Blue Jays pitcher Alek Manoah is Saturday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day.
Also Saturday, Dodgers pitcher Julio Urias rises to fourth place in Box-Toppers season player rankings after earning Player of the Game honors. Plus, Padres pitcher Joe Musgrove rises to 10th place in rankings Saturday.
Player of the Day—Manoah struck out 10 over seven innings, allowing one run, one hit and one walk, in the 10-1 win over the Orioles.
Manoah earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day, giving him 10.7 for the season, 41st among all players and 15th among American League pitchers.
Manoah becomes the 48th player to reach 10 Box-Toppers points this season. It is his first season with 10 or more points in his first season earning points.
National League Player of the Day—Dodgers pitcher Julio Urias struck out seven over 6 1/3 innings, allowing one run, one hit and two walks, in the 7-3 win over the Brewers.
Urias earns 1.7 Box-Toppers points for being NL Player of the Day, giving him 19.1 for the season, rising from seventh to fourth in season player rankings, third among NL pitchers behind teammate Max Scherzer (25.1) and Zack Wheeler of the Phillies (21.1).
Top 10 players
Here are the top 10 in Box-Toppers season player rankings for 2021. Players are ranked by Box-Toppers points (BTP) earned this season through Saturday, Oct. 2.| Player | Pos | Team | BTP | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Scherzer, Max 2588 | pi sp | lad nl | 25.1 |
| 2 | Cole, Gerrit 3232 | pi sp | nyy al | 22.4 |
| 3 | Wheeler, Zack 3204 | pi sp | phi nl | 21.1 |
| 4 | Urias, Julio 3652 | pi sp | lad nl | 19.1 |
| 5 | Burnes, Corbin 4029 | pi sp | mil nl | 18.1 |
| 6 | Ray, Robbie 3502 | pi sp | tor al | 17.7 |
| 7 | Marquez, German 3788 | pi sp | col nl | 17.4 |
| 8 | Woodruff, Brandon 3868 | pi sp | mil nl | 17.1 |
| 9 | deGrom, Jacob 3343 | pi sp | nym nl | 16.7 |
| 10 | Musgrove, Joe 3705 | pi sp | sd nl | 16.1 |
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American League Batter of the Day—Brandon Lowe of the Rays hit three home runs, including two three-run shots, in the 12-2 win over the Yankees. Lowe went 3-for-5, scoring three times and driving in seven runs.
Lowe earns 1.5 Box-Toppers points for being AL Batter of the Day, giving him 10.5 for the season, 42nd among all players and third among AL batters, behind Jose Ramirez of the Indians (13.0) and J.D. Martinez of the Red Sox (10.7).
Lowe becomes the 49th player to reach 10 Box-Toppers points in 2021. It is his first season with 10 or more points. He had 1.0 point in 2019 and 1.0 point in 2020, both with the Rays.
Lowe also becomes the fifth batter to reach 10 Box-Toppers points this season. That now ties the record for the fewest number of batters reaching 10 Box-Toppers points in a regular-length single season since tracking began in 1995. There were also just five each in both 2014 and 2018. (There were none in the pandemic-shortened 2020 season.) By contrast, there are 44 pitchers currently with 10 or more Box-Toppers points in 2021.
During the last regular-length season, 2019, there were 50 players who reached 10 Box-Toppers points—41 of them were pitchers and nine were batters. There are currently 10 batters with between 8.0 and 9.7 Box-Toppers points in 2021 who have the possibility of reaching 10 Box-Toppers points on the final day of the season Sunday.
Lowe had a Box-Toppers game score of +8.0 Saturday, which was the ninth-best for a batter earning Player of the Game honors in 2021.
National League Batter of the Day—Trayce Thompson of the Cubs hit a grand slam and went 3-for-4, scoring once and driving in four runs, in the 6-5 win over the Cardinals.
This was Thompson’s Box-Toppers debut, the first time in his career he earned Player of the Game honors. Thompson made his Major League debut Aug. 4, 2015, and was playing in his 216th career game.
Rankings—Padres pitcher Joe Musgrove rises to 10th place in Box-Toppers season player rankings after earning Player of the Game honors Saturday.
Musgrove (5IP 3H R 0BB 4K ND in the 3-2, 10-inning win over the Giants) earns 1.0 Box-Toppers point, giving him 16.1 for the season, eighth among NL pitchers.
Musgrove displaces Angels pitcher Shohei Ohtani from the top 10. While both Ohtani and Musgrove have 16.1 Box-Toppers points on the season, Musgrove ranks higher because he has more 2020 Box-Toppers points—2.0 vs. 0.0. Ohtani now ranks 11th overall, but still third among AL pitchers.
Scoring—Manoah earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day and Urias earns 1.7 points for being NL Player of the Day. Lowe and Thompson each earn 1.5 points for being their league’s Batter of the Day. All of Saturday’s other Player of the Game winners (listed in the chart below) earn 1.0 Box-Toppers point.
