Phillies’ Sánchez tops players for Friday, June 28; Rays’ Eflin tops AL players

Phillies pitcher Cristopher Sanchez is Friday’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
▪️ Friday’s sidelights sidebar
▪️ Upcoming pitching matchups
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▪️ Support Box-Toppers

Phillies pitcher Cristopher Sanchez is Friday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day.

Sanchez pitched a complete game, three-hit shutout, striking out nine and allowing no walks, in the 2-0 win over the Marlins.

Sanchez earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day, giving him 7.4 for the season, 26th among all players and 13th among National League pitchers.

American League Player of the Day

Rays pitcher Zach Eflin struck out six over six scoreless innings, allowing four hits and one walk, in the 3-1 win over the Nationals.

Eflin earns 1.7 Box-Toppers points for being AL Player of the Day, giving him 3.7 for the season, 44th among AL pitchers.

American League Player of the Day is Rays pitcher Zach Eflin.

National League Batter of the Day

Jeff McNeil of the Mets hit a three-run homer and went 3-for-4, scoring twice and driving in three runs, in the 7-2 win over the Astros.

National League Batter of the Day is Jeff McNeil of the Mets.

American League Batter of the Day

Juan Soto of the Yankees hit a three-run homer and went 2-for-4, scoring three times and driving in three runs, in the 16-5 win over the Blue Jays.

Soto earns 1.5 Box-Toppers points for being AL Batter of the Day, giving him 8.5 for the season, 18th among all players and second among AL batters, behind teammate Aaron Judge (8.5). Though Judge and Soto both have 8.5 points for the season, Judge ranks ahead because he has more 2023 points—12.0 vs. 9.0.

American League Batter of the Day is Juan Soto of the Yankees.

Top 10 players

Here are the top 10 players in 2024 Box-Toppers points (BTP) through Friday, June 28:
  Player Pos Team BTP
1 Luis Gil pi sp Yankees 13.4
2 Tarik Skubal pi sp Tigers 11.4
3 Tanner Bibee pi sp Guardians 11.0
4 Zack Wheeler pi sp Phillies 10.7
5 George Kirby pi sp Mariners 10.7
6 Tyler Glasnow pi sp Dodgers 10.7
7 Chris Sale pi sp Braves 10.7
8 Shota Imanaga pi sp Cubs 10.7
9 Dylan Cease pi sp Padres 10.4
10 Logan Gilbert pi sp Mariners 10.0
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Notable

Braves pitcher Charlie Morton now has 109.8 career Box-Toppers points after earning Player of the Game honors Friday.

Morton (6.1IP 3H 0R BB 7K W in the 6-1 win over the Pirates) ranks 69th among all players in career Box-Toppers points since 1995, when player tracking began. He trails 68th-ranked player Jeff Kent (110.2). (It should be noted that Kent began his career prior to the advent of Box-Toppers tracking in 1995. Box-Toppers estimates he would have about 125 points if his career from 1992 were tracked.)

Morton ranks 12th among active, signed players in career points, sixth among active NL pitchers.

Morton now has 5.7 Box-Toppers points in 2024, 49th overall and 23rd among NL pitchers.

Braves pitcher Charlie Morton now has 109.8 career Box-Toppers points after earning Player of the Game honors Friday.

Friday’s sidelights sidebar

Top pitching matchup

▪️Bailey Ober, Twins
6.7 Box-Toppers points in 2024, 17th among AL pitchers
▪️Logan Gilbert, Mariners
10.0 Box-Toppers points in 2024, 5th among AL pitchers
Result—SEA 3, MIN 2 (F/10)
Neither starter was Player of the Game.
Ober had +8.0 B-T game score in loss (6IP 2H R 3BB 9K ND).
Gilbert had +1.0 B-T game score (6IP 4H 2R 0BB 3K ND).
Player of the Game—Luke Raley, Mariners (SAC 0-0 R 0BI) with +1.0 game score. (In cases of game score ties, batters beat pitchers, so Raley beat Gilbert—both had +1.0 game scores. Raley entered the game as a pinch runner and scored.)

