Cubs’ Imanaga tops players Wednesday, Sept. 4 in combined no-hitter, rising to 1st

Cubs pitcher Shota Imanaga is Wednesday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day, rising to first place in season player rankings.

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▪️ Players of the Game
▪️ B-T points of day’s top players
▪️ Top 10 players in 2024
▪️ Wednesday’s sidelights sidebar
▪️ Upcoming pitching matchups
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Cubs pitcher Shota Imanaga is Wednesday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day, pitching seven innings of a combined no-hitter, and rising to first place in season player rankings.

Top 10 players

Here are the top 10 players in 2024 Box-Toppers points (BTP) through Wednesday, Sept. 4:
  Player Pos Team BTP
1 Shota Imanaga pi sp Cubs 18.7
2 Zack Wheeler pi sp Phillies 18.4
3 Tarik Skubal pi sp Tigers 18.1
4 Dylan Cease pi sp Padres 17.4
5 Chris Sale pi sp Braves 17.1
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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Imanaga and two Cubs relievers threw the combined no-hitter in the 12-0 win over the Pirates. Imanaga struck out seven over seven scoreless and hitless innings, allowing two walks. Imanaga faced 25 batters (two reached base on walks and three reached on errors) and threw 95 pitches.

Imanaga earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day, giving him 18.7 for the season, rising from fifth to first place in Box-Toppers season player rankings, passing previous leader, Phillies pitcher Zack Wheeler (18.4), who took the lead Aug. 31. Imanaga also rises to first place among National League pitchers, ahead of Wheeler.

Imanaga also leads all rookies in 2024 Box-Toppers points, ahead of second-place player, Pirates pitcher Paul Skenes, whose 11.0 Box-Toppers points is 30th among all players and 14th among NL pitchers.

This is the third time Imanaga has led Box-Toppers season player rankings this season. He took the lead May 7 for one day with 7.7 Box-Toppers points before being passed May 8 by Padres pitcher Dylan Cease. He took the lead again May 18 for two days with 8.7 points before being passed May 20 by Braves pitcher Chris Sale.

Two Cubs relievers completed the combined no-hitter, pitching one inning each—Nate Pearson and Porter Hodge.

American League Player of the Day is Luis Urias of the Mariners.

American League Player of the Day

Luis Urias of the Mariners hit a home run, two doubles and went 3-for-4, scoring twice and driving in four runs, in the 16-3 win over the Athletics.

Urias earns 1.7 Box-Toppers points for being AL Player of the Day, his first points of the season, and is 99th among AL batters.

National League Batter of the Day is Jesse Winker of the Mets.

National League Batter of the Day

Jesse Winker of the Mets hit a grand slam and went 1-for-3, scoring twice and driving in four runs, in the 8-3 win over the Red Sox.

American League Batter of the Day

There is no separate AL Batter of the Day for Wednesday because the overall AL Player of the Day is batter Luis Urias.

Cardinals pitcher Sonny Gray earns Player of the Game honors Wednesday.

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
9/4 Shota Imanaga chi nl 18.7
About Box-Toppers’ team abbreviations

Notable

Cardinals pitcher Sonny Gray now has 11.4 Box-Toppers points in 2024 and 109.3 career Box-Toppers points after earning Player of the Game honors Wednesday.

Gray (7IP 4H R BB 7K ND in the 3-2, 10-inning win over the Brewers) rises to 26th place among players in season player rankings with 11.4 Box-Toppers points, 11th among NL pitchers.

Gray rises to 70th place in career points since 1995, when Box-Toppers tracking began. With his 1.0 point Wednesday, he passes three players on the “all-time” career points list—Carlos Beltran (108.6), Gio Gonzalez (108.6) and Billy Wagner (108.7). Gray now trails 69th-ranked player Jeff Kent (110.2). (Kent began his career in 1992 before Box-Toppers tracking began in 1995. Box-Toppers estimates he would have about 125 points if his entire career were tracked.)

Gray ranks 12th among active, signed players in career points, seventh among active NL pitchers.

Debut

Marlins closing pitcher John McMillon made his Box-Toppers debut Wednesday with his first career Player of the Game honor.

