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.
▪️ A B-T look at today’s pitching matchups.
▪️ Subscribe to Box-Toppers Email Newsletter.
Diamondbacks pitcher Ryan Thompson tops players in Monday’s two National League Division Series playoff games.
Travis d'Arnaud of the Braves was Box-Toppers Player of the Game in the other NLDS game.
NL Division Series Game 2: Diamondbacks 4, Dodgers 2
Diamondbacks pitcher Ryan Thompson struck out one over 1 1/3 scoreless and hitless middle relief innings, allowing no walks.
Thompson took the mound in the sixth inning with the bases loaded and two out, forcing a ground out to end the Dodgers’ rally and returned in the seventh inning, recording all three outs, throwing 15 total pitches.
Thompson did not earn the win, picking up a no-decision, because he was not the pitcher of record when the Diamondbacks took the lead—that was starter Zac Gallen.
The Diamondbacks take a 2-0 lead in the best-of-five game series.
Thompson earned 0.0 Box-Toppers points in 2023 in 31 total appearances—18 with the Rays and 13 with the Diamondbacks. He was released by the Rays Aug. 16 an signed by the Diamondbacks on Aug. 19. Thompson has 2.0 career Box-Toppers points, 1.0 earned in 2021 with the Rays and 1.0 earned in 2022 with the Rays.
Thompson had a Box-Toppers game score of +2.1. His path to earning Box-Toppers Player of the Game was a little roundabout. Diamondbacks starter Zac Gallen had a -1.9 Box-Toppers game score (5.1IP 5H 2R 2BB 4K W). Diamondbacks closer Paul Sewald had a +2.0 Box-Toppers game score (1IP 0H 0R 0BB 1K Sv). Diamondbacks top batter, left fielder Lourdes Gurriel Jr., had a +1.0 Box-Toppers game score. This put Sewald in the lead to earn Player of the Game. But since Thompson had a higher Box-Toppers game score than Sewald (+2.1 vs. +2.0) and had more innings pitched (1.1 vs. 1.0) than the pitcher who either won or saved the game, Thompson qualified to be considered for Player of the Game and won the honor, edging Sewald.
Meanwhile, Dodgers starting pitcher Bobby Miller had a -9.8 Box-Toppers game score in the loss (1.2IP 4H 3R 2BB K L).
NL Division Series Game 2: Braves 5, Phillies 4
Travis d'Arnaud of the Braves homered and went 1-for-3, scoring once and driving in two runs.
The Braves tied the best-of-five game series, 1-1.
d’Arnaud earned 3.5 Box-Toppers points in 2023, 286th among all players and 65th among NL batters.
d’Arnaud had a Box-Toppers game score of +1.0. Braves starting pitcher Max Fried had a -9.0 Box-Toppers game score (4IP 6H 3R 4BB 3K ND). Phillies starting pitcher Zack Wheeler had a +7.1 Box-Toppers game score in the loss (6.1IP 3H 3R 2ER BB 10K ND).
All of Monday’s Player of the Game winners are listed 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 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| +2.1 | `ARI 4, LAD 2 | Ryan Thompson (H, 3) | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | 1.1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | |
| +1.0 | ATL 5, PHI 4 | Travis d’Arnaud C | 3 | 1 | 1 | 2 | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ |
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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 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 | +/‑ |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| d’Arnaud, Travis 3384 | ca dh | atl nl | 3.5 | 8.0 | 15.7 | 26.9 | -1.0 |
| Thompson, Ryan 4401 | pi mr | ari nl | 0.0 | 1.0 | 2.0 | 2.0 | -1.0 |
About Box-Toppers’ team abbreviations
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Tuesday’s pitching matchups (for more, see matchups chart):
AL Division Series Game 3, Astros at Twins, series tied, 1-1
Astros—Cristian Javier, 7.0 points, 102nd overall, 45th among AL pitchers.
Twins—Sonny Gray, 10.4 points, 42nd overall and 20th among AL pitchers. Gray was Box-Toppers Player of the Game in the AL Wild Card series Game 2 win over the Blue Jays.
More details—Previews of AL Division Series.
AL Division Series Game 3, Rangers lead Orioles, 2-0
Orioles—Dean Kremer, 9.7 points, 55th overall, 29th among AL pitchers.
Rangers—Nathan Eovaldi, 9.7 points, 56th overall, 30th among AL pitchers. Eovaldi was Player of the Game in the AL Wild Card series Game 2 win over the Rays.
More details—Previews of AL Division Series.
Both NL Division Series are idle Tuesday for a travel day and will resume with Game 3s Wednesday.
A Box-Toppers look at Tuesday’s Division Series round 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 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| HOU | Javier, Cristian 4290 | 7.0 | 22.7 | 30.7 | 30.7 |
| MIN | Gray, Sonny 3259 | 10.4 | 22.5 | 56.7 | 97.9 |
| BAL | Kremer, Dean 4330 | 9.7 | 17.4 | 21.1 | 21.1 |
| TEX | Eovaldi, Nathan 2928 | 9.7 | 15.7 | 43.5 | 69.3 |
* 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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Box-Toppers 2023 player rankings leaders
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Previews of all four Wild Card series