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Astros pitcher Cristian Javier is Saturday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day.
Also Saturday, two players rise in Box-Toppers season player rankings top 10 list after both earned Player of the Game honors—Braves pitcher Max Fried rises to seventh place and Brewers pitcher Corbin Burnes rises to ninth.
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The Boston Red Sox rise to lead Box-Toppers team rankings after acquiring Ian Kinsler from the Angels and winning five of six games they played this week.
Meanwhile, the Los Angeles Dodgers rise to lead National League teams after acquiring second baseman Brian Dozier from the Twins and pitcher John Axford from the Blue Jays.
Read MoreCubs pitcher Mike Montgomery is Monday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day.
Also Monday, Astros pitcher Justin Verlander rises to eighth place in Box-Toppers season player rankings after earning Player of the Game honors.
Read MoreRed Sox pitcher Chris Sale, 2017’s leader in Box-Toppers points, also was the season’s leader in strikeouts.
Six of the 10 leaders in strikeouts in 2017 were among the top 10 pitchers in their league in Box-Toppers points. All 10 strikeout leaders were among the overall top 100 players in Box-Toppers points.
Read MoreDodgers pitcher Clayton Kershaw leads players in Box-Toppers points since the start of 2012.
Kershaw has 147.2 Box-Toppers points over the period 2012-2017, 18.3 points ahead of second-place player in that span, Nationals pitcher Max Scherzer (128.9). However, Kershaw’s lead in the six-year rolling Box-Toppers point total is down from last year and is his narrowest lead since 2013.
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Rays pitcher Chris Archer is Wednesday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day.
| Player | Pos | Team | BTP | |
| 1 | Kershaw, Clayton 2494 | pi sp | lad nl | 7.0 |
| 2 | Sale, Chris 2806 | pi sp | bos al | 6.7 |
| 3 | Santana, Ervin 2005 | pi sp | min al | 6.7 |
| 4 | Scherzer, Max 2588 | pi sp | dc nl | 6.0 |
| 5 | Carrasco, Carlos 2885 | pi sp | cle al | 5.4 |
| 6 | Triggs, Andrew 3723 | pi sp | oak al | 5.4 |
| 7 | Kimbrel, Craig 2825 | pi cp | bos al | 5.0 |
| 8 | Nova, Ivan 2796 | pi sp | pit nl | 5.0 |
| 9 | Vargas, Jason 2055 | pi sp | kc al | 5.0 |
| 10 | Holland, Greg 2906 | pi cp | col nl | 5.0 |
Also Wednesday, Athletics pitcher Andrew Triggs rises to sixth place in Box-Toppers season player rankings after earning Player of the Game honors.
Player of the Day—Archer struck out 11 over eight scoreless innings, allowing five hits and no walks, in the 12-1 win over the Royals.
National League Player of the Day—Rockies pitcher German Marquez struck out eight over eight scoreless innings, allowing three hits and one walk-in the 3-0 win over the Cubs.
This was Marquez’s Box-Toppers debut, the first time in his career he earned Player of the Game honors. Marquez made his Major League debut Sept. 8, 2016, and was playing in his 10th career game. He is the 3,788th player to debut in Box-Toppers since record keeping began in 1995.
American League Batter of the Day—Robinson Cano of the Mariners homered and went 4-for-5, scoring twice and driving in three runs, in the 11-6 win over the Phillies.
Cano has now earned Box-Toppers points in 13 consecutive seasons. He earned his first points in 2005 with the Yankees and has 76.9 career points, sixth among active AL batters. His best season was 2013 with the Yankees, when he had 12.5 points, fourth among AL batters. In 2016, Cano had 8.0 points with the Mariners, second among AL second basemen.
National League Batter of the Day—Dexter Fowler of the Cardinals hit a pinch-hit, go-ahead triple in the 7-5 win over the Marlins. Fowler went 1-for-1, scoring once and driving in two runs.
Rankings—Athletics pitcher Andrew Triggs rises to sixth place in Box-Toppers season player rankings after earning Player of the Game honors Wednesday.
Triggs (6IP 3H R 3BB 4K W in the 3-1 win over the Angels) earns 1.0 Box-Toppers point, giving him 5.4 for the season. Triggs ranks fourth among AL pitchers.
Scoring—Archer earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day and Marquez earns 1.7 points for being NL Player of the Day. Cano and Fowler 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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| 5/10 | Score | Game | Player of the Game | AB | R | H | BI | IP | H | R | ER | BB | K | |
| MLB | 14.0 | TB 12, KC 1 | Chris Archer (W,3-1) | - | - | - | - | 8.0 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 11 | |
| NL | 12.0 | COL 3, CHC 0 | German Marquez (W,1-2) | - | - | - | - | 8.0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 8 | |
| 6.0 | ARI 7, DET 1 | Zack Godley (W,1-0) | - | - | - | - | 7.0 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 6 | ||
| 4.1 | LAD 5, PIT 2 | Kenta Maeda (W,3-2) | - | - | - | - | 8.1 | 5 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 5 | ||
| BAT | 4.0 | SEA 11, PHI 6 | Robinson Cano, 2B | 5 | 2 | 4 | 3 | - | - | - | - | - | - | |
| 4.0 | WSH 7, BAL 6 | Matt Albers (W,2-0) | - | - | - | - | 1.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | ||
| 3.0 | TOR 8, CLE 7 | Ezequiel Carrera, RF | 5 | 3 | 3 | 2 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| BAT | 3.0 | STL 7, MIA 5 | Dexter Fowler, PH | 1 | 1 | 1 | 2 | - | - | - | - | - | - | |
| 2.0 | SF 6, NYM 5 | Buster Posey, 1B-C | 4 | 3 | 2 | 1 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 2.0 | TEX 4, SD 3 | Shin-Soo Choo, DH | 3 | 1 | 3 | 1 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 2.0 | HOU 4, ATL 2 | Carlos Correa, SS | 3 | 1 | 2 | 2 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 2.0 | OAK 3, LAA 1 | Andrew Triggs (W,5-2) | - | - | - | - | 6.0 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 4 | ||
| 1.0 | MIL 7, BOS 4 | Travis Shaw, 3B | 4 | 2 | 2 | 1 | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| Player of the Game | Pos | Team | ’17 | ’16-17 | ’12-17 | Career | +/- |
| Triggs, Andrew 3723 | pi sp | oak al | 5.4 | 6.4 | 6.4 | 6.4 | 4.4 |
| Shaw, Travis 3544 | 3b 1b | mil nl | 2.5 | 9.5 | 13.7 | 13.7 | -4.5 |
| Fowler, Dexter 2698 | cf ph | stl nl | 2.5 | 4.0 | 18.0 | 20.5 | 1.0 |
| Choo, Shin-Soo 2267 | rf dh | tex al | 2.5 | 3.5 | 23.5 | 50.2 | 1.5 |
| Maeda, Kenta 3609 | pi sp | lad nl | 2.0 | 12.0 | 12.0 | 12.0 | -8.0 |
| Archer, Chris 3194 | pi sp | tb al | 2.0 | 11.0 | 51.1 | 51.1 | -7.0 |
| Posey, Buster 2745 | ca 1b | sf nl | 2.0 | 5.5 | 30.5 | 35.0 | -1.5 |
| Marquez, German 3788 | pi sp | col nl | 1.7 | 1.7 | 1.7 | 1.7 | 1.7 |
| Cano, Robinson 2092 | 2b | sea al | 1.5 | 9.5 | 39.0 | 76.9 | -6.5 |
| Correa, Carlos 3506 | ss | hou al | 1.0 | 8.7 | 15.9 | 15.9 | -6.7 |
| Godley, Zack 3538 | pi sp | ari nl | 1.0 | 2.0 | 5.7 | 5.7 | 0.0 |
| Albers, Matt 2274 | pi cp | dc nl | 1.0 | 2.0 | 3.0 | 6.0 | 0.0 |
| Carrera, Ezequiel 2873 | rf | tor al | 1.0 | 1.0 | 3.5 | 5.5 | 1.0 |
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 MoreSeven of the 10 leaders in strikeouts in 2016 were among the top 10 pitchers in their league in Box-Toppers points.
