Tigers’ Skubal tops players for Sunday, June 9; Imanaga, Skubal, Kirby rise in top 10

Tigers pitcher Tarik Skubal is Sunday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day, rising to fifth place in season player rankings.

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▪️ Players of the Game
▪️ B-T points of day’s top players
▪️ Top 10 players in 2024
▪️ Sunday’s sidelights sidebar
▪️ Upcoming pitching matchups
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Tigers pitcher Tarik Skubal is Sunday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day, rising to fifth place in season player rankings.

Top 10 players

Here are the top 10 players in 2024 Box-Toppers points (BTP) through Sunday, June 9:
Player Pos Team BTP
1 Luis Gil pi sp Yankees 13.4
2 Chris Sale pi sp Braves 9.7
3 Tanner Houck pi sp Red Sox 9.7
4 Shota Imanaga pi sp Cubs 9.7
5 Tarik Skubal pi sp Tigers 9.4
6 Ranger Suárez pi sp Phillies 9.4
7 Zack Wheeler pi sp Phillies 8.7
8 George Kirby pi sp Mariners 8.7
9 Aaron Nola pi sp Phillies 8.7
10 Tanner Bibee pi sp Guardians 8.0
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Also Sunday, two other players rise in Box-Toppers season player rankings top 10 list after both earned Player of the Game honors: Cubs pitcher Shota Imanaga rises to fourth place and Mariners pitcher George Kirby rises to eighth place.

In addition, Aaron Judge of the Yankees rises to first place among American League batters in 2024 Box-Toppers points after earning Player of the Game honors.

Player of the Day

Skubal struck out 10 over 6 2/3 innings, allowing one run, five hits and two walks, in the 10-2 win over the Brewers.

Skubal earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day, giving him 9.4 for the season, rising to fifth place overall and third among AL pitchers, behind Luis Gil of the Yankees (13.4) and Tanner Houck of the Red Sox (9.7).

National League Player of the Day

Cardinals pitcher Andre Pallante struck out six over five scoreless innings, allowing three hits and one walk, in the 5-1 win over the Rockies.

Pallante earns 1.7 Box-Toppers points for being NL Player of the Day, giving him 2.7 for the season, 52nd among NL pitchers.

National League Player of the Day is Cardinals pitcher Andre Pallante.

American League Batter of the Day

Adley Rutschman of the Orioles hit a grand slam and went 3-for-5, scoring once and driving in six runs, in the 9-2 win over the Rays.

Rutschman earns 1.5 Box-Toppers points for being AL Batter of the Day, giving him 3.5 for the season, seventh among AL batters.

American League Batter of the Day is Adley Rutschman of the Orioles.

National League Batter of the Day

Keibert Ruiz of the Nationals hit a three-run home run and a sacrifice fly in the 8-5 win over the Braves. Ruiz went 1-for-3, scoring once and driving in four runs.

National League Batter of the Day is Keibert Ruiz of the Nationals.

Top 10 rankings

In addition to Skubal, two other players rise in Box-Toppers season player rankings top 10 list after both earned Player of the Game honors Sunday:

Cubs pitcher Shota Imanaga rises from seventh to fourth in player rankings.

  • Cubs pitcher Shota Imanaga (6.2IP 5H 2R BB 7K W in the 4-2 win over the Reds) earns 1.0 Box-Toppers point, giving him 9.7 for the season, rising from seventh to fourth in player rankings, second among NL pitchers, behind Chris Sale of the Braves (9.7 points). (Though Sale and Imanaga both have 9.7 points on the season, Sale ranks higher because he has more 2023 points—8.7 vs. 0.0.)

  • Mariners pitcher George Kirby (7IP 5H R 0BB 4K ND in the 6-5, 10-inning win over the Royals) earns 1.0 Box-Toppers point, giving him 8.7 for the season, rising from 10th to eighth place overall, fourth among AL pitchers.

Mariners pitcher George Kirby risies from 10th to eighth place overall.

Notable

Aaron Judge of the Yankees rises to first place among AL batters in 2024 Box-Toppers points after earning Player of the Game honors Sunday.

Judge (HR 2B 3-4 2R 2BI in the 6-4 win over the Dodgers) earns 1.0 Box-Toppers point, giving him 7.5 for the season, passing teammate Juan Soto (7.0) for the lead among AL batters. Judge, Box-Toppers’ highest-ranked batter, is 16th among all players.

Aaron Judge of the Yankees rises to first place among AL batters in 2024 Box-Toppers points after earning Player of the Game honors Sunday.

