Astros’ Kikuchi tops players Saturday, Aug. 31; Phillies’ Wheeler rises to lead rankings

Astros pitcher Yusei Kikuchi is Saturday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day.

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▪️ Players of the Game
▪️ B-T points of day’s top players
▪️ Top 10 players in 2024
▪️ Saturday’s sidelights sidebar
▪️ Upcoming pitching matchups
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Astros pitcher Yusei Kikuchi is Saturday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day.

Also Saturday, Phillies pitcher Zack Wheeler rises to lead Box-Toppers season player rankings after earning National League Player of the Day honors. In addition, Tigers pitcher Tarik Skubal extends his lead among American League pitchers in Box-Toppers season player rankings after earning Player of the Game honors Saturday.

Player of the Day

Kikuchi struck out 12 over seven innings, allowing one run, five hits and no walks, in the 5-2 win over the Royals.

Kikuchi earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day, giving him 9.7 for the season, 40th among all players and 21st among AL pitchers.

National League Player of the Day is Phillies pitcher Zack Wheeler.

Top 10 players

Here are the top 10 players in 2024 Box-Toppers points (BTP) through Saturday, Aug. 31:
  Player Pos Team BTP
1 Zack Wheeler pi sp Phillies 18.4
2 Tarik Skubal pi sp Tigers 18.1
3 Dylan Cease pi sp Padres 17.4
4 Shota Imanaga pi sp Cubs 16.7
5 Chris Sale pi sp Braves 15.4
6 Luis Gil pi sp Yankees 15.4
7 Framber Valdez pi sp Astros 13.4
8 Tanner Bibee pi sp Guardians 13.0
9 Bryce Miller pi sp Mariners 12.7
10 Freddy Peralta pi sp Brewers 12.4
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National League Player of the Day

2024 lead changes

Here are the season’s lead changes among players in Box-Toppers points. Chart shows the date and the player’s Box-Toppers point (BTP) total when they took the lead.  

Date Leader Team BTP
3/20 Evan Phillips lad nl 2.0
3/21 Jake Cronenworth sd nl 2.0
3/28 Corbin Burnes bal al 2.0
4/3 Evan Phillips lad nl 3.0
4/5 Brady Singer kc al 3.0
4/9 Corbin Burnes bal al 3.7
4/12 Freddy Peralta mil nl 4.0
4/27 Ranger Suarez phi nl 6.7
5/6 Zack Wheeler phi nl 6.7
5/7 Shota Imanaga chi nl 7.7
5/8 Dylan Cease sd nl 7.7
5/17 Zack Wheeler phi nl 7.7
5/18 Shota Imanaga chi nl 8.7
5/20 Chris Sale atl nl 8.7
5/21 Ranger Suarez phi nl 9.4
5/23 Luis Gil nyy al 9.7
5/26 Chris Sale atl nl 9.7
5/29 Luis Gil nyy al 11.7
7/7 Tarik Skubal det al 13.4
7/13 Luis Gil nyy al 14.4
7/20 Dylan Cease sd nl 14.4
8/31 Zack Wheeler phi nl 18.4
About Box-Toppers’ team abbreviations

Phillies pitcher Zack Wheeler struck out seven over seven scoreless innings, allowing four hits and no walks, in the 3-0 win over the Braves.

Wheeler earns 1.7 Box-Toppers points for being NL Player of the Day, giving him 18.4 for the season, rising from third to first place in season player rankings, passing previous leader, Padres pitcher Dylan Cease (17.4), who falls to third place. Wheeler also rises to first place among NL pitchers passing Cease, who falls to second place among NL pitchers.

Cease had led Box-Toppers season player rankings since July 20, holding the lead for 42 days, the longest stretch for any player this season, passing the 39 days Yankees pitcher Luis Gil led players from May 29 until Tigers pitcher Tarik Skubal passed him on July 7. This is Wheeler’s third time leading Box-Toppers season player rankings, having led previously on May 6 and May 17, leading for only one day each time.

