Rockies' Chad Bettis tops players for Monday, Sept. 5; Orioles' Jimenez tops AL players

Rockies pitcher Chad Bettis is Monday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day.

Bettis pitched a complete-game, two-hit shutout, striking out seven and walking none, in the 6-0 win over the Giants.

Top 10 players

Here are the top 10 players in Box-Toppers points (BTP) for the 2016 season as of Sept. 5:  

	Player	Pos	Team	BTP
1	Scherzer, Max 2588	pi sp	dc nl	22.7
2	Kershaw, Clayton 2494	pi sp	lad nl	20.0
3	Fernandez, Jose 3147	pi sp	fla nl	18.4
4	Kluber, Corey 3200	pi sp	cle al	18.2
5	Lester, Jon 2173	pi sp	chi nl	17.1
6	Hamels, Cole 2135	pi sp	tex al	16.8
7	Cueto, Johnny 2400	pi sp	sf nl	14.4
8	Strasburg, Stephen 2736	pi sp	dc nl	14.1
9	Syndergaard, Noah 3472	pi sp	nym nl	14.0
10	Arrieta, Jake 2738	pi sp	chi nl	13.7

What are those numbers after players' names?

American League Player of the Day—Orioles pitcher Ubaldo Jimenez pitched a complete game, allowing three runs, two hits, one walk and striking out six, in the 7-3 win over the Rays.

American League Batter of the Day—Eric Hosmer of the Royals hit a three-run homer and went 2-for-3, scoring twice and driving in four runs, in the 11-5 win over the Twins.

National League Batter of the Day—Chris Coghlan of the Cubs hit the go-ahead, seventh-inning pinch-hit single and went 2-for-2, scoring once and driving in three runs, in the 7-2 win over the Brewers.

Notable—Tigers pitcher Justin Verlander has the most season Box-Toppers points among the 15 who earned Player of the Game honors Monday.

Verlander (7IP 8H 2R BB 11K ND in the 5-3, 11-inning win over the White Sox) earns 1.0 Box-Toppers point, giving him 11.0 for the season. He ranks 27th among all players and 10th among AL pitchers.

Verander also now has 135.6 career Box-Toppers points, 29th-most since Box-Toppers tracking began in 1995. He trails 28th-ranked player, Cubs pitcher Jon Lester (138.2).

Also notable—For the sixth time this season, a pitcher has earned Box-Toppers Player of the Game honors for batting and Adam Wainwright of the Cardinals, who did it Monday, has now done it twice in 2016.

Wainwright (2B 2-3 R 3BI in the 12-6 win over the Pirates) was also Player of the Game for batting May 2. It is the fourth time in his career Wainwright has earned Player of the Game honors for batting. He also did it July 24, 2012 and Sept. 18, 2013.

Wainwright also picked up the win in the game (5IP 7H 4R BB 5K W). His Box-Toppers game score for pitching was −6.0. His Box-Toppers game score for batting was +3.0, best of all Cardinals players Monday.

Wainwright earns 1.0 Box-Toppers point for being Player of the Game, giving him 111.0 career points. He rises to 53rd place among all players since 1995, when Box-Toppers tracking began, passing Tom Glavine (110.6) on the “all-time” list and now trails 52nd-ranked player Adrian Beltre of the Rangers (111.3). Wainwright has 9.2 Box-Toppers points on the season, 20th among NL pitchers.

Debut—Trea Turner of the Nationals made his Box-Toppers debut Monday with his first career Player of the Game honor.

Turner (HR 2B 3-4 R 3BI in the 6-4 win over the Braves) made his Major League debut Aug. 21, 2015, and was playing in his 75th career game. He is the 3,730th player to debut in Box-Toppers since record keeping began in 1995.

Scoring—Bettis earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day and Jimenez earns 1.7 points for being AL Player of the Day. Hosmer and Coghlan each earn 1.5 points for being their league’s Batter of the Day. All of Monday’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

