Reds top first weekly Box-Toppers team rankings of the season. Tigers top AL teams. Mets were the hottest team of the past week.
Read MoreReds' Finnegan tops players for Wednesday, April 5; Braves' Colon rises to 19th in ‘all-time' career Box-Toppers points
Reds pitcher Brandon Finnegan is Wednesday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day.
Also Wednesday, Braves pitcher Bartolo Colon rose to 19th place among all players in Box-Toppers points (since 1995 when tracking began) after earning Player of the Game honors.
All-time leaders
Here are Box-Toppers top 20 players since record keeping began in 1995:| Player | Pos | Team | BTP | |
| 1 | Randy Johnson | pi sp | retired | 278.8 |
| 2 | Pedro Martinez | pi sp | retired | 244.8 |
| 3 | Curt Schilling | pi sp | retired | 194.1 |
| 4 | Alex Rodriguez | dh | released | 187.0 |
| 5 | CC Sabathia | pi sp | nyy al | 186.0 |
| 6 | Clayton Kershaw | pi sp | lad nl | 185.7 |
| 7 | Albert Pujols | 1b dh | ana al | 182.3 |
| 8 | Roy Halladay | pi sp | retired | 170.7 |
| 9 | Felix Hernandez | pi sp | sea al | 168.7 |
| 10 | Manny Ramirez | lf dh | retired | 167.2 |
| 11 | Johan Santana | pi sp | free agent | 166.6 |
| 12 | Roger Clemens | pi sp | retired | 164.8 |
| 13 | John Smoltz | pi sp | retired | 160.9 |
| 14 | Tim Hudson | pi sp | retired | 157.0 |
| 15 | Zack Greinke | pi sp | ari nl | 156.1 |
| 16 | Mike Mussina | pi sp | retired | 155.6 |
| 17 | Barry Bonds | lf | retired | 153.2 |
| 18 | Greg Maddux | pi sp | retired | 151.7 |
| 19 | Bartolo Colon | pi sp | atl nl | 149.5 |
| 20 | Chipper Jones | 3b | retired | 149.0 |
List of top 100 players since 1995 at the close of the 2016 season.
Player of the Day—Finnegan struck out nine over seven scoreless innings, allowing one hit and one walk, in the 2-0 win over the Phillies.
American League Player of the Day—Red Sox pitcher Chris Sale struck out seven over seven scoreless innings, allowing three hits and one walk, in the 3-0, 12-inning win over the Pirates. Sale did not pick up the win because the game was in a scoreless tie when he exited.
American League Batter of the Day—Francisco Lindor of the Indians hit two homers, including a grand slam, in the 9-6 win over the Rangers. Lindor went 3-for-5, scoring three times and driving in five runs.
National League Batter of the Day—Jeremy Hazelbaker of the Diamondbacks hit a pinch-hit double, going 1-for-1, scoring a run and driving in a run, in the 8-6 win over the Giants.
This was Hazelbaker’s Box-Toppers debut, the first time in his career he earned Player of the Game honors. He made his Major League debut April 3, 2016, and was playing in his 117th career game. He is the 3,759th player to debut in Box-Toppers since record keeping began in 1995.
Notable—Braves pitcher Bartolo Colon rises to 19th place in Box-Toppers points among all players since 1995 (when player tracking began) after earning Player of the Game honors Wednesday.
Colon (6IP 2H R BB 6K ND in the 3-1, 12-inning win against the Mets) earns 1.0 Box-Toppers point, giving him 149.5 for his career. He passes Chipper Jones (149.0) on the “all-time” list and now trails 18th-ranked player Greg Maddux (151.7).
Scoring—Finnegan earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day and Sale earns 1.7 points for being AL Player of the Day. Lindor and Hazelbaker 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.
