Dodgers pitcher Clayton Kershaw is Wednesday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day.
Kershaw struck out 13 over seven perfect innings—allowing no hits, runs, walks or baserunners of any kind—in the 7-0 win over the Twins. However, he was pulled after seven innings and 80 pitches in his first start of the season. Reliever Alex Vesia gave up the only hit to the Twins in the eighth inning.
Active season streaks
Here are the 11 players who have active streaks of earning Box-Toppers points for 14 or more consecutive seasons. Players are listed by the length of their streak and with their current team status. Also shown is the duration of their streak and their career Box-Toppers point (BTP) total.| Streak | Player | Pos | Team | Duration | BTP* |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 21 | Albert Pujols | 1b | Cardinals | 2001‑2021 | 204.8 |
| 19 | Miguel Cabrera | 1b dh | Tigers | 2003‑2021 | 158.4 |
| 17 | Nelson Cruz | dh | Nationals | 2006‑2022 | 83.9 |
| 15 | Clayton Kershaw | pi sp | Dodgers | 2008‑2022 | 250.6 |
| 15 | Zack Greinke | pi sp | Royals | 2007‑2021 | 217.8 |
| 15 | Asdrubal Cabrera | 3b 1b | Reds | 2007‑2021 | 63.7 |
| 15 | Kurt Suzuki | ca | Angels | 2007‑2021 | 46.5 |
| 14 | Johnny Cueto | pi sp | White Sox | 2008‑2021 | 111.8 |
| 14 | J.A. Happ | pi sp | Free agent | 2008‑2021 | 91.0 |
| 14 | Andrew McCutchen | dh lf | Brewers | 2009‑2022 | 77.4 |
| 14 | Evan Longoria | 3b | Giants | 2008‑2021 | 56.0 |
Kershaw earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day, his first points of the season and rises to fourth place in season player rankings. Kershaw now has 250.6 career Box-Toppers points, second-most since 1995, when Box-Toppers tracking began, behind only Randy Johnson (282.5). (It should be noted Johnson would have more Box-Toppers points if his entire career from 1988 were tracked, projections put his point total at about 385.)
Kershaw leads active players in career points ahead of Mets pitcher Max Scherzer (226.3). Scherzer also pitched Wednesday in a Mets win but did not earn Player of the Game honors.
Kershaw has now earned Box-Toppers points in 15 straight seasons, tied for the fourth-longest currently active streak (see chart on this page Active season streaks). He’s one of seven players with an active such streak of 15 seasons or more.
Kershaw earned his first Box-Toppers points in 2008 with the Dodgers. His best season was 2014 with the Dodgers when he had 31.5 Box-Toppers points, first among all players. He has led all players in Box-Toppers points in a season three times (2011, 2013 and 2014) and finished among the top three in points in each season from 2011 to 2017. He earned 20 or more points for those seven straight seasons, the longest such streak since Box-Toppers tracking began in 1995.
In 2021, he earned 13.4 Box-Toppers points, 19th overall and 12th among NL pitchers.
Kershaw had a Box-Toppers game score Wednesday of +20.0, highest for any Player of the Game winner so far in 2022. There were only three Player of the Game winners with a higher Box-Toppers game score in 2021:
+22.0 on April 23 by Mets pitcher Jacob deGrom (CG 2H 0R 0BB 15K W in the 6-0 win over the Nationals).
+21.0 on May 5 by Orioles pitcher John Means (CG 0H 0R 0BB 12K W in the 6-0 win over the Mariners).
+21.0 on Sept. 11 by Brewers pitcher Corbin Burnes (8IP 0H 0R BB 14K W in the 3-0 win over the Indians).
American League Player of the Day—Vladimir Guerrero Jr. of the Blue Jays hit three home runs and went 4-for-4, scoring three times and driving in four runs, in the 6-4 win over the Yankees.
Guerrero earns 1.7 Box-Toppers points for being AL Batter of the Day, his first points of the season. He had 3.7 points in 2021, 59th among AL batters.