9/5	Score	Game	Player of Game	AB	R	H	BI		IP	H	R	ER	BB	K
MLB	14.0	COL 6, SF 0	Chad Bettis (W,12-7)	-	-	-	-		9.0	2	0	0	0	7
	12.0	SD 2, BOS 1	Edwin Jackson (W,4-5)	-	-	-	-		7.0	4	0	0	2	11
	8.1	LAD 10, ARI 2	Kenta Maeda (W,14-8)	-	-	-	-		6.1	3	1	1	1	8
AL	6.0	BAL 7, TB 3	Ubaldo Jimenez (W,6-11)	-	-	-	-		9.0	2	3	3	1	6
BAT	5.0	KC 11, MIN 5	Eric Hosmer, 1B	3	2	2	4		-	-	-	-	-	-
	5.0	`DET 5, CHW 3 (11)	Justin Verlander	-	-	-	-		7.0	8	2	2	1	11
	4.0	SEA 14, TEX 6	Franklin Gutierrez, RF	4	1	3	4		-	-	-	-	-	-
BAT	4.0	CHC 7, MIL 2	Chris Coghlan, PH-RF	2	1	2	3		-	-	-	-	-	-
	3.0	NYY 5, TOR 3	Jacoby Ellsbury, CF	4	1	3	3		-	-	-	-	-	-
	3.0	WSH 6, ATL 4	Trea Turner, 2B	4	1	3	3		-	-	-	-	-	-
	3.0	NYM 5, CIN 0	Matt Reynolds, SS	4	2	3	2		-	-	-	-	-	-
	3.0	STL 12, PIT 6	Adam Wainwright, P	3	1	2	3		-	-	-	-	-	-
	3.0	LAA 10, OAK 7	Andrew Bailey (S,2)	-	-	-	-		1.0	0	0	0	0	2
	2.0	PHI 6, MIA 2	Peter Bourjos, RF	4	2	3	1		-	-	-	-	-	-
	2.0	HOU 6, CLE 2	Alex Bregman, 3B	4	2	2	2		-	-	-	-	-	-
		`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 of Game	Pos	Team	16	15-16	11-16	Career	+/-
Verlander, Justin 2112	pi sp	det al	11.0	17.4	80.6	135.6	4.6
Wainwright, Adam 2150	pi sp	stl nl	9.2	12.2	60.3	111.0	6.2
Maeda, Kenta 3609	pi sp	lad nl	8.0	8.0	8.0	8.0	8.0
Hosmer, Eric 2886	1b	kc al	7.5	16.5	30.0	30.0	-1.5
Bettis, Chad 3481	pi sp	col nl	5.7	11.1	11.1	11.1	0.3
Gutierrez, Franklin 2242	rf	sea al	3.5	4.5	8.5	23.5	2.5
Jackson, Edwin 1812	pi sp	sd nl	3.0	3.0	22.0	43.8	3.0
Jimenez, Ubaldo 2349	pi sp	bal al	2.7	11.4	39.6	77.5	-6.0
Coghlan, Chris 2610	3b rf ph	chi nl	2.5	3.5	10.0	16.5	1.5
Bregman, Alex 3721	3b	hou al	2.0	2.0	2.0	2.0	2.0
Reynolds, Matt 3650	ss ph	nym nl	2.0	2.0	2.0	2.0	2.0
Ellsbury, Jacoby 2365	cf	nyy al	1.0	4.0	23.0	30.0	-2.0
Bourjos, Peter 2790	rf	phi nl	1.0	2.0	12.5	13.5	0.0
Bailey, Andrew 2549	pi cp	ana al	1.0	1.0	5.0	18.0	1.0
Turner, Trea 3730	2b	dc nl	1.0	1.0	1.0	1.0	1.0

What are those numbers after players' names?

White Sox' Sale tops players for Friday, April 15; Dbacks' Greinke rises to 20th on 'all-time' list

White Sox pitcher Chris Sale is Friday’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 April 15:  

	Player	Pos	Team	BTP
1	Velasquez, Vince 3611	pi sp	phi nl	4.0
2	Salazar, Danny 3223	pi sp	cle al	3.4
3	Kershaw, Clayton 2494	pi sp	lad nl	3.0
4	Volquez, Edinson 2220	pi sp	kc al	2.7
5	Bettis, Chad 3481	pi sp	col nl	2.7
6	Ross, Joe 3499	pi sp	dc nl	2.7
7	Latos, Mat 2644	pi sp	chi al	2.7
8	Davis, Chris 2478	1b	bal al	2.5
9	Brown, Trevor 3610	ca	sf nl	2.5
10	Sale, Chris 2806	pi sp	chi al	2.0

What are those numbers after players' names?

Sale pitched a two-hit shutout, allowing no walks and striking out nine, in the 1-0 win over the Rays. Sale earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day, his first of the season, and now ranks 10th in Box-Toppers season player rankings.

National League Player of the Day—Nationals pitcher Joe Ross pitched 7 2/3 scoreless innings, allowing three hits and striking out five, in the 9-1 win over the Phillies. Ross earns 1.7 Box-Toppers points for being NL Player of the Day, giving him 2.7 for the season and rises to sixth in season player rankings.

National League Batter of the Day—Matt Holliday of the Cardinals hit two home runs, going 2-for-2 and driving in four runs, in the 4-3 win over the Reds.

