Los Angeles Dodgers edge out Washington Nationals as Box-Toppers' top preseason team. Champion Cubs slip to 5th after key player losses. Indians rank 1st among AL teams.
Read MoreReliever Andrew Miller tops players in World Series Game 3 as Indians take 2-1 series lead
Indians pitcher Andrew Miller is Box-Toppers Player of the Game in World Series Game 3 Friday.
The Cleveland Indians win 1-0 to take a 2-1 lead over the Chicago Cubs in the best-of-seven-games series.
Miller struck out three in 1 1/3 scoreless innings, allowing no hits, no walks and picking up the win. Miller had a Box-Toppers game score of +4.1, highest among Indians players.
Miller relieved starter Josh Tomlin in the fifth inning with two outs and also pitched the sixth inning.
Miller was pulled for pinch hitter Coco Crisp in the seventh inning, who drove in the game’s only run. That made Miller the pitcher of record, earning him the win, since he was the last Indians pitcher on the mound before the Indians took the lead.
Miller had 8.0 Box-Toppers points during the regular season, ranked 92nd among all players, 32nd among American League pitchers and first among AL middle relievers. He earned 4.0 of his points with the Yankees before being traded to the Indians.
This is the third time this postseason Miller has been Box-Toppers Player of the Game, tied for the most such honors with teammate Corey Kluber (who starts for the Indians Saturday). Previously, Miller was Player of the Game in the AL Division Series Game 1 win vs. the Red Sox on Oct. 6 and in the AL Championship Series Game 3 win vs. the Blue Jays on Oct. 17.
Closer Cody Allen had the second-highest Box-Toppers game score (+3.1) among Indians (1.1IP H 0R 0BB 3K). Starter Josh Tomlin had the third-highest score (+2.2) among Indians (4.2IP 2H 0R BB K). Pinch hitter Coco Crisp had the highest Box-Toppers game score (+1.0) among Indians batters, driving in the game’s only run with a single in the seventh inning (1-1 BI).
Opposing starting pitcher Kyle Hendricks of the Cubs had a Box-Toppers game score of +2.1 (4.1IP 6H 0R 2BB 6K ND). Hendricks had 13.4 Box-Toppers points during the regular season, ranked 17th among all players, 10th among National League pitchers.
The World Series resumes Saturday in Chicago with Game 4.
About Box-Toppers—Box-Toppers tracks who most helps their team win the most games. Using standard box score statistics, Box-Toppers uses a simple formula to determine a Player of the Game for each Major League Baseball game played. That player is the person who contributed most to his team’s win. In regular season games, players earn 1.0 Box-Toppers point for being named Player of the Game and can earn bonus points for being Player of the Day or top player or batter in their league for the day.
Box-Toppers strives for accuracy. See a mistake in a post? A wrong name, wrong team, grammar error, spelling goof, etc.? Thanks for pointing it out! Contact Box-Toppers here. Let's fix it and make it right.
Top Indians in World Series Game 3: Indians 1, Cubs 0
Here are the Box-Toppers game scores of all Indians who played in World Series Game 3 listed from highest-to-lowest Box-Toppers game score.
| BTG | Player | AB | R | H | BI | BB | K | IP | H | R | ER | BB | K | |
| 4.1 | Andrew Miller (W,2-0) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 1.1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | |
| 3.1 | Cody Allen (S,6) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 1.1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | |
| 2.2 | Josh Tomlin | - | - | - | - | - | - | 4.2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | |
| 1.0 | a-Coco Crisp, PH | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | - | - | - | - | - | - | |
| 0.2 | Bryan Shaw (H,4) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 1.2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | |
| 0.0 | Michael Martinez, PR-CF-3B | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | - | - | - | - | - | - | |
| 0.0 | Andrew Miller, P | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | - | - | - | - | - | - | |
| 0.0 | Bryan Shaw, P | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | - | - | - | - | - | - | |
| 0.0 | Brandon Guyer, LF | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | - | - | - | - | - | - | |
| 0.0 | Cody Allen, P | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | - | - | - | - | - | - | |
| 0.0 | Rajai Davis, LF-CF | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | - | - | - | - | - | - | |
| -1.0 | Tyler Naquin, CF | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | - | - | - | - | - | - | |
| -1.0 | Carlos Santana, LF | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 1 | - | - | - | - | - | - | |
| -1.0 | Yan Gomes, C | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | - | - | - | - | - | - | |
| -1.0 | Josh Tomlin, P | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | - | - | - | - | - | - | |
| -2.0 | Francisco Lindor, SS | 4 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | - | - | - | - | - | - | |
| -2.0 | Jose Ramirez, 3B | 4 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | - | - | - | - | - | - | |
| -2.0 | Jason Kipnis, 2B | 3 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | - | - | - | - | - | - | |
| -2.0 | Roberto Perez, C | 3 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | - | - | - | - | - | - | |
| -4.0 | Mike Napoli, 1B | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | - | - | - | - | - | - | |
| -4.0 | Lonnie Chisenhall, RF | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | - | - | - | - | - | - | |
| BTG: Box-Toppers game score | ||||||||||||||
Coming Saturday in Chicago:
World Series Game 4, Indians lead Cubs in series, 2-1
The pitching matchup Saturday:
Indians—Corey Kluber, 21.2 Box-Toppers points, fifth among all players, first among AL pitchers. Kluber was Player of the Game in AL Division Series Game 2 vs. the Red Sox, in AL Championship Series Game 1 vs. the Blue Jays and in World Series Game 1 vs. the Cubs.
