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Indians pitcher Corey Kluber is Sunday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day and rises to fourth place in season player rankings.
Also Sunday, Nationals pitcher Stephen Strasburg rises to fifth place in Box-Toppers season player rankings after earning Player of the Game honors. Plus, the Cleveland Indians regain the topsy-turvy race for Box-Toppers team rankings lead, passing the Los Angeles Dodgers, after Kluber’s Player of the Day honor.
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Tigers pitcher Matthew Boyd is Tuesday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day.
Boyd pitched six scoreless innings, allowing one hit and striking out six, in the 2-1 win over the Twins.
| Player | Pos | Team | BTP | |
| 1 | Syndergaard, Noah 3472 | pi sp | nym nl | 3.0 |
| 2 | Verlander, Justin 2112 | pi sp | det al | 2.7 |
| 3 | Santana, Ervin 2005 | pi sp | min al | 2.7 |
| 4 | Kershaw, Clayton 2494 | pi sp | lad nl | 2.0 |
| 5 | Arrieta, Jake 2738 | pi sp | chi nl | 2.0 |
| 6 | Carrasco, Carlos 2885 | pi sp | cle al | 2.0 |
| 7 | Martinez, Carlos 3371 | pi sp | stl nl | 2.0 |
| 8 | Finnegan, Brandon 3535 | pi sp | cin nl | 2.0 |
| 9 | Mazara, Nomar 3614 | rf | tex al | 2.0 |
| 10 | Boyd, Matthew 3550 | pi sp | det al | 2.0 |
Boyd earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day, his first of the season, and rises to 10th place in Box-Toppers season player rankings.
National League Player of the Day—Marcell Ozuna of the Marlins hit two homers and went 2-for-2, driving in six runs, in the 8-4 win over the Braves.
American League Batter of the Day—Christian Vazquez of the Red Sox tripled, doubled and went 4-for-4, scoring twice and driving in two runs, in the 8-1 win over the Orioles.
National League Batter of the Day—There is no separate NL Batter of the Day for Tuesday because the overall NL Player of the Day was batter Marcell Ozuna.
Rankings—Indians pitcher Carlos Carrasco rises to sixth place in Box-Toppers season player rankings after earning Player of the Game honors Tuesday. Carrasco (7IP 4H R 0BB 7K ND in the 2-1, 10-inning win over the White Sox) earns 1.0 Box-Toppers point, giving him 2.0 for the season.
Notable—Yoenis Cespedes of the Mets hit three home runs and earned Player of the Game honors the 14-4 win over the Phillies. However, Cespedes had the fourth-highest Box-Toppers game score (+6.0) among all players and the second-highest among NL batters (Ozuna had a Box-Toppers game score of +8.0). So, despite Cespedes’s three home runs, he did not earn Box-Toppers bonus points for being overall Player of the Day, NL Player of the Day or NL Batter of the Day. In addition to his home runs, Cespedes doubled and went 4-for-6, scoring three times and driving in five runs.
It was the second time in his career Cespedes hit three home runs in a game. He also did it on Aug. 21, 2015, when he had a Box-Toppers game score of +11.0, which was the highest game score for a batter in all of 2015.
Scoring—Boyd earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day and Ozuna earns 1.7 points for being NL Player of the Day. Vazquez earns 1.5 points for being AL Batter of the Day. All of Tuesday’s other Players of the Game (listed in the chart below) earn 1.0 Box-Toppers point.
About Box-Toppers—Box-Toppers tracks who most helps their team win the most games. Using standard box score statistics, Box-Toppers uses a simple formula to determine a Player of the Game for each Major League Baseball game played. That player is the person who contributed most to his team’s win. In regular season games, players earn 1.0 Box-Toppers point for being named Player of the Game and can earn bonus points for being Player of the Day or top player or batter in their league for the day.
