Box-Toppers Toppers Box
Today’s key Box-Toppers numbers. Click links to jump to charts elsewhere on this page.▪️ Box-Toppers Player of the Game winners.
▪️ Box-Toppers points of the day’s top players.
▪️ A B-T look at today’s pitching matchups.
Astros pitcher Luis Garcia tops players in Saturday’s four league division series playoff games.
Other Player of the Game winners in Saturday’s league division series games:
Padres closing pitcher Josh Hader.
Phillies pitcher Noah Syndergaard.
Guardians closing pitcher Eli Morgan.
Three teams advance to their league championship series, each winning their league division series Saturday. The San Diego Padres and Philadelphia Phillies both won their series, both as underdogs, and will meet in the National League Championship Series. The Houston Astros, the top-seeded American League team, swept the Seattle Mariners, to advance to the AL Championship Series against the winner of the Yankees-Guardians series.
AL Division Series Game 3: Astros 1, Mariners 0 (F/18)
Astros pitcher Luis Garcia struck out six over five scoreless innings to close the 18-inning game, allowing two hits and no walks.
The Astros win the best-of-five game series, 3-0, eliminating the Mariners.
Garcia earned 9.7 Box-Toppers points in 2022, 57th overall, 27th among AL pitchers. He served as a starting pitcher all season but was put into service in long relief Saturday in the extra inning game, serving as a de facto five-inning closer.
Garcia had a Box-Toppers game score of +9.0. That actually was the same as the +9.0 game score by Astros starter Lance McCullers (6IP 2H 0R 2BB 7K ND). But Garcia, because he earned the win, held the edge for Player of the Game over McCullers, who picked up a no-decision. No Astros batters had a positive game score. Mariners starting pitcher George Kirby had a +6.0 game score (7IP 6H 0R 0BB 5K ND).
The Astros are second in Box-Toppers team rankings, first among AL teams (131.4 Box-Toppers points), while the Mariners were seventh (114.9 points).
NL Division Series Game 4: Padres 5, Dodgers 3
Padres closing pitcher Josh Hader struck out three in a scoreless, hitless ninth inning, allowing no walks and picking up the save.
The Padres win the best-of-five game series, 3-1, eliminating the Dodgers, Box-Toppers’ top-ranked team.
This was the second straight game Hader earned Player of the Game honors, after doing it Friday in the NL Division Series Game 3. He is the second player to earn Player of the Game honors twice in the 2022 postseason, joining Phillies pitcher Aaron Nola. And Hader did this after not earning Player of the Game honors in the regular season since being traded Aug. 1 from the Brewers. Hader last earned regular season Player of the Game honors on July 12, when he was still with the Brewers. He earned 6.0 Box-Toppers points in 2022, 129th among all players, 47th among NL pitchers and third among NL closers.
Hader had a Box-Toppers game score of +4.0, best among all Padres players Friday. Padres starting pitcher Joe Musgrove had a +1.0 game score (6IP 6H 2R 3BB 8K ND). Padres top batter, second baseman Jake Cronenworth, had a game score of 0.0 (2-4 0R 2BI). Dodgers starting pitcher Tyler Anderson had a +7.0 game score (5IP 2H 0R 2BB 6K ND).
The Dodgers were Box-Toppers’ top-ranked team for the final nine weeks of the season and finished with 133.1 Box-Toppers points. Their margin of lead slipped until the end of the season, when they finished just 1.7 points ahead of the second-place team and top-ranked AL team, the Houston Astros (131.4 points). The Padres rank eighth among teams with 114.7 points.
NL Division Series Game 4: Phillies 8, Braves 3
Phillies pitcher Noah Syndergaard struck out three over three innings, allowing one run, one hit and no walks. Syndergaard did not earn the win, picking up a no-decision, because he did not pitch the required five innings for a starter to qualify for the win.
The Phillies win the best-of-five game series, 3-1, eliminating the 2021 World Series champion Braves.
Syndergaard earned 3.0 Box-Toppers points in 2022, 335th among all players, 96th among NL pitchers.
Syndergaard had a Box-Toppers game score Friday of +3.0. Center fielder Brandon Marsh had the highest game score among Phillies batters, +2.0 (HR 2B 2-4 R 3BI). Braves starting pitcher Charlie Morton had a -6.0 game score (2IP 4H 3R BB 3K L).
Two Phillies relievers had Box-Toppers game scores higher than Syndergaard, but neither qualified to earn Player of the Game honors:
Zach Eflin +4.1 game score (1.1IP 0H 0R 0BB 3K ND).
Seranthony Dominguez +4.0 game score (1IP 0H 0R 0BB 3K ND).
