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Yankees pitcher Gerrit Cole is Friday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day.
Also Friday, Braves pitcher Spencer Strider rises to first place in Box-Toppers season player rankings after earning National League Player of the Day honors, passing Angels pitcher Shohei Ohtani, who had led since June 13.
Read MoreRangers pitcher Dane Dunning is Wednesday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day.
Dunning struck out 11 over 7 2/3 innings, allowing one run, three hits and one walk, in the 11-1 win over the White Sox.
Read MoreDiamondbacks pitcher Merrill Kelly is Friday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day.
Also Friday, Randy Arozarena of the Rays rises to first place among American League batters in 2023 Box-Toppers points after earning Player of the Game honors.
Read MoreRed Sox pitcher Chris Sale is Sunday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day.
Also Sunday, Twins pitcher Sonny Gray rises to fifth place in Box-Toppers season player rankings after earning Player of the Game honors.
Read MoreMets pitcher Max Scherzer had the biggest decline in Box-Toppers points from 2021 to 2022.
Scherzer led all players in 2021 with 25.1 Box-Toppers points when he was with the Nationals and Dodgers. Scherzer earned 10.0 Box-Toppers points in 2022. While that was still 24th among National League pitchers, it was a 15.1-point decline from 2021, the biggest among all players.
Read MoreCardinals pitcher Adam Wainwright is Tuesday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day.
Also Tuesday, Rangers pitcher Martin Perez rises to fifth place in Box-Toppers season player rankings after earning American League Player of the Day honors.
Read MoreMarlins pitcher Pablo Lopez is Tuesday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day.
Also Tuesday, three players rise in Box-Toppers season player rankings top 10 after earning Player of the Game honors—Dodgers pitcher Hyun-Jin Ryu rises to third place, Cubs pitcher Kyle Hendricks rises to fifth place and Reds pitcher Luis Castillo rises to sixth place.
Read MoreAstros pitcher Lance McCullers is Saturday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day, rising to ninth place in season player rankings.
McCullers struck out seven over seven scoreless innings, allowing two hits and no walks, in the 11-0 win over the Athletics.
McCullers earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day, giving him 4.7 for the season, rising to ninth place in season player rankings, sixth among American League pitchers.
With McCullers’ rise, Astros pitchers now make up four of the top 10 spots in Box-Toppers season player rankings.
Read MoreRays pitcher Jake Odorizzi is Tuesday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day.
Also Tuesday, Nationals pitcher Stephen Strasburg rises to fifth place in Box-Toppers season player rankings after earning National League Player of the Day honors. Plus, Diamondbacks pitcher Zack Greinke maintains his fourth-place spot in player rankings after earning Player of the Game honors.
Read MoreTwins pitcher Jose Berrios is Wednesday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day.
Also Wednesday, Nationals pitcher Stephen Strasburg rises to fourth place in Box-Toppers season player rankings after earning National League Player of the Day honors. Plus, Edwin Encarnacion of the Indians extends his 2017 Box-Toppers points lead among American League batters after earning Player of the Game honors.
Read MoreTigers pitcher Justin Verlander is Sunday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day.
Verlander struck out nine over eight innings, allowing one run, two hits and one walk, in the 6-1 win over the Dodgers. Verlander retired the first 13 batters he faced.
Read More
Nationals pitcher Max Scherzer is Saturday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day, maintaining his spot in second place in season player rankings and rising to 20th in career points on Box-Toppers “all-time” list.
| Player | Pos | Team | BTP | |
| 1 | Kershaw, Clayton 2494 | pi sp | lad nl | 21.1 |
| 2 | Scherzer, Max 2588 | pi sp | dc nl | 19.0 |
| 3 | Sale, Chris 2806 | pi sp | bos al | 13.1 |
| 4 | Wood, Alex 3246 | pi sp | lad nl | 13.0 |
| 5 | Santana, Ervin 2005 | pi sp | min al | 12.4 |
| 6 | Carrasco, Carlos 2885 | pi sp | cle al | 11.4 |
| 7 | Greinke, Zack 1871 | pi sp | ari nl | 11.4 |
| 8 | Strasburg, Stephen 2736 | pi sp | dc nl | 10.4 |
| 9 | Ray, Robbie 3502 | pi sp | ari nl | 10.0 |
| 10 | deGrom, Jacob 3343 | pi sp | nym nl | 9.7 |
Also Saturday, Dodgers pitcher Alex Wood rises to fourth in Box-Toppers season player rankings after earning Player of the Game honors. Plus, Jay Bruce of the Mets retakes the lead among National League batters in Box-Toppers points after he earns Player of the Game honors.
Player of the Day—Scherzer struck out 10 over six scoreless innings, allowing three hits and four walks, in the 10-7 win over the Reds.
Scherzer earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day, giving him 19.0 for the season. He remains in second place in Box-Toppers points, behind Dodgers pitcher Clayton Kershaw (21.1), who also leads all NL pitchers.
Scherzer now has 150.7 career Box-Toppers points and rises to 20th place among all players since 1995, when Box-Toppers tracking began. With his points Saturday, he passes two players on the “all-time” list—Chipper Jones (149.0) and Cubs pitcher Jon Lester (149.2). He now trails 19th-ranked player, Twins pitcher Bartolo Colon (151.2). Scherzer is the 20th player to reach 150 career Box-Toppers points.
| Player | Pos | Team | BTP | |
| 1 | Randy Johnson | pi sp | retired | 278.8 |
| 2 | Pedro Martinez | pi sp | retired | 244.8 |
| 3 | Clayton Kershaw | pi sp | lad nl | 204.8 |
| 4 | Curt Schilling | pi sp | retired | 194.1 |
| 5 | CC Sabathia | pi sp | nyy al | 190.0 |
| 6 | Alex Rodriguez | dh | released | 187.0 |
| 7 | Albert Pujols | 1b dh | ana al | 184.3 |
| 8 | Felix Hernandez | pi sp | sea al | 171.4 |
| 9 | Roy Halladay | pi sp | retired | 170.7 |
| 10 | Zack Greinke | pi sp | ari nl | 167.5 |
| 11 | Manny Ramirez | lf dh | retired | 167.2 |
| 12 | Johan Santana | pi sp | free agent | 166.6 |
| 13 | Roger Clemens | pi sp | retired | 164.8 |
| 14 | John Smoltz | pi sp | retired | 160.9 |
| 15 | Tim Hudson | pi sp | retired | 157.0 |
| 16 | Mike Mussina | pi sp | retired | 155.6 |
| 17 | Barry Bonds | lf | retired | 153.2 |
| 18 | Greg Maddux | pi sp | retired | 151.7 |
| 19 | Bartolo Colon | pi sp | min al | 151.2 |
| 20 | Max Scherzer | pi sp | dc nl | 150.7 |
Passing Lester, Scherzer is now seventh among active players in career Box-Toppers points, sixth among active pitchers.
American League Player of the Day—Rangers pitcher Cole Hamels pitched 7 2/3 scoreless innings, striking out five and allowing four hits and one walk, in the 1-0 win over the Royals. Hamels picked up a no-decision and did not earn the win because the game was in a scoreless tie when he exited.
Hamels earns 1.7 Box-Toppers points for being AL Player of the Day, giving him 148.7 career points, rising to 23rd place among all players since 1995, when Box-Toppers tracking began. With his points Saturday, he passes Javier Vazquez (148.3) on the “all-time” list and now trails 22nd-ranked player Chipper Jones (149.0).
Hamels has 4.7 Box-Toppers points on the season, 25th among AL pitchers.
American League Batter of the Day—Matt Chapman of the Athletics hit two home runs and doubled in the 5-3 win over the Indians. Chapman went 3-for-3, scoring three times and driving in two runs.
This was Chapman’s Box-Toppers debut, the first time in his career he earned Player of the Game honors. Chapman made his Major League debut June 15 and was playing in his 13th career game. He is the 3,849th player to debut in Box-Toppers since record keeping began in 1995.
National League Batter of the Day—Lane Adams of the Braves hit a pinch-hit, sixth-inning, three-run double in the 8-5 win over the Diamondbacks.
This was Adam’s Box-Toppers debut, the first time in his career he earned Player of the Game honors. Adams made his Major League debut Sept. 1, 2014, and was playing in his 39th career game. He is the 3,850th player to debut in Box-Toppers since record keeping began in 1995.
Rankings—Dodgers pitcher Alex Wood rises to fourth place in Box-Toppers season player rankings after earning Player of the Game honors Saturday.
Wood (6IP 3H 0R BB 4K W in the 7-1 win over the Marlins) earns 1.0 Box-Toppers point, giving him 13.0 for the season. He ranks third among NL pitchers, behind Kershaw (21.1) and Scherzer (19.0).
Notable—Jay Bruce of the Mets regains the season Box-Toppers points lead among NL batters after earning Player of the Game honors Saturday.
Bruce (HR 1-4 2R 3BI in the 9-3 win over the Rockies) earns 1.0 Box-Toppers point, giving him 8.0 for the season. He passes previous leader Cody Bellinger of the Dodgers (7.7). Bruce ranks 19th among all players in Box-Toppers season player rankings.
Debut—Jabari Blash of the Padres also made his Box-Toppers debut Saturday, the first time in his career he earned Player of the Game honors.
Blash (HR 2-4 2R 2BI in the 5-3 win over the Giants) made his Major League debut April, 4, 2016, and was playing in his 54th career game. He is the 3,851st player to debut in Box-Toppers since record keeping began in 1995.
