Indians' Carlos Carrasco tops players in Thursday, March 10's spring training games

Indians pitcher Carlos Carrasco is Box-Toppers spring training Player of the Day for Thursday.

Carrasco pitched three scoreless innings, allowing one hit and striking out four, in the 9-4 win over the Padres. Carrasco had 18.0 Box-Toppers points in 2015 with the Indians, fifth among American League pitchers. He was Box-Toppers Player of the Day five times during the 2015 regular season.

Carrasco had a Box-Toppers game score Thursday of +6.0, the same as Twins pitcher Ervin Santana, who was Player of the Game in the 8-2 win over the Red Sox. But Carrasco won overall Player of the Day on a tiebreaker—he had more strikeouts (four vs. three).

National League Player of the Day—Giants pitcher Chris Stratton pitched three scoreless innings, allowing no hits and striking out two, in the 3-1 win over the Brewers. Stratton has yet to make his regular season Major League debut and so has yet to earn his first Box-Toppers points.

American League Batter of the Day—David Adams of the Blue Jays doubled twice and went 3-for-3, scoring three times and driving in two runs, in the 11-4 win over the Yankees. Adams has yet to earn Player of the Day honors during the regular season and so has no career Box-Toppers points.

National League Batter of the Day—A.J. Ellis of the Dodgers hit two doubles, going 2-for-3, scoring once and driving in three runs, in the 8-3 win over the Athletics. Ellis had no Box-Toppers points in 2015, but had 6.0 Box-Toppers points from 2012 to 2014.

Scoring—No Box-Toppers points are awarded in spring training games, but if it were the regular season, Carrasco would earn 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day and Stratton would earn 1.7 points for being NL Player of the Day. Adams and Ellis would earn 1.5 points as top batters in their league for the day. All of Thursday’s other Players of the Game (listed in the chart below) would earn 1.0 Box-Toppers point.

Note—Sixteen spring training games were scheduled for Thursday—14 are listed below. Two games are not included because they ended in ties (Tigers vs. Phillies and Yankees vs. Orioles).

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.

Top player from each game

Listed from highest to lowest Box-Toppers game score

3/10	Score	Team	Player	AB	R	H	BI	BB	K		IP	H	R	ER	BB	K
MLB	6.0	Indians	Carlos Carrasco (W, 1-0)	-	-	-	-	-	-		3.0	1	0	0	0	4
	6.0	Twins	Ervin Santana (W, 1-0)	-	-	-	-	-	-		3.0	0	0	0	0	3
BAT	5.0	Blue Jays	David Adams PR-2B	3	3	3	2	0	0		-	-	-	-	-	-
	4.1	Rays	Drew Smyly (W, 1-0)	-	-	-	-	-	-		3.1	2	0	0	0	3
NL	4.0	Giants	Chris Stratton (W, 1-0)	-	-	-	-	-	-		3.0	0	0	0	1	2
	4.0	`Mets	Noah Syndergaard	-	-	-	-	-	-		3.0	1	0	0	0	2
BAT	3.0	Dodgers	A.J. Ellis C	3	1	2	3	0	0		-	-	-	-	-	-
	3.0	Mariners	Stefen Romero LF	3	1	2	3	0	1		-	-	-	-	-	-
	3.0	White Sox	Avisail Garcia RF	3	2	2	2	0	0		-	-	-	-	-	-
	3.0	Royals	Jorge Bonifacio PR-LF	2	2	1	2	0	0		-	-	-	-	-	-
	3.0	Reds	Seth Mejias-Brean 3B	1	1	1	2	0	0		-	-	-	-	-	-
	3.0	Astros	Collin McHugh (W, 1-0)	-	-	-	-	-	-		3.0	2	0	0	0	2
	2.0	Dbacks	Jason Bourgeois CF	3	1	1	3	0	1		-	-	-	-	-	-
	2.0	Braves	Jeff Francoeur RF	2	1	1	2	0	0		-	-	-	-	-	-
		` Denotes that the pitcher had a no-decision in the game and did not pick up a win or a save.

Kershaw earns win, but chances diminish to break Box-Toppers single-season points record

SPECIAL REPORT

Kershaw's 2014 starts

Here are Clayton Kershaw's starts for 2014. BTP/gm indicates how many Box-Toppers points he earned in each game (2.0 for overall Player of the Day, 1.7 for NL Player of the Day, 1.0 for top Player of the Game and 0.0 if he did not earn Player of the Game honors.

