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Angels pitcher Andrew Heaney is Box-Toppers Player of the Day in Thursday’s spring training games.
Heaney struck out eight over five scoreless innings, allowing one hit and two walks, in the 3-2 win over the Brewers. Heaney did not earn the win, picking up a no-decision, because the Brewers tied the game after he exited.
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The Chicago Cubs maintain the lead in Box-Toppers weekly team rankings.
Meanwhile, the Oakland Athletics rise to lead American League teams and the Tampa Bay Rays are the week’s hottest team.
Read MoreAngels pitcher Dylan Bundy is Thursday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day, rising to second place in Box-Toppers season player rankings.
Bundy pitched a complete game, striking out 10 and allowing one run, four hits and no walks, in the 6-1 win over the Mariners.
Read MoreHow did baseball’s statistical leaders do in Box-Toppers points in 2019?
The leaders in three specific pitching categories—earned run average, wins and strikeouts—were among the overall top 10 players in Box-Toppers points. However, the leaders in three specific batting categories—batting average, home runs and runs batted in—did not fare well in Box-Toppers points. All three ranked outside the top 100 overall players in Box-Toppers points and also ranked outside the top 10 players among their league’s batters.
Read MorePete Alonso of the Mets led all players in home runs in 2019 but was one of three top 10 home run hitters to rank outside the top 100 in season Box-Toppers points.
Meanwhile, Nelson Cruz of the Twins, who led all batters in Box-Toppers points in 2019 with 12.5, ranked tied for seventh in home runs with 41. Two of Box-Toppers’ top three-ranked National League batters—Cody Bellinger of the Dodgers and Christian Yelich of the Brewers—were also among the top 10 home run hitters in 2019.
Read MoreHow did baseball’s statistical leaders do in Box-Toppers points in 2018?
The leaders of six of the seven key statistics were among Box-Toppers’ overall top 100 players for 2018. However, Khris Davis of the Athletics who led in home runs (48) ranked 223rd among all players with 4.5 Box-Toppers points, 47th among American League batters.
Read MoreThree of the top 10 runs batted in leaders are among their league’s top 10 batters in Box-Toppers points in 2018.
They are J.D. Martinez of the Red Sox, Christian Yelich of the Brewers and Javier Baez of the Cubs.
Read MoreKhris Davis of the Athletics led all players in home runs in 2018 but ranked relatively low in Box-Toppers player rankings—just 47th among American League batters.
Meanwhile, J.D. Martinez of the Red Sox, who led all batters in Box-Toppers points in 2018 with 12.5, ranked second in home runs. And just three of the top 10 home run hitters in 2018 are among the top 100 ranked players in Box-Toppers points for the season.
Read MoreDodgers pitcher Kenta Maeda is Thursday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day.
Maeda struck out eight over eight scoreless innings, allowing two hits and no walks, in the 7-0 win over the Marlins.
Read MoreHalf of the top 10 runs batted in leaders are among their league’s top 10 batters in Box-Toppers points in 2017.
Overall RBI leader Giancarlo Stanton of the Marlins (132) ranked second among National League batters in Box-Toppers points with 14.2.
Read MoreGiancarlo Stanton of the Marlins led all players in home runs in 2017 and ranked second among all batters in Box-Toppers points for the season. Four of the top 10 home run leaders in 2017 are among the overall top 100 players.
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Dodgers pitcher Clayton Kershaw is Monday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day and rises to become the active leader in career Box-Toppers points.
Kershaw struck out eight over seven innings, allowing two runs (one earned) and two hits, in the 14-3 win over the Padres.
| 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 | Clayton Kershaw | pi sp | lad nl | 185.7 |
| 6 | CC Sabathia | pi sp | nyy al | 185.0 |
| 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 | atl nl | 148.5 |
Kershaw earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day, giving him 185.7 for his career, passing Yankees pitcher CC Sabathia (185.0 points) to lead all active players in career Box-Toppers points. Kershaw now ranks fifth among all players in Box-Toppers points since 1995, when tracking began, trailing fourth place player Alex Rodriguez (187.0 points) by just 1.3.
Sabathia became the active leader in career Box-Toppers points on Aug. 13, 2016, when Alex Rodriguez, the then-active leader, was released by the Yankees. Kershaw’s rise past Sabathia is the first time a player has passed another player for the career points lead among active players (without a release or retirement) since April 2, 2011, when Rodriguez (168.6 points) passed then-active leader Manny Ramirez (167.2)—though Ramirez retired several days later.
Kershaw also assumes first place in 2017 season player rankings after two days of the season with his 2.0 Box-Toppers points. While he is tied with Sunday’s Player of the Day, Cardinals pitcher Carlos Martinez (2.0 points), Kershaw holds the tiebreaker because he had more 2016 points—24.4 vs. 12.4. Kershaw led players three times in 2016, including from May 7 to Aug. 24. He has been Box-Toppers Player of the Year, leading all players in Box-Toppers points, three times—in 2011 (26.1 points), 2013 (21.7) and 2014 (31.5).
Kershaw has now also earned Box-Toppers Player of the Game honors for 10 straight seasons. Kershaw earned his first Box-Toppers points in 2008 with the Dodgers. His best season was 2014 with 31.5 points, when he led all players. He has six straight seasons (through 2016) with 20.0 or more points and eight straight seasons (through 2016) with 10.0 or more points.
American League Player of the Day—Astros pitcher Dallas Keuchel pitched seven scoreless innings, allowing two hits, two walks and striking out four, in the 3-0 win over the Mariners.
National League Batter of the Day—Mark Reynolds of the Rockies homered and went 2-for-3, scoring twice and driving in three runs, in the 7-5 win over the Brewers.
Reynolds has now earned Box-Toppers points for 11 straight seasons. He earned his first Box-Toppers points 2007 with the Diamondbacks and has 52.9 career points, fifth among active NL first basemen. His best year was 2011 with the Orioles, when he had 9.5 points, fifth among AL batters.
American League Batter of the Day—Khris Davis of the Athletics homered twice and went 3-for-4, in the 4-2 win over the Angels.
Streaks—In addition to Kershaw and Reynolds, two other players Monday extended streaks of 10 or more straight seasons earning Box-Toppers points:
Scoring—Kershaw earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day and Keuchel earns 1.7 points for being AL Player of the Day. Reynolds and Davis 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.