Streak

Carlos Correa of the Twins has now earned Box-Toppers points in 10 consecutive seasons after earning his first Player of the Game honor of 2024 Sunday.

Correa (3-5 2R 2BI in the 11-5, 10-inning win over the Pirates) earned his first Box-Toppers points in 2015 with the Astros and now has 38.9 career points, fifth among active shortstops and first among active AL shortstops, ahead of second-place Corey Seager of the Rangers (29.7).

Correa’s best season was 2016 with the Astros when he had 7.7 Box-Toppers points, third among AL shortstops. In 2023, he had 1.0 Box-Toppers point with the Twins.

Carlos Correa of the Twins has now earned Box-Toppers points in 10 consecutive seasons after earning his first Player of the Game honor of 2024 Sunday.

Sunday’s sidelights sidebar

Top pitching matchup

▪️Tyler Glasnow, Dodgers
7.0 Box-Toppers points in 2024, 17th
▪️Luis Gil, Yankees
13.4 Box-Toppers points in 2024, 1st
Result—NYY 6, LAD 4
Neither starter was Player of the Game.
Glasnow had -1.0 B-T game score in loss (6IP 8H 5R BB 12K L).
Gil had -1.8 B-T game score (5.2IP 5H 3R BB 5K ND).
Player of the Game—Aaron Judge, Yankees (HR 2B 3-4 2R 2BI) with +3.0 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:
▪️+9.0—Cole Ragans, Royals (6IP 3H R BB 9K ND)
Had Sunday’s highest Box-Toppers game score, but was not Player of the Game in loss vs. SEA.
Player of the Game—George Kirby, Mariners (7IP 5H R 0BB 4K ND) with +4.0 game score.
▪️+7.2—Carson Spiers, Reds (5.2IP 4H 0R BB 7K ND)
Was not Player of the Game in win vs. CHC.
Player of the Game—Shota Imanaga, Cubs (6.2IP 5H 2R BB 7K W) with +3.2 game score.
▪️+4.2—Grayson Rodriguez, Orioles (5.2IP 2H 2R BB 6K W)
Was not Player of the Game in win vs. TB
Player of the Game—Teammate Adley Rutschman (GS 3-5 R 6BI) with +5.0 game score.

Lowest Box-Toppers game scores

Out of 460 total players Sunday, 149 pitchers
-22.0—Adam Mazur, Padres (3IP 8H 8R 3BB 2K L vs. ARI)
-17.8—Hurston Waldrep, Braves
-16.0—Ben Heller, Pirates
-13.9—Bryse Wilson, Brewers
-12.9—Frankie Montas, Reds

Lowest Box-Toppers game scores by batters

Out of 311 total batters Sunday
-5.0—Marcell Ozuna, Braves 0-5 2K
-5.0—Taylor Ward, Angels 0-5 2K
-5.0—Francisco Lindor, Mets 0-5 K
-5.0—Maikel Garcia, Royals 0-5
-5.0—Gabriel Moreno, Diamondbacks 0-5
-5.0—Ryan O'Hearn, Orioles 0-5
-5.0—Luis Arráez, Padres 0-5
Box-Toppers uses Baseball-Reference.com, MLB.com and other sources to compile this information.

Debut

Tyler Freeman of the Guardians made his Box-Toppers debut Sunday with his first career Player of the Game honor.

Freeman (HR 2-4 2R 3BI in the 6-3 win over the Marlins) made his Major League debut Aug. 3, 2022, and was playing in his 146th career game.

