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Astros pitcher Justin Verlander is Friday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day and rises to first place in season player rankings.
Also Friday, Reds pitcher Luis Castillo rises to fifth place in Box-Toppers season player rankings after earning National League Player of the Day honors.
Read MoreBlue Jays pitcher J.A. Happ is Tuesday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day.
Also Tuesday, Yankees pitcher CC Sabathia earned Box-Toppers points in his 18th straight season after earning Player of the Game honors, setting the record for longest such streak among pitchers (since 1995 when Box-Toppers tracking began) and taking sole possession of the longest active streak.
Twins pitcher Jose Berrios is Sunday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day.
Berrios pitched a complete-game, three-hit shutout, striking out six and allowing one walk, in the 7-0 win over the Orioles.
Read MoreSix of the 10 leaders in baseball’s Wins Above Replacement statistic for 2017 are among the top 100 players in Box-Toppers points for the season.
However, four of the top 10 in WAR, including overall leader, Jose Altuve, rank well outside Box-Toppers’ top 100 players for 2017.
Read More
Nationals pitcher Stephen Strasburg is Saturday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day and rises to seventh place in season player rankings.
| Player | Pos | Team | BTP | |
| 1 | Kershaw, Clayton 2494 | pi sp | lad nl | 10.7 |
| 2 | Santana, Ervin 2005 | pi sp | min al | 9.4 |
| 3 | Sale, Chris 2806 | pi sp | bos al | 8.4 |
| 4 | Scherzer, Max 2588 | pi sp | dc nl | 8.0 |
| 5 | Wood, Alex 3246 | pi sp | lad nl | 7.0 |
| 6 | Greinke, Zack 1871 | pi sp | ari nl | 6.7 |
| 7 | Strasburg, Stephen 2736 | pi sp | dc nl | 6.4 |
| 8 | Keuchel, Dallas 3050 | pi sp | hou al | 6.4 |
| 9 | McCullers, Lance 3488 | pi sp | hou al | 6.0 |
| 10 | Harper, Bryce 3011 | rf | dc nl | 6.0 |
Also Saturday, Astros pitcher Dallas Keuchel rises to eighth place in Box-Toppers season player rankings after earning Player of the Game honors.
Player of the Day—Strasburg struck out 15 over seven scoreless innings, allowing three hits and one walk, in the 3-0 win over the Padres.
Strasburg earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day, giving him 6.4 for the season, rising to seventh in player rankings, fifth among National League pitchers.
With Strasburg's rise, there are now three Nationals players in Box-Toppers top 10 season player rankings—Max Scherzer in fourth with 8.0 points, Bryce Harper in 10th with 6.0 and Strasburg in seventh with 6.4.
American League Player of the Day—Tigers pitcher Buck Farmer struck out 11 over 6 1/3 scoreless innings, allowing three hits and two walks, in the 4-3 win over the White Sox.
This was Farmer’s Box-Toppers debut, the first time in his career he earned Player of the Game honors. Farmer made his Major League debut Aug. 13, 2014, and was playing in his 33rd career game. He is the 3,809th player to debut in Box-Toppers since record keeping began in 1995.
National League Batter of the Day—Nick Hundley of the Giants homered and went 3-for-4, scoring twice and driving in three runs, in the 6-3 win over the Braves.
American League Batter of the Day—Andrelton Simmons of the Angels doubled and went 2-for-4, scoring once and driving in two runs, in the 5-2 win over the Marlins.
Rankings—Astros pitcher Dallas Keuchel rises to eighth place in Box-Toppers season player rankings after earning Player of the Game honors Saturday.
Keuchel (6IP 4H R 2BB 8K W in the 5-2 win over the Orioles) earns 1.0 Box-Toppers point, giving him 6.4 for the season. He ranks third among AL pitchers.
Notable—Cardinals pitcher Adam Wainwright now has 114.5 career Box-Toppers points after earning Player of the Game honors Saturday.
Wainwright (7IP 3H 0R BB 6K W in the 3-0 win over the Rockies) ranks 45th among all players in career Box-Toppers points since 1995 (when Box-Toppers tracking began). He trails 44th-ranked player Josh Beckett (114.9). Wainwright has 2.5 Box-Toppers points this season.
Debut—Red Sox pitcher Brian Johnson made his Box-Toppers debut Saturday, the first time in his career he earned Player of the Game honors.
Johnson (CG 5H 0R 0BB 8K W in the 6-0 win over the Mariners) made his Major League debut July 21, 2015, and was playing in his third career game. He is the 3,810th player to debut in Box-Toppers since record keeping began in 1995.
