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 2023 Box-Toppers points.
▪️ A B-T look at upcoming pitching matchups.
Pirates pitcher Mitch Keller is Monday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day.
Also Monday, Diamondbacks pitcher Zac Gallen regains the Box-Toppers season player rankings lead and Rays pitcher Shane McClanahan rises to fourth place.
Player of the Day—Keller pitched a complete-game, four-hit shutout, striking out eight and walking one, in the 2-0 win over the Rockies.
Keller earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day, giving him 4.0 for the season, 15th among all players and eighth among National League pitchers.
American League Player of the Day—Rangers pitcher Jon Gray struck out eight over seven innings, allowing one run, four hits and no walks, in the 2-1 win over the Mariners.
Gray earns 1.7 Box-Toppers points for being AL Player of the Day, his first points of the season, and is 37th among AL pitchers.
National League Batter of the Day—Joey Wiemer of the Brewers hit a three-run homer, doubled and went 2-for-3, scoring twice and driving in four runs, in the 9-3 win over the Dodgers.
This was Wiemer’s Box-Toppers debut, his first career Player of the Game honor. Wiemer made his Major League debut April 1 and was playing in his 34th career game.
American League Batter of the Day—MJ Melendez of the Royals homered and went 2-for-5, scoring twice and driving in four runs, in the 12-5 win over the White Sox.
Top 10 players
Here are the top 10 in Box-Toppers season player rankings for 2023. Players are ranked by Box-Toppers points (BTP) earned this season through Monday, May 8.| Player | Pos | Team | BTP | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Gallen, Zac 4171 | pi sp | ari nl | 7.7 |
| 2 | deGrom, Jacob 3343 | pi sp | tex al | 7.7 |
| 3 | Gausman, Kevin 3191 | pi sp | tor al | 7.0 |
| 4 | McClanahan, Shane 4399 | pi sp | tb al | 6.7 |
| 5 | Cole, Gerrit 3232 | pi sp | nyy al | 6.0 |
| 6 | Ohtani, Shohei 3933 | pi sp | ana al | 5.7 |
| 7 | Gray, Sonny 3259 | pi sp | min al | 5.7 |
| 8 | Strider, Spencer 4626 | pi sp | atl nl | 5.0 |
| 9 | Rasmussen, Drew 4547 | pi sp | tb al | 5.0 |
| 10 | Freeland, Kyle 3763 | pi sp | col nl | 4.7 |
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New leader—Diamondbacks pitcher Zac Gallen rises from third to first place in Box-Toppers season player rankings after earning Player of the Game honors Monday.
Gallen (7IP 5H R BB 7K W in the 5-2 win over the Marlins) earns 1.0 Box-Toppers point, giving him 7.7 for the season, passing previous leader, Ranger pitcher Jacob deGrom. Though both Gallen and deGrom have the same 7.7 point total, Gallen ranks higher because he has more 2022 Box-Toppers points—18.7 vs. 9.4.
Gallen extends his Box-Toppers points lead among NL pitchers, ahead of second-place Spencer Strider of the Braves (5.0).
Gallen regains the Box-Toppers season player rankings lead he held April 26 and 27, before deGrom took the lead April 28, holding it for 10 consecutive days, the longest streak for a leader of the 2023 season so far. deGrom went on the 15-day injured list immediately after his April 28 start.
Rankings—Rays pitcher Shane McClanahan rises from sixth to fourth place in Box-Toppers season player rankings after earning Player of the Game honors Monday.
McClanahan (6IP 4H 0R 3BB 7K W in the 3-0 win over the Orioles) earns 1.0 Box-Toppers point, giving him 6.7 for the season, third among AL pitchers, behind Jacob deGrom of the Rangers (7.7) and Kevin Gausman of the Blue Jays (7.0).
Debut—Nationals pitcher Jake Irvin made his Box-Toppers debut Monday with his first career Player of the Game honor.
Irvin (6.1IP 4H 0R 3BB 5K W in the 5-1 win over the Giants) made his Major League debut May 3 and was playing in his second career game.
Scoring—Keller earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day and Gray earns 1.7 points for being AL Player of the Day. Wiemer and Melendez each earn 1.5 points for being their league’s Batter of the Day. All of Monday’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
| 5/8 | BTG | Game | Player | AB | R | H | BI | IP | H | R | ER | BB | K | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| MLB | +12.0 | PIT 2, COL 0 | Mitch Keller, (W 4‑1) | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | 9.0 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 8 | |
| AL | +9.0 | TEX 2, SEA 1 | Jon Gray, (W 2‑1) | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | 7.0 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 8 | |
| +6.0 | ARI 5, MIA 2 | Zac Gallen, (W 5‑1) | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | 7.0 | 5 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 7 | ||
| BAT | +5.0 | MIL 9, LAD 3 | Joey Wiemer, CF | 3 | 2 | 2 | 4 | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | |
| +5.0 | TB 3, BAL 0 | Shane McClanahan, (W 7‑0) | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | 6.0 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 7 | ||
| +4.1 | WSH 5, SF 1 | Jake Irvin, (W 1‑0) | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | 6.1 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 5 | ||
| BAT | +3.0 | KC 12, CHW 5 | MJ Melendez, RF | 5 | 2 | 2 | 4 | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | |
| +3.0 | DET 6, CLE 2 | Andy Ibáñez, 2B | 3 | 3 | 2 | 1 | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ||
| +2.2 | LAA 6, HOU 4 | Matt Moore, (W 2‑1) | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | 1.2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | ||
| +2.1 | `STL 3, CHC 1 | Miles Mikolas | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | 4.1 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 7 | ||
| +1.0 | NYY 7, OAK 2 | Aaron Hicks, LF | 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.
