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
▪️ Upcoming pitching matchups
▪️ Thursday’s sidelights sidebar
▪️ Subscribe to newsletter
▪️ Support Box-Toppers
Mariners pitcher Logan Gilbert is Thursday’s Opening Day Box-Toppers Player of the Day.
Other notable Player of the Game winners Thursday include two 2024 Box-Toppers points leaders—Phillies pitcher Zack Wheeler, who led all players (21.4 points) and Shohei Ohtani of the Dodgers, who led all National League batters (11.0).
Player of the Day
Gilbert struck out eight over seven innings, allowing one run, two hits and no walks, in the 4-2 win over the Athletics. Gilbert did not earn the win, picking up a no-decision, because he exited with the game in a 1-1 tie.
Gilbert earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day. And his 2.0 points for the season now ranks first among all players, passing previous leader Yoshinobu Yamamoto of the Dodgers, who was Player of the Day March 18 in the season kickoff Tokyo Series in Japan. While Gilbert and Yamamoto both have 2.0 Box-Toppers points, Gilbert ranks higher because he has more 2024 points—13.0 vs. 6.4.
Gilbert’s 13.0 Box-Toppers points in 2024 was 20th among all players and 11th among American League pitchers.
Most career Box-Toppers points—active NL pitchers 1—Clayton Kershaw #Dodgers 272.4 2—Justin Verlander #SFGiants 247.0 3—Chris Sale #Braves 172.4 4—Yu Darvish #Padres 139.7 5—Aaron Nola #Phillies 115.1 6—Sonny Gray #STLCards 110.3 7—Zack Wheeler #Phillies 106.7* *Thursday’s NL Player of the Day
— Box-Toppers Baseball (@boxtoppers.bsky.social) Mar 28, 2025 at 7:34 AM
National League Player of the Day
Phillies pitcher Zack Wheeler struck out eight over six innings, allowing one run, two hits and two walks, in the 7-3, 10-inning win over the Nationals. Wheeler did not earn the win, picking up a no-decision, because the Nationals tied the game after he exited.
Wheeler earned 1.7 Box-Toppers points for being NL Player of the Day, giving him 1.7 for the season, fourth among all players.
Wheeler led all players in 2024 with 21.4 Box-Toppers points.
Wheeler now has 106.7 career Box-Toppers points, 76th-most among all players since Box-Toppers tracking began in 1995. He ranks 12th among active, signed players and seventh among active NL pitchers. With his 1.7 points Thursday, he passes five players on the “all-time” career points list—Scott Kazmir (105.1), Aramis Ramirez (105.8), Frank Thomas (106.2), Francisco Liriano (106.2) and James Shields (106.4). He now trails 75th-ranked player, Lance Berkman (108.1).
American League Batter of the Day
Wilyer Abreu of the Red Sox hit two home runs, including a ninth-inning, three-run, go-ahead homer, in the 5-2 win over the Rangers. Abreu went 3-for-3, scoring three times and driving in four runs.
Abreu earns 1.5 Box-Toppers points for being AL Batter of the Day, giving him 1.5 for the season, sixth among all players. He earned 4.5 points in 2024, 29th among AL batters.
National League Batter of the Day
Manny Machado of the Padres doubled and went 2-for-3, scoring three times and driving in one run, in the 7-4 win over the Braves.
Machado earns 1.5 Box-Toppers points for being NL Batter of the Day, giving him 1.5 for the season, fifth among all players. Machado earned 7.0 Box-Toppers points in 2024, 13th among NL batters.
Thursday’s sidelights sidebar
Top pitching matchup
▪️Tarik Skubal, Tigers21.1 Box-Toppers points in 2024, 2nd overall
▪️Blake Snell, Dodgers
15.7 Box-Toppers points in 2024, 7th overall
Result—LAD 5, DET 4
Neither starter was Player of the Game.
Skubal had -8.0 B-T game score in loss (5IP 6H 4R BB 2K L).
Snell had -6.0 B-T game score (5IP 5H 2R 4BB 2K W).
Player of the Game—Shohei Ohtani, Dodgers (HR 2-4 2R BI) with +1.0 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:▪️+18.0—MacKenzie Gore, Nationals (6IP H 0R 0BB 13K ND)
Was not Player of the Game in loss vs. PHI.
Player of the Game—Zack Wheeler, Phillies (8IP 2H R 2BB 8K ND) with +8.0 game score.
▪️+8.0—Nathan Eovaldi, Rangers (6IP 3H 2R 0BB 9K ND)
Was not Player of the Game in loss vs. BOS.
