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.
▪️ Subscribe to Box-Toppers Email Newsletter.
Cardinals pitcher Jordan Montgomery is Friday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day.
Also Friday, Shohei Ohtani of the Angels becomes the second player this season to reach 10.0 Box-Toppers points after earning Player of the Game honors as a batter. He maintains second place in Box-Toppers season player rankings.
Player of the Day—Montgomery struck out six over six scoreless innings, allowing three hits and one walk, in the 7-4 win over the Reds.
Montgomery earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day, giving him 3.0 for the season, 101st among all players and 33rd among National League pitchers.
American League Player of the Day—Isaac Paredes of the Rays hit two home runs, including a three-run shot, and doubled, in the 8-3 win over the Rangers. Paredes went 3-for-4, scoring twice and driving in six runs.
Paredes earns 1.7 Box-Toppers points for being AL Player of the Day, giving him 6.2 for the season, third among AL batters, behind Shohei Ohtani of the Angels (10.4), who also earned Player of the Game honors Friday and Aaron Judge of the Yankees (7.5). Paredes now ranks just ahead of fourth-place AL batter, teammate Randy Arozarena (6.0).
National League Batter of the Day—Ke'Bryan Hayes of the Pirates hit two doubles and went 5-for-5, scoring three times and driving in four runs, in the 14-7 win over the Mets.
Both Hayes and AL Player of the Day Paredes had Box-Toppers game scores of +7.0 and Hayes actually ranked higher because he had more at bats (five vs. four). But Paredes earned more Box-Toppers points (1.7) as AL Player of the Day than Hayes as NL Batter of the Day (1.5).
American League Batter of the Day—There is no separate AL Batter of the Day for Friday because the overall AL Player of the Day is batter Isaac Paredes.
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 Friday, June 9.| Player | Pos | Team | BTP | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Gausman, Kevin 3191 | pi sp | tor al | 12.0 |
| 2 | Ohtani, Shohei 3933 | pi sp dh | ana al | 10.4 |
| 3 | Bassitt, Chris 3413 | pi sp | tor al | 9.4 |
| 4 | Gallen, Zac 4171 | pi sp | ari nl | 8.7 |
| 5 | McClanahan, Shane 4399 | pi sp | tb al | 8.7 |
| 6 | Kershaw, Clayton 2494 | pi sp | lad nl | 8.1 |
| 7 | deGrom, Jacob 3343 | pi sp | tex al | 7.7 |
| 8 | Eovaldi, Nathan 2928 | pi sp | tex al | 7.7 |
| 9 | Judge, Aaron 3767 | rf cf dh | nyy al | 7.5 |
| 10 | Luzardo, Jesus 4282 | pi sp | fla nl | 7.4 |
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Rankings—Shohei Ohtani of the Angels maintains second place in Box-Toppers season player rankings after earning Player of the Game honors Friday.
Ohtani (HR 2B 3-4 R 2BI in the 5-4 win over the Mariners) earns 1.0 Box-Toppers point, giving him 10.4 for the season, trailing Blue Jays pitcher Kevin Gausman (12.0). Ohtani also trails Gausman among AL pitchers. Ohtani extends his lead among AL batters, ahead of Aaron Judge of the Yankees (7.5).
Ohtani becomes the second player this season to reach 10.0 Box-Toppers points along with Gausman. It is Ohtani’s third season with 10.0 points—he also did it in 2021 (16.1, third among AL pitchers) and 2022 (24.7, second overall).
This is Ohtani’s ninth Player of the Game honor of 2023 and his fourth as designated hitter; the other five have come as a starting pitcher. Ohtani has now earned 4.7 of his Box-Toppers points as a batter and 5.7 as a starting pitcher. Ohtani qualifies to rank among both pitchers and batters in Box-Toppers season player rankings because more than 25 percent of his Player of the Game honors have come in both categories—44.4 percent as a batter and 55.6 as a pitcher.
This is the second time Ohtani won Player of the Game honors as a designated hitter in a game in which he also served as starting pitcher. He also did it May 15. Rules changes in 2022 allowed Ohtani to play both positions in a game, allowing him to continue batting even after he was pulled as a pitcher.