Cubs—John Lackey, 13.4 Box-Toppers points, ranked 16th, ninth among NL pitchers.
Kluber is pitching on short rest, having pitched and won World Series Game 1 on Oct. 25. He has earned Box-Toppers Player of the Game honors three times this postseason, tied for the most of any player with Indians middle reliever Andrew Miller (Friday’s Player of the Game). Lackey comes in on full rest, having not pitched since Oct. 19 and is among the top 10 NL pitchers in Box-Toppers player rankings. However, Lackey has not earned Player of the Game honors in his two postseason appearances (combined 8IP 10H 5R 5BB 7K) and last earned regular season Player of the Game honors on Sept. 4.
Box-Toppers World Series preview
Box-Toppers 2016 final team rankings
Box-Toppers 2016 final top 10 player rankings
Box-Toppers point totals of all Cubs players active at season’s end
Box-Toppers point totals of all Indians players active at season’s end
Game 3 narrative via Box-Toppers Twitter feed
Here are real-time tweets from Box-Toppers Wednesday as World Series Game 3 progressed:
#WorldSeries #Game3 starters:
— Box-Toppers (@BoxToppers) October 28, 2016
Josh Tomlin #Indians 5.0 Box-Toppers pts, rank 202nd
Kyle Hendricks #Cubs 13.4, 17thhttps://t.co/jyhVpVxl5W
Box-Toppers Player of the Game leaders #WorldSeries #Game3:#Cubs—Kyle Hendricks#Indians—Josh Tomlin
— Box-Toppers (@BoxToppers) October 29, 2016
Score: 0-0 T5
Kyle Hendricks #Cubs exits #WorldSeries #Game3 (4.1IP 6H 0R 2BB 6K, Box-Toppers game score +2.1). CHC 0, CLE 0 T5.
— Box-Toppers (@BoxToppers) October 29, 2016
#Indians starter Josh Tomlin exits #WorldSeries #Game3 (4.2IP 2H 0R BB K, Box-Toppers game score +2.2). CLE 0, CHC 0 B5, runner 2nd, 2 outs.
— Box-Toppers (@BoxToppers) October 29, 2016
Thru 5, #Cubs, #Indians 0-0.
— Box-Toppers (@BoxToppers) October 29, 2016
Box-Toppers Player of the Game leaders:
CLE—Josh Tomlin B-T game score +2.2.
CHC—Kyle Hendricks B-T gm sc +2.1.
#WorldSeries #Game 3—End 6, #Cubs, #Indians 0-0.
— Box-Toppers (@BoxToppers) October 29, 2016
Box-Toppers Player of the Game leaders:
CLE—Tomlin B-T game score +2.2.
CHC—Hendricks +2.1.
#Indians score 1st in #WorldSeries #Game3, 1-0 v CHC, T7.
— Box-Toppers (@BoxToppers) October 29, 2016
Box-Toppers Player of Game leader—Tomlin (4.2IP 2H 0R BB K, B-T game score +2.2).
Crrxn: Andrew Miller #Indians leads as Box-Toppers Player of Game in #WorldSeries #Game3 (he's pitcher of record & has B-T gm score of +4.1)
— Box-Toppers (@BoxToppers) October 29, 2016
Andrew Miller #Indians leads as Box-Toppers Player of Game #WorldSeries #Game3 (1.1IP 0H 0R 0BB 3K, B-T game score +4.1). CLE 1, CHC 0, E7.
