Reds’ Lodolo tops players for Tuesday, June 18; Yankees’ Cortes tops AL players

Reds pitcher Nick Lodolo is Tuesday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day.

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Today’s key Box-Toppers numbers. Click links to jump to charts elsewhere on this page.
▪️ Players of the Game
▪️ B-T points of day’s top players
▪️ Top 10 players in 2024
▪️ Tuesday’s sidelights sidebar
▪️ Upcoming pitching matchups
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Reds pitcher Nick Lodolo is Tuesday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day.

Lodolo struck out eight over seven innings, allowing one run, four hits and no walks in the 2-1 win over the Pirates.

Lodolo earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day, giving him 8.0 for the season, 19th among all players and 10th among National League pitchers.

Lodolo recorded a +9.0 Box-Toppers game score Tuesday, the same as another Player of the Game winner, Diamondbacks pitcher Slade Cecconi (6IP 3H 0R 0BB 6K W in the 5-0 win over the Nationals). But Lodolo beat Cecconi for overall Player of the Day because he had more innings pitched—seven vs. six.

American League Player of the Day

Yankees pitcher Nestor Cortes struck out six over six scoreless innings, allowing five hits and no walks, in the 4-2 win over the Orioles.

Cortes earns 1.7 Box-Toppers points for being AL Player of the Day, giving him 6.7 for the season, 29th among all players and 14th among AL pitchers.

American League Player of the Day is Yankees pitcher Nestor Cortes.

National League Batter of the Day

Jason Heyward of the Dodgers hit a pinch-hit, ninth-inning grand slam in the 11-9 win over the Rockies. Heyward went 1-for-1, scoring once and driving in four runs.

National League Batter of the Day is Jason Heyward of the Dodgers.

American League Batter of the Day

Zack Gelof of the Athletics hit a three-run homer and went 2-for-4, scoring twice and driving in three runs, in the 7-5 win over the Royals.

American League Batter of the Day is Zack Gelof of the Athletics.

Top 10 players

Here are the top 10 players in 2024 Box-Toppers points (BTP) through Tuesday, June 18:
Player Pos Team BTP
1 Luis Gil pi sp Yankees 13.4
2 Shota Imanaga pi sp Cubs 10.7
3 Zack Wheeler pi sp Phillies 9.7
4 George Kirby pi sp Mariners 9.7
5 Chris Sale pi sp Braves 9.7
6 Tanner Houck pi sp Red Sox 9.7
7 Garrett Crochet pi sp White Sox 9.7
8 Tarik Skubal pi sp Tigers 9.4
9 Ranger Suárez pi sp Phillies 9.4
10 Logan Gilbert pi sp Mariners 9.0
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Debut

Three players made their Box-Toppers debut Tuesday, each with their first career Player of the Game honor:

  • Braves pitcher Spencer Schwellenbach (6IP 3H R 2BB 7K W in the 2-1 win over the Tigers) made his Major League debut May 29 and was playing in his fourth career game.

  • White Sox pitcher Jonathan Cannon (8.2IP 7H 0R BB 4K W in the 2-0 win over the Astros) made his Major League debut April 17 and was playing in his sixth career game.

  • Red Sox pitcher Zack Kelly (1.1IP 0H 0R 0BB K W in the 4-3 win over the Blue Jays) made his Major League debut Aug. 29, 2022, and was playing in his 39th career game.

Tuesday’s sidelights sidebar

Top pitching matchup

▪️Michael King, Padres
6.0 Box-Toppers points in 2024, 17th among NL pitchers
▪️Aaron Nola, Phillies
8.7 Box-Toppers points in 2024, 6th among NL pitchers
Result—PHI 4, SD 3
Neither starter was Player of the Game.
King had -0.8 B-T game score (4.2IP 6H R 3BB 6K ND).
Nola had +1.0 B-T game score (6IP 4H 3R BB 6K ND).
Player of the Game—Jeff Hoffman, Phillies (1IP OH 0R 0BB 2K W) 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:
▪️+6.0—Roansy Contreras, Angels (3IP 0H 0R BB 4K ND)
Was not Player of the Game in loss vs. MIL.
Player of the Game—Tobias Myers, Brewers (6.1IP 4H 0R 2BB 7K W) with +6.1 game score.
▪️+4.0—Keegan Thompson, Cubs (1IP 0H 0R 0BB 3K Sv)
Was not Player of the Game in win vs. SF
Player of the Game—Teammate Justin Steele (6.2IP 4H 2R 2BB 8K ND) with +4.2 game score.
▪️+3.0—Brenton Doyle, Rockies (HR 4-5 2R 2BI)
Was not Player of the Game in loss vs. LAD.
Player of the Game—Jason Heyward, Dodgers (HR 1-1 R 4BI) with +5.0 game score.

