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Yankees pitcher Gerrit Cole is Box-Toppers’ top-ranked player over the past two seasons while Nationals pitcher Max Scherzer ranks first in points over the past six seasons.
Cole earned 39.6 Box-Toppers points combined in 2019 and 2020 to lead all players in that span, while Scherzer earned 116.2 from 2015-2020, most in that span.
Read MoreTwins pitcher Ervin Santana had the biggest decline in Box-Toppers points from 2017 to 2018.
Santana, who earned 16.1 Box-Toppers points in 2017 (ninth among all players), earned no points in 2018. His decline of 16.1 points was just ahead of Nationals pitcher Stephen Strasburg, whose 6.7 points in 2018 represented a 15.1-point drop from the 22.5 points he earned in 2017.
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While batters made modest gains in 2017, earning more Box-Toppers points and Player of the Game honors than in 2016, pitchers were still dominant, earning the most Box-Toppers points and far and away the most Player of the Day honors for the season.
Here's a look at some key statistics in a comprehensive look at all 2,430 Major League Baseball games played and tracked in 2017 by Box-Toppers.
Read MoreGiants pitcher Jeff Samardzija is Saturday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day and becomes the 24th player this season with 10 or more Box-Toppers points.
Also Saturday, Nationals pitcher Max Scherzer had the chance to retake the Box-Toppers season player rankings lead, but did not earn Player of the Game honors in his team’s win; he remains in second place. Plus, Indians pitcher Corey Kluber rises to seventh place in Box-Toppers player rankings after earning Player of the Game honors.
Read MoreGiants pitcher Jeff Samardzija is Monday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day.
Also Monday, Nationals pitcher Max Scherzer (23.0 Box-Toppers points) rises to first place in season player rankings, passing previous leader, Dodgers pitcher Clayton Kershaw, after earning Player of the Game honors. Kershaw (22.1 Box-Toppers points) had led since May 17, even though he had been on the disabled list since July 24.
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Giants pitcher Jeff Samardzija is Monday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day.
| 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 |
Samardzija struck out 10 over 7 2/3 innings, allowing six hits, two runs and no walks, in the 7-2 win over the Brewers.
American League Player of the Day—Ryon Healy of the Athletics hit two home runs and went 2-for-3, driving in five runs, in the 5-3 win over the Blue Jays.
Healy earns 1.7 Box-Toppers points for being AL Player of the Day, giving him 6.2 for the season, most of any of the seven who earned Player of the Game honors Monday. Healy ranks 14th in Box-Toppers season player rankings, third among AL batters behind Miguel Sano of the Twins (6.5) and Aaron Judge of the Yankees (6.5).
National League Batter of the Day—Aaron Altherr of the Phillies homered and went 3-for-4, scoring twice and driving in three runs, in the 11-4 win over the Braves.
American League Batter of the Day—There is no separate AL Batter of the Day for Monday because the overall AL Player of the Day is batter Ryon Healy.
Scoring—Samardzija earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day and Healy earns 1.7 points for being AL Player of the Day. Altherr earns 1.5 points for being NL 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.
| 6/5 | Score | Game | Player of the Game | AB | R | H | BI | IP | H | R | ER | BB | K | |
| MLB | 8.2 | SF 7, MIL 2 | Jeff Samardzija (W,2-7) | - | - | - | - | 7.2 | 6 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 10 | |
| AL | 6.0 | OAK 5, TOR 3 | Ryon Healy, DH | 3 | 2 | 2 | 5 | - | - | - | - | - | - | |
| BAT | 4.0 | PHI 11, ATL 4 | Aaron Altherr, LF | 4 | 2 | 3 | 3 | - | - | - | - | - | - | |
| 3.2 | CHC 3, MIA 1 | Eddie Butler (W,3-1) | - | - | - | - | 5.2 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 4 | ||
| 3.0 | HOU 7, KC 3 | Brian McCann, C | 4 | 3 | 2 | 2 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 3.0 | CIN 4, STL 2 | Raisel Iglesias (S,10) | - | - | - | - | 1.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 3 | ||
| 2.0 | WSH 4, LAD 2 | Anthony Rendon, 3B | 3 | 2 | 2 | 1 | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| Player of the Game | Pos | Team | ’17 | ’16-17 | ’12-17 | Career | +/- |
| Healy, Ryon 3685 | 1b dh 3b | oak al | 6.2 | 9.2 | 9.2 | 9.2 | 3.2 |
| Samardzija, Jeff 2495 | pi sp | sf nl | 6.0 | 16.7 | 52.8 | 55.8 | -4.7 |
| Altherr, Aaron 3563 | lf rf cf | phi nl | 6.0 | 8.5 | 9.5 | 9.5 | 3.5 |
| Rendon, Anthony 3258 | 3b | dc nl | 4.5 | 10.0 | 16.5 | 16.5 | -1.0 |
| Butler, Eddie 3483 | pi sp | chi nl | 2.7 | 3.7 | 4.7 | 4.7 | 1.7 |
| McCann, Brian 2179 | ca | hou al | 2.0 | 5.2 | 31.2 | 60.4 | -1.2 |
| Iglesias, Raisel 3467 | pi cp | cin nl | 1.0 | 4.0 | 6.7 | 6.7 | -2.0 |
Giants pitcher Jeff Samardzija is Saturday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day.
| Player | Pos | Team | BTP | |
| 1 | Kershaw, Clayton 2494 | pi sp | lad nl | 8.7 |
| 2 | Sale, Chris 2806 | pi sp | bos al | 8.4 |
| 3 | Santana, Ervin 2005 | pi sp | min al | 7.7 |
| 4 | Scherzer, Max 2588 | pi sp | dc nl | 6.0 |
| 5 | Harper, Bryce 3011 | rf | dc nl | 6.0 |
| 6 | Wood, Alex 3246 | pi sp | lad nl | 6.0 |
| 7 | Vargas, Jason 2055 | pi sp | kc al | 6.0 |
| 8 | Holland, Greg 2906 | pi cp | col nl | 6.0 |
| 9 | Carrasco, Carlos 2885 | pi sp | cle al | 5.4 |
| 10 | Keuchel, Dallas 3050 | pi sp | hou al | 5.4 |
Samardzija pitched eight scoreless innings, striking out eight and allowing five hits and no walks, in the 3-1, 13-inning win over the Cardinals. Samardzija picked up a no-decision and did not earn the win because the game was in a scoreless tie when he exited.
Samardzija has the most 2017 Box-Toppers points of any of the 13 who earned Player of the Game honors Saturday. Samardzija earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day, giving him 4.0 for the season and ranks 23rd among all players, ninth among National League pitchers.
American League Player of the Day—Indians pitcher Mike Clevinger pitched seven scoreless innings, striking out eight and allowing two hits, in the 3-0 win over the Astros.
Clevinger had a Box-Toppers game score Saturday of +11.0, tied with overall Player of the Day Jeff Samardzija. But Samardzija won Player of the Day on a tiebreaker—he had more innings pitched (eight vs. seven).
American League Batter of the Day—Avisail Garcia of the White Sox homered twice and doubled twice, going 4-for-5, scoring three times and driving in six runs, in the 16-1 win over the Mariners.
National League Batter of the Day—JT Riddle of the Marlins homered, doubled and went 3-for-5, scoring twice and driving in four runs, in the 10-6 win over the Dodgers.
This was Riddle’s Box-Toppers debut, the first time in his career he earned Player of the Game honors. Riddle made his Major League debut April 11 and was playing in his 19th career game. He is the 3,805th player to debut in Box-Toppers since record keeping began in 1995.
