The Wild Card round of Major League Baseball’s postseason begins Tuesday with four best-of-three series.
Here is a Box-Toppers look at the eight teams competing in the four Wild Card round series.
Read MoreSource: MLB.com
Top pitcher and batter in Box-Toppers points on each team at All-Star break
Shohei Ohtani leads all Angels pitchers in 2023 Box-Toppers points. He also leads all Angels batters in 2023 Box-Toppers points.
The overall 2023 Box-Toppers points leader (13.9) at the All-Star break is the only player to lead his team in both categories. On the other 29 clubs, pitchers have the most Box-Toppers points on 24 teams and batters lead four teams.
Read MoreDodgers’ May tops players for Saturday, May 6; Braves’ Strider rises to 8th place
Dodgers pitcher Dustin May is Saturday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day.
Also Saturday, Braves pitcher Spencer Strider rises to eighth place in Box-Toppers season player rankings after earning Player of the Game honors. Plus, Ryan Noda of the Athletics rises to first place among American League batters after earning Player of the Game honors for the second straight day.
Read MoreCubs’ Smyly tops players for Friday, April 21; Gallen, Ohtani rise in top 10 player rankings
Cubs pitcher Drew Smyly is Friday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day.
Also Friday, two players rise in Box-Toppers season player rankings top 10 list after both earned Player of the Game honors—Diamondbacks Zac Gallen rises to third place and Angels pitcher Shohei Ohtani rises to sixth place.
Read MorePhillies’ Nola tops players for Sunday, July 17; Cease, Cole rise in player rankings top 10
Phillies pitcher Aaron Nola is Sunday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day.
Also Sunday, two players rise in Box-Toppers season player rankings top 10 list after both earned Player of the Game honors—White Sox pitcher Dylan Cease rises to fourth place and Yankees pitcher Gerrit Cole rises to eighth.
Read MoreDodgers’ Urias tops players for Friday, Sept. 10; Marquez, Urias rise in player rankings top 10
Dodgers pitcher Julio Urias is Friday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day, rising to fifth place in season player rankings.
Also Friday, Rockies pitcher German Marquez rises to fourth place in Box-Toppers season player rankings after earning Player of the Game honors.
Read MorePhillies’ Wheeler tops players for Sunday, Aug. 8, passing deGrom for player rankings lead
Phillies pitcher Zack Wheeler is Sunday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day and rises to first place in Box-Toppers season player rankings, passing previous leader Mets pitcher Jacob deGrom.
Wheeler pitched a complete-game, two-hit shutout, striking out 11 and walking one, in the 3-0 win over the Mets.
Read MoreWhite Sox’ Cease tops players for Tuesday, May 4; Phillies’ Nola rises to 8th in player rankings
White Sox pitcher Dylan Cease is Tuesday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day.
Also Tuesday, Phillies pitcher Aaron Nola rises to eighth place in Box-Toppers season player rankings after earning National League Player of the Day honors.
Read MoreHow 2020 Silver Sluggers winners fared in Box-Toppers rankings
Only three of the 18 batters winning Silver Slugger Awards this week also were among the leaders at their positions in 2020 Box-Toppers point totals.
The awards are given to the top batter in each position in both leagues, voted on by Major League Baseball coaches and managers. Box-Toppers analyzes traditional box scores and tracks which player most helps his team win the most games, awarding points for the top player in each game.
Read MoreWhite Sox’ Giolito, with a no-hitter, tops players for Tuesday, Aug. 25, Bieber extends player rankings lead
White Sox pitcher Lucas Giolito is Tuesday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day, pitching a no-hitter.
Giolito rises to third place in Box-Toppers season player rankings. Also Tuesday, Indians pitcher Shane Bieber extends his lead in Box-Toppers season player rankings after earning Player of the Game honors.
Read MoreBlue Jays’ Ryu tops players for Wednesday, Aug. 5; Cubs’ Darvish rises to 9th in player rankings
Blue Jays pitcher Hyun-Jin Ryu is Wednesday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day.