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Listed from highest to lowest Box-Toppers game score
| 4/3 | Score | Game | Player | AB | R | H | BI | IP | H | R | ER | BB | K | |
| MLB | 10.0 | LAD 14, SD 3 | Clayton Kershaw (W,1-0) | - | - | - | - | 7.0 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 8 | |
| 8.0 | `NYM 6, ATL 0 | Noah Syndergaard | - | - | - | - | 6.0 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 7 | ||
| AL | 7.0 | HOU 3, SEA 0 | Dallas Keuchel (W,1-0) | - | - | - | - | 7.0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 4 | |
| BAT | 4.0 | COL 7, MIL 5 | Mark Reynolds, 1B | 3 | 2 | 2 | 3 | - | - | - | - | - | - | |
| 4.0 | MIN 7, KC 1 | Ervin Santana (W,1-0) | - | - | - | - | 7.0 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 3 | ||
| BAT | 3.0 | OAK 4, LAA 2 | Khris Davis, LF | 4 | 2 | 3 | 2 | - | - | - | - | - | - | |
| 3.0 | WSH 4, MIA 2 | Adam Lind, PH | 1 | 1 | 1 | 2 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 3.0 | CLE 8, TEX 5 | Andrew Miller (W,1-0) | - | - | - | - | 1.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | ||
| 2.0 | BOS 5, PIT 3 | Craig Kimbrel (S,1) | - | - | - | - | 1.0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | ||
| 1.2 | `BAL 3, TOR 2 (F/11) | Mychal Givens (BS,1) | - | - | - | - | 1.2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | ||
| 1.0 | PHI 4, CIN 3 | Freddy Galvis, SS | 4 | 2 | 2 | 1 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| `Pitcher had a no-decision in the game and did not pick up a win or a save. | ||||||||||||||
| Player of Game | Pos | Team | ’17 | ’16-17 | ’12-17 | Career | +/- |
| Kershaw, Clayton 2494 | pi sp | lad nl | 2.0 | 26.4 | 126.1 | 185.7 | -22.4 |
| Keuchel, Dallas 3050 | pi sp | hou al | 1.7 | 8.7 | 44.5 | 44.5 | -5.3 |
| Davis, Khris 3242 | lf | oak al | 1.5 | 8.2 | 18.2 | 18.2 | -5.2 |
| Reynolds, Mark 2297 | 1b | col nl | 1.5 | 5.5 | 20.2 | 52.9 | -2.5 |
| Syndergaard, Noah 3472 | pi sp | nym nl | 1.0 | 17.7 | 28.1 | 28.1 | -15.7 |
| Kimbrel, Craig 2825 | pi cp | bos al | 1.0 | 9.0 | 53.7 | 59.7 | -7.0 |
| Miller, Andrew 2436 | pi mr cp | cle al | 1.0 | 9.0 | 16.0 | 24.0 | -7.0 |
| Lind, Adam 2238 | 1b ph | dc nl | 1.0 | 6.4 | 25.4 | 60.5 | -4.4 |
| Santana, Ervin 2005 | pi sp | min al | 1.0 | 5.0 | 37.8 | 98.3 | -3.0 |
| Galvis, Freddy 3202 | ss | phi nl | 1.0 | 5.0 | 13.0 | 13.0 | -3.0 |
| Givens, Mychal 3599 | pi mr | bal al | 1.0 | 3.0 | 4.0 | 4.0 | -1.0 |
3 of 4 major postseason award winners are among Box-Toppers top-ranked pitchers or batters on their teams. The exception: AL Cy Young Rick Porcello, who ranks 6th among Red Sox players.
Read MoreNationals pitcher Max Scherzer leads the list of the top 100 players for 2016 with 25.7 Box-Toppers points, the 20th-highest single-season point total since 1995, when Box-Toppers tracking began.
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Pirates pitcher Gerrit Cole is Wednesday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day.
| Player | Pos | Team | BTP | |
| 1 | Kershaw, Clayton 2494 | pi sp | lad nl | 20.0 |
| 2 | Fernandez, Jose 3147 | pi sp | fla nl | 16.4 |
| 3 | Scherzer, Max 2588 | pi sp | dc nl | 16.0 |
| 4 | Cueto, Johnny 2400 | pi sp | sf nl | 14.4 |
| 5 | Kluber, Corey 3200 | pi sp | cle al | 12.5 |
| 6 | Strasburg, Stephen 2736 | pi sp | dc nl | 12.4 |
| 7 | Hamels, Cole 2135 | pi sp | tex al | 12.1 |
| 8 | Bumgarner, Madison 2753 | pi sp | sf nl | 11.0 |
| 9 | Syndergaard, Noah 3472 | pi sp | nym nl | 11.0 |
| 10 | Arrieta, Jake 2738 | pi sp | chi nl | 10.7 |
Also Wednesday, Nationals pitcher Stephen Strasburg rises to sixth place in Box-Toppers season player rankings after earning Player of the Game honors.
Player of the Day—Cole pitched a complete game, allowing one run, three hits, no walks and striking out six, in the 10-1 win over the Mariners.
American League Player of the Day—Astros pitcher Lance McCullers struck out 10 over six innings, allowing one run, five hits and two walks, in the 4-1 win over the Yankees.
National League Batter of the Day—Freddie Freeman of the Braves homered and went 4-for-4, driving in five runs, in the 9-7 win over the Twins.
American League Batter of the Day—Khris Davis of the Athletics hit two home runs, doubled and went 3-for-4, driving in three runs, in the 6-4 win over the Rangers.
Rankings—Nationals pitcher Stephen Strasburg rises to sixth place in Box-Toppers season player rankings after earning Player of the Game honors Wednesday.
Strasburg (7IP 3H 0R 2BB 7K W in the 4-1 win over the Indians) earns 1.0 Box-Toppers point, giving him 12.4 for the season. He ranks fifth among NL pitchers.
Debut—Cardinals closing pitcher Seung Hwan Oh made his Box-Toppers debut Wednesday with his first career Player of the Game honor.
Oh (1IP 0H 0R 0BB K Sv in the 5-4 win over the Mets) made his Major League debut April 3 and was playing in his 52nd career game. He is the 3,693rd player to debut in Box-Toppers since record keeping began in 1995.