Scoring—Strasburg earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day and Farmer earns 1.7 points for being AL Player of the Day. Hundley and Simmons each earn 1.5 points for being their league’s Batter of the Day. All of Saturday’s other Players of the Game (listed in the chart below) 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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| 5/27 | Score | Game | Player of the Game | AB | R | H | BI | IP | H | R | ER | BB | K | |
| MLB | 18.0 | WSH 3, SD 0 | Stephen Strasburg (W,6-1) | - | - | - | - | 7.0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 15 | |
| 14.0 | MIL 6, ARI 1 | Chase Anderson (W,3-1) | - | - | - | - | 7.0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 11 | ||
| AL | 12.1 | DET 4, CHW 3 | Buck Farmer (W,1-0) | - | - | - | - | 6.1 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 11 | |
| 12.0 | BOS 6, SEA 0 | Brian Johnson (W,2-0) | - | - | - | - | 9.0 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 8 | ||
| 9.0 | STL 3, COL 0 | Adam Wainwright (W,5-3) | - | - | - | - | 7.0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 6 | ||
| 9.0 | LAD 5, CHC 0 | Brandon McCarthy (W,5-1) | - | - | - | - | 6.0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 6 | ||
| 7.0 | TOR 3, TEX 1 | Marco Estrada (W,4-2) | - | - | - | - | 6.0 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 8 | ||
| 6.0 | HOU 5, BAL 2 | Dallas Keuchel (W,8-0) | - | - | - | - | 6.0 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 8 | ||
| 4.2 | NYY 3, OAK 2 | Dellin Betances (S,5) | - | - | - | - | 1.2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | ||
| BAT | 4.0 | SF 6, ATL 3 | Nick Hundley, C | 4 | 2 | 3 | 3 | - | - | - | - | - | - | |
| 3.0 | PIT 5, NYM 4 (F/10) | Andrew McCutchen, CF | 3 | 1 | 2 | 3 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 3.0 | CHW 3, DET 0 | David Robertson (S,6) | - | - | - | - | 1.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | ||
| 3.0 | `KC 5, CLE 2 | Joakim Soria | - | - | - | - | 1.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | ||
| 2.0 | PHI 4, CIN 3 | Hector Neris (W,2-2) | - | - | - | - | 1.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 2 | ||
| BAT | 1.0 | LAA 5, MIA 2 | Andrelton Simmons, SS | 4 | 1 | 2 | 2 | - | - | - | - | - | - | |
| 1.0 | MIN 5, TB 3 | Eddie Rosario, LF | 3 | 1 | 2 | 1 | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| Player of the Game | Pos | Team | ’17 | ’16-17 | ’12-17 | Career | +/- |
| Strasburg, Stephen 2736 | pi sp | dc nl | 6.4 | 21.5 | 80.6 | 89.3 | -8.7 |
| Keuchel, Dallas 3050 | pi sp | hou al | 6.4 | 13.4 | 49.2 | 49.2 | -0.6 |
| Estrada, Marco 2847 | pi sp | tor al | 4.0 | 15.0 | 44.1 | 47.1 | -7.0 |
| Betances, Dellin 3333 | pi mr cp | nyy al | 4.0 | 8.0 | 16.7 | 16.7 | 0.0 |
| McCarthy, Brandon 2082 | pi sp | lad nl | 4.0 | 6.7 | 26.4 | 40.5 | 1.3 |
| Soria, Joakim 2258 | pi mr | kc al | 3.0 | 4.0 | 12.7 | 48.7 | 2.0 |
| Wainwright, Adam 2150 | pi sp | stl nl | 2.5 | 12.7 | 63.8 | 114.5 | -7.7 |
| Simmons, Andrelton 3165 | ss | ana al | 2.5 | 4.0 | 9.5 | 9.5 | 1.0 |
| Anderson, Chase 3328 | pi sp | mil nl | 2.0 | 9.0 | 18.0 | 18.0 | -5.0 |
| Robertson, David 2774 | pi cp | chi al | 2.0 | 7.0 | 24.0 | 28.0 | -3.0 |
| Rosario, Eddie 3542 | lf | min al | 2.0 | 5.0 | 6.5 | 6.5 | -1.0 |
| Neris, Hector 3553 | pi mr | phi nl | 2.0 | 4.0 | 5.0 | 5.0 | 0.0 |
| Farmer, Buck 3809 | pi sp | det al | 1.7 | 1.7 | 1.7 | 1.7 | 1.7 |
| Hundley, Nick 2497 | ca | sf nl | 1.5 | 2.5 | 13.5 | 24.0 | 0.5 |
| McCutchen, Andrew 2637 | cf | pit nl | 1.0 | 8.0 | 39.5 | 54.9 | -6.0 |
| Johnson, Brian 3810 | pi sp | bos al | 1.0 | 1.0 | 1.0 | 1.0 | 1.0 |
Phillies pitcher Zach Eflin is Tuesday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day
| Player | Pos | Team | BTP | |
| 1 | Kershaw, Clayton 2494 | pi sp | lad nl | 20.0 |
| 2 | Fernandez, Jose 3147 | pi sp | fla nl | 13.4 |
| 3 | Scherzer, Max 2588 | pi sp | dc nl | 12.0 |
| 4 | Cueto, Johnny 2400 | pi sp | sf nl | 11.7 |
| 5 | Kluber, Corey 3200 | pi sp | cle al | 10.8 |
| 6 | Arrieta, Jake 2738 | pi sp | chi nl | 10.7 |
| 7 | Sale, Chris 2806 | pi sp | chi al | 10.7 |
| 8 | Salazar, Danny 3223 | pi sp | cle al | 10.5 |
| 9 | Hamels, Cole 2135 | pi sp | tex al | 10.4 |
| 10 | Syndergaard, Noah 3472 | pi sp | nym nl | 10.0 |
Eflin pitched a complete game, allowing one run, six hits and no walks, striking out six, in the 5-1 win over the Braves.