Debuts—In addition to Riddle, two other players made their Box-Toppers debut Saturday, the first time in their careers they earned Player of the Game honors:
Scoring—Samardzjia earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day and Clevinger earns 1.7 points for being AL Player of the Day. Garcia and Riddle 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.
| 5/20 | Score | Game | Player of the Game | AB | R | H | BI | IP | H | R | ER | BB | K | |
| MLB | 11.0 | `SF 3, STL 1 (F/13) | Jeff Samardzija | - | - | - | - | 8.0 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 8 | |
| AL | 11.0 | CLE 3, HOU 0 | Mike Clevinger (W,2-1) | - | - | - | - | 7.0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 8 | |
| 8.2 | ARI 9, SD 1 | Robbie Ray (W,3-3) | - | - | - | - | 7.2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 6 | ||
| BAT | 8.0 | CHW 16, SEA 1 | Avisail Garcia, RF | 5 | 3 | 4 | 6 | - | - | - | - | - | - | |
| 6.0 | TB 9, NYY 5 | Corey Dickerson, DH | 3 | 3 | 2 | 4 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 6.0 | `OAK 8, BOS 3 | Frankie Montas | - | - | - | - | 3.0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5 | ||
| 5.2 | CIN 12, COL 8 | Asher Wojciechowski (W,1-0) | - | - | - | - | 3.2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | ||
| 5.0 | DET 9, TEX 3 | Alex Avila, 1B | 3 | 2 | 3 | 3 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| BAT | 4.0 | MIA 10, LAD 6 | JT Riddle, SS | 5 | 2 | 3 | 4 | - | - | - | - | - | - | |
| 4.0 | BAL 7, TOR 5 | Mark Trumbo, DH | 4 | 2 | 3 | 3 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 2.0 | PIT 6, PHI 3 | David Freese, 3B | 3 | 2 | 2 | 1 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 2.0 | NYM 7, LAA 5 | Michael Conforto, LF | 2 | 3 | 1 | 0 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 2.0 | `ATL 5, WSH 2 | Jose Ramirez (H,6) | - | - | - | - | 1.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Player of the Game | Pos | Team | ’17 | ’16-17 | ’12-17 | Career | +/- |
| Samardzija, Jeff 2495 | pi sp | sf nl | 4.0 | 14.7 | 50.8 | 53.8 | -6.7 |
| Garcia, Avisail 3256 | rf | chi al | 4.0 | 6.5 | 15.0 | 15.0 | 1.5 |
| Ray, Robbie 3502 | pi sp | ari nl | 3.0 | 9.7 | 13.7 | 13.7 | -3.7 |
| Conforto, Michael 3622 | cf lf | nym nl | 3.0 | 8.0 | 8.0 | 8.0 | -2.0 |
| Avila, Alex 2642 | ca 1b | det al | 3.0 | 4.0 | 10.5 | 20.0 | 2.0 |
| Clevinger, Mike 3707 | pi sp mr | cle al | 2.7 | 5.7 | 5.7 | 5.7 | -0.3 |
| Freese, David 2710 | 3b | pit nl | 2.0 | 4.0 | 20.2 | 26.2 | 0.0 |
| Ramirez, Jose A. 3716 | pi mr | atl nl | 2.0 | 3.0 | 3.0 | 3.0 | 1.0 |
| Riddle, JT 3805 | ss | fla nl | 1.5 | 1.5 | 1.5 | 1.5 | 1.5 |
| Trumbo, Mark 2851 | dh rf | bal al | 1.0 | 9.2 | 28.9 | 34.9 | -7.2 |
| Dickerson, Corey 3222 | dh lf | tb al | 1.0 | 5.5 | 17.5 | 17.5 | -3.5 |
| Montas, Frankie 3803 | pi mr | oak al | 1.0 | 1.0 | 1.0 | 1.0 | 1.0 |
| Wojciechowski, Asher 3804 | pi mr | cin nl | 1.0 | 1.0 | 1.0 | 1.0 | 1.0 |
Giants pitcher Jeff Samardzija is Wednesday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day.
Also Wednesday, Red Sox closing pitcher Craig Kimbrel rises to fourth place in Box-Toppers season player rankings after earning Player of the Game honors.
| Player | Pos | Team | BTP | |
| 1 | Sale, Chris 2806 | pi sp | bos al | 6.7 |
| 2 | Santana, Ervin 2005 | pi sp | min al | 6.7 |
| 3 | Kershaw, Clayton 2494 | pi sp | lad nl | 6.0 |
| 4 | Kimbrel, Craig 2825 | pi cp | bos al | 5.0 |
| 5 | Nova, Ivan 2796 | pi sp | pit nl | 5.0 |
| 6 | Vargas, Jason 2055 | pi sp | kc al | 5.0 |
| 7 | Holland, Greg 2906 | pi cp | col nl | 5.0 |
| 8 | Judge, Aaron 3767 | rf | nyy al | 5.0 |
| 9 | Keuchel, Dallas 3050 | pi sp | hou al | 4.4 |
| 10 | Triggs, Andrew 3723 | pi sp | oak al | 4.4 |
Player of the Day—Samardzija struck out 11 over eight innings, allowing one run and three hits, in the 4-3, 11-inning win over the Dodgers. Samardzija picked up a no-decision and did not earn the win because the game was tied, 1-1, when he exited.
American League Player of the Day—Royals pitcher Nate Karns pitched six scoreless innings, allowing one hit and striking out seven, in the 6-1 win over the White Sox.
American League Batter of the Day—Kennys Vargas of the Twins homered and went 2-for-4, scoring once and driving in five runs, in the 7-4 win over the Athletics.
National League Batter of the Day—Jose Reyes of the Mets doubled and went 2-for-4, scoring once and driving in five runs, in the 16-5 win over the Braves.
Rankings—Red Sox closing pitcher Craig Kimbrel rises to fourth place in Box-Toppers season player rankings after earning Player of the Game honors Wednesday.
Kimbrel (1IP 0H 0R 0BB 3K Sv in the 4-2 win over the Orioles) earns 1.0 Box-Toppers point, giving him 5.0 for the season. He ranks third among AL pitchers and first among all closing pitchers.
Scoring—Samardzija earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day and Karns earns 1.7 points for being AL Player of the Day. Vargas and Reyes each earn 1.5 points for being their league’s Batter of the Day. All of Wednesday’s other Players of the Game (listed in the chart below) earn 1.0 Box-Toppers point.
About Box-Toppers—Box-Toppers tracks who most helps their team win the most games. Using standard box score statistics, Box-Toppers uses a simple formula to determine a Player of the Game for each Major League Baseball game played. That player is the person who contributed most to his team’s win. In regular season games, players earn 1.0 Box-Toppers point for being named Player of the Game and can earn bonus points for being Player of the Day or top player or batter in their league for the day.
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.
| 5/3 | Score | Game | Player of the Game | AB | R | H | BI | IP | H | R | ER | BB | K | |
| MLB | 15.0 | `SF 4, LAD 1 (F/11) | Jeff Samardzija | - | - | - | - | 8.0 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 11 | |
| AL | 11.0 | KC 6, CHW 1 | Nate Karns (W,1-2) | - | - | - | - | 6.0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 7 | |
| 6.0 | WSH 2, ARI 1 | Jacob Turner (W,1-0) | - | - | - | - | 4.0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | ||
| 5.0 | HOU 10, TEX 1 | Charlie Morton (W,3-2) | - | - | - | - | 6.0 | 5 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 8 | ||
| BAT | 4.0 | MIN 7, OAK 4 | Kennys Vargas, DH | 4 | 1 | 2 | 5 | - | - | - | - | - | - | |
| BAT | 4.0 | NYM 16, ATL 5 | Jose Reyes, 3B-SS | 4 | 1 | 2 | 5 | - | - | - | - | - | - | |
| 4.0 | BOS 4, BAL 2 | Craig Kimbrel (S,10) | - | - | - | - | 1.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | ||
| 3.1 | NYY 8, TOR 6 | Dellin Betances (W,3-1) | - | - | - | - | 1.1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | ||
| 3.0 | COL 11, SD 3 | Ian Desmond, 1B | 5 | 2 | 3 | 3 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 3.0 | MIA 10, TB 6 | J.T. Realmuto, C | 5 | 2 | 2 | 4 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 3.0 | CHC 5, PHI 4 | Willson Contreras, PH-C | 1 | 1 | 1 | 2 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 2.0 | SEA 8, LAA 7 | Jean Segura, SS | 5 | 1 | 2 | 4 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 2.0 | CIN 7, PIT 2 | Eugenio Suarez, 3B | 3 | 1 | 1 | 3 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 2.0 | CLE 3, DET 2 | Jose Ramirez, 3B | 2 | 1 | 1 | 2 | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| Player of the Game | Pos | Team | ’17 | ’16-17 | ’12-17 | Career | +/- |
| Kimbrel, Craig 2825 | pi cp | bos al | 5.0 | 13.0 | 57.7 | 63.7 | -3.0 |
| Suarez, Eugenio 3355 | 3b | cin nl | 2.5 | 11.0 | 16.5 | 16.5 | -6.0 |
| Ramirez, Jose 3436 | 3b | cle al | 2.5 | 4.0 | 7.5 | 7.5 | 1.0 |
| Contreras, Willson 3776 | ca ph | chi nl | 2.5 | 2.5 | 2.5 | 2.5 | 2.5 |
| Samardzija, Jeff 2495 | pi sp | sf nl | 2.0 | 12.7 | 48.8 | 51.8 | -8.7 |
| Realmuto, J.T. 3491 | ca | fla nl | 2.0 | 7.5 | 12.5 | 12.5 | -3.5 |
| Betances, Dellin 3333 | pi mr | nyy al | 2.0 | 6.0 | 14.7 | 14.7 | -2.0 |
| Morton, Charlie 2503 | pi sp | hou al | 2.0 | 5.0 | 18.7 | 29.7 | -1.0 |
| Karns, Nathan 3414 | pi sp | kc al | 1.7 | 4.7 | 10.7 | 10.7 | -1.3 |
| Vargas, Kennys 3511 | dh 1b | min al | 1.5 | 4.0 | 5.5 | 5.5 | -1.0 |
| Reyes, Jose 1759 | 3b ss | nym nl | 1.5 | 3.5 | 12.5 | 31.5 | -0.5 |
| Segura, Jean 3173 | ss 2b | sea al | 1.0 | 5.5 | 12.0 | 12.0 | -3.5 |
| Desmond, Ian 2673 | 1b cf lf | col nl | 1.0 | 5.0 | 16.7 | 28.2 | -3.0 |
| Turner, Jacob 3120 | pi cp sp | dc nl | 1.0 | 1.0 | 6.7 | 6.7 | 1.0 |
Cubs pitcher Jon Lester is Box-Toppers top player in Friday’s four league division series playoff games.