Scoring—Cole earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day and McCullers earns 1.7 points for being AL Player of the Day. Freeman and Davis 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.
Listed from highest to lowest Box-Toppers game score
| 7/27 | Score | Game | Player of Game | AB | R | H | BI | IP | H | R | ER | BB | K | |
| MLB | 10.0 | PIT 10, SEA 1 | Gerrit Cole (W,6-6) | - | - | - | - | 9.0 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 6 | |
| 9.0 | WSH 4, CLE 1 | Stephen Strasburg (W,14-1) | - | - | - | - | 7.0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 7 | ||
| AL | 7.0 | HOU 4, NYY 1 | Lance McCullers (W,6-4) | - | - | - | - | 6.0 | 5 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 10 | |
| 6.2 | CIN 2, SF 1 | Dan Straily (W,6-6) | - | - | - | - | 7.2 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 5 | ||
| BAT | 6.0 | ATL 9, MIN 7 | Freddie Freeman, 1B | 4 | 1 | 4 | 5 | - | - | - | - | - | - | |
| 5.0 | CHC 8, CHW 1 | Jason Hammel (W,10-5) | - | - | - | - | 7.0 | 5 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 7 | ||
| 4.0 | ARI 8, MIL 1 | Yasmany Tomas, RF | 5 | 2 | 2 | 5 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| BAT | 4.0 | OAK 6, TEX 4 | Khris Davis, DH | 4 | 2 | 3 | 3 | - | - | - | - | - | - | |
| 3.0 | SD 8, TOR 4 | Brett Wallace, 1B | 3 | 2 | 2 | 2 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 2.2 | TB 3, LAD 1 | Matt Moore (W,7-7) | - | - | - | - | 6.2 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 4 | 5 | ||
| 2.0 | MIA 11, PHI 1 | Don Kelly, 1B | 5 | 2 | 3 | 2 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 2.0 | DET 4, BOS 3 | Victor Martinez, DH | 4 | 0 | 4 | 2 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 2.0 | KC 7, LAA 5 | Paulo Orlando, RF | 4 | 2 | 3 | 1 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 2.0 | COL 3, BAL 1 | Carlos Estevez (S,10) | - | - | - | - | 1.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | ||
| 2.0 | STL 5, NYM 4 | Seung Hwan Oh (S,6) | - | - | - | - | 1.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Player of Game | Pos | Team | 16 | 15-16 | 11-16 | Career | +/- |
| Strasburg, Stephen 2736 | pi sp | dc nl | 12.4 | 26.4 | 72.5 | 80.2 | -1.6 |
| Hammel, Jason 2235 | pi sp | chi nl | 7.0 | 16.7 | 40.1 | 53.2 | -2.7 |
| Moore, Matt 2975 | pi sp | tb al | 6.7 | 6.7 | 32.2 | 32.2 | 6.7 |
| Cole, Gerrit 3232 | pi sp | pit nl | 6.5 | 25.5 | 35.9 | 35.9 | -12.5 |
| McCullers, Lance 3488 | pi sp | hou al | 6.1 | 12.8 | 12.8 | 12.8 | -0.6 |
| Martinez, Victor 1695 | dh 1b | det al | 6.0 | 9.5 | 29.4 | 69.6 | 2.5 |
| Davis, Khris 3242 | lf | oak al | 5.7 | 9.7 | 15.7 | 15.7 | 1.7 |
| Tomas, Yasmany 3489 | lf rf | ari nl | 4.5 | 8.0 | 8.0 | 8.0 | 1.0 |
| Estevez, Carlos 3641 | pi cp | col nl | 4.0 | 4.0 | 4.0 | 4.0 | 4.0 |
| Freeman, Freddie 2887 | 1b | atl nl | 3.0 | 6.0 | 34.2 | 34.2 | 0.0 |
| Orlando, Paulo 3526 | rf | kc al | 2.0 | 3.0 | 3.0 | 3.0 | 1.0 |
| Straily, Dan 3080 | pi sp | cin nl | 2.0 | 2.0 | 12.7 | 12.7 | 2.0 |
| Wallace, Brett 2837 | 3b 1b | sd nl | 2.0 | 2.0 | 4.5 | 4.5 | 2.0 |
| Kelly, Don 2890 | 1b | fla nl | 1.0 | 1.0 | 5.5 | 5.5 | 1.0 |
| Oh, Seung Hwan 3693 | pi cp | stl nl | 1.0 | 1.0 | 1.0 | 1.0 | 1.0 |
George Springer of the Astros is Friday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day.
| Player | Pos | Team | BTP | |
| 1 | Kershaw, Clayton 2494 | pi sp | lad nl | 20.0 |
| 2 | Cueto, Johnny 2400 | pi sp | sf nl | 11.7 |
| 2 | Fernandez, Jose 3147 | pi sp | fla nl | 11.7 |
| 3 | Arrieta, Jake 2738 | pi sp | chi nl | 10.7 |
| 4 | Scherzer, Max 2588 | pi sp | dc nl | 10.0 |
| 6 | Syndergaard, Noah 3472 | pi sp | nym nl | 10.0 |
| 7 | Kluber, Corey 3200 | pi sp | cle al | 9.8 |
| 8 | Greinke, Zack 1871 | pi sp | ari nl | 9.7 |
| 9 | Sale, Chris 2806 | pi sp | chi al | 9.7 |
| 10 | Hamels, Cole 2135 | pi sp | tex al | 9.4 |
Springer hit a grand slam and a triple in the 13-4 win over the Royals. Springer went 3-for-5, scoring twice and driving in five total runs.
National League Player of the Day—Wil Myers of the Padres homered and doubled, going 3-for-5, scoring twice and driving in five runs, in the 13-4 win over the Reds.
Both Springer and Myers had Box-Toppers game scores Friday of +5.0, but Springer held the tiebreaker to earn overall Player of the Day honors because he hit a homer and a triple, while Myers hit a homer and a double.
Batters of the Day—There are no separate American League or National League Batters of the Day for Friday because both the overall Player of the Day and the NL Player of the Day were batters—Springer and Myers.