— Box-Toppers (@BoxToppers) October 29, 2016
#Cubs trail #Indians 1-0 going into B9 in #WorldSeries #Game3.
— Box-Toppers (@BoxToppers) October 29, 2016
MR Andrew Miller CLE leads as Box-Toppers Player of Game (B-T gm score +4.1).
Andrew Miller #Indians (1.1IP 0H 0R 0BB 3K W) is Box-Toppers Player of Game in #WorldSeries #Game3 win, 1-0, v #Cubs. CLE leads series, 2-1.
— Box-Toppers (@BoxToppers) October 29, 2016
Ryan Merritt tops players as Indians eliminate Blue Jays in ALCS; Cubs' Rizzo tops players in NLCS Game 4 win
Pitcher Ryan Merritt led the Indians to a clinching American League Championship Series Game 5 win Wednesday, even though he has never earned Box-Toppers Player of the Game honors during the regular season.
Also Wednesday, Anthony Rizzo was Box-Toppers Player of the Game in the Cubs’ Game 4 win to even the National League Championship Series with the Dodgers at two games apiece.
American League Championship Series Game 5: Indians 3, Blue Jays 0
Merritt pitched 4 1/3 scoreless innings, allowing two hits, no walks and striking out three, to earn Box-Toppers Player of the Game honors.
The Indians win the best-of-seven-game series over the Blue Jays, 4-1, and advance to the World Series beginning next Tuesday in Cleveland.
Merritt picked up a no decision because he did not pitch the requisite five innings to earn the win. However, he did pitch at least three innings, enough to qualify to earn Box-Toppers Player of the Game.
Merritt had a Box-Toppers game score Wednesday of +5.1, most of any Indians player. Left fielder Coco Crisp had the highest Box-Toppers game score (+1.0) among Indians batters (HR 1-2 R BI).
Opposing pitcher Marco Estrada of the Blue Jays had a Box-Toppers game score of +3.0 (6IP 5H 3R 0BB 7K L).
Merritt had no Box-Toppers points during the regular season and in fact is unranked because he has yet to earn his first career Player of the Game honor during the regular season. Merritt made his Major League debut May 30 and has played in four games, pitching a total of 11 innings.
The Indians ranked higher than the Blue Jays in Box-Toppers team rankings. The Indians ranked fourth with an accumulated 123.7 Box-Toppers points earned by their players in 2016. The Blue Jays ranked ninth with 114.0, the lowest of the five AL teams to qualify for the playoffs.
Yet, the Indians were weakened by the loss of two of their top starting pitchers—Danny Salazar (12.5 Box-Toppers points, ranked eighth among AL pitchers) and Carlos Carrasco (12.4 points, ranked 10th among AL pitchers). Both were out with injuries. A third starter, Trevor Bauer (11.4 Box-Toppers points, ranked 12th among AL pitchers), was injured during the series—cutting his pinky finger repairing a drone—and could only pitch 2/3 of an inning in Game 3 before having to be removed because he was bleeding so profusely from his drone wound.
Yet, the Indians were able to cobble together four wins with bullpen stars like Andrew Miller (8.0 Box-Toppers points, first among AL middle relievers) and Cody Allen (7.0 Box-Toppers points, fourth among AL closers), plus their ace starter Corey Kluber (21.2 Box-Toppers points, first among AL pitchers).
One final note: In March, Box-Toppers somehow made the correct preseason forecast that the Indians and Blue Jays would face off in the American League Championship Series and the Cubs and Dodgers would face off in the National League Championship Series.
The only problem with that: Box-Toppers picked the Blue Jays to win the ALCS and the World Series. Now, that ain’t gonna happen.
See Box-Toppers ALCS series preview with player-by-player matchups.
National League Championship Series Game 4: Cubs 10, Dodgers 2
Rizzo homered and went 3-for-5, scoring twice and driving in three runs, to earn Box-Toppers Player of the Game honors.
The Cubs now even the best-of-seven-game National League Championship Series with the Dodgers, 2-2.
Rizzo had a Box-Toppers game score Wednesday of +3.0, most among Cubs players. Cubs starting pitcher John Lackey (13.4 Box-Toppers points, ranked 16th, ninth among NL pitchers) had a Box-Toppers game score of −3.0 (4IP 3H 2R 3BB 3K ND).
Opposing pitcher Julio Urias of the Dodgers had a Box-Toppers game score of −6.8 (3.2IP 4H 4R 2BB 4K L).