The other three Players of the Game Friday:
Cubs pitcher Jon Lester pitched eight scoreless innings, allowing five hits, no walks and striking out five.
During the regular season, Lester had 22.1 Box-Toppers points, ranked fourth among all players, third among National League pitchers.
He outdueled fellow Box-Toppers top 10 pitcher, Johnny Cueto of the Giants (8IP 3H R 0BB 10K L). In the loss, Cueto had a higher Box-Toppers game score than Lester (+13.0 vs. +8.0) but Lester still wins Player of the Game since he had the highest score on the winning team. Cueto, during the regular season, had 16.4 Box-Toppers points, eighth among all players and fifth among NL pitchers.
Second baseman Javier Baez had the highest Box-Toppers game score (+2.0) among Cubs batters, hitting the eighth-inning home run that was the only scoring of the game (2-3 R BI).
The Cubs now lead the best-of-five game series, 1-0, which resumes Saturday in Chicago.
Indians pitcher Corey Kluber pitched seven scoreless innings, striking out seven and allowing three hits and three walks.
During the regular season, Kluber led all American League pitchers with 21.2 Box-Toppers points and ranked fifth among all players.
Kluber had a Box-Toppers game score of +8.0, same as Lester had for the Cubs in they NLDS win, but Lester’s game score ranks higher because he had more innings pitched (8 vs. 7).
Left fielder Brandon Guyer had the highest Box-Toppers game score (+2.0) among Indians batters (3-4 2R BI).
The Indians now lead the best-of-five game series, 2-0, which resumes Sunday in Boston.
Dodgers closing pitcher Kenley Jansen pitched a five-out save, going 1 2/3 innings, allowing one hit, no runs, no walks and striking out two.
During the regular season, Jansen had 6.0 Box-Toppers points, ranking 163rd among all players, 46th among NL pitchers and third among NL closing pitchers.
Jansen had a Box-Toppers game score of +3.2, most of any Dodgers player in the win. Third baseman Justin Turner had the highest Box-Toppers game score (+2.0) among Dodgers batters (HR 2-3 R 2BI).
The game pitted Box-Toppers two top-ranked players against each other as starting pitchers, but neither had positive Box-Toppers game scores:
The Dodgers now lead the best-of-five game series, 1-0, which resumes Saturday in Washington.
Blue Jays closer Roberto Osuna pitched a five-out save, going 1 2/3 innings, allowing one hit, no runs, no walks and striking out two.
During the regular season, Osuna had 3.0 Box-Toppers points (all in April) and ranked 319th among all players, 87th among AL pitchers and 15th among AL closers.
Shortstop Troy Tulowitzki had the highest Box-Toppers game score (+1.0) among Blue Jays batters (HR 2-4 R 2BI).
The Blue Jays now lead the best-of-five game series, 2-0, which resumes Sunday in Toronto.
| BTG | Game | Player of Game | AB | R | H | BI | IP | H | R | ER | BB | K | |
| 8.0 | CHC 1, SF 0 | Jon Lester (W,1-0) | - | - | - | - | 8.0 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5 | |
| 8.0 | CLE 6, BOS 0 | Corey Kluber (W,1-0) | - | - | - | - | 7.0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 7 | |
| 3.2 | LAD 4, WSH 3 | Kenley Jansen (S,1) | - | - | - | - | 1.2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | |
| 2.2 | TOR 5, TEX 3 | Roberto Osuna (S,1) | - | - | - | - | 1.2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | |
| BTG: Box-Toppers game score | |||||||||||||
Coming Saturday: The National League Division Series playoffs resume with two Game 2s:
The pitching matchup Saturday:
Dodgers—Rich Hill, 14.4 Box-Toppers points, 13th among all players, eighth among NL pitchers.
Nationals—Tanner Roark, 12.7 Box-Toppers points, 22nd among all players, 14th among NL pitchers.
The pitching matchup Saturday:
Giants—Jeff Samardzija, 10.7 Box-Toppers points, 41st among all players, 18th among NL pitchers.
Cubs—Kyle Hendricks, 13.4 Box-Toppers points, 17th among all players, 10th among NL pitchers.
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.
Giants pitcher Jeff Samardzija is Thursday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day.
| Player | Pos | Team | BTP | |
| 1 | Scherzer, Max 2588 | pi sp | dc nl | 24.7 |
| 2 | Kershaw, Clayton 2494 | pi sp | lad nl | 22.7 |
| 3 | Fernandez, Jose 3147 | pi sp | fla nl | 22.4 |
| 4 | Kluber, Corey 3200 | pi sp | cle al | 21.2 |
| 5 | Lester, Jon 2173 | pi sp | chi nl | 21.1 |
| 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 | Happ, J.A. 2536 | pi sp | tor al | 14.7 |
Samardzija pitched seven scoreless innings, striking out nine and allowing four hits and no walks, in the 2-1 win over the Padres.
Samardzija earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day, giving him 10.7 for the season. He becomes the 47th player this season with 10 Box-Toppers points and ranks 35th among all players, 18th among National League pitchers. This is the second season Samardzija has reached 10 Box-Toppers points. In 2012, he had 12.7 points with the Cubs.
American League Player of the Day—Tigers pitcher Justin Verlander struck out 11 over six innings, allowing two runs, four hits and two walks, in the 4-2 win over the Twins.
Verlander earns 1.7 Box-Toppers points for being AL Player of the Day, giving him 12.7 for the season, most among the 11 who earned Player of the Game honors Thursday. He ranks 21st among all players and sixth among AL pitchers.
Verlander also now has 137.3 career Box-Toppers points, 29th-most among players since Box-Toppers tracking began in 1995. He trails 28th-ranked player Andy Pettitte (138.5) on the “all-time” list.
National League Batter of the Day—Yasmani Grandal of the Dodgers hit two home runs, including a grand slam, in the 7-4 win over the Rockies. Grandal also doubled and went 4-for-4, scoring twice and driving in five runs.
American League Batter of the Day—Carlos Santana of the Indians hit a three-run homer and doubled, going 2-for-3 and driving in four runs, in the 5-2 win over the Royals.
Notable—Angels pitcher Ricky Nolasco became the 48th player with 10 Box-Toppers points this season after earning Player of the Game honors Thursday.
Nolasco (7IP 5H 0R BB 5K W in the 2-0 win over the Astros) earns 1.0 Box-Toppers point, giving him 10.4 for the season. He ranks 44th among all players and 17th among AL pitchers.
This is Nolasco’s fourth season with 10 or more Box-Toppers points and his first since 2010. In both 2008 and 2009, he had 16.7 points each season with the Marlins. In 2010, he had 11.7 points, also with the Marlins.
Scoring—Samardzija earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day and Verlander earns 1.7 points for being AL Player of the Day. Grandal and Santana 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.