Also Wednesday, Cubs pitcher Yu Darvish rises to ninth place in Box-Toppers season player rankings after earning Player of the Game honors.
Read More
Astros’ Justin Verlander leads Box-Toppers season player rankings report for fifth straight week
Astros pitcher Justin Verlander maintains the lead in Box-Toppers weekly team rankings report for the fifth straight week.
Also this week, all four main category leaders maintain their leads from last week: Verlander continues to lead American League pitchers, Brewers pitcher Josh Hader continues to lead National League pitchers, Cody Bellinger of the Dodgers continues to lead NL batters and Joey Gallo of the Rangers continues to lead AL batters.
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Astros’ Justin Verlander leads Box-Toppers season player rankings report for fourth straight week
Astros pitcher Justin Verlander maintains the lead in Box-Toppers weekly team rankings report for the fourth straight week.
Also this week, all four main category leaders maintain their leads from last week: Verlander continues to lead American League pitchers, Brewers pitcher Josh Hader continues to lead National League pitchers, Cody Bellinger of the Dodgers continues to lead NL batters and Joey Gallo of the Rangers continues to lead AL batters.
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Astros’ Justin Verlander maintains lead in Box-Toppers weekly team rankings report
Astros pitcher Justin Verlander maintains the lead in Box-Toppers weekly team rankings report.
Also this week, all four main category leaders maintain their leads from last week: Verlander, Brewers pitcher Josh Hader, Cody Bellinger of the Dodgers and Joey Gallo of the Rangers.
Read MoreHaniger, Paxton, Nola among players rising into Box-Toppers’ All-Star teams in past week
Mitch Haniger, James Paxton and Aaron Nola are among the players rising into Box-Toppers’ All-Star teams in the past week.
With Major League All-Star voting underway, here is a look at who is leading at Box-Toppers points at each position in both leagues.
Read MoreCardinals’ Jack Flaherty tops players for Sunday, May 20; White Sox' Lopez tops AL players
Cardinals pitcher Jack Flaherty is Sunday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day making his Box-Toppers debut.
Flaherty struck out 13 over 7 2/3 innings, allowing one run, two hits and one walk, in the 5-1 win over the Phillies.
Read MoreDbacks' Patrick Corbin tops players for Wednesday, April 4; Yankees' Severino rises to lead Box-Toppers rankings
Diamondbacks pitcher Patrick Corbin is Wednesday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day.
Also Wednesday, Yankees pitcher Luis Severino rises to first place in Box-Toppers season player rankings after earning Player of the Game honors.
Read MoreNationals' Max Scherzer tops players for Sunday, July 2, maintains 2nd place in Box-Toppers player rankings
Nationals pitcher Max Scherzer is Sunday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day, maintaining his second-place spot in season player rankings.
Top 10 players
Here are the top 10 players in Box-Toppers points (BTP) for the 2017 season as of July 2:| Player | Pos | Team | BTP | |
| 1 | Kershaw, Clayton 2494 | pi sp | lad nl | 18.1 |
| 2 | Scherzer, Max 2588 | pi sp | dc nl | 16.0 |
| 3 | Sale, Chris 2806 | pi sp | bos al | 13.1 |
| 4 | Santana, Ervin 2005 | pi sp | min al | 12.4 |
| 5 | Carrasco, Carlos 2885 | pi sp | cle al | 10.4 |
| 6 | Ray, Robbie 3502 | pi sp | ari nl | 10.0 |
| 7 | Wood, Alex 3246 | pi sp | lad nl | 10.0 |
| 8 | Greinke, Zack 1871 | pi sp | ari nl | 9.7 |
| 9 | Strasburg, Stephen 2736 | pi sp | dc nl | 9.4 |
| 10 | McCullers, Lance 3488 | pi sp | hou al | 9.4 |
Scherzer struck out 12 over seven scoreless innings, allowing two hits and two walks, in the 7-2 win over the Cardinals.
Scherzer earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day, giving him 16.0 for the season. He trails only overall leader Clayton Kershaw of the Dodgers (18.1 Box-Toppers points), who also leads all National League pitchers.