Box-Toppers strives for accuracy. See a mistake in a post? A wrong name, wrong team, grammar error, spelling goof, etc.? Thanks for pointing it out! Contact Box-Toppers here. Let's fix it and make it right.
| 4/11 | Score | Game | Player | AB | R | H | BI | IP | H | R | ER | BB | K | |
| MLB | 9.0 | DET 2, MIN 1 | Matthew Boyd (W,1-1) | - | - | - | - | 6.0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 6 | |
| NL | 8.0 | MIA 8, ATL 4 | Marcell Ozuna, LF | 2 | 2 | 2 | 6 | - | - | - | - | - | - | |
| 8.0 | `CLE 2, CHW 1 (F/10) | Carlos Carrasco | - | - | - | - | 7.0 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 7 | ||
| 6.0 | NYM 14, PHI 4 | Yoenis Cespedes, LF | 6 | 3 | 4 | 5 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 6.0 | WSH 8, STL 3 | Daniel Murphy, 2B | 5 | 2 | 4 | 5 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 5.2 | ARI 4, SF 3 | Robbie Ray (W,1-0) | - | - | - | - | 6.2 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 8 | ||
| BAT | 4.0 | BOS 8, BAL 1 | Christian Vazquez, C | 4 | 2 | 4 | 2 | - | - | - | - | - | - | |
| 4.0 | CIN 6, PIT 2 | Scooter Gennett, 2B | 4 | 2 | 3 | 3 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 3.0 | HOU 7, SEA 5 | Evan Gattis, PH | 1 | 0 | 1 | 3 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 3.0 | `MIL 4, TOR 3 | Corey Knebel (H,1) | - | - | - | - | 1.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | ||
| 2.0 | COL 3, SD 2 | Antonio Senzatela (W,1-0) | - | - | - | - | 7.0 | 5 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 5 | ||
| 1.0 | LAA 6, TEX 5 (F/10) | Carlos Perez, C | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| Player of Game | Pos | Team | ’17 | ’16-17 | ’12-17 | Career | +/- |
| Carrasco, Carlos 2885 | pi sp | cle al | 2.0 | 14.4 | 43.1 | 48.5 | -10.4 |
| Boyd, Matthew 3550 | pi sp | det al | 2.0 | 8.1 | 9.1 | 9.1 | -4.1 |
| Senzatela, Antonio 3760 | pi sp | col nl | 2.0 | 2.0 | 2.0 | 2.0 | 2.0 |
| Ozuna, Marcell 3190 | lf | fla nl | 1.7 | 6.7 | 20.2 | 20.2 | -3.3 |
| Vazquez, Christian 3380 | ca | bos al | 1.5 | 2.5 | 5.5 | 5.5 | 0.5 |
| Cespedes, Yoenis 3008 | lf | nym nl | 1.0 | 9.0 | 40.9 | 40.9 | -7.0 |
| Murphy, Daniel 2589 | 2b | dc nl | 1.0 | 8.5 | 29.5 | 33.5 | -6.5 |
| Ray, Robbie 3502 | pi sp | ari nl | 1.0 | 7.7 | 11.7 | 11.7 | -5.7 |
| Gattis, Evan 3179 | ca ph | hou al | 1.0 | 6.0 | 12.0 | 12.0 | -4.0 |
| Gennett, Scooter 3254 | 2b | cin nl | 1.0 | 3.5 | 12.5 | 12.5 | -1.5 |
| Perez, Carlos 3484 | ca | ana al | 1.0 | 2.5 | 3.5 | 3.5 | -0.5 |
| Knebel, Corey 3757 | pi mr | mil nl | 1.0 | 2.0 | 2.0 | 2.0 | 0.0 |
Marlins pitcher Jose Fernandez is Tuesday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day, maintaining his spot in third place in season player rankings.
| Player | Pos | Team | BTP | |
| 1 | Scherzer, Max 2588 | pi sp | dc nl | 23.7 |
| 2 | Kershaw, Clayton 2494 | pi sp | lad nl | 22.7 |
| 3 | Fernandez, Jose 3147 | pi sp | fla nl | 22.4 |
| 4 | Lester, Jon 2173 | pi sp | chi nl | 21.1 |
| 5 | Kluber, Corey 3200 | pi sp | cle al | 20.2 |
| 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 |
Also Tuesday, Cubs pitcher Jon Lester rises to fourth place in Box-Toppers season player rankings and Blue Jays pitcher J.A. Happ rises to 10th after both earned Player of the Game honors.
Player of the Day—Fernandez pitched eight scoreless innings, striking out 12 and allowing three hits and no walks, in the 1-0 win over the Nationals.
Fernandez earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day, giving him 22.4 for the season. He moves to within 0.3 points of second-place player, Dodgers pitcher Clayton Kershaw (22.7) and within 1.3 points of season Box-Toppers points leader, Nationals pitcher Max Scherzer (23.7). That means with one or two more starts remaining this season, Fernandez has a chance to rise to the overall lead for the first time this year.
