Braves' Wood tops players for Sunday, Aug. 10; Dodgers' Kershaw extends lead in Box-Toppers rankings

Braves pitcher Alex Wood is Sunday’s Player of the Day, while Dodgers pitcher Clayton Kershaw extends his overall lead in Box-Toppers player rankings.

Wood struck out 12 over 7 1/3 innings, allowing one run, in the 3-1 win over the Nationals.

Kershaw bolstered his spot atop Box-Toppers player rankings after earning Player of the Game honors Sunday. (See the updated top 10 player list on the home page.) Kershaw (8IP R 6K W in the 5-1 win over the Brewers) earns 1.0 Box-Toppers point, giving him 22.1 for the season. He beats his point total from 2013 of 21.7, when he led all players. This is the second-most points Kershaw has earned in a season—the most was 26.1 in 2011, when he also led all players.

Twins pitcher Phil Hughes is American League Player of the Day. Hughes struck out seven over seven innings, allowing one run, in the 6-1 win over the Athletics. Hughes became the 25th player this season with 10.0 or more Box-Toppers points. He earns 1.7 Box-Toppers points for being AL Player of the Day, giving him 11.1 for the season and ranks 19th among all players, 11th among AL pitchers.

Devin Mesoraco of the Reds is NL Batter of the Day. Mesoraco hit two homers, including a grand slam, in the 7-2 win over the Marlins.

Austin Jackson of the Mariners is AL Batter of the Day. Jackson went 3-for-4 and drove in all four of his team’s runs in the 4-2 win over the White Sox.

Wood receives 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day. Hughes receives 1.7 for AL Player of the Day. Mesoraco and Jackson each receive 1.5 for being top Batter of the Day in their league.

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

Box-Toppers watches the daily performances of selected star players and Box-Toppers points leaders. To see how they performed Sunday, click here.

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.

Top player from each game

Listed from highest to lowest Box-Toppers game score

810 Score Team Player AB R H BI BB K IP H R ER BB K
MLB 9.1 Braves Alex Wood (W, 8-9) - - - - - - 7.1 5 1 1 3 12
AL 7.0 Twins Phil Hughes (W, 12-8) - - - - - - 7.0 4 1 1 1 7
7.0 Indians Carlos Carrasco (W, 4-4) - - - - - - 5.0 2 0 0 0 4
BAT 6.0 Reds Devin Mesoraco C 4 2 2 6 0 0 - - - - - -
5.0 Red Sox Rubby De La Rosa (W, 4-4) - - - - - - 7.0 5 1 1 3 8
5.0 `Blue Jays Aaron Sanchez - - - - - - 3.0 1 0 0 0 3
4.0 Phillies Chase Utley 2B 4 2 3 3 1 0 - - - - - -
4.0 Cardinals Peter Bourjos PR, CF 1 1 1 3 0 0 - - - - - -
4.0 Dodgers Clayton Kershaw (W, 14-2) - - - - - - 8.0 6 1 1 2 6
4.0 Rockies LaTroy Hawkins (S, 18) - - - - - - 1.0 0 0 0 0 3
BAT 3.0 Mariners Austin Jackson CF 4 0 3 4 0 0 - - - - - -
3.0 Padres Seth Smith RF 4 2 2 3 0 0 - - - - - -
3.0 Royals Norichika Aoki RF 2 2 2 1 2 0 - - - - - -
3.0 `Cubs Travis Wood - - - - - - 6.0 4 1 0 3 5
1.0 Rangers Alex Rios RF 2 1 1 1 0 0 - - - - - -

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

 

Trade deadline deals most help Cardinals, Tigers; Athletics still top rankings

The Oakland Athletics remain atop Box-Toppers team rankings, while the St. Louis Cardinals and Detroit Tigers improved in the rankings by picking up star players in deadline trades.

Athletics players had accumulated 87.5 Box-Toppers points through the games of Thursday, July 31.

Top 10 teams

Here are Box-Toppers' Top 10 teams, through the games of Thursday, July 31. The column BTP shows the number of Box-Toppers points players on the team have accumulated so far this season. The column BTP/wk shows have many points teams have accumulated since the last team rankings report through July 24.

731 Teams BTP BTP
/wk
Last 
wk 
rank
1 Athletics 87.5 4.0 1
2 Angels 82.5 6.0 2
3 Dodgers 80.9 9.2 3
4 Cardinals 78.2 15.7 11
5 Tigers 75.2 8.1 6
6 Blue Jays 74.0 6.7 5
7 Giants 73.0 3.0 4
8 Braves 68.9 5.0 9
9 Nationals 68.9 5.0 8
10 Brewers 68.1 2.0 7
BTP: Box-Toppers points

The Los Angeles Dodgers remained the top National League team with 80.9 Box-Toppers points, though they are still in third place overall, trailing the second-place Los Angeles Angels, with 82.5 Box-Toppers points.

