Blue Jays' Darwin Barney tops players in spring's first games between MLB teams

In the first day of spring training games played between Major League teams Tuesday, Darwin Barney of the Blue Jays is Box-Toppers Player of the Day.

Barney went 3-for-3 with two doubles in the 5-3 win over the Phillies.

If it were a regular season game, Barney would have earned 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day. Barney had no points in 2015 and last earned Box-Toppers points Sept. 26, 2014, with the Dodgers, his only points of that season. His best year was 2012 with the Cubs, when he had 7.2 Box-Toppers points.

National League Player of the Day—Reds pitcher Drew Hayes struck out three in a scoreless ninth inning to earn the save in the 6-5 win over the Indians.

Hayes would have earned 1.7 Box-Toppers points for being NL Player of the Day if it were a regular season game. Hayes has yet to earn any career Box-Toppers points.

National League Batter of the Day—Alex Hanson of the Pirates went 1-for-1, scoring and driving in a run, in the 4-2 win over the Tigers.

Hanson would have earned 1.5 Box-Toppers points for being NL Batter of the Day if it were a regular season game. Hanson has no career Box-Toppers points.

Six spring training games were scheduled Tuesday. Two were played against non-Major League teams and one ended in a tie (Orioles-Braves). Those games were not included in Box-Toppers results.

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

3/1	Score	Team	Player	AB	R	H	BI	BB	K		IP	H	R	ER	BB	K
MLB	5.0	Blue Jays	Darwin Barney (SS)	3	0	3	5	0	0		-	-	-	-	-	-
NL	3.0	Reds	Drew Hayes (S, 1)	-	-	-	-	-	-		1.0	1	0	0	0	3
BAT	2.0	Pirates	Alen Hanson (2B)	1	1	1	1	1	-		-	-	-	-	-	-

Marlins' Fernandez, Tigers' Scherzer, top players for Saturday, Aug. 24, both rise into top 5 of Box-Toppers player rankings

Note: Box-Toppers is playing catch-up after time away. These are Box-Toppers results for Saturday, Aug. 24:

Marlins pitcher Jose Fernandez, Saturday's Player of the Day, rises to second in Box-Toppers player rankings, while Tigers pitcher Max Scherzer, American League Player of the Day, rises to fifth. 

Fernandez pitched seven shutout innings, striking out eight, in the 3-0 win over the Rockies. He earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day, giving him 18.0 for the season, rising from fourth to second in Box-Toppers season player standings. He trails overall leader, Dodgers pitcher Clayton Kershaw (18.7 points), by only 0.7.

Scherzer pitched six shutout innings, striking out 11, in the 3-0 win over the Mets. Scherzer earns 1.7 Box-Toppers points for being AL Player of the Day, giving him 15.4 for the season, rising to fifth place on Box-Toppers player rankings for the season. 

Jason Castro of the Astros is AL Batter of the Day. Castro hit two homers, drove in three runs and went 3-for-3 in the 8-5 win over the Blue Jays. 

Darwin Barney of the Cubs is National League Batter of the Day. Barney homered, drove in two runs and went 3-for-4 in the 3-2 win over the Padres.

Notables: Cardinals pitcher Shelby Miller rises to 14th in Box-Toppers player rankings and Nationals pitcher Jordan Zimmermann rises to 20th after both earned Player of the Game honors Saturday:

• Miller (7IP 1R 6K W in the 6-2 win vs. the Braves) earns 1.0 Box-Toppers point, giving him 14.4 for the season.
• Zimmermann (7.2IP 7K W in the 7-2 win vs. the Royals) earns 1.0 Box-Toppers point, giving him 12.7 for the season. 

Fernandez receives 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day. Scherzer receives 1.7 for AL Player of the Day. Castro and Barney each receive 1.5 for being top Batter of the Day in their league.

All of Saturday's other Players of the Game (listed in the chart below) receive 1.0 Box-Toppers point.

Top player from each game

Listed from highest to lowest Box-Toppers game score

824	Score	Team	BATTERS	AB	R	H	RBI	BB	SO	-	-	PITCHERS	IP	H	R	ER	BB	SO
MLB	11.0	Marlins	0	0	0	0	0	0	0			Jose Fernandez (W, 10-5)	7.0	4	0	0	0	8
AL	10.0	Tigers	0	0	0	0	0	0	0			Max Scherzer (W, 19-1)	6.0	3	0	0	4	11
	8.0	Cardinals	0	0	0	0	0	0	0			Shelby Miller (W, 12-8)	7.0	3	1	1	0	6
BAT	6.0	Astros	Jason Castro C	3	3	3	3	1	0			0	0.0	0	0	0	0	0
	4.1	Red Sox	0	0	0	0	0	0	0			Jon Lester (W, 12-7)	7.1	3	1	1	4	6
	4.0	Reds	0	0	0	0	0	0	0			Aroldis Chapman (S, 33)	1.0	0	0	0	0	3
BAT	3.0	Cubs	Darwin Barney 2B	4	2	3	2	0	0			0	0.0	0	0	0	0	0
	3.0	Indians	Jason Kipnis 2B	3	2	2	2	1	0			0	0.0	0	0	0	0	0
	3.0	Athletics	0	0	0	0	0	0	0			Jarrod Parker (W, 10-6)	8.0	5	1	1	3	5
	3.0	Diamondbacks	0	0	0	0	0	0	0			Trevor Cahill (W, 5-10)	4.0	2	0	0	1	2
	2.0	Rays	Evan Longoria 3B	4	1	3	2	0	0			0	0.0	0	0	0	0	0
	2.0	White Sox	0	0	0	0	0	0	0			Nate Jones (W, 4-4)	1.0	0	0	0	0	1
	1.2	Nationals	0	0	0	0	0	0	0			Jordan Zimmermann (W, 15-7)	7.2	8	2	2	1	7
	1.0	Giants	0	0	0	0	0	0	0			Sergio Romo (S, 31)	1.0	1	0	0	0	1
	0.1	Angels	0	0	0	0	0	0	0			Jason Vargas (W, 7-5)	6.1	8	1	1	1	5