American League Player of the Day—Tigers pitcher Matt Boyd struck out seven over eight innings, allowing one run, three hits and one walk, in the 8-1 win over the Twins.
National League Batter of the Day—Odubel Herrera of the Phillies homered and went 3-for-4, scoring twice and driving in three runs, in the 7-6 win over the White Sox.
American League Batter of the Day—Nomar Mazara of the Rangers homered and went 2-for-3, driving in two runs, in the 5-4 win over the Angels.
Rankings—Two players rose in Box-Toppers top 10 season player rankings after earning Player of the Game honors Tuesday:
Lester now also has 142.2 career Box-Toppers points, rising to 26th place among all players since Box-Toppers tracking began in 1995. He passes Giants pitcher Jake Peavy (141.8) on the “all-time” list and now trails 25th-ranked player, Rangers pitcher Cole Hamels (143.0). Lester now ranks 10th among all active players in career points, seventh among active pitchers.
Debut—Giants pitcher Steven Okert made his Box-Toppers debut Tuesday with his first career Player of the Game honor.
Okert (1.2IP H 0R 0BB 3K ND in the 2-0 win over the Dodgers) made his Major League debut April 19 and was playing in his 14th career game. He is the 3,745th player to debut in Box-Toppers since record keeping began in 1995.
Scoring—Fernandez earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day and Boyd earns 1.7 points for being AL Player of the Day. Herrera and Mazara 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.
Box-Toppers strives for accuracy. See a mistake in a post? A wrong name, wrong team, grammar error, spelling goof, etc.? Thanks for pointing it out! Contact Box-Toppers here. Let's fix it and make it right.
Listed from highest to lowest Box-Toppers game score
| 9/20 | Score | Game | Player of Game | AB | R | H | BI | IP | H | R | ER | BB | K | |
| MLB | 17.0 | MIA 1, WSH 0 | Jose Fernandez (W,16-8) | - | - | - | - | 8.0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 12 | |
| AL | 9.0 | DET 8, MIN 1 | Matt Boyd (W,6-4) | - | - | - | - | 8.0 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 7 | |
| 7.2 | HOU 2, OAK 1 (10) | Chris Devenski (W,4-4) | - | - | - | - | 3.2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | ||
| 6.1 | `NYY 5, TB 3 | Michael Pineda | - | - | - | - | 5.1 | 5 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 11 | ||
| 4.2 | CLE 2, KC 1 | Andrew Miller (W,9-1) | - | - | - | - | 1.2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | ||
| 4.1 | BOS 5, BAL 2 | Eduardo Rodriguez (W,3-7) | - | - | - | - | 6.1 | 4 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 7 | ||
| BAT | 4.0 | PHI 7, CHW 6 | Odubel Herrera, CF | 4 | 2 | 3 | 3 | - | - | - | - | - | - | |
| 4.0 | STL 10, COL 5 | Randal Grichuk, CF | 4 | 4 | 3 | 1 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 4.0 | SD 5, ARI 2 | Adam Rosales, 2B | 2 | 1 | 1 | 4 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 4.0 | CHC 6, CIN 1 | Jon Lester (W,18-4) | - | - | - | - | 7.0 | 6 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 5 | ||
| 3.2 | `SF 2, LAD 0 | Steven Okert (H,2) | - | - | - | - | 1.2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | ||
| 3.0 | ATL 5, NYM 4 | Adonis Garcia, 3B | 5 | 2 | 3 | 3 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 3.0 | PIT 6, MIL 3 | Tony Watson (S,14) | - | - | - | - | 1.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | ||
| BAT | 2.0 | TEX 5, LAA 4 | Nomar Mazara, RF | 3 | 1 | 2 | 2 | - | - | - | - | - | - | |