McMillon (1IP 0H 0R 0BB 2K W in the 4-3, 10-inning win over the Nationals) made his Major League debut Aug. 17, 2023, and was playing in his 12th career game.

Scoring

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

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

  • Winker earns 1.5 points for being NL Batter of the Day.

  • All of Wednesday’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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Wednesday’s sidelights sidebar

Top pitching matchup

▪️Sonny Gray, Cardinals
10.4 Box-Toppers points in 2024, 16th among NL pitchers
▪️Colin Rea, Brewers
10.4 Box-Toppers points in 2024, 17th among NL pitchers
Result—STL 3, MIL 2 (F/10)
Gray was Player of the Game (7IP 4H R BB 7K ND) with +7.0 B-T game score.
Rea had -2.0 B-T game score in loss (4IP 4H 2R 2BB 4K ND).
Gray earns 1.0 B-T point, giving him 11.4 for 2024, rising to 11th among NL pitchers.

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—MacKenzie Gore, Nationals (6IP H R BB 9K ND)
Was not Player of the Game in loss vs. MIA.
Player of the Game—John McMillon, Marlins (1IP 0H 0R 0BB 2K W) with +3.0 game score.
▪️+8.0—DL Hall, Brewers (4IP H 0R 2BB 6K ND)
Was not Player of the Game in loss vs. STL.
Player of the Game—Sonny Gray, Cardinals (7IP 4H R BB 7K ND) with +7.0 game score.
▪️+5.0—Victor Robles, Mariners (2-2B 3-4 3R 3BI)
Was not Player of the Game in win vs. OAK.
Player of the Game—Teammate Luis Urías (HR 2-2B 3-4 2R 4BI) with +5.0 game score. (Though Urías and Robles both had +5.0 game scores, Urías won Player of the Game because he had more RBIs—four vs. three.)

Lowest Box-Toppers game scores

Out of 480 total players Wednesday, 137 pitchers
-26.8—Spencer Arrighetti, Astros (0.2IP 6H 9R 3BB 0K L vs. CIN)
-22.0—Janson Junk, Athletics
-18.9—Louie Varland, Twins
-17.0—Domingo Germán, Pirates
-15.9—Albert Suárez, Orioles