Scoring—Scherzer earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day and Hamels earns 1.7 points for being AL Player of the Day. Chapman and Adams each earn 1.5 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.
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.
| 7/15 | Score | Game | Player of the Game | AB | R | H | BI | IP | H | R | ER | BB | K | |
| MLB | 9.0 | WSH 10, CIN 7 | Max Scherzer (W, 11-5) | - | - | - | - | 6.0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 10 | |
| AL | 7.2 | `TEX 1, KC 0 | Cole Hamels | - | - | - | - | 7.2 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 5 | |
| 6.2 | `MIL 3, PHI 2 | Jimmy Nelson | - | - | - | - | 6.2 | 3 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 9 | ||
| 6.0 | DET 11, TOR 1 | Michael Fulmer (W, 10-6) | - | - | - | - | 8.0 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 3 | ||
| 6.0 | LAD 7, MIA 1 | Alex Wood (W, 11-0) | - | - | - | - | 6.0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 4 | ||
| BAT | 5.0 | OAK 5, CLE 3 | Matt Chapman (3B) | 3 | 3 | 3 | 2 | - | - | - | - | - | - | |
| 5.0 | `NYY 4, BOS 1 (F/16) | Luis Severino | - | - | - | - | 7.0 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 6 | ||
| BAT | 4.0 | ATL 8, ARI 5 | Lane Adams (PH) | 1 | 1 | 1 | 3 | - | - | - | - | - | - | |
| 3.0 | CHC 10, BAL 3 | Jason Heyward (RF) | 4 | 2 | 2 | 3 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 2.1 | `MIN 4, HOU 2 | Taylor Rogers (H, 22) | - | - | - | - | 1.1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | ||
| 2.0 | SD 5, SF 3 | Jabari Blash (RF) | 4 | 2 | 2 | 2 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 2.0 | NYM 9, COL 3 | Jay Bruce (RF) | 4 | 2 | 1 | 3 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 2.0 | `SEA 4, CHW 3 | Nick Vincent (H, 13) | - | - | - | - | 1.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | ||
| 1.1 | STL 4, PIT 0 | Lance Lynn (W, 8-6) | - | - | - | - | 6.1 | 8 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | ||
| 0.2 | TB 6, LAA 3 | Alex Cobb (W, 8-6) | - | - | - | - | 7.2 | 6 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 4 |
| Player of the Game | Pos | Team | ’17 | ’16-17 | ’12-17 | Career | +/- |
| Scherzer, Max 2588 | pi sp | dc nl | 19.0 | 44.7 | 122.9 | 150.7 | -6.7 |
| Wood, Alex 3246 | pi sp | lad nl | 13.0 | 14.0 | 32.4 | 32.4 | 12.0 |
| Nelson, Jimmy 3299 | pi sp | mil nl | 9.0 | 12.0 | 22.4 | 22.4 | 6.0 |
| Bruce, Jay 2453 | rf | nym nl | 8.0 | 16.5 | 33.7 | 66.8 | -0.5 |
| Severino, Luis 3567 | pi sp | nyy al | 7.7 | 9.7 | 12.7 | 12.7 | 5.7 |
| Lynn, Lance 2992 | pi sp | stl nl | 6.7 | 6.7 | 62.6 | 62.6 | 6.7 |
| Fulmer, Michael 3640 | pi sp | det al | 5.7 | 18.4 | 18.4 | 18.4 | -7.0 |
| Cobb, Alex 2916 | pi sp | tb al | 5.4 | 5.4 | 35.8 | 36.8 | 5.4 |
| Hamels, Cole 2135 | pi sp | tex al | 4.7 | 22.5 | 73.7 | 148.7 | -13.1 |
| Adams, Lane 3850 | ph | atl nl | 1.5 | 1.5 | 1.5 | 1.5 | 1.5 |
| Chapman, Matt 3849 | 3b | oak al | 1.5 | 1.5 | 1.5 | 1.5 | 1.5 |
| Heyward, Jason 2695 | rf | chi nl | 1.0 | 2.0 | 12.5 | 19.5 | 0.0 |
| Vincent, Nick 3203 | pi mr | sea al | 1.0 | 2.0 | 5.0 | 5.0 | 0.0 |
| Rogers, Taylor 3648 | pi mr | min al | 1.0 | 2.0 | 2.0 | 2.0 | 0.0 |
| Blash, Jabari 3851 | rf | sd nl | 1.0 | 1.0 | 1.0 | 1.0 | 1.0 |
Rangers pitcher Cole Hamels is Friday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day.
Also Friday, Diamondbacks pitcher Zack Greinke rises to 10th place in career Box-Toppers points among all players since Box-Toppers tracking began in 1995 after earning National League Player of the Day honors.
| Player | Pos | Team | BTP | |
| 1 | Kershaw, Clayton 2494 | pi sp | lad nl | 20.1 |
| 2 | Scherzer, Max 2588 | pi sp | dc nl | 17.0 |
| 3 | Sale, Chris 2806 | pi sp | bos al | 13.1 |
| 4 | Santana, Ervin 2005 | pi sp | min al | 12.4 |
| 5 | Wood, Alex 3246 | pi sp | lad nl | 12.0 |
| 6 | Carrasco, Carlos 2885 | pi sp | cle al | 11.4 |
| 7 | Greinke, Zack 1871 | pi sp | ari nl | 11.4 |
| 8 | Strasburg, Stephen 2736 | pi sp | dc nl | 10.4 |
| 9 | Ray, Robbie 3502 | pi sp | ari nl | 10.0 |
| 10 | McCullers, Lance 3488 | pi sp | hou al | 9.4 |
Plus, three players in Box-Toppers top 10 season player rankings earned Player of the Game honors:
Player of the Day—Hamels pitched 7 2/3 scoreless innings, allowing three hits, one walk and striking out six, in the 10-0 win over the Angels.
Hamels earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day, giving him 147.0 for his career, rising to 24th place among all players since 1995, when Box-Toppers tracking began. With his points Friday, he passes three players on the “all-time” list—David Ortiz (145.9), Jim Thome (146.7) and Miguel Cabrera of the Tigers (146.9). Hamels now trails 23rd-ranked player Javier Vazquez (148.3).
Passing Cabrera, Hamels now ranks eighth among active players in career points, trailing the seventh-ranked player, Nationals pitcher Max Scherzer (148.7).
| Player | Pos | Team | BTP | |
| 1 | Randy Johnson | pi sp | retired | 278.8 |
| 2 | Pedro Martinez | pi sp | retired | 244.8 |
| 3 | Clayton Kershaw | pi sp | lad nl | 203.8 |
| 4 | Curt Schilling | pi sp | retired | 194.1 |
| 5 | CC Sabathia | pi sp | nyy al | 190.0 |
| 6 | Alex Rodriguez | dh | released | 187.0 |
| 7 | Albert Pujols | 1b dh | ana al | 184.3 |
| 8 | Roy Halladay | pi sp | retired | 170.7 |
| 9 | Felix Hernandez | pi sp | sea al | 169.7 |
| 10 | Zack Greinke | pi sp | ari nl | 167.5 |
| 11 | Manny Ramirez | lf dh | retired | 167.2 |
| 12 | Johan Santana | pi sp | free agent | 166.6 |
| 13 | Roger Clemens | pi sp | retired | 164.8 |
| 14 | John Smoltz | pi sp | retired | 160.9 |
| 15 | Tim Hudson | pi sp | retired | 157.0 |
| 16 | Mike Mussina | pi sp | retired | 155.6 |
| 17 | Barry Bonds | lf | retired | 153.2 |
| 18 | Greg Maddux | pi sp | retired | 151.7 |
| 19 | Bartolo Colon | pi sp | min al | 151.2 |
| 20 | Jon Lester | pi sp | chi nl | 149.2 |
Hamels has 3.0 Box-Toppers points this season.
National League Player of the Day—Diamondbacks pitcher Zack Greinke struck out seven over seven scoreless innings, allowing four hits and one walk, in the 6-3 win over the Reds.
Greinke earns 1.7 Box-Toppers points for being NL Player of the Day, giving him 11.4 for the season, rising from ninth to seventh place in season player rankings, fourth among NL pitchers.
Greinke also rises to 10th place in career Box-Toppers points among all players since 1995, when player tracking began. He now has 167.5 career Box-Toppers points and with his points Friday, passes two players on the “all-time” list—Johan Santana (166.6) and Manny Ramirez (167.2). Greinke now trails ninth-place player, Mariners pitcher Felix Hernandez (169.7).
American League Batter of the Day—George Springer of the Astros hit two homers, doubled and went 4-for-4, scoring four times and driving in five runs, in the 12-2 win over the Blue Jays.
National League Batter of the Day—Jesus Aguilar of the Brewers hit two home runs, including a grand slam, in the 9-4 win over the Yankees. Aguilar also went 3-for-4 and drove in seven runs.
Rankings—In addition to Greinke, two other players in Box-Toppers top 10 season player rankings earned Player of the Game honors Friday:
Debut—Twins pitcher Trevor Hildenberger made his Box-Toppers debut Friday, the first time in his career he earned Player of the Game honors.
Hildenberger (2.1IP 2H 0R 0BB 3K W in the 9-6 win over the Orioles) made his Major League debut June 23 and was playing in his fourth career game. He is the 3,846th player to debut in Box-Toppers since record keeping began in 1995.