| 2.0 | TOR 10, SEA 2 | J.A. Happ (W,20-4) | - | - | - | - | 5.0 | 6 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 8 | ||
| `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 | +/- |
| Fernandez, Jose 3147 | pi sp | fla nl | 22.4 | 27.1 | 53.1 | 53.1 | 17.7 |
| Lester, Jon 2173 | pi sp | chi nl | 21.1 | 33.1 | 79.3 | 142.2 | 9.1 |
| Happ, J.A. 2536 | pi sp | tor al | 14.7 | 27.8 | 43.2 | 51.2 | 1.6 |
| Mazara, Nomar 3614 | rf lf | tex al | 7.0 | 7.0 | 7.0 | 7.0 | 7.0 |
| Boyd, Matt 3550 | pi sp | det al | 6.1 | 7.1 | 7.1 | 7.1 | 5.1 |
| Pineda, Michael 2841 | pi sp | nyy al | 6.0 | 16.7 | 34.1 | 34.1 | -4.7 |
| Miller, Andrew 2436 | pi cp | cle al | 6.0 | 10.0 | 14.0 | 21.0 | 2.0 |
| Garcia, Adonis 3613 | 3b | atl nl | 5.0 | 5.0 | 5.0 | 5.0 | 5.0 |
| Watson, Tony 3215 | pi cp | pit nl | 4.0 | 5.0 | 8.0 | 8.0 | 3.0 |
| Rodriguez, Eduardo 3480 | pi sp | bos al | 3.7 | 9.7 | 9.7 | 9.7 | -2.3 |
| Devenski, Chris 3702 | pi mr sp | hou nl | 3.7 | 3.7 | 3.7 | 3.7 | 3.7 |
| Herrera, Odubel 3449 | cf | phi nl | 3.5 | 7.5 | 7.5 | 7.5 | -0.5 |
| Grichuk, Randal 3474 | cf | stl nl | 1.0 | 10.5 | 10.5 | 10.5 | -8.5 |
| Rosales, Adam 2647 | 2b | sd nl | 1.0 | 3.0 | 6.0 | 11.7 | -1.0 |
| Okert, Steven 3745 | pi mr | sf nl | 1.0 | 1.0 | 1.0 | 1.0 | 1.0 |
Mets pitcher Jacob deGrom is Saturday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day.
| Player | Pos | Team | BTP | |
| 1 | Kershaw, Clayton 2494 | pi sp | lad nl | 20.0 |
| 2 | Scherzer, Max 2588 | pi sp | dc nl | 18.7 |
| 3 | Fernandez, Jose 3147 | pi sp | fla nl | 16.4 |
| 4 | Kluber, Corey 3200 | pi sp | cle al | 16.2 |
| 5 | Cueto, Johnny 2400 | pi sp | sf nl | 14.4 |
| 6 | Hamels, Cole 2135 | pi sp | tex al | 14.1 |
| 7 | Strasburg, Stephen 2736 | pi sp | dc nl | 14.1 |
| 8 | Lester, Jon 2173 | pi sp | chi nl | 13.4 |
| 9 | Happ, J.A. 2536 | pi sp | tor al | 12.7 |
| 10 | Altuve, Jose 3007 | 2b | hou al | 12.5 |
deGrom struck out nine over seven innings, allowing one run, three hits and one walk, in the 3-2, 11-inning win over the Padres. deGrom did not earn the win, picking up a no-decision, because when he exited the game, the Mets trailed.
American League Player of the Day—Tigers pitcher Matt Boyd pitched seven scoreless innings, allowing two hits, two walks and striking out three, in the 2-0 win over the Rangers.
National League Batter of the Day—Daniel Murphy of the Nationals homered and went 1-for-3, driving in four runs, in the 7-6 win over the Braves.
American League Batter of the Day—Russell Martin of the Blue Jays hit a three-run home run and went 1-for-2, in the 4-2 win over the Astros.
Notable—Giants pitcher Madison Bumgarner has the most season Box-Toppers points of any of the 15 who earned Player of the Game honors Saturday.
Bumgarner (7IP 3H 0R 3BB 8K in the 6-2 win over the Orioles) earns 1.0 Box-Toppers point, giving him 12.0 for the season. He ranks 12th among all players in Box-Toppers points and eighth among NL pitchers.
Bumgarner also now has 104.7 career Box-Toppers points, rising to 62nd place among all players since 1995, when Box-Toppers tracking began. With his point Saturday, he passes Jamie Moyer (104.0) on the “all-time” list and now trails 61st-ranked player, Dodgers pitcher Scott Kazmir (105.1).
Debut—Three players made their Box-Toppers debut Saturday with their first career Player of the Game honors:
Scoring—deGrom earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day and Boyd earns 1.7 points for being AL Player of the Day. Murphy and Martin 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.
