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.
▪️ Top 10 players in 2022 Box-Toppers points.
▪️ A B-T look at today’s pitching matchups.
Marlins pitcher Sandy Alcantara is Thursday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day, rising to fourth in season player rankings.
Also Thursday, Yankees pitcher Nestor Cortes rises to first place in Box-Toppers season player rankings after earning Player of the Game honors, passing previous leader Shohei Ohtani of the Angels, who held the top spot for nearly a month.
Player of the Day—Alcantara struck out eight over seven scoreless innings, allowing three hits and two walks, in the 3-0 win over the Giants.
Alcantara earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day, giving him 7.7 for the season, fourth among all players and rising to first among National League pitchers, passing previous leader Kyle Wright of the Braves (7.7). Alcantara also becomes the top overall NL player in 2022 Box-Toppers points, passing Pete Alonso of the Mets (7.7).
Though Alcantara, Alonso and Wright all have 7.7 points in 2022, Alcantara ranks highest because he has the most 2021 Box-Toppers points among the three (9.7). Alonso had 3.0 points in 2021 and Wright had 0.0. There are five total players with 7.7 points each.
American League Player of the Day—Yankees pitcher Jameson Taillon struck out five over eight innings, allowing one run, two hits and one walk, in the 2-1 win over the Angels.
Taillon was pitching a perfect game before giving up a hit in the eighth inning.
Taillon earns 1.7 Box-Toppers points for being AL Player of the Day, giving him 4.7 for the season, 15th among AL pitchers.
National League Batter of the Day—Travis d'Arnaud of the Braves hit two home runs, including a grand slam, in the 13-6 win over the Rockies. d’Arnaud went 3-for-5, scoring three times and driving in six runs.
American League Batter of the Day—Santiago Espinal of the Blue Jays doubled and went 3-for-5, driving in three runs, in the 8-3 win over the White Sox.
This was Espinal’s Box-Toppers debut, the first time in his career he earned Player of the Game honors. Espinal made his Major League debut July 25, 2020, and was playing in his 168th career game.
New leader—Yankees pitcher Nestor Cortes is the new leader in 2022 Box-Toppers points after earning Player of the Game honors Thursday.
Cortes (7IP 5H 0R 2BB 7K W in the 6-1 win over the Angels) earns 1.0 Box-Toppers point, giving him 8.4 for the season, passing previous leader Shohei Ohtani of the Angels (8.0), who had held the top spot since May 5. Cortes also passes Ohtani to take the lead among AL pitchers.
Ohtani happened to be the opposing pitcher in the same game. He had a game score of -12.0 (3IP 8H 4R BB 2K L) in the loss.
Ohtani, now in second place overall, maintains his lead among AL batters. He’s earned 4.0 of his Box-Toppers points in 2022 as a designated hitter and 4.0 of his points as a starting pitcher.
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 Thursday, June 2.| Player | Pos | Team | BTP | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Cortes, Nestor 4160 | pi sp | nyy al | 8.4 |
| 2 | Ohtani, Shohei 3933 | dh pi sp | ana al | 8.0 |
| 3 | Verlander, Justin 2112 | pi sp | hou al | 8.0 |
| 4 | Alcantara, Sandy 4061 | pi sp | fla nl | 7.7 |
| 5 | Skubal, Tarik 4414 | pi sp | det al | 7.7 |
| 6 | McClanahan, Shane 4399 | pi sp | tb al | 7.7 |
| 7 | Alonso, Pete 4118 | 1b | nym nl | 7.7 |
| 8 | Wright, Kyle 4349 | pi sp | atl nl | 7.7 |
| 9 | Perez, Martin 3213 | pi sp | tex al | 7.1 |
| 10 | Musgrove, Joe 3705 | pi sp | sd nl | 7.0 |
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Notable—Rays pitcher Corey Kluber now has 121.1 career Box-Toppers points—47th-most since 1995—after earning Player of the Game honors Thursday.
