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
▪️ Thursday’s sidelights sidebar
▪️ Upcoming pitching matchups
▪️ Subscribe to newsletter
▪️ Support Box-Toppers
Rockies pitcher Austin Gomber is Thursday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day.
Gomber struck out six over eight innings, allowing one run, five hits and no walks, in the 3-1 win over the Braves.
Gomber earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day, giving him 6.0 for the season, 117th among all players and 45th among National League pitchers.
American League Player of the Day
Rangers pitcher Cody Bradford struck out four over six innings, allowing one run, two hits and two walks, in the 3-1 win over the Angels.
Bradford earns 1.7 Box-Toppers points for being AL Player of the Day, giving him 6.7 for the season, 97th among all players and 40th among AL pitchers.
American League Batter of the Day
Parker Meadows of the Tigers hit a grand slam and went 2-for-4, scoring once and driving in four runs, in the 4-3 win over the Padres.
This was Meadows’ Box-Toppers debut, his first career Player of the Game honor. Meadows made his Major League debut Aug. 21, 2023, and was playing in his 98th career game.
National League Batter of the Day
There is no separate NL Batter of the Day for Thursday because no NL batter won Player of the Game honors in the nine games completed.
Notable
Top 10 players
Here are the top 10 players in 2024 Box-Toppers points (BTP) through Thursday, Sept. 5:| 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 |
Phillies pitcher Ranger Suarez becomes the 40th player this season to reach 10 Box-Toppers points after earning Player of the Game honors Thursday.
Suarez (5IP 3H 0R 2BB 4K W in the 5-2 win over the Marlins) earns 1.0 Box-Toppers point, giving him 10.4 for the season, 37th among all players and 18th among NL pitchers.
This is Suarez’s first season with 10 or more Box-Toppers points. His previous high was 9.0 points in 2021 with the Phillies, 34th among NL pitchers. Suarez had 3.7 points in 2023 with the Phillies.
This is Suarez’s first Box-Toppers Player of the Game honor in more than three months. When he last did it May 21 (earning 1.7 points as NL Player of the Day), he took the overall lead in Box-Toppers season player rankings with 9.4 points.
Scoring
Gomber earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day.
Bradford earns 1.7 points for being AL Player of the Day.
Meadows earns 1.5 points for being AL Batter of the Day.
All of Thursday’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.
Box-Toppers strives for accuracy. See a mistake in a post? A wrong name, wrong team, grammar error, spelling goof, etc.? Thanks for pointing it out! Contact Box-Toppers here. Let's fix it and make it right.
For additional updates, follow Box-Toppers on Twitter (X).
Your support via Buy Me a Coffee keeps Box-Toppers percolating. Thanks for your contributions!
Thursday’s sidelights sidebar
Top pitching matchup
▪️Pablo López, Twins11.7 Box-Toppers points in 2024, 12th among AL pitchers
▪️Taj Bradley, Rays
10.4 Box-Toppers points in 2024, 18th among AL pitchers
Result—MIN 4, TB 3
Neither starter was Player of the Game.
López had +1.2 B-T game score (6.2IP 7H 3R BB 9K W).
Bradley had +2.0 B-T game score in loss (7IP 6H 4R BB 10K L).
Player of the Game—Jhoan Duran, Twins (1IP 0H 0R 0BB 2K 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:▪️+8.0—Reynaldo López, Braves (6IP 5H 2R 0BB 11K L)
Was not Player of the Game in loss vs. COL, despite having the day’s highest B-T game score.
Player of the Game—Austin Gomber, Rockies (8IP 5H R 0BB 6K W) with +7.0 game score.
▪️+7.0—Hunter Brown, Astros (6IP 4H 0R BB 6K ND)
Was not Player of the Game in loss vs. CIN.
Player of the Game—Alexis Díaz, Reds (1IP 0H 0R 0BB K Sv) with +2.0 game score.
▪️+5.1—Martín Pérez, Padres (6.1IP 5H 0R BB 5K ND)
Was not Player of the Game in loss vs. DET.
Player of the Game—Parker Meadows, Tigers (GS 2-4 R 4BI) with +3.0 game score.
Lowest Box-Toppers game scores
Out of 257 total players Thursday, 73 pitchers-13.0—Jake Irvin, Naitonals (5IP 7H 6R 3BB 4K L vs. PIT).
-10.8—Robert Suarez, Padres
-9.0—Jake Kochanowicz, Angels
-7.0—Joey Estes, Athletics
-7.0—Bailey Falter, Pirates
Lowest Box-Toppers game scores by batters
Out of 184 total batters Thursday-5.0—Matt Vierling, Tigers 0-5
-4.0—Brendan Rodgers, Rockies 0-4 4K
-4.0—Jake McCarthy, Diamondbacks 0-4 3K
-4.0—James Wood, Nationals 0-4 2K
-4.0—Elly De La Cruz, Reds 0-4 2K
-4.0—Adrian Del Castillo, Diamondbacks 0-4 2K
-4.0—Michael Harris II, Braves 0-4 2K
-4.0—Josh Lowe, Rays 0-4 2K
-4.0—Jose Siri, Rays 0-4 2K
-4.0—LaMonte Wade Jr., Giants 0-4 2K
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 | +7.0 | COL 3, ATL 1 | Austin Gomber (W, 5‑10) | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | 8.0 | 5 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 6 | |
| +6.0 | `SF 3, ARI 2 | Landen Roupp | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | 4.0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 5 | ||
| AL | +4.0 | TEX 3, LAA 1 | Cody Bradford (W, 5‑2) | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | 6.0 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 4 | |
| +4.0 | PHI 5, MIA 2 | Ranger Suárez (W, 12‑6) | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | 5.0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 4 | ||
| BAT | +3.0 | DET 4, SD 3 | Parker Meadows CF | 4 | 1 | 2 | 4 | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | |
| +3.0 | MIN 4, TB 3 | Jhoan Duran (S, 22) | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | 1.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | ||
| +2.0 | SEA 6, OAK 4 | Cal Raleigh C | 4 | 1 | 2 | 3 | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ||
| +2.0 | CIN 1, HOU 0 | Alexis Díaz (S, 25) | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | 1.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | ||
| +1.2 | PIT 9, WSH 4 | Aroldis Chapman (S, 6) | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | 0.2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
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.