Holliday has now earned Box-Toppers points in 13 straight seasons. He earned his first points in 2004 with the Rockies and has 93.3 career points, ranked 88th among all players since 1995 (when Box-Toppers tracking began) and second among active NL batters (behind Ryan Howard of the Phillies who has 96.7). Holliday’s best season was 2007 with the Rockies when he had 16.2 Box-Toppers points to lead NL batters. In 2015, he had 1.5 points with the Cardinals.

American League Batter of the Day—Mark Trumbo of the Orioles hit two seventh-inning home runs, going 2-for-4 and driving in five runs, in the 11-5 win over the Rangers.

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	nyy al	187.0
5	CC Sabathia	pi sp	nyy al	179.0
6	Albert Pujols	1b dh	ana al	174.3
7	Roy Halladay	pi sp	retired	170.7
8	Manny Ramirez	lf dh	retired	167.2
9	Johan Santana	pi sp	free agent	166.6
10	Roger Clemens	pi sp	retired	164.8
11	Felix Hernandez	pi sp	sea al	162.7
12	Clayton Kershaw	pi sp	lad nl	162.3
13	John Smoltz	pi sp	retired	160.9
14	Tim Hudson	pi sp	retired	157.0
15	Mike Mussina	pi sp	retired	155.6
16	Barry Bonds	lf	retired	153.2
17	Greg Maddux	pi sp	retired	151.7
18	Chipper Jones	3b	retired	149.0
19	Javier Vazquez	pi sp	retired	148.3
20	Zack Greinke	pi sp	ari nl	147.4

List of top 100 players since 1995 (through the 2015 season)

Notable—Diamondbacks pitcher Zack Greinke rises to 20th place on Box-Toppers “all-time” player rankings after earning Player of the Game honors Friday. He also extended his streak of consecutive seasons earning Box-Toppers points to 10.

Greinke (7.1IP 6H 2R 5K ND in the 3-2 win over the Padres) earns 1.0 Box-Toppers point, giving him 147.4 for his career, rising to 20th among all players since 1995 when Box-Toppers tracking began. Greinke passes Jim Thome (146.7) and now trails 19th-place player Javier Vazquez (148.3).

Greinke has now earned Box-Toppers points in 10 straight seasons. He earned his first points in 2004 with the Royals but his current 10-year streak did not begin until 2007, when he was also with the Royals (he earned no points in 2006). His best year was 2009 with the Royals when he had 21.5 points to lead NL pitchers. In 2015, he had 20.7 points with the Dodgers, fifth among NL pitchers.

Streak—Ryan Braun of the Brewers has now earned Box-Toppers points in 10 straight seasons after earning Player of the Game honors Friday. Braun (2HR 3-5 2R 4BI in the 8-4 win over the Pirates) earned his first points in 2007 with the Brewers and has 78.7 career points, third among active NL batters. His best year was 2012 with the Brewers when he had 12.5 Box-Toppers points to lead NL batters. He had 5.0 points in 2015.

Debut—Adonis Garcia of the Braves made his Box-Toppers debut Friday, the first time in his career he earned Player of the Game honors. Garcia (2B 2-4 3BI in the 6-3 win over the Marlins) made his Major League debut May 19, 2015, and was playing in his 68th career game. He is the 3,613th player to debut in Box-Toppers since record keeping began in 1995.

Rankings—Rockies pitcher Chad Bettis rose to fifth place in Box-Toppers season player rankings after earning Player of the Game honors Friday. Bettis (6IP 3H 0R 4 W in the 6-1 win over the Cubs) earned 1.0 Box-Toppers point, giving him 2.7 for the season.

Scoring—Sale earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day and Ross earns 1.7 points for being NL Player of the Day. Holliday and Trumbo each earn 1.5 points for being their league’s Batter of the Day. All of Friday’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