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Rays pitcher Chris Archer is Wednesday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day.
| 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 | Kluber, Corey 3200 | pi sp | cle al | 17.2 |
| 4 | Fernandez, Jose 3147 | pi sp | fla nl | 16.4 |
| 5 | Cueto, Johnny 2400 | pi sp | sf nl | 14.4 |
| 6 | Lester, Jon 2173 | pi sp | chi nl | 14.4 |
| 7 | Hamels, Cole 2135 | pi sp | tex al | 14.1 |
| 8 | Strasburg, Stephen 2736 | pi sp | dc nl | 14.1 |
| 9 | Happ, J.A. 2536 | pi sp | tor al | 12.7 |
| 10 | Altuve, Jose 3007 | 2b | hou al | 12.5 |
Also Wednesday, Cubs pitcher Jon Lester rises to sixth place in Box-Toppers season player rankings after earning Player of the Game honors.
Player of the Day—Archer pitched 7 1/3 scoreless innings, striking out nine and allowing four hits and one walk, in the 2-0 win over the Padres.
National League Player of the Day—Yasmany Tomas of the Diamondbacks hit two homers and tripled, going 3-for-4, scoring three times and driving in six runs, in the 13-5 win over the Mets.
American League Batter of the Day—Jackie Bradley Jr. of the Red Sox hit a two-run homer and doubled, going 2-for-3, scoring twice and driving in four runs, in the 8-1, six-inning, rain-shortened win over the Orioles.
National League Batter of the Day—There is no separate NL Batter of the Day for Wednesday because the NL Player of the Day was batter Yasmany Tomas.
Rankings—Cubs pitcher Jon Lester rises from eighth to sixth place in Box-Toppers season player rankings after earning Player of the Game honors Wednesday.
Lester (6.2IP 3H R 2BB 7K W in the 6-1 win over the Brewers) earns 1.0 Box-Toppers point, giving him 14.4 for the season. He ranks fifth among NL pitchers.
Lester also now has 135.5 career Box-Toppers points, ranked 28th among all players since 1995, when Box-Toppers tracking began. He trails 27th-ranked player Andy Pettitte (138.5).
Scoring—Archer earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day and Tomas earns 1.7 points for being NL Player of the Day. Bradley earns 1.5 points for being AL 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.
Listed from highest to lowest Box-Toppers game score
| 8/17 | Score | Game | Player of Game | AB | R | H | BI | IP | H | R | ER | BB | K | |
| MLB | 11.1 | TB 2, SD 0 | Chris Archer (W,7-16) | - | - | - | - | 7.1 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 9 | |
| NL | 8.0 | ARI 13, NYM 5 | Yasmany Tomas, RF | 4 | 3 | 3 | 6 | - | - | - | - | - | - | |
| 8.0 | STL 8, HOU 2 | Carlos Martinez (W,11-7) | - | - | - | - | 7.0 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 7 | ||
| 6.2 | CHC 6, MIL 1 | Jon Lester (W,13-4) | - | - | - | - | 6.2 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 7 | ||
| 5.0 | LAD 7, PHI 2 | Adrian Gonzalez, 1B | 4 | 2 | 2 | 5 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| BAT | 5.0 | BOS 8, BAL 1 (6) | Jackie Bradley Jr., CF | 3 | 2 | 2 | 4 | - | - | - | - | - | - | |
| 4.1 | `KC 4, DET 1 | Yordano Ventura | - | - | - | - | 6.1 | 5 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 7 | ||
| 4.0 | TOR 7, NYY 4 | Melvin Upton Jr., CF | 3 | 2 | 2 | 3 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 3.0 | COL 12, WSH 10 | Gerardo Parra, RF | 5 | 2 | 2 | 4 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 3.0 | PIT 6, SF 5 | Matt Joyce, PH | 1 | 1 | 1 | 2 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 3.0 | TEX 6, OAK 2 | Yu Darvish (W,4-3) | - | - | - | - | 7.0 | 8 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 9 | ||
| 2.1 | SEA 4, LAA 3 | Drew Storen (W,3-3) | - | - | - | - | 1.1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | ||
| 2.0 | MIN 10, ATL 3 | Trevor Plouffe, 3B | 5 | 1 | 3 | 3 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 2.0 | CHW 10, CLE 7 | Adam Eaton, RF | 5 | 1 | 2 | 4 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 2.0 | CIN 3, MIA 2 | Josh Smith (W,2-1) | - | - | - | - | 2.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 2 | ||
| `Denotes that the pitcher had a no-decision in the game and did not pick up a win or a save. | ||||||||||||||
| Player of Game | Pos | Team | 16 | 15-16 | 11-16 | Career | +/- |
| Lester, Jon 2173 | pi sp | chi nl | 14.4 | 26.4 | 72.6 | 135.5 | 2.4 |
| Archer, Chris 3194 | pi sp | tb al | 8.0 | 24.0 | 48.1 | 48.1 | -8.0 |
| Martinez, Carlos 3371 | pi sp | stl nl | 6.7 | 20.4 | 21.4 | 21.4 | -7.0 |
| Tomas, Yasmany 3489 | rf lf | ari nl | 6.2 | 9.7 | 9.7 | 9.7 | 2.7 |
| Ventura, Yordano 3294 | pi sp | kc al | 6.0 | 17.7 | 27.4 | 27.4 | -5.7 |
| Darvish, Yu 3003 | pi sp | tex al | 4.7 | 4.7 | 49.9 | 49.9 | 4.7 |
| Plouffe, Trevor 2869 | 3b | min al | 4.5 | 7.5 | 23.5 | 23.5 | 1.5 |
| Bradley, Jackie Jr. 3293 | cf | bos al | 4.0 | 13.5 | 14.5 | 14.5 | -5.5 |
| Gonzalez, Adrian 2193 | 1b | lad nl | 4.0 | 8.0 | 34.7 | 70.6 | 0.0 |
| Joyce, Matt 2480 | rf dh ph | pit nl | 4.0 | 4.0 | 20.2 | 29.7 | 4.0 |
| Eaton, Adam 3253 | rf cf | chi al | 3.0 | 8.5 | 11.0 | 11.0 | -2.5 |
| Parra, Gerardo 2746 | rf | col nl | 2.5 | 9.0 | 20.0 | 21.0 | -4.0 |
| Upton, Melvin 1922 | lf cf | tor al | 2.5 | 2.5 | 15.5 | 37.2 | 2.5 |
| Smith, Josh 3674 | pi mr | cin nl | 2.0 | 2.0 | 2.0 | 2.0 | 2.0 |
| Storen, Drew 2750 | pi mr | sea al | 1.0 | 3.0 | 11.0 | 13.0 | -1.0 |
Rays pitcher Chris Archer is Monday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day.
| 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 | Kershaw, Clayton 2494 | pi sp | lad nl | 4.0 |
| 4 | Velasquez, Vince 3611 | pi sp | phi nl | 4.0 |
| 5 | Santiago, Hector 3109 | pi sp | ana al | 3.7 |
| 6 | Latos, Mat 2644 | pi sp | chi al | 3.7 |
| 7 | Davis, Chris 2478 | 1b | bal al | 3.5 |
| 8 | Cano, Robinson 2092 | 2b | sea al | 3.5 |
| 9 | Suarez, Eugenio 3355 | 3b | cin nl | 3.5 |
| 10 | Salazar, Danny 3223 | pi sp | cle al | 3.4 |
Archer struck out 10 over 6 2/3 scoreless innings, allowing five hits, in the 2-0 win over the Orioles.
National League Player of the Day—Pirates pitcher Jeff Locke struck out eight over six scoreless innings, allowing five hits, in the 6-1 win over the Rockies.
American League Batter of the Day—Miguel Cabrera of the Tigers hit two homers (including a three-run shot), a double and went 4-for-4, driving in four runs, in the 7-3 win over the Athletics.
Cabrera earns 1.5 Box-Toppers points for being AL Batter of the Day and now has 134.4 career points, rising to 26th among all players since 1995, when Box-Toppers tracking began. He passes Jason Giambi (133.4) on the “all-time” list and trails 25th-place player, Giants pitcher Jake Peavy (136.8). Passing Giambi, Cabrera rises to eighth among all batters in Box-Toppers points since 1995 and ranks fourth among active batters, behind Alex Rodriguez (187.0), Albert Pujols (175.3) and David Ortiz (137.9).
Cabrera also has now earned Box-Toppers points in 14 straight seasons. He earned his first points in 2003 with the Marlins. His best year was 2013 with the Tigers when he had 16.9 points, leading AL batters. He also led AL batters in 2009 with the Tigers, when he had 16.5. In 2015, he had 4.7 points with the Tigers, his lowest point total since his 2003 rookie year when he had 3.0.
