Astros pitcher Justin Verlander is Saturday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day.
Also Saturday, Shohei Ohtani of the Angels earns Box-Toppers American League Batter of the Day honors for the second straight day, rising to fourth in season player rankings.
Player of the Day—Verlander struck out eight over eight scoreless innings, allowing three hits and no walks, in the 4-0 win over the Mariners.
Verlander earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day, his first points of the season and his first since July 24, 2020. Verlander was out injured after that start and underwent Tommy John surgery that kept him from playing in 2021.
Verlander now has 208.6 career Box-Toppers points, sixth among all players since 1995, when Box-Toppers tracking began. He trails fifth-ranked player, Royals pitcher Zack Greinke (217.8). Verlander ranks fourth among active players in career points.
National League Player of the Day—Cardinals pitcher Steven Matz struck out six over 5 2/3 scoreless innings, allowing three hits and no walks, in the 2-1 win over the Brewers.
Matz earns 1.7 Box-Toppers points for being NL Player of the Day, his first points of the season.
American League Batter of the Day—Shohei Ohtani of the Angels homered and went 2-for-5, scoring three times and driving in three runs, in the 7-2 win over the Rangers.
Ohtani earns 1.5 Box-Toppers points for being AL Batter of the Day, giving him 3.0 for the season, rising to fourth among all players and second among AL batters, behind Jose Ramirez of the Guardians (3.2).
It is the second straight day Ohtani has earned AL Batter of the Day honors after also doing it Friday.
National League Batter of the Day—C.J. Cron of the Rockies hit two home runs and went 2-for-4, scoring twice and driving in three runs, in the 9-6 win over the Cubs.
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 Friday, April 16.| Player | Pos | Team | BTP | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Megill, Tylor 4464 | pi sp | nym nl | 3.7 |
| 2 | Ramirez, Jose 3436 | 3b | cle al | 3.2 |
| 3 | Musgrove, Joe 3705 | pi sp | sd nl | 3.0 |
| 4 | Ohtani, Shohei 3933 | dh pi sp | ana al | 3.0 |
| 5 | Chavis, Michael 4127 | 1b rf | pit nl | 2.5 |
| 6 | Manaea, Sean 3637 | pi sp | sd nl | 2.0 |
| 7 | Cease, Dylan 4231 | pi sp | chi al | 2.0 |
| 8 | Bassitt, Chris 3413 | pi sp cp | nym nl | 2.0 |
| 9 | Kershaw, Clayton 2494 | pi sp | lad nl | 2.0 |
| 10 | Rodon, Carlos 3494 | pi sp | sf nl | 2.0 |
About Box-Toppers’ team abbreviations
Rankings—Michael Chavis of the Pirates rises to fifth place in Box-Toppers season player rankings, first among NL batters, after earning Player of the Game honors Saturday.
Chavis (3B 3-4 R BI in the 6-4 win over the Nationals) earns 1.0 Box-Toppers point, giving him 2.5 for the season. He passes previous NL batting leader Gavin Lux of the Dodgers (2.0 points).
Scoring—Verlander earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day and Matz earns 1.7 points for being NL Player of the Day. Ohtani and Cron 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).| 4/16 | BTG | Game | Player | AB | R | H | BI | IP | H | R | ER | BB | K | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| MLB | +13.0 | HOU 4, SEA 0 | Justin Verlander, (W 1‑1) | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | 8.0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 8 | |
| NL | +8.2 | STL 2, MIL 1 | Steven Matz, (W 1‑1) | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | 5.2 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6 | |
| +8.0 | `LAD 5, CIN 2 | Julio Urías | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | 5.0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 5 | ||
| +7.2 | ATL 5, SD 2 | Ian Anderson, (W 1‑1) | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | 5.2 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 7 | ||
| +6.0 | `CHW 3, TB 2 | Michael Kopech | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | 5.0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 5 | ||
| +4.2 | BOS 4, MIN 0 | Tanner Houck, (W 1‑0) | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | 5.2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 4 | ||
| +4.0 | OAK 7, TOR 5 | Dany Jiménez, (W 1‑0) | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | 1.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | ||
| BAT | +3.0 | LAA 7, TEX 2 | Shohei Ohtani, DH | 5 | 3 | 2 | 3 | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | |
| BAT | +3.0 | COL 9, CHC 6 | C.J. Cron, 1B | 4 | 2 | 2 | 3 | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | |
| +3.0 | PHI 10, MIA 3 | Alec Bohm, DH | 3 | 1 | 2 | 3 | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ||
| +3.0 | ARI 3, NYM 2 | Mark Melancon, (S 1) | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | 1.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | ||
| +3.0 | KC 3, DET 1 | Josh Staumont, (S 1) | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | 1.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | ||
| +2.1 | NYY 5, BAL 2 | Clay Holmes, (S 1) | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | 1.1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | ||
| +2.0 | SF 4, CLE 2 | Dominic Leone, (W 1‑0) | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | 1.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | ||
| +1.0 | PIT 6, WSH 4 | Michael Chavis, 1B | 4 | 1 | 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.
