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Padres pitcher Jordan Lyles is Friday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day.
Lyles struck out four over two scoreless innings of middle relief, allowing no hits and no walks, in the 4-1 win over the Astros. Lyles picked up a no-decision and did not earn the win or the save. He pitched the sixth and seventh innings, holding the Padres’ lead, before handing it off to two subsequent relievers.
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Mets pitcher Rafael Montero is Monday’s spring training Player of the Day.
Montero pitched six shutout innings, allowed two hits and struck out six, in the 7-1 win over the Marlins.
Athletics pitcher Drew Pomeranz is Monday’s American League Player of the Day. Pomeranz pitched six shutout innings, allowed two hits and struck out six, in the 11-2 win over the Rockies.
Pedro Alvarez of the Pirates is National League Batter of the Day for Monday. Alvarez hit two homers, including a grand slam and drove in six runs in the 18-4 win over the Phillies.
Alex Gordon of the Royals is AL Batter of the Day for Monday. Gordon homered and went 3-for-4 in the 11-7 win over the Rangers.
Box-Toppers points aren’t awarded for spring training games, but if this were the regular season, Montero would earn 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day and Pomeranz would earn 1.7 Box-Toppers points for being AL Player of the Day. Alvarez and Gordon would 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) would earn 1.0 Box-Toppers point.
Fourteen spring training games were scheduled Monday. One game which ended in a tie (Orioles and Rays tied at 1) was not included in Box-Toppers results.
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
| 330 | Score | Team | Player | AB | R | H | RBI | BB | K | IP | H | R | ER | BB | K | |
| MLB | 10.0 | Mets | Rafael Montero (W, 2-0) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 6.0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6 | |
| AL | 9.0 | Athletics | Drew Pomeranz (W, 2-2) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 6.0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 6 | |
| BAT | 7.0 | Pirates | Pedro Alvarez 1B | 4 | 3 | 2 | 6 | 1 | 1 | - | - | - | - | - | - | |
| 7.0 | Mariners | Taijuan Walker (W, 3-0) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 7.0 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 5 | ||
| 6.1 | Indians | Trevor Bauer (W, 1-1) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 6.1 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 7 | ||
| 6.0 | Padres | Ian Kennedy (W, 1-1) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 6.0 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 7 | ||
| 6.0 | Braves | Eric Stults (W, 2-0) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 5.0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 3 | ||
| 4.0 | Cubs | Zac Rosscup (S, 3) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 1.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | ||
| BAT | 3.0 | Royals | Alex Gordon LF | 4 | 3 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 1 | - | - | - | - | - | - | |
| 3.0 | Red Sox | Mookie Betts CF | 3 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 3.0 | Dodgers | Brett Anderson (W, 2-0) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 6.0 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 2 | ||
| 3.0 | Blue Jays | Blake McFarland (S, 1) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 1.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | ||
| 2.0 | Cardinals | Peter Bourjos PR, CF | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | - | - | - | - | - | - |
Cardinals pitcher Adam Wainwright is Thursday’s Player of the Day, while Chris Colabello of the Twins takes the lead in Box-Toppers season player standings.
Wainwright pitched a complete-game, two-hit shutout, striking out eight, in the 8-0 win over the Nationals. He earned 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day, giving him 4.0 for the season, rising to third place in Box-Toppers player rankings. (See updated Top 10 Box-Toppers player rankings for 2014 on the home page.)
Colabello rose from second to first place among players in Box-Toppers points for the season after earning Player of the Game honors in the Twins 9-5 win over the Blue Jays. Colabello (3-4 3RBI) earned 1.0 Box-Toppers point for being Player of the Game, giving him 5.2 this season. (See updated Top 10 Box-Toppers player rankings for 2014 on the home page.)
Royals pitcher James Shields is American League Player of the Day. Shields allowed one run over eight innings and struck out 12 in the 5-1 win over the Astros. Shields and Wainwright were tied with Box-Toppers game scores of 12.0, but Wainwright was given the nod as Player of the Day because he had more innings pitched (nine vs. eight).
Mitch Moreland of the Rangers is AL Batter of the Day. Moreland went 2-for-3 and drove in three runs in the 8-6 win over the Mariners.