This was Eflin’s Box-Toppers debut, the first time in his career he earned Player of the Game honors. Eflin made his Major League debut June 14 and was playing in his fifth career game. He is the 3,679th player to debut in Box-Toppers since record keeping began in 1995.
American League Player of the Day—Yankees pitcher Masahiro Tanaka pitched 7 2/3 scoreless innings, allowing six hits and one walk, striking out six, in the 9-0 win over the White Sox.
National League Batter of the Day—Giancarlo Stanton of the Marlins hit two home runs and went 3-for-4, driving in five runs, in the 5-2 win over the Mets.
American League Batter of the Day—Andrelton Simmons of the Angels tripled, doubled and went 3-for-5, scoring three times and driving in three runs, in the 13-5 win over the Rays.
Notable—Pirates pitcher Juan Nicasio has the most 2016 Box-Toppers points of any of the 15 who earned Player of the Game honors Tuesday.
Nicasio (2IP H 0R BB 2K W in the 5-2 win over the Cardinals) earns 1.0 Box-Toppers point, giving him 7.0 for the season, 34th among all players, 16th among NL pitchers.
Scoring—Elfin earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day and Tanaka earns 1.7 points for being AL Player of the Day. Stanton and Simmons each earn 1.5 points for being their league’s Batter of the Day. All of Tuesday’s other Players of the Game (listed in the chart below) 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.
Listed from highest to lowest Box-Toppers game score
| 7/5 | Score | Game | Player of Game | AB | R | H | BI | IP | H | R | ER | BB | K | |
| MLB | 7.0 | PHI 5/ATL 1 | Zach Eflin (W,1-2) | - | - | - | - | 9.0 | 6 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 6 | |
| AL | 6.2 | NYY 9/CHW 0 | Masahiro Tanaka (W,6-2) | - | - | - | - | 7.2 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 6 | |
| BAT | 6.0 | MIA 5/NYM 2 | Giancarlo Stanton, RF | 4 | 2 | 3 | 5 | - | - | - | - | - | - | |
| 6.0 | TOR 8/KC 3 | R.A. Dickey (W,6-9) | - | - | - | - | 7.0 | 4 | 2 | 0 | 3 | 8 | ||
| BAT | 4.0 | LAA 13/TB 5 | Andrelton Simmons, SS | 5 | 3 | 3 | 3 | - | - | - | - | - | - | |
| 4.0 | CIN 9/CHC 5 | Joey Votto, 1B | 1 | 2 | 1 | 2 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 4.0 | `BAL 4/LAD 1 | Brad Brach (H,14) | - | - | - | - | 1.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | ||
| 3.0 | CLE 12/DET 1 | Lonnie Chisenhall, RF | 5 | 1 | 4 | 3 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 3.0 | MIL 5/DC 2 | Aaron Hill, 2B | 4 | 1 | 3 | 3 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 3.0 | ARI 7/SD 5 | Jean Segura, 2B | 4 | 3 | 3 | 1 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 3.0 | TEX 7/BOS 2 | Elvis Andrus, SS | 2 | 2 | 2 | 1 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 2.0 | COL 7/SF 3 | DJ LeMahieu, 2B | 4 | 1 | 3 | 2 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 2.0 | MIN 11/OAK 4 | Kennys Vargas, 1B | 4 | 2 | 2 | 2 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 2.0 | HOU 5/SEA 2 | Dallas Keuchel (W,6-9) | - | - | - | - | 6.0 | 5 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 6 | ||
| 2.0 | PIT 5/STL 2 | Juan Nicasio (W,7-6) | - | - | - | - | 2.0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 2 | ||
| `Denotes that the pitcher had a no-decision in the game and did not pick up a win or a save. | ||||||||||||||
| Player of Game | Pos | Team | 16 | 15-16 | 11-16 | Career | +/- |
| Nicasio, Juan 2888 | pi sp mr | pit nl | 7.0 | 8.0 | 23.4 | 23.4 | 6.0 |
| Tanaka, Masahiro 3305 | pi sp | nyy al | 6.7 | 14.7 | 27.4 | 27.4 | -1.3 |
| LeMahieu, DJ 3091 | 2b | col nl | 5.5 | 12.5 | 18.5 | 18.5 | -1.5 |