	Start	BTP /gm	Result
1	Mar 22, 2014	2.0	W
2	May 6, 2014	1.0	W
3	May 11, 2014	0.0	ND
4	May 17, 2014	0.0	L
5	May 23, 2014	2.0	W
6	May 28, 2014	0.0	L
7	Jun 2, 2014	1.7	W
8	Jun 8, 2014	1.0	W
9	Jun 13, 2014	1.0	W
10	Jun 18, 2014	2.0	W*
11	Jun 24, 2014	2.0	W
12	Jun 29, 2014	1.7	W
13	Jul 4, 2014	1.7	W
14	Jul 10, 2014	2.0	W
15	Jul 20, 2014	0.0	ND
16	Jul 26, 2014	2.0	W
17	Jul 31, 2014	1.0	W
18	Aug 5, 2014	0.0	ND
19	Aug 10, 2014	1.0	W
20	Aug 16, 2014	0.0	L
21	Aug 21, 2014	1.7	W
22	Aug 27, 2014	2.0	W
23	Sep 2, 2014	2.0	W
24	Sep 8, 2014	1.0	W
25	Sep 14, 2014	1.7	W
26	Sep 19, 2014	0.0	W

* No-hitter BTP: Box-Toppers points

Clayton Kershaw’s chance to break the single-season Box-Toppers point record took a hit Friday, even though his team won the game and he earned his 20th win of the season.

Most BTP single season

Clayton Kershaw of the Dodgers now has the sixth-best single season in Box-Toppers history (dating back to 1995). He has 30.5 Box-Toppers points in 2014. The single-season record of 33.7 was set twice by Randy Johnson of the Diamondbacks in 2000 and 2002.

Rank	Player	Team	Pos	Year	BTP
1	Randy Johnson	Dbacks	pi sp	2000	33.7
1	Randy Johnson	Dbacks	pi sp	2002	33.7
3	Pedro Martinez	Red Sox	pi sp	2000	33.5
4	Randy Johnson	Dbacks	pi sp	1999	31.5
5	Pedro Martinez	Red Sox	pi sp	1999	31.4
6	*Clayton Kershaw	Dodgers	pi sp	2014	30.5
7	Randy Johnson	Dbacks	pi sp	2001	29.4
8	Pedro Martinez	Red Sox	pi sp	2002	28.8
9	Curt Schilling	Dbacks	pi sp	2002	28.4
10	Roger Clemens	Blue Jays	pi sp	1997	27.4

* Current season
BTP: Box-Toppers points

Kershaw failed to earn Player of the Game honors in the Dodgers’ 14-5 win over the Cubs. While he leads the Majors in Box-Toppers points with 30.5, his chances to break Randy Johnson’s all-time single-season record of 33.7 (set with the Diamondbacks in 2000 and 2002) seem greatly diminished. With likely only one start remaining this season, the most he can earn is 2.0 more Box-Toppers points (for being Player of the Day in his next start), which would give him 32.5 for the season.

There is an outside chance Kershaw could squeeze two more starts into the Dodgers’ final eight games of the season, pitching one of the starts on short rest. If so, Kershaw may still have a chance to pass Johnson’s single-season record, but only if he earns at least National League Player of the Day honors (worth 1.7 Box-Toppers points each) in both starts. 

While Kershaw earned the win—his 20th of the season—it was the first time this season in which he failed to earn at least Player of the Game honors when he earned the win. He pitched five innings and gave up seven hits and three runs (all earned), walked three and struck out nine. His Box-Toppers game score Friday was −2.

Player of the Game was catcher A.J. Ellis, who homered twice and went 2-for-4, scoring three times and driving in four runs. He had the high Box-Toppers game score among Dodgers players of +5. It is the first time this season Ellis has earned Player of the Game honors. Ellis earns 1.0 Box-Toppers point. More on Friday's games.

Kershaw has made 26 starts this season and earned Player of the Game honors in 19 of them—all his previous wins. Of the 19 times he earned Player of the Game, he was NL Player of the Day five times and overall Player of the Day eight times. 

