Phillies pitcher Matt Moore is Saturday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day.
Also Saturday, Diamondbacks pitcher Tyler Gilbert pitched the season’s eighth nine-inning no-hitter. He earned his first career Player of the Game honor but fell just short of beating Moore for overall Box-Toppers Player of the Day honors.
Player of the Day—Moore struck out eight over six scoreless and hitless innings, allowing two walks, in the 6-1 win over the Phillies.
Moore exited after six innings and 76 pitches despite allowing no hits. Hopes of a combined no-hitter were dashed in the eighth inning when the bullpen gave up the first of three eventual Reds’ hits.
Moore earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day, giving him 3.0 for the season, 384th among all players and 75th among NL pitchers.
American League Player of the Day—Twins pitcher Kenta Maeda struck out four over six scoreless innings, allowing three hits and one walk, in the 12-0 win over the Rays.
National League Batter of the Day—Dansby Swanson of the Braves hit two home runs, including a three-run shot, in the 12-2 win over the Nationals. Swanson went 3-for-5, scoring twice and driving in six runs.
Swanson earns 1.5 Box-Toppers points for being NL Batter of the Day, giving him 7.0 for the season, seventh among NL batters.
American League Batter of the Day—Aaron Judge of the Yankees homered, doubled and went 3-for-4, scoring twice and driving in four runs, in the 7-5, 10-inning win over the White Sox.
Notable—Dodgers pitcher Walker Buehler has the most 2021 Box-Toppers points among Saturday’s 16 Player of the Game winners.
Buehler (7IP 4H R 3BB 10K ND in the 2-1, 10-inning win over the Mets) earns 1.0 Box-Toppers point, giving him 11.7 for the season, 15th among all players and 10th among NL pitchers.
No-hitter—Diamondbacks pitcher Tyler Gilbert earns Box-Toppers Player of the Game honors, the first of his career, after pitching a no-hitter Saturday.
Gilbert (CG 0H 0R 3BB 5K W in the 7-0 win over the Padres) had a Box-Toppers game score Saturday of +11.0, which was the day’s second-best behind the +12.0 by Phillies pitcher Matt Moore, who was overall Player of the Day pitching six no-hit innings.
Despite pitching a no-hitter, Gilbert earned no bonus Box-Toppers points because he was the day’s second-best Player of the Game winner among NL pitchers behind Moore. And despite his +11.0 game score he earned just 1.0 Box-Toppers point, fewer than three players who had lower game scores:
Twins pitcher Kenta Maeda earned 1.7 Box-Toppers points as AL Player of the Day with a game score of +6.0.
Dansby Swanson of the Braves earned 1.5 Box-Toppers points as NL Batter of the Day with a game score of +6.0.
Aaron Judge of the Yankees earned 1.5 Box-Toppers points as AL Batter of the Day with a game score of +5.0.
Gilbert’s +11.0 is the lowest Box-Toppers game score among the seven other complete-game no-hitters this season (four Cubs pitched a combined no-hitter on June 24). Here are the game scores for the season’s seven complete-game no-hitters:
+21.0 by Orioles pitcher John Means on May 5, second-highest game score among all Player of the Game winners in 2021.
+19.0 by Padres pitcher Joe Musgrove on April 9, third-highest game score of the season.
+17.0 by Yankees pitcher Corey Kluber on May 19, the 10th-highest game score of the season.
+16.0 by Tigers pitcher Spencer Turnbull on May 18, the 14th-highest game score of the season.
+16.0 by Reds pitcher Wade Miley on May 7, the 15th-highest game score of the season.
+16.0 by White Sox pitcher Carlos Rodon on April 14, the 16th-highest game score of the season. (Though Turnbull, Miley and Rodon all had +16.0 game scores in their no-hitters, Turnbull’s is ranked highest because he had the most strikeouts in his game (nine), Miley had the second-most (eight) and Rodon the third-most (seven).
+11.0 by Gilbert Saturday is the 104th-highest game score by a Player of the Game winner in 2021.
Of the seven who pitched no-hitters listed here, Gilbert is the only one who did not earn overall Player of the Day honors worth 2.0 Box-Toppers points.
This was Gilbert’s Box-Toppers debut, the first time in his career he earned Player of the Game honors. Gilbert made his Major League debut Aug. 3 and was playing in his fourth 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 Saturday, Aug. 14.| Player | Pos | Team | BTP | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Wheeler, Zack 3204 | pi sp | phi nl | 17.1 |
| 2 | deGrom, Jacob 3343 | pi sp | nym nl | 16.7 |
| 3 | Cole, Gerrit 3232 | pi sp | nyy al | 16.4 |
| 4 | Marquez, German 3788 | pi sp | col nl | 15.4 |
| 5 | Woodruff, Brandon 3868 | pi sp | mil nl | 14.4 |
| 6 | Scherzer, Max 2588 | pi sp | lad nl | 14.4 |
| 7 | Bassitt, Chris 3413 | pi sp | oak al | 13.7 |
| 8 | Ohtani, Shohei 3933 | pi sp dh | ana al | 13.4 |
| 9 | Glasnow, Tyler 3948 | pi sp | tb al | 12.7 |
| 10 | Peralta, Freddy 3965 | pi sp | mil nl | 12.7 |
About Box-Toppers’ team abbreviations
Debut—In addition to Gilbert, three other players made their Box-Toppers debut Saturday, each with their first career Player of the Game honor:
Jake Meyers of the Astros (2HR 2-4 2R 5BI in the 8-2 win over the Angels) made his Major League debut Aug. 1 and was playing in his seventh career game.