National League Batter of the Day—Michael Conforto of the Mets homered, doubled and went 3-for-3, scoring three times and driving in a run, in the 5-3 win over the Reds.
This is the second straight day Conforto earned Player of the Game honors. He made his Box-Toppers debut Sunday, April 24, earning Player of the Game honors in the Mets win over the Braves.
| Streak | Player | Pos | Duration | Career BTP |
|
| 1 | 19 | Jason Giambi | 1b | 1995-2013 | 133.4 |
| 2 | 18 | Jim Thome | 1b dh | 1995-2012 | 146.7 |
| 2 | 18 | Chipper Jones | 3b | 1995-2012 | 149.0 |
| 2 | 18 | Johnny Damon | lf | 1995-2012 | 63.0 |
| 2 | 18 | Alex Rodriguez | dh | 1996-2013 | 187.0 |
| 2 | 18 | Carlos Beltran* | rf | 1999-2016 | 99.9 |
| 7 | 17 | Mariano Rivera | pi cp | 1995-2011 | 126.4 |
| 7 | 17 | Derek Jeter | ss | 1996-2012 | 76.4 |
| 7 | 17 | Paul Konerko | 1b | 1998-2014 | 100.7 |
| 7 | 17 | Tim Hudson | pi sp | 1999-2015 | 157.0 |
| 7 | 17 | Torii Hunter | cf | 1999-2015 | 115.9 |
| 12 | 16 | Manny Ramirez | lf | 1995-2010 | 167.2 |
| 12 | 16 | Andy Pettitte | pi sp | 1995-2010 | 138.5 |
| 12 | 16 | Jamie Moyer | pi sp | 1995-2010 | 104.0 |
| 12 | 16 | Scott Rolen | 3b | 1996-2011 | 97.6 |
| 12 | 16 | Kevin Millwood | pi sp | 1997-2012 | 108.3 |
| 12 | 16 | Derek Lowe | pi sp | 1998-2013 | 91.5 |
| 12 | 16 | David Ortiz* | dh | 2000-2015 | 137.9 |
| 12 | 16 | Aramis Ramirez | 3b | 2000-2015 | 105.8 |
| 12 | 16 | Mark Buehrle* | pi sp | 2000-2015 | 116.7 |
| 12 | 16 | Albert Pujols* | dh 1b | 2001-2016 | 175.3 |
Streak—Albert Pujols of the Angels has now earned Box-Toppers points in 16 straight seasons after earning Player of the Game honors Monday.
The 16-year streak is tied for the 12th-longest streak in Box-Toppers history (since 1995) with nine other players.
Pujols (2HR 2-4 3R 2BI in the 6-1 win over the Royals) earned his first Box-Toppers point in 2001 with the Cardnals. His best year was 2009 with the Cardinals, when he had 16.7 Box-Toppers points to lead NL batters. Pujols led NL batters five times, the most a batter has led his league in Box-Toppers points since 1995:
In 2015, Pujols had 7.0 Box-Toppers points with the Angels, ranked 20th among AL batters.
Pujols, earning 1.0 Box-Toppers point for being Player of the Game Monday, now has 175.3 career Box-Toppers points, maintaining his rank of sixth place among all players since Box-Toppers tracking began in 1995. He trails fifth-place player, Yankees pitcher CC Sabathia (179.0). Pujols ranks second among all batters, behind Alex Rodriguez of the Yankees (187.0).
Scoring—Archer earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day and Locke earns 1.7 points for being NL Player of the Day. Cabrera and Conforto 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.
Listed from highest to lowest Box-Toppers game score
| 4/25 | Score | Team | Player | AB | R | H | BI | BB | K | IP | H | R | ER | BB | K | |
| MLB | 11.2 | Rays | Chris Archer (W,1-4) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 6.2 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 10 | |
| 9.0 | Mariners | Taijuan Walker (W,2-0) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 7.0 | 6 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 11 | ||
| 9.0 | Yankees | Nathan Eovaldi (W,1-2) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 7.0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 6 | ||
| NL | 7.0 | Pirates | Jeff Locke (W,1-2) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 6.0 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 8 | |
| 6.1 | Red Sox | Rick Porcello (W,4-0) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 6.1 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 6 | ||
| BAT | 6.0 | Tigers | Miguel Cabrera, 1B | 4 | 2 | 4 | 4 | 0 | 0 | - | - | - | - | - | - | |
| BAT | 4.0 | Mets | Michael Conforto, LF | 3 | 3 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 0 | - | - | - | - | - | - | |
| 3.2 | Giants | Madison Bumgarner (W,2-2) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 6.2 | 6 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 9 | ||
| 3.1 | White Sox | Zach Putnam (W,1-0) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 1.1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | ||
| 3.0 | Dbacks | Chris Owings, CF | 5 | 2 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 1 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 3.0 | Angels | Albert Pujols, 1B | 4 | 3 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 2.1 | `Twins | Trevor May | - | - | - | - | - | - | 1.1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | ||
| 2.0 | Marlins | Giancarlo Stanton, RF | 3 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 1 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| `Denotes that the pitcher had a no-decision in the game and did not pick up a win or a save. | ||||||||||||||||
| Player | Pos | Team | 16 | 15-16 | 11-16 | Career | +/- |
| Walker, Taijuan 3453 | pi sp | sea al | 2.7 | 16.4 | 16.4 | 16.4 | -11.0 |
| Conforto, Michael 3622 | lf | nym nl | 2.5 | 2.5 | 2.5 | 2.5 | 2.5 |
| Archer, Chris 3194 | pi sp | tb al | 2.0 | 18.0 | 42.1 | 42.1 | -14.0 |
| Porcello, Rick 2573 | pi sp | bos al | 2.0 | 6.0 | 27.7 | 36.7 | -2.0 |
| Locke, Jeff 3133 | pi sp | pit nl | 1.7 | 7.7 | 19.1 | 19.1 | -4.3 |
| Cabrera, Miguel 1776 | 1b | det al | 1.5 | 6.2 | 54.8 | 134.4 | -3.2 |
| Bumgarner, Madison 2753 | pi sp | sf nl | 1.0 | 18.0 | 88.0 | 93.7 | -16.0 |
| Pujols, Albert 1438 | 1b dh | ana al | 1.0 | 8.0 | 38.0 | 175.3 | -6.0 |
| Stanton, Giancarlo 2737 | rf | fla nl | 1.0 | 6.5 | 28.2 | 33.7 | -4.5 |
| May, Trevor 3417 | pi mr sp cp | min al | 1.0 | 4.0 | 5.0 | 5.0 | -2.0 |
| Eovaldi, Nathan 2928 | pi sp | nyy al | 1.0 | 3.0 | 20.1 | 20.1 | -1.0 |
| Owings, Chris 3347 | cf | ari nl | 1.0 | 2.0 | 4.5 | 4.5 | 0.0 |
| Putnam, Zach 3426 | pi mr | chi al | 1.0 | 2.0 | 3.0 | 3.0 | 0.0 |
Analysis of the 2,429 games played and tracked by Box-Toppers in 2015 shows pitchers bested batters with more Player of the Game honors, more Box-Toppers points and far and away the most Player of the Day honors.
Read MoreDodgers pitcher Clayton Kershaw led in strikeouts (301) and ranked second in Box-Toppers points (25.7). AL strikeout leader Chris Sale of the White Sox (274) ranked 4th among AL pitchers in Box-Toppers points (18.8).
Read More
(Other duties have put us behind updating Box-Toppers. Playing catch up …)
Mets pitcher Bartolo Colon is Box-Toppers Player of the Day for Monday, Aug. 31.
