Reds’ Martinez tops players Friday, Sept. 20; Ohtani earns 3rd top player honor in 6 days

Reds pitcher Nick Martinez 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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Reds pitcher Nick Martinez is Friday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day.

Also Friday, Shohei Ohtani of the Dodgers earns Box-Toppers Player of the Game honors for the second straight day and third time in the past week, rising to fifth place among National League batters in Box-Toppers season player rankings.

Player of the Day

Martinez struck out nine over six scoreless innings, allowing two hits and one walk, in the 8-3 win over the Pirates.

Martinez earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day, giving him 9.7 for the season, 58th among all players and 26th among National League pitchers.

American League Player of the Day is Yankees pitcher Gerrit Cole.

All-time leaders

Here are Box-Toppers top 20 players since record keeping began in 1995:
  Player Pos Team BTP
1 Randy Johnson pi sp Retired 282.5
2 Clayton Kershaw pi sp Dodgers 272.4
3 Max Scherzer pi sp Rangers 253.7
4 Justin Verlander pi sp Astros 247.0
5 Pedro Martinez pi sp Retired 244.8
6 Zack Greinke pi sp Free agent 224.5
7 Albert Pujols 1b Retired 207.8
8 CC Sabathia pi sp Retired 203.4
9 Curt Schilling pi sp Retired 194.1
10 Alex Rodriguez 3b Retired 187.0
11 Jon Lester pi sp Retired 179.3
12 Felix Hernandez pi sp Retired 175.1
13 Cole Hamels pi sp Retired 174.2
14 Chris Sale pi sp Braves 172.4
15 Roy Halladay pi sp Retired 170.7
16 Johan Santana pi sp Retired 166.6
17 Manny Ramirez lf dh Retired 166.2
18 Roger Clemens pi sp Retired 164.8
19 Gerrit Cole pi sp Yankees 163.0
20 John Smoltz pi sp Retired 160.9
BTP: Box-Toppers points

American League Player of the Day

Yankees pitcher Gerrit Cole struck out seven over nine innings, allowing one run, two hits and one walk, in the 4-2, 10-inning win over the Athletics.

Cole earns 1.7 Box-Toppers points for being AL Player of the Day, giving him 7.7 for the season, 38th among AL pitchers.

Cole also now has 163.0 career Box-Toppers points, 19th-most among all players since Box-Toppers tracking began in 1995. Cole trails 18th-ranked player Roger Clemens (164.8) on the “all-time” career points list. (It should be noted that Clemens began his career before the advent of Box-Toppers in 1995. Box-Toppers estimates he would have about 320 points if his entire career from 1984 were tracked.)

Cole ranks fifth among active, signed players in career points, third among active AL pitchers, behind Max Scherzer of the Rangers (253.7) and Justin Verlander of the Astros (247.0).

National League Batter of the Day

Alec Bohm of the Phillies hit a three-run homer and went 4-for-5, scoring twice and driving in four runs, in the 12-2 win over the Mets.

Bohm earns 1.5 Box-Toppers points for being NL Batter of the Day, giving him 4.0 for the season, 43rd among NL batters.

National League Batter of the Day is Alec Bohm of the Phillies.

American League Batter of the Day

Julio Rodriguez of the Mariners hit two home runs, including a three-run shot, in the 8-2 win over the Rangers. Rodriguez went 3-for-5, scoring twice and driving in five runs.

Rodriguez earns 1.5 Box-Toppers points for being AL Batter of the Day, giving him 5.0 for the season, 19th among AL batters.

American League Batter of the Day is Julio Rodriguez of the Mariners.

Notable

Orioles pitcher Corbin Burnes has the most 2024 Box-Toppers points among Friday’s 15 Player of the Game winners.

Burnes (7IP 3H 0R 3BB 8K W in the 7-1 win over the Tigers) earns 1.0 Box-Toppers point, giving him 11.7 for the season, 29th among all players and 14th among AL pitchers.

Orioles pitcher Corbin Burnes has the most 2024 Box-Toppers points among Friday’s 15 Player of the Game winners.

Top 10 players

Here are the top 10 players in 2024 Box-Toppers points (BTP) through Friday, Sept. 20:
  Player Pos Team BTP
1 Zack Wheeler pi sp Phillies 21.4
2 Dylan Cease pi sp Padres 21.1
3 Shota Imanaga pi sp Cubs 19.7
4 Tarik Skubal pi sp Tigers 19.1
5 Chris Sale pi sp Braves 19.1
6 Luis Gil pi sp Yankees 17.4
7 Framber Valdez pi sp Astros 15.4
8 Nestor Cortes pi sp Yankees 15.4
9 Sean Manaea pi sp Mets 14.4
10 Seth Lugo pi sp Royals 14.1
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Ohtani

Shohei Ohtani of the Dodgers earns Box-Toppers Player of the Game honors for the second straight day Friday and third time in the past week.

Ohtani (HR 3-4 2R 2BI in the 6-4 win over the Rockies) earns 1.0 Box-Toppers point, giving him 8.5 for the season, rising to fifth place among NL batters.

