Braves starting pitcher Ian Anderson is Box-Toppers Player of the Game in Friday’s World Series Game 3.
The Atlanta Braves win 2-0 to take a 2-1 lead in the best-of-seven game series over the Houston Astros.
Anderson struck out four over five scoreless and hitless innings, allowing three walks. He is now one of five players to win Player of the Game honors twice during this season’s playoffs.
Anderson had a no-hitter going when he exited with 76 pitches. Relievers kept the no-hitter going until the eighth inning when Tyler Matzek gave up a single to pinch hitter Aledmys Diaz. In all, five Braves pitchers combined for the shutout, giving up just two hits.
Anderson had a Box-Toppers game score of +6.0, best among all Braves players Friday. Braves top batter Travis d'Arnaud had a game score of 0.0 (HR 2B 2-4 R BI).
Astros starting pitcher Luis Garcia had a game score of +0.2 in the loss (3.2IP 3H R 4BB 6K L). Diaz had the highest game score (0.0) among Astros batters (1-1 0R 0BI).
Anderson earned 7.0 Box-Toppers points in the 2021 regular season, 99th among all players and 40th among NL pitchers.
This was his second Player of the Game honor of the 2021 postseason in his fourth appearance. He was also 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 and in the NLCS Game 6 win over the Dodgers on Oct. 23.
Anderson joins four other players who have earned two Box-Toppers Player of the Game honors this postseason. Jose Altuve of the Astros, Braves relief pitcher A.J. Minter and Dodgers pitchers Julio Urias and Kenley Jansen have also won Player of the Game honors twice each this postseason.
Top Braves in World Series Game 3: Atlanta 2, Houston 0
Here are the Box-Toppers game scores (BTG) of all Braves players who appeared in World Series Game 3, listed from highest to lowest Box-Toppers game score. Player of the Game (POG) is Ian Anderson.| 10/29 | BTG | Player | AB | R | H | BI | IP | H | R | ER | BB | K | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| POG | +6.0 | Ian Anderson, (W 1‑0) | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | 5.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 4 | |
| +3.0 | A.J. Minter, (Hld 1) | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | 1.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | ||
| +1.0 | Tyler Matzek, (Hld 1) | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | 1.0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | ||
| +1.0 | Luke Jackson, (Hld 1) | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | 1.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||
| +0.0 | Travis d'Arnaud, C | 4 | 1 | 2 | 1 | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ||
| +0.0 | Will Smith, (S 1) | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | 1.0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||
| +0.0 | Will Smith, P | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ||
| +0.0 | A.J. Minter, P | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ||
| +0.0 | Luke Jackson, P | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ||
| +0.0 | Tyler Matzek, P | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ||
| +0.0 | Guillermo Heredia, CF | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ||
| ‑1.0 | Eddie Rosario, LF | 3 | 1 | 1 | 0 | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ||
| ‑1.0 | Ehire Adrianza, PH | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ||
| ‑2.0 | Jorge Soler, RF | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ||
| ‑2.0 | Ian Anderson, P | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ||
| ‑2.0 | Austin Riley, 3B | 4 | 0 | 1 | 1 | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ||
| ‑3.0 | Freddie Freeman, 1B | 4 | 0 | 1 | 0 | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ||
| ‑3.0 | Adam Duvall, CF‑RF | 4 | 0 | 1 | 0 | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ||
| ‑3.0 | Ozzie Albies, 2B | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ||
| ‑3.0 | Dansby Swanson, SS | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ |
World Series Game 4, Braves lead Astros in series, 2-1
Saturday’s starting pitchers:
Astros—Zack Greinke, 8.7 Box-Toppers points, 69th among all players, 26th among AL pitchers.
This is Greinke’s third appearance in the 2021 postseason. He pitched one inning of relief in the ALDS Game 3 loss to the White Sox on Oct. 10 and pitched only 1 1/3 innings in his ALCS Game 4 start against the Red Sox on Oct. 19. Despite Greinke’s rocky start, the Astros beat the Red Sox. Greinke has 217.8 career Box-Toppers points, fifth among all players since 1995, when player tracking began and third among all active players.
Braves—Dylan Lee. The rookie, who made his debut Oct. 1, has yet to make his Box-Toppers debut by earning his first career Player of the Game honor, so he has 0.0 career Box-Toppers points. He appeared in two games in the regular season, pitching one inning of relief in each. He’s pitched in relief in two postseason games, the longest for two innings and 38 pitches.
The Braves—short on starters—are expected to go with a bullpen game with relievers taking turns pitching one or two innings each.
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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