Brewers pitcher Aaron Ashby (4IP 3H 0R 0BB 4K ND in the 6-0, seven-inning win over the Pirates) made his Major League debut June 30 and was playing in his third career game.
Marlins pitcher Anthony Bender (1IP 0H 0R 0BB 2K Sv in the 5-4 win over the Cubs) made his Major League debut May 5 and was playing in his 43rd career game.
Scoring—Moore earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day and Maeda earns 1.7 points for being AL Player of the Day. Swanson and Judge 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).| 8/14 | BTG | Game | Player | AB | R | H | BI | IP | H | R | ER | BB | K | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| MLB | +12.0 | PHI 6, CIN 1 | Matt Moore, (W 2‑3) | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | 6.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 8 | |
| +11.0 | ARI 7, SD 0 | Tyler Gilbert, (W 1‑1) | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | 9.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 5 | ||
| +8.0 | `LAD 2, NYM 1 (F/10) | Walker Buehler | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | 7.0 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 10 | ||
| BAT | +6.0 | ATL 12, WSH 2 | Dansby Swanson, SS | 5 | 2 | 3 | 6 | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | |
| +6.0 | PIT 14, MIL 4 (F/7) | Kevin Newman, SS | 4 | 4 | 4 | 2 | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ||
| AL | +6.0 | MIN 12, TB 0 | Kenta Maeda, (W 6‑4) | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | 6.0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 4 | |
| BAT | +5.0 | NYY 7, CHW 5 (F/10) | Aaron Judge, RF | 4 | 2 | 3 | 4 | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | |
| +5.0 | HOU 8, LAA 2 | Jake Meyers, RF | 4 | 2 | 2 | 5 | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ||
| +5.0 | `MIL 6, PIT 0 (F/7) | Aaron Ashby | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | 4.0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | ||
| +4.0 | SEA 9, TOR 3 | Luis Torrens, DH | 4 | 1 | 2 | 5 | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ||
| +4.0 | BOS 16, BAL 2 | Xander Bogaerts, SS | 3 | 2 | 3 | 2 | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ||
| +3.0 | STL 9, KC 4 | Nolan Arenado, 3B | 4 | 1 | 2 | 4 | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ||
| +3.0 | COL 4, SF 1 | Kyle Freeland, (W 4‑6) | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | 6.0 | 5 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 6 | ||
| +3.0 | MIA 5, CHC 4 | Anthony Bender, (S 3) | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | 1.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | ||
| +3.0 | DET 6, CLE 4 | Gregory Soto, (S 15) | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | 1.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | ||
| +2.0 | OAK 8, TEX 3 | Matt Chapman, 3B | 4 | 2 | 2 | 2 | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ |
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 | +/- |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Buehler, Walker 3943 | pi sp | lad nl | 11.7 | 17.4 | 48.9 | 48.9 | +6.0 |
| Bogaerts, Xander 3383 | ss | bos al | 7.5 | 8.5 | 28.7 | 34.2 | +6.5 |
| Swanson, Dansby 3751 | ss | atl nl | 7.0 | 9.0 | 21.5 | 21.5 | +5.0 |
| Arenado, Nolan 3306 | 3b | stl nl | 6.0 | 7.0 | 40.9 | 50.9 | +5.0 |
| Maeda, Kenta 3609 | pi sp | min al | 5.7 | 14.1 | 53.5 | 53.5 | ‑2.7 |
| Judge, Aaron 3767 | rf dh | nyy al | 4.5 | 8.5 | 25.7 | 25.7 | +0.5 |
| Freeland, Kyle 3763 | pi sp | col nl | 4.0 | 5.0 | 24.4 | 24.4 | +3.0 |
| Chapman, Matt 3849 | 3b | oak al | 3.0 | 4.0 | 20.0 | 20.0 | +2.0 |
| Moore, Matt 2975 | pi sp | phi nl | 3.0 | 3.0 | 23.8 | 49.3 | +3.0 |
| Soto, Gregory 4371 | pi cp | det al | 2.0 | 2.0 | 2.0 | 2.0 | +2.0 |
| Torrens, Luis 4452 | dh | sea al | 2.0 | 2.0 | 2.0 | 2.0 | +2.0 |
| Newman, Kevin 4234 | ss | pit nl | 1.0 | 2.0 | 8.2 | 8.2 | +0.0 |
| Ashby, Aaron 4511 | pi sp | mil nl | 1.0 | 1.0 | 1.0 | 1.0 | +1.0 |
| Bender, Anthony 4512 | pi cp | fla nl | 1.0 | 1.0 | 1.0 | 1.0 | +1.0 |
| Gilbert, Tyler 4509 | pi sp | ari nl | 1.0 | 1.0 | 1.0 | 1.0 | +1.0 |
| Meyers Jake 4510 | rf | hou al | 1.0 | 1.0 | 1.0 | 1.0 | +1.0 |
About Box-Toppers’ team abbreviations
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