Rizzo had 3.0 Box-Toppers points during the regular season, 71st among NL batters and 16th among NL first basemen.
The series resumes Thursday with Game 5 in Los Angeles.
See Box-Toppers NLCS series preview with player-by-player matchups.
| BTG | Game | Player of Game | AB | R | H | BI | IP | H | R | ER | BB | K | |
| 5.1 | `CLE 3, TOR 0 | Ryan Merritt | - | - | - | - | 4.1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | |
| 3.0 | CHC 10, LAD 2 | Anthony Rizzo, 1B | 5 | 2 | 3 | 3 | - | - | - | - | - | - | |
| `Denotes that the pitcher had a no-decision in the game and did not pick up a win or a save. | |||||||||||||
| BTG: Box-Toppers game score | |||||||||||||
National League Championship Series Game 5, Cubs at Dodgers, series tied, 2-2
The pitching matchup Thursday is a rematch of the Game 1 starters from Saturday. The Cubs won that game, 8-4:
Cubs—Jon Lester, 22.1 Box-Toppers points, ranked fourth among all players, third among NL pitchers.
Dodgers—Kenta Maeada, 10.0 Box-Toppers points, 54th among all players, 21st among NL pitchers.
See Box-Toppers NLCS series preview with player-by-player matchups.
Nationals' Jayson Werth tops players in Monday's League Division Series playoff games
Jayson Werth of the Nationals is top player in Monday’s three league division series playoff games.
Other Players of the Game Monday:
- Giants middle reliever Derek Law.
- Coco Crisp of the Indians.
National League Division Series Game 3: Nationals 8, Dodgers 3
Werth homered, doubled and went 3-for-4, scoring twice and driving in two runs to earn Player of the Game.
Werth had 6.0 Box-Toppers points during the regular season, ranked 165th among all players and 23rd among NL batters.
Werth had a Box-Toppers game score of +3.0 Monday to lead all Nationals players.
The Nationals now lead the Dodgers in the best-of-five game series, 2-1, which resumes Tuesday in Los Angeles.
National League Division Series Game 3: Giants 6, Cubs 5 (13 innings)
Giants middle reliever Derek Law pitched two scoreless innings—the sixth and seventh—and allowed no hits, one walk and struck out two.
So how did Law earn Box-Toppers Player of the Game? Under Box-Toppers rules, pitchers can qualify to earn Player of the Game honors if they pitch a minimum of three innings or earn the win or save. Law did not meet any of those requirements. However, pitchers can also earn Player of the Game honors if their Box-Toppers game score is higher than the pitcher who otherwise would have earned Player of the Game—if they have the same or more innings pitched. Closer Ty Blach (2IP 2H 0R 0BB K W) was in line to earn Player of the Game based on the fact that he earned the decision and had the highest Box-Toppers game score of qualifying pitchers (+1.0). But since Law pitched the same number of innings and had a higher Box-Toppers game score (+3.0), he wins Player of the Game.
Giants starting pitcher Madison Bumgarner would have qualified to earn Player of the Game honors (because he had more than three innings pitched) but he had a Box-Toppers game score Monday of −5.0 (5IP 7H 3R BB 4K ND). Giants top batter was catcher Buster Posey (3-5 R BI) who had a Box-Toppers game score of 0.0.
Law has 2.0 Box-Toppers points on the season.
Cubs starting pitcher Jake Arrieta (15.7 Box-Toppers points, ranked ninth among all players) had a Box-Toppers game score Monday of 0.0 in the loss (6IP 6H 2R BB 5K ND).
The Giants now trail the Cubs in the best-of-five game series, 2-1, which resumes Tuesday in San Francisco.
American League Division Series Game 3: Indians 4, Red Sox 3
Coco Crisp of the Indians hit a sixth-inning two-run homer to earn Player of the Game honors as the Indians swept the Red Sox to advance to the AL Championship Series.
Crisp went 1-for-2 and had a Box-Toppers game score of +2.0.
During the regular season, Crisp had 3.0 Box-Toppers points.
The Indians sweep the Red Sox in the NL Division Series in three games and now face the Blue Jays in the AL Championship Series beginning Friday in Cleveland.
The Red Sox ranked first among all AL teams in Box-Toppers rankings with 128.3 Box-Toppers points (ranking second overall behind the Cubs). The Indians ranked fourth with 123.7, second among AL teams.