Listed from highest to lowest Box-Toppers game score
| 8/13 | Score | Game | Player of Game | AB | R | H | BI | IP | H | R | ER | BB | K | |
| MLB | 10.0 | `NYM 3, SD 2 (11) | Jacob deGrom | - | - | - | - | 7.0 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 9 | |
| 9.0 | SF 6, BAL 2 | Madison Bumgarner (W,11-7) | - | - | - | - | 7.0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 8 | ||
| AL | 6.0 | DET 2, TEX 0 | Matt Boyd (W,4-2) | - | - | - | - | 7.0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 3 | |
| 4.0 | STL 8, CHC 4 | Alex Reyes (W,1-0) | - | - | - | - | 3.0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 3 | ||
| BAT | 3.0 | WSH 7, ATL 6 | Daniel Murphy, 1B | 3 | 1 | 1 | 4 | - | - | - | - | - | - | |
| 3.0 | PHI 6, COL 3 | Maikel Franco, 3B | 3 | 2 | 1 | 3 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| BAT | 3.0 | TOR 4, HOU 2 | Russell Martin, C | 2 | 1 | 1 | 3 | - | - | - | - | - | - | |
| 2.0 | CIN 11, MIL 5 | Joey Votto, 1B | 5 | 1 | 4 | 2 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 2.0 | LAD 8, PIT 4 | Joc Pederson, CF | 5 | 2 | 3 | 2 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 2.0 | NYY 8, TB 4 | Aaron Hicks, LF | 4 | 1 | 2 | 3 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 2.0 | BOS 6, ARI 3 | Brock Holt, LF | 4 | 3 | 1 | 2 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 2.0 | MIN 5, KC 3 | Tyler Duffey (W,8-8) | - | - | - | - | 7.0 | 6 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 6 | ||
| 2.0 | SEA 4, OAK 3 | Edwin Diaz (S,6) | - | - | - | - | 1.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | ||
| 1.2 | CLE 5, LAA 1 | Mike Clevinger (W,1-1) | - | - | - | - | 5.2 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 4 | 3 | ||
| 1.1 | CHW 8, MIA 7 | Chris Beck (W,1-0) | - | - | - | - | 1.1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||
| `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 | +/- |
| Bumgarner, Madison 2753 | pi sp | sf nl | 12.0 | 29.0 | 99.0 | 104.7 | -5.0 |
| deGrom, Jacob 3343 | pi sp | nym nl | 9.7 | 32.1 | 45.1 | 45.1 | -12.7 |
| Martin, Russell 2202 | ca | tor al | 8.5 | 13.5 | 30.0 | 51.0 | 3.5 |
| Votto, Joey 2366 | 1b | cin nl | 7.5 | 12.5 | 29.2 | 61.2 | 2.5 |
| Murphy, Daniel 2589 | 2b | dc nl | 6.5 | 8.0 | 30.0 | 31.5 | 5.0 |
| Duffey, Tyler 3558 | pi sp | min al | 6.0 | 10.0 | 10.0 | 10.0 | 2.0 |
| Boyd, Matt 3550 | pi sp | det al | 4.4 | 5.4 | 5.4 | 5.4 | 3.4 |
| Diaz, Edwin 3690 | pi cp | sea al | 4.0 | 4.0 | 4.0 | 4.0 | 4.0 |
| Franco, Maikel 3510 | 3b | phi nl | 3.5 | 6.7 | 6.7 | 6.7 | 0.3 |
| Pederson, Joc 3621 | cf | lad nl | 3.0 | 3.0 | 3.0 | 3.0 | 3.0 |
| Holt, Brock 3340 | 3b lf | bos al | 2.5 | 3.5 | 4.5 | 4.5 | 1.5 |
| Hicks, Aaron 3170 | lf | nyy al | 1.0 | 3.0 | 5.0 | 5.0 | -1.0 |
| Beck, Chris 3708 | pi mr | chi al | 1.0 | 1.0 | 1.0 | 1.0 | 1.0 |
| Clevinger, Mike 3707 | pi sp | cle al | 1.0 | 1.0 | 1.0 | 1.0 | 1.0 |
| Reyes, Alex 3706 | pi mr | stl nl | 1.0 | 1.0 | 1.0 | 1.0 | 1.0 |
Marlins pitcher Jose Fernandez is Monday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day, maintaining his rank of second place in season player rankings.
