Indians pitcher Triston McKenzie is Sunday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day.
Also Sunday, Fernando Tatis Jr. rises to lead National League batters in 2021 Box-Toppers points after earning NL Player of the Day honors.
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, Aug. 15.| 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
Player of the Day—McKenzie struck out 11 over eight scoreless innings, allowing one hit and no walks, in the 11-0 win over the Tigers.
McKenzie was pitching a perfect game until giving up a single to Harold Castro of the Tigers with two outs in the eighth inning.
McKenzie earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day, giving him 5.7 for the season, 89th among all players and 36th among American League pitchers.
McKenzie had a Box-Toppers game score Sunday of +18.0, the sixth-best by a Player of the Game winner so far in 2021. Here are the five that were better:
+22.0 on April 23 by Mets pitcher Jacob deGrom, a two-hit shutout with 15 strikeouts.
+21.0 on May 5 by Orioles pitcher John Means, a complete-game no-hitter with 12 strikeouts.
+19.0 on April 9 by Padres pitcher Joe Musgrove, a complete-game no-hitter with 10 strikeouts.
+19.0 on Aug. 11 by Brewers pitcher Corbin Burnes, 15 strikeouts over eight scoreless innings.
+18.2 on April 12 by Rays pitcher Tyler Glasnow, 14 strikeouts over 7 2/3 scoreless innings.
National League Player of the Day—Fernando Tatis Jr. of the Padres hit two home runs, doubled and went 4-for-5, scoring three times and driving in four runs, in the 8-2 win over the Diamondbacks.
Tatis earns 1.7 Box-Toppers points for being NL Player of the Day, giving him 9.2 for the season, 31st among all players and rising to first among NL batters, passing previous leader Adam Duvall of the Braves (8.0).
This was Tatis’s first game after returning from the injured list. He last played July 30.
American League Batter of the Day—DJ Peters of the Rangers hit two home runs and went 2-for-4, scoring twice and driving in four runs, in the 7-4 win over the Athletics.
This was Peters’s Box-Toppers debut, the first time in his career he earned Player of the Game honors. Peters made his Major League debut April 23 and was playing in his 30th career game.
National League Batter of the Day—There is no separate NL Batter of the Day for Sunday because the overall NL Player of the Day is batter Fernando Tatis Jr.
Notable—Giants pitcher Alex Wood becomes the 21st player to reach 10 Box-Toppers points in 2021 after earning Player of the Game honors Sunday.
Wood (6.2IP 6H 2R BB 6K W in the 5-2 win over the Rockies) earns 1.0 Box-Toppers point, giving him 10.0 for the season, most among Sunday’s 16 Player of the Game winners, 21st among all players and 15th among NL pitchers.
This is Wood’s second season to reach 10 points. He had 15.7 in 2017 with the Dodgers, seventh among NL pitchers.
Also notable—Nolan Arenado of the Cardinals earns Box-Toppers Player of the Game honors for the second straight day Sunday.
Arenado (HR 2-5 2R 3BI in the 7-2 win over the Royals) was also Player of the Game in Saturday’s 9-4 win over the Royals (HR 2B 2-4 R 4BI). Arenado has 7.0 Box-Toppers points in 2021 (2.0 in the past two days) and ranks eighth among NL batters.
Debut—In addition to Peters, two other players also made their Box-Toppers debut Sunday, each with their first career Player of the Game honor:
Angels pitcher Reid Detmers (6IP 3H R 2BB 6K W in the 3-1 win over the Astros) made his Major League debut Aug. 1 and was playing in his third career game.
Twins pitcher Charlie Barnes (5IP 3H R 0BB 3K ND in the 5-4 win over the Rays) made his Major League debut July 17 and was playing in his fourth career game.
