Phillies pitcher Zack Wheeler is Sunday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day, rising to third in Box-Toppers season player rankings, first among National League pitchers.
Wheeler struck out 12 over 7 1/3 innings, allowing one run, three hits and one walk, in the 6-2 win over the Red Sox.
Wheeler earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day, giving him 8.4 for the season, rising from ninth place to third in season player rankings, trailing only Yankees pitcher Gerrit Cole (10.7) and Rays pitcher Tyler Glasnow (8.7). Wheeler also rises to lead National League pitchers in 2021 Box-Toppers points, passing previous leader Yu Darvish of the Padres (7.7).
American League Player of the Day—Angels pitcher Steve Cishek struck out four over 2 1/3 innings of scoreless and hitless middle relief, allowing no walks, in the 6-5 win over the Athletics. Cishek did not earn the win, picking up a no-decision, because the Angels trailed when he exited.
National League Batter of the Day—Fernando Tatis Jr. of the Padres hit two home runs, including a grand slam, in the 9-2 win over the Mariners. Tatis went 3-for-3, scoring three times and driving in six runs.
American League Batter of the Day—Kyle Garlick of the Twins hit a three-run, go-ahead, 10th-inning homer in the 8-5, 10-inning win over the Indians. Garlick went 1-for-1, scoring once and driving in three runs.
This was Garlick’s Box-Toppers debut, the first time in his career he earned Player of the Game honors. Garlick made his Major League debut May 19, 2019, and was playing in his 68th career game.
Debut—In addition to Garlick, two other players made their Box-Toppers debut Sunday, both with their first career Player of the Game honor:
Rockies pitcher Jordan Sheffield (1IP 0H 0R 0BB 2K ND in the 4-3 win over the Diamondbacks) made his Major League debut April 2 and was playing in his 16th career game.
Rays pitcher J.P. Feyereisen (1IP H 0R 0BB 2K Sv in the 6-4 win over the Blue Jays) made his Major League debut July 24, 2020, and was playing in his 29th career game.
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 Sunday, May 23.| Player | Pos | Team | BTP | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Cole, Gerrit 3232 | pi sp | nyy al | 10.7 |
| 2 | Glasnow, Tyler 3948 | pi sp | tb al | 8.7 |
| 3 | Wheeler, Zack 3204 | pi sp | phi nl | 8.4 |
| 4 | Darvish, Yu 3003 | pi sp | sd nl | 7.7 |
| 5 | Bauer, Trevor 3065 | pi sp | lad nl | 7.4 |
| 6 | Kershaw, Clayton 2494 | pi sp | lad nl | 7.4 |
| 7 | Rogers, Trevor 4311 | pi sp | fla nl | 7.0 |
| 8 | Scherzer, Max 2588 | pi sp | dc nl | 6.7 |
| 9 | Woodruff, Brandon 3868 | pi sp | mil nl | 6.4 |
| 10 | Martinez, J.D. 2922 | dh | bos al | 6.2 |
About Box-Toppers’ team abbreviations
Scoring—Wheeler earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day and Cishek earns 1.7 points for being AL Player of the Day. Tatis and Garlick each earn 1.5 points for being their league’s Batter of the Day. All of Sunday’s other Players of the Game (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).| 5/23 | BTG | Game | Player | AB | R | H | BI | IP | H | R | ER | BB | K | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| MLB | +13.1 | PHI 6, BOS 2 | Zack Wheeler, (W 4‑2) | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | 7.1 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 12 | |
| BAT | +9.0 | SD 9, SEA 2 | Fernando Tatis Jr., SS | 3 | 3 | 3 | 6 | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | |
| +9.0 | LAD 11, SF 5 | Julio Urías, (W 7‑1) | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | 6.0 | 3 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 10 | ||
| +8.0 | MIA 5, NYM 1 | Cody Poteet, (W 2‑0) | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | 7.0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | ||
| AL | +6.1 | `LAA 6, OAK 5 | Steve Cishek | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | 2.1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | |
| +5.0 | ATL 7, PIT 1 | Austin Riley, 3B | 4 | 2 | 2 | 5 | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ||
| +5.0 | `NYY 5, CHW 4 | Jameson Taillon | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | 5.0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 4 | ||
| +5.0 | KC 3, DET 2 | Kyle Zimmer, (W 3‑0) | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | 2.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | ||
| BAT | +4.0 | MIN 8, CLE 5 (F/10) | Kyle Garlick, RF | 1 | 1 | 1 | 3 | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | |
| +4.0 | `TEX 3, HOU 2 (F/10) | Mike Foltynewicz | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | 7.0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 2 | ||
| +3.0 | `COL 4, ARI 3 | Jordan Sheffield | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | 1.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | ||
| +2.0 | MIL 9, CIN 4 | Kolten Wong, 2B | 5 | 2 | 3 | 2 | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ||
| +2.0 | TB 6, TOR 4 | J.P. Feyereisen, (S 1) | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | 1.0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | ||
| +1.1 | CHC 2, STL 1 (F/10) | Craig Kimbrel, (W 1‑2) | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | 1.1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 2 | ||
| +1.0 | WSH 6, BAL 5 | Alex Avila, C | 3 | 1 | 2 | 1 | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ |
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 | +/- |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wheeler, Zack 3204 | pi sp | phi nl | 8.4 | 9.4 | 30.1 | 41.8 | +7.4 |
| Urias, Julio 3652 | pi sp | lad nl | 6.0 | 7.0 | 19.7 | 19.7 | +5.0 |
| Kimbrel, Craig 2825 | pi cp | chi nl | 5.7 | 6.7 | 31.4 | 82.1 | +4.7 |
| Taillon, Jameson 3658 | pi sp | nyy al | 3.0 | 3.0 | 29.4 | 29.4 | +3.0 |
| Cishek, Steve 2997 | pi mr cp | ana al | 2.7 | 2.7 | 12.7 | 32.7 | +2.7 |
| Tatis, Fernando Jr. 4101 | ss | sd nl | 2.5 | 5.5 | 8.5 | 8.5 | ‑0.5 |
| Riley, Austin 4144 | 3b lf | atl nl | 2.0 | 4.0 | 9.5 | 9.5 | +0.0 |
| Poteet, Cody 4405 | pi sp | fla nl | 2.0 | 2.0 | 2.0 | 2.0 | +2.0 |
| Zimmer, Kyle 4376 | pi cp | kc al | 2.0 | 2.0 | 2.0 | 2.0 | +2.0 |
| Garlick, Kyle 4418 | rf | min al | 1.5 | 1.5 | 1.5 | 1.5 | +1.5 |
| Wong, Kolten 3377 | 2b | mil nl | 1.0 | 2.5 | 8.5 | 18.0 | ‑0.5 |
| Foltynewicz, Mike 3455 | pi sp | tex al | 1.0 | 1.0 | 27.7 | 30.4 | +1.0 |
| Avila, Alex 2642 | ca 1b | dc nl | 1.0 | 1.0 | 7.5 | 23.5 | +1.0 |
| Feyereisen, J.P. 4420 | pi cp | tb al | 1.0 | 1.0 | 1.0 | 1.0 | +1.0 |
| Sheffield, Jordan 4419 | pi mr | col nl | 1.0 | 1.0 | 1.0 | 1.0 | +1.0 |
About Box-Toppers’ team abbreviations
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