4/15	Score	Team	Player	AB	R	H	BI	BB	K		IP	H	R	ER	BB	K
MLB	16.0	White Sox	Chris Sale (W,3-0)	-	-	-	-	-	-		9.0	2	0	0	0	9
NL	7.2	Nationals	Joe Ross (W,2-0)	-	-	-	-	-	-		7.2	3	0	0	2	5
BAT	6.0	Cardinals	Matt Holliday, 1B	2	2	2	4	1	0		-	-	-	-	-	-
	6.0	Astros	Dallas Keuchel (W,2-1)	-	-	-	-	-	-		8.0	5	0	0	1	4
	5.1	Red Sox	Rick Porcello (W,2-0)	-	-	-	-	-	-		6.1	2	3	3	1	8
BAT	5.0	Orioles	Mark Trumbo, DH	4	2	2	5	0	1		-	-	-	-	-	-
	4.0	Brewers	Ryan Braun, LF	5	2	3	4	0	1		-	-	-	-	-	-
	4.0	Dodgers	Enrique Hernandez, LF	5	2	3	4	0	0		-	-	-	-	-	-
	4.0	Mariners	Chris Iannetta, C	3	1	3	3	1	0		-	-	-	-	-	-
	4.0	Rockies	Chad Bettis (W,2-0)	-	-	-	-	-	-		6.0	3	0	0	3	4
	3.0	Twins	Eduardo Nunez, 2B	3	2	3	1	0	0		-	-	-	-	-	-
	2.0	Royals	Wade Davis (S,5)	-	-	-	-	-	-		1.0	0	0	0	0	1
	1.1	`Dbacks	Zack Greinke	-	-	-	-	-	-		7.1	6	2	2	1	5
	1.0	Mets	Yoenis Cespedes, DH	5	1	3	2	0	1		-	-	-	-	-	-
	1.0	Braves	Adonis Garcia, 3B	4	0	2	3	0	0		-	-	-	-	-	-
		`Denotes that the pitcher had a no-decision in the game and did not pick up a win or a save.

Blue Jays' Estrada tops players for Sunday, April 10; Royals' Volquez rises to 2nd in player rankings

Blue Jays pitcher Marco Estrada is Sunday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day.

Also Sunday, Royals pitcher Edinson Volquez rose to second in Box-Toppers player rankings for the season and Eugenio Suarez of the Reds earned Player of the Game honors for the second straight day.

Top 10 players

Here are the top 10 players in Box-Toppers points (BTP) for the 2016 season as of April 10:  

	Player	Pos	Team	BTP
1	Kershaw, Clayton 2494	pi sp	lad nl	3.0
2	Volquez, Edinson 2220	pi sp	kc al	2.7
3	Liriano, Francisco 2104	pi sp	pit nl	2.0
4	Syndergaard, Noah 3472	pi sp	nym nl	2.0
5	Rizzo, Anthony 3063	1b	chi nl	2.0
6	Estrada, Marco 2847	pi sp	tor al	2.0
7	Anderson, Chase 3328	pi sp	mil nl	2.0
8	Suarez, Eugenio 3355	3b ss	cin nl	2.0
9	Nicasio, Juan 2888	pi sp	pit nl	2.0
10	Velasquez, Vince 3611	pi sp	tex al	2.0

What are those numbers after players' names?

Player of the Day—Estrada struck out eight over seven scoreless innings in the 3-0 win over the Red Sox.

National League Player of the Day—Rockies pitcher Chad Bettis struck out six over seven innings, allowing two runs, in the 6-3 win over the Padres.

American League Batter of the Day—Manny Machado of the Orioles homered, doubled and went 4-for-4, scoring twice and driving in two runs, in the 5-3 win over the Rays.

National League Batter of the Day—Brandon Belt of the Giants homered and went 2-for-3, driving in three runs, in the 9-6 win over the Dodgers.

Notable—Two players earned Box-Toppers points for the second time this season Sunday:

• Royals pitcher Edinson Volquez rose to second place in Box-Toppers player rankings after earning Player of the Game honors Sunday. Volquez (5.2IP 8H 2R 10K ND in the 4-3 win over the Twins) earns 1.0 Box-Toppers point, giving him 2.7 for the season.
• Eugenio Suarez of the Reds earned Player of the Game honors for the second straight day Sunday. Suarez (HR 3-4 R BI in the 2-1 win over the Pirates) earns 1.0 Box-Toppers point, giving him 2.0 for the season. He ranks eighth in Box-Toppers season player rankings.

Debut—Aledmys Diaz of the Cardinals made his Box-Toppers debut Sunday, the first time in his career he earned Player of the Game honors. Diaz (2B 1-1 R 2BI in the 12-7 win over the Braves) made his Major League debut April 5 and was playing in his fourth career game. He is the 3,612th player to debut in Box-Toppers since record keeping began in 1995.

Streak—Huston Street of the Angels has now earned Box-Toppers points in 12 straight seasons after earning Player of the Game honors Sunday. Street (1IP 0H 0R 2K Sv in the 3-1 win over the Rangers) earned his first Box-Toppers points in 2005 with the Athletics. He has 51.0 career points, ranked second among active AL closing pitchers (behind Francisco Rodriguez of the Tigers who has 60.4). His best season was 2008 with the Athletics, when he had 8.0 Box-Toppers points and ranked fourth among AL closing pitchers. He had 4.0 Box-Toppers points in 2015 with the Angels.

Scoring—Estrada earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day and Bettis earns 1.7 points for being NL Player of the Day. Machado 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.