Lowest Box-Toppers game scores

Out of 452 total players Tuesday, 136 pitchers
-16.0—Alec Marsh, Royals (3IP 7H 7R 2BB 4K L vs. OAK)
-16.0—Walker Buehler, Dodgers (4IP 7H 7R BB 2K ND vs. COL)
-16.0—Roddery Muñoz, Marlins (4IP 8H 7R 6ER 2BB 3K ND vs. STL)
-13.9—Luis Severino, Mets
-13.0—Jake Irvin, Nationals

Lowest Box-Toppers game scores by batters

Out of 316 total batters Tuesday
-5.0—Nolan Gorman, Cardinals 0-5 3K
-5.0—Royce Lewis, Twins 0-5 2K
-5.0—Julio Rodriguez, Mariners 0-5 2K
-5.0—Michael Toglia, Rockies 0-5 2K
-5.0—Brice Turang, Brewers 0-5 2K
Box-Toppers uses Baseball-Reference.com, MLB.com and other sources to compile this information.

Scoring

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

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

  • Heyward and Gelof 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.

Box-Toppers strives for accuracy. See a mistake in a post? A wrong name, wrong team, grammar error, spelling goof, etc.? Thanks for pointing it out! Contact Box-Toppers here. Let's fix it and make it right.

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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).
6/18 BTG Game Player AB R H BI   IP H R ER BB K
MLB +9.0 CIN 2, PIT 1 Nick Lodolo (W, 8‑2) ‑ ‑ ‑ ‑   7.0 4 1 1 0 8
  +9.0 ARI 5, WSH 0 Slade Cecconi (W, 2‑5) ‑ ‑ ‑ ‑   6.0 3 0 0 0 6
AL +7.0 NYY 4, BAL 2 Nestor Cortes (W, 4‑5) ‑ ‑ ‑ ‑   6.0 5 0 0 0 6
  +6.1 MIL 6, LAA 3 Tobias Myers (W, 4‑2) ‑ ‑ ‑ ‑   6.1 4 0 0 2 6
  +6.0 ATL 2, DET 1 Spencer Schwellenbach (W, 1‑2) ‑ ‑ ‑ ‑   6.0 3 1 1 2 7
BAT +5.0 LAD 11, COL 9 Jason Heyward PH‑RF 1 1 1 4   ‑ ‑ ‑ ‑ ‑ ‑
  +4.2 CHW 2, HOU 0 Jonathan Cannon (W, 1‑1) ‑ ‑ ‑ ‑   8.2 7 0 0 1 4
  +4.2 `CHC 5, SF 2 Justin Steele ‑ ‑ ‑ ‑   6.2 4 2 2 2 8
  +3.0 MIA 9, STL 8 (F/10) Jesús Sánchez DH 5 2 3 3   ‑ ‑ ‑ ‑ ‑ ‑
BAT +3.0 OAK 7, KC 5 Zack Gelof 2B 4 2 2 3   ‑ ‑ ‑ ‑ ‑ ‑
  +3.0 SEA 8, CLE 5 J.P. Crawford SS 3 1 2 3   ‑ ‑ ‑ ‑ ‑ ‑
  +3.0 PHI 4, SD 3 Jeff Hoffman (W, 3‑0) ‑ ‑ ‑ ‑   1.0 0 0 0 0 2
  +3.0 MIN 7, TB 6 Jhoan Duran (W, 3‑2) ‑ ‑ ‑ ‑   1.0 0 0 0 0 2
  +2.1 BOS 4, TOR 3 Zack Kelly (W, 1‑1) ‑ ‑ ‑ ‑   1.1 0 0 0 0 1
  +2.0 NYM 7, TEX 6 Mark Vientos 3B 5 3 3 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 +/‑
Lodolo, Nick 4586 pi sp cin nl 8.0 8.0 15.0 15.0 +8.0