To be considered for Box-Toppers Player of the Game honors, a pitcher must either have at least three innings pitched, earn the win, earn the save or have a higher Box-Toppers game score while having the same or more innings pitched as the pitcher who would otherwise win Player of the Game. Neither Eflin nor Dominguez figured in the decision and both had fewer than the three innings pitched by Syndergaard.
The Phillies were the sixth- and lowest-seeded NL postseason team, while the Braves were seeded second.
The Braves were third in Box-Toppers team rankings, second among NL teams (129.0 Box-Toppers points), while the Phillies were 13th (105.3 points), the lowest-ranking NL postseason team.
AL Division Series Game 3: Guardians 6, Yankees 5
Guardians pitcher Eli Morgan struck out one over a scoreless and hitless ninth inning, allowing no walks and picking up the win, as Cleveland rallied in the bottom of the ninth, scoring three runs in a come-from-behind win.
The Guardians lead the best-of-five game series, 2-1.
Morgan earned 2.0 Box-Toppers points in 2022, all as a middle reliever, ranking 408th among all players, 108th among AL pitchers and 25th among AL middle relievers.
Morgan had a +2.0 Box-Toppers game score, best among all Guardians players Saturday. Guardians starting pitcher Triston McKenzie had a -2.8 game score (5IP 4H 4R BB 5K ND). Guardians top batter left fielder Steven Kwan had a +1.0 game score (2B 3-5 2R BI). Yankees starting pitcher Luis Severino had a -2.8 game score (5.2IP 8H 3R 0BB 6K ND).
All of Saturday’s Player of the Game winners are listed in the chart below.
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).Back to top
| BTG | Game | Player | AB | R | H | BI | IP | H | R | ER | BB | K | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| +9.0 | HOU 1, SEA 0 (F/18) | Luis Garcia, (W 1‑0) | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | 5.0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6 | |
| +4.0 | SD 5, LAD 3 | Josh Hader, (S 3) | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | 1.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | |
| +3.0 | `PHI 8, ATL 3 | Noah Syndergaard | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | 3.0 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 3 | |
| +2.0 | CLE 6, NYY 5 | Eli Morgan, (W 1‑0) | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | 1.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
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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 in 2022 (’22). Also shown is their point total for this season and last (’21-22), the period 2017-2022 (’17-22) and each players’ career point total. Also shown is how their 2022 Box-Toppers point total compares with their 2021 total (+/-).Back to top
| Player of the Game | Pos | Team | ’22 | ’21‑22 | ’17‑22 | Career | +/‑ |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Garcia, Luis 4423 | pi sp | hou al | 9.7 | 19.7 | 19.7 | 19.7 | -0.3 |
| Hader, Josh 3881 | pi cp | sd nl | 6.0 | 10.0 | 42.4 | 42.4 | +2.0 |
| Syndergaard, Noah 3472 | pi sp | phi nl | 3.0 | 3.0 | 25.4 | 52.5 | +3.0 |
| Morgan, Eli 4497 | pi mr sp | cle al | 2.0 | 7.4 | 7.4 | 7.4 | -3.4 |
About Box-Toppers’ team abbreviations
NOTE: These are player point totals as of the end of the 2022 regular season. No Box-Toppers points are awarded in postseason games.
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Sunday’s pitching matchups (for more, see matchups chart below):
AL Division Series Game 4, Guardians lead Yankees, 2-1
A rematch of Game 1 Tuesday, won by the Yankees.
Yankees—Gerrit Cole, 15.4 Box-Toppers points in 2022, 17th among all players, eighth among AL pitchers. Cole was Player of the Game in the first game of the series on Tuesday.
Guardians—Cal Quantrill, 6.0 Box-Toppers points in 2022, 125th overall, 47th among AL pitchers.
A Box-Toppers look at Sunday’s Division Series round pitching matchups
A Box-Toppers look at the upcoming day’s probable pitching matchups. Teams are paired below with visiting teams on top and home teams on the bottom. Each team’s starting pitcher is shown with their Box-Toppers point total from 2022 (’22), over a two-year period (’21-22), over a six-year period (’17-22) and their career point total.Back to top
| Game | Starter | ’22 | ’21‑22 | ’17‑22 | Career |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| NYY | Cole, Gerrit 3232 | 15.4 | 37.8 | 102.4 | 138.3 |
| CLE | Quantrill, Cal 4195 | 6.0 | 11.7 | 15.7 | 15.7 |
What are those numbers after players' names?
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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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Related
Box-Toppers 2022 player rankings leaders
Box-Toppers 2022 final team rankings
Box-Toppers’ NL Division Series preview: Padres vs. Dodgers, Phillies vs. Braves
Box-Toppers’ AL Division Series previews: Guardians vs. Yankees, Mariners vs. Astros