Notable—Mariners pitcher Wade LeBlanc earned his first Box-Toppers point in nearly six years after earning Player of the Game honors Friday.
LeBlanc (6IP 3H 0R BB 3K ND in the 4-3 win over the Cardinals) last earned Player of the Game honors and a Box-Toppers point on Aug. 15, 2010, when he was with the Padres.
Commentary—It was the second unremarkable day in a row for Box-Toppers Players of the Games, with no particularly outstanding performances contributing to team wins. Thursday’s Player of the Day had the season’s second-lowest Box-Toppers game score to win that honor; Friday had the third-lowest high score of the season.
And while some of the blame on low scores Thursday was placed on the light schedule (only nine games played), Friday’s scores did not fare much better with a complete slate of 15 games.
It was a rare occurrence Friday when no pitchers earned Box-Toppers bonus points for being overall or league Player of the Day—batters won both spots.
Starting pitchers generally are the players with each day’s highest Box-Toppers game scores, but for the past two days only two starting pitchers have even earned Player of the Game honors (Friday—Wade LeBlanc of the Mariners, Thursday—Wei-Yin Chen of the Marlins. Interestingly, both pitchers earned no decisions.) There have been 12 middle relievers or closers with two or fewer innings pitched who earned Player of the Game honors over the 24 games played Thursday and Friday.
In addition, over the past two days, players earning Player of the Game honors have had relatively fewer season Box-Toppers points. It is as if the big stars have mostly taken the past two days off. Friday’s Player of the Game with the most season Box-Toppers points is Chris Davis of the Orioles (2B 2-4 R 2BI in the 6-3 win over the Rays). Davis earns 1.0 Box-Toppers point, giving him 6.5 for the season, 27th among all players and fourth among AL batters.
Interestingly (or not), baseball’s other Khris Davis (of the Athletics) also earned Player of the Game honors Friday in the 7-4 win over the Angels (2-4 R 3BI).
Scoring—Springer earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day and Myers earns 1.7 points for being NL Player 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
| 6/24 | Score | Game | Player of Game | AB | R | H | BI | IP | H | R | ER | BB | K | |
| MLB | 5.0 | HOU 13/KC 4 | George Springer, RF | 5 | 2 | 3 | 5 | - | - | - | - | - | - | |
| NL | 5.0 | SD 13/CIN 4 | Wil Myers, 1B | 5 | 2 | 3 | 5 | - | - | - | - | - | - | |
| 5.0 | NYM 8/ATL 6 | James Loney, 1B | 3 | 3 | 2 | 3 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 5.0 | `SEA 4/STL 3 | Wade LeBlanc | - | - | - | - | 6.0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 3 | ||
| 4.0 | ARI 10/COL 9 | Yasmany Tomas, RF | 5 | 2 | 3 | 4 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 4.0 | NYY 5/MIN 3 | Aroldis Chapman (S,14) | - | - | - | - | 1.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | ||
| 4.0 | BOS 8/TEX 7 | Koji Uehara (S,2) | - | - | - | - | 1.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | ||
| 3.2 | PIT 8/LAD 6 | Neftali Feliz (W,2-0; H,17) | - | - | - | - | 1.2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | ||
| 3.0 | MIL 5/DC 3 | Carlos Torres (W,1-1) | - | - | - | - | 1.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | ||
| 2.1 | CHC 5/MIA 4 | Hector Rondon (S,13) | - | - | - | - | 1.1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | ||
| 2.0 | OAK 7/LAA 4 | Khris Davis, LF | 4 | 1 | 2 | 3 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 2.0 | SF 5/PHI 4 | Brandon Belt, 1B | 4 | 1 | 2 | 3 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 2.0 | CHW 3/TOR 2 | Nate Jones (W,3-2) | - | - | - | - | 1.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | ||
| 1.0 | BAL 6/TB 3 | Chris Davis, 1B | 4 | 1 | 2 | 2 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 1.0 | CLE 7/DET 4 | Chris Gimenez, C | 4 | 2 | 2 | 1 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| `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 | +/- |
| Davis, Chris 2478 | 1b | bal al | 6.5 | 17.5 | 48.4 | 56.9 | -4.5 |
| Myers, Wil 3228 | 1b | sd nl | 5.7 | 8.7 | 14.2 | 14.2 | 2.7 |
| Springer, George 3337 | rf | hou al | 5.5 | 6.5 | 9.5 | 9.5 | 4.5 |
| Davis, Khris 3242 | lf | oak al | 4.2 | 8.2 | 14.2 | 14.2 | 0.2 |
| Belt, Brandon 2943 | 1b | sf nl | 4.0 | 5.5 | 17.5 | 17.5 | 2.5 |
| Chapman, Aroldis 2826 | pi cp | nyy al | 3.0 | 11.0 | 41.0 | 42.0 | -5.0 |
| Uehara, Koji 2802 | pi cp mr | bos al | 3.0 | 8.0 | 25.0 | 29.0 | -2.0 |
| Rondon, Hector 3201 | pi cp | chi nl | 3.0 | 5.0 | 8.0 | 8.0 | 1.0 |
| Tomas, Yasmany 3489 | lf rf | ari nl | 2.5 | 6.0 | 6.0 | 6.0 | -1.0 |
| Jones, Nate 3125 | pi cp mr | chi al | 2.0 | 3.0 | 10.0 | 10.0 | 1.0 |
| Feliz, Neftali 2651 | pi mr cp | pit nl | 1.0 | 2.0 | 10.7 | 18.7 | 0.0 |
| Torres, Carlos 2668 | pi mr | mil nl | 1.0 | 2.0 | 8.0 | 9.7 | 0.0 |
| Gimenez, Chris 2870 | ca | cle al | 1.0 | 2.0 | 4.0 | 4.0 | 0.0 |
| Loney, James 2206 | 1b | nym nl | 1.0 | 1.0 | 12.0 | 33.4 | 1.0 |
| LeBlanc, Wade 2669 | pi sp | sea al | 1.0 | 1.0 | 1.0 | 8.0 | 1.0 |
Nationals pitcher Max Scherzer is Monday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day and rises to third place in season player rankings.
| Player | Pos | Team | BTP | |
| 1 | Kershaw, Clayton 2494 | pi sp | lad nl | 17.0 |
| 2 | Fernandez, Jose 3147 | pi sp | fla nl | 11.7 |
| 3 | Scherzer, Max 2588 | pi sp | dc nl | 10.0 |
| 4 | Cueto, Johnny 2400 | pi sp | sf nl | 9.0 |
| 5 | Salazar, Danny 3223 | pi sp | cle al | 8.8 |
| 6 | Arrieta, Jake 2738 | pi sp | chi nl | 8.7 |
| 7 | Sale, Chris 2806 | pi sp | chi al | 8.7 |
| 8 | Machado, Manny 3087 | ss 3b | bal al | 8.7 |
| 9 | Matz, Steven 3516 | pi sp | nym nl | 8.7 |
| 10 | Lackey, John 1640 | pi sp | chi nl | 8.4 |
Scherzer struck out 11 over seven innings, allowing one run, two hits and no walks, in the 4-1 win over the Cubs.