Kershaw’s 30.5 Box-Toppers points ranks sixth among the highest Box-Toppers points recorded in a single season (going back to 1995 when Box-Toppers record keeping began). Only two other players have earned at least 30 Box-Toppers points in a single season—Johnson (who did it three times—in 1999, 2000 and 2002) and Pedro Martinez of the Red Sox (who did it twice—1999 and 2000).

Rays' Matt Moore, Reds' Bronson Arroyo top players for Monday, July 22

Rays pitcher Matt Moore is Monday's Player of the Day and rises to second place among players in Box-Toppers points for the season.

Moore pitched a complete game, two-hit shutout in the 3-0 win over the Red Sox. He earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day, giving him 15.1 for the season, putting him just behind Box-Toppers points leader, Indians pitcher Justin Masterson (15.4). (See the updated Top 10 list on the home page).

Reds pitcher Bronson Arroyo is National League Player of the Day. Arroyo pitched a complete game shutout, striking out six, in the 11-0 win over the Giants. 

A.J. Ellis of the Dodgers is National League Batter of the Day. Ellis homered, drove in five runs and went 4-for-6 in the 14-5 win over the Blue Jays (in what Box-Toppers saw pre-seasonally as a "World Series preview"). 

J.J. Hardy of the Orioles is AL Batter of the Day. Hardy homered, drove in three runs and went 3-for-5 in the 9-2 win over the Royals.

Notables: Two others named their game's top player Monday have 10.0 or more Box-Toppers points for the season:

• Rangers pitcher Yu Darvish was a Player of the Game (6.1IP 2H 0R in the 3-0 win vs. the Yankees), earning 1.0 Box-Toppers point, giving him 11.0 for the season. He is in 11th place among players.
• Tigers pitcher Max Scherzer was a Player of the Game (8IP 2R in the 7-3 win vs. the White Sox), earning 1.0 Box-Toppers point, giving him 10.7 for the season. He is in 13th place among players and is the 20th player this season with 10.0 or more Box-Toppers points.

Moore receives 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day. Arroyo receives 1.7 for NL Player of the Day. Ellis and Hardy each receive 1.5 for being top Batter of the Day in their league.

All of Monday's other Players of the Game (listed in the chart below) receive 1.0 Box-Toppers point.

Top player from each game

Listed from highest to lowest Box-Toppers game score

722	Score	Team	BATTERS	AB	R	H	RBI	BB	SO	-	-	PITCHERS	IP	H	R	ER	BB	SO
MLB	10.0	Rays	0	0	0	0	0	0	0			Matt Moore (W, 14-3)	9.0	2	0	0	1	4
NL	8.0	Reds	0	0	0	0	0	0	0			Bronson Arroyo (W, 9-7)	9.0	7	0	0	0	6
	6.1	Rangers	0	0	0	0	0	0	0			Yu Darvish (W, 9-4)	6.1	2	0	0	2	4
BAT	6.0	Dodgers	A.J. Ellis C	6	3	4	5	0	0			0	0.0	0	0	0	0	0
	5.0	Tigers	0	0	0	0	0	0	0			Max Scherzer (W, 14-1)	8.0	4	2	2	0	5
	4.0	Marlins	0	0	0	0	0	0	0			Tom Koehler (W, 2-5)	7.0	8	1	1	0	7
	4.0	`Braves	0	0	0	0	0	0	0			Julio Teheran	6.0	4	1	1	2	6
	3.0	Cubs	Junior Lake CF	5	1	4	3	0	0			0	0.0	0	0	0	0	0
BAT	3.0	Orioles	J.J. Hardy SS	5	2	3	3	0	0			0	0.0	0	0	0	0	0
	3.0	Pirates	Andrew McCutchen CF	5	2	2	4	0	1			0	0.0	0	0	0	0	0
	3.0	Athletics	0	0	0	0	0	0	0			Ryan Cook (W, 3-2)	1.0	0	0	0	0	2
	2.0	Padres	Jesus Guzman 1B	4	1	2	3	0	0			0	0.0	0	0	0	0	0
	2.0	Twins	Clete Thomas LF	4	2	2	2	0	1			0	0.0	0	0	0	0	0
	2.0	Mariners	0	0	0	0	0	0	0			Aaron Harang (W, 5-8)	7.0	4	1	1	1	2

` Denotes that the pitcher had a no-decision in the game and did not pick up a win or a save.