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Listed from highest to lowest Box-Toppers game score
| 9/22 | Score | Game | Player of Game | AB | R | H | BI | IP | H | R | ER | BB | K | |
| MLB | 12.0 | SF 2, SD 1 | Jeff Samardzija (W,12-10) | - | - | - | - | 7.0 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 9 | |
| BAT | 7.0 | LAD 7, COL 4 | Yasmani Grandal, C | 4 | 2 | 4 | 5 | - | - | - | - | - | - | |
| AL | 7.0 | DET 4, MIN 2 | Justin Verlander (W,15-8) | - | - | - | - | 6.0 | 4 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 11 | |
| 6.0 | LAA 2, HOU 0 | Ricky Nolasco (W,7-14) | - | - | - | - | 7.0 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 5 | ||
| 4.2 | MIL 3, PIT 1 | Chase Anderson (W,9-11) | - | - | - | - | 5.2 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 6 | ||
| BAT | 4.0 | CLE 5, KC 2 | Carlos Santana, 1B | 3 | 1 | 2 | 4 | - | - | - | - | - | - | |
| 4.0 | DET 9, MIN 2 | Victor Martinez, PH | 1 | 1 | 1 | 3 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 3.0 | ATL 6, MIA 3 | Matt Kemp, LF | 4 | 2 | 2 | 3 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 3.0 | TB 2, NYY 0 | Blake Snell (W,6-8) | - | - | - | - | 5.0 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 6 | ||
| 3.0 | BOS 5, BAL 3 | Craig Kimbrel (S,29) | - | - | - | - | 1.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | ||
| 2.0 | NYM 9, PHI 8 (11) | Jose Reyes, 3B | 5 | 3 | 2 | 2 | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| Player of Game | Pos | Team | 16 | 15-16 | 11-16 | Career | +/- |
| Verlander, Justin 2112 | pi sp | det al | 12.7 | 19.1 | 82.3 | 137.3 | 6.3 |
| Samardzija, Jeff 2495 | pi sp | sf nl | 10.7 | 20.1 | 48.8 | 49.8 | 1.3 |
| Nolasco, Ricky 2125 | pi sp | ana al | 10.4 | 12.4 | 33.1 | 86.2 | 8.4 |
| Martinez, Victor 1695 | dh | det al | 8.5 | 12.0 | 31.9 | 72.1 | 5.0 |
| Kimbrel, Craig 2825 | pi cp | bos al | 8.0 | 14.0 | 57.7 | 58.7 | 2.0 |
| Kemp, Matt 2151 | rf lf | atl nl | 7.5 | 13.0 | 37.5 | 59.1 | 2.0 |
| Grandal, Yasmani 3058 | ca | lad nl | 7.2 | 9.2 | 17.2 | 17.2 | 5.2 |
| Anderson, Chase 3328 | pi sp | mil nl | 7.0 | 11.0 | 16.0 | 16.0 | 3.0 |
| Snell, Blake 3688 | pi sp | tb al | 4.0 | 4.0 | 4.0 | 4.0 | 4.0 |
| Santana, Carlos 2757 | dh 1b | cle al | 2.5 | 7.0 | 21.7 | 22.7 | -2.0 |
| Reyes, Jose 1759 | 3b ss | nym nl | 2.0 | 2.0 | 14.0 | 30.0 | 2.0 |
Giants pitcher Jeff Samardzija is Tuesday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day.
| Player | Pos | Team | BTP | |
| 1 | Scherzer, Max 2588 | pi sp | dc nl | 22.7 |
| 2 | Kershaw, Clayton 2494 | pi sp | lad nl | 20.0 |
| 3 | Fernandez, Jose 3147 | pi sp | fla nl | 18.4 |
| 4 | Kluber, Corey 3200 | pi sp | cle al | 18.2 |
| 5 | Lester, Jon 2173 | pi sp | chi nl | 17.1 |
| 6 | Hamels, Cole 2135 | pi sp | tex al | 16.8 |
| 7 | Cueto, Johnny 2400 | pi sp | sf nl | 14.4 |
| 8 | Strasburg, Stephen 2736 | pi sp | dc nl | 14.1 |
| 9 | Syndergaard, Noah 3472 | pi sp | nym nl | 14.0 |
| 10 | Arrieta, Jake 2738 | pi sp | chi nl | 13.7 |
Also Tuesday, Manny Machado of the Orioles rises to lead American League batters in season Box-Toppers points after earning Player of the Game honors.
Player of the Day—Samardzija struck out nine over seven innings, allowing two runs, four hits and one walk, in the 3-2 win over the Rockies. Samardzija did not earn the win, picking up a no decision, because the Giants trailed when he exited.
American League Batter of the Day—White Sox pitcher Miguel Gonzalez pitched 6 1/3 scoreless innings, allowing six hits, no walks and striking out four, in the 2-0 win over the Tigers.
National League Batter of the Day—Yadier Molina of the Cardinals hit a grand slam and two doubles in the 9-7 win over the Pirates. Molina went 4-for-5, scoring twice.
American League Batter of the Day—Kendrys Morales of the Royals hit two home runs, including a three-run homer, in the 10-3 win over the Twins. Morales went 2-for-5, driving in five runs.
Rankings—Manny Machado of the Orioles rises to lead AL batters in Box-Toppers points for the season after earning Player of the Game honors Tuesday.
Machado (GS 3-6 R 5BI in the 11-2 win over the Rays) earns 1.0 Box-Toppers point, giving him 12.7 for the season. He passes Jose Altuve of the Astros (12.5) for the lead among AL batters in season Box-Toppers points. Machado ranks 14th among all players.
Debut—Two players made their Box-Toppers debut Tuesday, the first time in their careers they earned Player of the Game honors:
Scoring—Samardzija earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day and Gonzalez earns 1.7 points for being AL Player of the Day. Molina and Morales each earn 1.5 points for being their league’s Batter of the Day. All of Tuesday’s other Players of the Game (listed in the chart below) earn 1.0 Box-Toppers point.
About Box-Toppers—Box-Toppers tracks who most helps their team win the most games. Using standard box score statistics, Box-Toppers uses a simple formula to determine a Player of the Game for each Major League Baseball game played. That player is the person who contributed most to his team’s win. In regular season games, players earn 1.0 Box-Toppers point for being named Player of the Game and can earn bonus points for being Player of the Day or top player or batter in their league for the day.
Listed from highest to lowest Box-Toppers game score
| 9/6 | Score | Game | Player of Game | AB | R | H | BI | IP | H | R | ER | BB | K | |
| MLB | 7.0 | `SF 3, COL 2 | Jeff Samardzija | - | - | - | - | 7.0 | 4 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 9 | |
| BAT | 5.0 | STL 9, PIT 7 | Yadier Molina, C | 5 | 2 | 4 | 4 | - | - | - | - | - | - | |
| AL | 4.1 | CHW 2, DET 0 | Miguel Gonzalez (W,3-6) | - | - | - | - | 6.1 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | |
| BAT | 4.0 | KC 10, MIN 3 | Kendrys Morales, DH | 5 | 2 | 2 | 5 | - | - | - | - | - | - | |
| 4.0 | MIL 12, CHC 5 | Ryan Braun, LF | 5 | 3 | 2 | 4 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 4.0 | PHI 4, MIA 3 | Adam Morgan (W,2-9) | - | - | - | - | 6.0 | 5 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 5 | ||
| 3.1 | HOU 4, CLE 3 | James Hoyt (W,1-0) | - | - | - | - | 1.1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | ||
| 3.0 | TEX 10, SEA 7 | Elvis Andrus, SS | 6 | 3 | 4 | 2 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 3.0 | BAL 11, TB 2 | Manny Machado, 3B | 6 | 1 | 3 | 5 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 3.0 | WSH 9, ATL 7 | Anthony Rendon, 3B | 4 | 2 | 1 | 4 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 3.0 | LAD 5, ARI 2 | Ross Stripling (W,4-6) | - | - | - | - | 5.0 | 3 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 5 | ||
| 3.0 | NYM 5, CIN 3 | Jeurys Familia (S,46) | - | - | - | - | 1.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | ||
| 3.0 | OAK 3, LAA 2 | Ryan Madson (S,28) | - | - | - | - | 1.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | ||
| 2.2 | BOS 5, SD 1 | Clay Buchholz (W,6-10) | - | - | - | - | 6.2 | 8 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 6 | ||
| 2.0 | NYY 7, TOR 6 | Tyler Austin, 1B | 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. | ||||||||||||||
| Player of Game | Pos | Team | 16 | 15-16 | 11-16 | Career | +/- |
| Machado, Manny 3087 | 3b ss | bal al | 12.7 | 20.2 | 23.7 | 23.7 | 5.2 |
| Braun, Ryan J. 2300 | lf | mil nl | 9.0 | 14.0 | 45.0 | 86.7 | 4.0 |
| Samardzija, Jeff 2495 | pi sp | sf nl | 8.7 | 18.1 | 46.8 | 47.8 | -0.7 |
| Andrus, Elvis 2582 | ss | tex al | 7.7 | 7.7 | 15.2 | 18.2 | 7.7 |
| Gonzalez, Miguel 3062 | pi sp | chi al | 7.4 | 14.1 | 36.2 | 36.2 | 0.7 |
| Familia, Jeurys 3446 | pi cp | nym nl | 7.0 | 15.0 | 15.0 | 15.0 | -1.0 |
| Morales, Kendrys 2142 | dh | kc al | 5.5 | 10.2 | 20.2 | 36.2 | 0.8 |
| Rendon, Anthony 3258 | 3b | dc nl | 4.5 | 5.5 | 11.0 | 11.0 | 3.5 |
| Buchholz, Clay 2363 | pi sp | bos al | 4.0 | 10.0 | 38.2 | 57.9 | -2.0 |
| Stripling, Ross 3629 | pi sp | lad nl | 3.7 | 3.7 | 3.7 | 3.7 | 3.7 |
| Madson, Ryan 1841 | pi cp | oak al | 3.0 | 3.0 | 6.0 | 23.7 | 3.0 |
| Molina, Yadier 1967 | ca ph | stl nl | 2.5 | 3.5 | 16.2 | 33.2 | 1.5 |
| Morgan, Adam 3572 | pi sp | phi nl | 2.0 | 3.0 | 3.0 | 3.0 | 1.0 |
| Austin, Tyler 3732 | 1b | nyy al | 1.0 | 1.0 | 1.0 | 1.0 | 1.0 |
| Hoyt, James 3731 | pi mr | hou al | 1.0 | 1.0 | 1.0 | 1.0 | 1.0 |
White Sox pitcher Chris Sale is Thursday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day and rises to second place in player rankings.
