Blue Jays' Buehrle tops players for Wednesday, Sept. 24; Kershaw has 4th-most single-season Box-Toppers points in past 20 years

Blue Jays pitcher Mark Buehrle is Wednesday’s Player of the Day, while Dodgers pitcher Clayton Kershaw now has the fourth-highest single-season Box-Toppers point total in the past 20 seasons.

Buehrle pitched eight scoreless innings and struck out 10 in the 1-0 win over the Mariners.

Most BTP single season

Clayton Kershaw of the Dodgers now is tied for the fourth-best single season in Box-Toppers history (dating back to 1995). He has 31.5 Box-Toppers points in 2014 and likely finishes the season 2.2 points behind the single-season record of 33.7 set twice by Randy Johnson of the Diamondbacks in 2000 and 2002.

Rank	Player	Team	Pos	Year	BTP
1	Randy Johnson	Dbacks	pi sp	2000	33.7
1	Randy Johnson	Dbacks	pi sp	2002	33.7
3	Pedro Martinez	Red Sox	pi sp	2000	33.5
4	Randy Johnson	Dbacks	pi sp	1999	31.5
4	*Clayton Kershaw	Dodgers	pi sp	2014	31.5
6	Pedro Martinez	Red Sox	pi sp	1999	31.4
7	Randy Johnson	Dbacks	pi sp	2001	29.4
8	Pedro Martinez	Red Sox	pi sp	2002	28.8
9	Curt Schilling	Dbacks	pi sp	2002	28.4
10	Roger Clemens	Blue Jays	pi sp	1997	27.4

* Current season
BTP: Box-Toppers points

Kershaw extended his overall Box-Toppers points lead after earning Player of the Game honors Wednesday. (See the updated top 10 player list on the home page.) Kershaw (8IP R 11K W in the 9-1 win over the Giants) earns 1.0 Box-Toppers point, giving him 31.5 for the season.

Kershaw’s 31.5 points for the season is tied for the fourth most earned in a single season since Box-Toppers record keeping began in 1995. In 1999, Diamondbacks pitcher Randy Johnson also had 31.5 Box-Toppers points.

Kershaw, in what was likely his final regular season appearance, finishes 2.2 Box-Toppers points behind the “all-time” single-season record of 33.7, set by Johnson in both 2000 and 2002. So even if Kershaw were to make one more appearance and even if he were to earn Player of the Day in that appearance, the most he could earn is 2.0 more Box-Toppers points, meaning he would still fall short of Johnson’s record.

Brewers pitcher Kyle Lohse is National League Player of the Day. Lohse pitched a complete-game, two-hit shutout, striking out six and walking none, in the 5-0 win over the Reds. Lohse earns 1.7 Box-Toppers points for being NL Player of the Day, giving him 11.1 for the season. He is the 55th player this season with 10.0 or more Box-Toppers points. He ranks 17th among NL pitchers and 42nd among all players.

Tommy Medica of the Padres is NL Batter of the Day. Medica hit a three-run homer and went 2-for-3 in the 4-3 win over the Rockies.

Xander Bogaerts of the Red Sox is American League Batter of the Day. Bogaerts went 2-for-4, scoring once and driving in three runs, in the 11-3 win over the Rays.

Notables: Cubs pitcher Jake Arrieta ranks 15th in Box-Toppers player rankings after earning Player of the Game honors Wednesday. Arrieta (7IP R 10K W in the 3-1 win over the Cardinals) earns 1.0 Box-Toppers point, giving him 14.7 for the season. He ranks seventh among NL pitchers.

Braves pitcher Julio Teheran ranks 16th in Box-Toppers player rankings after earning Player of the Game honors Wednesday. Teheran earned Player of the Game honors for batting, one of eight times this season—it occurred twice on Wednesday—that a pitcher has earned Player of the Game honors for batting. Teheran (2-2 2BI in the 6-2 win over the Pirates) earns 1.0 Box-Toppers point, giving him 14.4 for the season. He ranks eighth among NL pitchers.

Twins pitcher Phil Hughes ranks 18th in Box-Toppers player rankings after earning Player of the Game honors Wednesday. Hughes (8IP R 5K W in the 2-1 win over the Diamondbacks) earns 1.0 Box-Toppers point, giving him 14.1 for the season. He ranks ninth among AL pitchers.

Orioles pitcher Bud Norris becomes the 56th player this season with 10.0 or more Box-Toppers points after earning Player of the Game honors Wednesday. Norris (6IP 9K W in the 9-5 win over the Yankees) earns 1.0 Box-Toppers point, giving him 10.7 for the season. He ranks 49th among all players and 23rd among AL pitchers.

Phillies pitcher Kyle Kendrick earned Player of the Game honors Wednesday for batting—one of eight times this season a pitcher has been Player of the Game for batting and one of two times it happened Wednesday. Kendrick doubled and went 3-for-3, driving in a run, in the 2-1 win over the Marlins.

Buehrle receives 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day. Lohse receives 1.7 for NL Player of the Day. Medica and Bogaerts each receive 1.5 for being top Batter of the Day in their league.

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

Box-Toppers watches the daily performances of selected star players and Box-Toppers points leaders. To see how they performed, click here.

Box-Toppers tracks who most helps their team win the most games. Using standard box score statistics, Box-Toppers uses a simple formula to determine a Player of the Game for each Major League Baseball game played. That player is the person who contributed most to his team’s win. Players earn Box-Toppers points for being named Player of the Game and can earn bonus points for being Player of the Day or top player or batter in their league for the day.

Top player from each game

Listed from highest to lowest Box-Toppers game score

924	Score	Team	Player of the Game	AB	R	H	BI	BB	K		IP	H	R	ER	BB	K
MLB	14.0	Blue Jays	Mark Buehrle (W, 13-10)	-	-	-	-	-	-		8.0	3	0	0	1	10
NL	13.0	Brewers	Kyle Lohse (W, 13-9)	-	-	-	-	-	-		9.0	2	0	0	0	6
	13.0	Cubs	Jake Arrieta (W, 10-5)	-	-	-	-	-	-		7.0	2	1	0	1	10
	9.0	Dodgers	Clayton Kershaw (W, 21-3)	-	-	-	-	-	-		8.0	8	1	1	0	11
	7.0	Rangers	Lisalverto Bonilla (W, 3-0)	-	-	-	-	-	-		6.0	4	0	0	2	7
	6.0	Twins	Phil Hughes (W, 16-10)	-	-	-	-	-	-		8.0	5	1	1	0	5
	5.0	Tigers	Justin Verlander (W, 15-12)	-	-	-	-	-	-		8.0	7	1	1	0	6
	3.1	Angels	Hector Santiago (W, 6-9)	-	-	-	-	-	-		5.1	3	0	0	2	3
BAT	3.0	Padres	Tommy Medica LF	3	1	2	3	1	0		-	-	-	-	-	-
	3.0	Orioles	Bud Norris (W, 15-8)	-	-	-	-	-	-		6.0	5	3	3	1	9
	2.1	Indians	Zach McAllister (W, 4-7)	-	-	-	-	-	-		2.1	1	0	0	0	1
BAT	2.0	Red Sox	Xander Bogaerts SS	4	1	2	3	0	1		-	-	-	-	-	-
	2.0	Braves	Julio Teheran P	2	0	2	2	0	0		-	-	-	-	-	-
	1.0	Phillies	Kyle Kendrick P	3	0	3	1	0	0		-	-	-	-	-	-