Scherzer earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day, giving him 10.0 for the season. He becomes the third player this season with 10 or more Box-Toppers points. It is the sixth season—and fifth straight season—Scherzer has had 10 or more points in a season.
Scherzer also rises to 44th place in career Box-Toppers points among all players since 1995, when Box-Toppers tracking began. With his points Monday, Scherzer now has 116.0 career Box-Toppers points and passes three players on the “all-time” list—Josh Beckett (114.9), Angels pitcher Tim Lincecum (115.0) and Torii Hunter (115.9). Scherzer trails 43rd-ranked player, Cubs pitcher John Lackey (116.2).
American League Player of the Day—Khris Davis of the Athletics hit a three-run homer and went 2-for-4, scoring three times and driving in five runs, in the 14-5 win over the Rangers.
National League Batter of the Day—Martin Prado of the Marlins hit a two-run homer and went 3-for-3, driving in three total runs, in the 13-4 win over the Padres.
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 was batter Khris Davis.
Debut—Giants pitcher Derek Law made his Box-Toppers debut Monday with his first career Player of the Game honor.
Law (1.1IP H 0R 2K Sv in the 3-2 win over the the Dodgers) made his Major League debut April 15 and was playing in his 22nd career game. He is the 3,657th 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 Davis earns 1.7 points for being AL Player of the Day. Prado 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.
Listed from highest to lowest Box-Toppers game score
| 6/13 | Score | Game | Player of Game | AB | R | H | BI | IP | H | R | ER | BB | K | |
| MLB | 14.0 | DC 4/CHC 1 | Max Scherzer (W,8-4) | - | - | - | - | 7.0 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 11 | |
| AL | 6.0 | OAK 14/TEX 5 | Khris Davis, LF | 4 | 3 | 2 | 5 | - | - | - | - | - | - | |
| BAT | 4.0 | MIA 13/SD 4 | Martin Prado, 3B | 3 | 1 | 3 | 3 | - | - | - | - | - | - | |
| 4.0 | KC 2/CIN 1 | Edinson Volquez (W,6-6) | - | - | - | - | 7.0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 3 | ||
| 4.0 | PHI 7/TOR 0 | Jerad Eickhoff (W,4-8) | - | - | - | - | 6.0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 5 | ||
| 3.0 | CHW 10/DET 9 | Adam Eaton, CF | 5 | 2 | 4 | 2 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 2.2 | ARI 3/LAD 2 | Brad Ziegler (S,13) | - | - | - | - | 1.2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | ||
| 2.1 | SF 11/MIL 5 | Derek Law (S,1) | - | - | - | - | 1.1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | ||
| 2.0 | MIN 9/LAA 4 | Robbie Grossman, LF | 4 | 3 | 2 | 1 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 1.0 | CIN 9/ATL 8 | Adam Duvall, LF | 4 | 1 | 1 | 3 | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| Player of Game | Pos | Team | 16 | 15-16 | 11-16 | Career | +/- |
| Scherzer, Max 2588 | pi sp | dc nl | 10.0 | 31.0 | 95.6 | 116.0 | -11.0 |
| Eickhoff, Jerad 3566 | pi sp | phi nl | 6.0 | 11.0 | 11.0 | 11.0 | 1.0 |
| Volquez, Edinson 2220 | pi sp | kc al | 5.4 | 12.4 | 37.1 | 63.2 | -1.6 |
| Duvall, Adam 3573 | lf | cin nl | 4.5 | 6.0 | 6.0 | 6.0 | 3.0 |
| Davis, Khris 3242 | lf | oak al | 3.2 | 7.2 | 13.2 | 13.2 | -0.8 |
| Eaton, Adam 3253 | rf cf | chi al | 2.0 | 7.5 | 10.0 | 10.0 | -3.5 |
| Prado, Martin 2511 | 3b | fla nl | 1.5 | 7.5 | 21.0 | 27.5 | -4.5 |
| Ziegler, Brad 2504 | pi cp | ari nl | 1.0 | 4.0 | 10.0 | 13.0 | -2.0 |
| Grossman, Robbie 3267 | lf | min al | 1.0 | 1.0 | 8.0 | 8.0 | 1.0 |
| Law, Derek 3657 | pi sp | sf nl | 1.0 | 1.0 | 1.0 | 1.0 | 1.0 |
Giants pitcher Madison Bumgarner is Tuesday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day.
| Player | Pos | Team | BTP | |
| 1 | Kershaw, Clayton 2494 | pi sp | lad nl | 10.0 |
| 2 | Arrieta, Jake 2738 | pi sp | chi nl | 7.7 |
| 3 | Sale, Chris 2806 | pi sp | chi al | 6.7 |
| 4 | Machado, Manny 3087 | 3b ss | bal al | 6.7 |
| 5 | Salazar, Danny 3223 | pi sp | cle al | 6.1 |
| 6 | Cueto, Johnny 2400 | pi sp | sf nl | 6.0 |
| 7 | Velasquez, Vince 3611 | pi sp | phi nl | 6.0 |
| 8 | Quintana, Jose 3040 | pi sp | chi al | 5.7 |
| 9 | De La Rosa, Rubby 3342 | pi sp | ari nl | 5.7 |
| 10 | Nola, Aaron 3569 | pi sp | phi nl | 5.7 |
Also Tuesday, Dodgers pitcher Clayton Kershaw extended his lead in Box-Toppers player rankings and Diamondbacks pitcher Zack Greinke became the 18th player since 1995 with 150 or more career Box-Toppers points.