| Player | Pos | Team | BTP | |
| 1 | Kershaw, Clayton 2494 | pi sp | lad nl | 10.0 |
| 2 | Sale, Chris 2806 | pi sp | chi al | 8.7 |
| 3 | Cueto, Johnny 2400 | pi sp | sf nl | 8.0 |
| 4 | Arrieta, Jake 2738 | pi sp | chi nl | 7.7 |
| 5 | Machado, Manny 3087 | 3b ss | bal al | 6.7 |
| 6 | Hill, Rich 2215 | pi sp | oak al | 6.4 |
| 7 | Salazar, Danny 3223 | pi sp | cle al | 6.1 |
| 8 | Velasquez, Vince 3611 | pi sp | phi nl | 6.0 |
| 9 | Price, David 2593 | pi sp | bos al | 5.7 |
| 10 | Quintana, Jose 3040 | pi sp | chi al | 5.7 |
Sale pitched a complete game, allowing one run and four hits, striking out nine, in the 2-1 win over the Astros. He earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day, giving him 8.7 for the season, rising to second in season player rankings, trailing only Dodgers pitcher Clayton Kershaw (10.0). Sale also extends his Box-Toppers points lead among American League players.
National League Player of the Day—Giants pitcher Jeff Samardzija allowed one run over eight innings, allowing three hits and striking out eight, in the 3-1 win over the Padres.
National League Batter of the Day—Matt Carpenter of the Cardinals hit a three-run homer, doubled twice and drove in six runs, in the 13-7 win over the Rockies. Carpenter went 3-for-5 and scored twice.
American League Batter of the Day—Mike Trout of the Angels homered and went 2-for-3, scoring twice and driving in three runs, in the 7-4 win over the Dodgers.
Notable—Thursday marked the first time this season that all of the Players of the Games had already earned Player of the Game honors at least once this season. In other words, none of Thursday’s Players of the Games were making their Box-Toppers season debut and already had at least 1.0 Box-Toppers point in 2016. (See the chart below, Box-Toppers point totals of the day’s top players, for details.)
Scoring—Sale earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day and Samardzija earns 1.7 points for being NL Player of the Day. Carpenter and Trout 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.
Listed from highest to lowest Box-Toppers game score
| 5/19 | Score | Team | Player | AB | R | H | BI | BB | K | IP | H | R | ER | BB | K | |
| MLB | 12.0 | White Sox | Chris Sale (W,9-0) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 9.0 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 9 | |
| NL | 11.0 | Giants | Jeff Samardzija (W,6-2) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 8.0 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 8 | |
| 10.0 | `Blue Jays | Marco Estrada | - | - | - | - | - | - | 8.0 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 9 | ||
| 7.0 | Nationals | Stephen Strasburg (W,7-0) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 6.0 | 6 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 10 | ||
| BAT | 6.0 | Cardinals | Matt Carpenter, 1B | 5 | 2 | 3 | 6 | 0 | 1 | - | - | - | - | - | - | |
| 4.2 | Indians | Josh Tomlin (W,6-0) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 7.2 | 5 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 7 | ||
| BAT | 4.0 | Angels | Mike Trout, CF | 3 | 2 | 2 | 3 | 1 | 0 | - | - | - | - | - | - | |
| 4.0 | Brewers | Junior Guerra (W,3-0) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 7.0 | 5 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 11 | ||
| 4.0 | Mariners | Nathan Karns (W,4-1) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 5.0 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 5 | ||
| 3.0 | Yankees | Ivan Nova (W,3-1) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 6.0 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 3 | ||
| 2.0 | Pirates | John Jaso, 1B | 4 | 2 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 0 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| `Denotes that the pitcher had a no-decision in the game and did not pick up a win or a save. | ||||||||||||||||
| Player | Pos | Team | 16 | 15-16 | 11-16 | Career | +/- |
| Sale, Chris 2806 | pi sp | chi al | 8.7 | 27.5 | 79.7 | 81.7 | -10.1 |
| Strasburg, Stephen 2736 | pi sp | dc nl | 4.7 | 18.7 | 64.8 | 72.5 | -9.3 |
| Trout, Mike 2949 | cf | ana al | 4.5 | 16.5 | 41.0 | 41.0 | -7.5 |
| Jaso, John 2705 | 1b | pit nl | 4.0 | 4.0 | 9.0 | 15.0 | 4.0 |
| Samardzija, Jeff 2495 | pi sp | sf nl | 3.7 | 13.1 | 41.8 | 42.8 | -5.7 |
| Estrada, Marco 2847 | pi sp | tor al | 3.0 | 11.0 | 35.1 | 35.1 | -5.0 |
| Karns, Nathan 3414 | pi sp | sea al | 3.0 | 8.0 | 9.0 | 9.0 | -2.0 |
| Tomlin, Josh 2771 | pi sp | cle al | 3.0 | 7.7 | 20.4 | 22.4 | -1.7 |
| Carpenter, Matt 2987 | 3b 1b | stl nl | 2.5 | 8.0 | 22.5 | 22.5 | -3.0 |
| Nova, Ivan 2796 | pi sp mr | nyy al | 2.0 | 3.0 | 24.1 | 25.1 | 1.0 |
| Guerra, Junior 3633 | pi sp | mil nl | 2.0 | 2.0 | 2.0 | 2.0 | 2.0 |
Giants pitcher Jeff Samardzija is Box-Toppers spring training Player of the Day for Thursday.
Samardzija pitched five scoreless innings, allowing one hit and striking out five, in the 3-1 win over the Athletics. Samardzija had 9.4 Box-Toppers points in 2015 with the White Sox, ranked 20th among American League pitchers. His best season was 2012 with the Cubs when he had 12.7 points, 16th among National League pitchers.
American League Player of the Day—J.D. Martinez of the Tigers hit three homers, going 3-for-4 and driving in four runs, in the 10-6 win over the Yankees. Martinez had 1.7 Box-Toppers points in 2015 with the Tigers. His best season was 2014 with the Tigers, when he had 5.0 points.
National League Batter of the Day—Sean Rodriguez of the Pirates hit a grand slam, going 1-for-2, in the 13-8 win over the Rays. Rodriguez had no Box-Toppers points in 2015 with the Pirates. He had 5.0 points in 2014 with the Rays.
American League Batter of the Day—There is no separate AL Batter of the Day for Thursday because the AL Player of the Day was a batter, J.D. Martinez.
Scoring—No Box-Toppers points are awarded in spring training games, but if it were the regular season, Samardzija would earn 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day, Martinez would earn 1.7 points for being AL Player of the Day and Rodriguez would earn 1.5 points for being NL Batter of the Day. All of Thursday’s other Players of the Game (listed in the chart below) would earn 1.0 Box-Toppers point.
Note—Thirteen spring training games were scheduled for Thursday—11 are listed below. Two games are not listed because they involved non-Major League teams (Phillies vs. Phillies Futures and Padres vs. El Paso).
About Box-Toppers—Box-Toppers tracks who most helps their team win the most games. Using standard box score statistics, Box-Toppers uses a simple formula to determine a Player of the Game for each Major League Baseball game played. That player is the person who contributed most to his team’s win. In regular season games, players earn 1.0 Box-Toppers point for being named Player of the Game and can earn bonus points for being Player of the Day or top player or batter in their league for the day.