Top player from each game

Listed from highest to lowest Box-Toppers game score

4/10	Score	Team	Player	AB	R	H	BI	BB	K		IP	H	R	ER	BB	K
MLB	8.0	Blue Jays	Marco Estrada (W,1-0)	-	-	-	-	-	-		7.0	5	0	0	2	8
BAT	4.0	Orioles	Manny Machado, 3B	4	2	4	2	0	0		-	-	-	-	-	-
NL	4.0	Rockies	Chad Bettis (W,1-0)	-	-	-	-	-	-		7.0	6	2	1	0	6
	4.0	Brewers	Jimmy Nelson (W,1-1)	-	-	-	-	-	-		6.0	3	2	2	4	9
	3.2	`Royals	Edinson Volquez	-	-	-	-	-	-		5.2	8	2	2	0	10
BAT	3.0	Giants	Brandon Belt, 1B	3	1	2	3	1	0		-	-	-	-	-	-
	3.0	Cardinals	Aledmys Diaz, SS	1	1	1	2	0	0		-	-	-	-	-	-
	3.0	Nationals	Joe Ross (W,1-0)	-	-	-	-	-	-		7.0	5	1	1	2	5
	3.0	Angels	Huston Street (S,1)	-	-	-	-	-	-		1.0	0	0	0	0	2
	2.2	Phillies	Jeremy Hellickson (W,1-0)	-	-	-	-	-	-		5.2	3	2	2	1	5
	2.0	Athletics	Sean Doolittle (S,1)	-	-	-	-	-	-		1.0	1	0	0	0	2
	1.0	Reds	Eugenio Suarez, 3B	4	1	3	1	0	0		-	-	-	-	-	-
	1.0	Cubs	Tommy La Stella, 3B	4	1	3	1	0	0		-	-	-	-	-	-
		`Denotes that the pitcher had a no-decision in the game and did not pick up a win or a save.

Athletics' Sam Fuld tops players in Friday, March 11's spring training games

Sam Fuld of the Athletics is Box-Toppers spring training Player of the Day for Friday.

Fuld homered and tripled, going 2-for-2, scoring twice and driving in four runs, in the 9-4 win over the Reds. Fuld had no Box-Toppers points in 2015 and last earned Box-Toppers points when he was Player of the Game on Aug. 10, 2011, with the Rays. Fuld has 3.5 career Box-Toppers points.

National League Player of the Day—Rockies pitcher Chad Bettis pitched three perfect innings, allowing no hits, runs or baserunners, striking out three, in the 6-1 win over the Indians. Bettis had 5.4 Box-Toppers points with the Rockies in 2015.

National League Batter of the Day—Cesar Hernandez of the Phillies went 3-for-4, scoring twice and driving in two runs, in the 9-2 win over the Braves. Hernandez has no career Box-Toppers points. While he has played in 227 regular season Major League games, he has yet to make his Box-Toppers debut by earning his first regular season Player of the Game honor.

American League Batter of the Day—There is no separate AL Batter of the Day for Friday because the overall AL Player of the Day was a batter, Sam Fuld.

Scoring—No Box-Toppers points are awarded in spring training games, but if it were the regular season, Fuld would earn 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day, Bettis would earn 1.7 points for being NL Player of the Day and Hernandez would earn 1.5 points as NL Batter of the Day. All of Friday’s other Players of the Game (listed in the chart below) would 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

3/11	Score	Team	Player	AB	R	H	BI	BB	K		IP	H	R	ER	BB	K
MLB	6.0	Athletics	Sam Fuld RF-CF	2	2	2	4	1	0		-	-	-	-	-	-
NL	6.0	Rockies	Chad Bettis (W, 1-0)	-	-	-	-	-	-		3.0	0	0	0	0	3
	5.2	`Blue Jays	Marcus Stroman	-	-	-	-	-	-		4.2	3	0	0	0	4
	5.0	White Sox	Carlos Rodon (W, 1-0)	-	-	-	-	-	-		4.0	2	0	0	0	3
	5.0	Mariners	Hisashi Iwakuma (W, 1-0)	-	-	-	-	-	-		3.0	1	0	0	1	4
	5.0	Yankees	Masahiro Tanaka (W, 1-0)	-	-	-	-	-	-		3.0	1	0	0	0	3
	5.0	Angels	Yunesky Maya (SV, 1)	-	-	-	-	-	-		2.0	0	0	0	0	3
	4.0	Astros	Colby Rasmus LF	3	1	2	4	0	1		-	-	-	-	-	-
	4.0	Rangers	Joey Gallo 3B	3	2	2	3	0	0		-	-	-	-	-	-
	4.0	Cubs	Spencer Patton (SV, 1)	-	-	-	-	-	-		1.0	0	0	0	0	3
BAT	3.0	Phillies	Cesar Hernandez 2B	4	2	3	2	0	1		-	-	-	-	-	-
	3.0	Nationals	Tony Campana CF	2	1	2	2	0	0		-	-	-	-	-	-
	2.0	Dbacks	Chris Herrmann C	4	1	2	3	1	0		-	-	-	-	-	-
	2.0	`Pirates	Juan Nicasio	-	-	-	-	-	-		3.0	3	0	0	1	3
	1.0	Marlins	Adeiny Hechavarria SS	3	1	3	0	0	0		-	-	-	-	-	-
	1.0	Cardinals	Jacob Wilson 3B	3	1	2	1	0	1		-	-	-	-	-	-
		` Denotes that the pitcher had a no-decision in the game and did not pick up a win or a save.

