Box-Toppers Toppers Box
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
▪️ Subscribe to newsletter
▪️ Support Box-Toppers
Yankees pitcher Nestor Cortes is Tuesday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day.
Also Tuesday, Tigers pitcher Tarik Skubal extends his lead among American League pitchers in 2024 Box-Toppers points after earning Player of the Game honors. Skubal maintains second place overall in season player rankings.
Player of the Day
Cortes struck out nine over seven scoreless innings, allowing three hits and no walks in the 4-1 win over the White Sox.
Cortes earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day, giving him 8.7 for the season, 46th among all players and 22nd among American League pitchers.
National League Player of the Day
Padres pitcher Michael King struck out 10 over six scoreless innings, allowing seven hits and no walks, in the 3-0 win over the Pirates.
King earns 1.7 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day, giving him 10.7 for the season, 17th overall and sixth among NL pitchers.
King becomes the 22nd player this season to reach 10 Box-Toppers points. It is his first season with 10 or more points. His previous best season was 2023 with the Yankees when he earned 9.0 Box-Toppers points, 32nd among AL pitchers.
American League Batter of the Day
Shea Langeliers of the Athletics hit a three-run homer, two doubles and went 4-for-4, scoring twice and driving in four runs, in the 9-4 win over the Mets.
National League Batter of the Day
James Wood of the Nationals doubled and went 4-for-5, scoring three times and driving in one run, in the 9-3 win over the Orioles.
Top 10 players
Here are the top 10 players in 2024 Box-Toppers points (BTP) through Tuesday, Aug. 13:| Player | Pos | Team | BTP | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Dylan Cease | pi sp | Padres | 17.4 |
| 2 | Tarik Skubal | pi sp | Tigers | 17.1 |
| 3 | Zack Wheeler | pi sp | Phillies | 15.7 |
| 4 | Shota Imanaga | pi sp | Cubs | 15.7 |
| 5 | Luis Gil | pi sp | Yankees | 15.4 |
| 6 | Chris Sale | pi sp | Braves | 14.4 |
| 7 | Tanner Bibee | pi sp | Guardians | 13.0 |
| 8 | Bailey Ober | pi sp | Twins | 12.4 |
| 9 | George Kirby | pi sp | Mariners | 11.7 |
| 10 | Tyler Glasnow | pi sp | Dodgers | 11.7 |
Rankings
Tigers pitcher Tarik Skubal extends his lead among American League pitchers in 2024 Box-Toppers points after earning Player of the Game honors Tuesday.
Skubal (6IP 3H R BB 9K W in the 15-1 win over the Mariners) earns 1.0 Box-Toppers point, giving him 17.1 for the season. He maintains his second-place ranking among all players, now 0.3 points behind Padres pitcher Dylan Cease (17.4). Skubal extends his lead over second-place AL pitcher, Luis Gil of the Yankees (15.4 points).
Notable
Braves pitcher Charlie Morton now has 112.5 career Box-Toppers points—66th-most since 1995—after earning Player of the Game honors Tuesday.
Morton (6IP 6H 2R BB 8K ND in the 4-3, 10-inning win over the Giants) earns 1.0 Box-Toppers point and now trails 65th-ranked player on the “all-time” career points list, Kevin Brown (112.8). (Box-Toppers tracking began in 1995.) Morton ranks 11th among active, signed players in career points, fifth among active NL pitchers.
Morton also now has 8.4 Box-Toppers points in 2024, 21st among NL pitchers.
Debut
Marlins pitcher Valente Bellozo made his Box-Toppers debut Tuesday with his first career Player of the Game honor.
Bellozo (7IP 4H 0R BB 4K W in the 5-0 win over the Phillies) made his Major League debut June 26 and was playing in his fifth career game.
Tuesday’s sidelights sidebar
Top pitching matchup
▪️George Kirby, Mariners11.7 Box-Toppers points in 2024, 9th
▪️Tarik Skubal, Tigers
16.1 Box-Toppers points in 2024, 2nd
Result—DET 9, SEA 1
Skubal was Player of the Game (6IP 3H R BB 9K W) with +9.0 B-T game score.
Kirby (3.2IP 12H 11R 6ER BB 5K L) had -21.8 B-T game score, lowest among all 423 who played Tuesday.
Skubal earns 1.0 B-T point as Player of the Game, giving him 17.1 in 2024, maintaining 2nd place overall.
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—Jake Rogers, Tigers (GS 2-2B 3-5 R 7BI)
Was not Player of the Game in win vs. SEA.
Player of the Game—Teammate Tarik Skubal (6IP 3H R BB 9K W) with +9.0 game score.
▪️+6.0—Juan Soto, Yankees (3HR 3-4 2R 4BI)
Was not Player of the Game in win vs. CHW.
Player of the Game—Teammate Nestor Cortes (7IP 3H 0R 0BB 9K W) with +13.0 game score.
▪️+5.0—Joey Wentz, Tigers (3IP 0H 0R BB 3K Sv)
Was not Player of the Game in win vs. SEA.