All other players listed here would 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 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 | +/‑ |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Gallen, Zac 4171 | pi sp | ari nl | 7.7 | 26.4 | 42.1 | 42.1 | -11.0 |
| McClanahan, Shane 4399 | pi sp | tb al | 6.7 | 23.1 | 27.8 | 27.8 | -9.7 |
| Keller, Mitch 4230 | pi sp | pit nl | 4.0 | 6.0 | 11.0 | 11.0 | +2.0 |
| Mikolas, Miles 3034 | pi sp | stl nl | 2.0 | 14.1 | 28.8 | 31.5 | -10.1 |
| Ibanez, Andy 4496 | dh 2b 1b | det al | 2.0 | 2.0 | 6.0 | 6.0 | +2.0 |
| Gray, Jon 3634 | pi sp | tex al | 1.7 | 7.7 | 35.4 | 47.1 | -4.3 |
| Melendez, MJ 4615 | rf ca dh | kc al | 1.5 | 6.0 | 6.0 | 6.0 | -3.0 |
| Wiemer, Joey 4804 | cf | mil nl | 1.5 | 1.5 | 1.5 | 1.5 | +1.5 |
| Moore, Matt 2975 | pi mr cp | ana al | 1.0 | 4.0 | 10.7 | 53.3 | -2.0 |
| Hicks, Aaron 3170 | lf | nyy al | 1.0 | 3.5 | 8.5 | 16.5 | -1.5 |
| Irvin, Jake 4805 | 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 Tuesday’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 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| DET | Lorenzen, Michael 3479 | 0.0 | 4.0 | 8.5 | 14.5 |
| CLE | Bieber, Shane 4005 | 0.0 | 13.7 | 56.3 | 56.3 |
| TB | Eflin, Zach 3679 | 2.0 | 5.7 | 28.5 | 33.5 |
| BAL | Rodriguez, Grayson 4790 | 2.0 | 2.0 | 2.0 | 2.0 |
| COL | Seabold, Connor* | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 |
| PIT | Ortiz, Luis 4738 | 0.0 | 1.0 | 1.0 | 1.0 |
| NYM | Scherzer, Max 2588 | 1.0 | 11.0 | 80.6 | 237.3 |
| CIN | Weaver, Luke 3719 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 16.0 | 25.7 |
| TOR | Manoah, Alek 4424 | 1.0 | 14.1 | 24.8 | 24.8 |
| PHI | Nola, Aaron 3569 | 2.0 | 18.0 | 67.2 | 91.7 |
| OAK | Rucinski, Drew 4001 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 1.0 | 1.0 |
| NYY | Schmidt, Clarke 4581 | 0.0 | 4.4 | 4.4 | 4.4 |
| BOS | Pivetta, Nick 3825 | 0.0 | 7.7 | 27.4 | 35.4 |
| ATL | Morton, Charlie 2503 | 1.0 | 11.4 | 59.7 | 95.1 |
| CHW | Giolito, Lucas 3900 | 1.0 | 5.0 | 41.1 | 44.1 |
| KC | Lyles, Jordan 3100 | 0.0 | 3.7 | 23.4 | 31.1 |
| LAD | Syndergaard, Noah 3472 | 0.0 | 3.0 | 22.4 | 52.5 |
| MIL | Lauer, Eric 4017 | 1.0 | 10.4 | 29.8 | 29.8 |
| SD | Wacha, Michael 3276 | 2.0 | 10.4 | 25.5 | 52.2 |
| MIN | Varland, Louie 4758 | 0.0 | 1.0 | 1.0 | 1.0 |
| STL | Flaherty, Jack 3971 | 1.0 | 2.0 | 42.3 | 42.3 |
| CHC | Taillon, Jameson 3658 | 0.0 | 10.7 | 32.1 | 46.1 |
| HOU | Valdez, Framber 4048 | 0.0 | 16.0 | 31.4 | 31.4 |
| LAA | Ohtani, Shohei 3933 | 5.7 | 30.4 | 61.0 | 61.0 |
| MIA | Luzardo, Jesus 4282 | 4.7 | 8.7 | 20.8 | 20.8 |
| ARI | Pfaadt, Brandon* | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 |
| TEX | Heaney, Andrew 3515 | 2.7 | 10.7 | 33.8 | 38.8 |
| SEA | Kirby, George 4595 | 1.0 | 12.4 | 12.4 | 12.4 |
| WSH | Corbin, Patrick 3027 | 1.7 | 5.7 | 44.8 | 87.0 |
| SF | Webb, Logan 4258 | 2.0 | 11.7 | 29.9 | 29.9 |
* Player has yet to earn Box-Toppers points.
What are those numbers after players' names?
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