Scherzer also rises to 23rd place among all players in career Box-Toppers points since 1995, when Box-Toppers tracking began. With his points Sunday, Scherzer now has 147.7 career points and passes three players on the “all-time” list—David Ortiz (145.9), Jim Thome (146.7) and Miguel Cabrera of the Tigers (146.9). Passing Cabrera, Scherzer also rises to seventh place in career points among all active players, trailing sixth-ranked Jon Lester of the Cubs (149.2).
American League Player of the Day—Orioles pitcher Kevin Gausman struck out nine over seven scoreless innings, allowing two hits and two walks, in the 7-1 win over the Rays.
American League Batter of the Day—Mookie Betts of the Red Sox hit two home runs and drove in eight total runs, in the 15-1 win over the Blue Jays. Betts hit a three-run homer and a two-run homer and went 4-for-6, scoring three times.
National League Batter of the Day—Brandon Belt of the Giants homered and went 3-for-4, scoring twice and driving in three runs, in the 5-3 win over the Pirates.
Scoring—Scherzer earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day and Gausman earns 1.7 points for being AL Player of the Day. Betts and Belt each earn 1.5 points for being their league’s Batter of the Day. All of Sunday’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.
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.
Top player from each game
Listed from highest to lowest Box-Toppers game score| 7/2 | Score | Game | Player of the Game | AB | R | H | BI | IP | H | R | ER | BB | K | |
| MLB | 15.0 | WSH 7, STL 2 | Max Scherzer (W, 10-5) | - | - | - | - | 7.0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 12 | |
| AL | 12.0 | BAL 7, TB 1 | Kevin Gausman (W, 5-7) | - | - | - | - | 7.0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 9 | |
| 10.0 | CHC 6, CIN 2 | Jake Arrieta (W, 8-6) | - | - | - | - | 7.0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 6 | ||
| BAT | 9.0 | BOS 15, TOR 1 | Mookie Betts (RF) | 6 | 3 | 4 | 8 | - | - | - | - | - | - | |
| 7.0 | CLE 11, DET 8 | Jose Ramirez (3B) | 4 | 4 | 3 | 4 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 6.0 | HOU 8, NYY 1 | Chris Devenski (W, 5-3) | - | - | - | - | 2.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | ||
| 5.0 | `ARI 4, COL 3 | Taijuan Walker | - | - | - | - | 7.0 | 6 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 8 | ||
| BAT | 4.0 | SF 5, PIT 3 | Brandon Belt (1B) | 4 | 2 | 3 | 3 | - | - | - | - | - | - | |
| 4.0 | PHI 7, NYM 1 | Nick Pivetta (W, 2-4) | - | - | - | - | 7.0 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 4 | 4 | ||
| 4.0 | SD 5, LAD 3 | Jhoulys Chacin (W, 7-7) | - | - | - | - | 5.0 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 6 | ||
| 3.1 | SEA 5, LAA 3 | James Paxton (W, 6-3) | - | - | - | - | 6.1 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 3 | ||
| 3.1 | `ATL 4, OAK 3 (F/12) | Julio Teheran | - | - | - | - | 6.1 | 3 | 2 | 2 | 4 | 8 | ||
| 3.0 | MIA 10, MIL 3 | Marcell Ozuna (LF) | 6 | 2 | 3 | 4 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 2.0 | CHW 6, TEX 5 | Melky Cabrera (LF) | 2 | 2 | 1 | 1 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 1.0 | KC 6, MIN 2 | Alcides Escobar (SS) | 4 | 1 | 2 | 2 | - | - | - | - | - | - |
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 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.