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Top player from each game
Listed from highest to lowest Box-Toppers game score
| 4/5 | Score | Game | Player | AB | R | H | BI | IP | H | R | ER | BB | K | |
| MLB | 14.0 | CIN 2, PHI 0 | Brandon Finnegan (W,1-0) | - | - | - | - | 7.0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 9 | |
| AL | 10.0 | `BOS 3, PIT 0 (F/12) | Chris Sale | - | - | - | - | 7.0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 7 | |
| 10.0 | `HOU 5, SEA 3 (F/13) | Chris Devenski | - | - | - | - | 4.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 7 | ||
| 9.0 | BAL 3, TOR 1 | Dylan Bundy (W,1-0) | - | - | - | - | 7.0 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 8 | ||
| BAT | 7.0 | CLE 9, TEX 6 | Francisco Lindor, SS | 4 | 3 | 3 | 5 | - | - | - | - | - | - | |
| 7.0 | `ATL 3, NYM 1 (F/12) | Bartolo Colon | - | - | - | - | 6.0 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 6 | ||
| 6.0 | MIL 6, COL 1 | Wily Peralta (W,1-0) | - | - | - | - | 5.0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 5 | ||
| 4.2 | `LAA 5, OAK 0 | Garrett Richards | - | - | - | - | 4.2 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 4 | ||
| 4.0 | MIN 9, KC 1 | Eduardo Escobar, SS | 4 | 2 | 2 | 4 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 3.0 | WSH 6, MIA 4 | Tanner Roark (W,1-0) | - | - | - | - | 6.0 | 3 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 6 | ||
| 3.0 | LAD 3, SD 1 | Rich Hill (W,1-0) | - | - | - | - | 5.0 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 5 | ||
| 2.2 | TB 4, NYY 1 | Alex Cobb (W,1-0) | - | - | - | - | 5.2 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 4 | ||
| BAT | 2.0 | ARI 8, SF 6 | Jeremy Hazelbaker, PH | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | - | - | - | - | - | - | |
| `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 Game | Pos | Team | ’17 | ’16-17 | ’12-17 | Career | +/- |
| Finnegan, Brandon 3535 | pi sp | cin nl | 2.0 | 9.0 | 12.0 | 12.0 | -5.0 |
| Sale, Chris 2806 | pi sp | bos al | 1.7 | 15.1 | 83.1 | 88.1 | -11.7 |
| Lindor, Francisco 3586 | ss | cle al | 1.5 | 8.5 | 9.5 | 9.5 | -5.5 |
| Hill, Rich 2215 | pi sp | lad nl | 1.0 | 15.4 | 19.4 | 39.1 | -13.4 |
| Roark, Tanner 3261 | pi sp | dc nl | 1.0 | 13.7 | 29.7 | 29.7 | -11.7 |
| Colon, Bartolo | pi sp | atl nl | 1.0 | 9.4 | 50.3 | 149.5 | -7.4 |
| Bundy, Dylan 3655 | pi sp | bal al | 1.0 | 7.0 | 7.0 | 7.0 | -5.0 |
| Devenski, Chris 3702 | pi mr | hou al | 1.0 | 4.7 | 4.7 | 4.7 | -2.7 |
| Peralta, Wily 3123 | pi sp | mil nl | 1.0 | 2.0 | 20.0 | 20.0 | 0.0 |
| Richards, Garrett 3042 | pi sp | ana al | 1.0 | 1.0 | 34.4 | 34.4 | 1.0 |
| Escobar, Eduardo 3135 | ss | min al | 1.0 | 1.0 | 12.7 | 12.7 | 1.0 |
| Cobb, Alex 2916 | pi sp | tb al | 1.0 | 1.0 | 31.4 | 32.4 | 1.0 |
| Hazelbaker, Jeremy 3759 | ph | ari nl | 1.0 | 1.0 | 1.0 | 1.0 | 1.0 |
Box-Toppers top pitchers and batters by team in 2016
3 of 4 major postseason award winners are among Box-Toppers top-ranked pitchers or batters on their teams. The exception: AL Cy Young Rick Porcello, who ranks 6th among Red Sox players.
Read MoreReds' Brandon Finnegan tops players for Thursday, Aug. 4; Blue Jays' Happ rises to 10th in Box-Toppers player rankings
Reds pitcher Brandon Finnegan is Thursday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day.