Player of the Day—Bumgarner pitched a complete game five-hitter, allowing one run and striking out 11, in the 5-1 win over the Padres.
Bumgarner had a Box-Toppers game score of +13.0, tied with Kershaw’s Tuesday game score, but Bumgarner won overall Player of the Game honors on a tiebreaker because he had more innings pitched—9 vs. 8.
American League Player of the Day—Indians pitcher Danny Salazar struck out eight over 7 1/3 innings, allowing one run and five hits, in the 13-1 win over the Reds.
Salazar earns 1.7 Box-Toppers points for being AL Player of the Day, giving him 6.1 for the season, rising to fifth in season player rankings, second among AL pitchers, behind Chris Sale of the White Sox (6.7).
American League Batter of the Day—Khris Davis of the Athletics hit three home runs, including a walk-off grand slam, in the 8-5 win over the Rangers. Davis went 3-for-5 with six total RBIs.
National League Batter of the Day—John Jaso of the Pirates doubled and went 3-for-3, scoring once and driving in two runs, in the 12-9 win over the Braves.
| 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 | nyy al | 187.0 |
| 5 | CC Sabathia | pi sp | nyy al | 180.0 |
| 6 | Albert Pujols | 1b dh | ana al | 176.3 |
| 7 | Roy Halladay | pi sp | retired | 170.7 |
| 8 | Clayton Kershaw | pi sp | lad nl | 169.3 |
| 9 | Manny Ramirez | lf dh | retired | 167.2 |
| 10 | Johan Santana | pi sp | free agent | 166.6 |
| 11 | Roger Clemens | pi sp | retired | 164.8 |
| 12 | Felix Hernandez | pi sp | sea al | 163.7 |
| 13 | John Smoltz | pi sp | retired | 160.9 |
| 14 | Tim Hudson | pi sp | retired | 157.0 |
| 15 | Mike Mussina | pi sp | retired | 155.6 |
| 16 | Barry Bonds | lf | retired | 153.2 |
| 17 | Greg Maddux | pi sp | retired | 151.7 |
| 18 | Zack Greinke | pi sp | ari nl | 150.4 |
| 19 | Chipper Jones | 3b | retired | 149.0 |
| 20 | Javier Vazquez | pi sp | retired | 148.3 |
Kershaw—Dodgers pitcher Clayton Kershaw extended his lead in Box-Toppers season player rankings after earning Player of the Game honors Tuesday.
Kershaw (8IP 4H R 11K W in the 5-1 win over the Angels) earns 1.0 Box-Toppers point, giving him 10.0 for the season. Kershaw is the first player this season with 10 or more Box-Toppers points and it is the eighth straight season in which he has earned 10 or more points.
Kershaw also now has 169.3 career Box-Toppers points, maintaining his rank of eighth place among all players since 1995, when Box-Toppers tracking began. He trails seventh-place player Roy Halladay (170.7).
Greinke—Diamondbacks pitcher Zack Greinke becomes the 18th player with 150 or more Box-Toppers points since 1995, when player tracking began, after earning Player of the Game honors Tuesday.
Greinke (7IP 5H 3R 7K W in the 5-3 win over the Yankees) earns 1.0 Box-Toppers point, giving him 150.4 career points. He maintains his rank of 18th place on the “all-time” Box-Toppers points list, trailing 17th-ranked player Greg Maddux (151.7). Greinke has 4.0 Box-Toppers points for the season.
Rankings—Phillies pitcher Vince Velasquez rose to eighth place in Box-Toppers season player rankings after earning Player of the Game honors Tuesday.
Velasquez (5IP 3H 0R 10K W in the 3-1 win over the Marlins) earns 1.0 Box-Toppers point, giving him 6.0 for the season. He ranks fourth among NL pitchers.
Debuts—Two players made their Box-Toppers debut Tuesday, the first time in their career they earned Player of the Game honors:
Scoring—Bumgarner earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day and Salazar earns 1.7 points for being AL Player of the Day. Davis and Jaso 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
| 5/17 | Score | Team | Player | AB | R | H | BI | BB | K | IP | H | R | ER | BB | K | |
| MLB | 13.0 | Giants | Madison Bumgarner (W,5-2) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 9.0 | 5 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 11 | |
| 13.0 | Dodgers | Clayton Kershaw (W,6-1) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 8.0 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 11 | ||
| 12.0 | Mets | Noah Syndergaard (W,4-2) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 7.0 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 10 | ||
| 10.0 | Phillies | Vince Velasquez (W,5-1) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 5.0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 10 | ||
| AL | 7.1 | Indians | Danny Salazar (W,4-2) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 7.1 | 5 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 8 | |
| BAT | 7.0 | Athletics | Khris Davis, LF | 5 | 3 | 3 | 6 | 0 | 2 | - | - | - | - | - | - | |
| 7.0 | Mariners | Nelson Cruz, DH | 3 | 2 | 3 | 5 | 1 | 0 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 6.2 | Brewers | Chase Anderson (W,2-5) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 8.2 | 3 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 6 | ||
| 5.0 | Royals | Paulo Orlando, RF | 4 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 0 | 0 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 3.0 | Astros | Tyler White, 1B | 4 | 2 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 1 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 3.0 | Rays | Kevin Kiermaier, CF | 4 | 3 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 0 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| BAT | 3.0 | Pirates | John Jaso, 1B | 3 | 1 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 0 | - | - | - | - | - | - | |
| 3.0 | Dbacks | Zack Greinke (W,4-3) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 7.0 | 5 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 7 | ||
| 2.2 | Tigers | Kyle Ryan (W,1-1) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 1.2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | ||
| 1.2 | Rockies | Chad Bettis (W,4-2) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 6.2 | 5 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 4 |
| Player | Pos | Team | 16 | 15-16 | 11-16 | Career | +/- |
| Kershaw, Clayton 2494 | pi sp | lad nl | 10.0 | 35.7 | 135.8 | 169.3 | -15.7 |
| Salazar, Danny 3223 | pi sp | cle al | 6.1 | 19.5 | 28.9 | 28.9 | -7.3 |