Box-Toppers point totals of the day’s top players
Here are Box-Toppers point totals of each of the Players of the Game. Players are ranked by their Box-Toppers point total for the current season (’17). Also shown are each players’ Box-Toppers point total for this season and last (’16-17), the period 2012-2017 (’12-17) and each players’ career point total. Also shown is how their 2017 Box-Toppers point total compares with their 2016 total (+/-).| Player of the Game | Pos | Team | ’17 | ’16-17 | ’12-17 | Career | +/- |
| Scherzer, Max 2588 | pi sp | dc nl | 16.0 | 41.7 | 119.9 | 147.7 | -9.7 |
| Paxton, James 3280 | pi sp | sea al | 6.0 | 10.4 | 17.1 | 17.1 | 1.6 |
| Chacin, Jhoulys 2711 | pi sp | sd nl | 5.7 | 11.4 | 18.1 | 33.5 | 0.0 |
| Cabrera, Melky 2143 | lf | chi al | 5.7 | 9.7 | 19.7 | 36.2 | 1.7 |
| Betts, Mookie 3404 | rf | bos al | 5.0 | 11.2 | 16.2 | 16.2 | -1.2 |
| Devenski, Chris 3702 | pi mr | hou al | 5.0 | 8.7 | 8.7 | 8.7 | 1.3 |
| Ramirez, Jose 3436 | 3b | cle al | 4.5 | 6.0 | 9.5 | 9.5 | 3.0 |
| Gausman, Kevin 3191 | pi sp | bal al | 4.4 | 15.2 | 28.6 | 28.6 | -6.4 |
| Walker, Taijuan 3453 | pi sp | ari nl | 4.0 | 11.7 | 25.4 | 25.4 | -3.7 |
| Arrieta, Jake 2738 | pi sp | chi nl | 3.0 | 18.7 | 73.5 | 78.5 | -12.7 |
| Pivetta, Nick 3825 | pi sp | phi nl | 3.0 | 3.0 | 3.0 | 3.0 | 3.0 |
| Ozuna, Marcell 3190 | lf | fla nl | 2.7 | 7.7 | 21.2 | 21.2 | -2.3 |
| Belt, Brandon 2943 | 1b lf | sf nl | 2.5 | 9.5 | 21.5 | 23.0 | -4.5 |
| Teheran, Julio 3176 | pi sp | atl nl | 2.0 | 12.7 | 48.5 | 48.5 | -8.7 |
| Escobar, Alcides 2663 | ss | kc al | 2.0 | 2.0 | 19.0 | 23.5 | 2.0 |
Marcus Stroman tops players as Blue Jays beat Orioles in AL Wild Card Game
Blue Jays pitcher Marcus Stroman is Box-Toppers Player of the Day in Tuesday’s American League Wild Card game.
Stroman pitched six innings, allowing two runs on four hits, striking out six and walking none, in the 5-2, 11-inning win over the Orioles. Stroman did not earn the win, picking up a no-decision, because the game was tied 2-2 when he exited.
Stroman had 6.7 Box-Toppers points during the regular season, ranked 43rd among AL pitchers, 112th overall.
While the Blue Jays were the top-ranked Wild Card team, they rank lower in Box-Toppers team rankings. The Blue Jays rank ninth among all teams with 114.0 accumulated Box-Toppers points. The Orioles ranked seventh with 116.6.
The Blue Jays will face the Texas Rangers in the best-of-five AL Division Series beginning Thursday in Texas. The Rangers have the AL’s best winning percentage (.586), but rank third among AL teams and fifth among all teams in Box-Toppers team rankings with 122.5 points.
Top player from AL Wild Card Game
| BTG | Game | Player of Game | AB | R | H | BI | IP | H | R | ER | BB | K | |
| 4.0 | `TOR 5, BAL 2 (11) | Marcus Stroman | - | - | - | - | 6.0 | 4 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 6 | |
| `Denotes that the pitcher had a no-decision in the game and did not pick up a win or a save. | |||||||||||||
| BTG: Box-Toppers game score | |||||||||||||
Box-Toppers’ NL Wild Card Preview
Coming Wednesday—The National League Wild Card Game is in New York, with the Giants facing the Mets. Here is the pitching match-up:
Giants—Madison Bumgarner, 13.0 Box-Toppers points, ranked 19th among all players, 12th among NL pitchers.