Listed from highest to lowest Box-Toppers game score
| 3/31 | Score | Team | Player | AB | R | H | BI | BB | K | IP | H | R | ER | BB | K | |
| MLB | 9.0 | Giants | Jeff Samardzija (W, 1-0) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 5.0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5 | |
| 7.1 | Brewers | Jimmy Nelson (W, 1-0) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 5.1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 5 | ||
| 7.0 | Cardinals | Mike Leake (W, 1-0) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 4.0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5 | ||
| AL | 6.0 | Tigers | J.D. Martínez RF | 4 | 3 | 3 | 4 | 0 | 0 | - | - | - | - | - | - | |
| 6.0 | Orioles | Yovani Gallardo (W, 1-0) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 5.0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | ||
| BAT | 4.0 | Pirates | Seán Rodríguez CF | 2 | 1 | 1 | 4 | 1 | 1 | - | - | - | - | - | - | |
| 4.0 | Angels | Al Alburquerque (W, 1-0) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 1.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | ||
| 3.2 | Indians | Carlos Carrasco (W, 1-0) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 6.2 | 5 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 6 | ||
| 3.0 | Twins | Ryan Pressly (W, 1-0) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 1.0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | ||
| 2.0 | Rockies | Charlie Blackmon CF | 3 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 2.0 | Cubs | Yasiel Balaguert 1B | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | - | - | - | - | - | - |
White Sox pitcher Jeff Samardzija, pitching a one-hitter, is Monday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day.
| Player | Pos | Team | BTP | |
| 1 | Arrieta, Jake 2738 | pi sp | chi nl | 23.1 |
| 2 | Kershaw, Clayton 2494 | pi sp | lad nl | 22.7 |
| 3 | Price, David 2593 | pi sp | tor al | 21.1 |
| 4 | deGrom, Jacob 3343 | pi sp | nym nl | 20.4 |
| 5 | Keuchel, Dallas 3050 | pi sp | hou al | 20.4 |
| 6 | Greinke, Zack 1871 | pi sp | lad nl | 19.7 |
| 7 | Hernandez, Felix 2064 | pi sp | sea al | 19.4 |
| 8 | Cole, Gerrit 3232 | pi sp | pit nl | 18.0 |
| 9 | Sale, Chris 2806 | pi sp | chi al | 17.1 |
| 10 | Bumgarner, Madison 2753 | pi sp | sf nl | 17.0 |
Also Monday, Blue Jays pitcher David Price rose to third place in Box-Toppers player rankings, maintaining his lead among American League pitchers in Box-Toppers points. Plus, Astros pitcher Dallas Keuchel rises to second among AL pitchers, fifth overall and becomes the fifth player this season with 20.0 or more Box-Toppers points.
Player of the Day—Samardzija pitched a complete-game, one-hit shutout, striking out six, in the 2-0 win over the Tigers. Samardjiza allowed only one baserunner when he allowed a single in the fifth inning.
National League Player of the Day—Jorge Soler of the Cubs hit a three-run, pinch-hit home run in the 9-5 win over the Brewers.
American League Batter of the Day—Xander Bogaerts of the Red Sox hit a grand slam, doubled and went 2-for-5, scoring twice and driving in five runs, in the 8-7 win over the Rays.
National League Batter of the Day—There is no separate NL Batter of the Day for Monday because the overall NL Player of the Day was batter Jorge Soler.
Rankings—Two players rose in Box-Toppers season player rankings top 10 after earning Player of the Game honors Monday.
Scoring—Samardjiza earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day and Soler earns 1.7 Box-Toppers points for being NL Player of the Day. Bogaerts earns 1.5 Box-Toppers points for being AL Batter of the Day. All of Monday’s other Players of the Game (listed in the chart below) earn 1.0 Box-Toppers point.
About Box-Toppers—Box-Toppers tracks who most helps their team win the most games. Using standard box score statistics, Box-Toppers uses a simple formula to determine a Player of the Game for each Major League Baseball game played. That player is the person who contributed most to his team’s win. In regular season games, players earn 1.0 Box-Toppers point for being named Player of the Game and can earn bonus points for being Player of the Day or top player or batter in their league for the day.
Listed from highest to lowest Box-Toppers game score
| 9/21 | Score | Team | Player | AB | R | H | BI | BB | K | IP | H | R | ER | BB | K | |
| MLB | 14.0 | White Sox | Jeff Samardzija (W,10-13) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 9.0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6 | |
| 11.0 | Blue Jays | David Price (W,17-5) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 7.0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 7 | ||
| 4.2 | Astros | Dallas Keuchel (W,18-8) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 7.2 | 6 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 6 | ||
| BAT | 4.0 | Red Sox | Xander Bogaerts, SS | 5 | 2 | 2 | 5 | 0 | 2 | - | - | - | - | - | - | |
| NL | 4.0 | Cubs | Jorge Soler, PH | 1 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 0 | - | - | - | - | - | - | |
| 4.0 | White Sox | Erik Johnson (W,3-0) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 6.0 | 5 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 9 | ||
| 3.0 | Pirates | Starling Marte, LF | 5 | 2 | 4 | 2 | 0 | 0 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 3.0 | Mets | Jonathon Niese (W,9-10) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 6.0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 2 | ||
| 3.0 | `Cardinals | Jaime Garcia | - | - | - | - | - | - | 7.0 | 5 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 5 | ||
| 1.0 | Dbacks | Paul Goldschmidt, 1B | 4 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 1 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| `Denotes that the pitcher had a no-decision in the game and did not pick up a win or a save. | ||||||||||||||||
Dodgers pitcher Zack Greinke is Thursday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day and rises to ninth in player rankings.
| Player | Pos | Team | BTP | |
| 1 | Hernandez, Felix 2064 | pi sp | sea al | 14.4 |
| 2 | Scherzer, Max 2588 | pi sp | dc nl | 14.0 |
| 3 | deGrom, Jacob 3343 | pi sp | nym nl | 13.4 |
| 4 | Price, David 2593 | pi sp | det al | 13.1 |
| 5 | Sale, Chris 2806 | pi sp | chi al | 12.4 |
| 6 | Archer, Chris 3194 | pi sp | tb al | 12.0 |
| 7 | Cole, Gerrit 3232 | pi sp | pit nl | 12.0 |
| 8 | Martinez, Carlos 3371 | pi sp | stl nl | 11.7 |
| 9 | Greinke, Zack 1871 | pi sp | lad nl | 11.0 |
| 10 | Keuchel, Dallas 3050 | pi sp | hou al | 10.7 |
Also Thursday, Mariners pitcher Felix Hernandez rose to the top of Box-Toppers player rankings and two other players—David Price and Carlos Martinez—rose in the top 10 players list. Plus, Lorenzo Cain of the Royals earned American League Batter of the Day honors for the second straight day and now leads AL batters in Box-Toppers points for the season.
Player of the Day—Greinke pitched eight scoreless innings, allowing one hit and striking out eight, in the 6-0 win over the Phillies.
Greinke earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day, giving him 11.0 for the season and rises to ninth in Box-Toppers player rankings, fifth among National League pitchers. He is the 10th player this season with 10.0 or more Box-Toppers points.
Greinke also rose to 22nd place among all players in Box-Toppers points since 1995, when Box-Toppers record keeping began. With his 2.0 points Thursday, Greinke now has 136.7 career Box-Toppers points and passes Bartolo Colon (136.4) on the “all-time” list. He now trails 21st-ranked player Andy Pettitte (138.5). Greinke ranks 16th among all pitchers since 1995 and fifth among active pitchers.
American League Player of the Day—White Sox pitcher Jeff Samardzija pitched a complete-game, four-hit shutout, striking out five, in the 2-0 win over the Blue Jays.
American League Batter of the Day—Lorenzo Cain of the Royals hit a two-run homer and scored twice in the 8-3 win over the Rays.
Cain earns 1.5 Box-Toppers points for being AL Batter of the Day, giving him 8.2 for the season and moving him to first place among AL batters. He passes Mike Trout of the Angels (7.5 Box-Toppers points) who only rose to the top spot Wednesday. Cain ranks 20th among all players.
This was the second straight day Cain earned AL Batter of the Day honors—he was also the league’s top batter in the Royals win Wednesday over the Rays.
National League Batter of the Day—There is no NL Batter of the Day for Thursday because no NL batter earned Player of the Game honors.
Rankings—Mariners pitcher Felix Hernandez regained the top spot in Box-Toppers player rankings after earning Player of the Game honors Thursday.
Hernandez (7IP 5H 0R 6K W in the 7-2 win over the Angels) earns 1.0 Box-Toppers point, giving him 14.4 for the season. He passes previous leader, Nationals pitcher Max Scherzer (14.0 Box-Toppers points).