Player of the Game—Teammate Tarik Skubal (6IP 3H R BB 9K W) with +9.0 game score.
Lowest Box-Toppers game scores
Out of 423 total players Tuesday, 119 pitchers-21.8—George Kirby, Mariners (3.2IP 12H 11R 6ER BB 5K L vs. DET)
-18.0—Seth Lugo, Royals
-14.0—Colin Rea, Brewers
-13.8—José Ureña, Rangers
-13.0—Paul Blackburn, Mets
Lowest Box-Toppers game scores by batters
Out of 304 total batters Tuesday-5.0—Alex Call, Nationals 0-5 3K
-5.0—Gunnar Henderson, Orioles 0-5 K
-5.0—Jose Altuve, Astros 0-5 K
-5.0—Orlando Arcia, Braves 0-5
-4.0—Ryan McMahon, Rockies 0-4 4K
Box-Toppers uses Baseball-Reference.com, MLB.com and other sources to compile this information.
Scoring
Cortes earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day.
King earns 1.7 points for being NL Player of the Day.
Langeliers and Wood 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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2024 Box-Toppers points—AL pitchers
— Box-Toppers (@BoxToppers) August 14, 2024
1—Tarik Skubal #Tigers 17.1*
2—Luis GIl #Yankees 15.4
3—Tanner Bibee #Guardians 13.0
4—Bailey Ober #Twins 12.4
5—George Kirby #Mariners 11.7
6—Tanner Houck #RedSox 11.4
7—Seth Lugo #Royals 11.1
*Earns 1.0 B-T pt as Player of the Game Tuesday
Career Box-Toppers points—Active NL pitchers
— Box-Toppers (@BoxToppers) August 14, 2024
1—Clayton Kershaw #Dodgers 271.4
2—Chris Sale #Braves 167.7
3—Yu Darvish #Padres 137.7
4—Lance Lynn #Cardinals 122.5
5—Charlie Morton #Braves 112.5*
6—Aaron Nola #Phillies 111.4
*Earns 1.0 B-T point as Player of the Game Tuesday
2024 Box-Toppers points—NL pitchers
— Box-Toppers (@BoxToppers) August 14, 2024
1—Dylan Cease #Padres 17.4
2—Zack Wheeler #Phillies 15.7
3—Shota Imanaga #Cubs 15.7
4—Chris Sale #Braves 14.4
5—Tyler Glasnow #Dodgers 11.7
6—Michael King #Padres 10.7*
7—Jack Flaherty #Dodgers 10.0
*Earns 1.7 pts as TU’s NL Player of the Day
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).| 8/13 | BTG | Game | Player | AB | R | H | BI | IP | H | R | ER | BB | K | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| MLB | +13.0 | NYY 4, CHW 1 | Nestor Cortes (W, 6‑10) | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | 7.0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 9 | |
| NL | +9.0 | SD 3, PIT 0 | Michael King (W, 10‑6) | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | 6.0 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 10 | |
| +9.0 | DET 15, SEA 1 | Tarik Skubal (W, 14‑4) | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | 6.0 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 9 | ||
| +8.0 | CIN 4, STL 1 | Hunter Greene (W, 9‑4) | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | 7.0 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 8 | ||
| +6.1 | `CLE 2, CHC 1 | Matthew Boyd | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | 5.1 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 6 | ||
| BAT | +6.0 | OAK 9, NYM 4 | Shea Langeliers C | 4 | 2 | 4 | 4 | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | |
| +6.0 | MIA 5, PHI 0 | Valente Bellozo (W, 2‑1) | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | 7.0 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 4 | ||
| +6.0 | LAD 7, MIL 2 | Gavin Stone (W, 10‑5) | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | 5.0 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 6 | ||
| +5.2 | HOU 3, TB 2 | Yusei Kikuchi (W, 6‑9) | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | 5.2 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 5 | ||
| +4.0 | TOR 6, LAA 1 | Kevin Gausman (W, 11‑8) | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | 7.0 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 5 | ||
| BAT | +3.0 | WSH 9, BAL 3 | James Wood LF | 5 | 3 | 4 | 1 | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | |
| +3.0 | MIN 13, KC 3 | Max Kepler RF | 5 | 1 | 3 | 4 | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ||