Also Monday, Astros pitcher Dallas Keuchel rises to fifth place in Box-Toppers season player rankings and Rays pitcher Chris Archer rises to 10th place.
| Player | Pos | Team | BTP | |
| 1 | deGrom, Jacob 3343 | pi sp | nym nl | 19.4 |
| 2 | Arrieta, Jake 2738 | pi sp | chi nl | 19.1 |
| 3 | Kershaw, Clayton 2494 | pi sp | lad nl | 18.7 |
| 4 | Price, David 2593 | pi sp | tor al | 18.1 |
| 5 | Keuchel, Dallas 3050 | pi sp | hou al | 17.7 |
| 6 | Sale, Chris 2806 | pi sp | chi al | 17.1 |
| 7 | Greinke, Zack 1871 | pi sp | lad nl | 17.0 |
| 8 | Hernandez, Felix 2064 | pi sp | sea al | 16.4 |
| 9 | Scherzer, Max 2588 | pi sp | dc nl | 16.0 |
| 10 | Archer, Chris 3194 | pi sp | tb al | 16.0 |
Player of the Day—Colon pitched eight scoreless innings, striking out nine and allowing four hits, in the 3-1 win over the Phillies.
Colon earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day, giving him 140.1 for his career, rising to 22nd among all players since 1995, when Box-Toppers record keeping began. With his points Monday, he passes Andy Pettitte (138.5 Box-Toppers points) on the “all-time” list. He trails 21st-ranked player Zack Greinke (142.7 points).
Colon has 6.7 Box-Toppers points this season.
American League Player of the Day—Indians pitcher Danny Salazar struck out 10 over seven innings, allowing two runs and six hits, in the 4-2 win over the Blue Jays.
Salazar earns 1.7 Box-Toppers points for being AL Player of the Day, giving him 11.4 Box-Toppers points on the season. He becomes the 29th player with 10.0 or more Box-Toppers points this season and ranks 22nd among all players, 13th among AL pitchers.
American League Batter of the Day—Mark Canha of the Athletics homered, scored twice and drove in four runs, in the 11-5 win over the Angels.
National League Batter of the Day—Adam Duvall of the Reds hit a two-run, pinch-hit homer in the 13-6 win over the Cubs.
This was Duvall’s Box-Toppers debut, the first time in his career he earned Player of the Game honors. Duvall made his Major League debut June 26, 2014, and was playing in his 29th career game. He is the 3,573rd player to debut in Box-Toppers since record keeping began in 1995.
Rankings—Two players rose in Box-Toppers top 10 season player rankings list after earning Player of the Game honors Monday:
Notable—Cardinals pitcher John Lackey rises to 57th place among all players since 1995 after earning Player of the Game honors Monday. Lackey (6IP 4H 2R 8K ND in the 8-5 win over the Nationals) now has 104.8 career Box-Toppers points. With his point Monday, he passes Jamie Moyer (104.0 points) on the “all-time” list and trails 56th-ranked player Aramis Ramirez (105.8). Lackey has 6.7 Box-Toppers points this season.
Debut—In addition to Duvall, one other player made his Box-Toppers debut Monday: Rockies pitcher Simon Castro earned his first career Player of the Game honor. Castro (2IP 0R 0H K W in the 5-4 win over the Diamondbacks) made his Major League debut July 5, 2013, and was playing in his seventh career game. He is the 3,574th player to debut in Box-Toppers since record keeping began in 1995.
Scoring—Colon earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day and Salazar earns 1.7 Box-Toppers points for being AL Player of the Day. Canha and Duvall each earn 1.5 Box-Toppers 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.
Listed from highest to lowest Box-Toppers game score
| 8/31 | Score | Team | Player | AB | R | H | BI | BB | K | IP | H | R | ER | BB | K | |
| MLB | 12.0 | Mets | Bartolo Colon (W,12-11) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 8.0 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 9 | |
| 9.0 | Padres | Tyson Ross (W,10-9) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 7.0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 7 | ||
| AL | 6.0 | Indians | Danny Salazar (W,12-7) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 7.0 | 6 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 10 | |
| 6.0 | Astros | Dallas Keuchel (W,16-6) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 7.0 | 6 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 8 | ||
| 5.0 | Rays | Chris Archer (W,12-10) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 6.0 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 6 | ||
| 4.1 | Marlins | Chris Narveson (W,2-1) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 5.1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 3 | ||
| BAT | 4.0 | Athletics | Mark Canha, 1B | 3 | 2 | 1 | 4 | 1 | 2 | - | - | - | - | - | - | |
| 4.0 | Dodgers | Chris Hatcher (W,2-5) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 3.0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | ||
| BAT | 3.0 | Reds | Adam Duvall, PH | 1 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | - | - | - | - | - | - | |
| 3.0 | `Cardinals | John Lackey | - | - | - | - | - | - | 6.0 | 4 | 2 | 1 | 4 | 8 | ||
| 3.0 | Rockies | Simon Castro (W,2-0) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 2.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | ||
| 2.0 | Red Sox | Jackie Bradley Jr., LF | 3 | 2 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| `Denotes that the pitcher had a no-decision in the game and did not pick up a win or a save. | ||||||||||||||||
(Other duties have put us behind updating Box-Toppers. Playing catch up …)
Rays pitcher Chris Archer, throwing a one-hitter, is Box-Toppers Player of the Day for Thursday, Aug. 20.
Also Thursday, Cubs pitcher Jake Arrieta rose to ninth place in Box-Toppers player rankings.
| Player | Pos | Team | BTP | |
| 1 | deGrom, Jacob 3343 | pi sp | nym nl | 19.4 |
| 2 | Kershaw, Clayton 2494 | pi sp | lad nl | 16.7 |
| 3 | Price, David 2593 | pi sp | tor al | 16.1 |
| 4 | Sale, Chris 2806 | pi sp | chi al | 16.1 |
| 5 | Scherzer, Max 2588 | pi sp | dc nl | 16.0 |
| 6 | Greinke, Zack 1871 | pi sp | lad nl | 16.0 |
| 7 | Gray, Sonny 3259 | pi sp | oak al | 15.8 |
| 8 | Hernandez, Felix 2064 | pi sp | sea al | 15.4 |
| 9 | Arrieta, Jake 2738 | pi sp | chi nl | 15.4 |
| 10 | Harvey, Matt 3075 | pi sp | nym nl | 15.4 |
Player of the Day—Archer pitched a complete-game, one-hit shutout, striking out 11, in the 1-0 win over the Astros.
Archer earned 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day, giving him 15.0 for the season. He ranks 11th among all players and fifth among AL pitchers.
National League Player of the Day—Pirates pitcher Charlie Morton pitched six scoreless innings, allowing four hits and striking out eight, in the 4-0 win over the Giants.
National League Batter of the Day—Martin Prado of the Marlins hit a two-run homer and went 1-for-2, scoring twice and driving in three runs, in the 9-7 win over the Phillies.
American League Batter of the Day—Miguel Sano of the Twins homered, scored three times and drove in three runs, in the 15-2 win over the Orioles.
Rankings—Cubs pitcher Jake Arrieta rose to ninth place in Box-Toppers season player rankings after earning Player of the Game honors Thursday. Arrieta (6IP 4H 0R 7K W in the 7-1 win over the Braves) earned 1.0 Box-Toppers point, giving him 15.4 for the season. He ranks fifth among NL pitchers.
Debut—Rockies pitcher Yohan Flande made his Box-Toppers debut Thursday, the first time in his career he earned Player of the Game honors.
Flande (7IP 3H 2R 5K W in the 3-2 win over the Nationals) made his Major League debut June 25, 2014, and was playing in his 29th career game. He is the 3,564th player to debut in Box-Toppers since record keeping began in 1995.
Scoring—Archer earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day and Morton earns 1.7 Box-Toppers points for being NL Player of the Day. Prado and Sano each earn 1.5 Box-Toppers 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.
Listed from highest to lowest Box-Toppers game score
| 8/20 | Score | Team | Player | AB | R | H | BI | BB | K | IP | H | R | ER | BB | K | |
| MLB | 18.0 | Rays | Chris Archer (W,11-9) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 9.0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 11 | |
| 11.0 | Tigers | Alfredo Simon (W,11-7) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 9.0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 5 | ||
| NL | 8.2 | Pirates | Charlie Morton (W,8-4) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 6.0 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 8 | |
| 8.0 | Cubs | Jake Arrieta (W,15-6) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 6.0 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 7 | ||
| 7.0 | Indians | Josh Tomlin (W,1-1) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 7.0 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 6 | ||
| 6.0 | `Dbacks | Josh Collmenter (MR) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 3.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | ||
| 5.1 | Red Sox | Wade Miley (W,10-9) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 7.0 | 6 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 6 | ||
| BAT | 4.0 | Marlins | Martin Prado, 3B | 2 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 2 | 1 | - | - | - | - | - | - | |
| BAT | 3.0 | Twins | Miguel Sano, DH | 4 | 3 | 1 | 3 | 1 | 2 | - | - | - | - | - | - | |
| 2.0 | White Sox | Adam LaRoche, 1B | 4 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 1 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 2.0 | Rockies | Yohan Flande (W,3-1) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 7.0 | 3 | 2 | 2 | 3 | 5 | ||
| `Denotes that the pitcher had a no-decision in the game and did not pick up a win or a save. | ||||||||||||||||
White Sox pitcher Jose Quintana is Friday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day.