About Box-Toppers—Box-Toppers tracks who most helps their team win the most games. Using standard box score statistics, Box-Toppers uses a simple formula to determine a Player of the Game for each Major League Baseball game played. That player is the person who contributed most to his team’s win. In regular season games, players earn 1.0 Box-Toppers point for being named Player of the Game and can earn bonus points for being Player of the Day or top player or batter in their league for the day.
Box-Toppers strives for accuracy. See a mistake in a post? A wrong name, wrong team, grammar error, spelling goof, etc.? Thanks for pointing it out! Contact Box-Toppers here. Let's fix it and make it right.
Top player from each game
Listed from highest to lowest Box-Toppers game score
| BTG | Game | Player of Game | AB | R | H | BI | IP | H | R | ER | BB | K | |
| 3.0 | WSH 8, LAD 3 | Jayson Werth, LF | 4 | 2 | 3 | 2 | - | - | - | - | - | - | |
| 3.0 | `SF 6, CHC 5 (13) | Derek Law | - | - | - | - | 2.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 2 | |
| 2.0 | CLE 4, BOS 3 | Coco Crisp, LF | 2 | 1 | 1 | 2 | - | - | - | - | - | - | |
| `Denotes that the pitcher had a no-decision in the game and did not pick up a win or a save. | |||||||||||||
| BTG: Box-Toppers game score | |||||||||||||
Coming Tuesday, the NL Division Series playoff games resume:
NL Division Series Game 4: Nationals lead Dodgers, 2-1
The pitching matchup Tuesday:
Nationals—Joe Ross, 5.7 Box-Toppers points, 173rd among all players, 50th among NL pitchers.
Dodgers—Clayton Kershaw, 24.4 Box-Toppers points, second among all players, second among NL pitchers.
NL Division Series Game 4: Cubs lead Giants, 2-1
The pitching matchup Tuesday:
Cubs—John Lackey, 13.4 Box-Toppers points, ranked 16th, ninth among NL pitchers.
Giants—Matt Moore, 12.4 Box-Toppers points, ranked 31st, 16th among NL pitchers.
Cubs' Wood tops players for Sunday, June 15, Tulowitzki adds to NL batting Box-Toppers points lead
Cubs pitcher Travis Wood is Sunday’s Player of the Day while Troy Tulowitzki increases his Box-Toppers points lead among National League batters.
Wood pitched eight scoreless innings and struck out six in the 3-0 win over the Phillies to earn Player of the Day honors.
Tulowitzki, Sunday’s NL Batter of the Day, maintains his lead among NL batters in Box-Toppers player rankings and moves into fourth place among all players (see the updated top 10 player list on the home page). Tulowitzki homered and went 3-for-4 with two runs and two RBIs in the 8-7 win over the Giants. He earns 1.5 Box-Toppers points for being NL Batter of the Day, giving him 10.6 for the season.
Rays pitcher David Price is American League Player of the Day. Price struck out 10 over eight innings in the 4-3 win over the Astros.
Coco Crisp of the Athletics is AL Batter of the Day. Crisp homered and went 2-for-4 with three runs and three RBIs in the 10-5 win over the Yankees.
Wood receives 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day. Price receives 1.7 for AL Player of the Day. Crisp and Tulowitzki each receive 1.5 for being top Batter of the Day in their league.
All of Sunday’s other Players of the Game (listed in the chart below) receive 1.0 Box-Toppers point.
Box-Toppers watches the daily performances of selected star players and Box-Toppers points leaders. To see how they performed Sunday, click here.
Box-Toppers tracks who most helps their team win the most games. Using standard box score statistics, Box-Toppers uses a simple formula to determine a Player of the Game for each Major League Baseball game played. That player is the person who contributed most to his team’s win. Players earn Box-Toppers points for being named Player of the Game and can earn bonus points for being Player of the Day or top player or batter in their league for the day.
