White Sox' Jose Quintana tops players for Thursday, June 22; Phillies' Nola tops NL players

White Sox pitcher Jose Quintana is Thursday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day.

Quintana struck out nine over 6 2/3 scoreless innings, allowing five hits and no walks, in the 9-0 win over the Twins.

Top 10 players

Here are the top 10 players in Box-Toppers points (BTP) for the 2017 season as of June 22:  

	Player	Pos	Team	BTP
1	Kershaw, Clayton 2494	pi sp	lad nl	14.4
2	Scherzer, Max 2588	pi sp	dc nl	13.0
3	Santana, Ervin 2005	pi sp	min al	11.4
4	Sale, Chris 2806	pi sp	bos al	10.1
5	Ray, Robbie 3502	pi sp	ari nl	10.0
6	Carrasco, Carlos 2885	pi sp	cle al	9.4
7	Judge, Aaron 3767	rf	nyy al	8.2
8	Wood, Alex 3246	pi sp	lad nl	8.0
9	Vargas, Jason 2055	pi sp	kc al	8.0
10	Greinke, Zack 1871	pi sp	ari nl	7.7

What are those numbers after players' names?

Quintana earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day, giving him 7.0 for the season, most among the 12 who earned Player of the Game honors Thursday. Quintana ranks 19th among all players and eighth among American League pitchers.

National League Player of the Day—Phillies pitcher Aaron Nola struck out eight over 7 1/3 innings, allowing one run, four hits and two walks, in the 5-1 win over the Cardinals.

American League Batter of the Day—Carlos Gomez of the Rangers hit two home runs, including a three-run shot, in the 11-4 win over the Blue Jays. Gomez also went 3-for-4, scoring three times and driving in five runs.

Gomez has now earned Box-Toppers points in 10 straight seasons with his first Player of the Game honor of 2017. He earned his first Box-Toppers points in 2008 with the Twins and has 33.5 career points, 15th among active AL outfielders. His best season was 2015 with the Brewers and Astros, when he had 6.0 Box-Toppers points, seventh among AL outfielders. In 2016, he had 4.5 points with the Astros and Rangers.

National League Batter of the Day—Nick Markakis of the Braves homered and went 4-for-5, scoring twice and driving in three runs, in the 12-11 win over the Giants.

Scoring—Quintana earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day and Nola earns 1.7 points for being NL Player of the Day. Gomez and Markakis each earn 1.5 points for being their league’s Batter of the Day. All of Thursday’s other Players of the Game (listed in the chart below) earn 1.0 Box-Toppers point.

About Box-Toppers—Box-Toppers tracks who most helps their team win the most games. Using standard box score statistics, Box-Toppers uses a simple formula to determine a Player of the Game for each Major League Baseball game played. That player is the person who contributed most to his team’s win. In regular season games, players earn 1.0 Box-Toppers point for being named Player of the Game and can earn bonus points for being Player of the Day or top player or batter in their league for the day.

Box-Toppers strives for accuracy. See a mistake in a post? A wrong name, wrong team, grammar error, spelling goof, etc.? Thanks for pointing it out! Contact Box-Toppers here. Let's fix it and make it right.

Top player from each game

Listed from highest to lowest Box-Toppers game score 

6/22	Score	Game	Player of the Game	AB	R	H	BI		IP	H	R	ER	BB	K
MLB	10.2	CHW 9, MIN 0	Jose Quintana (W,4-8)	-	-	-	-		6.2	5	0	0	0	9
NL	7.1	PHI 5, STL 1	Aaron Nola (W,4-5)	-	-	-	-		7.1	4	1	1	2	8
BAT	7.0	TEX 11, TOR 4	Carlos Gomez, CF	4	3	3	5		-	-	-	-	-	-
	6.0	SEA 9, DET 6	Robinson Cano, 2B	4	2	2	6		-	-	-	-	-	-
	5.0	MIL 4, PIT 2	Chase Anderson (W,6-2)	-	-	-	-		6.0	2	2	2	2	7
	5.0	LAA 10, NYY 5	Yusmeiro Petit (W,2-0)	-	-	-	-		2.0	0	0	0	0	3
BAT	4.0	ATL 12, SF 11	Nick Markakis, RF	5	2	4	3		-	-	-	-	-	-
	4.0	CHC 11, MIA 1	Addison Russell, SS	5	3	4	2		-	-	-	-	-	-
	4.0	ARI 10, COL 3	Paul Goldschmidt, 1B	5	2	3	4		-	-	-	-	-	-
	4.0	HOU 12, OAK 9	Josh Reddick, RF	4	4	3	1		-	-	-	-	-
	2.0	CLE 6, BAL 3	Austin Jackson, CF-LF	5	1	3	3		-	-	-	-	-	-
	2.0	LAD 6, NYM 3	Joc Pederson, CF	2	1	2	1		-	-	-	-	-	-

MLB—Overall Box-Toppers Player of the Day, worth 2.0 total Box-Toppers points.
AL—Overall American League Player of the Day, worth 1.7 total Box-Toppers points.
NL—Overall National League Player of the Day, worth 1.7 total Box-Toppers points.
BAT—Top AL or NL Batter of the Day, worth 1.5 total Box-Toppers points.
All other players listed here earn Player of the Game honors, worth 1.0 Box-Toppers point.
` Pitcher had a no-decision in the game and did not pick up a win or a save.

