Braves pitcher Max Fried is Tuesday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day.
Also Tuesday, Padres pitcher Joe Musgrove rises to first place in Box-Toppers season player rankings after earning Player of the Game honors. Two other players—C.J. Cron of the Rockies and Brewers pitcher Corbin Burnes—rise into the top 10 in Box-Toppers points for 2022. Plus, two players extend long streaks of consecutive seasons earning Box-Toppers points—Mets pitcher Max Scherzer (14 seasons) and Kurt Suzuki of the Angels (16 seasons).
Player of the Day—Fried struck out eight over seven scoreless innings, allowing two hits and no walks, in the 3-1 win over the Dodgers.
Fried earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day, his first points of the season, and ranks 15th overall, ninth among National League pitchers.
American League Player of the Day—Yankees pitcher Clarke Schmidt struck out six over 3 1/3 scoreless innings of middle relief, allowing two hits and one walk, in the 4-2 win over the Tigers.
Schmidt relieved starter Gerrit Cole, who lasted only 1 2/3 innings, giving up five hits. Cole led AL players in Box-Toppers points in 2021 with 22.4.
Schmidt earns 1.7 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day. It was his first career Player of the Game honor. Schmidt made his Major League debut Sept. 4, 2020, and was playing in his eighth career game.
National League Batter of the Day—C.J. Cron of the Rockies hit a three-run homer and went 1-for-2, scoring once and driving in four runs, in the 6-5 win over the Phillies.
Cron earns 1.5 Box-Toppers points for being NL Batter of the Day, giving him 3.0 for the season, rising to sixth in season player rankings, first among NL batters, passing previous leader Michael Chavis of the Pirates (2.5).
American League Batter of the Day—Salvador Perez of the Royals hit two home runs and went 2-for-3, scoring twice and driving in two runs, in the 4-3 win over the Twins.
Rankings—Padres pitcher Joe Musgrove rises to first in Box-Toppers season player rankings after earning Player of the Game honors Tuesday.
Musgrove (6.1IP 4H 2R BB 7K W in the 6-2 win over the Reds) earns 1.0 Box-Toppers point, giving him 4.0 for the season, rising from third to first in season player rankings, passing previous leader, Mets pitcher Tylor Megill (3.7 points).
Also Tuesday, Brewers pitcher Corbin Burnes rises to ninth in Box-Toppers season player rankings after earning Player of the Game honors Tuesday.
Burnes (7IP 4H 2R 0BB 10K W in the 5-2 win over the Pirates) earns 1.0 Box-Toppers point, giving him 2.0 for the season. He ranks fifth among NL pitchers.
Active season streaks
Here are the 12 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 |
| 16 | Kurt Suzuki | ca | Angels | 2007‑2022 | 47.5 |
| 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 |
| 14 | Max Scherzer | pi sp | Mets | 2009‑2022 | 227.3 |
| 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 |
Streak—Two players extended lengthy streaks of consecutive seasons earning Box-Toppers points after both earned their first Player of the Game honor of 2022 Tuesday. Kurt Suzuki of the Angels extended his streak to 16 seasons, the fourth-longest currently active streak and Mets pitcher Max Scherzer extended his streak to 14 seasons, tied for the eighth-longest active streak (see Active season streaks chart elsewhere on this page).
Suzuki (2B 1-3 2R 2BI in the 7-2 win over the Astros) earned his first Box-Toppers point in 2007 with the Athletics and has 47.5 career points, seventh among active AL batters and first among active AL catchers. Suzuki’s best season was 2009 with the Athletics when he had 6.0 Box-Toppers points, fourth among AL catchers. In 2021, he had 1.5 points with the Angels. He has extended his streak with 2.0 or fewer points in a season six times.
Suzuki’s streak is now tied for the 17th-longest since 1995 when Box-Toppers tracking began. Among the 28 players with streaks of 16 seasons or longer, Suzuki has the fewest career Box-Toppers points, behind Ichiro Suzuki, who earned 53.7 career points and had a 16-season streak from 2001-2016.
Scherzer (7IP H R 3BB 10K W in the 3-1 win over the Giants) earned his first points in 2009 with the Diamondbacks and now has 227.3 career Box-Toppers points, fourth among all players since 1995, when Box-Toppers tracking began. He trails third-ranked player, Pedro Martinez (244.8), by 17.5 points. Scherzer ranks second among active players, behind Dodgers pitcher Clayton Kershaw (250.6).
Scherzer’s best season was 2016 with the Nationals when he had 25.7 Box-Toppers points to lead all players. In 2021, Scherzer led all players for the second time with 25.1 Box-Toppers points with the Nationals and Dodgers. He’s had four seasons with 25 or more points and six seasons with 20 or more points.
Notable—Cardinals pitcher Adam Wainwright now has 144.3 career Box-Toppers points after earning Player of the Game honors Tuesday.