Other highlights Friday:
| Player | Pos | Team | BTP | |
| 1 | Hernandez, Felix 2064 | pi sp | sea al | 15.4 |
| 2 | Scherzer, Max 2588 | pi sp | dc nl | 15.0 |
| 3 | deGrom, Jacob 3343 | pi sp | nym nl | 14.4 |
| 4 | Sale, Chris 2806 | pi sp | chi al | 13.4 |
| 5 | Price, David 2593 | pi sp | det al | 13.1 |
| 6 | Kershaw, Clayton 2494 | pi sp | lad nl | 13.0 |
| 7 | Archer, Chris 3194 | pi sp | tb al | 13.0 |
| 8 | Keuchel, Dallas 3050 | pi sp | hou al | 12.7 |
| 9 | Greinke, Zack 1871 | pi sp | lad nl | 12.0 |
| 10 | Cole, Gerrit 3232 | pi sp | pit nl | 12.0 |
Player of the Day—Quintana pitched a seven-hit, complete-game shutout, striking out eight, in the 6-0 win over the Indians.
National League Player of the Day—Dodgers pitcher Ian Thomas allowed one run on three hits in five innings, striking out five, in the 7-2 win over the Mets.
This was Thomas’ Box-Toppers debut, the first time in his career he earned Player of the Game honors. Thomas made his Major League debut March 31, 2014, and was playing in his 24th career game. He is the 3,539th player to debut in Box-Toppers since record keeping began in 1995.
National League Batter of the Day—Randal Grichuk of the Cardinals hit a two-run homer and went 2-for-3, scoring twice, in the 4-2 win over the Braves. It is the second straight day Grichuk has earned NL Batter of the Day honors and the third time since July 18, meaning he’s earned 4.5 Box-Toppers points in eight days.
Grichuk also rose to top NL batters in Box-Toppers points. He earned 1.5 Box-Toppers points for being NL Batter of the Day, giving him 8.5 for the season and passes previous leader Todd Frazier of the Reds (7.2 Box-Toppers points). Grichuk ranks 24th among all players in Box-Toppers points this season.
American League Batter of the Day—There is no AL Batter of the Day for Friday because no AL batter earned Player of the Game honors.
New leader—Mariners pitcher Felix Hernandez rose to first place in Box-Toppers season player rankings after earning Player of the Game honors Friday.
Hernandez (7IP 6H 2R 7K W in the 5-2 win over the Blue Jays) earns 1.0 Box-Toppers point, giving him 15.4 for the season. He rises from second to first in player rankings, passing previous leader, Nationals pitcher Max Scherzer (15.0 Box-Toppers points).
It is the fourth separate time this season Hernandez has led players in Box-Toppers points. He led from April 6 to April 12, April 18 to June 26 and July 9 to July 11.
Hernandez also now has 158.7 career Box-Toppers points, maintaining his 12th-place rank among all players since 1995, when Box-Toppers record keeping began. He trails 11th-place player John Smoltz (160.9 Box-Toppers points).
Rankings—Rays pitcher Chris Archer rose to seventh place in Box-Toppers player rankings after earning Player of the Game honors Friday.
Archer (6IP 5H R 9K ND in the 3-1 win over the Orioles) earns 1.0 Box-Toppers point, giving him 13.0 for the season. He ranks fourth among AL pitchers.
Notable—Astros pitcher Scott Kazmir became the 18th player this season with 10 or more Box-Toppers points after earning Player of the Game honors Friday.
Kazmir, in his first start since being traded from the Athletics (7IP 3H 0R 3K W in the 4-0 win over the Royals), earns 1.0 Box-Toppers point, giving him 10.7 for the season. He ranks 14th among all players and seventh among AL pitchers.
Scoring—Quintana earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day and Thomas earns 1.7 Box-Toppers points for being NL Player of the Day. Grichuk earns 1.5 Box-Toppers points for being NL 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.
Listed from highest to lowest Box-Toppers game score
| 7/24 | Score | Team | Player | AB | R | H | BI | BB | K | IP | H | R | ER | BB | K | |
| MLB | 10.0 | White Sox | Jose Quintana (W,5-9) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 9.0 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 8 | |
| 6.2 | Rangers | Colby Lewis (W,10-4) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 7.2 | 5 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 9 | ||
| 6.0 | Astros | Scott Kazmir (W,6-5) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 7.0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 3 | ||
| 6.0 | `Red Sox | Rick Porcello | - | - | - | - | - | - | 7.0 | 5 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 6 | ||
| 6.0 | `Rays | Chris Archer | - | - | - | - | - | - | 6.0 | 5 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 9 | ||
| NL | 5.0 | Dodgers | Ian Thomas (W,1-1) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 5.0 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 5 | |
| 4.0 | Mariners | Felix Hernandez (W,12-5) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 7.0 | 6 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 7 | ||
| 4.0 | Brewers | Jimmy Nelson (W,8-9) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 7.0 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 5 | ||
| 4.0 | Padres | Andrew Cashner (W,4-10) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 7.0 | 5 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 5 | ||
| BAT | 3.0 | Cardinals | Randal Grichuk, CF-LF | 3 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 1 | - | - | - | - | - | - | |
| 3.0 | Twins | Phil Hughes (W,9-6) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 7.0 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | ||
| 2.0 | Giants | Hunter Pence, RF | 5 | 1 | 4 | 2 | 0 | 0 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 2.0 | Rockies | Carlos Gonzalez, RF | 4 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 1 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 2.0 | Pirates | Gregory Polanco, RF | 4 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 0 | 2 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 1.0 | Phillies | Cody Asche, LF | 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. | ||||||||||||||||
Orioles pitcher Ubaldo Jimenez is Sunday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day.
Also Sunday, Dodgers pitcher Zack Greinke rose to 23rd place in Box-Toppers points among all players since 1995 after earning Player of the Game honors. Plus, Cardinals pitcher Carlos Martinez rose to seventh place in Box-Toppers season player rankings.
| Player | Pos | Team | BTP | |
| 1 | Scherzer, Max 2588 | pi sp | dc nl | 14.0 |
| 2 | Hernandez, Felix 2064 | pi sp | sea al | 13.4 |
| 3 | Archer, Chris 3194 | pi sp | tb al | 12.0 |
| 4 | Cole, Gerrit 3232 | pi sp | pit nl | 12.0 |
| 5 | deGrom, Jacob 3343 | pi sp | nym nl | 11.4 |
| 6 | Price, David 2593 | pi sp | det al | 11.1 |
| 7 | Martinez, Carlos 3371 | pi sp | stl nl | 10.7 |
| 8 | Sale, Chris 2806 | pi sp | chi al | 10.4 |
| 9 | Keuchel, Dallas 3050 | pi sp | hou al | 9.7 |
| 10 | Harvey, Matt 3075 | pi sp | nym nl | 9.7 |
Player of the Day—Jimenez pitched eight scoreless innings, allowing four hits and striking out seven, in the 4-0 win over the Indians.
National League Player of the Day—Braves pitcher Alex Wood pitched 7 1/3 scoreless innings, allowing five hits and striking out eight, in the 2-1 win over the Pirates.
National League Batter of the Day—Mets pitcher Steven Matz doubled and went 3-for-3, driving in four runs, in the 7-2 win over the Reds. Matz is the fourth pitcher this year to earn Player of the Game honors for batting (it was done eight times in 2014).
This was also Matz’ Box-Toppers debut, the first time in his career he earned Player of the Game honors. It was also his Major League debut. He is the 3,516th player to debut in Box-Toppers since record keeping began in 1995.
American League Batter of the Day—Salvador Perez of the Royals homered and went 1-for-4, scoring twice and driving in three runs, in the 5-3 win over the Athletics.
Notable—Dodgers pitcher Zack Greinke rose to 23rd place in Box-Toppers points among all players since 1995 (when Box-Toppers record keeping began) after earning Player of the Game honors Sunday.