Scoring—Hamels earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day and Greinke earns 1.7 points for being NL Player of the Day. Springer and Aguilar each earn 1.5 points for being their league’s Batter of the Day. All of Friday’s other Players of the Game (listed in the chart below) earn 1.0 Box-Toppers point.
About Box-Toppers—Box-Toppers tracks who most helps their team win the most games. Using standard box score statistics, Box-Toppers uses a simple formula to determine a Player of the Game for each Major League Baseball game played. That player is the person who contributed most to his team’s win. In regular season games, players earn 1.0 Box-Toppers point for being named Player of the Game and can earn bonus points for being Player of the Day or top player or batter in their league for the day.
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.
| 7/7 | Score | Game | Player of the Game | AB | R | H | BI | IP | H | R | ER | BB | K | |
| MLB | 9.2 | TEX 10, LAA 0 | Cole Hamels (W, 4-0) | - | - | - | - | 7.2 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 6 | |
| BAT | 9.0 | HOU 12, TOR 2 | George Springer (CF) | 4 | 4 | 4 | 5 | - | - | - | - | - | - | |
| NL | 9.0 | ARI 6, CIN 3 | Zack Greinke (W, 11-4) | - | - | - | - | 7.0 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 7 | |
| BAT | 8.0 | MIL 9, NYY 4 | Jesus Aguilar (1B) | 4 | 2 | 3 | 7 | - | - | - | - | - | - | |
| 7.0 | SEA 7, OAK 2 | James Paxton (W, 7-3) | - | - | - | - | 7.0 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 3 | 9 | ||
| 6.0 | CHC 6, PIT 1 | Kris Bryant (3B) | 5 | 3 | 4 | 4 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 5.1 | MIA 6, SF 1 | Dan Straily (W, 7-4) | - | - | - | - | 8.1 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 3 | ||
| 5.0 | COL 12, CHW 4 | Nolan Arenado (3B) | 5 | 2 | 3 | 5 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 4.0 | SD 4, PHI 3 | Austin Hedges (C) | 3 | 2 | 2 | 3 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 4.0 | CLE 11, DET 2 | Carlos Carrasco (W, 10-3) | - | - | - | - | 7.0 | 9 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 11 | ||
| 3.1 | MIN 9, BAL 6 | Trevor Hildenberger (W, 1-0) | - | - | - | - | 2.1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | ||
| 2.2 | `WSH 5, ATL 4 (F/10) | Max Scherzer | - | - | - | - | 7.2 | 6 | 4 | 4 | 1 | 10 | ||
| 2.0 | NYM 6, STL 5 | Jose Reyes (SS) | 3 | 2 | 2 | 1 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 2.0 | LAD 4, KC 1 | Kenta Maeda (W, 7-4) | - | - | - | - | 5.0 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 5 | ||
| 1.0 | BOS 8, TB 3 | Dustin Pedroia (2B) | 5 | 2 | 2 | 2 | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| Player of the Game | Pos | Team | ’17 | ’16-17 | ’12-17 | Career | +/- |
| Scherzer, Max 2588 | pi sp | dc nl | 17.0 | 42.7 | 120.9 | 148.7 | -8.7 |
| Carrasco, Carlos 2885 | pi sp | cle al | 11.4 | 23.8 | 52.5 | 57.9 | -1.0 |
| Greinke, Zack 1871 | pi sp | ari nl | 11.4 | 21.1 | 90.4 | 167.5 | 1.7 |
| Straily, Dan 3080 | pi sp | fla nl | 8.7 | 15.7 | 26.4 | 26.4 | 1.7 |
| Maeda, Kenta 3609 | pi sp | lad nl | 7.0 | 17.0 | 17.0 | 17.0 | -3.0 |
| Paxton, James 3280 | pi sp | sea al | 7.0 | 11.4 | 18.1 | 18.1 | 2.6 |
| Arenado, Nolan 3306 | 3b | col nl | 5.5 | 16.2 | 26.2 | 26.2 | -5.2 |
| Springer, George 3337 | rf dh cf | hou al | 5.0 | 11.5 | 15.5 | 15.5 | -1.5 |
| Hedges, Austin 3790 | ca | sd nl | 4.5 | 4.5 | 4.5 | 4.5 | 4.5 |
| Hamels, Cole 2135 | pi sp | tex al | 3.0 | 20.8 | 72.0 | 147.0 | -14.8 |
| Bryant, Kris 3465 | 3b lf | chi nl | 2.5 | 13.0 | 21.5 | 21.5 | -8.0 |
| Reyes, Jose 1759 | ss 3b | nym nl | 2.5 | 4.5 | 13.5 | 32.5 | 0.5 |
| Aguilar, Jesus 3787 | 1b | mil nl | 2.5 | 2.5 | 2.5 | 2.5 | 2.5 |
| Pedroia, Dustin 2320 | 2b | bos al | 1.0 | 6.0 | 19.0 | 38.5 | -4.0 |
| Hildenberger, Trevor 3846 | pi mr | min al | 1.0 | 1.0 | 1.0 | 1.0 | 1.0 |
Indians pitcher Corey Kluber is Thursday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day.
| Player | Pos | Team | BTP | |
| 1 | Kershaw, Clayton 2494 | pi sp | lad nl | 18.1 |
| 2 | Scherzer, Max 2588 | pi sp | dc nl | 14.0 |
| 3 | Santana, Ervin 2005 | pi sp | min al | 12.4 |
| 4 | Sale, Chris 2806 | pi sp | bos al | 12.1 |
| 5 | Ray, Robbie 3502 | pi sp | ari nl | 10.0 |
| 6 | Strasburg, Stephen 2736 | pi sp | dc nl | 9.4 |
| 7 | Carrasco, Carlos 2885 | pi sp | cle al | 9.4 |
| 8 | McCullers, Lance 3488 | pi sp | hou al | 9.4 |
| 9 | Wood, Alex 3246 | pi sp | lad nl | 9.0 |
| 10 | Greinke, Zack 1871 | pi sp | ari nl | 8.7 |
Also Thursday, Box-Toppers season points leader Clayton Kershaw of the Dodgers extended his lead after earning Player of the Game honors. Plus, Cubs pitcher Jon Lester rises to 20th place in career Box-Toppers points since 1995 (when Box-Toppers tracking began) after earning Player of the Game honors.
Player of the Day—Kluber struck out 12 over eight innings, allowing one run, three hits and one walk, in the 5-1 win over the Rangers.
Kluber earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day, giving him 8.0 for the season, rising to 13th among all players, fifth among American League pitchers.
National League Player of the Day—Dodgers pitcher Clayton Kershaw struck of 12 over seven innings, allowing one run, three hits and two walks, in the 6-2 win over the Angels.
Kershaw earns 1.7 Box-Toppers points for being NL Player of the Day, giving him 18.1 for the season, extending his season player rankings lead over second-place player, Max Scherzer of the Nationals (14.0 Box-Toppers points). With his lead of 4.1 points, Scherzer would now need at least three starts to catch or pass Scherzer.
| Player | Pos | Team | BTP | |
| 1 | Randy Johnson | pi sp | retired | 278.8 |
| 2 | Pedro Martinez | pi sp | retired | 244.8 |
| 3 | Clayton Kershaw | pi sp | lad nl | 201.8 |
| 4 | Curt Schilling | pi sp | retired | 194.1 |
| 5 | CC Sabathia | pi sp | nyy al | 190.0 |
| 6 | Alex Rodriguez | dh | released | 187.0 |
| 7 | Albert Pujols | 1b dh | ana al | 184.3 |
| 8 | Roy Halladay | pi sp | retired | 170.7 |
| 9 | Felix Hernandez | pi sp | sea al | 169.7 |
| 10 | Manny Ramirez | lf dh | retired | 167.2 |
| 11 | Johan Santana | pi sp | free agent | 166.6 |
| 12 | Zack Greinke | pi sp | ari nl | 164.8 |
| 13 | Roger Clemens | pi sp | retired | 164.8 |
| 14 | John Smoltz | pi sp | retired | 160.9 |
| 15 | Tim Hudson | pi sp | retired | 157.0 |
| 16 | Mike Mussina | pi sp | retired | 155.6 |
| 17 | Barry Bonds | lf | retired | 153.2 |
| 18 | Greg Maddux | pi sp | retired | 151.7 |
| 19 | Bartolo Colon | pi sp | dfa by braves | 151.2 |
| 20 | Jon Lester | pi sp | chi nl | 149.2 |
With the season at the halfway point, Kershaw is now on pace to earn 36.2 Box-Toppers points this season, which would break the single-season record of 33.7 set by Diamondbacks pitcher Randy Johnson, who did it twice, in 2000 and 2002 (Box-Toppers tracking began in 1995). However, at this time last year, Kershaw led all players with 20.0 Box-Toppers points and was on pace to earn 40.0 points, but spent more than two months on the disabled list beginning in late June, and had only 4.4 points in the second half of the season, finishing with 24.4, in second place behind Scherzer’s 25.7.
The most Box-Toppers points Kershaw has earned in a single season is 31.5 in 2014, when he led all players. It is tied for the fourth-highest single-season Box-Toppers points by a player since tracking began in 1995.
Also, Kershaw now has 201.8 career Box-Toppers points, third-most among all players since 1995, when Box-Toppers tracking began. He trails second-place player Pedro Martinez (244.8). Kershaw ranks first among all active players in career Box-Toppers points.
National League Batter of the Day—Randal Grichuk of the Cardinals hit a go-ahead, three-run, seventh-inning homer in the 10-4 win over the Diamondbacks. Grichuk also doubled and went 3-for-4, scoring three times and driving in five runs.
