Orioles’ Povich tops players Tuesday, Sept. 3; Braves’ Sale rises to 4th in player rankings

Orioles pitcher Cade Povich 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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Orioles pitcher Cade Povich is Tuesday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day.

Top 10 players

Here are the top 10 players in 2024 Box-Toppers points (BTP) through Tuesday, Sept. 3:
  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 Chris Sale pi sp Braves 17.1
5 Shota Imanaga pi sp Cubs 16.7
6 Luis Gil pi sp Yankees 15.4
7 Aaron Nola pi sp Phillies 13.4
8 Framber Valdez pi sp Astros 13.4
9 Bailey Ober pi sp Twins 13.4
10 Tanner Bibee pi sp Guardians 13.0
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Also Tuesday, Braves pitcher Chris Sale rises to fourth place in Box-Toppers season player rankings after earning National League Player of the Day honors.

Player of the Day

Povich struck out 10 over 7 1/3 scoreless innings, allowing five hits and no walks, in the 9-0 win over the White Sox.

Povich earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day, giving him 3.0 for the season, 305th among all players and 89th among American League pitchers.

National League Player of the Day

Braves pitcher Chris Sale struck out nine over seven scoreless innings, allowing six hits and no walks, in the 3-0 win over the Rockies.

Sale earns 1.7 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day, giving him 17.1 for the season, rising from fifth to fourth place in season player rankings and third among NL pitchers, behind Zack Wheeler of the Phillies (18.4) and Dylan Cease of the Padres (17.4).

Sale also now has 170.4 career Box-Toppers points, 15th-most among all players since Box-Toppers tracking began in 1995. He trails 14th-ranked player Roy Halladay (170.7). Sale ranks fourth among active, signed players in career points, second among active NL pitchers, behind Clayton Kershaw of the Dodgers (272.4).

National League Player of the Day is Braves pitcher Chris Sale.

National League Batter of the Day

Kyle Schwarber of the Phillies hit three home runs, including a three-run shot, in the 10-9 win over the Blue Jays. Schwarber also doubled and went 5-for-6, scoring four times and driving in six runs.

Schwarber earns 1.5 Box-Toppers points for being NL Batter of the Day, giving him 7.0 for the season, eighth among NL batters.

Schwarber recorded a +9.0 Box-Toppers game score Tuesday, third-highest among all batters who have won Player of the Game honors in 2024. Schwarber also had the highest game score for a batter earning Player of the Game honors in 2024 (+10.0) on Aug. 7 (3HR 2B 4-4 3R 7BI in the 9-4 win over the Dodgers).

While Schwarber’s +10.0 game score on Aug. 7 was highest among all batters earning Player of the Game honors in 2024, it ranks 155th-highest among all Player of the Game winners in 2024, behind 154 pitchers. Schwarber’s +9.0 game score Tuesday is 214th-highest among all Player of the Game winners in 2024.

National League Batter of the Day is Kyle Schwarber of the Phillies.

American League Batter of the Day

Brayan Rocchio of the Guardians hit a home run, a sacrifice fly and went 1-for-1, scoring twice and driving in four runs, in the 7-1 win over the Royals.

This was Rocchio’s Box-Toppers debut, his first career Player of the Game honor. Rocchio made his Major League debut May 16, 2023, and was playing in his 146th career game.

American League Batter of the Day is Brayan Rocchio of the Guardians.

Notable

In addition to Chris Sale, two other players with more than 10 Box-Toppers points in 2024 earned Player of the Game honors Tuesday:

Cardinals closing pitcher Ryan Helsley is Box-Toppers Player of the Game in Tuesday’s win over the Brewers.

  • Cardinals closing pitcher Ryan Helsley (2IP H R 0BB 4K W in the 7-4, 12-inning win over the Brewers) earns 1.0 Box-Toppers point, giving him 11.0 for 2024, 27th among all players, 11th among NL pitchers and first among NL closers, ahead of second-place Camilo Doval of the Giants (6.0 points).

  • Pirates pitcher Paul Skenes (5IP 4H 0R 4BB 6K W in the 5-0 win over the Cubs) earns 1.0 Box-Toppers point, giving him 11.0 for 2024, 29th among all players, 13th among NL pitchers and second among NL rookies, behind Cubs pitcher Shota Imanaga (16.7 points).