Top 10 players
Here are the top 10 in Box-Toppers season player rankings for 2022. Players are ranked by Box-Toppers points (BTP) earned this season through Wednesday, April 13.| Player | Pos | Team | BTP | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Megill, Tylor 4464 | pi sp | nym nl | 3.7 |
| 2 | Ramirez, Jose 3436 | 3b | cle al | 3.2 |
| 3 | Manaea, Sean 3637 | pi sp | sd nl | 2.0 |
| 4 | Kershaw, Clayton 2494 | pi sp | lad nl | 2.0 |
| 5 | Gibson, Kyle 3312 | pi sp | phi nl | 2.0 |
| 6 | Valdez, Framber 4048 | pi sp | hou al | 2.0 |
| 7 | Lorenzen, Michael 3479 | pi sp cp | ana al | 2.0 |
| 8 | Blach, Ty 3754 | pi sp mr | col nl | 2.0 |
| 9 | Cortes, Nestor 4160 | pi sp | nyy al | 1.7 |
| 10 | McClanahan, Shane 4399 | pi sp | tb al | 1.7 |
About Box-Toppers’ team abbreviations
National League Batter of the Day—Pete Alonso of the Mets hit a three-run homer and two doubles, in the 9-6 win over the Phillies. Alonso went 3-for-5, scoring twice and driving in five runs.
American League Batter of the Day—There is no separate AL Batter of the Day for Wednesday because the overall AL Player of the Day is batter Vladimir Guerrero Jr.
Scoring—Kershaw earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day and Guerrero earns 1.7 points for being AL Player of the Day. Alonso earns 1.5 points for being NL Batter of the Day. All of Tuesday’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).| 4/13 | BTG | Game | Player | AB | R | H | BI | IP | H | R | ER | BB | K | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| MLB | +20.0 | LAD 7, MIN 0 | Clayton Kershaw, (W 1‑0) | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | 7.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 13 | |
| +11.0 | `MIL 4, BAL 2 | Corbin Burnes | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | 7.0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 8 | ||
| +9.0 | SF 2, SD 1 | Logan Webb, (W 1‑0) | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | 8.0 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 7 | ||
| AL | +7.0 | TOR 6, NYY 4 | Vladimir Guerrero Jr., 1B | 4 | 3 | 4 | 4 | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | |
| +7.0 | `CLE 7, CIN 3 | Triston McKenzie | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | 4.0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6 | ||
| +6.1 | `ARI 3, HOU 2 (F/10) | Merrill Kelly | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | 5.1 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 6 | ||
| +6.0 | WSH 3, ATL 1 | Josiah Gray, (W 1‑1) | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | 5.0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 5 | ||
| BAT | +5.0 | NYM 9, PHI 6 | Pete Alonso, DH | 5 | 2 | 3 | 5 | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | |
| +5.0 | PIT 6, CHC 2 | Wil Crowe, (S 1) | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | 3.0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 4 | ||
| +4.1 | OAK 4, TB 2 | Frankie Montas, (W 1‑1) | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | 6.1 | 5 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 6 | ||
| +3.0 | CHW 6, SEA 4 | Tim Anderson, SS | 4 | 1 | 3 | 3 | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ||
| +2.1 | BOS 9, DET 7 | Hansel Robles, (S 1) | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | 1.1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 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.
N/A—Not applicable. No Player of the Game was chosen because the game ended in a tie.