Pedro Alvarez of the Pirates is National League Batter of the Day. Alvarez hit a three-run homer and went 2-for-3 in the 11-2 win over the Brewers.
Notable: Hyun-Jin Ryu rose to fourth place among players in Box-Toppers points for the season after earning Player of the Game honors. Ryu (7IP 0R W in the 2-1 win over the Giants) earned 1.0 Box-Toppers point, giving him 4.0 for the season. (See updated Top 10 Box-Toppers player rankings for 2014 on the home page.)
Wainwright receives 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day. Shields receives 1.7 for AL Player of the Day. Moreland and Alvarez each receive 1.5 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.
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.
Listed from highest to lowest Box-Toppers game score
| 417 | Score | Team | Player | AB | R | H | BI | BB | K | IP | H | R | ER | BB | K | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| MLB | 12.0 | Cardinals | Adam Wainwright (W, 3-1) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 9.0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 8 | |
| AL | 12.0 | Royals | James Shields (W, 1-2) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 8.0 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 12 | |
| 8.0 | Red Sox | Jon Lester (W, 2-2) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 8.0 | 7 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 9 | ||
| 7.0 | Twins | Kyle Gibson (W, 3-0) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 8.0 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 4 | ||
| 7.0 | `Phillies | A.J. Burnett | - | - | - | - | - | - | 7.0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 5 | ||
| 5.0 | Dodgers | Hyun-Jin Ryu (W, 3-1) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 7.0 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 3 | ||
| BAT | 4.0 | Rangers | Mitch Moreland DH | 3 | 2 | 2 | 3 | 1 | 0 | - | - | - | - | - | - | |
| 4.0 | Rockies | Franklin Morales (W, 1-1) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 6.0 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 5 | ||
| BAT | 3.0 | Pirates | Pedro Alvarez 3B | 3 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 2 | 0 | - | - | - | - | - | - | |
| 2.0 | Yankees | Brian Roberts 2B | 5 | 2 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 0 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 2.0 | Tigers | Ian Kinsler 2B | 5 | 1 | 2 | 4 | 0 | 0 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 2.0 | Twins | Chris Colabello 1B | 4 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 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' top-ranked batter Miguel Cabrera of the Tigers was named American League Most Valuable Player Thursday.
But the National League leading batter in Box-Toppers points, Paul Goldschmidt, finished in second place in NL MVP voting by the Baseball Writers Association of America. Andrew McCutchen of the Pirates, who finished 71st among NL players and 22nd among NL batters in Box-Toppers points, was voted NL MVP.
Cabrera had 16.9 Box-Toppers points for the season, first among all batters, third among all AL players and eighth among all players. He was consistently the only batter in the overall player top 10 list during the season. He led all players in Box-Toppers points four different times during the season, most recently from June 28 to June 30.
Cabrera was voted first on 28 of the 30 writers’ ballots, winning his second straight MVP award. However, in 2012, Cabrera ranked third among AL batters in Box-Toppers points with 11.7, behind Adrian Beltre (13.5) and Chris Davis (12.0). Cabrera ranked third in 2012 despite his Triple Crown season.
McCutchen, voted NL MVP, had 6.0 Box-Toppers points for the season. He was voted first on 28 of the 30 writers’ ballots and was voted on all 30 ballots no lower than third place. However, as the 22nd-ranked NL batter in Box-Toppers points, he wouldn’t have even appeared on Box-Toppers’ 10-spot ballot.
Box-Toppers’ top NL batter Goldschmidt had 13.7 Box-Toppers points and received 15 of the writers’ second place votes, enough to secure the NL MVP runner-up spot.
So what went wrong here? Why do the writers so unanimously see McCutchen as the MVP and Box-Toppers so ... does not? (In fact, McCutchen is not even the highest-ranked batter in Box-Toppers points on his team—that honor goes to Pedro Alvarez, with 7.7 points.)
McCutchen’s batting average is .317. He hit 21 homers and 84 RBIs, scored 97 runs and stole 27 bases. Goldschmidt’s numbers were just as good, often better—.302 average, 36 homers, 125 RBIs. But McCutchen’s team made the postseason. Goldschmidt’s didn’t. Plus, words being used to describe McCutchen are “all-around player,” a “heart-and-soul” guy—intangibles. By their very nature, it’s hard to measure intangibles.