Box-Toppers point totals of the day’s top players

Here are Box-Toppers point totals of each of the Players of the Game. Players are ranked by their Box-Toppers point total for the current season (’17). Also shown are each players’ Box-Toppers point total for this season and last (’16-17), the period 2012-2017 (’12-17) and each players’ career point total. Also shown is how their 2017 Box-Toppers point total compares with their 2016 total (+/-).  

Player of the Game	Pos	Team	’17	’16-17	’12-17	Career	+/-
Quintana, Jose 3040	pi sp	chi al	7.0	17.4	42.2	42.2	-3.4
Anderson, Chase 3328	pi sp	mil nl	5.7	12.7	21.7	21.7	-1.3
Goldschmidt, Paul 2935	1b	ari nl	4.7	9.2	40.6	44.6	0.2
Cano, Robinson 2092	2b	sea al	4.0	12.0	41.5	79.4	-4.0
Russell, Addison 3559	ss	chi nl	3.5	7.0	9.5	9.5	0.0
Reddick, Josh 2936	rf lf	hou al	3.0	6.5	26.4	27.4	-0.5
Nola, Aaron 3569	pi sp	phi nl	2.7	9.4	11.4	11.4	-4.0
Markakis, Nick 2116	rf	atl nl	2.5	7.5	20.5	49.6	-2.5
Gomez, Carlos 2397	cf	tex al	1.5	6.0	20.5	33.5	-3.0
Pederson, Joc 3621	cf	lad nl	1.0	5.0	5.0	5.0	-3.0
Petit, Yusmeiro 2337	pi mr	ana al	1.0	3.0	10.0	19.7	-1.0
Jackson, Austin 2694	cf lf	cle al	1.0	1.0	9.5	15.0	1.0

What are those numbers after players' names?

Mariners' James Paxton tops players for Wednesday, April 26, rises to sixth in Box-Toppers player rankings

Mariners pitcher James Paxton is Wednesday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day and rises to sixth place in season player rankings.

Top 10 players

Here are the top 10 players in Box-Toppers points (BTP) for the 2017 season as of April 26:  

	Player	Pos	Team	BTP
1	Kershaw, Clayton 2494	pi sp	lad nl	6.0
2	Santana, Ervin 2005	pi sp	min al	5.7
3	Vargas, Jason 2055	pi sp	kc al	5.0
4	Sale, Chris 2806	pi sp	bos al	4.7
5	Scherzer, Max 2588	pi sp	dc nl	4.0
6	Paxton, James 3280	pi sp	sea al	4.0
7	Harper, Bryce 3011	rf	dc nl	4.0
8	Holland, Greg 2906	pi cp	col nl	4.0
9	Carrasco, Carlos 2885	pi sp	cle al	3.7
10	Chacin, Jhoulys 2711	pi mr sp	sd nl	3.7

What are those numbers after players' names?

Paxton struck out nine over seven scoreless innings, allowing four hits and one walk, in the 8-0 win over the Tigers.

Paxton earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day, giving him 4.0 for the season, rising to sixth in season player rankings, fourth among American League pitchers.

National League Player of the Day—Maikel Franco of the Phillies hit a grand slam and went 3-for-4, in the 7-4 win over the Marlins.

American League Batter of the Day—Shin-Soo Choo of the Rangers hit a three-run homer and tripled, going 3-for-5, scoring three times, in the 14-3 win over the Twins.

Choo has now earned Box-Toppers points in 11 straight seasons. He earned his first Box-Toppers point in 2007 with the Indians and has 49.2 career points, sixth among active AL outfielders. His best season was 2010 with the Indians, when he had 9.0 points, seventh among AL batters. He had 1.0 point in 2016 with the Rangers.

National League Batter of the Day—There is no separate NL Batter of the Day for Wednesday because the overall NL Player of the Day is batter Maikel Franco.

Streaks—Two players have now earned Box-Toppers points for 12 straight seasons after both earned Player of the Game honors Wednesday:

• Ryan Zimmerman of the Nationals (HR 3-5 2R 3BI in the 11-4 win over the Rockies) earned his first Box-Toppers points in 2006 with the Nationals and has 57.3 career points, sixth among NL first basemen. His best season was 2013 with the Nationals, when he had 9.2 points, sixth among NL batters. He had 1.5 points in 2016 with the Nationals.
• Nick Markakis of the Braves (3-4 2R BI in the 8-2 win over the Mets) earned his first Box-Toppers points in 2006 with the Orioles and now has 48.1 career points, 11th among NL outfielders. His best season was 2009 with the Orioles, when he had 7.7 points, sixth among AL outfielders. In 2016, he had 5.0 points.