Player of the Game—Wilyer Abreu, Red Sox (2HR 3-3 3R 4BI) with +7.0 game score.
▪️+5.0—Cedric Mullins, Orioles (2HR 3-5 2R 5BI)
Was not Player of the Game in win vs. TOR.
Player of the Game—Teammate Tyler O'Neill (HR 3-3 3R 3BI) with +6.0 game score.
Lowest Box-Toppers game scores
Out of 420 total players Thursday, 135 pitchers-13.0—José Berríos, Blue Jays (5IP 9H 6R 2BB 5K L vs. BAL)
-12.8—Ryan Johnson, Angels
-9.8—Ryne Nelson, Diamondbacks
-9.8—Ian Gibaut, Reds
-9.0—Héctor Neris, Braves
Lowest Box-Toppers game scores by batters
Out of 285 total batters Thursday-5.0—Jackson Chourio, Brewers 0-5 5K
-5.0—Matt McLain, Reds 0-5 2K
-5.0—Dansby Swanson, Cubs 0-5 2K
-5.0—Andy Ibáñez, Tigers 0-5 K
-5.0—Colt Keith, Tigers 0-5 K
Box-Toppers uses Baseball-Reference.com, MLB.com and other sources to compile this information.
Notable
Shohei Ohtani of the Dodgers, who led NL batters with 11.0 Box-Toppers points in 2024, was Player of the Game in the 5-4 win over the Tigers (HR 2-4 2R BI).
Ohtani earns 1.0 Box-Toppers point and now has 41.2 career points as a batter and 45.5 as a pitcher. He’s earned 86.7 career points since 2018.
Also notable
Three other players who earned 10.0 or more Box-Toppers points in 2024 won Player of the Game honors on Thursday’s Opening Day:
Astros pitcher Framber Valdez (7IP 4H 0R 2BB 4K W in the 3-1 win over the Mets) earned 15.4 points in 2024, 10th overall and fifth among AL pitchers.
Yankees pitcher Carlos Rodón (5.1IP 4H R 2BB 7K W in the 4-2 win over the Brewers) earned 12.7 points in 2024, 13th among AL pitchers.
Cardinals pitcher Ryan Helsley (1IP H 0R BB 3K Sv in the 5-3 win over the Twins) earned 12.0 points in 2024, 16th among NL pitchers and first among NL closing pitchers.
Two more notable players
Tyler O'Neill of the Orioles was Box-Toppers Player of the Game in the 12-2 win over the Blue Jays (HR 3-3 3R 3BI), homering in his record sixth straight opening day.
Marlins pitcher Sandy Alcántara was Box-Toppers Player of the Game in the 5-4 win over the Pirates (4.2IP 2H 2R 4BB 7K ND), his first such honor since returning from October 2023 Tommy John surgery. (His last Player of the Game honor was Aug. 12, 2023, when he was Player of the Day.) Alcantara led NL pitchers with 21.1 Box-Toppers points in 2022.
Scoring
Gilbert earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day.
Wheeler earns 1.7 points for being NL Player of the Day.
Abreu and Machado each earn 1.5 points for being their league’s 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 Bluesky or Twitter (X).
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).| 3/27 | BTG | Game | Player of the Game | AB | R | H | BI | IP | H | R | ER | BB | K | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| MLB | +11.0 | `SEA 4, ATH 2 | Logan Gilbert | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | 7.0 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 8 | |
| NL | +8.0 | `PHI 7, WSH 3 (F/10) | Zack Wheeler | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | 6.0 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 8 | |
| BAT | +7.0 | BOS 5, TEX 2 | Wilyer Abreu RF | 3 | 3 | 3 | 4 | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | |
| +6.0 | BAL 12, TOR 2 | Tyler O’Neill RF | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ||
| +6.0 | CHW 8, LAA 1 | Sean Burke (W, 1‑0) | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | 6.0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | ||
| +5.0 | CLE 7, KC 4 (F/10) | Kyle Manzardo DH | 4 | 2 | 3 | 4 | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ||
| +5.0 | HOU 3, NYM 1 | Framber Valdez (W, 1‑0) | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | 7.0 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 4 | ||
| +4.1 | NYY 4, MIL 2 | Carlos Rodón (W, 1‑0) | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | 5.1 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 7 | ||
| BAT | +3.0 | SD 7, ATL 4 | Manny Machado 3B | 3 | 3 | 2 | 1 | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | |
| +3.0 | STL 5, MIN 3 | Ryan Helsley (S, 1) | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | 1.0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | ||
| +2.0 | CHC 10, ARI 6 | Miguel Amaya C | 5 | 0 | 2 | 5 | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ||
| +1.2 | `MIA 5, PIT 4 | Sandy Alcántara | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | 4.2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 4 | 7 | ||
| +1.0 | LAD 5, DET 4 | Shohei Ohtani DH | 4 | 2 | 2 | 1 | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ||
| +1.0 | SF 6, CIN 4 | Wilmer Flores DH | 4 | 1 | 1 | 3 | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ |
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.