Kluber (6IP 4H R 0BB 4K W in the 3-1 win over the Rangers) now trails 46th-ranked player, Mets pitcher Jacob deGrom (122.1), on Box-Toppers’ “all-time” career points list. Kluber ranks 14th among active players in career points, fifth among active AL pitchers.
Kluber now has 7.0 Box-Toppers points on the season, 12th overall and eighth among AL pitchers.
Debut—In addition to Espinal, two other players made their Box-Toppers debut Thursday, both with their first career Player of the Game honors:
Reds pitcher Graham Ashcraft (7IP 4H R BB 5K W in the 8-1 win over the Nationals) made his Major League debut May 22 and was playing in his third career game.
Daz Cameron of the Tigers (HR 1-3 R 2BI in the 3-2 win over the Twins) made his Major League debut Sept. 9, 2020, and was playing in his 66th career game.
Scoring—Alcantara earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day and Taillon earns 1.7 points for being AL Player of the Day. d’Arnaud and Espinal each earn 1.5 points for being their league’s Batter of the Day. All of Thursday’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).Back to top
| 6/2 | BTG | Game | Player | AB | R | H | BI | IP | H | R | ER | BB | K | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| MLB | +10.0 | MIA 3, SF 0 | Sandy Alcantara, (W 6‑2) | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | 7.0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 8 | |
| AL | +9.0 | NYY 2, LAA 1 | Jameson Taillon, (W 6‑1) | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | 8.0 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 5 | |
| +8.0 | LAD 2, NYM 0 | Tony Gonsolin, (W 6‑0) | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | 6.0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 5 | ||
| BAT | +7.0 | ATL 13, COL 6 | Travis d'Arnaud, C | 5 | 3 | 3 | 6 | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | |
| +7.0 | NYY 6, LAA 1 | Nestor Cortes, (W 5‑1) | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | 7.0 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 7 | ||
| +5.0 | CIN 8, WSH 1 | Graham Ashcraft, (W 2‑0) | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | 7.0 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 5 | ||
| +5.0 | SEA 7, BAL 6 (F/10) | Diego Castillo, (W 2‑0) | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | 2.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | ||
| +4.0 | TB 3, TEX 1 | Corey Kluber, (W 2‑2) | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | 6.0 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 4 | ||
| +3.0 | CHC 7, STL 5 | Frank Schwindel, 1B | 4 | 2 | 3 | 2 | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ||
| +3.0 | MIL 5, SD 4 | Jace Peterson, 3B | 3 | 1 | 2 | 3 | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ||
| BAT | +1.0 | TOR 8, CHW 3 | Santiago Espinal, 2B | 5 | 0 | 3 | 3 | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | |
| +1.0 | DET 3, MIN 2 | Daz Cameron, RF | 3 | 1 | 1 | 2 | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ |
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.
