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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.
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Phillies pitcher Zack Wheeler is Box-Toppers Player of the Game in Saturday’s National League Championship Series Game 5.
NL Championship Series Game 5: Phillies 6, Diamondbacks 1
Wheeler struck out eight over seven innings, allowing one run, six hits and one walk.
The Phillies lead the best-of-seven game series, over the Diamondbacks, 3-2.
Multiple Box-Toppers Player of the Game winners in 2023 postseason
— Box-Toppers (@BoxToppers) October 22, 2023
3—Nathan Eovaldi TEX†
3—Aaron Nola PHI
3—Zack Wheeler PHI*
2—Jordan Montgomery TEX
2—Brandon Pfaadt ARI
2—Ryan Pressly HOU
*Won 3rd postseason Player of the Game Saturday
†Starts Sundayhttps://t.co/EO3FZqE7bd pic.twitter.com/Tf0wLvBVFQ
Wheeler earned 14.7 Box-Toppers points in 2023, 11th among all players, fifth among NL pitchers. This is his third Player of the Game honor this postseason. He was also Player of the Game Oct. 3 in the NL Wild Card Game 1 win over the Marlins and Oct. 16 in the NL Championship Series Game 1 win over the Phillies. Wheeler is the third player this postseason with three Player of the Game honors, joining Rangers pitchers Nathan Eovaldi and Phillies pitcher Aaron Nola.
Wheeler had a Box-Toppers game score of +6.0. Phillies top batter first baseman Bryce Harper had a +2.0 game score (HR 2-4 3R BI). Diamondbacks starting pitcher Zac Gallen had a -9.0 game score (6IP 6H 4R 2BB K L).
Though Gallen has the most 2023 Box-Toppers points among players on the four remaining playoff teams (16.7, eighth overall and fourth among NL pitchers) he has not won Box-Toppers Player of the Game honors in any of his four postseason starts, with the Diamondbacks going 2-2 in those starts.
The series resumes Monday with Game 6 in Philadelphia.
More details—Preview of NL Championship Series.
Details on Saturday’s league championship series Player of the Game winners in the chart.
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).| BTG | Game | Player | AB | R | H | BI | IP | H | R | ER | BB | K | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| +6.0 | PHI 6, ARI 1 | Zack Wheeler (W, 3‑0) | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | 7.0 | 6 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 8 |
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 2023 (’23). Also shown is their point total for this season and last (’22-23), the period 2018-2023 (’18-23) and each players’ career point total. Also shown is how their 2023 Box-Toppers point total compares with their 2022 total (+/-).Back to top
| Player of the Game | Pos | Team | ’23 | ’22‑23 | ’18‑23 | Career | +/‑ |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wheeler, Zack 3204 | pi sp | phi nl | 14.7 | 29.1 | 70.9 | 83.6 | +0.3 |
About Box-Toppers’ team abbreviations
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Sunday’s pitching matchup (for more, see matchups chart):
AL Championship Series Game 6: Astros lead Rangers, 3-2
It’s a rematch of Game 2 of the series won by the Rangers.
Rangers—Nathan Eovaldi, 9.7 Box-Toppers points in 2023, 56th overall, 30th among AL pitchers.
Eovaldi has won Box-Toppers Player of the Game honors three times this postseason—in the AL Wild Card win over the Rays on Oct. 4, in the AL Division Series win over the Orioles on Oct. 10 and in the AL Championship Series Game 2 win over the Astros on Oct. 16.
Astros—Framber Valdez, 10.0 Box-Toppers points in 2023, 48th overall, 26th among AL pitchers.
Valdez has made two appearances this postseason, on Oct. 8 in an AL Division Series loss to the Twins and on Oct. 16 in the AL Championship Series Game 2 loss to the Rangers.
A Box-Toppers look at Sunday’s Championship Series pitching matchup
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 2023 (’23), over a two-year period (’22-23), over a six-year period (’18-23) and their career point total.Back to top
| Game | Starter | ’23 | ’22‑23 | ’18‑23 | Career |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| TEX | Eovaldi, Nathan 2928 | 9.7 | 15.7 | 43.5 | 69.3 |
| HOU | Valdez, Framber 4048 | 10.0 | 26.0 | 41.4 | 41.4 |
* Player has yet to earn Box-Toppers points.
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. (No Box-Toppers points are awarded in postseason games.)
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Previews of 2023 American League Division Series