American League Batter of the Day—Carlos Correa of the Astros hit two home runs and went 2-for-3, driving in four runs, in the 6-1 win over the Athletics.
Notable—Two other players with more than 100 career Box-Toppers points also earned Player of the Game honors Thursday:
Rankings—Jay Bruce of the Mets rises to lead NL batters in season Box-Toppers points after earning Player of the Game honors Thursday.
Bruce (2B 2-3 2R 2BI in the 6-3 win over the Marlins) earns 1.0 Box-Toppers point, giving him 7.0 for the season, passing previous NL batting leader Matt Adams of the Braves (6.5). Bruce ranks 21st among all players.
Debut—Willy Garcia of the White Sox made his Box-Toppers debut Thursday with his first career Player of the Game honor.
Garcia (2B 2-3 0R 2BI in the 4-3 win over the Yankees) made his Major League debut April 14 and was playing in his 29th career game. He is the 3,841st player to debut in Box-Toppers since record keeping began in 1995.
Scoring—Kluber earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day and Kershaw earns 1.7 points for being NL Player of the Day. Grichuk and Correa each earn 1.5 points for being their league’s Batter of the Day. All of Thursday’s other Players of the Game (listed in the chart below) earn 1.0 Box-Toppers point.
About Box-Toppers—Box-Toppers tracks who most helps their team win the most games. Using standard box score statistics, Box-Toppers uses a simple formula to determine a Player of the Game for each Major League Baseball game played. That player is the person who contributed most to his team’s win. In regular season games, players earn 1.0 Box-Toppers point for being named Player of the Game and can earn bonus points for being Player of the Day or top player or batter in their league for the day.
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.
| 6/29 | Score | Game | Player of the Game | AB | R | H | BI | IP | H | R | ER | BB | K | |
| MLB | 14.0 | CLE 5, TEX 1 | Corey Kluber (W, 7-2) | - | - | - | - | 8.0 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 12 | |
| 13.0 | BAL 2, TOR 0 | Ubaldo Jimenez (W, 3-3) | - | - | - | - | 8.0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 8 | ||
| NL | 13.0 | LAD 6, LAA 2 | Clayton Kershaw (W, 12-2) | - | - | - | - | 7.0 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 12 | |
| 10.0 | MIL 11, CIN 3 | Jimmy Nelson (W, 6-4) | - | - | - | - | 7.0 | 3 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 11 | ||
| 10.0 | SD 6, ATL 0 | Dinelson Lamet (W, 3-2) | - | - | - | - | 7.0 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 8 | ||
| BAT | 7.0 | STL 10, ARI 4 | Randal Grichuk (CF-LF) | 4 | 3 | 3 | 5 | - | - | - | - | - | - | |
| BAT | 5.0 | HOU 6, OAK 1 | Carlos Correa (SS) | 3 | 2 | 2 | 4 | - | - | - | - | - | - | |
| 5.0 | `CHC 5, WSH 4 | Jon Lester | - | - | - | - | 6.0 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 7 | ||
| 3.2 | DET 7, KC 3 | Michael Fulmer (W, 7-6) | - | - | - | - | 8.2 | 7 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 7 | ||
| 3.0 | NYM 6, MIA 3 | Jay Bruce (RF) | 3 | 2 | 2 | 2 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 2.0 | BOS 6, MIN 3 | David Price (W, 3-2) | - | - | - | - | 7.0 | 6 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 7 | ||
| 1.1 | PIT 4, TB 0 | Jameson Taillon (W, 4-2) | - | - | - | - | 6.1 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 4 | ||
| 1.0 | CHW 4, NYY 3 | Willy Garcia (RF) | 3 | 0 | 2 | 2 | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| Player of the Game | Pos | Team | ’17 | ’16-17 | ’12-17 | Career | +/- |
| Kershaw, Clayton 2494 | pi sp | lad nl | 18.1 | 42.5 | 142.2 | 201.8 | -6.3 |
| Kluber, Corey 3200 | pi sp | cle al | 8.0 | 29.2 | 73.4 | 73.4 | -13.2 |
| Bruce, Jay 2453 | rf | nym nl | 7.0 | 15.5 | 32.7 | 65.8 | -1.5 |
| Nelson, Jimmy 3299 | pi sp | mil nl | 7.0 | 10.0 | 20.4 | 20.4 | 4.0 |
| Lester, Jon 2173 | pi sp | chi nl | 6.0 | 28.1 | 73.6 | 149.2 | -16.1 |
| Fulmer, Michael 3640 | pi sp | det al | 4.7 | 17.4 | 17.4 | 17.4 | -8.0 |
| Correa, Carlos 3506 | ss | hou al | 4.0 | 11.7 | 18.9 | 18.9 | -3.7 |
| Grichuk, Randal 3474 | rf cf lf | stl nl | 4.0 | 5.0 | 14.5 | 14.5 | 3.0 |
| Lamet, Dinelson 3808 | pi sp | sd nl | 3.7 | 3.7 | 3.7 | 3.7 | 3.7 |
| Taillon, Jameson 3658 | pi sp | pit nl | 3.0 | 8.0 | 8.0 | 8.0 | -2.0 |
| Price, David 2593 | pi sp | bos al | 2.7 | 15.1 | 77.1 | 108.9 | -9.7 |
| Jimenez, Ubaldo 2349 | pi sp | bal al | 2.0 | 6.7 | 38.6 | 81.5 | -2.7 |
| Garcia Willy 3841 | rf | chi al | 1.0 | 1.0 | 1.0 | 1.0 | 1.0 |
Indians pitcher Corey Kluber is Monday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day.
Kluber pitched a complete-game, three-hit shutout, allowing no walks and striking out 11, in the 12-0 win over the Orioles.
| Player | Pos | Team | BTP | |
| 1 | Kershaw, Clayton 2494 | pi sp | lad nl | 14.4 |
| 2 | Scherzer, Max 2588 | pi sp | dc nl | 13.0 |
| 3 | Santana, Ervin 2005 | pi sp | min al | 11.4 |
| 4 | Ray, Robbie 3502 | pi sp | ari nl | 10.0 |
| 5 | Sale, Chris 2806 | pi sp | bos al | 8.4 |
| 6 | Judge, Aaron 3767 | rf | nyy al | 8.2 |
| 7 | Wood, Alex 3246 | pi sp | lad nl | 8.0 |
| 8 | Vargas, Jason 2055 | pi sp | kc al | 8.0 |
| 9 | Greinke, Zack 1871 | pi sp | ari nl | 7.7 |
| 10 | Kimbrel, Craig 2825 | pi cp | bos al | 7.7 |
Kluber earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day, giving him 6.0 for the season, most among the 11 who earned Player of the Game honors Monday. Kluber ranks 22nd among all players in season Box-Toppers points, ninth among American League pitchers.
National League Player of the Day—Braves pitcher R.A. Dickey pitched seven scoreless innings, allowing three hits and one walk, striking out six, in the 9-0 win over the Giants.
National League Batter of the Day—Justin Turner of the Dodgers homered and went 4-for-4, scoring twice and driving in four runs, in the 10-6 win over the Mets.
American League Batter of the Day—Mike Zunino of the Mariners hit two home runs and went 2-for-3, scoring twice and driving in four runs, in the 6-2 win over the Tigers.
Rankings—Box-Toppers season player rankings leader Clayton Kershaw of the Dodgers struck out 10 and earned the win, but did not earn Player of the Game honors Monday.
Kershaw (6.1IP 6H 6R BB 10K W in the 10-6 win over the Mets) had a Box-Toppers game score of -2.9, mainly because he gave up six runs and six hits, despite striking out 10. Justin Turner, who had a Box-Toppers game score of +6.0, was Player of the Game in the Dodgers’ win and also earned NL Batter of the Day honors.
Kershaw has 14.4 Box-Toppers points on the season, leading second-place player Nationals pitcher Max Scherzer (13.0), and has led all players since May 17.
Notable—Cubs pitcher Jon Lester now has 148.2 career Box-Toppers points after earning Player of the Game honors Monday.
Lester (6IP 5H 2R BB 7K ND in the 3-2 win over the Padres) ranks 22nd in career Box-Toppers points among all players since 1995, when Box-Toppers tracking began. He trails 21st-ranked player Javier Vazquez (148.3). Lester ranks seventh among active players in career Box-Toppers points, sixth among active pitchers.
Lester has 5.0 Box-Toppers points on the season, 15th among NL pitchers.
Scoring—Kluber earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day and Dickey earns 1.7 points for being NL Player of the Day. Turner and Zunino 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.