The Cardinals picked up the most Box-Toppers points during the week—15.7. They rose from 11th to fourth place in Box-Toppers team rankings. They picked up 6.7 of those points in deadline trades. They traded away outfielder Allen Craig (2.0 Box-Toppers points) and pitcher Joe Kelly (1.0 point) to the Red Sox for pitcher John Lackey (9.7 points).

The Tigers, however, picked up the most net Box-Toppers points through trades during deadline week—7.1. They traded away outfielder Austin Jackson (1.0 point, to the Mariners) and pitcher Drew Smyly (6.0 points, to the Rays). They picked up David Price (14.1 points, from the Rays). Price has the highest Box-Toppers point total of any player traded this season.

Recent trades

How did last week's deadline trades affect key teams involved? The Tigers traded away players who had a combined 7.0 Box-Toppers points and picked up David Price, who had 14.1 Box-Toppers points, to gain a net of 7.1 Box-Toppers points. The Red Sox traded away players with 21.7 Box-Toppers points and picked up players with 11.0, losing a net 10.7 points.

Team BTP 
lost
BTP 
gained
BTP 
net
Tigers -7.0 14.1 7.1
Cardinals -3.0 9.7 6.7
Athletics -8.0 12.0 4.0
Mariners -1.0 1.0 0.0
Rays -14.1 7.0 -7.1
Red Sox -21.7 11.0 -10.7
BTP: Box-Toppers points

The Athletics added 4.0 Box-Toppers points at the trade deadline, picking up two players from Red Sox—pitcher Jon Lester (10.0 points) and outfielder Johnny Gomes (2.0 points)—in exchange for outfielder Yoenis Cespedes (8.0 points). Cespedes, the new member of the Red Sox, has the highest Box-Toppers point total of any batter traded this season—he ranks third among AL batters.

The Tampa Bay Rays and the Boston Red Sox both lost more Box-Toppers points than they gained through trades. The Rays, trading away Price, lost a net of 7.1 points. And the Red Sox, trading away Lester, Lackey and Gomes, lost a net of 10.7 points.

The Dodgers gained the most Box-Toppers points of any team not involved in key deadline trades, picking up 9.2 points.

With the trade, the Red Sox drop to the bottom of Box-Toppers team rankings, displacing the former 30th-place team, the Chicago Cubs. The Red Sox shed 12.7 Box-Toppers points through the week and had 41.0 points as of July 31, falling from 22nd place. The Cubs moved to 29th place with 43.2.

 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.

Adrian Gonzalez, top player for Wednesday, Oct. 16, keeps Dodgers alive in NLCS; Austin Jackson top player in Tigers' ALCS win

Box-Toppers Daily Postseason.png

Adrian Gonzalez hit two home runs to keep the Dodgers alive in the National League Championship Series and is Wednesday's Box-Toppers Player of the Day.

Gonzalez, who also went 3-for-4 and scored three times, led the Dodgers to a 6-4 win over the Cardinals in Game 5 of the NLCS. The Cardinals now lead the best-of-seven series three games to two as the series returns to St. Louis for Game 6 on Friday.

Gonzalez had 5.0 Box-Toppers points during the regular season, ranking 175th among all players. 

Meanwhile, Austin Jackson of the Tigers is Box-Toppers Player of the Game in the American League Championship Series Game 4. Jackson went 2-for-2, walked twice and drove in two runs in the 7-3 win over the Red Sox, to tie the best-of-seven ALCS at two games apiece. Game 5 is Thursday in Detroit.

Jackson had 1.0 Box-Toppers point during the regular season, ranking 576th overall. 

Coming Thursday: The American League Championship Series continues Thursday. Here is the pitching match-up:

ALCS Game 5, Red Sox at Tigers, series tied 2-2

Red Sox: Jon Lester, 12.7 Box-Toppers points, ranked 34th overall

Tigers: Anibal Sanchez, 17.1 Box-Toppers points, ranked seventh overall (see the Top 10 Player Ranking list on the home page)

In regular season games, 2.0 Box-Toppers points are awarded for Player of the Day, 1.7 for top player in the opposite league, 1.5 for top batter in each league and 1.0 for the top player in each of the other games. However, no Box-Toppers points are awarded during the postseason. 

Top player from each game

Listed from highest to lowest Box-Toppers game score

1016ScoreTeamBATTERSABRHRBIBBSO--PITCHERSIPHRERBBSO
MLB4.0Dodgers Adrian Gonzalez 1B433200   0.000000
AL3.0TigersAustin Jackson CF212220   0.000000