Wainwright (5.2IP 5H R 2BB 6K W in the 5-1 win over the Marlins) ranks 30th among all players in career points since 1995 (when Box-Toppers tracking began), trailing 29th-ranked player, Red Sox pitcher Chris Sale (144.6). Wainwright ranks eighth among active players in career points, third among active NL pitchers, behind Kershaw (250.6) and Scherzer (227.3).
Wainwright earns 1.0 Box-Toppers point for being Player of the Game, giving him 2.0 for the season, eighth among NL pitchers.
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 Tuesday, April 19.| Player | Pos | Team | BTP | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Musgrove, Joe 3705 | pi sp | sd nl | 4.0 |
| 2 | Megill, Tylor 4464 | pi sp | nym nl | 3.7 |
| 3 | Ramirez, Jose 3436 | 3b | cle al | 3.2 |
| 4 | Ohtani, Shohei 3933 | dh pi sp | ana al | 3.0 |
| 5 | Manaea, Sean 3637 | pi sp | sd nl | 3.0 |
| 6 | Cron, C.J. 3338 | 1b | col nl | 3.0 |
| 7 | Heaney, Andrew 3515 | pi sp | lad nl | 3.0 |
| 8 | Chavis, Michael 4127 | 1b rf | pit nl | 2.5 |
| 9 | Burnes, Corbin 4029 | pi sp | mil nl | 2.0 |
| 10 | Cease, Dylan 4231 | pi sp | chi al | 2.0 |
About Box-Toppers’ team abbreviations
Debut—In addition to Schmidt, Nationals pitcher Joan Adon also made his Box-Toppers debut Tuesday with his first career Player of the Game honor.
Adon (6.1IP 3H 0R 2BB 5K W in the 1-0 win over the Diamondbacks) made his Major League debut Oct. 3, 2021, and was playing in his fourth career game.
Scoring—Fried earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day and Schmidt earns 1.7 points for being AL Player of the Day. Cron and Perez each earn 1.5 points for being their league’s 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).| 4/19 | BTG | Game | Player | AB | R | H | BI | IP | H | R | ER | BB | K | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| MLB | +13.0 | ATL 3, LAD 1 | Max Fried, (W 1‑2) | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | 7.0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 8 | |
| +11.0 | NYM 3, SF 1 | Max Scherzer, (W 3‑0) | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | 7.0 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 10 | ||
| +9.0 | MIL 5, PIT 2 | Corbin Burnes, (W 1‑0) | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | 7.0 | 4 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 10 | ||
| +6.1 | WSH 1, ARI 0 | Joan Adon, (W 1‑2) | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | 6.1 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 5 | ||
| +6.1 | WSH 6, ARI 1 | Josiah Gray, (W 2‑1) | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | 5.1 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 8 | ||
| AL | +6.1 | NYY 4, DET 2 | Clarke Schmidt, (W 1‑2) | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | 3.1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 6 | |
| +4.1 | SD 6, CIN 2 | Joe Musgrove, (W 2‑0) | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | 6.1 | 4 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 7 | ||
| BAT | +4.0 | COL 6, PHI 5 | C.J. Cron, 1B | 2 | 1 | 1 | 4 | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | |
| +4.0 | TB 6, CHC 5 | Andrew Kittredge, (S 2) | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | 2.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | ||
| +3.2 | BOS 2, TOR 1 | Hansel Robles, (W 1‑0) | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | 1.2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | ||
| BAT | +3.0 | KC 4, MIN 3 | Salvador Perez, DH | 3 | 2 | 2 | 2 | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | |
| +2.2 | STL 5, MIA 1 | Adam Wainwright, (W 2‑1) | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | 5.2 | 5 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 6 | ||
| +2.0 | LAA 7, HOU 2 | Kurt Suzuki, C | 3 | 2 | 1 | 2 | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ||