Scoring—Paxton earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day and Franco earns 1.7 points for being NL Player of the Day. Choo earns 1.5 points for being AL 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.

Top player from each game

Listed from highest to lowest Box-Toppers game score 

4/26	Score	Game	Player of the Game	AB	R	H	BI		IP	H	R	ER	BB	K
MLB	11.0	SEA 8, DET 0	James Paxton (W,3-0)	-	-	-	-		7.0	4	0	0	1	9
	8.0	NYY 3, BOS 1	Luis Severino (W,2-1)	-	-	-	-		7.0	3	0	0	2	6
	6.0	CHW 5, KC 2	Jose Quintana (W,1-4)	-	-	-	-		6.0	5	2	1	2	10
BAT	4.0	TEX 14, MIN 3	Shin-Soo Choo, RF	5	3	3	3		-	-	-	-	-	-
NL	4.0	PHI 7, MIA 4	Maikel Franco, 3B	4	1	3	4		-	-	-	-	-	-
	3.1	CLE 7, HOU 6	Cody Allen (S,4)	-	-	-	-		1.1	0	0	0	0	2
	3.0	WSH 11, COL 4	Ryan Zimmerman, 1B	5	2	3	3		-	-	-	-	-	-
	3.0	LAA 8, OAK 5	Cameron Maybin, LF	4	1	3	3		-	-	-	-	-	-
	3.0	MIL 9, CIN 4	Jett Bandy, C	4	2	3	2		-	-	-	-	-	-
	3.0	SD 8, ARI 5	Ryan Schimpf, 3B	2	1	1	3		-	-	-	-	-	-
	2.0	ATL 8, NYM 2	Nick Markakis, RF	4	2	3	1		-	-	-	-	-	-
	2.0	PIT 6, CHC 5	Josh Harrison, 3B	3	2	2	1		-	-	-	-	-	-
	2.0	SF 4, LAD 3 (F/10)	Michael Morse, PH	1	1	1	1		-	-	-	-	-	-
	1.0	BAL 5, TB 4 (F/11)	Craig Gentry, PR	0	1	0	0		-	-	-	-	-	-

MLB—Overall Box-Toppers Player of the Day, worth 2.0 total Box-Toppers points.
AL—Overall American League Player of the Day, worth 1.7 total Box-Toppers points.
NL—Overall National League Player of the Day, worth 1.7 total Box-Toppers points.
BAT—Top AL or NL Batter of the Day, worth 1.5 total Box-Toppers points.
All other players listed here earn Player of the Game honors, worth 1.0 Box-Toppers point.
` Pitcher had a no-decision in the game and did not pick up a win or a save.

Box-Toppers point totals of the day’s top players

Here are Box-Toppers point totals of each of the Players of the Game. Players are ranked by their Box-Toppers point total for the current season (’17). Also shown are each players’ Box-Toppers point total for this season and last (’16-17), the period 2012-2017 (’12-17) and each players’ career point total. Also shown is how their 2017 Box-Toppers point total compares with their 2016 total (+/-).  

Player of the Game	Pos	Team	’17	’16-17	’12-17	Career	+/-
Paxton, James 3280	pi sp	sea al	4.0	8.4	15.1	15.1	-0.4
Schimpf, Ryan 3686	3b 2b	sd nl	2.0	7.2	7.2	7.2	-3.2
Severino, Luis 3567	pi sp mr	nyy al	2.0	4.0	7.0	7.0	0.0
Franco, Maikel 3510	3b	phi nl	1.7	6.2	9.4	9.4	-2.8
Choo, Shin-Soo 2267	rf	tex al	1.5	2.5	22.5	49.2	0.5
Quintana, Jose 3040	pi sp	chi al	1.0	11.4	36.2	36.2	-9.4
Allen, Cody 3265	pi cp mr	cle al	1.0	8.0	17.0	17.0	-6.0
Markakis, Nick 2116	rf	atl nl	1.0	6.0	19.0	48.1	-4.0
Maybin, Cameron 2672	lf	ana al	1.0	4.0	9.5	16.5	-2.0
Harrison, Josh 2947	3b 2b	pit nl	1.0	3.0	7.5	9.0	-1.0
Zimmerman, Ryan 2180	1b	dc nl	1.0	2.5	22.2	57.3	-0.5
Bandy, Jett 3711	ca	mil nl	1.0	2.0	2.0	2.0	0.0
Morse, Michael 2020	lf 1b ph	sf nl	1.0	1.0	11.0	24.0	1.0
Gentry, Craig 2977	lf cf pr	bal al	1.0	1.0	5.0	6.0	1.0

What are those numbers after players' names?