Pirates pitcher Paul Skenes is Box-Toppers Player of the Game in Tuesday’s win over the Cubs.

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 Roy Halladay pi sp Retired 170.7
15 Chris Sale pi sp Braves 170.4
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 161.3
20 John Smoltz pi sp Retired 160.9
BTP: Box-Toppers points

Scoring

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

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

  • Schwarber and Rocchio 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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Tuesday’s sidelights sidebar

Top pitching matchup

▪️Tanner Bibee, Guardians
13.0 Box-Toppers points in 2024, 5th among AL pitchers
▪️Brady Singer, Royals
10.0 Box-Toppers points in 2024, 19th among AL pitchers
Result—CLE 7, KC 1
Neither starter was Player of the Game.
Bibee had +5.0 B-T game score (6IP 2H R 3BB 6K W).
Singer had -2.8 B-T game score in loss (5.2IP 5H 2R 2BB 3K L).
Player of the Game—Brayan Rocchio, Guardians (HR SF 1-1 2R 4BI) with +6.0 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:
▪️+12.0—Carlos Rodón, Yankees (6IP H R 2BB 11K ND)
Was not Player of the Game in loss vs. TEX.
Player of the Game—Andrew Heaney, Rangers (5IP 3H 0R BB 8K ND) with +9.0 game score.
▪️+7.0—Reid Detmers, Angels (6IP 3H 2R 2BB 10K ND)
Was not Player of the Game in loss vs. LAD.
Player of the Game—Mookie Betts, Dodgers (HR 2-5 R 4BI) with +2.0 game score.
▪️+7.0—Kutter Crawford, Red Sox (6IP H 2R 2BB 8K L)
Was not Player of the Game in loss vs. NYM.
Player of the Game—David Peterson, Mets (6IP 6H R BB 11K W) with +8.0 game score.

Lowest Box-Toppers game scores

Out of 400 total players Tuesday, 119 pitchers
-18.8—Tyler Phillips, Phillies (0.2IP 8H 6R 0BB K vs. TOR)
-17.8—Nick Nastrini, White Sox
-14.8—Kyle Harrison, Giants
-11.9—Clay Holmes, Yankees
-10.8—Ryan Thompson, Diamondbacks