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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 | +/‑ |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cortes, Nestor 4160 | pi sp | nyy al | 8.4 | 13.4 | 15.4 | 15.4 | +3.4 |
| Alcantara, Sandy 4061 | pi sp | fla nl | 7.7 | 17.4 | 26.8 | 26.8 | -2.0 |
| Kluber, Corey 3200 | pi sp | tb al | 7.0 | 12.0 | 55.7 | 121.1 | +2.0 |
| Gonsolin, Tony 4211 | pi sp | lad nl | 5.0 | 9.7 | 17.4 | 17.4 | +0.3 |
| Taillon, Jameson 3658 | pi sp | nyy al | 4.7 | 13.7 | 35.1 | 40.1 | -4.3 |
| Schwindel, Frank 4532 | 1b dh | chi nl | 3.0 | 5.0 | 5.0 | 5.0 | +1.0 |
| d’Arnaud, Travis 3384 | ca | atl nl | 1.5 | 1.5 | 12.9 | 20.4 | +1.5 |
| Espinal, Santiago 4646 | 2b | tor al | 1.5 | 1.5 | 1.5 | 1.5 | +1.5 |
| Castillo, Diego 3995 | pi cp mr | sea al | 1.0 | 3.0 | 9.0 | 9.0 | -1.0 |
| Peterson, Jace 3469 | 3b lf | mil nl | 1.0 | 1.0 | 2.0 | 6.5 | +1.0 |
| Ashcraft, Graham 4645 | pi sp | cin nl | 1.0 | 1.0 | 1.0 | 1.0 | +1.0 |
| Cameron, Daz 4647 | rf | det al | 1.0 | 1.0 | 1.0 | 1.0 | +1.0 |
About Box-Toppers’ team abbreviations
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A Box-Toppers look at Friday’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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| STL | Mikolas, Miles 3034 | 2.0 | 2.0 | 16.7 | 19.4 |
| CHC | Stroman, Marcus 3327 | 1.7 | 11.7 | 27.4 | 50.5 |
| SF | Cobb, Alex 2916 | 3.0 | 10.4 | 22.8 | 54.2 |
| MIA | Hernandez, Elieser 4181 | 1.0 | 2.0 | 7.7 | 7.7 |
| WSH | Gray, Josiah 4503 | 2.0 | 3.0 | 3.0 | 3.0 |
| CIN | Minor, Mike 2894 | 0.0 | 6.4 | 32.5 | 59.6 |
| LAA | Silseth, Chase 4605 | 2.0 | 2.0 | 2.0 | 2.0 |
| PHI | Eflin, Zach 3679 | 2.7 | 6.4 | 26.5 | 30.5 |
| ARI | Kelly, Merrill 4143 | 3.0 | 6.0 | 18.0 | 18.0 |
| PIT | Brubaker, JT 4382 | 1.0 | 5.0 | 5.0 | 5.0 |
| CLE | Bieber, Shane 4005 | 2.0 | 8.7 | 44.6 | 44.6 |
| BAL | Zimmermann, Bruce 4410 | 2.0 | 4.0 | 4.0 | 4.0 |
| DET | Rodriguez, Elvin 4634 | 1.0 | 1.0 | 1.0 | 1.0 |
| NYY | Cole, Gerrit 3232 | 4.7 | 27.1 | 91.7 | 127.6 |
| MIN | Gonzalez, Chi Chi 3490 | 0.0 | 1.0 | 4.0 | 5.7 |
| TOR | Kikuchi, Yusei 4136 | 2.0 | 8.0 | 13.7 | 13.7 |
| CHW | Velasquez, Vince 3611 | 1.0 | 6.7 | 20.1 | 28.1 |
| TB | McClanahan, Shane 4399 | 7.7 | 12.4 | 12.4 | 12.4 |
| SEA | Gilbert, Logan 4439 | 5.7 | 12.7 | 12.7 | 12.7 |
| TEX | Dunning, Dane 4317 | 1.7 | 3.7 | 6.7 | 6.7 |
| HOU | Urquidy, Jose 4194 | 2.0 | 10.4 | 15.1 | 15.1 |
| KC | Singer, Brady 4337 | 3.0 | 6.0 | 10.0 | 10.0 |
| SD | Musgrove, Joe 3705 | 7.0 | 23.1 | 39.1 | 42.8 |
| MIL | Burnes, Corbin 4029 | 5.7 | 23.8 | 34.5 | 34.5 |
| ATL | Fried, Max 4011 | 6.0 | 17.8 | 34.5 | 34.5 |
| COL | Kuhl, Chad 3687 | 2.0 | 4.7 | 11.7 | 13.7 |
| BOS | Eovaldi, Nathan 2928 | 2.0 | 16.1 | 29.8 | 55.6 |
| OAK | Kaprielian, James 4416 | 0.0 | 7.4 | 7.4 | 7.4 |
| NYM | Bassitt, Chris 3413 | 4.0 | 17.7 | 32.8 | 36.8 |
| LAD | Anderson, Tyler 3656 | 3.0 | 10.0 | 23.7 | 25.7 |
* Player has yet to earn Box-Toppers points.
What are those numbers after players' names?
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