Dbacks' De La Rosa tops players for Thursday, April 28; Orioles' Machado tops AL players

Diamondbacks pitcher Rubby De La Rosa is Thursday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day.

Top 10 players

Here are the top 10 players in Box-Toppers points (BTP) for the 2016 season as of April 28:  

	Player	Pos	Team	BTP
1	Arrieta, Jake 2738	pi sp	chi nl	5.0
2	Volquez, Edinson 2220	pi sp	kc al	4.4
3	Hill, Rich 2215	pi sp	oak al	4.4
4	Machado, Manny 3087	3b ss	bal al	4.2
5	Kershaw, Clayton 2494	pi sp	lad nl	4.0
6	Sale, Chris 2806	pi sp	chi al	4.0
7	Cueto, Johnny 2400	pi sp	sf nl	4.0
8	De La Rosa, Rubby 3342	pi sp mr	ari nl	4.0
9	Velasquez, Vince 3611	pi sp	phi nl	4.0
10	Santiago, Hector 3109	pi sp	ana al	3.7

What are those numbers after players' names?

De La Rosa struck out 10 over seven scoreless innings, allowing two hits, in the 3-0 win over the Cardinals.

De La Rosa earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day, giving him 4.0 for the season and rises to eighth in Box-Toppers season player rankings.

American League Player of the Day—Manny Machado of the Orioles hit a grand slam and doubled, going 2-for-4 with three runs and five RBIs, in the 10-2 win over the White Sox.

Machado earns 1.7 Box-Toppers points for being AL Player of the Day, giving him 4.2 for the season and rises to fourth in Box-Toppers season player rankings, first among AL batters.

National League Batter of the Day—Nick Markakis of the Braves doubled and went 4-for-5, driving in three runs, in the 5-3 win over the Red Sox.

American League Batter of the Day—There is no separate AL Batter of the Day because the overall AL Player of the Day was a batter, Manny Machado.

Debut—Anthony Gose of the Tigers made his Box-Toppers debut Thursday, the first time in his career he earned Player of the Game honors.

Gose (HR 2B 2-4 2R 2BI in the 7-3 win over the Athletics) made his Major League debut July 17, 2012, and was playing in his 360th career game. He is the 3,623rd player to debut in Box-Toppers since record keeping began in 1995.

Scoring—De La Rosa earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day, Machado earns 1.7 points for being AL Player of the Day and Markakis earns 1.5 points for being NL 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.

Top player from each game

Listed from highest to lowest Box-Toppers game score

4/28	Score	Team	Player	AB	R	H	BI	BB	K		IP	H	R	ER	BB	K
MLB	13.0	Dbacks	Rubby De La Rosa (W,3-3)	-	-	-	-	-	-		7.0	2	0	0	2	10
	11.0	`Phillies	Aaron Nola	-	-	-	-	-	-		7.0	2	0	0	1	7
AL	6.0	Orioles	Manny Machado, 3B-SS	4	3	2	5	1	1		-	-	-	-	-	-
BAT	2.0	Braves	Nick Markakis, RF	5	0	4	3	0	0		-	-	-	-	-	-
	2.0	Tigers	Anthony Gose, CF	4	2	2	2	0	2		-	-	-	-	-	-
	2.0	Cubs	Kris Bryant, LF	1	2	1	0	0	0		-	-	-	-	-	-
	2.0	Marlins	Jose Fernandez (W,2-2)	-	-	-	-	-	-		6.0	5	2	2	3	8
		`Denotes that the pitcher had a no-decision in the game and did not pick up a win or a save.

Box-Toppers point totals of the day’s top players

Here are Box-Toppers point totals of each of the Players of the Game. Players are ranked by their Box-Toppers point total for the current season (16). Also shown are each players’ Box-Toppers point total for this season and last (15-16), the period 2011-2016 (11-16) and each players’ career point total. Also shown is how their 2016 Box-Toppers point total compares with their 2015 total (+/-).  

Player	Pos	Team	16	15-16	11-16	Career	+/-
Machado, Manny 3087	3b ss	bal al	4.2	11.7	15.2	15.2	-3.3
De La Rosa, Rubby 3342	pi sp mr	ari nl	4.0	10.0	14.0	14.0	-2.0
Markakis, Nick 2116	rf	atl nl	3.0	7.5	18.5	45.1	-1.5
Nola, Aaron 3569	pi sp	phi nl	2.7	4.7	4.7	4.7	-7.0
Bryant, Kris 3465	3b lf	chi nl	2.0	10.5	10.5	10.5	-6.5
Fernandez, Jose 3147	pi sp	fla nl	2.0	6.7	32.7	32.7	-2.7
Gose, Anthony 3623	cf	det al	1.0	1.0	1.0	1.0	1.0

What are those numbers after players' names?

Cubs' Arrieta tops players for Saturday, April 16, rises to 3rd in Box-Toppers rankings

Cubs pitcher Jake Arrieta is Saturday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day.