Cortes, Nestor 4160 pi sp nyy al 6.7 8.7 31.1 31.1 +4.7
Hoffman, Jeff 3806 pi mr cp phi nl 4.0 7.0 10.0 13.7 +1.0
Sanchez, Jesus 4551 rf dh fla nl 3.5 7.0 10.7 10.7 0.0
Duran, Jhoan 4622 pi cp min al 3.0 6.0 7.0 7.0 0.0
Gelof, Zack 4881 2b oak al 3.0 5.5 5.5 5.5 +0.5
Myers, Tobias 5026 pi sp mil nl 3.0 3.0 3.0 3.0 +3.0
Vientos, Mark 5024 3b ph nym nl 3.0 3.0 3.0 3.0 +3.0
Cecconi, Slade 4913 pi sp ari nl 2.0 3.0 3.0 3.0 +1.0
Heyward, Jason 2695 rf ph lad nl 1.5 9.0 18.7 41.2 -6.0
Steele, Justin 4415 pi sp chi nl 1.0 12.1 20.1 20.1 -10.1
Crawford, J.P. 3937 ss sea al 1.0 7.5 19.0 20.0 -5.5
Cannon, Jonathan 5036 pi sp chi al 1.0 1.0 1.0 1.0 +1.0
Kelly, Zack 5037 pi mr bos al 1.0 1.0 1.0 1.0 +1.0
Schwellenbach, Spencer 5035 pi sp atl nl 1.0 1.0 1.0 1.0 +1.0
What are those numbers after players' names?
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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 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
DET Skubal, Tarik 4414 9.4 20.1 39.5 39.5
ATL Lopez, Reynaldo 3712 7.1 8.1 28.6 36.3
CIN Greene, Hunter 4651 3.0 8.7 14.7 14.7
PIT Keller, Mitch 4230 6.0 19.0 26.0 26.0
STL Gibson, Kyle 3312 5.4 14.1 41.2 67.6
MIA Chirinos, Yonny 4039 0.0 1.0 8.0 10.0
SD Waldron, Matt 4946 3.0 4.0 4.0 4.0
PHI Suarez, Ranger 4228 9.4 13.1 28.1 28.1
SF Undecided 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0
CHC Hendricks, Kyle 3386 1.0 6.0 34.1 74.6
ARI Pfaadt, Brandon 4812 5.4 9.1 9.1 9.1
WSH Corbin, Patrick 3027 0.0 7.1 34.2 92.4
SEA Woo, Bryan 4842 7.0 15.7 15.7 15.7
CLE Bibee, Tanner 4792 8.0 16.7 16.7 16.7
BAL Povich, Cade 5029 1.0 1.0 1.0 1.0
NYY Cole, Gerrit 3232 0.0 17.0 94.4 155.3
BOS Bello, Brayan 4727 2.7 4.7 5.7 5.7
TOR Gausman, Kevin 3191 5.0 23.7 54.1 93.1
TB Bradley, Taj 4780 2.0 7.0 7.0 7.0
MIN Ryan, Joe 4539 7.7 16.4 33.8 33.8
NYM Manaea, Sean 3637 2.0 5.7 33.1 55.9
TEX Heaney, Andrew 3515 2.0 13.4 34.8 49.5
HOU Brown, Hunter 4729 3.0 13.1 14.1 14.1
CHW Crochet, Garrett 4434 9.7 9.7 10.7 10.7
LAD Miller, Bobby 4820 2.0 10.7 10.7 10.7
COL Feltner, Ryan 4635 0.0 2.0 4.0 4.0
MIL Peralta, Freddy 3965 6.0 23.7 53.8 62.5
LAA Anderson, Tyler 3656 3.0 5.0 27.4 40.4
KC Ragans, Cole 4889 5.0 9.4 9.4 9.4
OAK Medina, Luis 4876 0.0 1.0 1.0 1.0
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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