But Box-Toppers measures tangibles. The player who most helps his team win the most games earns the most Box-Toppers points. And to be fair, Box-Toppers doesn’t measure defensive play—for batters, it relies on what they produce at the plate. So it is possible that a lot of McCutchen’s valuableness gets missed that way.
Though in the previous two seasons, McCutchen has fared better in Box-Toppers points than he did in 2013. In 2011, he had 9.7 Box-Toppers points, in eighth place among NL batters. And in 2012, he had 8.5, finishing just out of the top 10 among NL batters.
So, by Box-Toppers standards, Goldschmidt very simply more often helped his team win more games than did McCutchen.
A couple of other players were voted by writers to higher spots than would be recommended by their Box-Toppers point total:
There were several players who had high Box-Toppers point totals who did not receive MVP votes. Three of the Box-Toppers top 10 AL batters received no votes and seven of the Box-Toppers top 10 NL batters were shut out:
Box-Toppers tracks who most helps their team win the most games. Top players from the winning team of each game are determined by a formula using standard box score statistics. The player on the winning team with the highest Box-Toppers game score is Player of the Game and receives 1.0 Box-Toppers point. The Player of the Game with the highest overall Box-Toppers game score for all the games played that day is Player of the Day and earns a total of 2.0 Box-Toppers points. The top player in the opposite league receives a total of 1.7 Box-Toppers points. If both the day’s top overall player and top player in the opposite league are pitchers, then the top American League and top National League batter of the day receive a total of 1.5 Box-Toppers points each.
Here are the results of Most Valuable Player Award voting in both leagues. Players are listed in order of their vote total. The far right columns show how many Box-Toppers points (BTP) they earned during the 2013 season and how each player ranked in Box-Toppers points among all players in their league.
| MVP vote | |||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| AL | |||||||||||||||
| Player | Pos | Team | 1st | 2nd | 3rd | 4th | 5th | 6th | 7th | 8th | 9th | 10th | Points | BTP | Rank* |
| Miguel Cabrera | 3b | Tigers | 23 | 7 | 385 | 16.9 | 3 | ||||||||
| Mike Trout | cf lf | Angels | 5 | 19 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 282 | 3.5 | 144 | ||||
| Chris Davis | 1b | Orioles | 1 | 4 | 11 | 12 | 1 | 1 | 232 | 12.7 | 14 | ||||
| Josh Donaldson | 3b | Athletics | 1 | 14 | 9 | 3 | 3 | 222 | 9.5 | 31 | |||||
| Robinson Cano | 2b | Yankees | 1 | 5 | 9 | 2 | 6 | 5 | 2 | 150 | 12.5 | 17 | |||
| Evan Longoria | 3b | Rays | 4 | 6 | 6 | 4 | 5 | 3 | 103 | 5.5 | 82 | ||||
| Dustin Pedroia | 2b | Red Sox | 1 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 4 | 2 | 1 | 99 | 3.5 | 145 | |||
| Adrian Beltre | 3b | Rangers | 2 | 8 | 7 | 3 | 4 | 2 | 99 | 8.4 | 41 | ||||
| Manny Machado | 3b | Orioles | 2 | 1 | 2 | 5 | 5 | 7 | 57 | 1.0 | 316 | ||||
| David Ortiz | dh | Red Sox | 2 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 47 | 12.4 | 18 | |||
| Jason Kipnis | 2b | Indians | 1 | 1 | 3 | 3 | 5 | 31 | 8.0 | 44 | |||||
| Max Scherzer | pi sp | Tigers | 1 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 25 | 18.1 | 1 | |||||
| Adam Jones | cf | Orioles | 1 | 1 | 9 | 8.0 | 43 | ||||||||
| Edwin Encarnacion | 1b dh | Blue Jays | 1 | 2 | 7 | 8.7 | 38 | ||||||||
