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 Justin Verlander and Padres closing pitcher Josh Hader are Box-Toppers Player of the Game winners in Wednesday’s two league championship series games.
AL Championship Series Game 1: Astros 4, Yankees 2
Astros pitcher Justin Verlander struck out 11 over six innings, allowing one run, three hits and one walk.
The Astros take a 1-0 lead in the best-of-seven game series.
Verlander led all players with 26.0 Box-Toppers points during the regular season.
He had a Box-Toppers game score of +11.0, best among all Astros players Wednesday. Astros top batter was center fielder Chas McCormick with a +2.0 game score (HR 2-3 2R BI). Yankees starting pitcher Jameson Taillon had a -4.9 game score (4.1IP 4H R BB 3K ND).
NL Championship Series Game 2: Padres 8, Phillies 5
Padres closing pitcher Josh Hader struck out three over one hitless, scoreless inning, walking none and earning the save.
The Padres tie the best-of-seven game series, 1-1.
Hader earned 6.0 Box-Toppers points in 2022, 129th among all players, 47th among NL pitchers and third among NL closers.
This is his third Player of the Game honor of the 2022 postseason, most among all players. (Three other players each have two—Yankees pitcher Gerrit Cole and Phillies pitchers Zack Wheeler and Aaron Nola.) Hader was also Player of the Game Oct. 14 and Oct. 15 in consecutive NL Division Series wins.
Hader did not earn Player of the Game honors during the regular season since being traded from the Brewers to the Padres on Aug. 1, so these three postseason Player of the Game honors are his first with the Padres. Hader last earned regular season Player of the Game honors on July 12, when he was still with the Brewers.
Hader had a Box-Toppers game score of +4.0 Wednesday. While that was the same game score earned by Padres closing pitcher Nick Martinez (2IP H 0R BB 3K ND), Hader won Player of the Game because he earned the save while Martinez had no decision. Padres starting pitcher Blake Snell had a -3.0 game score (5IP 5H 4R BB 6K W). Padres top batter Josh Bell had a +2.0 game score (HR 3-4 R 2BI). Phillies starting pitcher Aaron Nola had a -8.8 game score (4.2IP 7H 6R 0BB 6K L).
The series continues Friday in Philadelphia.
Wednesday’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 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| +11.0 | HOU 4, NYY 2 | Justin Verlander, (W 1‑0) | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | 6.0 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 11 | |
| +4.0 | SD 8, PHI 5 | Josh Hader, (S 1) | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | 1.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 |
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 | +/‑ |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Verlander, Justin 2112 | pi sp | hou al | 26.0 | 26.0 | 93.3 | 232.6 | +26.0 |
| Hader, Josh 3881 | pi cp | sd nl | 6.0 | 10.0 | 42.4 | 42.4 | +2.0 |
About Box-Toppers’ team abbreviations
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Thursday’s pitching matchup (for more, see matchups chart below):
AL Championship Series Game 2: Astros lead Yankees, 1-0
Yankees—Luis Severino, 6.7 Box-Toppers points in 2022, 109th overall, 42nd among AL pitchers.
Astros—Framber Valdez, 16.0 Box-Toppers points in 2022, 14th overall, fifth among AL pitchers.
Severino has made one 2022 postseason appearance, starting the Oct. 15 ALDS Game 3 loss to the Guardians (5.2IP 8H 3R 0BB 6K ND).
Valdez was Player of the Game in the Oct. 13 ALDS Game 2 win over the Mariners (5.2IP 4H 2R ER 3BB 6K ND) in his only appearance this postseason.
A Box-Toppers look at Thursday’s 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 | Severino, Luis 3567 | 6.7 | 7.7 | 48.5 | 53.5 |
| HOU | Valdez, Framber 4048 | 16.0 | 21.0 | 31.4 | 31.4 |
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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Box-Toppers’ NL Division Series preview: Padres vs. Dodgers, Phillies vs. Braves
Box-Toppers’ AL Division Series previews: Guardians vs. Yankees, Mariners vs. Astros