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.
| 6/19 | Score | Game | Player of the Game | AB | R | H | BI | IP | H | R | ER | BB | K | |
| MLB | 17.0 | CLE 12, BAL 0 | Corey Kluber (W,6-2) | - | - | - | - | 9.0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 11 | |
| AL | 9.0 | ATL 9, SF 0 | R.A. Dickey (W,5-5) | - | - | - | - | 7.0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 6 | |
| BAT | 6.0 | LAD 10, NYM 6 | Justin Turner, 3B | 4 | 2 | 4 | 4 | - | - | - | - | - | - | |
| 5.2 | HOU 4, OAK 1 | Brad Peacock (W,4-1) | - | - | - | - | 5.2 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 8 | ||
| BAT | 5.0 | SEA 6, DET 2 | Mike Zunino, C | 3 | 2 | 2 | 4 | - | - | - | - | - | - | |
| 5.0 | PIT 8, MIL 1 | Gerrit Cole (W,5-6) | - | - | - | - | 7.0 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 5 | ||
| 4.2 | `TOR 7, TEX 6 | Aaron Loup | - | - | - | - | 1.2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | ||
| 3.0 | MIA 8, WSH 7 | Justin Bour, 1B | 4 | 1 | 2 | 4 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 3.0 | `CHC 3, SD 2 | Jon Lester | - | - | - | - | 6.0 | 5 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 7 | ||
| 2.0 | CIN 7, TB 3 | Scooter Gennett, 2B | 4 | 2 | 2 | 2 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 2.0 | KC 4, BOS 2 | Eric Hosmer, 1B | 2 | 1 | 1 | 2 | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| Player of the Game | Pos | Team | ’17 | ’16-17 | ’12-17 | Career | +/- |
| Kluber, Corey 3200 | pi sp | cle al | 6.0 | 27.2 | 71.4 | 71.4 | -15.2 |
| Lester, Jon 2173 | pi sp | chi nl | 5.0 | 27.1 | 72.6 | 148.2 | -17.1 |
| Peacock, Brad 2968 | pi sp | hou al | 4.7 | 4.7 | 11.4 | 14.1 | 4.7 |
| Bour, Justin 3433 | 1b | fla nl | 4.5 | 7.0 | 17.0 | 17.0 | 2.0 |
| Cole, Gerrit 3232 | pi sp | pit nl | 4.0 | 10.5 | 39.9 | 39.9 | -2.5 |
| Zunino, Mike 3390 | ca | sea al | 4.0 | 4.0 | 7.5 | 7.5 | 4.0 |
| Gennett, Scooter 3254 | 2b lf | cin nl | 3.5 | 6.0 | 15.0 | 15.0 | 1.0 |
| Dickey, R.A. 1734 | pi sp | atl nl | 2.7 | 9.7 | 49.9 | 80.6 | -4.3 |
| Hosmer, Eric 2886 | 1b | kc al | 1.0 | 9.5 | 29.5 | 32.0 | -7.5 |
| Turner, Justin 2865 | 3b | lad nl | 1.0 | 3.5 | 9.5 | 13.0 | -1.5 |
| Loup, Aaron 3146 | pi mr | tb al | 1.0 | 1.0 | 8.0 | 8.0 | 1.0 |
Cubs pitcher Jon Lester is Tuesday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day.
| Player | Pos | Team | BTP | |
| 1 | Kershaw, Clayton 2494 | pi sp | lad nl | 14.4 |
| 2 | Scherzer, Max 2588 | pi sp | dc nl | 12.0 |
| 3 | Santana, Ervin 2005 | pi sp | min al | 11.4 |
| 4 | Ray, Robbie 3502 | pi sp | ari nl | 10.0 |
| 5 | Sale, Chris 2806 | pi sp | bos al | 8.4 |
| 6 | Judge, Aaron 3767 | rf | nyy al | 8.2 |
| 7 | Vargas, Jason 2055 | pi sp | kc al | 8.0 |
| 8 | Greinke, Zack 1871 | pi sp | ari nl | 7.7 |
| 9 | McCullers, Lance 3488 | pi sp | hou al | 7.7 |
| 10 | Martinez, Carlos 3371 | pi sp | stl nl | 7.5 |
Also Tuesday, Royals pitcher Jason Vargas rises to seventh place in Box-Toppers season player rankings after earning Player of the Game honors.
Player of the Day—Lester struck out 10 over seven innings, allowing one run, five hits and one walk, in the 14-3 win over the Mets.
Lester earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day, giving him 147.2 career Box-Toppers points, rising to 22nd among all players since 1995, when Box-Toppers tracking began. With his points Tuesday, he passes three players on the “all-time” list—David Ortiz (145.9), Jim Thome (146.7) and Miguel Cabrera of the Tigers (146.9). Lester now trails 21st-ranked player Javier Vazquez (148.3).
Lester also rises to seventh among active players in career Box-Toppers points, passing Cabrera. He trails sixth-ranked active player Braves pitcher Bartolo Colon (151.2). Lester has 4.0 Box-Toppers points on the season.
American League Player of the Day—Eddie Rosario of the Twins hit three home runs and went 4-for-5, driving in five runs, in the 20-7 win over the Mariners.
National League Batter of the Day—Cody Bellinger of the Dodgers hit two home runs, including a three-run homer, in the 7-5 win over the Indians. Bellinger also doubled and went 3-for-4, driving in four runs.
American League Batter of the Day—There is no separate AL Batter of the Day for Tuesday because the overall AL Player of the Day is batter Eddie Rosario.
Rankings—Royals pitcher Jason Vargas rises to seventh place in Box-Toppers season player rankings after earning Player of the Game honors Tuesday.
Vargas (7IP 5H R BB 6K W in the 8-1 win over the Giants) earns 1.0 Box-Toppers point, giving him 8.0 for the season. He ranks third among AL pitchers, behind Ervin Santana of the Twins (11.4) and Chris Sale of the Red Sox (8.4).
Debut—Franchy Cordero of the Padres made his Box-Toppers debut Tuesday with his first career Player of the Game honor.
Cordero (2HR 3-5 3R 2BI in the 6-2 win over the Reds) made his Major League debut May 27 and was playing in his 16th career game. He is the 3,821st player to debut in Box-Toppers since record keeping began in 1995.
Scoring—Lester earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day and Rosario earns 1.7 points for being AL Player of the Day. Bellinger earns 1.5 points for being NL 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.
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.
| 6/13 | Score | Game | Player of the Game | AB | R | H | BI | IP | H | R | ER | BB | K | |
| MLB | 9.0 | CHC 14, NYM 3 | Jon Lester (W,4-4) | - | - | - | - | 7.0 | 5 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 10 | |
| AL | 7.0 | MIN 20, SEA 7 | Eddie Rosario, LF | 5 | 3 | 4 | 5 | - | - | - | - | - | - | |
| 6.0 | STL 6, MIL 0 | Lance Lynn (W,5-3) | - | - | - | - | 5.0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 8 | ||
| 5.1 | TB 8, TOR 1 | Jacob Faria (W,2-0) | - | - | - | - | 6.1 | 6 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 8 | ||
| BAT | 5.0 | LAD 7, CLE 5 | Cody Bellinger, 1B | 4 | 2 | 3 | 4 | - | - | - | - | - | - | |
| 5.0 | WSH 10, ATL 5 | Ryan Zimmerman, 1B | 4 | 3 | 3 | 3 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 5.0 | KC 8, SF 1 | Jason Vargas (W,9-3) | - | - | - | - | 7.0 | 5 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 6 | ||
| 4.0 | TEX 4, HOU 2 | Rougned Odor, 2B | 4 | 2 | 3 | 3 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 4.0 | MIL 8, STL 5 | Keon Broxton, CF | 3 | 2 | 2 | 3 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 4.0 | MIA 8, OAK 1 | Jose Urena (W,5-2) | - | - | - | - | 6.0 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 4 | ||
| 3.0 | ARI 7, DET 6 | Brandon Drury, 2B | 5 | 1 | 4 | 3 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 3.0 | SD 6, CIN 2 | Franchy Cordero, CF | 5 | 3 | 3 | 2 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 3.0 | PIT 5, COL 2 | Andrew McCutchen, CF | 4 | 2 | 2 | 3 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 2.0 | CHW 6, BAL 1 | Matt Davidson, 3B | 4 | 1 | 1 | 4 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 1.2 | `LAA 3, NYY 2 (F/11) | JC Ramirez | - | - | - | - | 6.2 | 5 | 2 | 2 | 3 | 7 | ||
| 0.0 | BOS 4, PHI 3 (F/12) | Andrew Benintendi, LF | 5 | 0 | 3 | 2 | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| Player of the Game | Pos | Team | ’17 | ’16-17 | ’12-17 | Career | +/- |
| Vargas, Jason 2055 | pi sp | kc al | 8.0 | 9.0 | 34.4 | 55.2 | 7.0 |
| Lynn, Lance 2992 | pi sp | stl nl | 4.7 | 4.7 | 60.6 | 60.6 | 4.7 |
| Zimmerman, Ryan 2180 | 1b | dc nl | 4.5 | 6.0 | 25.7 | 60.8 | 3.0 |
| Lester, Jon 2173 | pi sp | chi nl | 4.0 | 26.1 | 71.6 | 147.2 | -18.1 |
| Ramirez, JC 3778 | pi sp | ana al | 4.0 | 4.0 | 4.0 | 4.0 | 4.0 |
| Rosario, Eddie 3542 | lf | min al | 3.7 | 6.7 | 8.2 | 8.2 | 0.7 |
| Bellinger, Cody 3781 | 1b lf | lad nl | 3.5 | 3.5 | 3.5 | 3.5 | 3.5 |
| Broxton, Keon 3785 | cf | mil nl | 3.5 | 3.5 | 3.5 | 3.5 | 3.5 |
| McCutchen, Andrew 2637 | cf | pit nl | 3.0 | 10.0 | 41.5 | 56.9 | -4.0 |
| Benintendi, Andrew 3815 | lf | bos al | 2.5 | 2.5 | 2.5 | 2.5 | 2.5 |
| Urena, Jose 3492 | pi sp | fla nl | 2.0 | 4.7 | 5.7 | 5.7 | -0.7 |
| Drury, Brandon 3744 | 2b lf | ari nl | 2.0 | 3.5 | 3.5 | 3.5 | 0.5 |
| Faria, Jacob 3816 | pi sp | tb al | 2.0 | 2.0 | 2.0 | 2.0 | 2.0 |
| Odor, Rougned 3336 | 2b | tex al | 1.0 | 7.5 | 12.0 | 12.0 | -5.5 |
| Davidson, Matt 3292 | 3b | chi al | 1.0 | 1.0 | 3.0 | 3.0 | 1.0 |
| Cordero, Franchy 3821 | cf | sd nl | 1.0 | 1.0 | 1.0 | 1.0 | 1.0 |
Dodgers pitcher Clayton Kershaw is Friday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day, maintaining his spot atop season player rankings.