Top player from each game
Listed from highest to lowest Box-Toppers game score
| 615 | Score | Team | Player | AB | R | H | BI | BB | K | IP | H | R | ER | BB | K | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| MLB | 8.0 | Cubs | Travis Wood (W, 7-5) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 8.0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 6 | |
| AL | 7.0 | Rays | David Price (W, 5-6) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 8.0 | 5 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 10 | |
| 6.0 | Mariners | Hisashi Iwakuma (W, 5-3) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 8.0 | 6 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 6 | ||
| 5.0 | Indians | Cody Allen (W, 3-1) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 2.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | ||
| 5.0 | Braves | Anthony Varvaro (W, 2-1) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 2.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | ||
| BAT | 4.0 | Athletics | Coco Crisp CF | 4 | 3 | 2 | 3 | 1 | 2 | - | - | - | - | - | - | |
| 4.0 | Cardinals | Jaime Garcia (W, 3-0) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 7.0 | 5 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 6 | ||
| BAT | 3.0 | Rockies | Troy Tulowitzki SS | 4 | 2 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 0 | - | - | - | - | - | - | |
| 3.0 | Royals | Salvador Perez C | 3 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 1 | 0 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 3.0 | Blue Jays | J.A. Happ (W, 6-3) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 6.0 | 7 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 6 | ||
| 2.0 | Marlins | Casey McGehee 3B | 4 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 2.0 | Reds | Brandon Phillips 2B | 4 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 0 | 0 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 2.0 | Dbacks | Miguel Montero C | 4 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 1 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 2.0 | Mets | Carlos Torres (W, 3-4) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 4.0 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 4 | ||
| 1.0 | Tigers | Victor Martinez DH | 3 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 0 | - | - | - | - | - | - |
Cards' Michael Wacha tops players in Monday, Oct. 7's playoff games
Cardinals pitcher Michael Wacha is Monday's Player of the Day among the four League Division Series playoff games.
Wacha gave up only one hit—a solo home run—over 7 1/3 innings and struck out nine in the 2-1 win over the Pirates to tie the National League Division series 2-2. Wacha had a no-hitter going into the eighth inning when he gave up the home run to Pedro Alvarez.
Wacha had 3.0 Box-Toppers points during the regular season, ranking 361st overall. However, he didn't make his Box-Toppers debut until Sept. 8 (the first time he earned Player of the Game honors) and on Sept. 24, he was Box-Toppers Player of the Day, when he was one out away from a no-hitter against the Nationals.
Dodgers pitcher Clayton Kershaw earned Player of the Game honors in the other NLDS game. Kershaw, Box-Toppers 2013 Player of the Season, had not been scheduled to start Monday but opted to make his first career start on short rest (he last started Thursday, Oct. 3). He pitched six innings and struck out six in the 4-3 win to eliminate the Braves in the NLDS series 3-1. Kershaw earned a no-decision because he left with the game tied 2-2.
Kershaw had 21.7 Box-Toppers points during the regular season, the most of any player. The Dodgers advance to the best-of-seven NL Championship Series against either the Pirates or the Cardinals beginning Friday.
Jose Lobaton of the Rays is American League Player of the Day. Lobaton hit a walk-off homer in the 5-4 win over the Red Sox. The Rays trail the series 2-1 but force a Game Four. Lobaton had 3.5 Box-Toppers points during the regular season, ranking 299th overall.
Coco Crisp of the Athletics is Player of the Game in the other ALDS game. Crisp was 3-for-4 in the 6-3 win over the Tigers. The Athletics lead the series 2-1. Crisp had 4.0 Box-Toppers points for the season, ranking 255th overall.
Coming Tuesday: Both American League Division Series continue Tuesday. Here are the pitching match-ups:
ALDS Game 4, Athletics lead Tigers 2-1
Athletics: Dan Straily, 7.7 Box-Toppers points, ranked 96th overall
Tigers: Doug Fister, 6.7 Box-Toppers points, ranked 113th overall
ALDS Game 4, Red Sox lead Rays 2-1
Red Sox: Jake Peavy, 8.0 Box-Toppers points, ranked 84th overall
Rays: Jeremy Hellickson, 6.0 Box-Toppers points, ranked 136th overall
In regular season games, 2.0 Box-Toppers points are awarded for Player of the Day, 1.7 for top player in the opposite league, 1.5 for top batter in each league and 1.0 for the top player in each of the other games. However, no Box-Toppers points are awarded during the postseason.
Top player from each game
Listed from highest to lowest Box-Toppers game score
| 1007 | Score | Team | BATTERS | AB | R | H | RBI | BB | SO | - | - | PITCHERS | IP | H | R | ER | BB | SO |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| MLB | 11.1 | Cardinals | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Michael Wacha (W, 1-0) | 7.1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 9 | |||
| 6.0 | `Dodgers | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Clayton Kershaw | 6.0 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 6 | |||
| AL | 2.0 | Rays | Jose Lobaton C | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |||
| 1.0 | Athletics | Coco Crisp CF | 4 | 1 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0.0 | 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.