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.
Padres pitcher Yu Darvish is Saturday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day.
Also Saturday, Braves pitcher Spencer Strider rises to ninth in Box-Toppers season player rankings after earning Player of the Game honors.
Player of the Day—Darvish struck out nine over seven scoreless innings, allowing two hits and one walk, in the 6-0 win over the Cubs.
Darvish earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day, giving him 3.0 for the season, 88th among all players and 28th among National League pitchers.
Darvish now also has 127.0 career Box-Toppers points, 45th among all players since Box-Toppers tracking began in 1995. Darvish now trails 44th-ranked player Roy Oswalt (127.2). With his 2.0 points Saturday, Darvish passes three players on the “all-time” list—Gary Sheffield (124.1), Red Sox pitcher Corey Kluber (125.1) and Mariano Rivera (126.4). Darvish is now 12th among active players in career points, seventh among active NL pitchers.
American League Player of the Day—Marcus Semien of the Rangers hit a three-run homer, two doubles and went 4-for-6, scoring four times and driving in three runs, in the 16-6 win over the Mariners.
Semien earns 1.7 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day, giving him 4.7 for the season, fifth among AL batters.
National League Batter of the Day—Luis Arraez of the Marlins hit three doubles and went 5-for-5, scoring once and driving in five runs, in the 12-1 win over the Athletics.
American League Batter of the Day—There is no separate AL Batter of the Day for Saturday because the overall AL Player of the Day is batter Marcus Semien.
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 Saturday, June 3.| Player | Pos | Team | BTP | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Gausman, Kevin 3191 | pi sp | tor al | 10.0 |
| 2 | Ohtani, Shohei 3933 | pi sp dh | ana al | 9.4 |
| 3 | Gallen, Zac 4171 | pi sp | ari nl | 8.7 |
| 4 | McClanahan, Shane 4399 | pi sp | tb al | 8.7 |
| 5 | Bassitt, Chris 3413 | pi sp | tor al | 7.7 |
| 6 | deGrom, Jacob 3343 | pi sp | tex al | 7.7 |
| 7 | Judge, Aaron 3767 | rf cf dh | nyy al | 7.5 |
| 8 | Kershaw, Clayton 2494 | pi sp | lad nl | 7.1 |
| 9 | Strider, Spencer 4626 | pi sp | atl nl | 7.0 |
| 10 | Rasmussen, Drew 4547 | pi sp | tb al | 6.7 |
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Rankings—Braves pitcher Spencer Strider rises to ninth in Box-Toppers season player rankings after earning Player of the Game honors Saturday.
Strider (6IP 3H 2R 4BB 7K W in the 5-2 win over the Diamondbacks, earns 1.0 Box-Toppers point, giving him 7.0 for the season. He ranks third among NL pitchers, behind Zac Gallen of the Diamondbacks (7.7) and Clayton Kershaw of the Dodgers (7.1).
Debut—Four players made their Box-Toppers debut, each with their first career Player of the Game honor:
Pirates pitcher Angel Perdomo (2.1IP 0H 0R 0BB 3K ND in the 4-3 win over the Cardinals) made his Major League debut Aug. 18, 2020, and was playing in his 57th career game.
Blake Perkins of the Brewers (HR 2-4 2R 5BI in the 10-8 win over the Reds) made his Major League debut April 19 and was playing in his 11th career game.
Rockies pitcher Matt Carasiti (2.1IP H 0R 0BB 2K W in the 6-4 win over the Royals) made his Major League debut Aug. 12, 2016 and was playing in his 35th career game.
Blue Jays pitcher Nate Pearson (1IP 0H 0R 0BB 2K W in the 2-1 win over the Mets) made his Major League debut July 29, 2020, and was playing in his 30th career game.