Hernandez led in Box-Toppers points for more than two months when Scherzer passed him on June 26 with 14.0 points.
Hernandez now has 157.7 career Box-Toppers points, maintaining his rank of 12th place among all players since 1995, when Box-Toppers record keeping began. He trails 11th-place player John Smoltz (160.9). Hernandez ranks ninth among pitchers since 1995 and second among active pitchers, behind CC Sabathia (175.3).
Also, two other players rose in Box-Toppers top 10 player rankings after earning Player of the Game honors Thursday:
Notable—Marlins pitcher Jose Fernandez earned his first Player of the Game honor in more than a year after his return from Tommy John surgery. Fernandez (7IP 6H 0R 9K W in the 2-0 win over the Reds) last earned Player of the Game honors April 29, 2014, when he was Box-Toppers Player of the Day. At that point in the 2014 season, Fernandez had 7.0 Box-Toppers points to lead all players. But injury and the surgery cut his season short. Fernandez had 19.0 Box-Toppers points in 2013, ranked fourth among all players and fourth among NL pitchers.
Scoring—Greinke earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day and Samardzija earns 1.7 Box-Toppers points for being AL Player of the Day. Cain earns 1.5 Box-Toppers points for being AL Batter of the Day. All of Thursday’s other Players of the Game (listed in the chart below) earn 1.0 Box-Toppers point.
About Box-Toppers—Box-Toppers tracks who most helps their team win the most games. Using standard box score statistics, Box-Toppers uses a simple formula to determine a Player of the Game for each Major League Baseball game played. That player is the person who contributed most to his team’s win. In regular season games, players earn 1.0 Box-Toppers point for being named Player of the Game and can earn bonus points for being Player of the Day or top player or batter in their league for the day.
(Note: Our usual Friday weekly team and player rankings reports will be postponed until Monday because of the All-Star break.)
Listed from highest to lowest Box-Toppers game score
| 7/9 | Score | Team | Player | AB | R | H | BI | BB | K | IP | H | R | ER | BB | K | |
| MLB | 15.0 | Dodgers | Zack Greinke (W,8-2) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 8.0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 8 | |
| 10.0 | Marlins | Jose Fernandez (W,2-0) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 7.0 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 9 | ||
| 9.1 | Cardinals | Carlos Martinez (W,10-3) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 7.1 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 8 | ||
| AL | 9.0 | White Sox | Jeff Samardzija (W,6-4) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 9.0 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 5 | |
| 7.2 | Yankees | Masahiro Tanaka (W,5-3) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 7.2 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 6 | ||
| 6.0 | Tigers | David Price (W,9-2) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 8.0 | 5 | 2 | 0 | 3 | 8 | ||
| 6.0 | Mariners | Felix Hernandez (W,11-5) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 7.0 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 6 | ||
| 3.0 | Rockies | John Axford (S,15) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 1.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | ||
| BAT | 2.0 | Royals | Lorenzo Cain, CF | 3 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 1 | - | - | - | - | - | - | |
| 1.0 | Indians | Ryan Raburn, DH | 3 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | - | - | - | - | - | - |
Pirates pitcher Gerrit Cole is Friday’s Player of the Day and rises to second place in Box-Toppers player rankings.
Also Friday, Mariners pitcher Felix Hernandez extended his overall player rankings lead and Nationals pitcher Max Scherzer rose to third place in player rankings.
| Player | Pos | Team | BTP | |
| 1 | Hernandez, Felix 2064 | pi sp | sea al | 9.7 |
| 2 | Cole, Gerrit 3232 | pi sp | pit nl | 8.0 |
| 3 | Scherzer, Max 2588 | pi sp | dc nl | 7.0 |
| 4 | Archer, Chris 3194 | pi sp | tb al | 7.0 |
| 5 | Miller, Shelby 3134 | pi sp | atl nl | 7.0 |
| 6 | Harvey, Matt 3075 | pi sp | nym nl | 6.7 |
| 7 | Harper, Bryce 3011 | lf rf | dc nl | 6.5 |
| 8 | deGrom, Jacob 3343 | pi sp | nym nl | 5.7 |
| 9 | Keuchel, Dallas 3050 | pi sp | hou al | 5.7 |
| 10 | Lincecum, Tim 2288 | pi sp | sf nl | 5.7 |
Player of the Day—Cole struck out 10 over 8 1/3 innings and allowed one run in the 4-1 win over the Mets. Cole earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day, giving him 8.0 for the season, rising to second in Box-Toppers player rankings. He passes Braves pitcher Shelby Miller (7.0 Box-Toppers points) to lead National League pitchers on the season.
American League Player of the Day—White Sox pitcher Jeff Samardzija struck out nine over eight innings and allowed two runs in the 3-2 win over the Twins.
American League Batter of the Day—Kendrys Morales of the Royals homered twice and drove in five runs, going 3-for-4, in the 5-0 win over the Cardinals.
National League Batter of the Day—Ryan Braun of the Brewers homered, hit two doubles and drove in four runs, going 3-for-3 and scoring twice, in the 11-0 win over the Braves.
Leader—Mariners pitcher Felix Hernandez maintained his top spot in Box-Toppers player rankings after earning Player of the Game honors Friday.
Hernandez (7IP R 8K W in the 4-3 win over the Blue Jays) earns 1.0 Box-Toppers point, giving him 9.7 for the season. He has led player rankings all but six days this season (Adam Wainwright of the Cardinals led April 5, Scott Kazmir of the Athletics led from April 13 to 17).
Hernandez now has 153.0 career Box-Toppers points, 15th among all players since 1995 when Box-Toppers record keeping began. He is just behind Barry Bonds (153.2) and Tim Hudson (154.0). Hernandez’s 153.0 career points ranks third among active pitchers currently in the AL, behind CC Sabathia of the Yankees (174.3) and Johan Santana of the Blue Jays (166.6).
Rankings—Nationals pitcher Max Scherzer rose to third place in Box-Toppers player rankings after earning Player of the Game honors Friday. Scherzer (8IP R 6K W in the 2-1 win over the Phillies) earns 1.0 Box-Toppers point, giving him 7.0 for the season. While Scherzer and two other players have 7.0 points this season, Scherzer holds the tiebreaker because he had more points in 2014—Scherzer (22.1), Chris Archer (12.4), Shelby Miller (9.0).
Notable—Dodgers pitcher Zack Greinke rises to 27th place in Box-Toppers points since 1995, when record keeping began, after earning Player of the Game honors Friday.
Grienke (7.2IP R 5K ND in the 2-1 win over the Padres) earns 1.0 Box-Toppers point, giving him 5.0 for the season and 130.7 for his career. With his point Friday, he passes Trevor Hoffman (129.4) in Box-Toppers points earned since 1995. Greinke now trails Jake Peavy (131.8) on that list.
Scoring—Cole earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day and Samardzija earns 1.7 Box-Toppers points for being AL Player of the Day. Morales and Braun each earn 1.5 Box-Toppers points for being their league’s Batter of the Day. All of Friday’s other Players of the Game (listed in the chart below) earn 1.0 Box-Toppers point.
About Box-Toppers—Box-Toppers tracks who most helps their team win the most games. Using standard box score statistics, Box-Toppers uses a simple formula to determine a Player of the Game for each Major League Baseball game played. That player is the person who contributed most to his team’s win. In regular season games, players earn 1.0 Box-Toppers point for being named Player of the Game and can earn bonus points for being Player of the Day or top player or batter in their league for the day.
Listed from highest to lowest Box-Toppers game score
| 5/22 | Score | Team | Player | AB | R | H | BI | BB | K | IP | H | R | ER | BB | K | |
| MLB | 10.1 | Pirates | Gerrit Cole (W, 6-2) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 8.1 | 6 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 10 | |
| AL | 9.0 | White Sox | Jeff Samardzija (W, 4-2) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 8.0 | 3 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 9 | |
| 7.0 | Nationals | Max Scherzer (W, 5-3) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 8.0 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 6 | ||
| 7.0 | Mariners | Felix Hernandez (W, 7-1) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 7.0 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 8 | ||
| BAT | 6.0 | Royals | Kendrys Morales DH | 4 | 2 | 3 | 5 | 0 | 0 | - | - | - | - | - | - | |
| BAT | 6.0 | Brewers | Ryan Braun RF | 3 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 1 | 0 | - | - | - | - | - | - | |
| 6.0 | Giants | Ryan Vogelsong (W, 3-2) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 6.0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 5 | ||
| 5.0 | Tigers | Alfredo Simon (W, 5-2) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 7.0 | 4 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 5 | ||
| 3.2 | `Dodgers | Zack Greinke | - | - | - | - | - | - | 7.2 | 6 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 5 | ||
| 3.0 | Rangers | Prince Fielder DH | 5 | 2 | 2 | 4 | 0 | 0 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 3.0 | Orioles | Caleb Joseph C | 4 | 2 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 0 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 3.0 | Indians | Jason Kipnis 2B | 4 | 2 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 0 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 3.0 | Rays | Evan Longoria 3B | 3 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 1 | 0 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 2.0 | Dbacks | Paul Goldschmidt 1B | 5 | 1 | 3 | 3 | 1 | 2 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 2.0 | Angels | Chris Iannetta C | 3 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 2 | 2 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| `Denotes that the pitcher had a no-decision in the game and did not pick up a win or a save. | ||||||||||||||||
Nationals' offseason net gain in Box-Toppers points pushes them to top of preseason team rankings. Meanwhile, the Yankees and Athletics plummet in rankings and the Cubs and Red Sox make big leaps upward.