| Player | Pos | Team | BTP | |
| 1 | Kershaw, Clayton 2494 | pi sp | lad nl | 12.7 |
| 2 | Scherzer, Max 2588 | pi sp | dc nl | 10.0 |
| 3 | Santana, Ervin 2005 | pi sp | min al | 9.4 |
| 4 | Sale, Chris 2806 | pi sp | bos al | 8.4 |
| 5 | Greinke, Zack 1871 | pi sp | ari nl | 7.7 |
| 6 | Strasburg, Stephen 2736 | pi sp | dc nl | 7.4 |
| 7 | Keuchel, Dallas 3050 | pi sp | hou al | 7.4 |
| 8 | Ray, Robbie 3502 | pi sp | ari nl | 7.0 |
| 9 | Wood, Alex 3246 | pi sp | lad nl | 7.0 |
| 10 | Vargas, Jason 2055 | pi sp | kc al | 7.0 |
Also Friday, three other players rose in Box-Toppers top 10 season player rankings after earning Player of the Game honors—Nationals pitcher Stephen Strasburg, Astros pitcher Dallas Keuchel and Royals pitcher Jason Vargas.
Player of the Day—Kershaw struck out 14 over seven innings, allowing one run, two hits and one walk, in the 2-1, 12-inning win over the Brewers. Kershaw did not earn the win, picking up a no-decision, because the Dodgers trailed 1-0 when he exited.
Kershaw earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day, giving him 12.7 for the season, maintaining his first place spot in season player rankings, ahead of second-place player, Nationals pitcher Max Scherzer (10.0).
Kershaw also now has 196.4 career Box-Toppers points, third among all players since 1995, when Box-Toppers tracking began. He trails second-place player Pedro Martinez (244.8). Kershaw leads all active players in career points.
American League Player of the Day—Danny Valencia of the Mariners homered, doubled and went 3-for-3, scoring three times and driving in five runs, in the 12-4 win over the Rays.
National League Batter of the Day—Elias Diaz of the Pirates hit a three-run homer and doubled in the 12-7 win over the Mets. Diaz went 2-for-5, driving in six runs.
This was Diaz’s Box-Toppers debut, the first time in his career he earned Player of the Game honors. Diaz made his Major League debut Sept. 12, 2015, and was playing in his 10th career game. He is the 3,813rd player to debut in Box-Toppers since record keeping began in 1995.
American League Batter of the Day—There is no separate AL Batter of the Day for Friday because the overall AL Player of the Day is batter Danny Valencia.
Rankings—Three other players who earned Player of the Game honors Friday rise in Box-Toppers season player rankings:
Nationals pitcher Stephen Strasburg (7IP 4H 2R 3BB 7K W in the 13-3 win over the Athletics) rises to sixth place (from ninth) with 7.4 season Box-Toppers points. He ranks fourth among NL pitchers.
Astros pitcher Dallas Keuchel (6IP 3H 0R 2BB 7K W in the 7-1 win over the Rangers) rises to seventh place with 7.4 season Box-Toppers points. He ranks third among AL pitchers.
Royals pitcher Jason Vargas (CG 7H 0R BB 3K W in the 4-0 win over the Indians) rises to 10th place with 7.0 season Box-Toppers points. He ranks fourth among AL pitchers.
Notable—In addition to Kershaw, two other players with 100 or more career Box-Toppers points earned Player of the Game honors Friday:
Miguel Cabrera of the Tigers (2-2B 3-3 R 4BI in the 15-5 win over the White Sox) earns 1.0 Box-Toppers point, giving him 146.9 career points. Cabrera rises to 22nd place in career Box-Toppers points among all players since 1995, when Box-Toppers tracking began, passing Jim Thome (146.7) on the “all-time” list. Cabrera now trails 21st-ranked player Javier Vazquez (148.3). Cabrera now rises to sixth place among all batters since 1995 in career Box-Toppers points. He has 2.0 Box-Toppers points for the season.
Cubs pitcher John Lackey (7IP 4H 2R 2BB 6K ND in the 3-2 win over the Cardinals) earns 1.0 Box-Toppers point for being Player of the Game, giving him 124.2 career points, rising to 38th among all players since 1995, when Box-Toppers tracking began. With his point Friday, he passes Gary Sheffield (124.1) on the “all-time” list and now trails 37th-ranked player Mariano Rivera (126.4). Lackey has 3.0 Box-Toppers points for the season.
Scoring—Kershaw earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day and Valencia earns 1.7 points for being AL Player of the Day. Diaz earns 1.5 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.
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| 6/2 | Score | Game | Player of the Game | AB | R | H | BI | IP | H | R | ER | BB | K | |
| MLB | 16.0 | `LAD 2, MIL 1 (F/12) | Clayton Kershaw | - | - | - | - | 7.0 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 14 | |
| AL | 8.0 | SEA 12, TB 4 | Danny Valencia, 1B | 3 | 3 | 3 | 5 | - | - | - | - | - | - | |
| 8.0 | HOU 7, TEX 1 | Dallas Keuchel (W,9-0) | - | - | - | - | 6.0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 7 | ||
| 6.0 | SF 10, PHI 0 | Ty Blach (W,4-2) | - | - | - | - | 9.0 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | ||
| 5.0 | DET 15, CHW 5 | Miguel Cabrera, 1B | 3 | 1 | 3 | 4 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 4.1 | BAL 3, BOS 2 | Alec Asher (W,2-3) | - | - | - | - | 6.1 | 3 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 5 | ||
| BAT | 4.0 | PIT 12, NYM 7 | Elias Diaz, C | 5 | 1 | 2 | 6 | - | - | - | - | - | - | |
| 4.0 | TOR 7, NYY 5 | Justin Smoak, 1B | 3 | 2 | 2 | 3 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 4.0 | KC 4, CLE 0 | Jason Vargas (W,7-3) | - | - | - | - | 9.0 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 3 | ||
| 3.0 | MIN 11, LAA 5 | Joe Mauer, 1B | 5 | 1 | 4 | 3 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 3.0 | MIA 7, ARI 5 | Giancarlo Stanton, RF | 3 | 3 | 2 | 1 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 3.0 | WSH 13, OAK 3 | Stephen Strasburg (W,7-1) | - | - | - | - | 7.0 | 4 | 2 | 2 | 3 | 7 | ||
| 3.0 | `CHC 3, STL 2 | John Lackey | - | - | - | - | 7.0 | 4 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 6 | ||
| 2.0 | SD 8, COL 5 | Allen Cordoba, LF | 4 | 1 | 3 | 2 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 2.0 | CIN 3, ATL 2 (F/10) | Devin Mesoraco, C | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| Player of the Game | Pos | Team | ’17 | ’16-17 | ’12-17 | Career | +/- |
| Kershaw, Clayton 2494 | pi sp | lad nl | 12.7 | 37.1 | 136.8 | 196.4 | -11.7 |
| Strasburg, Stephen 2736 | pi sp | dc nl | 7.4 | 22.5 | 81.6 | 90.3 | -7.7 |
| Keuchel, Dallas 3050 | pi sp | hou al | 7.4 | 14.4 | 50.2 | 50.2 | 0.4 |
| Vargas, Jason 2055 | pi sp | kc al | 7.0 | 8.0 | 33.4 | 54.2 | 6.0 |
| Smoak, Justin 2731 | 1b | tor al | 5.5 | 9.0 | 22.2 | 28.4 | 2.0 |
| Lackey, John 1640 | pi sp | chi nl | 3.0 | 16.4 | 42.8 | 124.2 | -10.4 |
| Cabrera, Miguel 1776 | 1b | det al | 2.0 | 14.0 | 59.8 | 146.9 | -10.0 |
| Blach, Ty 3754 | pi sp | sf nl | 2.0 | 4.0 | 4.0 | 4.0 | 0.0 |
| Mauer, Joe 1869 | 1b | min al | 2.0 | 3.5 | 25.0 | 72.6 | 0.5 |
| Cordoba, Allen 3780 | lf pr | sd nl | 2.0 | 2.0 | 2.0 | 2.0 | 2.0 |
| Valencia, Danny 2772 | 1b 3b | sea al | 1.7 | 6.2 | 10.7 | 14.7 | -2.8 |
| Diaz, Elias 3813 | ca | pit nl | 1.5 | 1.5 | 1.5 | 1.5 | 1.5 |
| Stanton, Giancarlo 2737 | rf | fla nl | 1.0 | 7.5 | 31.7 | 40.2 | -5.5 |
| Asher, Alec 3735 | pi sp | bal al | 1.0 | 2.0 | 2.0 | 2.0 | 0.0 |
| Mesoraco, Devin 3037 | ca | cin nl | 1.0 | 1.0 | 13.5 | 13.5 | 1.0 |
Giants pitcher Ty Blach is Saturday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day.
| Player | Pos | Team | BTP | |
| 1 | Scherzer, Max 2588 | pi sp | dc nl | 25.7 |
| 2 | Kershaw, Clayton 2494 | pi sp | lad nl | 24.4 |
| 3 | Fernandez, Jose 3147 | pi sp | died* | 22.4 |
| 4 | Lester, Jon 2173 | pi sp | chi nl | 22.1 |
| 5 | Kluber, Corey 3200 | pi sp | cle al | 21.2 |
| 6 | Hamels, Cole 2135 | pi sp | tex al | 17.8 |
| 7 | Syndergaard, Noah 3472 | pi sp | nym nl | 16.7 |
| 8 | Cueto, Johnny 2400 | pi sp | sf nl | 16.4 |
| 9 | Arrieta, Jake 2738 | pi sp | chi nl | 15.7 |
| 10 | Strasburg, Stephen 2736 | pi sp | dc nl | 15.1 |
Also Saturday, Nationals pitcher Max Scherzer secured Box-Toppers Player of the Year honors for 2016 after Dodgers pitcher Clayton Kershaw failed to earn Box-Toppers points in his team’s loss Saturday against the Giants. Scherzer, who starts Sunday, has 25.7 Box-Toppers points. Kershaw finishes second with 24.4.