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Scoring—Darvish earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day and Semien earns 1.7 points for being AL Player of the Day. Arraez earns 1.5 points for being NL Batter of the Day. All of Saturday’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
| 6/3 | BTG | Game | Player | AB | R | H | BI | IP | H | R | ER | BB | K | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| MLB | +13.0 | SD 6, CHC 0 | Yu Darvish, (W 4‑4) | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | 7.0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 9 | |
| +9.2 | SF 4, BAL 0 | Alex Cobb, (W 5‑2) | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | 7.2 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 7 | ||
| BAT | +6.0 | MIA 12, OAK 1 | Luis Arraez, 2B | 5 | 1 | 5 | 5 | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | |
| +5.1 | `PIT 4, STL 3 | Angel Perdomo | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | 2.1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | ||
| AL | +5.0 | TEX 16, SEA 6 | Marcus Semien, 2B | 6 | 4 | 4 | 3 | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | |
| +5.0 | MIL 10, CIN 8 | Blake Perkins, RF | 4 | 2 | 2 | 5 | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ||
| +5.0 | NYY 6, LAD 3 | Jake Bauers, LF | 3 | 2 | 2 | 4 | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ||
| +5.0 | HOU 9, LAA 6 | Alex Bregman, 3B | 1 | 1 | 1 | 4 | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ||
| +4.1 | `CHW 2, DET 1 (F/10) | Dylan Cease | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | 5.1 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 6 | ||
| +3.1 | COL 6, KC 4 | Matt Carasiti, (W 1‑0) | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | 2.1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | ||
| +3.0 | BOS 8, TB 5 | Kenley Jansen, (S 12) | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | 1.0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | ||
| +3.0 | TOR 2, NYM 1 | Nate Pearson, (W 2‑0) | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | 1.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | ||
| +3.0 | CLE 4, MIN 2 | Emmanuel Clase, (S 18) | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | 1.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | ||
| +3.0 | `PHI 4, WSH 2 | Matt Strahm | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | 2.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | ||
| +2.1 | `TB 4, BOS 2 | Tyler Glasnow | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | 5.1 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 6 | ||
| +2.0 | ATL 5, ARI 2 | Spencer Strider, (W 6‑2) | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | 6.0 | 3 | 2 | 2 | 4 | 7 |
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 | +/‑ |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Strider, Spencer 4626 | pi sp | atl nl | 7.0 | 20.4 | 20.4 | 20.4 | -6.4 |
| Cease, Dylan 4231 | pi sp | chi al | 5.0 | 25.4 | 41.8 | 41.8 | -15.4 |
| Semien, Marcus 3302 | 2b | tex al | 4.7 | 11.7 | 31.1 | 43.1 | -2.3 |