Mets—Noah Syndergaard, 16.7 Box-Toppers points, ranked seventh among all players, fourth among NL pitchers.
Bumgarner and Syndergaard also both rank among the top 10 NL pitchers in Box-Toppers points over the past two seasons. Bumgarner has 30.0 points over 2015 and 2016, ranking seventh. Syndergaard has 27.1 points in that span, ranking 10th. Bumgarner also ranks third among pitchers in Box-Toppers points earned since the start of 2011—he has an even 100.0 points and trails only Clayton Kershaw, Dodgers (150.2), and Max Scherzer, Nationals (111.3). Syndergaard was a rookie in 2015.
The Mets are sixth in Box-Toppers team rankings with 119.1 accumulated points, third-most among NL teams. The Giants rank 10th, fifth among NL teams, with 112.7, the lowest-ranked team to qualify for the postseason. However, in the final 10 days of the season, the Giants were the slightly hotter team, picking up 8.7 Box-Toppers points, while the Mets picked up 6.7.
The Mets have two players among Box-Toppers top 10 NL batters:
- Outfielder Jay Bruce has 8.5 Box-Toppers points, ranking eighth.
- Outfielder Yoenis Cespedes has 8.0 Box-Toppers points, ranking 10th.
The Giants highest-ranking batter is first baseman Brandon Belt with 7.0 Box-Toppers points, ranking 18th among NL batters.
The winner of the NL Wild Card game will face the Chicago Cubs in the best-of-five NL Divisional Series beginning Friday in Chicago. The Cubs have baseball’s best winning percentage (.640) and rank first in Box-Toppers team rankings with 139.5 points.
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.
Giants vs. Mets
Here are players for both teams in the NL Wild Card Game Wednesday. Players are listed for both teams ranked by Box-Toppers points earned in 2016. All players listed were on active Major or Minor League rosters at the end of the season—not necessarily all of them will be included on postseason rosters.| San Francisco Giants | New York Mets | |||||
| Cueto, Johnny 2400 | pi sp | 16.4 | Syndergaard, Noah 3472 | pi sp | 16.7 | |
| Bumgarner, Madison 2753 | pi sp | 13.0 | Matz, Steven 3516 | pi sp | 12.1 | |
| Moore, Matt 2975 | pi sp | 12.4 | deGrom, Jacob 3343 | pi sp | 9.7 | |
| Samardzija, Jeff 2495 | pi sp | 10.7 | Bruce, Jay 2453 | rf | 8.5 | |
| Belt, Brandon 2943 | 1b | 7.0 | Colon, Bartolo | pi sp | 8.4 | |
| Panik, Joe 3401 | 2b | 5.5 | Cespedes, Yoenis 3008 | cf lf | 8.0 | |
| Nunez, Eduardo 2795 | 3b 2b ss | 5.5 | Familia, Jeurys 3446 | pi cp | 8.0 | |
| Peavy, Jake 1635 | pi sp | 5.0 | Conforto, Michael 3622 | lf | 5.0 | |
| Posey, Buster 2745 | ca 1b | 3.5 | Granderson, Curtis 2051 | rf cf ph | 4.5 | |
| Pence, Hunter 2287 | rf | 3.5 | Flores, Wilmer 3345 | 3b 1b 2b ph | 4.5 | |
| Casilla, Santiago 2301 | pi cp | 3.0 | Walker, Neil 2756 | 2b | 3.5 | |
| Kontos, George 3106 | pi cp mr | 3.0 | Harvey, Matt 3075 | pi sp | 3.0 | |
| Span, Denard 2502 | cf | 3.0 | Niese, Jonathon 2531 | pi sp | 2.0 | |
| Tomlinson, Kelby 3619 | 2b ph | 3.0 | Cabrera, Asdrubal 2362 | ss | 2.0 | |
| Cain, Matt 2081 | pi sp | 2.7 | Reed, Addison 3023 | pi mr | 2.0 | |