In addition Saturday, Mets pitcher Bartolo Colon rises to 20th place in career Box-Toppers points (since 1995) after earning Player of the Game honors.
Player of the Day—Blach pitched eight scoreless innings, allowing three hits, one walk and striking out six, in the 3-0 win over the Dodgers.
This was Blach’s Box-Toppers debut, the first time in his career he earned Player of the Game honors. Blach made his Major League debut Sept. 5 and was playing in his fourth career game. He is the 3,754th player to debut in Box-Toppers since record keeping began in 1995.
American League Player of the Day—Rays pitcher Jake Odorizzi struck out eight over six innings, allowing one run, three hits and no walks, in the 4-1 win over the Rangers.
American League Batter of the Day—Joey Wendle of the Athletics doubled and went 4-for-5, scoring twice and driving in two runs, in the 9-8, 10-inning win over the Mariners.
This was Wendle’s Box-Toppers debut, the first time in his career he earned Player of the Game honors. Wendle made his Major League debut Aug. 31 and was playing in his 27th career game. He is the 3,756th player to debut in Box-Toppers since record keeping began in 1995.
National League Batter of the Day—Eugenio Suarez of the Reds hit a two-run homer and went 1-for-2, driving in three runs, in the 7-4 win over the Cubs.
Rankings—Dodgers pitcher Clayton Kershaw had a chance to take the Box-Toppers season points lead on the next-to-last day of the season Saturday if he earned NL Player of the Day or overall Player of the Day. But Kershaw did not earn points as the Dodgers lost to the Giants, 3-0.
Kershaw (7IP 6H 3R BB 4K L) had a Box-Toppers game score of −1.0. Player of the Game was overall Player of the Day, Giants pitcher Ty Blach.
Kershaw finishes the season with 24.4 Box-Toppers points, the second year in a row he finishes second. In 2015, he had 25.7 points, behind leader Cubs pitcher Jake Arrieta (29.1). Previously, Kershaw led NL pitchers for four straight seasons (2011-2014) and led all players in three seasons (2011, 2013 and 2014).
Nationals pitcher Max Scherzer, who took the season lead from Kershaw on Aug. 25, will end the season atop Box-Toppers season player rankings for the first time in his career. He has 25.7 Box-Toppers points and has a chance to earn up to 2.0 more Sunday in his start against the Marlins.
This will be the second time Scherzer has ended the season as a Box-Toppers category leader. In 2013, Scherzer, then with the Tigers, led AL pitchers in points with 18.1. (He finished fifth in 2013 in overall points when Kershaw led with 21.7.)
| Player | Pos | Team | BTP | |
| 1 | Randy Johnson | pi sp | retired | 278.8 |
| 2 | Pedro Martinez | pi sp | retired | 244.8 |
| 3 | Curt Schilling | pi sp | retired | 194.1 |
| 4 | Alex Rodriguez | dh | released | 187.0 |
| 5 | CC Sabathia | pi sp | nyy al | 185.0 |
| 6 | Clayton Kershaw | pi sp | lad nl | 183.7 |
| 7 | Albert Pujols | 1b dh | ana al | 182.3 |
| 8 | Roy Halladay | pi sp | retired | 170.7 |
| 9 | Felix Hernandez | pi sp | sea al | 168.7 |
| 10 | Manny Ramirez | lf dh | retired | 167.2 |
| 11 | Johan Santana | pi sp | free agent | 166.6 |
| 12 | Roger Clemens | pi sp | retired | 164.8 |
| 13 | John Smoltz | pi sp | retired | 160.9 |
| 14 | Tim Hudson | pi sp | retired | 157.0 |
| 15 | Zack Greinke | pi sp | ari nl | 156.1 |
| 16 | Mike Mussina | pi sp | retired | 155.6 |
| 17 | Barry Bonds | lf | retired | 153.2 |
| 18 | Greg Maddux | pi sp | retired | 151.7 |
| 19 | Chipper Jones | 3b | retired | 149.0 |
| 20 | Bartolo Colon | pi sp | nym nl | 148.5 |
Notable—Mets pitcher Bartolo Colon rises to 20th place in career Box-Toppers points (since tracking began in 1995) after earning Player of the Game honors Saturday.
Colon (5IP 5H 2R 0BB 6K W in the 5-3 win over the Phillies) earns 1.0 Box-Toppers point, giving him 148.5 for his career. He passes Javier Vazquez (148.3) on the “all-time” list and now trails Chipper Jones (149.0).
Colon now has 8.4 Box-Toppers points on the season, 27th among NL pitchers.
Also notable—Two players with 10 or more Box-Toppers points on the season earned Player of the Game honors Saturday:
Debut—Braves pitcher Aaron Blair also made his Box-Toppers debut Saturday, the first time in his career he earned Player of the Game honors.
Blair (6IP 4H 2R BB 10K W in the 5-3 win over the Tigers) made his Major League debut April 24 and was playing in his 15th career game. He is the 3,755th player to debut in Box-Toppers since record keeping began in 1995.
Scoring—Blach earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day and Odorizzi earns 1.7 points for being AL Player of the Day. Wendle and Suarez each earn 1.5 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.
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.
Listed from highest to lowest Box-Toppers game score
| 10/1 | Score | Game | Player of Game | AB | R | H | BI | IP | H | R | ER | BB | K | |
| MLB | 10.0 | SF 3, LAD 0 | Ty Blach (W,1-0) | - | - | - | - | 8.0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 6 | |
| AL | 9.0 | TB 4, TEX 1 | Jake Odorizzi (W,10-6) | - | - | - | - | 6.0 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 8 | |
| 8.2 | HOU 3, LAA 0 | Collin McHugh (W,13-10) | - | - | - | - | 7.2 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 5 | ||
| 7.0 | ARI 9, SD 5 | Archie Bradley (W,8-9) | - | - | - | - | 7.0 | 7 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 11 | ||
| 7.0 | ATL 5, DET 3 | Aaron Blair (W,2-7) | - | - | - | - | 6.0 | 4 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 10 | ||
| 6.1 | MIN 6, CHW 0 | Hector Santiago (W,13-10) | - | - | - | - | 6.1 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 6 | ||
| 4.0 | `MIL 4, COL 3 (10) | Wily Peralta | - | - | - | - | 6.0 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | ||
| 4.0 | `STL 4, PIT 3 | Trevor Rosenthal | - | - | - | - | 3.0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 4 | ||
| BAT | 3.0 | OAK 9, SEA 8 (10) | Joey Wendle, 2B | 5 | 2 | 4 | 2 | - | - | - | - | - | - | |
| BAT | 3.0 | CIN 7, CHC 4 | Eugenio Suarez, 3B | 2 | 1 | 1 | 3 | - | - | - | - | - | - | |
| 3.0 | `CLE 6, KC 3 | Andrew Miller (H,25) | - | - | - | - | 1.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | ||
| 2.1 | WSH 2, MIA 1 | Mark Melancon (S,46) | - | - | - | - | 1.1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | ||
| 2.0 | TOR 4, BOS 3 | Kevin Pillar, CF | 3 | 0 | 2 | 3 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 2.0 | NYY 7, BAL 3 | Chase Headley, 3B | 3 | 2 | 2 | 1 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 2.0 | NYM 5, PHI 3 | Bartolo Colon (W,15-8) | - | - | - | - | 5.0 | 5 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 6 | ||
| `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 | +/- |
| Santiago, Hector 3109 | pi sp | min al | 11.4 | 19.4 | 31.8 | 31.8 | 3.4 |
| McHugh, Collin 3316 | pi sp | hou al | 10.7 | 20.4 | 32.2 | 32.2 | 1.0 |
| Suarez, Eugenio 3355 | 3b | cin nl | 8.5 | 11.5 | 14.0 | 14.0 | 5.5 |
| Colon, Bartolo | pi sp | nym nl | 8.4 | 15.1 | 57.0 | 148.5 | 1.7 |
| Miller, Andrew 2436 | pi cp mr | cle al | 8.0 | 12.0 | 16.0 | 23.0 | 4.0 |
| Odorizzi, Jake 3291 | pi sp | tb al | 6.4 | 15.1 | 26.1 | 26.1 | -2.3 |
| Headley, Chase 2552 | 3b | nyy al | 4.5 | 6.5 | 18.0 | 28.5 | 2.5 |
| Rosenthal, Trevor 3124 | pi cp | stl nl | 4.0 | 10.0 | 22.0 | 22.0 | -2.0 |
| Melancon, Mark 2792 | pi cp | dc nl | 3.0 | 10.0 | 23.0 | 24.0 | -4.0 |
| Bradley, Archie 3438 | pi sp | ari nl | 3.0 | 4.0 | 4.0 | 4.0 | 2.0 |
| Pillar, Kevin 3486 | cf | tor al | 2.0 | 5.5 | 5.5 | 5.5 | -1.5 |
| Blach, Ty 3754 | pi sp | sf nl | 2.0 | 2.0 | 2.0 | 2.0 | 2.0 |
| Wendle, Joey 3756 | 2b | oak al | 1.5 | 1.5 | 1.5 | 1.5 | 1.5 |
| Peralta, Wily 3123 | pi sp | mil nl | 1.0 | 3.0 | 19.0 | 19.0 | -1.0 |
| Blair, Aaron 3755 | pi sp | atl nl | 1.0 | 1.0 | 1.0 | 1.0 | 1.0 |
Astros pitcher Collin McHugh is Friday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day.