| Velasquez, Vince 3611 | pi sp | phi nl | 6.0 | 6.0 | 6.0 | 6.0 | 6.0 |
| Bumgarner, Madison 2753 | pi sp | sf nl | 5.0 | 22.0 | 92.0 | 97.7 | -12.0 |
| Syndergaard, Noah 3472 | pi sp | nym nl | 5.0 | 15.4 | 15.4 | 15.4 | -5.4 |
| Greinke, Zack 1871 | pi sp | ari nl | 4.0 | 24.7 | 89.8 | 150.4 | -16.7 |
| Bettis, Chad 3481 | pi sp | col nl | 3.7 | 9.1 | 9.1 | 9.1 | -1.7 |
| Anderson, Chase 3328 | pi sp | mil nl | 3.0 | 7.0 | 12.0 | 12.0 | -1.0 |
| Jaso, John 2705 | 1b ca | pit nl | 3.0 | 3.0 | 8.0 | 14.0 | 3.0 |
| Cruz, Nelson 2224 | dh rf | sea al | 2.0 | 4.0 | 29.7 | 49.2 | 0.0 |
| Davis, Khris 3242 | lf | oak al | 1.5 | 5.5 | 11.5 | 11.5 | -2.5 |
| Kiermaier, Kevin 3373 | cf | tb al | 1.0 | 2.0 | 4.5 | 4.5 | 0.0 |
| Orlando, Paulo 3526 | rf | kc al | 1.0 | 2.0 | 2.0 | 2.0 | 0.0 |
| Ryan, Kyle 3639 | pi mr | det al | 1.0 | 1.0 | 1.0 | 1.0 | 1.0 |
| White, Tyler 3638 | 1b | hou al | 1.0 | 1.0 | 1.0 | 1.0 | 1.0 |
(Other duties have put us behind updating Box-Toppers. Playing catch up …)
Nationals pitcher Stephen Strasburg is Box-Toppers Player of the Day for Wednesday, Aug. 19.
| Player | Pos | Team | BTP | |
| 1 | deGrom, Jacob 3343 | pi sp | nym nl | 19.4 |
| 2 | Kershaw, Clayton 2494 | pi sp | lad nl | 16.7 |
| 3 | Price, David 2593 | pi sp | tor al | 16.1 |
| 4 | Sale, Chris 2806 | pi sp | chi al | 16.1 |
| 5 | Scherzer, Max 2588 | pi sp | dc nl | 16.0 |
| 6 | Greinke, Zack 1871 | pi sp | lad nl | 16.0 |
| 7 | Gray, Sonny 3259 | pi sp | oak al | 15.8 |
| 8 | Hernandez, Felix 2064 | pi sp | sea al | 15.4 |
| 9 | Harvey, Matt 3075 | pi sp | nym nl | 15.4 |
| 10 | Keuchel, Dallas 3050 | pi sp | hou al | 14.7 |
Also Wednesday, Angels pitcher Jered Weaver earned Player of the Game honors, giving him 122.1 career Box-Toppers points, 34th-most among all players since 1995.
Player of the Day—Strasburg allowed one run and two hits over seven innings, striking out five, in the 4-1 win over the Rockies.
American League Player of the Day—Angels pitcher Jered Weaver pitched six scoreless innings, allowing five hits and striking out five, in the 1-0 win over the White Sox.
Weaver earned 1.7 Box-Toppers points for being AL Player of the Day, giving him 122.1 career points, rising to 34th among all players since 1995, when Box-Toppers record keeping began. With his points Wednesday, Weaver passes two players on the “all-time” list—Cole Hamels (120.8 Box-Toppers points) and Justin Verlander (120.9 points). Weaver trails 33rd-ranked player Gary Sheffield (122.1).
Weaver ranks third among active AL pitchers in career Box-Toppers points, trailing CC Sabathia of the Yankees (178.0 Box-Toppers points) and Felix Hernandez of the Mariners (158.7 points). Weaver has 6.7 Box-Toppers points this season, ranking 31st among AL pitchers.
American League Batter of the Day—Nick Castellanos of the Tigers hit two homers, including a grand slam, and two doubles in the 15-8 win over the Cubs. Castellanos went 4-for-5 and drove in five runs.
National League Batter of the Day—Khris Davis of the Brewers hit two home runs and went 2-for-4, driving in five runs, in the 8-7 win over the Marlins.
Notable—Athletics pitcher Jesse Chavez had the highest Box-Toppers player ranking of any of the 15 who earned Player of the Game honors Wednesday. Chavez (8IP 2H 2R 6K W in the 5-2 win over the Dodgers) earned 1.0 Box-Toppers point, giving him 8.4 for the season. He ranks 40th among all players and 20th among AL pitchers.
Debuts—Two players made their Box-Toppers debut Wednesday, the first time in their career they earned Player of the Game honors:
Scoring—Strasburg earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day and Weaver earns 1.7 Box-Toppers points for being AL Player of the Day. Castellanos and Davis each earn 1.5 Box-Toppers 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.
Listed from highest to lowest Box-Toppers game score
| 8/19 | Score | Team | Player | AB | R | H | BI | BB | K | IP | H | R | ER | BB | K | |
| MLB | 9.0 | Nationals | Stephen Strasburg (W,7-6) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 7.0 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 5 | |
| AL | 6.1 | Angels | Jered Weaver (W,5-9) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 6.0 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5 | |
| BAT | 6.0 | Tigers | Nick Castellanos, 3B | 5 | 2 | 4 | 5 | 0 | 0 | - | - | - | - | - | - | |
| 6.0 | Athletics | Jesse Chavez (W,7-12) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 8.0 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 6 | ||
| BAT | 5.0 | Brewers | Khris Davis, LF | 4 | 2 | 2 | 5 | 0 | 1 | - | - | - | - | - | - | |
| 5.0 | Pirates | J.A. Happ (W,5-7) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 6.0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 3 | ||
| 4.0 | Yankees | Greg Bird, 1B | 4 | 2 | 2 | 4 | 0 | 1 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 3.2 | Royals | Luke Hochevar (MR) (W,1-0) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 1.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | ||
| 3.0 | Padres | Yangervis Solarte, 3B | 3 | 1 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 0 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 3.0 | Phillies | Aaron Altherr, LF | 3 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 1 | - | - | - | - | - | - | |||
| 3.0 | `Astros | Chad Qualls (MR) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 1.0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | ||
| 3.0 | Cardinals | Trevor Rosenthal (S,38) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 1.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | ||
| 2.0 | Rangers | Mitch Moreland, DH | 5 | 2 | 2 | 3 | 0 | 1 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 2.0 | Orioles | Adam Jones, CF | 3 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 2.0 | Red Sox | Jackie Bradley Jr., CF | 3 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 0 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| `Denotes that the pitcher had a no-decision in the game and did not pick up a win or a save. | ||||||||||||||||
Cardinals pitcher Michael Wacha is Thursday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day.