| Brown, Trevor 3610 | ca | 2.5 | Salas, Fernando 2853 | pi cp | 2.0 | |
| Crawford, Brandon 2878 | ss | 2.0 | Reyes, Jose 1759 | 3b ss | 2.0 | |
| Gillaspie, Conor 3218 | 3b ph | 2.0 | Loney, James 2206 | 1b ph | 2.0 | |
| Blach, Ty 3754 | pi sp | 2.0 | Reynolds, Matt 3650 | ss ph | 2.0 | |
| Law, Derek 3657 | pi sp mr | 2.0 | Smoker, Josh 3725 | pi cp mr | 2.0 | |
| Pagan, Angel 2184 | lf | 1.0 | Gsellman, Robert 3748 | pi sp | 1.7 | |
| Beckham, Gordon 2620 | 2b | 1.0 | De Aza, Alejandro 2950 | cf | 1.5 | |
| Strickland, Hunter 3546 | pi mr | 1.0 | Verrett, Logan 3518 | pi sp | 1.0 | |
| Okert, Steven 3745 | pi mr | 1.0 | Robles, Hansel 3580 | pi cp | 1.0 | |
| Osich, Josh 3677 | pi mr | 1.0 | d’Arnaud, Travis 3384 | ca | 1.0 | |
| Wright, David 1911 | 3b | 1.0 | ||||
| Goeddel, Erik 3672 | pi mr | 1.0 | ||||
| Lugo, Seth 3729 | pi sp | 1.0 | ||||
| Rivera, T.J. 3710 | 3b 2b | 1.0 | ||||
| Ynoa, Gabriel 3743 | pi sp | 1.0 | ||||
| Totals | 112.7 | Totals | 119.1 | |||
Orioles' Tillman tops players for Wednesday, April 27; Phillies' Hellickson tops NL players
Orioles pitcher Chris Tillman is Wednesday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day.
Tillman struck out nine over 6 2/3 scoreless innings, allowing two hits, in the 3-1 win over the Rays.
Top 10 players
Here are the top 10 players in Box-Toppers points (BTP) for the 2016 season as of April 27:| Player | Pos | Team | BTP | |
| 1 | Arrieta, Jake 2738 | pi sp | chi nl | 5.0 |
| 2 | Volquez, Edinson 2220 | pi sp | kc al | 4.4 |
| 3 | Hill, Rich 2215 | pi sp | oak al | 4.4 |
| 4 | Kershaw, Clayton 2494 | pi sp | lad nl | 4.0 |
| 5 | Sale, Chris 2806 | pi sp | chi al | 4.0 |
| 6 | Cueto, Johnny 2400 | pi sp | sf nl | 4.0 |
| 7 | Velasquez, Vince 3611 | pi sp | phi nl | 4.0 |
| 8 | Santiago, Hector 3109 | pi sp | ana al | 3.7 |
| 9 | Latos, Mat 2644 | pi sp | chi al | 3.7 |
| 10 | Davis, Chris 2478 | 1b | bal al | 3.5 |
National League Player of the Day—Phillies pitcher Jeremy Hellickson struck out eight over seven scoreless innings, allowing two hits, in the 3-0 win over the Nationals.
National League Batter of the Day—Brandon Belt of the Giants tripled, doubled and went 3-for-4, scoring twice and driving in five runs, in the 13-9 win over the Padres.
American League Batter of the Day—J.D. Martinez of the Tigers hit a three-run homer and went 2-for-3, scoring twice and driving in four runs, in the 9-4 win over the Athletics.
Notable—Jose Altuve of the Astros has the highest season Box-Toppers point total of any of Wednesday’s 14 Players of the Game. Altuve (HR 2-2B 3-5 3R 2BI in the 7-4 win over the Mariners) earns 1.0 Box-Toppers point, giving him 3.5 for the season. He rises to 11th among all players in season player rankings and second among AL batters.
Scoring—Tillman earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day and Hellickson earns 1.7 points for being NL Player of the Day. Belt and Martinez each earn 1.5 points for being their league’s Batter of the Day. All of Wednesday’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.