Scoring—McKenzie earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day and Tatis earns 1.7 points for being NL Player of the Day. Peters earns 1.5 points for being AL Batter of the Day. All of Sunday’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).| 8/15 | BTG | Game | Player | AB | R | H | BI | IP | H | R | ER | BB | K | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| MLB | +18.0 | CLE 11, DET 0 | Triston McKenzie, (W 2‑5) | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | 8.0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 11 | |
| NL | +6.0 | SD 8, ARI 2 | Fernando Tatis Jr., RF | 5 | 3 | 4 | 4 | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | |
| +5.0 | LAD 14, NYM 4 | Max Muncy, 1B | 4 | 3 | 2 | 4 | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ||
| +5.0 | BOS 6, BAL 2 | Eduardo Rodriguez, (W 9‑6) | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | 6.0 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 6 | ||
| +5.0 | LAA 3, HOU 1 | Reid Detmers, (W 1‑2) | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | 6.0 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 6 | ||
| +5.0 | `MIL 2, PIT 1 | Eric Lauer | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | 4.0 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 6 | ||
| BAT | +4.0 | TEX 7, OAK 4 | DJ Peters, CF | 4 | 2 | 2 | 4 | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | |
| +3.1 | CIN 7, PHI 4 | Lucas Sims, (W 5‑2) | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | 1.1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | ||
| +3.0 | NYY 5, CHW 3 | Nestor Cortes, (W 1‑1) | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | 6.0 | 7 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 7 | ||
| +3.0 | `MIN 5, TB 4 | Charlie Barnes | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | 5.0 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 3 | ||
| +2.1 | `MIA 4, CHC 1 | Elieser Hernandez | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | 5.1 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 4 | ||
| +2.0 | STL 7, KC 2 | Nolan Arenado, 3B | 5 | 2 | 2 | 3 | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ||
| +2.0 | TOR 8, SEA 3 | Teoscar Hernández, RF | 4 | 2 | 3 | 1 | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ||
| +1.2 | SF 5, COL 2 | Alex Wood, (W 10‑3) | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | 6.2 | 6 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 6 | ||
| +1.0 | ATL 6, WSH 5 | Austin Riley, 3B | 5 | 2 | 3 | 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 | +/- |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wood, Alex 3246 | pi sp | sf nl | 10.0 | 10.0 | 31.7 | 50.1 | +10.0 |
| Tatis, Fernando Jr. 4101 | ss | sd nl | 9.2 | 12.2 | 15.2 | 15.2 | +6.2 |
| Rodriguez, Eduardo 3480 | pi sp | bos al | 8.0 | 8.0 | 46.2 | 52.2 | +8.0 |
| Arenado, Nolan 3306 | 3b | stl nl | 7.0 | 8.0 | 41.9 | 51.9 | +6.0 |
| Riley, Austin 4144 | 3b | atl nl | 6.5 | 8.5 | 14.0 | 14.0 | +4.5 |
| Muncy, Max 3969 | 1b 2b | lad nl | 6.0 | 7.5 | 17.5 | 17.5 | +4.5 |
| McKenzie, Triston 4303 | pi sp | cle al | 5.7 | 9.7 | 9.7 | 9.7 | +1.7 |
| Hernandez, Teoscar 3713 | rf lf | tor al | 3.5 | 5.0 | 15.7 | 15.7 | +2.0 |
| Lauer, Eric 4017 | pi sp | mil nl | 3.0 | 3.0 | 16.4 | 16.4 | +3.0 |
| Cortes, Nestor Jr. 4160 | pi sp | nyy al | 3.0 | 3.0 | 5.0 | 5.0 | +3.0 |
| Sims, Lucas 3892 | pi mr cp | cin nl | 3.0 | 3.0 | 4.0 | 4.0 | +3.0 |
| Peters, DJ 4514 | cf | tex al | 1.5 | 1.5 | 1.5 | 1.5 | +1.5 |
| Hernandez, Elieser 4181 | pi sp | fla nl | 1.0 | 3.0 | 6.7 | 6.7 | ‑1.0 |
| Barnes, Charlie 4515 | pi sp | min al | 1.0 | 1.0 | 1.0 | 1.0 | +1.0 |
| Detmers, Reid 4513 | pi sp | ana al | 1.0 | 1.0 | 1.0 | 1.0 | +1.0 |
About Box-Toppers’ team abbreviations
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