Top 10 players
Here are the top 10 players in Box-Toppers points (BTP) for the 2016 season as of Aug. 4:| Player | Pos | Team | BTP | |
| 1 | Kershaw, Clayton 2494 | pi sp | lad nl | 20.0 |
| 2 | Scherzer, Max 2588 | pi sp | dc nl | 18.7 |
| 3 | Fernandez, Jose 3147 | pi sp | fla nl | 16.4 |
| 4 | Kluber, Corey 3200 | pi sp | cle al | 14.5 |
| 5 | Cueto, Johnny 2400 | pi sp | sf nl | 14.4 |
| 6 | Hamels, Cole 2135 | pi sp | tex al | 14.1 |
| 7 | Strasburg, Stephen 2736 | pi sp | dc nl | 14.1 |
| 8 | Lester, Jon 2173 | pi sp | chi nl | 12.4 |
| 9 | Bumgarner, Madison 2753 | pi sp | sf nl | 11.0 |
| 10 | Happ, J.A. 2536 | pi sp | tor al | 11.0 |
Also Thursday, Blue Jays pitcher J.A. Happ rises to 10th place in Box-Toppers season player rankings after earning Player of the Game honors.
Player of the Day—Finnegan pitched six scoreless innings, allowing two hits, no walks and striking out four, in the 7-0 win over the Cardinals.
American League Player of the Day—Rays pitcher Drew Smyly struck out 10 over seven innings, allowing two runs, five hits and one walk, in the 3-2 win over the Royals. Smyly did not earn the win, picking up a no decision, because he exited the game with the Rays trailing 2-0.
National League Batter of the Day—Denard Span of the Giants hit a 10th-inning, go-ahead home run in the 3-2, 10-inning win over the Phillies. Span also went 3-for-4, scoring twice and driving in two runs.
American League Batter of the Day—Billy Butler of the Athletics hit a 10th-inning, pinch-hit single and scored a run, in the 8-6, 10-inning win over the Angels.
This was Butler’s first Player of the Game honor of 2016 and he has now earned Box-Toppers points in 10 straight seasons. Butler earned his first points in 2007 with the Royals and has 47.6 career points, 28th among active AL batters. His best season was 2012 with the Royals when he had 9.7 points, seventh among AL batters. In 2015, he had 1.5 points with the Athletics.
Rankings—Blue Jays pitcher J.A. Happ rises to 10th place in Box-Toppers season player rankings after earning Player of the Game honors Thursday.
Happ (6IP 4H R BB 6K W in the 4-1 win over the Astros) earns 1.0 Box-Toppers point, giving him 11.0 for the season. He displaces Mets pitcher Noah Syndergaard (11.0 Box-Toppers points) from the top 10 season player rankings list and ranks third among AL pitchers.
Scoring—Finnegan earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day and Smyly earns 1.7 points for being AL Player of the Day. Span and Butler each earn 1.5 points for being their league’s Batter of the Day. All of Thursday’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
| 8/4 | Score | Game | Player of Game | AB | R | H | BI | IP | H | R | ER | BB | K | |
| MLB | 8.0 | CIN 7, STL 0 | Brandon Finnegan (W,7-8) | - | - | - | - | 6.0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | |
| AL | 7.0 | `TB 3, KC 2 | Drew Smyly | - | - | - | - | 7.0 | 5 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 10 | |
| 5.0 | TOR 4, HOU 1 | J.A. Happ (W,15-3) | - | - | - | - | 6.0 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 6 | ||
| 4.1 | BOS 3, SEA 2 (11) | Craig Kimbrel (W,2-3) | - | - | - | - | 1.1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | ||
| BAT | 3.0 | SF 3, PHI 2 (10) | Denard Span, CF | 4 | 2 | 3 | 2 | - | - | - | - | - | - | |
| 3.0 | LAD 4, COL 2 | Kenley Jansen (S,32) | - | - | - | - | 1.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | ||
| 2.1 | CLE 9, MIN 2 | Dan Otero (W,3-1) | - | - | - | - | 1.1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | ||
| 2.0 | ATL 5, PIT 2 | Jim Johnson (S,7) | - | - | - | - | 1.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | ||