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 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 | +/‑ |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Gilbert, Logan 4439 | pi sp | sea al | 2.0 | 15.0 | 49.5 | 49.5 | -11.0 |
| Wheeler, Zack 3204 | pi sp | phi nl | 1.7 | 23.1 | 74.3 | 106.7 | -19.7 |
| Machado, Manny 3087 | 3b dh | sd nl | 1.5 | 8.5 | 25.9 | 62.3 | -5.5 |
| Abreu, Wilyer 4911 | rf | bos al | 1.5 | 6.0 | 7.5 | 7.5 | -3.0 |
| Valdez, Framber 4048 | pi sp | hou al | 1.0 | 16.4 | 52.1 | 57.8 | -14.4 |
| Rodon, Carlos 3494 | pi sp | nyy al | 1.0 | 13.7 | 46.2 | 71.3 | -11.7 |
| Helsley, Ryan 4589 | pi cp | stl nl | 1.0 | 13.0 | 23.0 | 23.0 | -11.0 |
| Ohtani, Shohei 3933 | dh | lad nl | 1.0 | 12.0 | 72.2 | 86.7 | -10.0 |
| O’Neill, Tyler 4074 | rf dh | bal al | 1.0 | 5.2 | 21.7 | 25.7 | -3.2 |
| Amaya, Miguel 4836 | ca dh | chi nl | 1.0 | 3.7 | 4.7 | 4.7 | -1.7 |
| Manzardo, Kyle 5114 | dh | cle al | 1.0 | 2.5 | 2.5 | 2.5 | -0.5 |
| Flores, Wilmer 3345 | dh 1b | det al | 1.0 | 2.0 | 15.7 | 31.2 | 0.0 |
| Burke, Sean 5124 | pi sp | chi al | 1.0 | 2.0 | 2.0 | 2.0 | 0.0 |
| Alcantara, Sandy 4061 | pi sp | fla nl | 1.0 | 1.0 | 41.8 | 48.2 | +1.0 |
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 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 | ’24‑25 | ’20‑25 | Career |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| COL | Freeland, Kyle 3763 | 0.0 | 2.0 | 21.7 | 41.1 |
| TB | Pepiot, Ryan 4714 | 0.0 | 9.7 | 16.7 | 16.7 |
| BAL | Morton, Charlie 2503 | 0.0 | 9.4 | 44.5 | 113.5 |
| TOR | Gausman, Kevin 3191 | 0.0 | 10.0 | 56.1 | 98.1 |
| PIT | Keller, Mitch 4230 | 0.0 | 11.7 | 30.7 | 31.7 |
| MIA | Gillispie, Connor* | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 |
| BOS | Houck, Tanner 4342 | 0.0 | 13.4 | 27.1 | 27.1 |
| TEX | Leiter, Jack* | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 |
| NYM | Megill, Tylor 4464 | 0.0 | 2.7 | 18.4 | 18.4 |
| HOU | Brown, Hunter 4729 | 0.0 | 12.0 | 23.1 | 23.1 |
| ATL | Lopez, Reynaldo 3712 | 0.0 | 12.8 | 21.2 | 42.0 |
| SD | Cease, Dylan 4231 | 0.0 | 21.1 | 65.9 | 67.9 |
| CHC | Taillon, Jameson 3658 | 0.0 | 8.0 | 33.1 | 59.5 |
| ARI | Kelly, Merrill 4143 | 0.0 | 2.0 | 33.0 | 41.0 |
| ATH | Springs, Jeffrey 4372 | 0.0 | 5.0 | 22.4 | 22.4 |
| SEA | Castillo, Luis Miguel 3840 | 0.0 | 10.7 | 50.8 | 81.6 |
| DET | Flaherty, Jack 3971 | 0.0 | 12.0 | 27.7 | 57.3 |
| LAD | Yamamoto, Yoshinobu 4964 | 2.0 | 8.4 | 8.4 | 8.4 |
* 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