Twins’ Ober tops players for Sunday, May 12; Royals’ Lugo rises to lead AL pitchers

Twins pitcher Bailey Ober is Sunday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day.

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▪️ Players of the Game
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▪️ Top 10 players in 2024
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Twins pitcher Bailey Ober is Sunday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day.

Also Sunday, Royals pitcher Seth Lugo rises to first place among American League pitchers (fifth overall) after earning Player of the Game honors. In addition, Cardinals closing pitcher Ryan Helsley rises to ninth place in season player rankings.

Player of the Day

Ober struck out 10 over 6 1/3 scoreless innings, allowing one hit and no walks, in the 5-1 win over the Blue Jays.

Ober earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day, giving him 4.0 for the season, 30th among all players and 14th among American League pitchers.

National League Player of the Day is Padres pitcher Yu Darvish.

National League Player of the Day

Padres pitcher Yu Darvish struck out seven over seven scoreless innings, allowing two hits and one walk, in the 4-0 win over the Dodgers.

Darvish earns 1.7 Box-Toppers points for being NL Player of the Day, giving him 4.7 for the season, 11th among NL pitchers.

Darvish also now has 135.7 career Box-Toppers points, 36th among all players since 1995, when player tracking began. He trails 35th-ranked player Andy Pettitte (138.5). Darvish ranks seventh among active, signed players and third among active NL pitchers, behind Clayton Kershaw of the Dodgers (270.4) and Chris Sale of the Braves (158.0).

American League Batter of the Day is Mitch Garver of the Mariners.

American League Batter of the Day

Mitch Garver of the Mariners homered and went 2-for-3, scoring once and driving in three runs, in the 8-4 win over the Athletics.

National League Batter of the Day is Josh Bell of the Marlins.

National League Batter of the Day

Josh Bell of the Marlins hit a three-run homer and went 1-for-3, scoring twice and driving in three runs, in the 7-6, 10-inning win over the Phillies.

Royals pitcher Seth Lugo rises to fifth place overall and first among AL pitchers Sunday.

Top 10 players

Here are the top 10 players in 2024 Box-Toppers points (BTP) through Sunday, May 12:
Player Pos Team BTP
1 Dylan Cease pi sp Padres 7.7
2 Ranger Suárez pi sp Phillies 7.7
3 Shota Imanaga pi sp Cubs 7.7
4 Zack Wheeler pi sp Phillies 6.7
5 Seth Lugo pi sp Royals 6.4
6 Freddy Peralta pi sp Brewers 6.0
7 Logan Gilbert pi sp Mariners 6.0
8 Tyler Glasnow pi sp Dodgers 6.0
9 Ryan Helsley pi cp Cardinals 6.0
10 Tanner Houck pi sp Red Sox 6.0
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Rankings

Two players rise in Box-Toppers season player rankings top 10 list after both earn Player of the Game honors Sunday:

  • Royals pitcher Seth Lugo (8IP 5H R 0BB 12K W in the 4-2 win over the Angels) earns 1.0 Box-Toppers point, giving him 6.4 for the season, rising from ninth to fifth place overall and rising to lead AL pitchers, passing previous leader Logan Gilbert of the Mariners (6.0 points), who falls to second place.

  • Cardinals closing pitcher Ryan Helsley (1IP 0H 0R 0BB 2K Sv in the 4-3 win over the Brewers) earns 1.0 Box-Toppers point, giving him 6.0 for the season, rising to ninth place overall and seventh among NL pitchers. He increases his lead among NL closing pitchers ahead of second-place Reed Garrett of the Mets (3.7).

Cardinals closing pitcher Ryan Helsley rises to ninth place overall Sunday.

Streak

Cubs pitcher Kyle Hendricks has now earned Box-Toppers points in 11 straight seasons with his first career Player of the Game honor of 2024 Sunday.

Hendricks (5IP 2H R 4BB 5K ND in the 5-4, 10-inning win over the Pirates) earned his first points in 2014 with the Cubs and now has 74.6 career Box-Toppers points, 15th among active NL pitchers. His best seasons were 2016 and 2019, both with the Cubs, when he had 13.4 Box-Toppers points each season. In 2016, he ranked 10th among NL pitchers and in 2019, he ranked 13th among NL pitchers. In 2023, he had 5.0 points with the Cubs, 53rd among NL pitchers.

Cubs pitcher Kyle Hendricks has now earned Box-Toppers points in 11 straight seasons with his first career Player of the Game honor of 2024 Sunday.

Notable

Astros pitcher Justin Verlander now has 246.0 career Box-Toppers points—fourth-most since 1995—after earning Player of the Game honors Sunday.

Verlander (7IP 2H 0R 2BB 8K W in the 9-3 win over the Tigers) earns 1.0 Box-Toppers point and now trails third-ranked player on the “all-time” career points list, Rangers pitcher Max Scherzer (251.7), by 5.7 points. Verlander ranks third among active players in career points, behind Dodgers pitcher Clayton Kershaw (270.4) and Scherzer (251.7). Verlander ranks second among active AL pitchers behind Scherzer.