Greinke (7.2IP 4H 0R 6K W in the 2-0 win over the Marlins) earns 1.0 Box-Toppers point, giving him 133.7 for his career. With his point Sunday, he passes three players on Box-Toppers “all-time” player rankings list: Miguel Cabrera (132.9), Jason Giambi (133.4) and David Ortiz (133.4). He trails 22nd-ranked player Bartolo Colon (136.4). Greinke ranks 17th among all pitchers since 1995.
Greinke also has 8.0 Box-Toppers points on the season, ranked 14th among all players, eighth among NL pitchers.
Rankings—Cardinals pitcher Carlos Martinez rose to seventh place in Box-Toppers season player rankings after earning Player of the Game honors Sunday. Martinez (6IP 2H R 6K W in the 4-1 win over the Cubs) earns 1.0 Box-Toppers point, giving him 10.7 for the season. He ranks fourth among NL pitchers. He is the eighth player this season with 10.0 or more Box-Toppers points.
Also, three pitchers with more than 10.0 Box-Toppers points this season started Sunday but did not earn Player of the Game honors:
Debut—In addition to Matz, two other players made their Box-Toppers debut Sunday, the first time in their career they earned Player of the Game honors:
Scoring—Jimenez earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day and Wood earns 1.7 Box-Toppers points for being NL Player of the Day. Matz and Perez each earn 1.5 Box-Toppers 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.
Listed from highest to lowest Box-Toppers game score
| 6/28 | Score | Team | Player | AB | R | H | BI | BB | K | IP | H | R | ER | BB | K | |
| MLB | 11.0 | Orioles | Ubaldo Jimenez (W, 7-3) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 8.0 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 7 | |
| NL | 10.1 | Braves | Alex Wood (W, 5-5) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 7.1 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 8 | |
| 10.0 | Astros | Collin McHugh (W, 9-3) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 8.0 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 8 | ||
| 9.0 | Orioles | Chris Tillman (W, 6-7) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 7.0 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6 | ||
| 8.2 | Dodgers | Zack Greinke (W, 6-2) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 7.2 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 6 | ||
| 7.0 | Nationals | Stephen Strasburg (W, 5-5) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 7.0 | 4 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 9 | ||
| 6.0 | `Angels | Hector Santiago | - | - | - | - | - | - | 7.0 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 6 | ||
| 5.2 | Blue Jays | Drew Hutchison (W, 8-1) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 5.2 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 8 | ||
| 5.0 | Cardinals | Carlos Martinez (W, 9-3) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 6.0 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 6 | ||
| 5.0 | Red Sox | Justin Masterson (W, 3-2) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 5.0 | 5 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 6 | ||
| 4.2 | Giants | Madison Bumgarner (W, 8-4) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 7.2 | 5 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 8 | ||
| BAT | 4.0 | Mets | Steven Matz P | 3 | 0 | 3 | 4 | 0 | 0 | - | - | - | - | - | - | |
| 2.0 | Dbacks | Jake Lamb 3B | 4 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 1 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| BAT | 2.0 | Royals | Salvador Perez C | 4 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 0 | - | - | - | - | - | - | |
| 2.0 | Brewers | Ryan Braun RF | 2 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 0 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 2.0 | `Mets | Logan Verrett | - | - | - | - | - | - | 2.0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | ||
| 2.0 | Tigers | Joakim Soria (W, 3-0) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 1.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | ||
| 1.0 | Phillies | Odubel Herrera CF | 5 | 2 | 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. | ||||||||||||||||
Mariners pitcher Mike Montgomery is Tuesday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day.
Also Tuesday, two pitchers in Box-Toppers top 10 player rankings for the season earned Player of the Game honors—Rays pitcher Chris Archer and Tigers pitcher David Price.
Player of the Day—Montgomery pitched a complete game, four-hit shutout, striking out 10, in the 7-0 win over the Royals.
| Player | Pos | Team | BTP | |
| 1 | Hernandez, Felix 2064 | pi sp | sea al | 13.4 |
| 2 | Scherzer, Max 2588 | pi sp | dc nl | 13.0 |
| 3 | Archer, Chris 3194 | pi sp | tb al | 12.0 |
| 4 | Cole, Gerrit 3232 | pi sp | pit nl | 12.0 |
| 5 | Price, David 2593 | pi sp | det al | 11.1 |
| 6 | Sale, Chris 2806 | pi sp | chi al | 10.4 |
| 7 | deGrom, Jacob 3343 | pi sp | nym nl | 9.7 |
| 8 | Martinez, Carlos 3371 | pi sp | stl nl | 9.7 |
| 9 | Harvey, Matt 3075 | pi sp | nym nl | 9.7 |
| 10 | Gray, Sonny 3259 | pi sp | oak al | 9.4 |
This was Montgomery’s Box-Toppers debut, the first time in his career he earned Player of the Game honors. Montgomery made his Major League debut June 2 and was playing in his fifth career game. He is the 3,513th player to debut in Box-Toppers since record keeping began in 1995.
National League Player of the Day—Cubs pitcher Jason Hammel pitched 7 2/3 scoreless innings, allowing two hits and striking out six, in the 1-0, 10-inning win over the Dodgers. Hammel picked up a no-decision and did not earn the win because he left the game with a scoreless tie. The Cubs won on a walk-off sacrifice fly in the bottom of the 10th inning.
National League Batter of the Day—Maikel Franco of the Phillies hit a three-run homer, a double and went 2-for-3, scoring twice and driving in five runs, in the 11-6 win over the Yankees. This was the second straight day Franco earned Box-Toppers Player of the Game honors. He was NL Player of the Day on Monday, June 22.
American League Batter of the Day—Carlos Correa of the Astros hit a three-run homer, doubled and went 3-for-6, scoring three times and driving in four runs, in the 13-3 win over the Angels.
Rankings—Two pitchers rose in Box-Toppers top 10 player rankings after earning Player of the Game honors Tuesday:
Debut—Xavier Scruggs of the Cardinals also made his Box-Toppers debut Tuesday, the first time in his career he earned Player of the Game honors. Scruggs (2B 3-4 R 2BI in the 4-3 win over the Marlins) made his Major League debut Sept. 4, 2014, and was playing in his 14th career game. He is the 3,514th player to debut in Box-Toppers since record keeping began in 1995.
Scoring—Montgomery earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day and Hammel earns 1.7 Box-Toppers points for being NL Player of the Day. Franco and Correa each earn 1.5 Box-Toppers points for being their league’s Batter of the Day. All of Tuesday’s other Players of the Game (listed in the chart below) earn 1.0 Box-Toppers point.
About Box-Toppers—Box-Toppers tracks who most helps their team win the most games. Using standard box score statistics, Box-Toppers uses a simple formula to determine a Player of the Game for each Major League Baseball game played. That player is the person who contributed most to his team’s win. In regular season games, players earn 1.0 Box-Toppers point for being named Player of the Game and can earn bonus points for being Player of the Day or top player or batter in their league for the day.
Listed from highest to lowest Box-Toppers game score
| 6/23 | Score | Team | Player | AB | R | H | BI | BB | K | IP | H | R | ER | BB | K | |
| MLB | 15.0 | Mariners | Mike Montgomery (W, 2-2) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 9.0 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 10 | |
| NL | 9.2 | `Cubs | Jason Hammel | - | - | - | - | - | - | 7.2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 6 | |
| 8.0 | Rays | Chris Archer (W, 9-4) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 8.0 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 7 | ||
| BAT | 6.0 | Phillies | Maikel Franco 1B | 3 | 2 | 2 | 5 | 1 | 0 | - | - | - | - | - | - | |
| 6.0 | Nationals | Stephen Strasburg (W, 4-5) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 5.0 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 6 | ||
| 4.1 | Brewers | Will Smith (W, 3-0) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 1.1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | ||
| BAT | 4.0 | Astros | Carlos Correa SS | 6 | 3 | 3 | 4 | 0 | 1 | - | - | - | - | - | - | |
| 4.0 | Rockies | Nolan Arenado 3B | 4 | 2 | 2 | 4 | 0 | 0 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 4.0 | Pirates | Mark Melancon (S, 24) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 1.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | ||
| 3.0 | Athletics | Josh Phegley C | 4 | 2 | 2 | 3 | 0 | 1 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 3.0 | Orioles | David Lough CF | 3 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 0 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 3.0 | Padres | Brandon Maurer (W, 5-0) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 2.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 2 | ||
| 2.2 | Tigers | David Price (W, 7-2) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 6.2 | 9 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 7 | ||
| 2.0 | Cardinals | Xavier Scruggs 1B | 4 | 1 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 0 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 1.2 | White Sox | Jake Petricka (S, 2) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 1.2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||
| `Denotes that the pitcher had a no-decision in the game and did not pick up a win or a save. | ||||||||||||||||
Dodgers pitcher Zack Greinke is Thursday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day.