| 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 | 14.0 |
| 4 | Cueto, Johnny 2400 | pi sp | sf nl | 13.4 |
| 5 | Kluber, Corey 3200 | pi sp | cle al | 12.5 |
| 6 | Hamels, Cole 2135 | pi sp | tex al | 12.1 |
| 7 | Strasburg, Stephen 2736 | pi sp | dc nl | 11.4 |
| 8 | Bumgarner, Madison 2753 | pi sp | sf nl | 11.0 |
| 9 | Arrieta, Jake 2738 | pi sp | chi nl | 10.7 |
| 10 | Sale, Chris 2806 | pi sp | chi al | 10.7 |
Fernandez struck out 14 over 6 1/3 innings, allowing two runs, four hits and two walks, in the 3-2, 11-inning win over the Phillies. Fernandez picked up a no decision and did not earn the win because the Marlins were trailing when he exited the game.
Fernandez earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day, giving him 16.4 for the season. He ranks second, 3.6 points (and at least two more stellar starts) behind Dodgers pitcher Clayton Kershaw (20.0 Box-Toppers points), who went on the disabled list with a herniated disk in late June. Kershaw’s return date is uncertain.
American League Player of the Day—Tigers pitcher Matt Boyd pitched six scoreless innings, striking out seven and allowing three hits and one walk, in the 1-0 win over the Twins.
American League Batter of the Day—Jarrod Dyson of the Royals hit a grand slam and tripled, going 2-for-3, in the 7-3 win over the Indians.
National League Batter of the Day—Joey Votto of the Reds hit a two-run homer and went 2-for-3, scoring twice and driving in three runs, in the 8-2 win over the Braves.
Notable—Cubs pitcher Jon Lester became the 15th player this season with 10 or more Box-Toppers points after earning Player of the Game honors Monday.
Lester (7.2IP 4H R 3BB 3K W in the 5-1 win over the Mets) now has 10.7 Box-Toppers points on the season, 11th among all players and eighth among NL pitchers. This is the eighth season in which Lester has earned 10 or more Box-Toppers points, the fourth consecutive season.
Lester now has 131.8 career Box-Toppers points, maintaining his rank of 29th place among all players since 1995, when Box-Toppers tracking began. He trails 28th-place player Jason Giambi (133.4.). Lester ranks 12th among active players in career Box-Toppers points.
Scoring—Fernandez earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day and Boyd earns 1.7 points for being AL Player of the Day. Dyson and Votto 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.
Listed from highest to lowest Box-Toppers game score
| 7/18 | Score | Game | Player of Game | AB | R | H | BI | IP | H | R | ER | BB | K | |
| MLB | 10.1 | `MIA 3, PHI 2 (11) | Jose Fernandez | - | - | - | - | 6.1 | 4 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 14 | |
| 9.0 | STL 10, SD 2 | Mike Leake (W,7-7) | - | - | - | - | 6.0 | 6 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 11 | ||
| AL | 9.0 | DET 1, MIN 0 | Matt Boyd (W,1-2) | - | - | - | - | 6.0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 7 | |
| 5.0 | `LAA 9, TEX 5 | Jhoulys Chacin | - | - | - | - | 4.0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | ||
| BAT | 4.0 | KC 7, CLE 3 | Jarrod Dyson, CF | 3 | 1 | 2 | 4 | - | - | - | - | - | - | |
| BAT | 4.0 | CIN 8, ATL 2 | Joey Votto, 1B | 3 | 2 | 2 | 3 | - | - | - | - | - | - | |
| 4.0 | SEA 4, CHW 3 | Adam Lind, PH | 1 | 1 | 1 | 3 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 3.0 | COL 7, TB 4 | Trevor Story, SS | 3 | 2 | 2 | 2 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 2.0 | OAK 7, HOU 4 | Yonder Alonso, 1B | 4 | 1 | 2 | 3 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 1.2 | CHC 5, NYM 1 | Jon Lester (W,10-4) | - | - | - | - | 7.2 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 3 | ||
| 1.0 | NYY 2, BAL 1 | Ivan Nova (W,7-5) | - | - | - | - | 6.0 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 4 | ||
| `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 | +/- |
| Fernandez, Jose 3147 | pi sp | fla nl | 16.4 | 21.1 | 47.1 | 47.1 | 11.7 |
| Lester, Jon 2173 | pi sp | chi nl | 10.7 | 22.7 | 68.9 | 131.8 | -1.3 |
| Story, Trevor 3607 | ss | col nl | 5.0 | 5.0 | 5.0 | 5.0 | 5.0 |
| Votto, Joey 2366 | 1b | cin nl | 4.5 | 9.5 | 26.2 | 58.2 | -0.5 |
| Leake, Mike 2709 | pi sp | stl nl | 4.0 | 14.0 | 39.1 | 43.6 | -6.0 |
| Nova, Ivan 2796 | pi sp | nyy al | 3.0 | 4.0 | 25.1 | 26.1 | 2.0 |
| Chacin, Jhoulys 2711 | pi sp mr | ana al | 3.0 | 3.0 | 17.4 | 25.1 | 3.0 |
| Lind, Adam 2238 | 1b ph | sea al | 2.7 | 9.2 | 29.2 | 56.8 | -3.8 |
| Boyd, Matt 3550 | pi sp | det al | 2.7 | 3.7 | 3.7 | 3.7 | 1.7 |
| Dyson, Jarrod 2813 | cf | kc al | 1.5 | 3.5 | 7.0 | 8.0 | -0.5 |
| Alonso, Yonder 2945 | 1b | oak al | 1.0 | 2.5 | 12.0 | 12.0 | -0.5 |