| Greg Holland | pi cp | Royals | 1 | 3 | 11.0 | 22 | |||||||||
| Carlos Santana | ca | Indians | 1 | 3 | 1.0 | 287 | |||||||||
| Coco Crisp | cf | Athletics | 1 | 1 | 3 | 4.0 | 129 | ||||||||
| Jacoby Ellsbury | cf | Red Sox | 1 | 1 | 3 | 5.5 | 83 | ||||||||
| Torii Hunter | rf | Tigers | 1 | 2 | 4.0 | 125 | |||||||||
| Hisashi Iwakuma | pi sp | Mariners | 1 | 2 | 16.1 | 7 | |||||||||
| Koji Uehara | pi cp | Red Sox | 2 | 2 | 6.0 | 76 | |||||||||
| Yu Darvish | pi sp | Rangers | 1 | 1 | 16.0 | 8 | |||||||||
| Felix Hernandez | pi sp | Mariners | 1 | 1 | 14.8 | 9 | |||||||||
| Salvador Perez | ca 1b | Royals | 1 | 1 | 2.5 | 195 | |||||||||
| Shane Victorino | rf | Red Sox | 1 | 1 | 4.5 | 112 | |||||||||
| Notable AL snubs | |||||||||||||||
| Alfonso Soriano | lf | Yankees | 0 | 12.9 | 12 | ||||||||||
| Billy Butler | dh | Royals | 0 | 9.0 | 33 | ||||||||||
| Prince Fielder | 1b | Tigers | 0 | 8.5 | 39 | ||||||||||
| NL | |||||||||||||||
| Player, Club | Pos | Team | 1st | 2nd | 3rd | 4th | 5th | 6th | 7th | 8th | 9th | 10th | Points | BTP | Rank* |
| Andrew McCutchen | cf | Pirates | 28 | 1 | 1 | 409 | 6.0 | 71 | |||||||
| Paul Goldschmidt | 1b | D-Backs | 15 | 9 | 1 | 3 | 2 | 242 | 13.7 | 12 | |||||
| Yadier Molina | ca | Cardinals | 2 | 8 | 4 | 6 | 6 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 219 | 4.0 | 126 | ||
| Matt Carpenter | 2b | Cardinals | 6 | 5 | 4 | 3 | 9 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 194 | 7.5 | 49 | ||
| Freddie Freeman | 1b | Braves | 5 | 7 | 8 | 8 | 1 | 1 | 154 | 11.5 | 19 | ||||
| Joey Votto | 1b | Reds | 2 | 8 | 7 | 3 | 4 | 1 | 2 | 149 | 4.5 | 109 | |||
| Clayton Kershaw | pi sp | Dodgers | 8 | 4 | 4 | 5 | 4 | 1 | 146 | 21.7 | 1 | ||||
| Hanley Ramirez | ss | Dodgers | 1 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 58 | 5.0 | 87 | ||
| Carlos Gomez | cf | Brewers | 1 | 3 | 6 | 2 | 3 | 43 | 3.0 | 162 | |||||
| Jay Bruce | rf | Reds | 1 | 1 | 3 | 2 | 3 | 30 | 4.5 | 112 | |||||
| Craig Kimbrel | pi cp | Braves | 1 | 1 | 3 | 3 | 27 | 12.7 | 18 | ||||||
| Shin Soo Choo | cf | Reds | 1 | 1 | 1 | 4 | 3 | 23 | 7.0 | 55 | |||||
| Jayson Werth | rf | Nationals | 1 | 2 | 2 | 6 | 20 | 6.5 | 66 | ||||||
| Andrelton Simmons | ss | Braves | 2 | 4 | 14 | 1.5 | 261 | ||||||||
| Yasiel Puig | rf | Dodgers | 1 | 2 | 10 | 1.5 | 259 | ||||||||
| Hunter Pence | rf | Giants | 1 | 1 | 2 | 7 | 6.5 | 63 | |||||||
| Troy Tulowitzki | ss | Rockies | 2 | 1 | 5 | 4.0 | 124 | ||||||||
| Allen Craig | lf 1b | Cardinals | 1 | 1 | 4 | 5.0 | 84 | ||||||||
| Adrian Gonzalez | 1b | Dodgers | 1 | 1 | 4 | 5.0 | 86 | ||||||||
| Buster Posey | ca | Giants | 1 | 3 | 7.0 | 54 | |||||||||
| Adam Wainwright | pi sp | Cardinals | 1 | 3 | 20.2 | 2 | |||||||||
| Michael Cuddyer | rf | Rockies | 3 | 3 | 11.5 | 20 | |||||||||
| Matt Holliday | lf | Cardinals | 1 | 2 | 6.5 | 62 | |||||||||
| Russell Martin | ca | Pirates | 1 | 1 | 2.0 | 212 | |||||||||
| Notable NL snubs | |||||||||||||||
| Carlos Gonzalez | lf | Rockies | 0 | 11.0 | 22 | ||||||||||
| Bryce Harper | lf | Nationals | 0 | 9.4 | 34 | ||||||||||
| Ryan Zimmerman | 3b | Nationals | 0 | 9.2 | 35 | ||||||||||
| Will Venable | rf cf | Padres | 0 | 9.0 | 36 | ||||||||||
| Daniel Murphy | 2b | Mets | 0 | 8.5 | 40 | ||||||||||
| Pedro Alvarez | 3b | Pirates | 0 | 7.7 | 45 | ||||||||||
| Brandon Phillips | 2b | Reds | 0 | 7.5 | 48 |
* Rank among players (batters and pitchers) in the league (AL or NL) in Box-Toppers points for the 2013 season.