Rangers' Lewis tops players for Friday, Sept. 11; Cubs' Arrieta regains Box-Toppers points lead

Rangers pitcher Colby Lewis is Friday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day.

Also Friday, Cubs pitcher Jake Arrieta regained the top spot in Box-Toppers season player rankings, three days after losing the lead to Dodgers pitcher Clayton Kershaw.

Top 10 players

Here are the top 10 players in Box-Toppers points (BTP) for the 2015 season as of Sept. 11.  

	Player	Pos	Team	BTP
1	Arrieta, Jake 2738	pi sp	chi nl	22.1
2	Kershaw, Clayton 2494	pi sp	lad nl	21.7
3	deGrom, Jacob 3343	pi sp	nym nl	20.4
4	Hernandez, Felix 2064	pi sp	sea al	19.4
5	Keuchel, Dallas 3050	pi sp	hou al	19.4
6	Price, David 2593	pi sp	tor al	19.1
7	Greinke, Zack 1871	pi sp	lad nl	18.0
8	Sale, Chris 2806	pi sp	chi al	17.1
9	Cole, Gerrit 3232	pi sp	pit nl	17.0
10	Gray, Sonny 3259	pi sp	oak al	16.8

What are those numbers after players' names?

Player of the Day—Lewis pitched a complete-game, two-hit shutout, striking out four, in the 4-0 win over the Athletics. He allowed no hits until the eighth inning.

National League Player of the Day—Rockies pitcher Chad Bettis pitched seven scoreless innings, allowing three hits and striking out six, in the 4-2 win over the Mariners.

National League Batter of the Day—Nick Ahmed of the Diamondbacks hit a two-run homer, a double and went 4-for-4, scoring twice and driving in three runs, in the 12-4 win over the Dodgers.

American League Batter of the Day—Steve Clevenger of the Orioles hit a grand slam and scored two runs in the 14-8 win over the Royals.

Rankings—Cubs pitcher Jake Arrieta regained the top spot in Box-Toppers season player rankings after earning Player of the Game honors Friday. Arrieta (8IP 6H R 7K W in the 5-1 win over the Phillies) earns 1.0 Box-Toppers point, giving him 22.1. He passes previous leader, Dodgers pitcher Clayton Kershaw (21.7). Arrieta and Kershaw have traded three-day turns with the Box-Toppers season points lead since since Sept. 2, with Arrieta leading twice and Kershaw leading twice.

Notable—Three other Players of the Game from Friday hit notable milestones:

Lead changes

Here are the season’s lead changes among players in Box-Toppers points. Chart shows the date and the player’s Box-Toppers point (BTP) total when they took the lead.  

Date	Player	Team	BTP
4/5	Adam Wainwright	stl nl	2.0
4/6	Felix Hernandez	sea al	2.0
4/13	Scott Kazmir	oak al	3.7
4/18	Felix Hernandez	sea al	4.0
6/26	Max Scherzer	dc nl	14.0
7/9	Felix Hernandez	sea al	14.4
7/12	Max Scherzer	dc nl	15.0
7/24	Felix Hernandez	sea al	15.4
7/26	Jacob deGrom	nym nl	16.4
9/2	Clayton Kershaw	lad nl	20.7
9/5	Jake Arrieta	chi nl	21.1
9/8	Clayton Kershaw	lad nl	21.7
9/11	Jake Arrieta	chi nl	22.1

• Giants pitcher Jake Peavy now has 134.8 career Box-Toppers points, maintaining his rank of 25th among all players since 1995, when Box-Toppers record keeping began. Peavy (7IP 2H R 2K W in the 9-1 win over the Padres) earns 1.0 Box-Toppers point. He trails 24th-ranked player David Ortiz (136.9) and has 3.0 Box-Toppers points this season.
• Angels pitcher Jered Weaver rises to 36th place in Box-Toppers points among all players since 1995 (when record keeping began). Weaver (6IP 5H 2R 7K W in the 3-2 win over the Astros) earns 1.0 Box-Toppers point, giving him 123.1 for his career. With his point Friday, he passes Justin Verlander (122.9) on the “all-time” list and trails 33rd-ranked player Gary Sheffield (124.1). Weaver has 7.7 Box-Toppers points this season.
• Yoenis Cespedes of the Mets became the 35th player (and fifth batter) with 10.0 or more Box-Toppers points this season. Cespedes (HR 2B 3-5 R 3BI in the 5-1 win over the Braves) earns 1.0 Box-Toppers point, giving him 10.9 for the season. He rises to second place among NL batters —behind Carlos Gonzalez of the Rockies (11.5)—and 26th among all players.