High scores, no points

Highest Box-Toppers game scores for the day among players who did not earn Player of the Game honors:
▪️+8.0—Bailey Ober, Twins (6IP 2H R 3BB 9K ND)
Was not Player of the Game in loss vs. SEA.
Player of the Game—Luke Raley, Mariners (SAC 0-0 R 0BI) with +1.0 game score.
▪️+4.2—Landon Knack, Dodgers (4.2IP 5H R 0BB 7K ND)
Was not Player of the Game in loss vs. SF.
Player of the Game—Brett Wisely, Giants (2-4 R 2BI) with +1.0 game score.
▪️+4.0—Jackson Chourio, Brewers (GS 2-3 R 4BI)
Was not Player of the Game in win vs. CHC.
Player of the Game—Teammate Colin Rea (5.1IP 3H 2R 2BB 8K W) with +4.1 game score.

Lowest Box-Toppers game scores

Out of 429 total players Friday, 123 pitchers
-15.0—Tim Mayza, Blue Jays (0IP 5H 5R 0BB 0K ND vs. NYY)
-14.0—Martín Pérez, Pirates
-13.0—Dakota Hudson, Rockies
-12.9—Trison McKenzie, Guardians
-12.0—Darrren McCaughan, Guardians

Lowest Box-Toppers game scores by batters

Out of 306 total batters Friday
-5.0—JJ Bleday, Athletics 0-5 3K
-5.0—David Hamilton, Red Sox 0-5 2K
-5.0—Alex Bregman, Astros 0-5 K
-4.0—Dominic Canzone, Mariners 0-4 3K
-4.0—Oneil Cruz, Pirates 0-4 3K
Box-Toppers uses Baseball-Reference.com, MLB.com and other sources to compile this information.

Debut

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

  • Padres pitcher Stephen Kolek (2IP H 0R 0BB 2K W in the 9-2 win over the Red Sox) made his Major League debut March 21 and was playing in his 33rd career game.

  • Brett Wisely of the Giants (2-4 R 2BI in the 5-3 win over the Dodgers) made his Major League debut March 30, 2023, and was playing in his 83rd career game.