Top 10 players

Here are the top 10 players in Box-Toppers points (BTP) for the 2016 season as of April 16:  

	Player	Pos	Team	BTP
1	Velasquez, Vince 3611	pi sp	phi nl	4.0
2	Salazar, Danny 3223	pi sp	cle al	3.4
3	Arrieta, Jake 2738	pi sp	chi nl	3.0
4	Kershaw, Clayton 2494	pi sp	lad nl	3.0
5	Volquez, Edinson 2220	pi sp	kc al	2.7
6	Bettis, Chad 3481	pi sp	col nl	2.7
7	Ross, Joe 3499	pi sp	dc nl	2.7
8	Latos, Mat 2644	pi sp	chi al	2.7
9	Davis, Chris 2478	1b	bal al	2.5
10	Brown, Trevor 3610	ca	sf nl	2.5

What are those numbers after players' names?

Arrieta struck out eight over eight scoreless innings, allowing five hits, in the 6-2 win over the Rockies. Arrieta earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day, giving him 3.0 for the season and rising to third place in season player rankings. Arrieta led all players in 2015 with 29.1 Box-Toppers points.

American League Player of the Day—Rays pitcher Erasmo Ramirez pitched 5 2/3 scoreless innings, allowing three hits and striking out four, in the 7-2 win over the White Sox.

National League Batter of the Day—Nick Markakis of the Braves doubled and went 3-for-5, scoring once and driving in three runs, in the 6-4 win over the Marlins.

With the 1.5 Box-Toppers points earned for being NL Batter of the Day Saturday, Markakis has now earned Box-Toppers points in 11 straight seasons. He earned his first points in 2006 with the Orioles and has 43.6 career points, which ranks 14th among active NL outfielders. His best season was 2009 with the Orioles when he had 7.7 points, sixth among AL outfielders. In 2015, he had 4.5 points with the Braves.

American League Batter of the Day—Trevor Plouffe of the Twins homered, doubled and went 3-for-4, driving in two runs, in the 6-4 win over the Angels.

Notable—Nationals pitcher Max Scherzer rose to 55th place on Box-Toppers “all-time” player rankings list after earning Player of the Game honors Saturday. Scherzer (7IP 5H R 7K W in the 5-3 win over the Astros) earns 1.0 Box-Toppers point, giving him 108.0 career points. He passes Cubs pitcher John Lackey (107.8) to move into 55th place among all players since 1995 (when Box-Toppers tracking began). He trails 54th-place player Lance Berkman (108.1). Scherzer now has 2.0 Box-Toppers points for the 2016 season. He had 21.0 points in 2015, fourth among NL pitchers.

Debut—Nomar Mazara of the Rangers made his Box-Toppers debut Saturday, the first time in his career he earned Player of the Game honors. Mazara (3-4 2R BI in the 8-4 win over the Orioles) made his Major League debut April 10 and was playing in his seventh career game. He is the 3,614th player to debut in Box-Toppers since record keeping began in 1995.

Scoring—Arrieta earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day and Ramirez earns 1.7 points for being AL Player of the Day. Markakis and Plouffe 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.

Top player from each game

Listed from highest to lowest Box-Toppers game score

4/17	Score	Team	Player	AB	R	H	BI	BB	K		IP	H	R	ER	BB	K
MLB	10.0	Cubs	Jake Arrieta (W,3-0)	-	-	-	-	-	-		8.0	5	0	0	1	8
	7.1	Giants	Johnny Cueto (W,3-0)	-	-	-	-	-	-		7.1	3	1	1	2	7
AL	6.2	Rays	Erasmo Ramirez (W,2-0)	-	-	-	-	-	-		5.2	3	0	0	0	4
	6.0	Red Sox	David Price (W,2-0)	-	-	-	-	-	-		7.0	6	2	2	0	9
	6.0	Nationals	Max Scherzer (W,2-0)	-	-	-	-	-	-		7.0	5	1	1	1	7
	5.0	Indians	Josh Tomlin (W,1-0)	-	-	-	-	-	-		5.0	4	1	1	0	6
	4.0	Pirates	Jonathon Niese (W,2-0)	-	-	-	-	-	-		7.0	3	0	0	3	3
	3.0	`Padres	Andrew Cashner	-	-	-	-	-	-		6.0	4	1	1	2	5
BAT	2.0	Braves	Nick Markakis, RF	5	1	3	3	0	0		-	-	-	-	-	-
BAT	2.0	Twins	Trevor Plouffe, 3B	4	1	3	2	0	0		-	-	-	-	-	-
	2.0	Reds	Zack Cozart, SS	4	1	3	2	0	0		-	-	-	-	-	-
	2.0	Rangers	Nomar Mazara, RF	4	2	3	1	1	0		-	-	-	-	-	-
	2.0	`Tigers	Mark Lowe (H,4)	-	-	-	-	-	-		1.0	0	0	0	0	1
	1.0	Athletics	Josh Reddick, RF	4	1	1	3	1	0		-	-	-	-	-	-
	0.0	Mariners	Robinson Cano, 2B	3	1	1	1	1	0		-	-	-	-	-	-
		`Denotes that the pitcher had a no-decision in the game and did not pick up a win or a save.