Greinke pitched seven scoreless innings, striking out eight and allowing four hits, in the 1-0 win over the Rangers. Greinke did not earn the win because he left with the score tied 0-0. The Dodgers won the game in the bottom of the ninth inning on a walk-off balk.
| Player | Pos | Team | BTP | |
| 1 | Hernandez, Felix 2064 | pi sp | sea al | 13.4 |
| 2 | Cole, Gerrit 3232 | pi sp | pit nl | 12.0 |
| 3 | Scherzer, Max 2588 | pi sp | dc nl | 11.0 |
| 4 | Archer, Chris 3194 | pi sp | tb al | 11.0 |
| 5 | Sale, Chris 2806 | pi sp | chi al | 10.4 |
| 6 | Price, David 2593 | pi sp | det al | 10.1 |
| 7 | deGrom, Jacob 3343 | pi sp | nym nl | 9.7 |
| 8 | Martinez, Carlos 3371 | pi sp | stl nl | 9.7 |
| 9 | Harvey, Matt 3075 | pi sp | nym nl | 9.7 |
| 10 | Gray, Sonny 3259 | pi sp | oak al | 9.4 |
Greinke earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day, giving him 132.7 career Box-Toppers points, rising to 26th place among all players since 1995 when Box-Toppers record keeping began. Greinke passes Jake Peavy (131.8) on the “all-time” list and now trails 25th-place player Miguel Cabrera (132.9). Greinke has 7.0 Box-Toppers points on the season, ranking 16th among all players and eighth among NL pitchers.
American League Player of the Day—Angels pitcher C.J. Wilson struck out nine over eight innings, allowing one run, in the 7-1 win over the Diamondbacks. Wilson earns 1.7 Box-Toppers points for being AL Player of the Day, giving him 7.4 for the season. Wilson is the season’s highest ranked player of the 14 who earned Player of the Game honors Thursday—he ranks 15th among all players and seventh among AL pitchers.
American League Batter of the Day—Domingo Santana of the Astros hit a three-run, pinch-hit home run in the 8-4 win over the Rockies. This was Santana’s Box-Toppers debut, the first time in his career he earned Player of the Game honors. He made his Major League debut July 1, 2014, and was playing in his eighth career game. He is the 3,507th player to debut in Box-Toppers since record keeping began in 1995.
National League Batter of the Day—There is no NL Batter of the Day for Thursday because no NL batter earned Player of the Game honors.
Streak—Brian McCann of the Yankees has now earned at least 1.0 Box-Toppers point for 10 straight seasons. McCann was Player of the Game in Thursday’s 9-4 win over the Marlins (3-4 2R BI) and earned 1.0 Box-Toppers point, his first of the season.
McCann earned his first Box-Toppers point in 2006 with the Braves. His best season was 2009 with the Braves when he had 8.5 Box-Toppers points, first among NL catchers. In 2014, he had 6.5 Box-Toppers points with the Yankees, first among AL catchers.
McCann has 49.7 career Box-Toppers points and ranks 22nd among active AL batters and first among active AL catchers (second place is Russell Martin of the Blue Jays—38.5 career Box-Toppers points).
Notable—Two pitchers with more than 10.0 Box-Toppers points this season started games on Thursday, but did not earn Player of the Game honors:
Scoring—Greinke earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day and Wilson earns 1.7 Box-Toppers points for being AL Player of the Day. Santana earns 1.5 Box-Toppers points for being AL 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.
Listed from highest to lowest Box-Toppers game score
| 6/18 | Score | Team | Player | AB | R | H | BI | BB | K | IP | H | R | ER | BB | K | |
| MLB | 11.0 | `Dodgers | Zack Greinke | - | - | - | - | - | - | 7.0 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 8 | |
| 7.2 | Giants | Ryan Vogelsong (W, 5-5) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 6.2 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 6 | ||
| AL | 7.0 | Angels | C.J. Wilson (W, 5-5) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 8.0 | 8 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 9 | |
| 4.1 | Blue Jays | R.A. Dickey (W, 3-6) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 7.1 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 5 | 7 | ||
| 4.1 | Indians | Zach McAllister (W, 2-2) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 1.1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 4 | ||
| BAT | 4.0 | Astros | Domingo Santana PH, RF | 1 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 0 | - | - | - | - | - | - | |
| 4.0 | `Twins | Mike Pelfrey | - | - | - | - | - | - | 8.0 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 3 | ||
| 4.0 | `Phillies | Sean O’Sullivan | - | - | - | - | - | - | 5.0 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 7 | ||
| 3.0 | Padres | Ian Kennedy (W, 4-5) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 6.0 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 4 | ||
| 3.0 | Royals | Greg Holland (S, 12) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 1.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | ||
| 3.0 | Red Sox | Koji Uehara (S, 14) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 1.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | ||
| 3.0 | Pirates | Mark Melancon (S, 23) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 1.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | ||
| 2.0 | Yankees | Brian McCann C | 4 | 2 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 2.0 | Rays | Brad Boxberger (S, 16) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 1.0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | ||
| `Denotes that the pitcher had a no-decision in the game and did not pick up a win or a save. | ||||||||||||||||
Marlins pitcher Mat Latos is Saturday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day.
Also Saturday, Pirates pitcher Gerrit Cole rose to second place in Box-Toppers player rankings.
Player of the Day—Latos struck out 11 over seven innings, allowing one run and four hits, in the 4-1 win over the Rockies.
| Player | Pos | Team | BTP | |
| 1 | Hernandez, Felix 2064 | pi sp | sea al | 12.4 |
| 2 | Cole, Gerrit 3232 | pi sp | pit nl | 12.0 |
| 3 | Archer, Chris 3194 | pi sp | tb al | 11.0 |
| 4 | Sale, Chris 2806 | pi sp | chi al | 10.4 |
| 5 | Price, David 2593 | pi sp | det al | 10.1 |
| 6 | deGrom, Jacob 3343 | pi sp | nym nl | 9.7 |
| 7 | Martinez, Carlos 3371 | pi sp | stl nl | 9.7 |
| 8 | Scherzer, Max 2588 | pi sp | dc nl | 9.0 |
| 9 | Heston, Chris 3437 | pi sp | sf nl | 8.7 |
| 10 | Kershaw, Clayton 2494 | pi sp | lad nl | 8.0 |
Latos had a Box-Toppers game score of 10, the same as Angels pitcher C.J. Wilson (Player of the Game in the 1-0 win over the Athletics), but Latos won overall Player of the Day on a tiebreaker—he had more strikeouts than Wilson—11 vs. 8.
American League Player of the Day—Angels pitcher C.J. Wilson pitched seven scoreless innings, struck out eight and allowed two hits, in the 1-0 win over the Athletics.
American League Batter of the Day—Manny Machado of the Orioles hit a two-run homer and went 3-for-5, scoring twice and driving in four runs, in the 9-4 win over the Yankees.
National League Batter of the Day—David Peralta of the Diamondbacks went 2-for-4, scoring once, driving in a run and stealing a base, in the 4-2 win over the Giants.
Rankings—Pirates pitcher Gerrit Cole rose to second place in Box-Toppers player rankings after earning Player of the Game honors Saturday. Cole (6IP 5H 2R 7K W in the 4-3 win over the Phillies) earns 1.0 Box-Toppers point, giving him 12.0 for the season. Cole extends his lead among NL pitchers (second place is Jacob deGrom of the Mets with 9.7 Box-Toppers points). Cole trails overall leader Felix Hernandez of the Mariners, who has 12.4 Box-Toppers points.
Notable—Rays pitcher Chris Archer fell from second to third place in Box-Toppers player rankings. Though he pitched in his team’s 5-4 win Saturday over the White Sox, he did not earn Player of the Game honors—that honor went to Kevin Kiermaier (3B 2-3 2R), who had a Box-Toppers game score of 1. Archer (7IP 5H 3R 5K ND) had a Box-Toppers game score of 0. Archer has 11.0 Box-Toppers points this season.