Scoring

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

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

  • Rutschman and Ruiz 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).
6/9 BTG Game Player AB R H BI   IP H R ER BB K
MLB +7.2 DET 10, MIL 2 Tarik Skubal (W, 8‑1) ‑ ‑ ‑ ‑   6.2 5 1 1 2 10
NL +7.0 STL 5, COL 1 Andre Pallante (W, 2‑2) ‑ ‑ ‑ ‑   5.0 3 0 0 1 6
  +6.0 BOS 6, CHW 4 (F/10) Kenley Jansen (W, 2‑1) ‑ ‑ ‑ ‑   2.0 1 0 0 0 5
BAT +5.0 BAL 9, TB 2 Adley Rutschman C 5 1 3 6   ‑ ‑ ‑ ‑ ‑ ‑
  +4.0 LAA 9, HOU 7 Logan O’Hoppe C 5 3 4 2   ‑ ‑ ‑ ‑ ‑ ‑
  +4.0 TOR 6, OAK 4 (F/10) Isiah Kiner‑Falefa 3B‑2B 3 0 2 5   ‑ ‑ ‑ ‑ ‑ ‑
  +4.0 `SEA 6, KC 5 (F/10) George Kirby ‑ ‑ ‑ ‑   7.0 5 1 1 0 4
  +3.2 CHC 4, CIN 2 Shota Imanaga (W, 6‑1) ‑ ‑ ‑ ‑   6.2 5 2 2 1 7
  +3.0 NYY 6, LAD 4 Aaron Judge RF 4 2 3 2   ‑ ‑ ‑ ‑ ‑ ‑
  +3.0 CLE 6, MIA 3 Tyler Freeman CF 4 2 2 3   ‑ ‑ ‑ ‑ ‑ ‑
BAT +3.0 WSH 8, ATL 5 Keibert Ruiz C 3 1 1 4   ‑ ‑ ‑ ‑ ‑ ‑
  +2.0 MIN 11, PIT 5 (F/10) Carlos Correa SS 5 2 3 2   ‑ ‑ ‑ ‑ ‑ ‑
  +2.0 ARI 9, SD 3 Jake McCarthy RF 4 1 3 2   ‑ ‑ ‑ ‑ ‑ ‑
  +2.0 TEX 7, SF 2 Marcus Semien 2B 3 2 1 2   ‑ ‑ ‑ ‑ ‑ ‑
  +1.0 NYM 6, PHI 5 Mark Vientos PH‑3B 1 0 1 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 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 +/‑
Imanaga, Shota 4960 pi sp chi nl 9.7 9.7 9.7 9.7 +9.7
Skubal, Tarik 4414 pi sp det al 9.4 20.1 39.5 39.5 -1.3
Kirby, George 4595 pi sp sea al 8.7 22.4 33.8 33.8 -5.0
Judge, Aaron 3767 cf dh nyy al 7.5 19.5 46.7 62.9 -4.5
Rutschman, Adley 4659 dh ca ph bal al 3.5 8.5 12.5 12.5 -1.5
Jansen, Kenley 2871 pi cp mr bos al 3.0 6.0 22.0 67.4 0.0
Pallante, Andre 4656 pi sp stl nl 2.7 2.7 4.7 4.7 +2.7
Ruiz, Keibert 4616 ca dh dc nl 2.5 7.2 11.2 11.2 -2.2
Semien, Marcus 3302 2b tex al 2.0 8.7 32.6 47.1 -4.7
McCarthy, Jake 4621 lf rf ari nl 2.0 2.0 4.0 4.0 +2.0
Vientos, Mark 5024 3b ph nym nl 2.0 2.0 2.0 2.0 +2.0
O’Hoppe, Logan 4928 ca ana al 1.0 3.0 3.0 3.0 -1.0
Kiner-Falefa, Isiah 4130 3b 2b lf tor al 1.0 2.5 6.5 6.5 -0.5
Correa, Carlos 3506 ss min al 1.0 2.0 14.0 38.9 0.0
Freeman, Tyler 5028 cf cle al 1.0 1.0 1.0 1.0 +1.0
What are those numbers after players' names?
About Box-Toppers’ team abbreviations
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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
BAL Burnes, Corbin 4029 6.7 18.4 59.6 62.6
TB Pepiot, Ryan 4714 5.7 10.7 12.7 12.7
COL Hudson, Dakota 4035 0.0 1.0 16.4 17.4
MIN Paddack, Chris 4093 3.7 4.7 29.5 29.5
NYY Rodon, Carlos 3494 5.0 6.0 39.5 62.6
KC Lugo, Seth 3729 7.4 13.8 22.8 31.8
TOR Berrios, Jose 3791 4.7 15.1 47.2 74.0
MIL Rea, Colin 3582 2.0 7.0 7.0 10.7
CHW Fedde, Erick 4065 4.7 4.7 21.5 23.2
SEA Gilbert, Logan 4439 6.0 19.4 40.5 40.5
OAK Estes, Joey 5000 2.7 2.7 2.7 2.7
SD Cease, Dylan 4231 7.7 17.7 54.5 54.5
HOU Arrighetti, Spencer 5022 1.0 1.0 1.0 1.0
SF Harrison, Kyle 4914 2.0 4.0 4.0 4.0
Starters subject to change.
* Player has yet to earn any career Box-Toppers points.
What are those numbers after players' names?
Chart is sortable. Click a column header to re-sort the chart by the values in that column. Refresh page to restore chart to default, game-by-game view.
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