Giants’ Cobb tops players for Tuesday, Aug. 29, coming within 1 out of no-hitter

Giants pitcher Alex Cobb is Tuesday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day.

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▪️ 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.
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Giants pitcher Alex Cobb is Tuesday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day.

Cobb came within one out of a no-hitter, giving up the game’s only hit (and only run) to the Reds with two out in the ninth. Cobb did pick up the game’s final out and finished a complete game, striking out eight, allowing one run, one hit and one walk, in the 6-1 win over the Reds.

Cobb allowed only three baserunners and threw 131 pitches.

Cobb earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day, giving him 10.0 for the season, 29th among all players and 14th among National League pitchers.

Cobb becomes the 30th player this season to reach 10 Box-Toppers points (he was also one of three to reach that mark Tuesday). This is Cobb’s second season with 10 or more points. He also did it in 2014 with the Rays, when he had 11.7 points, 21st among American League pitchers. In 2022, he had 6.7 points with the Giants, 42nd among NL pitchers.

American League Player of the Day is Rangers pitcher Andrew Heaney.

American League Player of the Day

Rangers pitcher Andrew Heaney struck out seven over 5 1/3 scoreless innings, allowing five hits and one walk, in the 2-1 win over the Mets. Heaney did not earn the win, picking up a no-decision, because the game was in a scoreless tie when he exited.

Heaney earns 1.7 Box-Toppers points for being AL Player of the Day, giving him 10.4 for the season, 23rd among all players and 13th among AL pitchers.

Heaney becomes the 32nd player this season to reach 10 Box-Toppers points. It is his first season with 10 or more points. His previous best was 9.7 in 2018 with the Angels, 24th among AL pitchers. He had 8.0 points in 2022 with the Dodgers, 35th among NL pitchers.

National League Batter of the Day is Liover Peguero of the Pirates.

National League Batter of the Day

Liover Peguero of the Pirates hit a three-run homer and went 3-for-4, scoring twice and driving in three runs, in the 6-3 win over the Royals.

This is Peguero’s Box-Toppers debut, his first career Player of the Game honor. Peguero made his Major League debut June 18, 2022, and was playing in his 34th career game.

American League Batter of the Day is Ryan McKenna of the Orioles.

American League Batter of the Day

Ryan McKenna of the Orioles doubled and went 2-for-2, scoring twice and driving in two runs, in the 9-3 win over the White Sox.

Braves pitcher Charlie Morton is Box-Toppers Player of the Game in Tuesday’s win over the Rockies.

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 Tuesday, Aug. 29.

Player Pos Team BTP
1 Ohtani, Shohei 3933 pi sp dh ana al 19.4
2 Strider, Spencer 4626 pi sp atl nl 19.1
3 Luzardo, Jesus 4282 pi sp fla nl 15.1
4 Gausman, Kevin 3191 pi sp tor al 14.7
5 Peralta, Freddy 3965 pi sp mil nl 14.7
6 Scherzer, Max 2588 pi sp tex al 14.4
7 Gallen, Zac 4171 pi sp ari nl 13.7
8 Bassitt, Chris 3413 pi sp tor al 13.4
9 Lopez, Pablo 4028 pi sp min al 13.4
10 Miller, Bryce 4797 pi sp sea al 13.1
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Notable

Braves pitcher Charlie Morton became the 31st player to reach 10 Box-Toppers points in 2023 after earning Player of the Game honors Tuesday.

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Morton (6IP 3H R 2BB 8K W in the 3-1 win over the Rockies) earns 1.0 Box-Toppers point, giving him 10.0 for the season, 28th among all players and 13th among NL pitchers.

This is Morton’s fifth season with 10 or more points and his third straight:

  • In 2018, he had 14.8 points with the Astros, 11th among AL pitchers.

  • In 2019, he had 18.8 points with the Rays, fifth overall and third among AL pitchers.

  • In 2021, he had 12.7 points with the Braves, 16th among NL pitchers.

  • In 2022, he had 10.4 points with the Braves, 23rd among NL pitchers.

Morton has now reached 10 points in five of six seasons, missing only the pandemic-shortened 2020 season, when he had 2.0 points with the Rays.

Morton also now has 104.1 career Box-Toppers points, 78th-most among all players since 1995, when Box-Toppers tracking began. With his 1.0 point Tuesday, he passes Jamie Moyer (104.1) on the “all-time” career points list and now trails 77th-ranked player Scott Kazmir (105.1). Morton ranks 16th among active players in career points, eighth among active NL pitchers.

Scoring

  • Cobb earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day.

  • Heaney earns 1.7 points for being AL Player of the Day.

  • Peguero and McKenna each earn 1.5 points for being their league’s Batter of the Day.

  • All of Tuesday’s other Player of the Game winners (listed in the chart) 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).