Lowest Box-Toppers game scores by batters

Out of 281 total batters Tuesday
-5.0—Teoscar Hernandez, Dodgers 0-5 3K
-5.0—Xavier Edwards, Marlins 0-5 2K
-5.0—José Tena, Nationals 0-5 2K
-4.0—Pete Crow-Armstrong, Cubs 0-4 4K
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).
9/3 BTG Game Player AB R H BI   IP H R ER BB K
MLB +12.1 BAL 9, CHW 0 Cade Povich (W, 2‑7) ‑ ‑ ‑ ‑   7.1 5 0 0 0 10
NL +10.0 ATL 3, COL 0 Chris Sale (W, 16‑3) ‑ ‑ ‑ ‑   7.0 6 0 0 0 9
BAT +9.0 PHI 10, TOR 9 Kyle Schwarber DH 6 4 5 6   ‑ ‑ ‑ ‑ ‑ ‑
  +9.0 `TEX 7, NYY 4 Andrew Heaney ‑ ‑ ‑ ‑   5.0 3 0 0 1 8
  +8.0 NYM 7, BOS 2 David Peterson (W, 9‑1) ‑ ‑ ‑ ‑   6.0 6 1 1 1 11
BAT +6.0 CLE 7, KC 1 Brayan Rocchio SS 1 2 1 4   ‑ ‑ ‑ ‑ ‑ ‑
  +5.2 ARI 8, SF 7 Ryne Nelson (W, 10‑6) ‑ ‑ ‑ ‑   6.2 4 2 2 2 9
  +4.0 OAK 3, SEA 2 Hogan Harris (W, 3‑3) ‑ ‑ ‑ ‑   3.0 0 0 0 2 3
  +4.0 STL 7, MIL 4 (F/12) Ryan Helsley (W, 7‑4) (BS, 4) ‑ ‑ ‑ ‑   2.0 1 1 0 0 4
  +3.0 PIT 5, CHC 0 Paul Skenes (W, 9‑2) ‑ ‑ ‑ ‑   5.0 4 0 0 4 6
  +2.0 LAD 6, LAA 2 (F/10) Mookie Betts RF 5 1 2 4   ‑ ‑ ‑ ‑ ‑ ‑
  +2.0 WSH 6, MIA 2 Keibert Ruiz C 4 2 3 1   ‑ ‑ ‑ ‑ ‑ ‑
  +2.0 TB 2, MIN 1 Jeffrey Springs (W, 2‑2) ‑ ‑ ‑ ‑   6.0 4 1 1 2 4
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 +/‑
Sale, Chris 2806 pi sp atl nl 17.1 25.8 38.8 170.4 +8.4
Helsley, Ryan 4589 pi cp stl nl 11.0 15.0 21.0 21.0 +7.0
Skenes, Paul 5005 pi sp pit nl 11.0 11.0 11.0 11.0 +11.0
Nelson, Ryne 4728 pi sp ari nl 8.4 15.1 16.8 16.8 +1.7
Heaney, Andrew 3515 pi sp tex al 8.0 19.4 40.8 55.5 -3.4
Schwarber, Kyle 3536 dh phi nl 7.0 12.5 25.5 39.0 +1.5
Ruiz, Keibert 4616 ca dc nl 5.0 9.7 13.7 13.7 +0.3
Springs, Jeffrey 4372 pi sp tb al 5.0 8.7 22.4 22.4 +1.3
Betts, Mookie 3404 ss rf lad nl 3.5 12.0 37.9 66.0 -5.0
Peterson, David 4347 pi sp nym nl 3.0 6.0 16.0 16.0 0.0
Harris, Hogan 4846 pi sp cp oak al 3.0 4.0 4.0 4.0 +2.0
Povich, Cade 5029 pi sp bal al 3.0 3.0 3.0 3.0 +3.0
Rocchio, Brayan 5100 ss cle al 1.5 1.5 1.5 1.5 +1.5
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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
PHI Sanchez, Cristopher 4850 8.4 12.4 12.4 12.4
TOR Francis, Bowden 5034 6.7 6.7 6.7 6.7
CHW Cannon, Jonathan 5036 1.0 1.0 1.0 1.0
BAL Suarez, Albert 3870 6.0 6.0 6.0 7.0
HOU Arrighetti, Spencer 5022 6.7 6.7 6.7 6.7
CIN Martinez, Nick 3430 5.7 13.1 18.1 24.8
WSH Gore, MacKenzie 4582 4.0 11.0 15.7 15.7
MIA Bellozo, Valente 5082 1.0 1.0 1.0 1.0
MIN Henriquez, Ronny* 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0
TB Sulser, Cole 4270 0.0 0.0 0.0 2.0
BOS Houck, Tanner 4342 12.4 14.4 26.1 26.1
NYM Megill, Tylor 4464 1.0 5.0 16.7 16.7
COL Blalock, Bradley* 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0
ATL Morton, Charlie 2503 9.4 19.4 63.3 113.5
CLE Lively, Ben 3903 4.0 5.0 5.0 7.0
KC Lugo, Seth 3729 12.1 18.5 27.5 36.5
PIT German, Domingo 3957 0.0 6.0 22.4 30.4
CHC Imanaga, Shota 4960 16.7 16.7 16.7 16.7
STL Gray, Sonny 3259 10.4 20.8 58.4 108.3
MIL Rea, Colin 3582 10.4 15.4 15.4 19.1
NYY Stroman, Marcus 3327 3.0 10.7 34.4 65.2
TEX Eovaldi, Nathan 2928 12.0 21.7 46.8 81.3
LAD Miller, Bobby 4820 2.0 10.7 10.7 10.7
LAA Canning, Griffin 4134 2.0 8.0 19.7 19.7
DET Montero, Keider 5057 3.7 3.7 3.7 3.7
SD Darvish, Yu 3003 6.7 13.7 63.7 137.7
SEA Kirby, George 4595 11.7 25.4 36.8 36.8
OAK Sears, JP 4627 7.7 11.7 16.7 16.7
ARI Gallen, Zac 4171 7.7 24.4 58.8 58.8
SF Birdsong, Hayden 5063 2.0 2.0 2.0 2.0
Starters subject to change.
* Player has yet to earn any career Box-Toppers points.
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