White Sox pitcher John Danks is Box-Toppers spring training Player of the Day for Friday.
Danks pitched five scoreless innings, allowing one hit and striking out seven in the 3-2 win over the Cubs. Danks had 5.7 Box-Toppers points in 2015 with the White Sox. His best season was 2010 with the White Sox when he had 15.1 points, fifth among American League pitchers.
Danks had a Box-Toppers game score of +9.0, tied with Tigers pitcher Matt Boyd, who was Player of the Game in the 2-0 win over the Cardinals. While Danks and Boyd both had the same innings pitched (5.0) and same number of strikeouts (7), Danks won overall Player of the Day on a tiebreaker because he allowed fewer hits (1 vs. 2).
National League Player of the Day—Ryan Howard of the Phillies hit a grand slam and went 3-for-4, scoring twice and driving in five runs, in the 15-12 win over the Pirates. Howard had 5.5 Box-Toppers points with the Phillies in 2015. His 96.7 career Box-Toppers points ranks 75th among all players since 1995 (when Box-Toppers tracking began), 30th among all batters in that span, fourth among active first basemen and first among active NL first basemen.
American League Batter of the Day—Manny Machado of the Orioles doubled and went 3-for-4, scoring once and driving in four runs, in the 11-2 win over the Yankees. Machado had 7.5 Box-Toppers points with the Orioles in 2015, 18th among AL batters and fourth among AL third basemen.
National League Batter of the Day—There is no separate NL Batter of the Day for Friday because the NL Player of the Day was a batter, Ryan Howard.
Scoring—No Box-Toppers points are awarded in spring training games, but if it were the regular season, Danks would earn 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day, Howard would earn 1.7 points for being NL Player of the Day and Machado would earn 1.5 points for being AL Batter of the Day. All of Friday’s other Players of the Game (listed in the chart below) would earn 1.0 Box-Toppers point.
Note—Seventeen spring training games were scheduled for Friday—16 are listed below. One game is not included because it ended in a tie (Rockies vs. Angels).
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
| 3/18 | Score | Team | Player | AB | R | H | BI | BB | K | IP | H | R | ER | BB | K | |
| MLB | 9.0 | White Sox | John Danks (W, 1-0) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 5.0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 7 | |
| 9.0 | Tigers | Matt Boyd (W, 1-0) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 5.0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 7 | ||
| NL | 6.0 | Phillies | Ryan Howard 1B | 4 | 2 | 3 | 5 | 0 | 0 | - | - | - | - | - | - | |
| 6.0 | Giants | Buster Posey C | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 1 | 0 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| BAT | 4.0 | Orioles | Manny Machado 3B | 4 | 1 | 3 | 4 | 0 | 0 | - | - | - | - | - | - | |
| 4.0 | Dbacks | Welington Castillo C | 1 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 1 | 0 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 3.2 | Mariners | Nathan Karns (W, 1-0) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 4.2 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 7 | ||
| 3.2 | Blue Jays | Aarón Sánchez (W, 1-0) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 4.0 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 5 | ||
| 3.0 | Nationals | Michael A. Taylor CF | 4 | 3 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 1 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 3.0 | Reds | Adam Duvall 3B | 3 | 1 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 0 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 3.0 | Rangers | Lewis Brinson PR-CF | 2 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 0 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 3.0 | Twins | Buck Britton 2B | 1 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 3.0 | Royals | Frank Schwindel 1B | 1 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 0 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 2.0 | Indians | Joey Butler LF | 4 | 1 | 1 | 4 | 1 | 0 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 2.0 | Rays | Granden Goetzman PH-DH | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 1.0 | Braves | Héctor Olivera PH | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | - | - | - | - | - | - |
Analysis of the 2,429 games played and tracked by Box-Toppers in 2015 shows pitchers bested batters with more Player of the Game honors, more Box-Toppers points and far and away the most Player of the Day honors.