| Cobb, Alex 2916 | pi sp | sf nl | 4.0 | 10.7 | 22.1 | 61.9 | -2.7 |
| Clase, Emmanuel 4225 | pi cp | cle al | 4.0 | 6.0 | 10.0 | 10.0 | +2.0 |
| Strahm, Matt 3724 | pi sp | phi nl | 4.0 | 5.0 | 11.0 | 13.0 | +3.0 |
| Bregman, Alex 3721 | 3b | hou al | 3.5 | 12.2 | 32.9 | 37.9 | -5.2 |
| Darvish, Yu 3003 | pi sp | sd nl | 3.0 | 19.8 | 58.4 | 127.0 | -13.8 |
| Arraez, Luis 4219 | 2b 1b | fla nl | 2.5 | 8.0 | 14.7 | 14.7 | -3.0 |
| Bauers, Jake 3993 | dh lf 1b | nyy al | 2.5 | 2.5 | 14.5 | 14.5 | +2.5 |
| Jansen, Kenley 2871 | pi cp | bos al | 2.0 | 6.0 | 20.0 | 63.4 | -2.0 |
| Glasnow, Tyler 3948 | pi sp | tb al | 1.0 | 1.0 | 37.4 | 37.4 | +1.0 |
| Carasiti, Matt 4833 | pi mr | col nl | 1.0 | 1.0 | 1.0 | 1.0 | +1.0 |
| Pearson, Nate 4834 | pi mr | tor al | 1.0 | 1.0 | 1.0 | 1.0 | +1.0 |
| Perdomo, Angel 4831 | pi mr | pit nl | 1.0 | 1.0 | 1.0 | 1.0 | +1.0 |
| Perkins, Blake 4832 | rf | mil 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 Sunday’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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| STL | Mikolas, Miles 3034 | 4.7 | 16.8 | 31.5 | 34.2 |
| PIT | Hill, Rich 2215 | 3.0 | 10.7 | 31.4 | 82.2 |
| PHI | Suarez, Ranger 4228 | 0.0 | 5.0 | 15.0 | 15.0 |
| WSH | Williams, Trevor 3792 | 2.0 | 5.0 | 20.7 | 25.7 |
| TB | Bradley, Taj 4780 | 1.0 | 1.0 | 1.0 | 1.0 |
| BOS | Houck, Tanner 4342 | 0.0 | 3.0 | 11.7 | 11.7 |
| MIL | Houser, Adrian 4162 | 1.7 | 3.4 | 14.4 | 14.4 |
| CIN | Lively, Ben 3903 | 1.0 | 1.0 | 1.0 | 3.0 |
| OAK | Blackburn, Paul 3869 | 0.0 | 4.0 | 6.0 | 7.0 |
| MIA | Alcantara, Sandy 4061 | 3.0 | 24.1 | 43.2 | 43.2 |
| TOR | Kikuchi, Yusei 4136 | 3.0 | 8.7 | 20.4 | 20.4 |
| NYM | Senga, Kodai 4762 | 6.0 | 6.0 | 6.0 | 6.0 |
| LAA | Canning, Griffin 4134 | 3.0 | 3.0 | 14.7 | 14.7 |
| HOU | France, J.P. 4811 | 1.0 | 1.0 | 1.0 | 1.0 |
| CLE | McKenzie, Triston 4303 | 0.0 | 15.7 | 30.1 | 30.1 |
| MIN | Ryan, Joe 4539 | 4.0 | 18.7 | 21.4 | 21.4 |
| COL | Freeland, Kyle 3763 | 5.7 | 11.7 | 33.1 | 39.1 |
| KC | Singer, Brady 4337 | 1.0 | 12.7 | 19.7 | 19.7 |
| DET | Boyd, Matthew 3550 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 18.7 | 28.8 |
| CHW | Kopech, Michael 4385 | 5.0 | 14.0 | 19.7 | 19.7 |
| SEA | Miller, Bryce 4797 | 5.7 | 5.7 | 5.7 | 5.7 |
| TEX | Eovaldi, Nathan 2928 | 6.7 | 12.7 | 40.5 | 66.3 |
| BAL | Wells, Tyler 4428 | 3.0 | 7.0 | 8.0 | 8.0 |
| SF | DeSclafani, Anthony 3441 | 3.7 | 3.7 | 30.1 | 41.8 |
| ATL | Soroka, Mike 3956 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 14.4 | 14.4 |
| ARI | Gallen, Zac 4171 | 8.7 | 27.4 | 43.1 | 43.1 |
| CHC | Stroman, Marcus 3327 | 6.7 | 12.4 | 33.4 | 61.2 |
| SD | Weathers, Ryan 4388 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 2.7 | 2.7 |
| NYY | German, Domingo 3957 | 3.0 | 4.0 | 27.4 | 27.4 |
| LAD | Miller, Bobby 4820 | 2.0 | 2.0 | 2.0 | 2.0 |
| CHC | Smyly, Drew 3009 | 4.0 | 12.7 | 24.7 | 60.2 |
| SD | Darvish, Yu 3003 | 1.0 | 17.8 | 56.4 | 125.0 |
* Player has yet to earn Box-Toppers points.
What are those numbers after players' names?
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