| 1.0 | NYM 4, NYY 1 | Jay Bruce, RF | 4 | 1 | 1 | 3 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| BAT | 1.0 | OAK 8, LAA 6 (10) | Billy Butler, PH-DH | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | - | - | - | - | - | - | |
| 1.0 | CHW 6, DET 3 | Tim Anderson, SS | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 0.2 | TEX 5, BAL 3 | A.J. Griffin (W,5-1) | - | - | - | - | 5.2 | 5 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 6 |
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 of Game | Pos | Team | 16 | 15-16 | 11-16 | Career | +/- |
| Happ, J.A. 2536 | pi sp | tor al | 11.0 | 24.1 | 39.5 | 47.5 | -2.1 |
| Bruce, Jay 2453 | rf | nym nl | 7.5 | 10.7 | 30.7 | 57.8 | 4.3 |
| Smyly, Drew 3009 | pi sp | tb al | 6.4 | 12.4 | 34.5 | 34.5 | 0.4 |
| Jansen, Kenley 2871 | pi cp | lad nl | 5.0 | 9.0 | 35.4 | 35.4 | 1.0 |
| Finnegan, Brandon 3535 | pi sp | cin nl | 5.0 | 8.0 | 8.0 | 8.0 | 2.0 |
| Kimbrel, Craig 2825 | pi cp | bos al | 4.0 | 10.0 | 53.7 | 54.7 | -2.0 |
| Griffin, A.J. 3074 | pi sp | tex al | 3.7 | 3.7 | 18.4 | 18.4 | 3.7 |
| Span, Denard 2502 | cf | sf nl | 3.0 | 3.0 | 11.7 | 25.7 | 3.0 |
| Johnson, Jim 2417 | pi mr cp | atl nl | 2.0 | 4.0 | 14.0 | 19.7 | 0.0 |
| Otero, Dan 3365 | pi mr | cle al | 2.0 | 3.7 | 4.7 | 4.7 | 0.3 |
| Anderson, Tim 3659 | ss | chi al | 2.0 | 2.0 | 2.0 | 2.0 | 2.0 |
| Butler, Billy 2330 | dh ph | oak al | 1.5 | 3.0 | 28.2 | 47.6 | 0.0 |
Dodgers' Clayton Kershaw tops players for Saturday, July 18, rises to 10th in Box-Toppers player rankings
Dodgers pitcher Clayton Kershaw is Saturday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day and rises to 10th in season player rankings.
Also Saturday, Robinson Cano of the Mariners earned a Box-Toppers point in his 11th straight season and three players with more than 100 career Box-Toppers points—Kershaw, Aramis Ramirez and Jon Lester—earned Player of the Game honors.
Top 10 players
Here are the top 10 players in Box-Toppers points (BTP) for the 2015 season as of July 18.| Player | Pos | Team | BTP | |
| 1 | Scherzer, Max 2588 | pi sp | dc nl | 15.0 |
| 2 | Hernandez, Felix 2064 | pi sp | sea al | 14.4 |
| 3 | Sale, Chris 2806 | pi sp | chi al | 13.4 |
| 4 | deGrom, Jacob 3343 | pi sp | nym nl | 13.4 |
| 5 | Price, David 2593 | pi sp | det al | 13.1 |
| 6 | Archer, Chris 3194 | pi sp | tb al | 12.0 |
| 7 | Cole, Gerrit 3232 | pi sp | pit nl | 12.0 |
| 8 | Martinez, Carlos 3371 | pi sp | stl nl | 11.7 |
| 9 | Gray, Sonny 3259 | pi sp | hou al | 11.1 |
| 10 | Kershaw, Clayton 2494 | pi sp | lad nl | 11.0 |
Player of the Day—Kershaw pitched eight scoreless innings, striking out 14 and allowing three hits, in the 4-2 win over the Nationals.
Kershaw earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day, giving him 11.0 for the season and rises to 10th place in season Box-Toppers player rankings. Kershaw led all players in Box-Toppers points in 2014 with 31.5. He also led all players in Box-Toppers points in 2011 and 2013.
Kershaw is the 15th player this season with 10.0 or more Box-Toppers points. It is the seventh straight season Kershaw has had 10.0 or more points.
Kershaw has 144.6 career Box-Toppers points, ranked 20th among all players since 1995, when Box-Toppers record keeping began. He trails 19th-place player Jim Thome (146.7).
American League Player of the Day—Orioles pitcher Chris Tillman pitched eight scoreless innings, striking out eight and allowing one hit, in the 3-0 win over the Tigers.
National League Batter of the Day—Randal Grichuk of the Cardinals hit two home runs, going 3-for-3 and driving in six runs, in the 12-2 win over the Mets.