Debut—Nationals pitcher Joe Ross made his Box-Toppers debut Saturday, the first time in his career he earned Player of the Game honors. Ross (8IP 7H 2R 8K W in the 7-2 win over the Brewers) made his Major League debut June 6 and was playing in his second career game. He is the 3,499th player to debut in Box-Toppers since record keeping began in 1995.
Scoring—Latos earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day and Wilson earns 1.7 Box-Toppers points for being AL Player of the Day. Machado and Peralta 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.
Listed from highest to lowest Box-Toppers game score
| 6/13 | Score | Team | Player | AB | R | H | BI | BB | K | IP | H | R | ER | BB | K | |
| MLB | 10.0 | Marlins | Mat Latos (W, 2-4) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 7.0 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 11 | |
| AL | 10.0 | Angels | C.J. Wilson (W, 4-5) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 7.0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 8 | |
| 6.0 | `Cubs | Kyle Hendricks | - | - | - | - | - | - | 5.0 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 7 | ||
| 5.0 | Pirates | Gerrit Cole (W, 10-2) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 6.0 | 5 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 7 | ||
| BAT | 4.0 | Orioles | Manny Machado 3B | 5 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 0 | 0 | - | - | - | - | - | - | |
| 4.0 | Mariners | Logan Morrison 1B | 5 | 2 | 2 | 5 | 0 | 1 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 4.0 | Nationals | Joe Ross (W, 1-1) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 8.0 | 7 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 8 | ||
| 4.0 | `Padres | Ian Kennedy | - | - | - | - | - | - | 7.0 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 4 | ||
| 3.0 | Rangers | Shin-Soo Choo RF | 4 | 1 | 3 | 3 | 1 | 0 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 3.0 | Cardinals | Tyler Lyons (W, 1-0) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 5.0 | 3 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 6 | ||
| 2.1 | `Blue Jays | Steve Delabar | - | - | - | - | - | - | 1.1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | ||
| 2.0 | Indians | David Murphy DH | 3 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 2.0 | Braves | Jason Grilli (W, 2-2) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 1.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | ||
| 1.0 | Rays | Kevin Kiermaier CF | 3 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 1 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| BAT | 0.0 | Dbacks | David Peralta LF | 4 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | - | - | - | - | - | - | |
| `Denotes that the pitcher had a no-decision in the game and did not pick up a win or a save. | ||||||||||||||||
Rays pitcher Chris Archer is Sunday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day and rises to second in player rankings.
| Player | Pos | Team | BTP | |
| 1 | Hernandez, Felix 2064 | pi sp | sea al | 12.4 |
| 2 | Archer, Chris 3194 | pi sp | tb al | 11.0 |
| 3 | Cole, Gerrit 3232 | pi sp | pit nl | 11.0 |
| 4 | deGrom, Jacob 3343 | pi sp | nym nl | 9.7 |
| 5 | Martinez, Carlos 3371 | pi sp | stl nl | 9.7 |
| 6 | Scherzer, Max 2588 | pi sp | dc nl | 9.0 |
| 7 | Sale, Chris 2806 | pi sp | chi al | 8.4 |
| 8 | Price, David 2593 | pi sp | det al | 8.1 |
| 9 | Keuchel, Dallas 3050 | pi sp | hou al | 7.7 |
| 10 | Gray, Sonny 3259 | pi sp | oak al | 7.7 |
Also Sunday, Pirates pitcher Gerrit Cole maintains his lead among National League pitchers, but falls from second to third in overall player rankings, despite earning Player of the Game honors. In addition, Mets pitcher Jacob deGrom rises to fourth place in player rankings. Plus, Yankees pitcher CC Sabathia now has 175.3 career Box-Toppers points, the most of any active pitcher.
Player of the Day—Archer struck out 11 over seven innings, allowing one unearned run and six hits, in the 3-1 win over the Mariners.
Archer earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day, giving him 11.0 for the season, rising to second among all players, behind overall leader, Mariners pitcher Felix Hernandez (12.4 Box-Toppers points). Archer also ranks second among AL pitchers behind Hernandez. Archer is the third player this season with 10.0 or more Box-Toppers points.
National League Player of the Day—Reds pitcher Johnny Cueto pitched seven scoreless innings and struck out nine in the 4-0 win over the Padres.
American League Batter of the Day—Jose Bautista of the Blue Jays hit two home runs and went 3-for-4, scoring three times, in the 7-6 win over the Astros.
National League Batter of the Day—There is no NL Batter of the Day for Sunday because no NL batter earned Player of the Game honors.
Rankings—Two other players in Box-Toppers top 10 player rankings earned Player of the Game honors Sunday:
While Cole maintains his lead among NL pitchers, he actually falls from second to third in overall player rankings because he was passed by Sunday’s overall Player of the Day Chris Archer. Cole and Archer both have 11.0 Box-Toppers points for the season but Archer holds the tiebreaker because he has more Box-Toppers points in 2014—12.4 vs. 5.7.
Notable—Yankees pitcher CC Sabathia now has 175.3 career Box-Toppers points after earning Player of the Game honors Sunday.
Sabathia (6IP 2R 7K W in the 6-2 win over the Angels) earns 1.0 Box-Toppers point and now has 2.0 for the season. His 175.3 career Box-Toppers points ranks fifth among all players since 1995, when Box-Toppers record keeping began. He ranks fourth among pitchers, behind Curt Schilling (194.1) and second among active players, behind Alex Rodriguez (183.8). He is the top-ranked active pitcher in Box-Toppers points.
Debut—Marlins pitcher Jose Urena made his Box-Toppers debut Sunday, the first time in his career he earned Player of the Game honors. Urena (6IP R 4K ND in the 3-2 win over the Rockies) made his Major League debut April 14 and was playing in his fifth career game. He is the 3,492nd player to debut in Box-Toppers since record keeping began in 1995.
Scoring—Archer earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day and Cueto earns 1.7 Box-Toppers points for being NL Player of the Day. Bautista earns 1.5 Box-Toppers points for AL 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.
Listed from highest to lowest Box-Toppers game score
| 6/7 | Score | Team | Player | AB | R | H | BI | BB | K | IP | H | R | ER | BB | K | |
| MLB | 11.0 | Rays | Chris Archer (W, 7-4) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 7.0 | 6 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 11 | |
| NL | 10.0 | Reds | Johnny Cueto (W, 4-4) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 7.0 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 9 | |
| 6.0 | Twins | Mike Pelfrey (W, 5-2) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 8.0 | 8 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 7 | ||
| 5.0 | Pirates | Gerrit Cole (W, 9-2) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 7.0 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 7 | ||
| 4.0 | Mets | Jacob deGrom (W, 7-4) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 7.0 | 5 | 3 | 2 | 3 | 10 | ||
| BAT | 4.0 | Blue Jays | Jose Bautista RF | 4 | 3 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 0 | - | - | - | - | - | - | |
| 4.0 | Orioles | Bud Norris (W, 2-4) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 5.0 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 7 | ||
| 4.0 | Cardinals | Kevin Siegrist (W, 3-0) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 1.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | ||
| 3.2 | Phillies | Ken Giles (W, 2-1) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 1.2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 3 | ||
| 3.1 | Red Sox | Steven Wright (W, 3-2) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 3.1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 2 | ||
| 3.0 | Tigers | Tyler Collins LF | 3 | 2 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 3.0 | Yankees | CC Sabathia (W, 3-7) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 6.0 | 5 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 7 | ||
| 3.0 | `Marlins | Jose Urena | - | - | - | - | - | - | 6.0 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 4 | ||
| 2.1 | `Royals | Jeremy Guthrie | - | - | - | - | - | - | 6.1 | 3 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 5 | ||
| 2.1 | `Cubs | Justin Grimm (H, 4) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 1.1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | ||
| `Denotes that the pitcher had a no-decision in the game and did not pick up a win or a save. | ||||||||||||||||
Box-Toppers tracks who most helps their team win the most games. Using standard box score statistics, Box-Toppers uses a simple formula to determine a Player of the Game for each Major League Baseball game played. That player is the person who contributed most to his team’s win. Players earn Box-Toppers points for being named Player of the Game and can earn bonus points for being Player of the Day or top player or batter in their league for the day.