box-Toppers points, 10th among all players, eighth among NL pitchers.
Buehler has not earned Box-Toppers Player of the Game honors in three appearances in the 2021 postseason: NLDS Game 1 loss on Oct. 8, NLDS Game 4 win on Oct. 12 and NLCS Game 3 win on Oct. 19.
Buehler is pitching on three day’s rest. He was expected to start Sunday if the Dodgers could push the series to seven games. However, expected starter for Game 6, Max Scherzer, was scratched because of arm fatigue issues, according to reports.
Scherzer earned 25.1 Box-Toppers points in the 2021 regular season, first among all players and first among NL pitchers. However, he has not earned Player of the Game honors in any of his four appearances in the 2021 postseason: He started the NL Wild Card Game win over the Cardinals on Oct. 6, NLDS Game 3 loss to the Giants on Oct. 11 and NLCS Game 2 loss to the Braves on Oct. 17. He also pitched an inning of relief and earned the save in NLDS Game 5 on Oct. 14.
Scherzer won Box-Toppers Player of the Game honors in eight of his first nine starts for the Dodgers from Aug. 4 to Sept. 18. But in six regular and postseason appearances since then, he has failed to win Player of the Game.
Braves—Ian Anderson, 7.0 Box-Toppers points, 99th among all players, 40th among NL pitchers.
This is Anderson’s third 2021 postseason appearance. He was Player of the Game in the NLDS Game 3 win over the Brewers on Oct. 11. He also started in the NLCS Game 2 win over the Dodgers on Oct. 17, but did not earn Player of the Game honors.
Box-Toppers preview of the NLCS from Oct. 15
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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