Back to top
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 | +/‑ |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Suarez, Ranger 4228 | pi sp | phi nl | 10.4 | 14.1 | 29.1 | 29.1 | +6.7 |
| Bradford, Cody 4938 | pi sp | tex al | 6.7 | 7.7 | 7.7 | 7.7 | +5.7 |
| Raleigh, Cal 4481 | ca | sea al | 6.2 | 9.2 | 17.7 | 17.7 | +3.2 |
| Duran, Jhoan 4622 | pi cp | min al | 6.0 | 9.0 | 10.0 | 10.0 | +3.0 |
| Gomber, Austin 3985 | pi sp | col nl | 6.0 | 7.0 | 20.0 | 24.7 | +5.0 |
| Diaz, Alexis 4613 | pi cp | cin nl | 5.0 | 12.0 | 15.0 | 15.0 | -2.0 |
| Chapman, Aroldis 2826 | pi mr cp | pit nl | 2.0 | 6.0 | 16.0 | 68.1 | -2.0 |
| Roupp, Landen 5079 | pi mr | sf nl | 2.0 | 2.0 | 2.0 | 2.0 | +2.0 |
| Meadows, Parker 5102 | cf | det al | 1.5 | 1.5 | 1.5 | 1.5 | +1.5 |
About Box-Toppers’ team abbreviations
Chart is sortable. Click a column header to re-sort the chart by the values in that column. Refresh page to restore chart to default view.
Back to top
A Box-Toppers look at Friday’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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| NYY | Gil, Luis 4498 | 15.4 | 15.4 | 16.4 | 16.4 |
| CHC | Wicks, Jordan 4912 | 0.0 | 1.0 | 1.0 | 1.0 |
| COL | Feltner, Ryan 4635 | 0.0 | 2.0 | 4.0 | 4.0 |
| MIL | Montas, Frankie 3803 | 4.0 | 4.0 | 36.5 | 39.5 |
| WSH | Herz, DJ 5032 | 4.7 | 4.7 | 4.7 | 4.7 |
| PIT | Ortiz, Luis 4738 | 7.0 | 7.0 | 8.0 | 8.0 |
| TB | Baz, Shane 4560 | 1.0 | 1.0 | 2.7 | 2.7 |
| BAL | Kremer, Dean 4330 | 7.7 | 17.4 | 28.8 | 28.8 |
| CHW | Martin, Davis 4657 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 5.0 | 5.0 |
| BOS | Pivetta, Nick 3825 | 6.7 | 15.7 | 31.4 | 51.1 |
| CIN | Cruz, Fernando 4768 | 1.0 | 5.0 | 5.0 | 5.0 |
| NYM | Manaea, Sean 3637 | 12.4 | 16.1 | 43.5 | 66.3 |
| PHI | Wheeler, Zack 3204 | 18.4 | 33.1 | 78.6 | 102.0 |
| MIA | Cabrera, Edward 4641 | 1.0 | 4.7 | 11.1 | 11.1 |
| TOR | Gausman, Kevin 3191 | 9.0 | 27.7 | 58.1 | 97.1 |
| ATL | Fried, Max 4011 | 8.7 | 17.7 | 61.2 | 62.2 |
| LAA | Aldegheri, Samuel* | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 |
| TEX | Garabito, Gerson 5084 | 1.0 | 1.0 | 1.0 | 1.0 |
| ARI | Pfaadt, Brandon 4812 | 9.4 | 13.1 | 13.1 | 13.1 |
| HOU | Valdez, Framber 4048 | 13.4 | 23.4 | 52.8 | 54.8 |
| MIN | Matthews, Zebby* | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 |
| KC | Ragans, Cole 4889 | 10.0 | 14.4 | 14.4 | 14.4 |
| SEA | Miller, Bryce 4797 | 12.7 | 25.8 | 25.8 | 25.8 |
| STL | Fedde, Erick 4065 | 7.7 | 7.7 | 24.5 | 26.2 |
| DET | Skubal, Tarik 4414 | 18.1 | 28.8 | 48.2 | 48.2 |
| OAK | Spence, Mitch 4986 | 4.7 | 4.7 | 4.7 | 4.7 |
| SF | Black, Mason* | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 |
| SD | King, Michael 4549 | 11.7 | 20.7 | 26.4 | 26.4 |
| CLE | Boyd, Matthew 3550 | 2.0 | 2.0 | 11.0 | 30.8 |
| LAD | Knack, Landon 5009 | 2.0 | 2.0 | 2.0 | 2.0 |
* Player has yet to earn any career Box-Toppers points.
What are those numbers after players' names?
Chart is sortable. Click a column header to re-sort the chart by the values in that column. Refresh page to restore chart to default, game-by-game view.
Back to top