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Dodgers pitcher Yoshinobu Yamamoto is Box-Toppers Player of the Day in Tuesday’s regular season opening game in Tokyo, Japan.
Yamamoto struck out four over five innings, allowing one run, three hits and one walk, in the 4-1 win over the Cubs, the first official game of the 2025 season.
Yamamoto earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day and takes the early lead in Box-Toppers season player rankings with those 2.0 points.
Yamamoto earned 6.4 Box-Toppers points in 2024, 48th among National League pitchers.
Yamamoto had a Box-Toppers game score Tuesday of +3.0, best among Dodgers players.
Shohei Ohtani of the Dodgers had a -1.0 Box-Toppers game score Tuesday (2B 2-5 2R 0BI).
Cubs starting pitcher Shota Imanaga had a +2.0 Box-Toppers game score (4IP 0H 0R 4BB 2K ND). Cubs reliever Ben Brown had a -4.8 Box-Toppers game score, picking up the loss (2.2IP 4H 3R 2ER 3BB 5K L).
Scoring
Yamamoto earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day, the only points awarded in the single-game opening day Tuesday.
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).| 3/18 | BTG | Game | Player of the Game | AB | R | H | BI | IP | H | R | ER | BB | K | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| MLB | +3.0 | LAD 4, CHC 1 | Yoshinobu Yamamoto (W, 1‑0) | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | 5.0 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 4 |
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 would 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 2025 (’25). Also shown is their point total for this season and last (’24-’25), the period 2020-2025 (’20-25) and each players’ career point total. Also shown is how their 2025 Box-Toppers point total compares with their 2024 total (+/-).Back to top
| Player of the Game | Pos | Team | ’25 | ’24-25 | ’20‑25 | Career | +/‑ |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Yamamoto, Yoshinobu 4964 | pi sp | lad nl | 2.0 | 8.4 | 8.4 | 8.4 | -4.4 |
About Box-Toppers’ team abbreviations
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A Box-Toppers look at Wednesday’s Toyko Series pitching matchups
Major League Baseball’s regular season opens this week in Japan with the Dodgers facing the Cubs. This is a Box-Toppers look at the probable pitching matchups for Tuesday. 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 2025 (’25), this year and last year (’24-25), over a six-year period (’20-25) and their career point total.Back to top
| Game | Starter | ’25† | ’24 | ’20‑24 | Career |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| LAD | Sasaki, Roki* | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 |
| CHC | Steele, Justin 4415 | 0.0 | 8.0 | 27.1 | 27.1 |
* Player has yet to earn any career Box-Toppers points.
What are those numbers after players' names?
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