But Ohtani had a lackluster -3.0 Box-Toppers game score Friday for pitching (5IP 3H 3R 5BB 6K ND) compared to his +2.0 game score for batting.
Notable—Two players won Box-Toppers Player of the Game honors for the second straight day Friday:
Orioles closing pitcher Felix Bautista (1IP 0H 0R 0BB 2K Sv in the 3-2 win over the Royals) was also Player of the Game Thursday (1IP H 0R 0BB 2K Sv in the 6-3 win over the Brewers). Bautista earns 1.0 Box-Toppers point, giving him 6.0 for the season, extending his lead among AL closers, ahead of Jason Adam of the Rays (4.7).
Jose Ramirez of the Guardians (HR 2B 3-4 2R BI in the 10-9, 14-inning win over the Astros) was also AL Player of the Day Thursday (3HR 3-5 3R 5BI in the 10-3 win over the Red Sox). Ramirez earns 1.0 Box-Toppers point, giving him 3.7 for the season, 15th among AL batters.
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Scoring—Montgomery earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day and Paredes earns 1.7 points for being AL Player of the Day. Hayes earns 1.5 points for being NL Batter of the Day. All of Friday’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
| 6/9 | BTG | Game | Player | AB | R | H | BI | IP | H | R | ER | BB | K | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| MLB | +8.0 | STL 7, CIN 4 | Jordan Montgomery, (W 3‑7) | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | 6.0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 6 | |
| BAT | +7.0 | PIT 14, NYM 7 | Ke’Bryan Hayes, 3B | 5 | 3 | 5 | 4 | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | |
| AL | +7.0 | TB 8, TEX 3 | Isaac Paredes, 3B | 4 | 2 | 3 | 6 | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | |
| +6.0 | `PHI 5, LAD 4 | Ranger Suárez | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | 6.0 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 8 | ||
| +5.0 | ARI 11, DET 6 | Corbin Carroll, LF | 5 | 2 | 3 | 5 | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ||
| +5.0 | `CHW 2, MIA 1 | Dylan Cease | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | 6.0 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 7 | ||
| +3.0 | ATL 3, WSH 2 | Kirby Yates, (W 2‑0) | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | 1.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | ||
| +3.0 | BAL 3, KC 2 | Felix Bautista, (S 17) | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | 1.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | ||
| +3.0 | OAK 5, MIL 2 | Trevor May, (S 2) | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | 1.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | ||
| +3.0 | CHC 3, SF 2 | Adbert Alzolay, (S 3) | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | 1.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | ||
| +2.0 | LAA 5, SEA 4 | Shohei Ohtani, DH | 4 | 1 | 3 | 2 | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ||
| +2.0 | CLE 10, HOU 9 (F/14) | Jose Ramírez, 3B | 4 | 2 | 3 | 1 | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ||
| +2.0 | MIN 3, TOR 2 (F/10) | Michael Taylor, CF | 3 | 1 | 1 | 3 | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ||
| +1.1 | BOS 3, NYY 2 | Garrett Whitlock, (W 3‑2) | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | 6.1 | 7 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 6 | ||
| +1.0 | SD 9, COL 6 | Fernando Tatis Jr., RF | 4 | 2 | 2 | 1 | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ |
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 | +/‑ |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ohtani, Shohei 3933 | pi sp dh | ana al | 10.4 | 35.1 | 65.7 | 65.7 | -14.3 |
| Paredes, Isaac 4666 | 3b 1b 2b | tb al | 6.2 | 10.7 | 10.7 | 10.7 | +1.7 |
| Cease, Dylan 4231 | pi sp | chi al | 6.0 | 26.4 | 42.8 | 42.8 | -14.4 |
| Bautista, Felix 4668 | pi cp | bal al | 6.0 | 11.0 | 11.0 | 11.0 | +1.0 |
| Ramirez, Jose 3436 | 3b | cle al | 3.7 | 15.4 | 39.4 | 54.4 | -8.0 |
| Montgomery, Jordan 3814 | pi sp | stl nl | 3.0 | 12.4 | 23.1 | 29.1 | -6.4 |
| Whitlock, Garrett 4431 | pi sp | bos al | 3.0 | 7.0 | 10.0 | 10.0 | -1.0 |
| Hayes, Ke’Bryan 4561 | 3b | pit nl | 3.0 | 6.0 | 7.0 | 7.0 | 0.0 |
| Tatis, Fernando Jr. 4101 | rf ss | sd nl | 2.5 | 2.5 | 18.7 | 18.7 | +2.5 |
| Alzolay, Adbert 4170 | pi cp mr | chi nl | 2.0 | 4.0 | 12.7 | 12.7 | 0.0 |
| Carroll, Corbin 4818 | rf | ari nl | 2.0 | 2.0 | 2.0 | 2.0 | +2.0 |
| Suarez, Ranger 4228 | pi sp | phi nl | 1.0 | 6.0 | 16.0 | 16.0 | -4.0 |
| Taylor, Michael 3447 | cf | min al | 1.0 | 1.0 | 4.0 | 14.2 | +1.0 |
| May, Trevor 3417 | pi cp mr | oak al | 1.0 | 1.0 | 8.0 | 13.0 | +1.0 |
| Yates, Kirby 3628 | pi mr cp | atl nl | 1.0 | 1.0 | 13.0 | 17.0 | +1.0 |
About Box-Toppers’ team abbreviations
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A Box-Toppers look at Saturday’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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ARI | Nelson, Ryne 4728 | 2.7 | 4.4 | 4.4 | 4.4 |
| DET | Boyd, Matthew 3550 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 18.7 | 28.8 |
| MIA | Alcantara, Sandy 4061 | 3.0 | 24.1 | 43.2 | 43.2 |
| CHW | Kopech, Michael 4385 | 6.0 | 15.0 | 20.7 | 20.7 |
| CIN | Abbott, Andrew 4839 | 1.0 | 1.0 | 1.0 | 1.0 |
| STL | Mikolas, Miles 3034 | 4.7 | 16.8 | 31.5 | 34.2 |
| MIN | Ryan, Joe 4539 | 4.0 | 18.7 | 21.4 | 21.4 |
| TOR | Undecided | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 |
| SD | Weathers, Ryan 4388 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 2.7 | 2.7 |
| COL | Freeland, Kyle 3763 | 5.7 | 11.7 | 33.1 | 39.1 |
| KC | Singer, Brady 4337 | 2.0 | 13.7 | 20.7 | 20.7 |
| BAL | Irvin, Cole 4140 | 0.0 | 7.7 | 15.4 | 15.4 |
| LAD | Miller, Bobby 4820 | 2.0 | 2.0 | 2.0 | 2.0 |
| PHI | Nola, Aaron 3569 | 5.0 | 21.0 | 70.2 | 94.7 |
| NYM | Senga, Kodai 4762 | 6.0 | 6.0 | 6.0 | 6.0 |
| PIT | Oviedo, Johan 4442 | 3.7 | 6.7 | 7.7 | 7.7 |
| OAK | Blackburn, Paul 3869 | 0.0 | 4.0 | 6.0 | 7.0 |
| MIL | Teheran, Julio 3176 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 20.7 | 72.2 |
| TEX | Eovaldi, Nathan 2928 | 7.7 | 13.7 | 41.5 | 67.3 |
| TB | Bradley, Taj 4780 | 1.0 | 1.0 | 1.0 | 1.0 |
| WSH | Gore, MacKenzie 4582 | 2.0 | 6.7 | 6.7 | 6.7 |
| ATL | Shuster, Jared 4816 | 1.7 | 1.7 | 1.7 | 1.7 |
| HOU | France, J.P. 4811 | 1.0 | 1.0 | 1.0 | 1.0 |
| CLE | McKenzie, Triston 4303 | 2.0 | 17.7 | 32.1 | 32.1 |
| BOS | Houck, Tanner 4342 | 0.0 | 3.0 | 11.7 | 11.7 |
| NYY | German, Domingo 3957 | 4.0 | 5.0 | 28.4 | 28.4 |
| CHC | Hendricks, Kyle 3386 | 0.0 | 4.7 | 36.8 | 68.6 |
| SF | Undecided | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 |
| SEA | Woo, Bryan* | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 |
| LAA | Sandoval, Patrick 4357 | 0.0 | 8.0 | 11.0 | 11.0 |
* Player has yet to earn Box-Toppers points.
What are those numbers after players' names?
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