This is Verlander’s first Box-Toppers Player of the Game honor of 2024 and he is the first of the three active players with more than 200 career Box-Toppers points to earn Player of the Game honors this season. Kershaw and Scherzer are on the injured list and have yet to pitch in 2024.

Astros pitcher Justin Verlander now has 246.0 career Box-Toppers points—fourth-most since 1995—after earning Player of the Game honors Sunday

Sunday’s highlights & lowlights

Top pitching matchup

▪️Zac Gallen, Diamondbacks
19.7 Box-Toppers points over 2023-24, 8th
▪️Dean Kremer, Orioles
13.7 Box-Toppers points over 2023-24, 33rd
Result—ARI 9, BAL 2
Neither starter was Player of the Game.
Gallen had 0.0 B-T game score (6IP 4H 2R 2BB 4K W).
Kremer had -1.8 B-T game score (5.2IP 4H 6R 3ER 4BB 10K L).
Player of the Game—Ketel Marte, Diamondbacks (SF 1-4 R 3BI) with +1.0 game score.

High scores, no points

Highest Box-Toppers game scores for the day among players who did not earn Player of the Game honors:
▪️+5.1—Brad Keller, White Sox (3.1IP 0H 0R BB 3K ND)
Was not Player of the Game because CHW lost to CLE.
Player of the Game—David Fry, Guardians (HR 1-2 2R 2BI) with +3.0 game score.
▪️+5.0—Alek Manoah, Blue Jays (7IP 4H 3R 0ER BB 6K L)
Was not Player of the Game because TOR lost to MIN.
Player of the Game—Bailey Ober, Twins (6.1IP H 0R 0BB 10K W) with +15.1 game score.
▪️+5.0—Albert Suárez, Orioles (3IP H 0R 0BB 3K ND>
Was not Player of the Game because BAL lost to ARI.
Player of the Game—Ketel Marte, Diamondbacks (SF 1-4 R 3BI) with +1.0 game score.

Lowest Box-Toppers game scores

Out of 448 total players Sunday, 125 pitchers
-15.0—Zack Wheeler, Phillies (4IP 6H 6R 3BB 2K ND)
-14.8—Alex Lange, Tigers
-11.0—Tyler Alexander, Rays
-10.9—Caleb Ferguson, Yankees
-10.0—Patrick Sandoval, Angels

Lowest Box-Toppers game scores by batters

Out of 323 total batters Sunday
-5.0—Whit Merrifield, Phillies 0-5 2K
-5.0—Bryan Reynolds, Pirates 0-5 K
-5.0—Mike Yastrzemski, Giants 0-5 K
-5.0—Ozzie Albies, Braves 0-5
-5.0—Tyler Freeman, Guardians 0-5
-5.0—Bobby Witt Jr., Royals 0-5
Box-Toppers uses Baseball-Reference.com, MLB.com and other sources to compile this information.

Scoring

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

  • Darvish earns 1.7 points for being NL Player of the Day.

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

  • All of Sunday’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).