| +1.2 | `OAK 2, BAL 1 | Ryan Castellani, (Hld 1) | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | 1.2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||
| +1.0 | SEA 6, TEX 2 | Eugenio Suárez, 3B | 4 | 1 | 1 | 3 | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ||
| +1.0 | NYM 5, SF 4 (F/10) | Brandon Nimmo, CF | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ |
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 | +/‑ |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Musgrove, Joe 3705 | pi sp | sd nl | 4.0 | 20.1 | 36.1 | 39.8 | ‑12.1 |
| Cron, C.J. 3338 | 1b | col nl | 3.0 | 9.5 | 17.5 | 28.2 | ‑3.5 |
| Burnes, Corbin 4029 | pi sp | mil nl | 2.0 | 20.1 | 30.8 | 30.8 | ‑16.1 |
| Wainwright, Adam 2150 | pi sp | stl nl | 2.0 | 14.0 | 32.3 | 144.3 | ‑10.0 |
| Fried, Max 4011 | pi sp | atl nl | 2.0 | 13.8 | 30.5 | 30.5 | ‑9.8 |
| Robles, Hansel 3580 | pi cp mr | bos al | 2.0 | 4.0 | 10.0 | 13.7 | 0.0 |
| Gray, Josiah 4503 | pi sp | dc nl | 2.0 | 3.0 | 3.0 | 3.0 | +1.0 |
| Schmidt, Clarke 4581 | pi mr | nyy al | 1.7 | 1.7 | 1.7 | 1.7 | +1.7 |
| Perez, Salvador 2972 | dh ca | kc al | 1.5 | 6.0 | 16.5 | 38.2 | ‑3.0 |
| Scherzer, Max 2588 | pi sp | nym nl | 1.0 | 26.1 | 95.6 | 227.3 | ‑24.1 |
| Kittredge, Andrew 4417 | pi cp mr | tb al | 1.0 | 7.0 | 7.0 | 7.0 | ‑5.0 |
| Suzuki, Kurt 2344 | ca | ana al | 1.0 | 2.5 | 15.5 | 47.5 | ‑0.5 |
| Suarez, Eugenio 3355 | 3b | sea al | 1.0 | 2.0 | 21.0 | 35.0 | 0.0 |
| Nimmo, Brandon 3895 | cf | nym nl | 1.0 | 1.0 | 9.9 | 9.9 | +1.0 |
| Castellani, Ryan 4284 | pi mr sp | oak al | 1.0 | 1.0 | 2.0 | 2.0 | +1.0 |
| Adon, Joan 4580 | pi sp | dc nl | 1.0 | 1.0 | 1.0 | 1.0 | +1.0 |
About Box-Toppers’ team abbreviations
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A Box-Toppers look at Wednesday’s pitching matchups
A Box-Toppers look at Wednesday’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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| PIT | Keller, Mitch 4230 | 0.0 | 4.0 | 5.0 | 5.0 |
| MIL | Woodruff, Brandon 3868 | 1.0 | 18.1 | 34.8 | 34.8 |
| CHW | Keuchel, Dallas 3050 | 0.0 | 3.0 | 23.8 | 66.6 |
| CLE | Bieber, Shane 4005 | 0.0 | 6.7 | 42.6 | 42.6 |
| ATL | Morton, Charlie 2503 | 1.0 | 13.7 | 57.0 | 84.7 |
| LAD | Gonsolin, Tony 4211 | 0.0 | 4.7 | 12.4 | 12.4 |
| PHI | Eflin, Zach 3679 | 0.0 | 3.7 | 23.8 | 27.8 |
| COL | Marquez, German 3788 | 1.0 | 18.4 | 48.5 | 48.5 |
| CIN | Gutierrez, Vladimir 4525 | 0.0 | 1.0 | 1.0 | 1.0 |
| SD | Gore, MacKenzie* | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 |
| BAL | Lyles, Jordan 3100 | 0.0 | 7.0 | 19.7 | 27.4 |
| OAK | Jefferies, Daulton 4571 | 1.0 | 1.0 | 1.0 | 1.0 |
| CHW | Lambert, Jimmy* | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 |
| CLE | McKenzie, Triston 4303 | 1.0 | 11.4 | 15.4 | 15.4 |
| LAA | Ohtani, Shohei 3933 | 3.0 | 19.1 | 33.6 | 33.6 |
| HOU | Odorizzi, Jake 3291 | 0.0 | 4.0 | 34.5 | 60.6 |
| NYY | Severino, Luis 3567 | 1.0 | 2.0 | 42.8 | 47.8 |
| DET | Rodriguez, Eduardo 3480 | 0.0 | 10.0 | 43.5 | 54.2 |
| STL | Mikolas, Miles 3034 | 1.0 | 1.0 | 15.7 | 18.4 |
| MIA | Alcantara, Sandy 4061 | 0.0 | 9.7 | 19.1 | 19.1 |
| ARI | Kelly, Merrill 4143 | 1.0 | 4.0 | 16.0 | 16.0 |
| WSH | Fedde, Erick 4065 | 0.0 | 10.4 | 15.1 | 15.1 |
| SF | Rodon, Carlos 3494 | 2.0 | 13.7 | 22.7 | 38.8 |
| NYM | Bassitt, Chris 3413 | 2.0 | 15.7 | 30.8 | 34.8 |
| TOR | Berrios, Jose 3791 | 0.0 | 9.4 | 49.9 | 49.9 |
| BOS | Pivetta, Nick 3825 | 0.0 | 5.0 | 27.7 | 27.7 |
| TB | Rasmussen, Drew 4547 | 0.0 | 2.0 | 2.0 | 2.0 |
| CHC | Stroman, Marcus 3327 | 0.0 | 10.0 | 25.7 | 48.8 |
| MIN | Paddack, Chris 4093 | 0.0 | 5.0 | 23.8 | 23.8 |
| KC | Lynch, Daniel 4488 | 0.0 | 3.7 | 3.7 | 3.7 |
| TEX | Dunning, Dane 4317 | 0.0 | 2.0 | 5.0 | 5.0 |
| SEA | Gilbert, Logan 4439 | 2.0 | 9.0 | 9.0 | 9.0 |
Starters subject to change.
What are those numbers after players' names?
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