8/29 BTG Game Player AB R H BI IP H R ER BB K
MLB +13.0 SF 6, CIN 1 Alex Cobb (W, 7‑5) ‑ ‑ ‑ ‑ 9.0 1 1 1 1 8
+7.0 ATL 3, COL 1 Charlie Morton (W, 14‑10) ‑ ‑ ‑ ‑ 6.0 3 1 1 2 8
+7.0 CHC 1, MIL 0 Justin Steele (W, 15‑3) ‑ ‑ ‑ ‑ 6.0 6 0 0 1 8
AL +6.1 `TEX 2, NYM 1 Andrew Heaney ‑ ‑ ‑ ‑ 5.1 5 0 0 1 7
+6.0 `NYY 4, DET 2 Michael King ‑ ‑ ‑ ‑ 4.0 3 0 0 0 5
+4.2 OAK 3, SEA 1 Sean Newcomb (W, 1‑0) ‑ ‑ ‑ ‑ 1.2 0 0 0 1 4
BAT +4.0 PIT 6, KC 3 Liover Peguero SS 4 2 3 3 ‑ ‑ ‑ ‑ ‑ ‑
+4.0 STL 6, SD 5 (F/10) Willson Contreras C 4 3 2 3 ‑ ‑ ‑ ‑ ‑ ‑
+4.0 PHI 12, LAA 7 Alec Bohm 1B 3 2 2 3 ‑ ‑ ‑ ‑ ‑ ‑
BAT +4.0 BAL 9, CHW 3 Ryan McKenna PH‑RF 2 2 2 2 ‑ ‑ ‑ ‑ ‑ ‑
+3.0 TB 11, MIA 2 Isaac Paredes 3B 5 2 2 4 ‑ ‑ ‑ ‑ ‑ ‑
+2.0 HOU 6, BOS 2 Alex Bregman 3B 5 2 3 2 ‑ ‑ ‑ ‑ ‑ ‑
+2.0 LAD 9, ARI 1 David Peralta DH 4 1 3 2 ‑ ‑ ‑ ‑ ‑ ‑
+1.0 WSH 5, TOR 4 Carter Kieboom 3B 4 1 2 2 ‑ ‑ ‑ ‑ ‑ ‑
0.0 CLE 4, MIN 2 Bo Naylor C 4 1 2 1 ‑ ‑ ‑ ‑ ‑ ‑
MLB—Overall Box‑Toppers Player of the Day, worth 2.0 total Box‑Toppers points.
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 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 (+/-).
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Player of the Game Pos Team ’23 ’22‑23 ’18‑23 Career +/‑
Heaney, Andrew 3515 pi sp tex al 10.4 18.4 41.5 46.5 +2.4
Morton, Charlie 2503 pi sp atl nl 10.0 20.4 68.7 104.1 -0.4
Cobb, Alex 2916 pi sp sf nl 10.0 16.7 28.1 67.9 +3.3
Steele, Justin 4415 pi sp chi nl 9.1 14.1 17.1 17.1 +4.1
Paredes, Isaac 4666 3b 1b 2b tb al 7.2 11.7 11.7 11.7 +2.7
King, Michael 4549 pi cp mr nyy al 7.0 11.7 12.7 12.7 +2.3
Bohm, Alec 4309 3b 1b dh phi nl 6.4 8.4 10.4 10.4 +4.4
Bregman, Alex 3721 3b hou al 6.0 14.7 35.4 40.4 -2.7
Contreras, Willson 3776 ca stl nl 4.0 7.0 21.5 27.0 +1.0
Peralta, David 3370 dh lf lad nl 3.0 5.5 21.5 35.4 +0.5
Naylor, Bo 4885 ca cle al 2.5 2.5 2.5 2.5 +2.5
McKenna, Ryan 4489 lf ph bal al 1.5 1.5 2.5 2.5 +1.5
Peguero, Liover 4916 ss pit nl 1.5 1.5 1.5 1.5 +1.5
Newcomb, Sean 3831 pi mr sp oak al 1.0 2.0 17.1 20.1 0.0
Kieboom, Carter 4276 3b dc nl 1.0 1.0 2.0 2.0 +1.0
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A Box-Toppers look at Wednesday’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.
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Game Starter ’23 ’22‑23 ’18‑23 Career
LAA Detmers, Reid 4513 6.7 13.7 14.7 14.7
PHI Sanchez, Cristopher 4850 2.0 2.0 2.0 2.0
CHW Cease, Dylan 4231 7.0 27.4 43.8 43.8
BAL Gibson, Kyle 3312 7.7 16.7 42.2 61.2
CLE Bibee, Tanner 4792 7.7 7.7 7.7 7.7
MIN Gray, Sonny 3259 8.4 20.5 54.7 95.9
SD Hill, Rich 2215 4.0 11.7 32.4 83.2
STL Mikolas, Miles 3034 5.7 17.8 32.5 35.2
MIL Woodruff, Brandon 3868 3.0 23.8 56.6 57.6
CHC Hendricks, Kyle 3386 4.0 8.7 40.8 72.6
WSH Corbin, Patrick 3027 6.1 10.1 49.2 91.4
TOR Bassitt, Chris 3413 13.4 24.4 53.2 57.2
CIN Greene, Hunter 4651 3.0 9.0 9.0 9.0
SF Webb, Logan 4258 9.0 18.7 36.9 36.9
HOU Valdez, Framber 4048 9.0 25.0 40.4 40.4
BOS Crawford, Kutter 4660 4.7 8.7 8.7 8.7
OAK Neal, Zach 3700 0.0 0.0 0.0 1.0
SEA Miller, Bryce 4797 13.1 13.1 13.1 13.1
NYY Cole, Gerrit 3232 11.0 26.4 106.4 149.3
DET Undecided 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0
TB Eflin, Zach 3679 9.0 12.7 35.5 40.5
MIA Luzardo, Jesus 4282 15.1 19.1 31.2 31.2
TEX Dunning, Dane 4317 3.0 7.4 12.4 12.4
NYM Reyes, Denyi 4777 1.0 1.0 1.0 1.0
PIT Jackson, Andre 4748 0.0 1.0 1.0 1.0
KC Singer, Brady 4337 5.0 16.7 23.7 23.7
ATL Vines, Darius* 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0
COL Freeland, Kyle 3763 5.7 11.7 33.1 39.1
ARI Pfaadt, Brandon 4812 1.0 1.0 1.0 1.0
LAD Undecided 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0
Starters subject to change.
* Player has yet to earn Box-Toppers points.
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