Wheeler also now has 102.0 career Box-Toppers points, 84th among all players since Box-Toppers tracking began in 1995. With his 1.7 points Saturday, he passes seven players on the “all-time” career points list—Jeff Bagwell (100.4), Paul Konerko (100.7), Matt Cain (100.7), Matt Holliday (100.8), Jason Schmidt (101.2), Mark Teixeira (101.3) and Tim Wakefield (101.4). Wheeler now trails 83rd-ranked player Ken Griffey Jr. (102.2).

Wheeler ranks 13th among active, signed players in career points, eighth among active NL pitchers.

National League Batter of the Day

Willy Adames of the Brewers hit a three-run home run and went 2-for-4, scoring twice and driving in three runs, in the 5-4 win over the Reds.

Adames earns 1.5 Box-Toppers points for being NL Batter of the Day, giving him 9.0 for the season, third among NL batters behind Brenton Doyle of the Rockies (9.7) and Francisco Lindor of the Mets (9.4).

This was the second straight day Adames won Player of the Game honors. He also did it Friday in the 5-4, 10-inning win over the Reds (HR 2-4 2R BI). Adames earned 1.0 Box-Toppers point Friday and 2.5 total points over Friday and Saturday.

National League Batter of the Day is Willy Adames of the Brewers.

American League Batter of the Day

Mickey Moniak of the Angels hit two home runs, including the ninth-inning, walk-off, game-winning home run, in the 5-4 win over the Mariners. Moniak went 2-for-4, scoring twice and driving in three runs.

American League Batter of the Day is Mickey Moniak of the Angels.

Rankings

Tigers pitcher Tarik Skubal extends his lead among American League pitchers in Box-Toppers season player rankings after earning Player of the Game honors Saturday.

Skubal (8IP 4H R 0BB 8K W in the 2-1 win over the Red Sox) earns 1.0 Box-Toppers point, giving him 18.1 for the season. He maintains his overall second-place ranking, though he passes previous overall leader, Padres pitcher Dylan Cease (17.4), who falls to third place. Skubal was blocked from the overall lead by Phillies pitcher Zack Wheeler, who earned 1.7 points as NL Player of the Day, giving him 18.4 points and passing Skubal.

Skubal and Wheeler both had +10.0 Box-Toppers game scores Saturday and Skubal’s score outranked Wheeler’s because he had more innings pitched—eight vs. seven. Still Wheeler earned 1.7 points Saturday as NL Player of the Day while Skubal earned just 1.0 because he finished behind another AL pitcher, Yusei Kikuchi of the Blue Jays, who won overall Player of the Day honors with a +12.0 game score.

While Skubal maintains his overall second-place ranking, he extends his lead among AL pitchers, ahead of second-place Luis Gil of the Yankees (15.4 points).

Tigers pitcher Tarik Skubal earns Player of the Game honors Saturday.

Scoring

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

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

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

  • All of Saturday’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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Saturday’s sidelights sidebar

Top pitching matchup

▪️Max Fried, Braves
61.2 Box-Toppers points over 2019-24, 7th among NL pitchers
▪️Zack Wheeler, Phillies
76.9 Box-Toppers points over 2019-24, 1st among NL pitchers
Result—PHI 3, ATL 0
Wheeler was Player of the Game (7IP 4H 0R 0BB 7K W) with +10.0 B-T game score.
Fried had -4.0 B-T game score in loss (7IP 5H 3R 4BB 4K L).
Wheeler earns 1.7 B-T points as NL Player of the Day, giving him 78.6 over 2019-24, extending his lead among NL pitchers over that span.