Nationals' Max Scherzer tops players for Friday, April 17, rises to 2nd in player rankings

Nationals pitcher Max Scherzer is Friday’s Player of the Day, while perennial Box-Toppers scorers David Price, Clayton Kershaw, Alex Rodriguez and Mike Trout also earned Player of the Game honors.

Scherzer struck out nine over eight innings, allowing one run, in the 7-2 win over the Phillies. Scherzer earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day, giving him 3.0 for the season and rises to second in Box-Toppers player rankings.

Top 10 players

Here are the top 10 players in Box-Toppers points (BTP) for the 2015 season as of April 17.  

	Player	Pos	Team	BTP
1	Kazmir, Scott 1947	pi sp	oak al	3.7
2	Scherzer, Max 2588	pi sp	dc nl	3.0
3	Archer, Chris 3194	pi sp	tb al	3.0
4	Bauer, Trevor 3065	pi sp	cle al	3.0
5	Price, David 2593	pi sp	det al	2.7
6	Harvey, Matt 3075	pi sp	nym nl	2.7
7	Stanton, Giancarlo 2737	rf	fla nl	2.5
8	Chirinos, Robinson 2924	ca	tex al	2.5
9	Markakis, Nick 2116	rf	atl nl	2.5
10	Rodriguez, Alex	dh 3b	nyy al	2.5

What are those numbers after players' names?

American League Player of the Day—Tigers pitcher David Price struck out nine over eight innings, allowing one run, in the 2-1 win over the White Sox. Price did not pick up the win because he exited the game with the score tied 1-1. Price earns 1.7 Box-Toppers points for being AL Player of the Day, giving him 2.7 for the season, rising to fifth in Box-Toppers player rankings.

American League Batter of the Day—Alex Rodriguez of the Yankees hit two home runs (career 657 and 658) and went 3-for-4 with four RBIs, including driving in the go-ahead run in the eighth inning, in the 5-4 win over the Rays. Rodriguez earns 1.5 Box-Toppers points for being AL Batter of the Day, giving him 2.5 for the season, rising to 10th place in Box-Toppers player rankings.

Rodriguez, the leading batter in Box-Toppers points since 1995 with 181.8, last earned Batter of the Day honors on May 23, 2012.

National League Batter of the Day—Nick Markakis of the Braves went 4-for-4 and scored three times in the 8-7 win over the Blue Jays. Markakis earns 1.5 Box-Toppers points for being NL Batter of the Day, giving him 2.5 for the season, rising to ninth in Box-Toppers player rankings.

Notables—Three other notable players also earned Player of the Game honors in their wins Friday:

• Dodgers pitcher Clayton Kershaw, who led all players in Box-Toppers points in 2014 with 31.5, scored his first Box-Toppers point of the season. Kershaw (6IP 3R 12K W in 7-3 win over the Rockies) earned 1.0 Box-Toppers point for being Player of the Game.
• Mike Trout of the Angels, AL Most Valuable Player in 2014, earned his first Box-Toppers point of the season. Trout (2HR 2R 5BI in the 6-3 win over the Astros) earned 1.0 Box-Toppers point for being Player of the Game. (Trout and Alex Rodriguez both had identical Box-Toppers game scores of +5, but Rodriguez won AL Batter of the Day honors by virtue of having more hits—three vs. two.)
• Robinson Chirinos of the Rangers rose to eighth place in Box-Toppers player rankings for the season after earning Player of the Game honors Friday. Chirinos (HR 2-4 2R) earned 1.0 Box-Toppers point, giving him 2.5 for the season.

Debut—Twins pitcher Aaron Thompson made his Box-Toppers debut Friday, the first time in his career he earned Player of the Game honors. Thompson (2IP 0R K ND in the 3-2, 11-inning win over the Indians) made his Major League debut Aug. 24, 2011, and was playing in his 17th career game. He is the 3,448th 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 Price earns 1.7 Box-Toppers points for being AL Player of the Day. Rodriguez and Markakis 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.