Also Thursday, Dodgers pitcher Zack Greinke rose to ninth place in Box-Toppers player rankings. Plus, two players with more than 100 career Box-Toppers points earned Player of the Game honors:
| Player | Pos | Team | BTP | |
| 1 | deGrom, Jacob 3343 | pi sp | nym nl | 16.4 |
| 2 | Scherzer, Max 2588 | pi sp | dc nl | 16.0 |
| 3 | Hernandez, Felix 2064 | pi sp | sea al | 15.4 |
| 4 | Price, David 2593 | pi sp | tor al | 15.1 |
| 5 | Kershaw, Clayton 2494 | pi sp | lad nl | 15.0 |
| 6 | Sale, Chris 2806 | pi sp | chi al | 14.4 |
| 7 | Harvey, Matt 3075 | pi sp | nym nl | 14.4 |
| 8 | Gray, Sonny 3259 | pi sp | oak al | 14.1 |
| 9 | Greinke, Zack 1871 | pi sp | lad nl | 14.0 |
| 10 | Keuchel, Dallas 3050 | pi sp | hou al | 13.7 |
Player of the Day—Wacha pitched seven scoreless innings, allowing four hits and striking out six, in the 3-0 win over the Reds.
American League Player of the Day—Yankees pitcher CC Sabathia struck out eight over six innings, allowing one run and three hits, in the 2-1 win over the Red Sox. Sabathia did not earn the win, picking up a no-decision, because he exited with the score tied, 1-1.
Sabathia earns 1.7 Box-Toppers points for being AL Player of the Day, giving him 178.0 for his career. He ranks fifth among all players since Box-Toppers record keeping began in 1995. He ranks second among active players, behind Alex Rodriguez (187.0, fourth place overall) and first among active pitchers. Sabathia has 4.7 Box-Toppers points this season.
National League Batter of the Day—Khris Davis of the Brewers hit two three-run homers and went 3-for-5 in the 10-1 win over the Padres.
American League Batter of the Day—Edwin Encarnacion of the Blue Jays homered, doubled and went 3-for-4, scoring twice and driving in four runs, in the 9-3 win over the Twins.
Rankings—Dodgers pitcher Zack Greinke rose to ninth place in Box-Toppers season player rankings after earning Player of the Game honors Thursday.
Greinke was the sixth pitcher this season to earn Player of the Game honors for batting (HR 3-3 3R BI in the 10-8 win over the Phillies). It is the first time in his career Greinke has earned Player of the Game honors for batting.
Greinke earns 1.0 Box-Toppers point for being Player of the Game, giving him 14.0 for the season and rising to ninth in overall player rankings. He ranks fifth among NL pitchers.
Greinke also now has 139.7 career Box-Toppers points, ranked 21st among all players since 1995, when Box-Toppers record keeping began. He trails 20th-place player Jim Thome (146.7).
Debut—Daniel Castro of the Braves made his Box-Toppers debut Thursday, the first time in his career he earned Player of the Game honors. Castro (3-4 2R in the 9-8 win over the Marlins) made his Major League debut June 17 and was playing in his 10th career game. He is the 3,551st player to debut in Box-Toppers since record keeping began in 1995.
Scoring—Wacha earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day and Sabathia earns 1.7 Box-Toppers points for being AL Player of the Day. Davis and Encarnacion each earn 1.5 Box-Toppers points for being their league’s Batter of the Day. All of Thursday’s other Players of the Game (listed in the chart below) earn 1.0 Box-Toppers point.
About Box-Toppers—Box-Toppers tracks who most helps their team win the most games. Using standard box score statistics, Box-Toppers uses a simple formula to determine a Player of the Game for each Major League Baseball game played. That player is the person who contributed most to his team’s win. In regular season games, players earn 1.0 Box-Toppers point for being named Player of the Game and can earn bonus points for being Player of the Day or top player or batter in their league for the day.
Listed from highest to lowest Box-Toppers game score
| 8/6 | Score | Team | Player | AB | R | H | BI | BB | K | IP | H | R | ER | BB | K | |
| MLB | 7.0 | Cardinals | Michael Wacha (W,13-4) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 7.0 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 6 | |
| BAT | 6.0 | Brewers | Khris Davis, LF | 5 | 2 | 3 | 6 | 0 | 0 | - | - | - | - | - | - | |
| 6.0 | Nationals | Joe Ross (W,3-3) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 6.0 | 5 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 7 | ||
| AL | 6.0 | `Yankees | CC Sabathia | - | - | - | - | - | - | 6.0 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 8 | |
| BAT | 5.0 | Blue Jays | Edwin Encarnacion, DH | 4 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 1 | 1 | - | - | - | - | - | - | |
| 5.0 | Tigers | Victor Martinez, DH | 4 | 2 | 2 | 5 | 0 | 1 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 4.0 | Dodgers | Zack Greinke, SP | 3 | 3 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 3.0 | Cubs | Kyle Schwarber, C | 3 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 1 | 0 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 1.0 | Braves | Daniel Castro, SS | 4 | 2 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 1.0 | Astros | Carlos Correa, SS | 4 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 0 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| `Denotes that the pitcher had a no-decision in the game and did not pick up a win or a save. | ||||||||||||||||
Box-Toppers tracks who most helps their team win the most games. Using standard box score statistics, Box-Toppers uses a simple formula to determine a Player of the Game for each Major League Baseball game played. That player is the person who contributed most to his team’s win. Players earn Box-Toppers points for being named Player of the Game and can earn bonus points for being Player of the Day or top player or batter in their league for the day.