Top player from each game
Listed from highest to lowest Box-Toppers game score
| 4/27 | Score | Team | Player | AB | R | H | BI | BB | K | IP | H | R | ER | BB | K | |
| MLB | 11.2 | Orioles | Chris Tillman (W,2-1) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 6.2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 9 | |
| NL | 10.0 | Phillies | Jeremy Hellickson (W,2-1) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 7.0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 8 | |
| 9.0 | White Sox | Jose Quintana (W,3-1) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 6.0 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 10 | ||
| BAT | 6.0 | Giants | Brandon Belt, 1B | 4 | 2 | 3 | 5 | 0 | 0 | - | - | - | - | - | - | |
| 6.0 | Red Sox | Steven Wright (W,2-2) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 7.0 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 8 | ||
| 5.1 | Marlins | Justin Nicolino (W,1-0) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 7.1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 2 | ||
| BAT | 5.0 | Tigers | J.D. Martinez, RF | 3 | 2 | 2 | 4 | 1 | 1 | - | - | - | - | - | - | |
| 3.0 | Astros | Jose Altuve, 2B | 5 | 3 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 0 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 3.0 | Cardinals | Aledmys Diaz, SS | 4 | 3 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 0 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 3.0 | `Indians | Bryan Shaw (H,4) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 1.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | ||
| 2.0 | Mets | Neil Walker, 2B | 3 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 0 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 2.0 | Pirates | Kyle Lobstein (W,2-0) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 3.0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | ||
| 0.0 | Angels | Mike Trout, CF | 4 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 1 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 0.0 | Rangers | Rougned Odor, 2B | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| `Denotes that the pitcher had a no-decision in the game and did not pick up a win or a save. | ||||||||||||||||
Box-Toppers point totals of the day’s top players
Here are Box-Toppers point totals of each of the Players of the Game. Players are ranked by their Box-Toppers point total for the current season (16). Also shown are each players’ Box-Toppers point total for this season and last (15-16), the period 2011-2016 (11-16) and each players’ career point total. Also shown is how their 2016 Box-Toppers point total compares with their 2015 total (+/-).| Player | Pos | Team | 16 | 15-16 | 11-16 | Career | +/- |
| Altuve, Jose 3007 | 2b | hou al | 3.5 | 10.5 | 20.0 | 20.0 | -3.5 |
| Quintana, Jose 3040 | pi sp | chi al | 3.0 | 9.0 | 27.8 | 27.8 | -3.0 |
| Belt, Brandon 2943 | 1b | sf nl | 3.0 | 4.5 | 16.5 | 16.5 | 1.5 |
| Diaz, Aledmys 3612 | ss | stl nl | 3.0 | 3.0 | 3.0 | 3.0 | 3.0 |
| Hellickson, Jeremy 2778 | pi sp | phi nl | 2.7 | 7.7 | 31.4 | 34.4 | -2.3 |
| Trout, Mike 2949 | cf | ana al | 2.0 | 14.0 | 38.5 | 38.5 | -10.0 |
| Tillman, Chris 2754 | pi sp | bal al | 2.0 | 6.7 | 35.8 | 37.8 | -2.7 |
| Odor, Rougned 3336 | 2b | tex al | 2.0 | 5.0 | 6.5 | 6.5 | -1.0 |
| Lobstein, Kyle 3406 | pi sp mr | pit nl | 2.0 | 2.0 | 3.0 | 3.0 | 2.0 |
| Martinez, J.D. 2922 | rf | det al | 1.5 | 3.2 | 13.2 | 13.2 | -0.2 |
| Walker, Neil 2756 | 2b | nym nl | 1.0 | 5.0 | 22.5 | 28.0 | -3.0 |
| Wright, Steven 3224 | pi sp | bos al | 1.0 | 4.7 | 5.7 | 5.7 | -2.7 |
| Shaw, Bryan 2995 | pi mr | cle al | 1.0 | 2.0 | 6.0 | 6.0 | 0.0 |
| Nicolino, Justin 3576 | pi sp | fla nl | 1.0 | 2.0 | 2.0 | 2.0 | 0.0 |