Scoring—Lewis earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day and Bettis earns 1.7 Box-Toppers points for being NL Player of the Day. Ahemd and Clevenger each earn 1.5 Box-Toppers points for being their league’s Batter of the Day. All of Friday’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

9/11	Score	Team	Player	AB	R	H	BI	BB	K		IP	H	R	ER	BB	K
MLB	11.0	Rangers	Colby Lewis (W,15-8)	-	-	-	-	-	-		9.0	2	0	0	0	4
AL	7.0	Rockies	Chad Bettis (W,7-5)	-	-	-	-	-	-		7.0	3	0	0	3	6
BAT	5.0	Dbacks	Nick Ahmed, SS	4	2	4	3	0	0		-	-	-	-	-	-
BAT	5.0	Orioles	Steve Clevenger, PH-C	2	2	1	4	0	0		-	-	-	-	-	-
	5.0	Cubs	Jake Arrieta (W,19-6)	-	-	-	-	-	-		8.0	6	1	1	2	7
	5.0	Giants	Jake Peavy (W,6-6)	-	-	-	-	-	-		7.0	2	1	1	0	2
	4.0	Blue Jays	Russell Martin, C	5	2	3	4	0	2		-	-	-	-	-	-
	4.0	Cubs	Kyle Schwarber, LF	4	3	2	3	1	0		-	-	-	-	-	-
	3.0	Twins	Trevor Plouffe, 3B	5	2	3	3	0	1		-	-	-	-	-	-
	3.0	Pirates	Mark Melancon (S,45)	-	-	-	-	-	-		1.0	0	0	0	0	2
	3.0	`Marlins	Jarred Cosart	-	-	-	-	-	-		5.0	4	0	0	3	5
	2.0	Mets	Yoenis Cespedes, CF	5	1	3	3	0	1		-	-	-	-	-	-
	2.0	Rays	J.P. Arencibia, PH-C	2	1	1	2	0	1		-	-	-	-	-	-
	2.0	Angels	Jered Weaver (W,7-10)	-	-	-	-	-	-		6.0	5	2	2	2	7
		`Denotes that the pitcher had a no-decision in the game and did not pick up a win or a save.

Mariners' Walker tops players for Friday, May 29; Athletics' Gray rises to 7th in Box-Toppers player rankings

Mariners pitcher Taijuan Walker is Friday’s Player of the Day.

Also Friday, Athletics pitcher Sonny Gray rose to seventh place in Box-Toppers player rankings. Plus, three pitchers with more than 100 career Box-Toppers points earned Player of the Game honors Friday—Tim Hudson of the Giants, Dan Haren of the Marlins and John Lackey of the Cardinals.

Top 10 players

Here are the top 10 players in Box-Toppers points (BTP) for the 2015 season as of May 29.  

	Player	Pos	Team	BTP
1	Hernandez, Felix 2064	pi sp	sea al	11.4
2	Scherzer, Max 2588	pi sp	dc nl	9.0
3	Cole, Gerrit 3232	pi sp	pit nl	9.0
4	Archer, Chris 3194	pi sp	tb al	7.0
5	Miller, Shelby 3134	pi sp	atl nl	7.0
6	deGrom, Jacob 3343	pi sp	nym nl	6.7
7	Gray, Sonny 3259	pi sp	oak al	6.7
8	Harvey, Matt 3075	pi sp	nym nl	6.7
9	Heston, Chris 3437	pi sp	sf nl	6.7
10	Fielder, Prince 2029	dh	tex al	6.5

What are those numbers after players' names?

Player of the Day—Walker pitched eight scoreless innings, striking out eight and allowing two hits, in the 2-1 win over the Indians.

National League Player of the Day—Rockies pitcher Chad Bettis pitched eight scoreless innings, striking out seven and allowing two hits, in the 4-1 win over the Phillies. Bettis had a perfect game into the seventh inning and a no-hitter into the eighth inning, before giving up a one-out single.