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 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 (+/-).| Player of the Game | Pos | Team | ’22 | ’21‑22 | ’17‑22 | Career | +/‑ |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Kershaw, Clayton 2494 | pi sp | lad nl | 2.0 | 15.4 | 66.9 | 250.6 | ‑11.4 |
| Guerrero, Vladimir Jr. 4142 | 1b | tor al | 1.7 | 5.4 | 12.6 | 12.6 | ‑2.0 |
| Alonso, Pete 4118 | dh 1b | nym nl | 1.5 | 4.5 | 13.0 | 13.0 | ‑1.5 |
| Burnes, Corbin 4029 | pi sp | mil nl | 1.0 | 19.1 | 29.8 | 29.8 | ‑17.1 |
| Webb, Logan 4258 | pi sp | sf nl | 1.0 | 16.5 | 19.2 | 19.2 | ‑14.5 |
| Montas, Frankie 3803 | pi sp | oak al | 1.0 | 13.4 | 31.8 | 31.8 | ‑11.4 |
| McKenzie, Triston 4303 | pi sp | cle al | 1.0 | 11.4 | 15.4 | 15.4 | ‑9.4 |
| Anderson, Tim 3659 | ss | chi al | 1.0 | 7.5 | 21.5 | 26.0 | ‑5.5 |
| Crowe, Wil 4486 | pi cp sp | pit nl | 1.0 | 6.0 | 6.0 | 6.0 | ‑4.0 |
| Kelly, Merrill 4143 | pi sp | ari nl | 1.0 | 4.0 | 16.0 | 16.0 | ‑2.0 |
| Robles, Hansel 3580 | pi cp mr | bos al | 1.0 | 3.0 | 9.0 | 12.7 | ‑1.0 |
| Gray, Josiah 4503 | pi sp | dc nl | 1.0 | 2.0 | 2.0 | 2.0 | 0.0 |
About Box-Toppers’ team abbreviations
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A Box-Toppers look at Thursday’s pitching matchups
A Box-Toppers look at Thursday’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.| Game | Starter | ’22 | ’21‑22 | ’17‑22 | Career |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| OAK | Irvin, Cole 4140 | 0.0 | 4.7 | 7.7 | 7.7 |
| TB | Fleming, Josh 4316 | 1.0 | 7.7 | 9.7 | 9.7 |
| SEA | Gilbert, Logan 4439 | 1.0 | 8.0 | 8.0 | 8.0 |
| CHW | Jimmy Lambert* | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 |
| STL | Wainwright, Adam 2150 | 1.0 | 13.0 | 31.3 | 143.3 |
| MIL | Woodruff, Brandon 3868 | 0.0 | 17.1 | 33.8 | 33.8 |
| WSH | Joan Adon* | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 |
| PIT | Brubaker, JT 4382 | 0.0 | 4.0 | 4.0 | 4.0 |
| PHI | Gibson, Kyle 3312 | 2.0 | 9.7 | 29.5 | 46.5 |
| MIA | Alcantara, Sandy 4061 | 0.0 | 9.7 | 19.1 | 19.1 |
| TOR | Gausman, Kevin 3191 | 0.0 | 13.7 | 32.5 | 56.7 |
| NYY | Severino, Luis 3567 | 0.0 | 1.0 | 41.8 | 46.8 |
| LAA | Ohtani, Shohei 3933 | 0.0 | 16.1 | 30.6 | 30.6 |
| TEX | Dunning, Dane 4317 | 0.0 | 2.0 | 5.0 | 5.0 |
| ATL | Morton, Charlie 2503 | 1.0 | 13.7 | 57.0 | 84.7 |
| SD | Musgrove, Joe 3705 | 1.0 | 17.1 | 33.1 | 36.8 |
| DET | Mize, Casey 4377 | 0.0 | 7.7 | 7.7 | 7.7 |
| KC | Greinke, Zack 1871 | 0.0 | 8.7 | 61.7 | 217.8 |
| CHC | Steele, Justin 4415 | 1.0 | 4.0 | 4.0 | 4.0 |
| COL | Freeland, Kyle 3763 | 0.0 | 7.0 | 27.4 | 27.4 |
| CIN | Cessa, Luis 3703 | 0.0 | 2.0 | 4.0 | 6.0 |
| LAD | Buehler, Walker 3943 | 0.0 | 16.7 | 53.9 | 53.9 |
Starters subject to change.
What are those numbers after players' names?
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