American League Batter of the Day—Robinson Cano of the Mariners hit a pair of two-run homers and went 3-for-4 in the 4-3 win over the Yankees.
Cano has now earned Box-Toppers points for 11 straight seasons with his first Player of the Game honor for 2015. He earned his first Box-Toppers points in 2005 with the Yankees. His best season was 2013 with the Yankees, when he had 12.5 Box-Toppers points, ranked fourth among AL batters. In 2014, he had 6.5 Box-Toppers points with the Mariners.
Cano has 62.4 career Box-Toppers points and ranks sixth among all second baseman since Box-Toppers record keeping began in 1995. He ranks second in career points among active second basemen, behind Chase Utley of the Phillies (72.1).
Notables—In addition to Kershaw, two other players with more than 100 career Box-Toppers points earned Player of the Game honors Saturday:
- Cubs pitcher Jon Lester (7.1IP 2H 0R 7K W in the 4-0 win over the Braves) earns 1.0 Box-Toppers point, giving him 115.1 career Box-Toppers points. He rises to 42nd place among all players since 1995 when Box-Toppers record keeping began. With his point Saturday, he passes three players on the “all-time” list—Torii Hunter (114.4), Josh Beckett (114.9) and Tim Lincecum (115.0). He trails 41st-place player Todd Helton (116.4).
- Aramis Ramirez of the Brewers (HR 3-3 2R 2BI in the 8-5 win over the Pirates) earns 1.0 Box-Toppers point, giving him 103.3 career Box-Toppers points. He ranks 58th place among all players since 1995 when Box-Toppers record keeping began. He trails 57th-place player John Lackey (103.8).
Debuts—Two players made their Box-Toppers debut Saturday, the first time in their career they earned Player of the Game honors:
- Matt den Dekker of the Nationals (2-R HR in the 5-3 win over the Dodgers) made his Major League debut Aug. 29, 2013, and was playing in his 98th career game. He is the 3,534th player to debut in Box-Toppers since record keeping began in 1995.
- Royals pitcher Brandon Finnegan (2IP H 0R 2K W in the 7-6, 13-inning win over the White Sox) made his Major League debut Sept. 6, 2014, and was playing in his 21st career game. He is the 3,535th player to debut in Box-Toppers since record keeping began in 1995.
Scoring—Kershaw earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day and Tillman earns 1.7 Box-Toppers points for being AL Player of the Day. Grichuk and Cano each earn 1.5 Box-Toppers 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.
Top player from each game
Listed from highest to lowest Box-Toppers game score
| 7/18 | Score | Team | Player | AB | R | H | BI | BB | K | IP | H | R | ER | BB | K | |
| MLB | 19.0 | Dodgers | Clayton Kershaw (W,7-6) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 8.0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 14 | |
| AL | 14.0 | Orioles | Chris Tillman (W,7-7) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 8.0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 8 | |
| 12.0 | Angels | Garrett Richards (W,10-6) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 9.0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 6 | ||
| 11.1 | Cubs | Jon Lester (W,5-8) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 7.1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 7 | ||
| BAT | 8.0 | Cardinals | Randal Grichuk, CF-LF-RF | 3 | 2 | 3 | 6 | 1 | 0 | - | - | - | - | - | - | |
| 6.1 | Rangers | Colby Lewis (W,9-4) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 7.1 | 4 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 7 | ||
| 5.1 | `Athletics | Scott Kazmir | - | - | - | - | - | - | 8.1 | 5 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 5 | ||
| BAT | 5.0 | Mariners | Robinson Cano, 2B | 4 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 0 | 0 | - | - | - | - | - | - | |
| 4.0 | Giants | Buster Posey, 1B-C | 4 | 1 | 3 | 4 | 1 | 0 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 4.0 | Brewers | Aramis Ramirez, 3B | 3 | 2 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 0 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 4.0 | Padres | Craig Kimbrel (S,25) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 1.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | ||
| 3.0 | Nationals | Matt den Dekker PH LF | 1 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 3.0 | Royals | Brandon Finnegan (W,3-0) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 2.0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | ||
| 2.2 | `Rays | Erasmo Ramirez | - | - | - | - | - | - | 4.2 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 4 | ||
| 2.0 | Indians | Carlos Santana, 1B | 3 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 0 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 2.0 | Phillies | Chad Billingsley (W,2-3) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 5.0 | 4 | 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. | ||||||||||||||||
Royals' Wade Davis, pitching scoreless 8th, tops players in World Series Game 3, Friday, Oct. 24
Reliever Wade Davis held the lead for the Royals, shutting down the Giants in the eighth inning and earned Box-Toppers Player of the Day honors for Friday in Game 3 of the World Series.