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—Matthew Boyd, Guardians (6IP 4H R 0BB 8K L)
Was not Player of the Game in loss vs. PIT.
Player of the Game—Luis L. Ortiz, Pirates (6IP H 0R 3BB 5K W) with +7.0 game score.
▪️+4.0—Will Wagner, Blue Jays (2B 5-6 3R 2BI)
Was not Player of the Game in win vs. MIN.
Player of the Game—Teammate José Berríos (6IP 3H 0R BB 5K W) with +7.0 game score.
▪️+3.0—Spencer Horwitz, Blue Jays (HR 3-5 2R 3BI)
Was not Player of the Game in win vs. MIN.
Player of the Game—Teammate José Berríos (6IP 3H 0R BB 5K W) with +7.0 game score.

Lowest Box-Toppers game scores

Out of 432 total players Saturday, 124 pitchers
-25.9—Randy Vásquez, Padres (4.1IP 11H 9R 4BB 3K L vs. TB)
-21.0—Zebby Matthews, Twins
-14.9—Merrill Kelly, Diamdonbacks
-12.8—Matthew Liberatore, Cardinals
-10.0—Kyle Farmer, Twins

Lowest Box-Toppers game scores by batters

Out of 308 total batters Saturday
-5.0—Cal Raleigh, Mariners 0-5 K
-4.0—Paul DeJong, Royals 0-4 4K
-4.0—Logan O'Hoppe, Angels 0-4 4K
-4.0—JJ Bleday, Athletics 0-4 3K
-4.0—Colton Cowser, Orioles 0-4 3K
-4.0—Marcell Ozuna, Braves 0-4 3K
-4.0—Jordan Walker, Cardinals 0-4 3K
-4.0—Matt Wallner, Twins 0-4 3K
Box-Toppers uses Baseball-Reference.com, MLB.com and other sources to compile this information.