5/12 BTG Game Player AB R H BI IP H R ER BB K
MLB +15.1 MIN 5, TOR 1 Bailey Ober (W, 4‑1) ‑ ‑ ‑ ‑ 6.1 1 0 0 0 10
+13.0 KC 4, LAA 2 Seth Lugo (W, 6‑1) ‑ ‑ ‑ ‑ 8.0 5 1 1 0 12
+11.0 HOU 9, DET 3 Justin Verlander (W, 2‑1) ‑ ‑ ‑ ‑ 7.0 2 0 0 2 8
NL +11.0 SD 4, LAD 0 Yu Darvish (W, 3‑1) ‑ ‑ ‑ ‑ 7.0 2 0 0 1 7
+4.0 NYY 10, TB 6 Luis Gil (W, 4‑1) ‑ ‑ ‑ ‑ 6.0 3 0 0 2 3
BAT +3.0 SEA 8, OAK 4 Mitch Garver DH 3 1 2 3 ‑ ‑ ‑ ‑ ‑ ‑
BAT +3.0 MIA 7, PHI 6 (F/10) Josh Bell 1B 3 2 1 3 ‑ ‑ ‑ ‑ ‑ ‑
+3.0 CLE 7, CHW 0 David Fry C 2 2 1 2 ‑ ‑ ‑ ‑ ‑ ‑
+3.0 NYM 4, ATL 3 Brandon Nimmo PR‑LF 1 1 1 2 ‑ ‑ ‑ ‑ ‑ ‑
+3.0 STL 4, MIL 3 Ryan Helsley (S, 12) ‑ ‑ ‑ ‑ 1.0 0 0 0 0 2
+2.0 SF 6, CIN 5 (F/10) Luke Jackson (W, 1‑1) ‑ ‑ ‑ ‑ 1.0 0 0 0 1 2
+2.0 `CHC 5, PIT 4 (F/10) Kyle Hendricks ‑ ‑ ‑ ‑ 5.0 2 1 1 4 5
+1.0 ARI 9, BAL 2 Ketel Marte 2B 4 1 1 3 ‑ ‑ ‑ ‑ ‑ ‑
0.0 COL 3, TEX 1 Ezequiel Tovar SS 4 1 1 2 ‑ ‑ ‑ ‑ ‑ ‑
0.0 BOS 3, WSH 2 Garrett Cooper 1B 3 1 2 0 ‑ ‑ ‑ ‑ ‑ ‑
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 2024 (’24). Also shown is their point total for this season and last (’23-24), the period 2019-2024 (’19-24) and each players’ career point total. Also shown is how their 2024 Box-Toppers point total compares with their 2023 total (+/-).
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Player of the Game Pos Team ’24 ’23‑24 ’19‑24 Career +/‑
Lugo, Seth 3729 pi sp kc al 6.4 12.8 21.8 30.8 0.0
Helsley, Ryan 4589 pi cp stl nl 6.0 10.0 16.0 16.0 +2.0
Gil, Luis 4498 pi sp nyy al 5.7 5.7 6.7 6.7 +5.7
Darvish, Yu 3003 pi sp sd nl 4.7 11.7 61.7 135.7 -2.3
Ober, Bailey 4441 pi sp min al 4.0 12.7 22.4 22.4 -4.7
Nimmo, Brandon 3895 cf nym nl 2.5 5.5 10.0 16.4 -0.5
Garver, Mitch 3950 dh ca sea al 1.5 8.0 18.0 25.5 -5.0
Bell, Josh E. 3682 1b fla nl 1.5 6.0 21.2 29.2 -3.0
Verlander, Justin 2112 pi sp hou al 1.0 13.4 67.9 246.0 -11.4
Tovar, Ezequiel 4801 ss col nl 1.0 7.5 7.5 7.5 -5.5
Hendricks, Kyle 3386 pi sp chi nl 1.0 6.0 34.1 74.6 -4.0
Marte, Ketel 3630 2b ari nl 1.0 5.5 18.0 23.0 -3.5
Cooper, Garrett 4184 1b dh bos al 1.0 3.0 8.0 8.0 -1.0
Jackson, Luke 4139 pi cp mr sf nl 1.0 3.0 12.0 12.0 -1.0
Fry, David 4848 ca cle al 1.0 2.5 2.5 2.5 -0.5
What are those numbers after players' names?
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A Box-Toppers look at Monday’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 2024 (’24), this year and last year (’23-24), over a six-year period (’19-24) and their career point total.
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Game Starter ’24 ’23-24 ’19‑24 Career
TOR Berrios, Jose 3791 3.7 14.1 46.2 73.0
BAL Burnes, Corbin 4029 3.7 15.4 56.6 59.6
MIA Sanchez, Sixto 4335 0.0 0.0 3.0 3.0
DET Manning, Matt 4550 0.0 4.7 8.7 8.7
PHI Sanchez, Cristopher 4850 1.7 5.7 5.7 5.7
NYM Manaea, Sean 3637 1.0 4.7 32.1 54.9
TB Eflin, Zach 3679 2.0 14.0 32.8 45.5
BOS Crawford, Kutter 4660 1.0 6.7 10.7 10.7
CHC Imanaga, Shota 4960 7.7 7.7 7.7 7.7
ATL Lopez, Reynaldo 3712 3.7 4.7 25.2 32.9
PIT Keller, Mitch 4230 2.0 15.0 22.0 22.0
MIL Rea, Colin 3582 1.0 6.0 6.0 9.7
WSH Williams, Trevor 3792 3.0 8.7 19.4 32.4
CHW Flexen, Chris 4368 1.7 1.7 15.4 15.4
CLE Bibee, Tanner 4792 4.0 12.7 12.7 12.7
TEX Lorenzen, Michael 3479 1.0 9.7 16.7 24.2
OAK Stripling, Ross 3629 1.0 2.0 25.7 40.1
HOU Arrighetti, Spencer* 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0
STL Liberatore, Matthew 4662 0.0 4.0 6.0 6.0
LAA Soriano, Jose 4884 1.0 2.0 2.0 2.0
CIN Ashcraft, Graham 4645 1.0 5.0 9.0 9.0
ARI Montgomery, Jordan 3814 0.0 10.4 30.5 36.5
COL Quantrill, Cal 4195 3.0 5.0 20.7 20.7
SD Vasquez, Randy 4841 0.0 1.0 1.0 1.0
KC Singer, Brady 4337 4.0 9.0 27.7 27.7
SEA Kirby, George 4595 3.7 17.4 28.8 28.8
LAD Yamamoto, Yoshinobu 4964 3.7 3.7 3.7 3.7
SF Hicks, Jordan 3991 2.7 5.7 9.7 11.7
ATL Elder, Bryce 4709 1.0 9.0 13.7 13.7
NYM Severino, Luis 3567 1.0 5.7 15.4 59.2
Starters subject to change.
* Player has yet to earn any career Box-Toppers points.
What are those numbers after players' names?
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