| Hill, Aaron 2056 | 2b | mil nl | 5.5 | 8.5 | 22.5 | 41.5 | 2.5 |
| Andrus, Elvis 2582 | ss | tex al | 4.7 | 4.7 | 12.2 | 15.2 | 4.7 |
| Stanton, Giancarlo 2737 | rf | fla nl | 4.5 | 10.0 | 31.7 | 37.2 | -1.0 |
| Keuchel, Dallas 3050 | pi sp | hou al | 4.0 | 25.4 | 39.8 | 39.8 | -17.4 |
| Dickey, R.A. 1734 | pi sp | tor al | 4.0 | 9.0 | 53.2 | 74.9 | -1.0 |
| Chisenhall, Lonnie 2959 | rf | cle al | 3.5 | 3.5 | 13.5 | 13.5 | 3.5 |
| Votto, Joey 2366 | 1b | cin nl | 3.0 | 8.0 | 24.7 | 56.7 | -2.0 |
| Segura, Jean 3173 | 2b | ari nl | 2.0 | 4.0 | 8.5 | 8.5 | 0.0 |
| Eflin, Zach 3679 | pi sp | phi nl | 2.0 | 2.0 | 2.0 | 2.0 | 2.0 |
| Simmons, Andrelton 3165 | ss | ana al | 1.5 | 5.5 | 7.0 | 7.0 | -2.5 |
| Brach, Brad 3374 | pi mr | bal al | 1.0 | 4.0 | 5.0 | 5.0 | -2.0 |
| Vargas, Kennys 3511 | 1b | min al | 1.0 | 2.5 | 2.5 | 2.5 | -0.5 |
Cubs pitcher Scott Feldman is Monday's Player of the Day. Feldman pitched seven shutout innings and gave up only two hits in the 9-2 win over the Rangers.
White Sox pitcher Chris Sale is American League Player of the Day. Sale gave up only one run over 7 1/3 innings against the Royals. He left the game with the Sox trailing 1-0 and so was not eligible for the win. However, the White Sox came back to tie the game in the top of the ninth and won the game 2-1 in the 11th inning.
Andrelton Simmons of the Braves is National League Batter of the Day. Simmons hit two home runs and went 3-for-4 in the 7-4 win over the Reds. It is Simmons' Box-Toppers debut, the first time he has been Player of the Game, and he is the 3,165th player to debut in Box-Toppers since 1995.
Stephen Drew of the Red Sox is American League Batter of the Day. Drew went 4-for-5, homered, and hit a walk-off RBI double in the 11th inning to beat the Twins 6-5.
Feldman receives 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being named Player of the Day. Sale receives 1.7 for AL Player of the Day. Simmons and Drew receive 1.5 each 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:
| 506 | Score | Team | BATTERS | AB | R | H | RBI | BB | SO | - | - | PITCHERS | IP | H | R | ER | BB | SO |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| MLB | 7.0 | Cubs | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Scott Feldman (W, 3-3) | 7.0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 3 | ||
| BAT | 5.0 | Braves | Andrelton Simmons SS | 4 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||
| 5.0 | Phillies | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Cliff Lee (W, 3-2) | 8.0 | 5 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 6 | |||
| AL | 4.1 | `White Sox | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Chris Sale | 7.1 | 6 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 5 | ||
| 4.1 | Padres | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Andrew Cashner (W, 2-2) | 7.1 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 4 | |||
| BAT | 3.0 | Red Sox | Stephen Drew SS | 5 | 1 | 4 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||
| 3.0 | Diamondbacks | Paul Goldschmidt 1B | 5 | 1 | 4 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |||
| 3.0 | Indians | Asdrubal Cabrera SS | 4 | 3 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |||
| 3.0 | Blue Jays | J.P. Arencibia PH, C | 3 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
` Denotes that the pitcher had a no-decision in the game and did not pick up a win or a save.
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. Players earn Box-Toppers points 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.