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).
8/31 BTG Game Player AB R H BI   IP H R ER BB K
MLB +12.0 HOU 5, KC 2 Yusei Kikuchi (W, 7‑9) ‑ ‑ ‑ ‑   7.0 5 1 1 0 12
  +10.0 DET 2, BOS 1 Tarik Skubal (W, 16‑4) ‑ ‑ ‑ ‑   8.0 4 1 1 0 8
NL +10.0 PHI 3, ATL 0 Zack Wheeler (W, 13‑6) ‑ ‑ ‑ ‑   7.0 4 0 0 0 7
  +7.0 `TEX 3, OAK 2 Cody Bradford ‑ ‑ ‑ ‑   7.0 4 2 2 0 8
  +7.0 PIT 3, CLE 0 Luis L. Ortiz (W, 6‑4) ‑ ‑ ‑ ‑   6.0 1 0 0 3 5
  +7.0 TOR 15, MIN 0 José Berríos (W, 14‑9) ‑ ‑ ‑ ‑   6.0 3 0 0 1 5
  +6.0 STL 6, NYY 5 Kyle Gibson (W, 8‑6) ‑ ‑ ‑ ‑   7.0 5 1 1 0 6
BAT +3.0 MIL 5, CIN 4 Willy Adames SS 4 2 2 3   ‑ ‑ ‑ ‑ ‑ ‑
BAT +3.0 LAA 5, SEA 4 Mickey Moniak CF 4 2 2 3   ‑ ‑ ‑ ‑ ‑ ‑
  +3.0 NYM 5, CHW 3 Jesse Winker LF 3 1 3 2   ‑ ‑ ‑ ‑ ‑ ‑
  +3.0 COL 7, BAL 5 Tyler Kinley (S, 8) ‑ ‑ ‑ ‑   1.0 0 0 0 1 3
  +3.0 MIA 4, SF 3 Calvin Faucher (S, 5) ‑ ‑ ‑ ‑   1.0 0 0 0 0 2
  +2.0 TB 11, SD 4 Brandon Lowe 1B 5 3 3 1   ‑ ‑ ‑ ‑ ‑ ‑
  +2.0 LAD 8, ARI 6 Max Muncy 3B 2 1 2 1   ‑ ‑ ‑ ‑ ‑ ‑
  +2.0 `CHC 5, WSH 3 Tyson Miller (H, 11) ‑ ‑ ‑ ‑   1.0 1 0 0 0 2
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 +/‑
Wheeler, Zack 3204 pi sp phi nl 18.4 33.1 78.6 102.0 +3.7
Skubal, Tarik 4414 pi sp det al 18.1 28.8 48.2 48.2 +7.4
Kikuchi, Yusei 4136 pi sp hou al 9.7 19.7 37.1 37.1 -0.3
Adames, Willy 4041 ss mil nl 9.0 15.7 27.1 28.1 +2.3
Berrios, Jose 3791 pi sp tor al 8.7 19.1 51.2 78.0 -1.7
Lowe, Brandon 4108 dh 2b tb al 7.0 12.5 28.5 28.5 +1.5
Ortiz, Luis 4738 pi sp mr pit nl 7.0 7.0 8.0 8.0 +7.0
Gibson, Kyle 3312 pi sp stl nl 6.4 15.1 42.2 68.6 -2.3
Bradford, Cody 4938 pi sp tex al 5.0 6.0 6.0 6.0 +4.0
Kinley, Tyler 4617 pi cp col nl 5.0 5.0 7.0 7.0 +5.0
Moniak, Mickey 4849 cf ana al 3.0 6.0 6.0 6.0 0.0
Faucher, Calvin 4980 pi cp mr fla nl 3.0 3.0 3.0 3.0 +3.0
Muncy, Max 3969 3b lad nl 2.0 7.0 27.2 31.7 -3.0
Miller, Tyson 5075 pi mr chi nl 2.0 2.0 2.0 2.0 +2.0
Winker, Jesse 3988 dh lf nym nl 1.0 3.5 15.0 20.5 -1.5
What are those numbers after players' names?
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A Box-Toppers look at Sunday’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
MIL Myers, Tobias 5026 7.0 7.0 7.0 7.0
CIN Williamson, Brandon 4813 0.0 4.7 4.7 4.7
CHC Wicks, Jordan 4912 0.0 1.0 1.0 1.0
WSH Parker, Mitchell 4982 6.0 6.0 6.0 6.0
STL Mikolas, Miles 3034 4.0 10.7 25.8 40.2
NYY Cortes, Nestor 4160 11.7 13.7 36.1 36.1
BOS Criswell, Cooper 4840 5.0 6.0 6.0 6.0
DET Undecided 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0
PIT Keller, Mitch 4230 11.7 24.7 31.7 31.7
CLE Cobb, Alex 2916 0.0 10.0 25.1 67.9
SD Cease, Dylan 4231 17.4 27.4 64.2 64.2
TB Pepiot, Ryan 4714 9.7 14.7 16.7 16.7
KC Marsh, Alec 4961 5.0 5.0 5.0 5.0
HOU Blanco, Ronel 4959 8.7 8.7 8.7 8.7
NYM Manaea, Sean 3637 10.7 14.4 41.8 64.6
CHW Crochet, Garrett 4434 10.7 10.7 11.7 11.7
TOR Rodriguez, Yariel 4979 3.0 3.0 3.0 3.0
MIN Ober, Bailey 4441 12.4 21.1 30.8 30.8
OAK Spence, Mitch 4986 4.7 4.7 4.7 4.7
TEX Pennington, Walter* 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0
BAL Eflin, Zach 3679 5.7 17.7 36.5 49.2
COL Blach, Ty 3754 0.0 2.0 4.0 10.0
MIA McCaughan, Darren* 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0
SF Webb, Logan 4258 10.0 22.4 50.3 50.3
SEA Miller, Bryce 4797 12.7 25.8 25.8 25.8
LAA Dana, Caden* 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0
LAD Wrobleski, Justin 5062 1.0 1.0 1.0 1.0
ARI Pfaadt, Brandon 4812 9.4 13.1 13.1 13.1
ATL Schwellenbach, Spencer 5035 6.0 6.0 6.0 6.0
PHI Nola, Aaron 3569 12.4 24.4 68.5 114.1
Starters subject to change.
* Player has yet to earn any career Box-Toppers points.
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