| Player | Pos | Team | BTP | |
| 1 | Scherzer, Max 2588 | pi sp | dc nl | 23.7 |
| 2 | Kershaw, Clayton 2494 | pi sp | lad nl | 21.0 |
| 3 | Fernandez, Jose 3147 | pi sp | fla nl | 20.4 |
| 4 | Kluber, Corey 3200 | pi sp | cle al | 20.2 |
| 5 | Lester, Jon 2173 | pi sp | chi nl | 20.1 |
| 6 | Hamels, Cole 2135 | pi sp | tex al | 16.8 |
| 7 | Syndergaard, Noah 3472 | pi sp | nym al | 15.7 |
| 8 | Cueto, Johnny 2400 | pi sp | sf nl | 15.4 |
| 9 | Strasburg, Stephen 2736 | pi sp | dc nl | 15.1 |
| 10 | Hill, Rich 2215 | pi sp | lad nl | 14.4 |
Also Friday, two pitchers with more than 20.0 Box-Toppers points this season started and both earned the win, but neither earned Player of the Game honors—Max Scherzer of the Nationals (23.7 Box-Toppers points, ranked first) and Corey Kluber of the Indians (20.2 points, ranked fourth).
Player of the Day—McHugh pitched seven scoreless innings, allowing two hits, two walks and striking out six, in the 6-0 win over the Mariners.
National League Player of the Day—Mets pitcher Bartolo Colon pitched seven scoreless innings, allowing three hits, two walks and striking out six, in the 3-0 win over the Twins.
Colon earns 1.7 Box-Toppers points for being NL Player of the Day, giving him 147.5 for his career. He rises to 21st place among all players since 1995, when Box-Toppers tracking began, passing Jim Thome (146.7) on the “all-time” list and now trails 20th-ranked player Javier Vazquez (148.3).
Colon now has 7.4 Box-Toppers points on the season, 31st among NL pitchers.
National League Batter of the Day—Trea Turner of the Nationals homered, doubled and went 4-for-5, scoring four times and driving in two runs, in the 7-2 win over the Braves.
American League Batter of the Day—Mike Napoli of the Indians homered, doubled and went 3-for-4, scoring twice and driving in four runs, in the 11-4 win over the Tigers.
Notable—The overall Box-Toppers points leader, Max Scherzer, and the overall AL Box-Toppers points leader, Corey Kluber, both started games Friday and both earned the win, but neither earned Player of the Game honors and did not increase their season Box-Toppers point totals:
Also notable—White Sox pitcher Chris Sale has the most season Box-Toppers points among the 15 who earned Player of the Game honors Friday.
Sale (CG 8H 4R BB 10K W in the 7-4 win over the Royals) earns 1.0 Box-Toppers point, giving him 13.4 for the season. He ranks 14th among all players and fifth among AL pitchers.
And finally—Phillies pitcher Frank Herrmann earned his first Player of the Game honor in nearly five years Friday.
Herrmann (2IP 0H 0R 0BB 0K W in the 4-3, 13-inning win over the Marlins) last earned Player of the Game honors on Sept. 24, 2011, with the Indians. He had 3.0 Box-Toppers points in 2011 and now has 4.0 career points.
Scoring—McHugh earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day and Colon earns 1.7 points for being NL Player of the Day. Turner and Napoli each earn 1.5 points for being their league’s Batter of the Day. All of Friday’s other Players of the Game (listed in the chart below) earn 1.0 Box-Toppers point.
About Box-Toppers—Box-Toppers tracks who most helps their team win the most games. Using standard box score statistics, Box-Toppers uses a simple formula to determine a Player of the Game for each Major League Baseball game played. That player is the person who contributed most to his team’s win. In regular season games, players earn 1.0 Box-Toppers point for being named Player of the Game and can earn bonus points for being Player of the Day or top player or batter in their league for the day.
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.
Listed from highest to lowest Box-Toppers game score
| 9/16 | Score | Game | Player of Game | AB | R | H | BI | IP | H | R | ER | BB | K | |
| MLB | 9.0 | HOU 6, SEA 0 | Collin McHugh (W,11-10) | - | - | - | - | 7.0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 6 | |
| NL | 8.0 | NYM 3, MIN 0 | Bartolo Colon (W,14-7) | - | - | - | - | 7.0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 6 | |
| BAT | 5.0 | WSH 7, ATL 2 | Trea Turner, CF | 5 | 4 | 4 | 2 | - | - | - | - | - | - | |
| BAT | 5.0 | CLE 11, DET 4 | Mike Napoli, 1B | 4 | 2 | 3 | 4 | - | - | - | - | - | - | |
| 5.0 | SF 8, STL 2 | Buster Posey, C | 4 | 2 | 3 | 4 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 4.0 | PIT 9, CIN 7 (10) | Jung Ho Kang, 3B | 1 | 1 | 1 | 3 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 4.0 | CHC 5, MIL 4 (10) | Aroldis Chapman (W,4-1) | - | - | - | - | 1.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | ||
| 3.0 | CHW 7, KC 4 | Chris Sale (W,16-8) | - | - | - | - | 9.0 | 8 | 4 | 3 | 1 | 10 | ||
| 3.0 | LAD 3, ARI 2 | Kenta Maeda (W,15-9) | - | - | - | - | 5.0 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 6 | ||
| 2.2 | BOS 7, NYY 4 | Craig Kimbrel (S,26) | - | - | - | - | 0.2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | ||
| 2.0 | COL 8, SD 7 | DJ LeMahieu, 2B | 5 | 1 | 3 | 3 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 2.0 | TOR 5, LAA 0 | R.A. Dickey (W,10-14) | - | - | - | - | 5.0 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 5 | ||
| 2.0 | PHI 4, MIA 3 (13) | Frank Herrmann (W,1-2) | - | - | - | - | 2.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||
| 1.0 | BAL 5, TB 4 | J.J. Hardy, SS | 4 | 1 | 3 | 1 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 1.0 | TEX 7, OAK 6 | Nomar Mazara, RF | 2 | 1 | 2 | 0 | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| Player of Game | Pos | Team | 16 | 15-16 | 11-16 | Career | +/- |
| Sale, Chris 2806 | pi sp | chi al | 13.4 | 32.2 | 84.4 | 86.4 | -5.4 |
| McHugh, Collin 3316 | pi sp | hou al | 9.7 | 19.4 | 31.2 | 31.2 | 0.0 |
| Maeda, Kenta 3609 | pi sp | lad nl | 9.0 | 9.0 | 9.0 | 9.0 | 9.0 |
| LeMahieu, DJ 3091 | 2b | col nl | 8.0 | 15.0 | 21.0 | 21.0 | 1.0 |
| Chapman, Aroldis 2826 | pi cp | chi nl | 7.4 | 15.4 | 45.4 | 46.4 | -0.6 |
| Colon, Bartolo | pi sp | nym nl | 7.4 | 14.1 | 56.0 | 147.5 | 0.7 |
| Dickey, R.A. 1734 | pi sp | tor al | 7.0 | 12.0 | 56.2 | 77.9 | 2.0 |
| Napoli, Mike 2161 | 1b | cle al | 6.5 | 11.0 | 38.7 | 57.7 | 2.0 |
| Hardy, J.J. 2071 | ss | bal al | 6.2 | 6.2 | 27.6 | 54.8 | 6.2 |
| Kimbrel, Craig 2825 | pi cp | bos al | 6.0 | 12.0 | 55.7 | 56.7 | 0.0 |
| Mazara, Nomar 3614 | rf lf | tex al | 5.5 | 5.5 | 5.5 | 5.5 | 5.5 |
| Posey, Buster 2745 | ca 1b | sf nl | 3.5 | 7.5 | 28.5 | 33.0 | -0.5 |
| Kang, Jung-Ho 3464 | 3b ss | pit nl | 3.5 | 6.5 | 6.5 | 6.5 | 0.5 |
| Turner, Trea 3730 | 2b cf | dc nl | 2.5 | 2.5 | 2.5 | 2.5 | 2.5 |
| Herrmann, Frank 2902 | pi cp | phi nl | 1.0 | 1.0 | 4.0 | 4.0 | 1.0 |
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.