Lowest Box-Toppers game scores by batters

Out of 343 total batters Wednesday
-5.0—Giancarlo Stanton, Yankees 0-5 3K
-5.0—Parker Meadows, Tigers 0-5 2K
-5.0—Alec Burleson, Cardinals 0-5
-5.0—Jonah Heim, Rangers 0-5
-4.0—Pete Alonso, Mets 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).
9/4 BTG Game Player AB R H BI   IP H R ER BB K
MLB +12.0 CHC 12, PIT 0 Shota Imanaga (W, 12‑3) ‑ ‑ ‑ ‑   7.0 0 0 0 2 7
  +10.0 ARI 6, SF 4 Zac Gallen (W, 11‑6) ‑ ‑ ‑ ‑   6.0 0 0 0 4 8
  +7.0 `STL 3, MIL 2 (F/10) Sonny Gray ‑ ‑ ‑ ‑   7.0 4 1 1 1 7
AL +5.0 SEA 16, OAK 3 Luis Urías 3B 4 2 3 4   ‑ ‑ ‑ ‑ ‑ ‑
  +4.1 CIN 12, HOU 5 Brent Suter (S, 1) ‑ ‑ ‑ ‑   3.1 3 1 1 0 6
  +4.0 TEX 10, NYY 6 Wyatt Langford LF 4 3 3 2   ‑ ‑ ‑ ‑ ‑ ‑
BAT +4.0 NYM 8, BOS 3 Jesse Winker DH 3 2 1 4   ‑ ‑ ‑ ‑ ‑ ‑
  +4.0 PHI 4, TOR 2 Cristopher Sánchez (W, 10‑9) ‑ ‑ ‑ ‑   7.0 6 2 2 0 7
  +3.2 LAA 10, LAD 1 Griffin Canning (W, 5‑12) ‑ ‑ ‑ ‑   6.2 4 1 1 4 7
  +3.0 SD 6, DET 5 (F/10) Jackson Merrill CF 5 2 3 3   ‑ ‑ ‑ ‑ ‑ ‑
  +3.0 TB 9, MIN 4 Taylor Walls SS 2 1 1 3   ‑ ‑ ‑ ‑ ‑ ‑
  +3.0 MIA 4, WSH 3 (F/10) John McMillon (W, 1‑1) ‑ ‑ ‑ ‑   1.0 0 0 0 0 2
  +3.0 `ATL 5, COL 2 Pierce Johnson (H, 10) ‑ ‑ ‑ ‑   1.0 0 0 0 0 2
  +2.0 CHW 8, BAL 1 Lenyn Sosa 3B 4 1 3 2   ‑ ‑ ‑ ‑ ‑ ‑
  +2.0 KC 4, CLE 1 Tommy Pham RF 4 1 2 3   ‑ ‑ ‑ ‑ ‑ ‑
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 +/‑
Imanaga, Shota 4960 pi sp chi nl 18.7 18.7 18.7 18.7 +18.7
Gray, Sonny 3259 pi sp stl nl 11.4 21.8 59.4 109.3 +1.0
Sanchez, Cristopher 4850 pi sp phi nl 9.4 13.4 13.4 13.4 +5.4
Gallen, Zac 4171 pi sp ari nl 8.7 25.4 59.8 59.8 -8.0
Merrill, Jackson 4977 cf sd nl 5.0 5.0 5.0 5.0 +5.0
Pham, Thomas 3596 dh lf rf ph kc al 3.5 6.0 13.0 24.5 +1.0
Langford, Wyatt 5058 lf tex al 3.5 3.5 3.5 3.5 +3.5
Canning, Griffin 4134 pi sp ana al 3.0 9.0 20.7 20.7 -3.0
Winker, Jesse 3988 lf dh nym nl 2.5 5.0 16.5 22.0 0.0
Sosa, Lenyn 4907 3b 2b chi al 2.0 3.5 3.5 3.5 +0.5
Suter, Brent 3843 pi mr cp cin nl 2.0 2.0 6.0 12.7 +2.0
Johnson, Pierce 5049 pi mr atl nl 2.0 2.0 2.0 2.0 +2.0
Urias, Luis 4218 3b sea al 1.7 1.7 12.9 12.9 +1.7
Walls, Taylor 4691 ss 3b tb al 1.0 2.5 3.5 3.5 -0.5
McMillon, John 5101 pi cp fla nl 1.0 1.0 1.0 1.0 +1.0
What are those numbers after players' names?
About Box-Toppers’ team abbreviations
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A Box-Toppers look at Thursday’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
HOU Brown, Hunter 4729 12.0 22.1 23.1 23.1
CIN Lowder, Rhett* 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0
MIN Lopez, Pablo 4028 11.7 25.1 57.2 58.9
TB Bradley, Taj 4780 10.4 15.4 15.4 15.4
SEA Woo, Bryan 4842 9.7 18.4 18.4 18.4
OAK Estes, Joey 5000 5.7 5.7 5.7 5.7
ARI Kelly, Merrill 4143 1.0 14.0 40.0 40.0
SF Snell, Blake 3688 10.7 25.4 63.6 99.8
PHI Suarez, Ranger 4228 9.4 13.1 28.1 28.1
MIA Oller, Adam 4719 1.0 1.0 2.0 2.0
WSH Irvin, Jake 4805 9.0 12.0 12.0 12.0
PIT Falter, Bailey 4473 2.0 6.7 11.7 11.7
COL Gomber, Austin 3985 4.0 5.0 18.0 22.7
ATL Lopez, Reynaldo 3712 10.8 11.8 32.3 40.0
LAA Kochanowicz, Jack 5094 1.0 1.0 1.0 1.0
TEX Bradford, Cody 4938 5.0 6.0 6.0 6.0
DET Mize, Casey 4377 0.0 0.0 7.7 7.7
SD Perez, Martin 3213 4.7 9.4 22.2 39.2
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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