Cardinals pitcher Michael Wacha is Monday's Player of the Day among the four League Division Series playoff games.
Wacha gave up only one hit—a solo home run—over 7 1/3 innings and struck out nine in the 2-1 win over the Pirates to tie the National League Division series 2-2. Wacha had a no-hitter going into the eighth inning when he gave up the home run to Pedro Alvarez.
Wacha had 3.0 Box-Toppers points during the regular season, ranking 361st overall. However, he didn't make his Box-Toppers debut until Sept. 8 (the first time he earned Player of the Game honors) and on Sept. 24, he was Box-Toppers Player of the Day, when he was one out away from a no-hitter against the Nationals.
Dodgers pitcher Clayton Kershaw earned Player of the Game honors in the other NLDS game. Kershaw, Box-Toppers 2013 Player of the Season, had not been scheduled to start Monday but opted to make his first career start on short rest (he last started Thursday, Oct. 3). He pitched six innings and struck out six in the 4-3 win to eliminate the Braves in the NLDS series 3-1. Kershaw earned a no-decision because he left with the game tied 2-2.
Kershaw had 21.7 Box-Toppers points during the regular season, the most of any player. The Dodgers advance to the best-of-seven NL Championship Series against either the Pirates or the Cardinals beginning Friday.
Jose Lobaton of the Rays is American League Player of the Day. Lobaton hit a walk-off homer in the 5-4 win over the Red Sox. The Rays trail the series 2-1 but force a Game Four. Lobaton had 3.5 Box-Toppers points during the regular season, ranking 299th overall.
Coco Crisp of the Athletics is Player of the Game in the other ALDS game. Crisp was 3-for-4 in the 6-3 win over the Tigers. The Athletics lead the series 2-1. Crisp had 4.0 Box-Toppers points for the season, ranking 255th overall.
Coming Tuesday: Both American League Division Series continue Tuesday. Here are the pitching match-ups:
Athletics: Dan Straily, 7.7 Box-Toppers points, ranked 96th overall
Tigers: Doug Fister, 6.7 Box-Toppers points, ranked 113th overall
Red Sox: Jake Peavy, 8.0 Box-Toppers points, ranked 84th overall
Rays: Jeremy Hellickson, 6.0 Box-Toppers points, ranked 136th overall
In regular season games, 2.0 Box-Toppers points are awarded for Player of the Day, 1.7 for top player in the opposite league, 1.5 for top batter in each league and 1.0 for the top player in each of the other games. However, no Box-Toppers points are awarded during the postseason.
Listed from highest to lowest Box-Toppers game score
| 1007 | Score | Team | BATTERS | AB | R | H | RBI | BB | SO | - | - | PITCHERS | IP | H | R | ER | BB | SO |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| MLB | 11.1 | Cardinals | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Michael Wacha (W, 1-0) | 7.1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 9 | |||
| 6.0 | `Dodgers | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Clayton Kershaw | 6.0 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 6 | |||
| AL | 2.0 | Rays | Jose Lobaton C | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |||
| 1.0 | Athletics | Coco Crisp CF | 4 | 1 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0.0 | 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.
Cardinals pitcher Michael Wacha, who was one out from pitching a no-hitter, is Tuesday's Player of the Day.