Davis pitched a scoreless inning and struck out two, as the Royals beat the Giants 3-2 to take a 2-1 game lead in the best-of-seven series.
Davis had a Box-Toppers game score of +3, the highest of any Royals player in Friday’s game. It is the second time this postseason he has earned Player of the Game honors. Previously, he was top player in the American League Championship Series Game 1 win over the Orioles. In the Royals’ 10 postseason wins this year, Davis is the first player from the team to earn Player of the Game honors more than once.
Davis did not earn a win or a save in the game and earned Box-Toppers Player of the Game honors in a roundabout, but not uncommon fashion. Davis earned the honor because:
• He had a higher Box-Toppers game score than the winning or saving pitcher who otherwise would have been Player of the Game.
• He had the same or more innings pitched as that player.
In Game 3, Royals closer Greg Holland—who earned the save—would have been Player of the Day, pitching a scoreless ninth inning and striking out one. He had a Box-Toppers game score of +1. However, two other Royals pitchers (see the chart below) had a higher Box-Toppers game score than Holland:
• Brandon Finnegan (0.2IP 0R K, Box-Toppers game score +1.2). However, Finnegan would not qualify for Player of the Game because though his game score was higher than Holland’s, he had fewer innings pitched.
• Davis, who beat Holland for the honor because he had the same number of innings pitched (one) and had a higher Box-Toppers game score (+3.0 vs. +1.0).
During the regular season, Davis had 7.0 Box-Toppers points, ranked 117th among all players, 42nd among AL pitchers and first among AL middle relievers.
In close, low-scoring games, such as Game 3, Player of the Game honors often goes to relief pitchers who can hold the lead. In fact, only one Royals batter had a Box-Toppers game score of 0 or better—Alcides Escobar (2B 2-4 2R) had a game score of 0. Only five Royals (including four relief pitchers) had game scores of 0 or better.
Royals starting pitcher Jeremy Guthrie, who earned the win, had a Box-Toppers game score of -3 (5IP 4H 2R 0K). Giants starting pitcher Tim Hudson, who earned the loss, had a Box-Toppers game score of -3.8 (5.2IP 4H 3R BB 2K).
Coming Saturday:
World Series Game 4: Royals lead Giants, 2-1
The pitching matchup Saturday:
Royals: Jason Vargas, 7.0 Box-Toppers points, ranked 107th among all players, 38th among AL pitchers.
Giants: Ryan Vogelsong, 8.7 Box-Toppers points, ranked 74th among all players, 36th among NL pitchers.
Vargas has started twice this postseason (ALDS Game 1 and ALCS Game 4) and Vogelsong has started twice (NLDS Game 4 and NLCS Game 4). Both have earned Player of the Game honors once:
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 2014 World Series previews:
Royals sweep Giants in series—in regular season, interleague series back in August, that is
Top 5 players in World Series Game 3
Here are the top five Royals players in Friday's World Series Game 3, ranked from highest to lowest Box-Toppers game score (how game score is calculated). Wade Davis, who had a Box-Toppers game score of +3.0, is Player of the Game (POG). Only five Royals players had game scores of 0 or better. Alcides Escobar was the Royals' highest-scoring batter, with a game score of 0.
| 1024 | Score | Team | Player | AB | R | H | BI | BB | K | IP | H | R | ER | BB | K | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| POG | 3.0 | Royals | Wade Davis (H, 1) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 1.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | |
| 1.2 | Royals | Brandon Finnegan (H, 1) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 0.2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | ||
| 1.0 | Royals | Greg Holland (S, 1) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 1.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||
| 0.1 | Royals | Kelvin Herrera (H, 1) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 1.1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 1 | ||
| 0.0 | Royals | Alcides Escobar SS | 4 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 1 | - | - | - | - | - | - |