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 | +/‑ |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ohtani, Shohei 3933 | dh pi sp | ana al | 3.0 | 19.1 | 33.6 | 33.6 | ‑13.1 |
| Chavis, Michael 4127 | 1b lf | pit nl | 2.5 | 2.5 | 7.5 | 7.5 | +2.5 |
| Verlander, Justin 2112 | pi sp | hou al | 2.0 | 2.0 | 69.3 | 208.6 | +2.0 |
| Jimenez, Dany 4576 | pi cp mr | oak al | 2.0 | 2.0 | 2.0 | 2.0 | +2.0 |
| Matz, Steven 3516 | pi sp | stl nl | 1.7 | 8.4 | 25.1 | 40.7 | ‑5.0 |
| Cron, C.J. 3338 | 1b | col nl | 1.5 | 8.0 | 16.0 | 26.7 | ‑5.0 |
| Urias, Julio 3652 | pi sp | lad nl | 1.0 | 20.1 | 28.1 | 33.8 | ‑18.1 |
| Anderson, Ian 4312 | pi sp | atl nl | 1.0 | 8.0 | 10.7 | 10.7 | ‑6.0 |
| Houck, Tanner 4342 | pi sp | bos al | 1.0 | 7.0 | 9.7 | 9.7 | ‑5.0 |
| Kopech, Michael 4385 | pi sp mr | chi al | 1.0 | 6.7 | 6.7 | 6.7 | ‑4.7 |
| Staumont, Josh 4354 | pi cp mr | kc al | 1.0 | 3.7 | 4.7 | 4.7 | ‑1.7 |
| Melancon, Mark 2792 | pi cp | ari nl | 1.0 | 3.0 | 9.0 | 33.0 | ‑1.0 |
| Holmes, Clay 4022 | pi cp mr sp | nyy al | 1.0 | 2.0 | 3.0 | 3.0 | 0.0 |
| Bohm, Alec 4309 | 3b | phi nl | 1.0 | 1.0 | 3.0 | 3.0 | +1.0 |
| Leone, Dominic 3335 | pi mr cp | sf nl | 1.0 | 1.0 | 4.0 | 7.0 | +1.0 |
About Box-Toppers’ team abbreviations
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A Box-Toppers look at Sunday’s pitching matchups
A Box-Toppers look at Sunday’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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| NYY | Cortes, Nestor 4160 | 1.7 | 6.7 | 8.7 | 8.7 |
| BAL | Zimmermann, Bruce 4410 | 0.0 | 2.0 | 2.0 | 2.0 |
| MIN | Ober, Bailey 4441 | 0.0 | 6.7 | 6.7 | 6.7 |
| BOS | Wacha, Michael 3276 | 0.0 | 7.1 | 22.1 | 41.8 |
| WSH | Corbin, Patrick 3027 | 0.0 | 6.7 | 48.8 | 81.3 |
| PIT | Quintana, Jose 3040 | 0.0 | 1.0 | 36.5 | 71.7 |
| OAK | Oller, Adam* | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 |
| TOR | Manoah, Alek 4424 | 1.0 | 11.7 | 11.7 | 11.7 |
| ARI | Castellanos, Humberto* | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 |
| NYM | Peterson, David 4347 | 0.0 | 3.0 | 5.0 | 5.0 |
| PHI | Wheeler, Zack 3204 | 0.0 | 21.1 | 42.8 | 54.5 |
| MIA | Hernandez, Elieser 4181 | 0.0 | 1.0 | 6.7 | 6.7 |
| SF | Wood, Alex 3246 | 0.0 | 13.0 | 33.7 | 53.1 |
| CLE | Civale, Aaron 4173 | 0.0 | 11.7 | 17.4 | 17.4 |
| DET | Alexander, Tyler 4196 | 0.0 | 3.0 | 8.0 | 8.0 |
| KC | Hernandez, Carlos 4466 | 0.0 | 5.0 | 5.0 | 5.0 |
| STL | Hudson, Dakota 4035 | 0.0 | 1.0 | 12.4 | 12.4 |
| MIL | Ashby, Aaron 4511 | 0.0 | 2.0 | 2.0 | 2.0 |
| TB | Feyereisen, J.P. 4420 | 0.0 | 2.0 | 2.0 | 2.0 |
| CHW | Velasquez, Vince 3611 | 0.0 | 5.7 | 19.1 | 27.1 |
| LAA | Suarez, Jose 4425 | 0.0 | 6.4 | 6.4 | 6.4 |
| TEX | Perez, Martin 3213 | 0.0 | 1.0 | 7.7 | 20.7 |
| CHC | Smyly, Drew 3009 | 1.0 | 9.0 | 13.0 | 48.5 |
| COL | Gomber, Austin 3985 | 0.0 | 9.0 | 14.7 | 14.7 |
| CIN | Mahle, Tyler 3929 | 1.0 | 12.7 | 24.7 | 24.7 |
| LAD | Heaney, Andrew 3515 | 1.0 | 6.0 | 25.1 | 29.1 |
| HOU | Urquidy, Jose 4194 | 0.0 | 8.4 | 13.1 | 13.1 |
| SEA | Brash, Matt* | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 |
| ATL | Elder, Bryce* | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 |
| SD | Darvish, Yu 3003 | 0.0 | 13.1 | 51.6 | 107.2 |
Starters subject to change.
What are those numbers after players' names?
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