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Mets pitcher Matt Harvey is Wednesday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day and rises to seventh in player rankings.
Harvey pitched seven scoreless innings, allowing two hits and striking out six, in the 8-6 win over the Marlins.
| 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 | Keuchel, Dallas 3050 | pi sp | hou al | 13.7 |
| 10 | Greinke, Zack 1871 | pi sp | lad nl | 13.0 |
Harvey earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day, giving him 14.4 for the season, rising to seventh in season player rankings and fourth among National League pitchers.
American League Player of the Day—Red Sox pitcher Steven Wright struck out nine over eight innings, allowing one run and four hits, in the 2-1 win over the Yankees.
American League Batter of the Day—Chris Davis of the Orioles hit a game-winning, 10th-inning grand slam in the 7-3 win over the Athletics. Davis went 2-for-4, scoring two runs.
Davis earns 1.5 Box-Toppers points for being AL Batter of the Day, giving him 7.0 for the season, ranking seventh among AL batters.
National League Batter of the Day—Andrew McCutchen of the Pirates homered, scored twice and drove in two runs, going 1-for-2, in the 7-5 win over the Cubs.
McCutchen earns 1.5 Box-Toppers points for being NL Batter of the Day, giving him 7.5 for the season, ranking fourth among NL batters.
Debut—Tigers pitcher Matt Boyd made his Box-Toppers debut Wednesday, the first time in his career he earned Player of the Game honors. Boyd (7IP 7H R 2K W in the 2-1 win over the Royals) made his Major League debut June 27 and was playing in his third career game. He is the 3,550th player to debut in Box-Toppers since record keeping began in 1995.
Scoring—Harvey earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day and Wright earns 1.7 Box-Toppers points for being AL Player of the Day. Davis and McCutchen 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
| 8/5 | Score | Team | Player | AB | R | H | BI | BB | K | IP | H | R | ER | BB | K | |
| MLB | 11.0 | Mets | Matt Harvey (W,10-7) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 7.0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6 | |
| AL | 9.0 | Red Sox | Steven Wright (W,5-4) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 8.0 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 9 | |
| 7.1 | Giants | Madison Bumgarner (W,12-6) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 7.1 | 7 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 9 | ||
| 6.0 | White Sox | David Robertson (W,5-3) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 2.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | ||
| 5.0 | Brewers | Taylor Jungmann (W,6-3) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 7.0 | 6 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 8 | ||
| BAT | 4.0 | Orioles | Chris Davis, 1B | 4 | 2 | 2 | 4 | 1 | 2 | - | - | - | - | - | - | |
| 4.0 | Dodgers | Kenley Jansen (S,20) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 1.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | ||
| 3.1 | `Rangers | Spencer Patton (H,3) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 1.1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | ||
| 3.0 | Blue Jays | Jose Bautista, RF | 4 | 2 | 1 | 4 | 1 | 0 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| BAT | 3.0 | Pirates | Andrew McCutchen, CF | 2 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 0 | - | - | - | - | - | - | |
| 2.0 | Dbacks | Welington Castillo, C | 4 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 1 | 2 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 1.0 | Rockies | Ben Paulsen, 1B | 5 | 2 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 2 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 1.0 | Angels | C.J. Cron, 1B | 2 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 0 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 1.0 | Cardinals | Peter Bourjos, PH | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 0.0 | Tigers | Matt Boyd (W,1-2) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 7.0 | 7 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 2 | ||
| `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.