Top player from each game

Listed from highest to lowest Box-Toppers game score

4/17	Score	Team	Player	AB	R	H	BI	BB	K		IP	H	R	ER	BB	K
MLB	11.0	Nationals	Max Scherzer (W, 1-1)	-	-	-	-	-	-		8.0	4	1	1	0	9
AL	9.0	`Tigers	David Price	-	-	-	-	-	-		8.0	4	1	1	2	9
	7.0	Dodgers	Clayton Kershaw (W, 1-1)	-	-	-	-	-	-		6.0	6	3	1	1	12
	6.0	Dbacks	Josh Collmenter (W, 1-2)	-	-	-	-	-	-		9.0	4	0	0	1	2
BAT	5.0	Yankees	Alex Rodriguez DH	4	2	3	4	0	0		-	-	-	-	-	-
	5.0	Angels	Mike Trout CF	4	2	2	5	0	1		-	-	-	-	-	-
	4.0	Mets	Bartolo Colon (W, 3-0)	-	-	-	-	-	-		7.0	6	1	1	0	5
BAT	3.0	Braves	Nick Markakis RF	4	3	4	0	1	0		-	-	-	-	-	-
	3.0	Padres	Wil Myers CF	4	1	3	3	0	1		-	-	-	-	-	-
	3.0	Cardinals	Michael Wacha (W, 2-0)	-	-	-	-	-	-		7.0	5	1	1	1	4
	3.0	`Twins	Aaron Thompson	-	-	-	-	-	-		2.0	0	0	0	0	1
	3.0	Red Sox	Koji Uehara (W, 1-0)	-	-	-	-	-	-		1.0	0	0	0	0	2
	2.0	Pirates	Starling Marte LF	4	2	2	2	0	0		-	-	-	-	-	-
	1.0	Royals	Salvador Perez C	4	1	3	1	0	0		-	-	-	-	-	-
	1.0	Rangers	Robinson Chirinos C	4	2	2	1	0	1		-	-	-	-	-	-
		`Denotes that the pitcher had a no-decision in the game and did not pick up a win or a save.

Pirates' Cole tops players for Monday, April 13; Athletics' Kazmir takes Box-Toppers points lead

Pirates pitcher Gerrit Cole is Monday’s Player of the Day, while Athletics pitcher Scott Kazmir took the season lead in Box-Toppers points.

Cole struck out eight over six innings, allowing one run and three hits, in the 5-4 win over the Tigers to earn Player of the Day honors.

Top 10 players

Here are the top 10 players in Box-Toppers points (BTP) for the 2015 season as of April 13.  

	Player	Pos	Team	BTP
1	Kazmir, Scott 1947	pi sp	oak al	3.7
2	Hernandez, Felix 2064	pi sp	sea al	2.0
3	Wainwright, Adam 2150	pi sp	stl nl	2.0
4	Greinke, Zack 1871	pi sp	lad nl	2.0
5	Odorizzi, Jake 3291	pi sp	tb al	2.0
6	Wilson, C.J. 2074	pi sp	ana al	2.0
7	Cole, Gerrit 3232	pi sp	pit nl	2.0
8	Bauer, Trevor 3065	pi sp	cle al	2.0
9	Street, Huston 1979	pi cp	ana al	2.0
10	Pomeranz, Drew 3061	pi sp	oak al	2.0

What are those numbers after players' names?

American League Player of the Day—Kazmir earned 1.7 Box-Toppers points as AL Player of the Day, giving him 3.7 for the season, the most of any player this season. Kazmir struck out eight over six innings, allowing one run and three hits, in the 8-1 win over the Astros. Kazmir was one of three players Monday who were the first this season to earn Player of the Game honors for the second time. The others were Rays pitcher Jake Odorizzi (8IP R 3K W in the 2-1 win over the Blue Jays) and Huston Street (1IP 0R 2K Sv in the 6-3 win over the Rangers). Both Odorizzi and Street have 2.0 Box-Toppers points for the season.

National League Batter of the Day—Jorge Soler of the Cubs hit two two-run homers and went 3-for-5 with three runs in the 7-6 win over the Reds.

American League Batter of the Day—Stephen Drew of the Yankees hit a pinch-hit, go-ahead grand slam in the 6-5 win over the Orioles.

Streak—Nick Markakis of the Braves has now earned at least 1.0 Box-Toppers point for 10 straight seasons. Markakis (1-2 BI) was Player of the Game in the 3-2 win over the Marlins to earn 1.0 Box-Toppers point. He began his 10-season streak in 2006, when he earned his first Box-Toppers point with the Orioles. His best year was 2009 with the Orioles when he earned 7.7 Box-Toppers points, ranking fifth among AL outfielders. In 2014, he had 3.0 points with the Orioles. Markakis has 38.6 career Box-Toppers points, which ranks him 14th among active outfielders currently in the NL.

Debut—Dodgers pitcher Yimi Garcia made his Box-Toppers debut Monday, the first time in his career he earned Player of the Game honors. Garcia (1IP 0R 2K W in the 6-5 win over the Mariners) made his Major League debut Sept. 1, 2014, and was playing in his 12th career game. He is the 3,440th player to debut in Box-Toppers since record keeping began in 1995. He is the only player in the Box-Toppers database named "Yimi."

Scoring—Cole earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day and Kazmir earns 1.7 Box-Toppers points for being AL Player of the Day. Soler and Drew each earn 1.5 Box-Toppers 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.