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The Oakland Athletics visit the Kansas City Royals Tuesday in the American League one-game Wild Card playoff game.
Starting pitchers are:
Athletics: Jon Lester, 16.4 Box-Toppers points, ranked sixth among AL pitchers, 12th overall.
Royals: James Shields, 13.7 Box-Toppers points, ranked 11th among AL pitchers, 22nd overall.
While the Royals have one more win on the season than the Athletics (89 vs. 88), the Athletics have a wide lead in team Box-Toppers points—117.6 vs. 101.1. The Athletics rank third overall and second among AL teams while the Royals rank 10th overall, sixth among AL teams.
The Athletics led Box-Toppers team rankings much of the season and were bolstered by mid-season trades that brought in Lester from the Red Sox and Jason Hammel and Jeff Samardzija from the Cubs. However, the Athletics slumped after those trades, fell out of Box-Toppers team rankings top spot and were in danger of not making the postseason. In fact, the Athletics were the final team to qualify for a postseason spot with their win Sunday.
The winner of Tuesday’s AL Wild Card game will face the Los Angeles Angels in the best-of-five AL Division Series beginning Thursday in Los Angeles. The Angels are the top-ranked team in Box-Toppers rankings with 124.2 Box-Toppers points.
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.
The Los Angeles Angels have dethroned the Oakland Athletics from the top of Box-Toppers team rankings, a spot they held since July 13.
In this week’s report, the Angels have 107.7 Box-Toppers points, passing the Athletics, with 107.4 points.
| 904 | Teams | BTP | BTP /wk |
Last wk rank |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Angels | 107.7 | 4.0 | 2 |
| 2 | Athletics | 107.4 | 2.2 | 1 |
| 3 | Dodgers | 104.1 | 3.0 | 3 |
| 4 | Cardinals | 101.1 | 7.0 | 4 |
| 5 | Tigers | 99.4 | 6.0 | 5 |
| 6 | Giants | 97.1 | 6.7 | 6 |
| 7 | Orioles | 95.4 | 10.4 | 8 |
| 8 | Nationals | 94.0 | 4.7 | 7 |
| 9 | Blue Jays | 92.0 | 10.0 | 13 |
| 10 | Mariners | 88.4 | 5.0 | 11 |
The Angels have the best winning percentage in baseball (.604). And they’ve had the best winning percentage the past two weeks, but until now, were never able to overtake the Athletics in Box-Toppers points. The Athletics were able to boost their Box-Toppers points total through July trades, especially an early July trade with the Cubs, bringing them pitchers Jason Hammel and Jeff Samardzija.
But the Angels swept the Athletics in a four-game series last weekend, helping them move to the top in Box-Toppers rankings. The Athletics, now in second place in Box-Toppers rankings, have a winning percentage of .568, third-best in the American League and fourth best among all teams.
The Angels leading player, pitcher Garrett Richards, who has 15.7 Box-Toppers points, is out for the season with a torn knee tendon. Richards still ranks ninth among all players and sixth among AL pitchers. The next-highest rated Angels player is pitcher Matt Shoemaker, with 10.7 Box-Toppers points. He ranks 17th among AL pitchers.
The Los Angeles Dodgers are still the top National League team in Box-Toppers points. Dodgers players have accumulated 104.1 Box-Toppers points and remain in third place among all teams. They’ve been the top NL team since the July 3 team rankings report.
The Dodgers are led by overall Box-Toppers points leader, pitcher Clayton Kershaw (27.8) and pitcher Zack Greinke (13.8 Box-Toppers points, who ranks fifth among NL pitchers).
The Dodgers have the second-best winning percentage in the NL (.557), behind the Washington Nationals (.572). The Nationals have 94.0 Box-Toppers points and rank eighth among all teams, fourth among NL teams..
The Baltimore Orioles had the best week of any team, scoring 10.4 Box-Toppers points, rising from eighth to seventh place with 95.4.
The Toronto Blue Jays and Seattle Mariners both rose into the top 10 list this week. The Blue Jays picked up 10.0 Box-Toppers points to rise from 13th to ninth place with 92.0 Box-Toppers points. And the Mariners picked up 5.0 Box-Toppers points to rise from 11th to 10th place, with 88.4.
The Kansas City Royals and Milwaukee Brewers both fell out of the top 10. The Royals fell from ninth to 11th place, with 86.6 Box-Toppers points, picking up only 2.0 points during the week. The Brewers fell from 10th to 13th place, with 84.0 Box-Toppers points, after they picked up 0.0 points during the week.
The Boston Red Sox remain the lowest-ranked team with 56.7 Box-Toppers points.
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.
The Oakland Athletics, largely on the strength of their trade to acquire two starting pitchers from the Chicago Cubs, have risen to the top of Box-Toppers team rankings at the All-Star break.
713 |
Teams |
BTP |
BTP /wk |
Last wk rank |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Athletics | 79.0 | 19.1 | 2 |
| 2 | Dodgers | 69.7 | 8.1 | 1 |
| 3 | Angels | 69.5 | 11.0 | 5 |
| 4 | Giants | 64.3 | 5.7 | 4 |
| 5 | Blue Jays | 61.3 | 2.0 | 3 |
| 6 | Mariners | 60.7 | 3.0 | 6 |
| 7 | Reds | 60.6 | 9.5 | 12 |
| 8 | Brewers | 60.6 | 3.0 | 7 |
| 9 | Cardinals | 60.5 | 6.0 | 8 |
| 10 | Braves | 60.2 | 6.0 | 10 |
Athletics players have accumulated 79.0 Box-Toppers points, rising from second place at the time of the last team rankings report July 3 to regain the top spot. They pass the Los Angeles Dodgers, the leader at the July 3 report. The Dodgers have 69.7 Box-Toppers points, dipping to second place, still leading among all National League teams.
The Athletics jumped in total Box-Toppers points when on July 5, they acquired starting pitchers Jason Hammel and Jeff Samardzija from the Cubs. Hammel has 8.7 Box-Toppers points and Samardzija has 4.0. At the time, the trade gave the Athletics a net gain of 10.7 Box-Toppers points, boosting them to the top of team rankings and pushing the Cubs to the bottom—30th place.
The trade helped make the Athletics the hottest team since the last team rankings report on July 3. They picked up 19.1 Box-Toppers points over that period.
The Athletics are led by pitchers Scott Kazmir (13.1 Box-Toppers points, fifth place among all players) and newly-acquired Hammel (his 8.7 Box-Toppers points puts him at 11th place among AL pitchers, even though all his points were earned while pitching in the NL for the Cubs).
The Athletics also have baseball’s best winning percentage (.621). The Athletics previously led in Box-Toppers team rankings at the weekly June 19 report.
The Dodgers remain the top NL team for the second week with 69.7 Box-Toppers points. They fall from first to second place overall.
The Dodgers are led by starting pitcher Clayton Kershaw (18.1 Box-Toppers points, overall player rankings leader) and Zack Greinke (10.1 Box-Toppers points, seventh place among NL pitchers).
The Dodgers have NL’s best winning percentage (.557).
The Cincinnati Reds rise into the top 10 at the All-Star break. They picked up a NL-high 9.5 Box-Toppers points since the last report July 3, giving them 60.6 for the season, rising from 12th to seventh in team rankings. The Detroit Tigers fell from the top 10 list—with 60.1 Box-Toppers points, they fell from ninth to 11th.
As previously mentioned, the Chicago Cubs dropped to the bottom of Box-Toppers team rankings, with a net loss of points in the trade with the Athletics. They lost 7.2 Box-Toppers points since the last report July 3, giving them 38.7 for the season. The previous report’s 30th-ranked team, the Arizona Diamondbacks, rose to 28th place, picking up 6.4 Box-Toppers points, giving them 47.5 for the season.
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.
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.