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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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).| 10/2 | BTG | Game | Player | AB | R | H | BI | IP | H | R | ER | BB | K | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| MLB | +13.0 | TOR 10, BAL 1 | Alek Manoah (W 9‑2) | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | 7.0 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 10 | |
| +13.0 | `BOS 5, WSH 3 | Tanner Houck | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | 5.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 8 | ||
| +10.0 | TEX 7, CLE 2 | Jordan Lyles, (W 10‑13) | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | 7.0 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 8 | ||
| NL | +8.1 | LAD 8, MIL 3 | Julio Urías, (W 20‑3) | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | 6.1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 7 | |
| +8.1 | MIA 3, PHI 1 | Jesus Luzardo, (W 4‑5) | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | 5.1 | 6 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 11 | ||
| BAT | +8.0 | TB 12, NYY 2 | Brandon Lowe, 2B | 5 | 3 | 3 | 7 | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | |
| +5.0 | SEA 6, LAA 4 | Mitch Haniger, RF | 5 | 1 | 4 | 5 | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ||
| +5.0 | MIN 4, KC 0 | Griffin Jax, (W 4‑5) | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | 5.0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 3 | ||
| BAT | +4.0 | CHC 6, STL 5 | Trayce Thompson, RF | 4 | 1 | 3 | 4 | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | |
| +4.0 | CHW 5, DET 4 | Yoan Moncada, 3B | 4 | 2 | 3 | 3 | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ||
| +4.0 | `SD 3, SF 2 (F/10) | Joe Musgrove | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | 5.0 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 4 | ||
| +3.0 | ARI 11, COL 2 | Pavin Smith, RF | 2 | 3 | 2 | 0 | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ||
| +3.0 | PIT 8, CIN 6 | Wilmer Difo, PH | 1 | 1 | 1 | 2 | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ||
| +3.0 | ATL 6, NYM 5 | Drew Smyly, (W 11‑4) | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | 3.0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 3 | ||
| +1.0 | HOU 10, OAK 4 | Jose Altuve, 2B | 5 | 2 | 4 | 0 | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ |
AL—Overall American League Player of the Day, worth 1.7 total Box‑Toppers points.
NL—Overall National League Player of the Day, worth 1.7 total Box‑Toppers points.
BAT—Top AL or NL Batter of the Day, worth 1.5 total Box‑Toppers points.
All other players listed here earn Player of the Game honors, worth 1.0 Box‑Toppers point.
` Pitcher had a no‑decision in the game and did not pick up a win or a save.
Box-Toppers point totals of the day’s Player of the Game winners
Here are Box-Toppers point totals of each of the Player of the Game winners. Players are ranked by their Box-Toppers point total for the current season (’21). Also shown are each players’ Box-Toppers point total for this season and last (’20-21), the period 2016-2021 (’16-21) and each players’ career point total. Also shown is how their 2021 Box-Toppers point total compares with their 2020 total (+/-).| Player of the Game | Pos | Team | ’21 | ’20‑21 | ’16‑21 | Career | +/- |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Urias, Julio 3652 | pi sp | lad nl | 19.1 | 20.1 | 32.8 | 32.8 | +18.1 |
| Musgrove, Joe 3705 | pi sp | sd nl | 16.1 | 18.1 | 35.8 | 35.8 | +14.1 |
| Manoah, Alek 4424 | pi sp | tor al | 10.7 | 10.7 | 10.7 | 10.7 | +10.7 |
| Lowe, Brandon 4108 | 2b | tb al | 10.5 | 11.5 | 12.5 | 12.5 | +9.5 |
| Smyly, Drew 3009 | pi sp | atl nl | 8.0 | 8.0 | 19.4 | 47.5 | +8.0 |
| Haniger, Mitch 3772 | rf | sea al | 7.5 | 7.5 | 18.5 | 18.5 | +7.5 |
| Luzardo, Jesus 4282 | pi sp | fla nl | 7.4 | 12.1 | 12.1 | 12.1 | +2.7 |
| Lyles, Jordan 3100 | pi sp | tex al | 7.0 | 7.0 | 20.7 | 27.4 | +7.0 |
| Altuve, Jose 3007 | 2b | hou al | 6.5 | 6.5 | 27.5 | 44.0 | +6.5 |
| Houck, Tanner 4342 | pi sp | bos al | 6.0 | 8.7 | 8.7 | 8.7 | +3.3 |
| Difo, Wilmer 4375 | rf ph | pit nl | 5.0 | 5.0 | 5.0 | 5.0 | +5.0 |
| Jax, Griffin 4478 | pi sp | min al | 3.7 | 3.7 | 3.7 | 3.7 | +3.7 |
| Smith, Pavin 4427 | 1b lf rf | ari nl | 3.5 | 3.5 | 3.5 | 3.5 | +3.5 |
| Thompson, Trayce 4567 | rf | chi nl | 1.5 | 1.5 | 1.5 | 1.5 | +1.5 |
| Moncada, Yoan 3878 | 3b | chi al | 1.0 | 2.0 | 10.0 | 10.0 | +0.0 |
About Box-Toppers’ team abbreviations
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