Ohtani also earned Player of the Game honors Thursday, earning 1.5 Box-Toppers points as NL Batter of the Day and recording the second-highest Box-Toppers game score (+14.0) for a batter in the 30 years of Box-Toppers player tracking (3HR 2-2B 6-6 4R 10BI in the 20-4 win over the Marlins).

Ohtani also earned 1.0 point as Player of the Game Sunday (2-2B 204 R 2BI in the 9-2 win over the Braves).

That means Ohtani has earned 3.5 of his 8.5 Box-Toppers points in a six-day period. Though Ohtani is seen as favorite for NL Most Valuable Player, he only rose into the top 10 among NL batters in Box-Toppers points on Thursday and with Friday’s honor now sits in fifth place on that list, 2.0 points behind Willy Adames of the Brewers, who leads NL batters with 10.5 points. The Dodgers have eight games remaining in the regular season.

Ohtani earned 19.4 Box-Toppers points in 2023 with the Angels, 9.7 as a pitcher and 9.7 as a batter. Ohtani has not been able to pitch this season as he recovers from elbow surgery, but with 8.5 points as a batter in 2024, he is approaching his 9.7 total as a batter in 2023, when he was AL Most Valuable Player.

Shohei Ohtani earns Box-Toppers Player of the Game honors for the second straight day Friday and third time in the past week.

Debut

Giants pitcher Mason Black made his Box-Toppers debut Friday with his first career Player of the Game honor.

Black (5.2IP 4H 0R BB 4K W in the 2-1 win over the Royals) made his Major League debut May 6 and was playing in his seventh career game.

Giants pitcher Mason Black made his Box-Toppers debut Friday with his first career Player of the Game honor.

Friday’s sidelights sidebar

Top pitching matchup

▪️Zac Gallen, Diamondbacks
10.4 Box-Toppers points in 2024, 19th among NL pitchers
▪️Colin Rea, Brewers
10.4 Box-Toppers points in 2024, 21st among NL pitchers
Result—ARI 7, MIL 4
Neither starter was Player of the Game.
Gallen had -6.0 B-T game score (5IP 7H 4R BB 5K W).
Rea had -4.0 B-T game score in loss (4IP 5H 3R BB 4K ND).
Player of the Game—A.J. Puk, Diamondbacks (1IP H 0R 0BB 3K Sv) with +3.0 B-T 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:
▪️+11.0—Garrett Crochet, White Sox (4IP H 0R 0BB 8K ND)
Was not Player of the Game in loss vs. SD.
Player of the Game—Joe Musgrove, Padres (6IP 4H 0R 0BB 9K ND) with +11.0 game score.
▪️+7.0—Trevor Williams, Nationals (5IP 3H R 0BB 7K L)
Was not Player of the Game in loss vs. CHC.
Player of the Game—Jameson Taillon, Cubs (6IP 2H 0R 2BB 4K W) with +6.0 game score.
▪️+6.0—Tyler Stephenson, Reds (HR 2B 3-5 3R 5BI)
Was not Player of the Game in win vs. PIT.
Player of the Game—Teammate Nick Martinez (6IP 2H 0R 0BB 9K W) with +13.0 game score.

Lowest Box-Toppers game scores

Out of 458 total players Friday, 140 pitchers
-23.9—Mitch Keller, Pirates (3.1IP 7H 8R 5BB K L vs. CIN)
-12.8—Justin Verlander, Astros
-11.0—Jack Leiter, Rangers
-10.9—DL Hall, Brewers
-10.8—Tyler Anderson, Angels

Lowest Box-Toppers game scores by batters

Out of 318 total batters Friday
-5.0—Tommy Pham, Royals 0-5 3K
-5.0—Christian Walker, Diamondbacks 0-5 3K
-5.0—Dominic Fletcher, White Sox 0-5 2K
-5.0—Nicky Lopez, White Sox 0-5 2K
Box-Toppers uses Baseball-Reference.com, MLB.com and other sources to compile this information.