Scoring

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

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

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

  • All of Friday’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).
6/28 BTG Game Player AB R H BI   IP H R ER BB K
MLB +15.0 PHI 2, MIA 0 Cristopher Sánchez (W, 6‑3)   9.0 3 0 0 0 9
  +9.1 ATL 6, PIT 1 Charlie Morton (W, 5‑4)   6.1 3 0 0 1 7
AL +7.0 TB 3, WSH 1 Zach Eflin (W, 4‑5)   6.0 4 0 0 1 6
  +5.0 BAL 2, TEX 1 Albert Suárez (W, 4‑2)   6.0 3 0 0 0 2
  +4.1 MIL 4, CHC 2 Colin Rea (W, 7‑2)   5.1 3 2 2 2 8
BAT +4.0 NYM 7, HOU 2 Jeff McNeil 2B 4 2 3 3  
BAT +4.0 NYY 16, TOR 5 Juan Soto RF 4 3 2 3  
  +3.1 STL 1, CIN 0 Andre Pallante (W, 4‑3)   5.1 4 0 0 3 5
  +3.0 KC 10, CLE 3 Vinnie Pasquantino 1B 4 2 2 3  
  +3.0 CHW 5, COL 3 Drew Thorpe (W, 2‑1)   6.0 2 2 2 1 4
  +3.0 SD 9, BOS 2 Stephen Kolek (W, 2‑0)   2.0 1 0 0 0 2
  +2.0 OAK 9, ARI 4 Zack Gelof 2B 4 2 3 1  
  +2.0 LAA 5, DET 2 Luis Rengifo 3B 4 2 2 2  
  +1.0 SF 5, LAD 3 Brett Wisely 2B 4 1 2 2  
  +1.0 SEA 3, MIN 2 (F/10) Luke Raley PR‑LF‑1B 0 1 0 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 +/‑
Soto, Juan 3994 rf nyy al 8.5 17.5 34.0 41.5 -0.5
Sanchez, Cristopher 4850 pi sp phi nl 7.4 11.4 11.4 11.4 +3.4
Morton, Charlie 2503 pi sp atl nl 5.7 15.7 59.6 109.8 -4.3
Rea, Colin 3582 pi sp mil nl 5.7 10.7 10.7 14.4 +0.7
Gelof, Zack 4881 2b oak al 4.0 6.5 6.5 6.5 +1.5
Suarez, Albert 3870 pi sp bal al 4.0 4.0 4.0 5.0 +4.0
Eflin, Zach 3679 pi sp tb al 3.7 15.7 34.5 47.2 -8.3
Pallante, Andre 4656 pi sp stl nl 3.7 3.7 5.7 5.7 +3.7
Pasquantino, Vinnie 4766 dh 1b kc al 2.5 3.5 3.5 3.5 +1.5
Thorpe, Drew 5041 pi sp chi al 2.0 2.0 2.0 2.0 +2.0
McNeil, Jeff 4050 2b lf nym nl 1.5 1.5 9.0 10.0 +1.5
Rengifo, Luis 4178 3b 2b ana al 1.0 8.0 11.5 11.5 -6.0
Raley, Luke 4868 lf 1b sea al 1.0 3.0 3.0 3.0 -1.0
Kolek, Stephen 5046 pi mr sd nl 1.0 1.0 1.0 1.0 +1.0
Wisely, Brett 5047 2b sf 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 Saturday’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
COL Quantrill, Cal 4195 5.0 7.0 22.7 22.7
CHW Cannon, Jonathan 5036 1.0 1.0 1.0 1.0
CIN Spiers, Carson* 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0
STL Gray, Sonny 3259 8.4 18.8 56.4 106.3
NYY Cortes, Nestor 4160 6.7 8.7 31.1 31.1
TOR Bassitt, Chris 3413 5.0 25.1 62.9 68.9
MIA Munoz, Roddery 4994 1.0 1.0 1.0 1.0
PHI Nola, Aaron 3569 8.7 20.7 64.8 110.4
CHC Steele, Justin 4415 1.0 12.1 20.1 20.1
MIL Myers, Tobias 5026 3.0 3.0 3.0 3.0
CLE Bibee, Tanner 4792 11.0 19.7 19.7 19.7
KC Ragans, Cole 4889 7.0 11.4 11.4 11.4
HOU Valdez, Framber 4048 4.0 14.0 43.4 45.4
NYM Megill, Tylor 4464 0.0 4.0 15.7 15.7
OAK Harris, Hogan 4846 1.0 2.0 2.0 2.0
ARI Gallen, Zac 4171 3.0 19.7 54.1 54.1
PIT Skenes, Paul 5005 6.0 6.0 6.0 6.0
ATL Fried, Max 4011 8.7 17.7 61.2 62.2
SD King, Michael 4549 6.0 15.0 20.7 20.7
BOS Houck, Tanner 4342 9.7 11.7 23.4 23.4
WSH Irvin, Jake 4805 5.0 8.0 8.0 8.0
TB Civale, Aaron 4173 2.0 8.0 30.4 30.4
LAD Glasnow, Tyler 3948 10.7 23.1 53.5 59.5
SF Miller, Erik* 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0
TEX Lorenzen, Michael 3479 2.0 10.7 17.7 25.2
BAL Povich, Cade 5029 1.0 1.0 1.0 1.0
DET Olson, Reese 4861 2.0 9.4 9.4 9.4
LAA Canning, Griffin 4134 1.0 7.0 18.7 18.7
MIN Lopez, Pablo 4028 7.0 20.4 52.5 54.2
SEA Miller, Bryce 4797 8.7 21.8 21.8 21.8
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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