Top player from each game

Listed from highest to lowest Box-Toppers game score

4/13	Score	Team	Player	AB	R	H	BI	BB	K		IP	H	R	ER	BB	K
MLB	7.0	Pirates	Gerrit Cole (W, 1-0)	-	-	-	-	-	-		6.0	3	1	1	2	8
AL	6.0	Athletics	Scott Kazmir (W, 2-0)	-	-	-	-	-	-		6.0	3	1	1	3	8
BAT	5.0	Cubs	Jorge Soler RF	5	3	3	4	0	0		-	-	-	-	-	-
BAT	5.0	Yankees	Stephen Drew PH, 2B	1	1	1	4	0	0		-	-	-	-	-	-
	4.0	Dbacks	Ender Inciarte CF, RF	5	2	3	4	0	1		-	-	-	-	-	-
	4.0	Red Sox	Mookie Betts CF	4	2	2	4	1	1		-	-	-	-	-	-
	4.0	Rays	Jake Odorizzi (W, 2-0)	-	-	-	-	-	-		8.0	2	1	1	3	3
	3.0	Angels	Huston Street (S, 3)	-	-	-	-	-	-		1.0	0	0	0	0	2
	3.0	Rockies	Rafael Betancourt (S, 1)	-	-	-	-	-	-		1.0	0	0	0	0	2
	3.0	Dodgers	Yimi Garcia (W, 1-0)	-	-	-	-	-	-		1.0	0	0	0	0	2
	2.0	Royals	Eric Hosmer 1B	4	2	2	2	0	0		-	-	-	-	-	-
	1.1	Mets	Jacob deGrom (W, 1-1)	-	-	-	-	-	-		6.1	7	0	0	1	3
	1.0	Brewers	Carlos Gomez CF	4	2	2	1	0	0		-	-	-	-	-	-
	0.0	Braves	Nick Markakis RF	2	0	1	1	2	0		-	-	-	-	-	-

Gio Gonzalez, giving up 1 hit, is top player for Thursday, April 25

Nationals pitcher Gio Gonzalez is Thursday's Player of the Day. Gonzalez gave up only one hit—a solo homer—over eight innings and struck out seven in the 8-1 win over the Reds.

Red Sox pitcher Clay Buchholz is American League Player of the Day. Buchholz struck out 10 over 7 2/3 innings in the 7-2 win over the Astros.​

Nick Markakis of the Orioles is American League Batter of the Day. Markakis went 2-for-4 and drove in two runs in the 10-2 win over the Athletics.​

Nate Schierholtz of the Cubs is National League Batter of the Day. Schierholtz homered and went 2-for-4 in the 4-3 win over the Marlins.​

Gonzalez receives 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being named Player of the Day. Buchholz receives 1.7 for AL Player of the Day. Markakis and Schierholtz receive 1.5 each for being top Batter of the Day in their league.

All of Thursday's other Players of the Game (listed in the chart below) receive 1.0 Box-Toppers point:

425	Score	Team	BATTERS	AB	R	H	RBI	BB	SO	-	-	PITCHERS	IP	H	R	ER	BB	SO
MLB	10.0	Nationals	0	0	0	0	0	0	0			Gio Gonzalez (W, 2-1)	8.0	1	1	1	2	7
	7.0	`Dodgers	0	0	0	0	0	0	0			Hyun-Jin Ryu	7.0	3	1	1	3	8
AL	5.2	Red Sox	0	0	0	0	0	0	0			Clay Buchholz (W, 5-0)	7.2	6	2	2	2	10
	4.1	Mariners	0	0	0	0	0	0	0			Brandon Maurer (W, 2-3)	6.1	7	0	0	1	6
	4.0	Pirates	0	0	0	0	0	0	0			Justin Wilson (W, 2-0)	2.0	0	0	0	0	2
	3.0	Yankees	0	0	0	0	0	0	0			Mariano Rivera (S, 7)	1.0	0	0	0	0	2
	3.0	Royals	0	0	0	0	0	0	0			Tim Collins (W, 1-0)	1.0	0	0	0	0	2
BAT	2.0	Orioles	Nick Markakis RF	4	2	2	2	0	0			0	0.0	0	0	0	0	0
	2.0	White Sox	0	0	0	0	0	0	0			Chris Sale (W, 2-2)	7.0	4	2	2	4	7
	2.0	Diamondbacks	0	0	0	0	0	0	0			Trevor Cahill (W, 1-3)	5.0	4	1	0	4	6
BAT	1.0	Cubs	Nate Schierholtz RF	4	2	2	1	0	0			0	0.0	0	0	0	0	0
	1.0	Rangers	0	0	0	0	0	0	0			Joe Nathan (S, 7)	1.0	1	0	0	0	1

` Denotes that the pitcher had a no-decision in the game and did not pick up a win or a save.