This was Bettis’ Box-Toppers debut, the first time in his career he earned Player of the Game honors. He made his Major League debut Aug. 1, 2013, and was playing in his 41st career game. He is the 3,481st player to debut in Box-Toppers since record keeping began in 1995.

American League Batter of the Day—Josh Hamilton of the Rangers hit two home runs and scored three total runs in the 7-4 win over the Red Sox. It was Hamilton’s first Player of the Game honor of the season and the first since his return to the Rangers after two seasons with the Angels.

National League Batter of the Day—There is no NL Batter of the Day for Friday because no NL batters earned Player of the Game honors.

Rankings—Athletics pitcher Sonny Gray rose to seventh place in Box-Toppers player rankings for the season after earning Player of the Game honors Friday. Gray (8IP 4H 2R 5K W in the 6-2 win over the Yankees) earns 1.0 Box-Toppers point, giving him 6.7 for the season. He ranks third among AL pitchers.

Notable—Three players with more than 100 career Box-Toppers points earned Player of the Game honors Friday:

• Giants pitcher Tim Hudson rose to 13th place among all players in Box-Toppers points since 1995, when record keeping began. Hudson earns 1.0 Box-Toppers point for being Player of the Game in the 4-2 win over the Braves (7IP 5H R 4K W), giving him 155.0 career Box-Toppers points. Hudson passes Felix Hernandez (154.7) on that list and trails 12th-place player, Mike Mussina (155.6). Hudson has 2.0 Box-Toppers points for the season.
• Marlins pitcher Dan Haren rose to 48th place among all players in Box-Toppers points since 1995, when record keeping began. Haren earns 1.0 Box-Toppers point for being Player of the Game in the 4-3 win over the Mets (7IP 4H 2R 4K W), giving him 111.2 career Box-Toppers points. Haren passes Jon Lester (111.1) and Tom Glavine (110.6) on that list and trails 47th-place player Torii Hunter (111.4). Haren has 3.0 Box-Toppers points for the season.
• Cardinals pitcher John Lackey rose to 59th place among all players in Box-Toppers points since 1995, when record keeping began. Lackey earns 1.0 Box-Toppers point for being Player of the Game in the 3-0 win over the Dodgers (7IP 5H 0R 9K W), giving him 101.8 career Box-Toppers points. Lackey passes Jason Schmidt (101.2), Tim Wakefield (101.4) and Adam Wainwright (101.8) on that list and trails Ken Griffey Jr. (102.2). Lackey has 3.7 Box-Toppers points for the season.

Scoring—Walker earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day and Bettis earns 1.7 Box-Toppers points for being NL Player of the Day. Hamilton earns 1.5 Box-Toppers points for being AL Batter of the Day. All of Friday’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

5/29	Score	Team	Player	AB	R	H	BI	BB	K		IP	H	R	ER	BB	K
MLB	14.0	Mariners	Taijuan Walker (W, 2-5)	-	-	-	-	-	-		8.0	2	0	0	0	8
NL	13.0	Rockies	Chad Bettis (W, 2-0)	-	-	-	-	-	-		8.0	2	0	0	0	7
	10.0	Cardinals	John Lackey (W, 3-3)	-	-	-	-	-	-		7.0	5	0	0	1	9
	9.0	`Orioles	Miguel Gonzalez	-	-	-	-	-	-		8.0	3	1	1	0	6
	8.1	Angels	Hector Santiago (W, 4-3)	-	-	-	-	-	-		7.1	3	0	0	3	7
BAT	4.0	Rangers	Josh Hamilton LF	3	3	2	2	1	0		-	-	-	-	-	-
	4.0	Giants	Tim Hudson (W, 3-4)	-	-	-	-	-	-		7.0	5	1	1	0	4
	3.0	White Sox	Geovany Soto C	1	1	1	2	1	0		-	-	-	-	-	-
	3.0	Athletics	Sonny Gray (W, 6-2)	-	-	-	-	-	-		8.0	4	2	2	2	5
	3.0	Padres	Craig Kimbrel (W, 1-1)	-	-	-	-	-	-		1.0	0	0	0	0	2
	2.2	Dbacks	Addison Reed (W, 2-2)	-	-	-	-	-	-		1.2	1	0	0	0	2
	2.0	Royals	Lorenzo Cain CF	4	2	3	1	1	1		-	-	-	-	-	-
	2.0	Marlins	Dan Haren (W, 5-2)	-	-	-	-	-	-		7.0	4	2	2	1	4
	2.0	Reds	Aroldis Chapman (S, 8)	-	-	-	-	-	-		1.0	1	0	0	0	2
	1.0	Blue Jays	Josh Donaldson 3B	5	1	2	3	0	0		-	-	-	-	-	-
		`Denotes that the pitcher had a no-decision in the game and did not pick up a win or a save.