| +3.0 | BOS 9, TEX 4 | Connor Wong C | 4 | 2 | 2 | 3 | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ||
| +3.0 | `ATL 4, SF 3 (F/10) | Charlie Morton | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | 6.0 | 6 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 8 | ||
| +3.0 | `ARI 4, COL 3 | Paul Sewald | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | 1.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
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 (+/-).Back to top
| Player of the Game | Pos | Team | ’24 | ’23‑24 | ’19‑24 | Career | +/‑ |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Skubal, Tarik 4414 | pi sp | det al | 17.1 | 27.8 | 47.2 | 47.2 | +6.4 |
| King, Michael 4549 | pi sp | sd nl | 10.7 | 19.7 | 25.4 | 25.4 | +1.7 |
| Greene, Hunter 4651 | pi sp | cin nl | 8.7 | 14.4 | 20.4 | 20.4 | +3.0 |
| Cortes, Nestor 4160 | pi sp | nyy al | 8.7 | 10.7 | 33.1 | 33.1 | +6.7 |
| Morton, Charlie 2503 | pi sp | atl nl | 8.4 | 18.4 | 62.3 | 112.5 | -1.6 |
| Gausman, Kevin 3191 | pi sp | tor al | 7.0 | 25.7 | 56.1 | 95.1 | -11.7 |
| Kikuchi, Yusei 4136 | pi sp | hou al | 6.7 | 16.7 | 34.1 | 34.1 | -3.3 |
| Stone, Gavin 4942 | pi sp | lad nl | 6.0 | 7.0 | 7.0 | 7.0 | +5.0 |
| Langeliers, Shea 4715 | ca | oak al | 4.5 | 5.5 | 6.5 | 6.5 | +3.5 |
| Sewald, Paul 3940 | pi cp | ari nl | 4.0 | 9.0 | 15.0 | 16.0 | -1.0 |
| Wong, Connor 4798 | ca | bos al | 4.0 | 5.0 | 5.0 | 5.0 | +3.0 |
| Wood, James 5078 | lf | dc nl | 4.0 | 4.0 | 4.0 | 4.0 | +4.0 |
| Kepler, Max 3664 | rf dh | min al | 2.5 | 6.0 | 19.7 | 31.2 | -1.0 |
| Boyd, Matthew 3550 | pi sp | cle al | 1.0 | 1.0 | 10.0 | 29.8 | +1.0 |
| Bellozo, Valente 5083 | pi sp | fla nl | 1.0 | 1.0 | 1.0 | 1.0 | +1.0 |
About Box-Toppers’ team abbreviations
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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.Back to top
| Game | Starter | ’24 | ’23‑24 | ’19‑24 | Career |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| KC | Ragans, Cole 4889 | 8.0 | 12.4 | 12.4 | 12.4 |
| MIN | Varland, Louie 4758 | 0.0 | 2.0 | 3.0 | 3.0 |
| COL | Gordon, Tanner* | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 |
| ARI | Montgomery, Jordan 3814 | 1.0 | 11.4 | 31.5 | 37.5 |
| PIT | Keller, Mitch 4230 | 9.7 | 22.7 | 29.7 | 29.7 |
| SD | Perez, Martin 3213 | 3.0 | 7.7 | 20.5 | 37.5 |
| TEX | Undecided | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 |
| BOS | Houck, Tanner 4342 | 11.4 | 13.4 | 25.1 | 25.1 |
| WSH | Herz, DJ 5032 | 3.0 | 3.0 | 3.0 | 3.0 |
| BAL | Kremer, Dean 4330 | 6.0 | 15.7 | 27.1 | 27.1 |
| CHC | Taillon, Jameson 3658 | 5.0 | 10.4 | 30.1 | 56.5 |
| CLE | Cobb, Alex 2916 | 0.0 | 10.0 | 25.1 | 67.9 |
| MIA | Cabrera, Edward 4641 | 1.0 | 4.7 | 11.1 | 11.1 |
| PHI | Phillips, Tyler 5064 | 2.0 | 2.0 | 2.0 | 2.0 |
| SEA | Woo, Bryan 4842 | 8.7 | 17.4 | 17.4 | 17.4 |
| DET | Brieske, Beau 4680 | 2.0 | 2.0 | 3.7 | 3.7 |
| STL | Gibson, Kyle 3312 | 5.4 | 14.1 | 41.2 | 67.6 |
| CIN | Pagan, Emilio 3876 | 1.0 | 1.0 | 6.7 | 8.7 |
| HOU | Blanco, Ronel 4959 | 7.7 | 7.7 | 7.7 | 7.7 |
| TB | Littell, Zack 4533 | 4.7 | 6.7 | 10.7 | 10.7 |
| OAK | Estes, Joey 5000 | 4.7 | 4.7 | 4.7 | 4.7 |
| NYM | Peterson, David 4347 | 1.0 | 4.0 | 14.0 | 14.0 |
| LAD | Buehler, Walker 3943 | 1.7 | 1.7 | 44.5 | 59.6 |
| MIL | Montas, Frankie 3803 | 3.0 | 3.0 | 35.5 | 38.5 |
| NYY | Warren, Will* | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 |
| CHW | Martin, Davis 4657 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 5.0 | 5.0 |
| TOR | Berrios, Jose 3791 | 6.7 | 17.1 | 49.2 | 76.0 |
| LAA | Anderson, Tyler 3656 | 8.0 | 10.0 | 32.4 | 45.4 |
| ATL | Holmes, Grant* | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 |
| SF | Ray, Robbie 3502 | 2.7 | 2.7 | 44.5 | 78.9 |
* Player has yet to earn any career Box-Toppers points.
What are those numbers after players' names?
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