Scoring

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

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

  • Bohm and Rodriguez 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).
9/20 BTG Game Player AB R H BI   IP H R ER BB K
MLB +13.0 CIN 8, PIT 3 Nick Martinez (W, 10‑6) ‑ ‑ ‑ ‑   6.0 2 0 0 0 9
AL +11.0 NYY 4, OAK 2 (F/10) Gerrit Cole (W, 7‑5) ‑ ‑ ‑ ‑   9.0 2 1 1 1 7
  +11.0 `SD 3, CHW 2 (F/10) Joe Musgrove ‑ ‑ ‑ ‑   6.0 4 0 0 0 9
  +9.0 BAL 7, DET 1 Corbin Burnes (W, 15‑8) ‑ ‑ ‑ ‑   7.0 3 0 0 3 8
  +7.1 `TB 1, TOR 0 Tyler Alexander ‑ ‑ ‑ ‑   4.1 2 0 0 1 6
  +6.0 CHC 3, WSH 1 Jameson Taillon (W, 11‑8) ‑ ‑ ‑ ‑   6.0 2 0 0 2 4
BAT +5.0 PHI 12, NYM 2 Alec Bohm 3B 5 2 4 4   ‑ ‑ ‑ ‑ ‑ ‑
BAT +5.0 SEA 8, TEX 2 Julio Rodríguez CF 5 2 3 5   ‑ ‑ ‑ ‑ ‑ ‑
  +4.2 SF 2, KC 1 Mason Black (W, 1‑4) ‑ ‑ ‑ ‑   5.2 4 0 0 1 4
  +3.0 HOU 9, LAA 7 Kyle Tucker RF 5 3 4 1   ‑ ‑ ‑ ‑ ‑ ‑
  +3.0 LAD 6, COL 4 Shohei Ohtani DH 4 2 3 2   ‑ ‑ ‑ ‑ ‑ ‑
  +3.0 `MIN 4, BOS 2 (F/12) Cole Sands ‑ ‑ ‑ ‑   1.0 1 0 0 0 3
  +3.0 ARI 7, MIL 4 A.J. Puk (S, 3) ‑ ‑ ‑ ‑   1.0 1 0 0 0 3
  +2.0 CLE 5, STL 1 José Ramírez 3B 4 1 3 2   ‑ ‑ ‑ ‑ ‑ ‑
  +1.0 MIA 4, ATL 3 Jake Burger DH 3 1 2 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 +/‑
Burnes, Corbin 4029 pi sp bal al 11.7 23.4 64.6 67.6 0.0
Martinez, Nick 3430 pi mr sp cin nl 9.7 17.1 22.1 28.8 +2.3
Musgrove, Joe 3705 pi sp sd nl 9.7 16.7 60.2 69.9 +2.7
Ohtani, Shohei 3933 dh lad nl 8.5 27.9 75.2 83.2 -10.9
Ramirez, Jose 3436 (last of 2014) 3b cle al 8.4 14.6 44.3 65.3 +2.2
Cole, Gerrit 3232 pi sp nyy al 7.7 24.7 102.1 163.0 -9.3
Taillon, Jameson 3658 pi sp chi nl 7.0 12.4 32.1 58.5 +1.6
Sands, Cole 5017 pi mr cp mil nl 6.0 6.0 6.0 6.0 +6.0
Alexander, Tyler 4196 pi mr sp tb al 5.7 8.4 18.4 18.4 +3.0
Tucker, Kyle 4277 rf hou al 5.0 17.5 34.2 34.2 -7.5
Rodriguez, Julio 4590 cf sea al 5.0 9.0 16.5 16.5 +1.0
Puk, A.J. 4253 pi mr ari nl 5.0 8.0 9.0 9.0 +2.0
Bohm, Alec 4309 3b 1b dh phi nl 4.0 10.4 14.4 14.4 -2.4
Burger, Jake 4629 3b dh fla nl 3.7 8.7 9.7 9.7 -1.3
Black, Mason 5115 pi sp 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
PIT Jones, Jared 4956 7.0 7.0 7.0 7.0
CIN Lowder, Rhett 5107 1.0 1.0 1.0 1.0
WSH Gore, MacKenzie 4582 5.0 12.0 16.7 16.7
CHC Hendricks, Kyle 3386 4.7 9.7 37.8 78.3
DET Olson, Reese 4861 3.0 10.4 10.4 10.4
BAL Povich, Cade 5029 3.0 3.0 3.0 3.0
ATL Fried, Max 4011 10.4 19.4 62.9 63.9
MIA Oller, Adam 4719 1.0 1.0 2.0 2.0
MIN Lopez, Pablo 4028 11.7 25.1 57.2 58.9
BOS Crawford, Kutter 4660 5.7 11.4 15.4 15.4
PHI Suarez, Ranger 4228 10.4 14.1 29.1 29.1
NYM Manaea, Sean 3637 14.4 18.1 45.5 68.3
TOR Rodriguez, Yariel 4979 3.0 3.0 3.0 3.0
TB Bradley, Taj 4780 10.4 15.4 15.4 15.4
SF Roupp, Landen 5079 2.0 2.0 2.0 2.0
KC Singer, Brady 4337 10.0 15.0 33.7 33.7
SEA Hancock, Emerson 4985 1.0 1.0 1.0 1.0
TEX Scherzer, Max 2588 2.0 17.4 71.9 253.7
LAA Detmers, Reid 4513 3.7 10.4 18.4 18.4
HOU Blanco, Ronel 4959 9.7 9.7 9.7 9.7
ARI Kelly, Merrill 4143 1.0 14.0 40.0 40.0
MIL Civale, Aaron 4173 5.4 11.4 33.8 33.8
CLE Boyd, Matthew 3550 3.0 3.0 12.0 31.8
STL Mikolas, Miles 3034 4.0 10.7 25.8 40.2
CHW Flexen, Chris 4368 2.7 2.7 16.4 16.4
SD Perez, Martin 3213 4.7 9.4 22.2 39.2
NYY Rodon, Carlos 3494 11.7 12.7 46.2 69.3
OAK Sears, JP 4627 7.7 11.7 16.7 16.7
COL Quantrill, Cal 4195 5.0 7.0 22.7 22.7
LAD Buehler, Walker 3943 1.7 1.7 44.5 59.6
Starters subject to change.
* Player has yet to earn any career Box-Toppers points.
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