Wacha gave up his one and only hit with two outs in the ninth inning against the Nationals when Ryan Zimmerman reached on an infield single. Wacha pitched 8 2/3 shutout innings and struck out nine in the 2-0 win.
Mariners pitcher James Paxton is American League Player of the Day. Paxton pitched seven shutout innings and struck out 10 in the 4-0 win over the Royals.
Michael Brantley of the Indians is AL Batter of the Day. Brantley homered and went 3-for-4 in the 5-4 win over the White Sox.
Pedro Alvarez of the Pirates is National League Batter of the Day. Alvarez drove in three runs and went 2-for-5 in the 8-2 win over the Cubs.
Notables: Braves closing pitcher Craig Kimbrel rises to 29th place in Box-Toppers player rankings after earning Player of the Game honors Tuesday. Kimbrel (1IP 3K W in 3-2 win vs. Brewers) earns 1.0 Box-Toppers point, giving him 12.7 for the season.
Blue Jays pitcher Dustin McGowan scored his first Box-Toppers point in more than five years Tuesday. McGowan, the former starter now pitching middle relief was Player of the Game in the 3-2 win over the Orioles. It is the first time he has earned Box-Toppers points since he last earned Player of the Game honors on June 10, 2008, when he started for the Blue Jays. McGowan earned 9.7 Box-Toppers points as a starter for the Blue Jays in 2007 and 3.7 in 2008.
Coming Wednesday: Two pitchers among the top 10 in Box-Toppers player rankings (see the list on the home page) are scheduled to start Wednesday:
Neither Scherzer nor Liriano is in position to take the outright lead in Box-Toppers points (held by Dodgers pitcher Clayton Kershaw with 20.7) since the most they could earn is 2.0 Box-Toppers points. This is the final scheduled regular season start for both pitchers.
Wacha receives 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day. Paxton receives 1.7 for AL Player of the Day. Brantley and Alvarez each receive 1.5 for being top Batter of the Day in their league.
All of Tuesday's other Players of the Game (listed in the chart below) receive 1.0 Box-Toppers point.
Listed from highest to lowest Box-Toppers game score
| 924 | Score | Team | BATTERS | AB | R | H | RBI | BB | SO | - | - | PITCHERS | IP | H | R | ER | BB | SO |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| MLB | 14.2 | Cardinals | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Michael Wacha (W, 4-1) | 8.2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 9 | ||
| AL | 13.0 | Mariners | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | James Paxton (W, 3-0) | 7.0 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 10 | ||
| 9.0 | Angels | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Jason Vargas (W, 9-7) | 9.0 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 5 | |||
| 8.0 | `Diamondbacks | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Wade Miley | 6.0 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 7 | |||
| 6.0 | Dodgers | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Hyun-Jin Ryu (W, 14-7) | 7.0 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 6 | |||
| 4.0 | Rockies | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Tyler Chatwood (W, 8-5) | 7.0 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 2 | |||
| 4.0 | Rays | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Jake Odorizzi (S, 1) | 3.0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 3 | |||
| 4.0 | `Tigers | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Bruce Rondon (H, 5) | 1.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | |||
| 4.0 | Braves | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Craig Kimbrel (W, 4-3) | 1.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | |||
| 3.1 | `Blue Jays | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Dustin McGowan | 1.1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | |||
| BAT | 3.0 | Indians | Michael Brantley LF | 4 | 2 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||
| 3.0 | Rangers | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Joe Nathan (S, 41) | 1.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | |||
| 3.0 | Mets | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Vic Black (S, 1) | 1.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | |||
| 2.0 | Phillies | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Michael Stutes (W, 3-1) | 1.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | |||
| BAT | 1.0 | Pirates | Pedro Alvarez 3B | 5 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0.0 | 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.
Despite falling to second place in their own division, the St. Louis Cardinals remain the top team in Box-Toppers rankings for the ninth straight week.
The Pittsburgh Pirates passed the Cardinals atop the National League Central division standings and have the best record in baseball (.619), but are still behind the Cardinals in Box-Toppers points, ranking in sixth place overall.
Cardinals players have accumulated the most Box-Toppers points this season, 66.7. Their lead continued to narrow over the second-place team, the Boston Red Sox (64.0). Two weeks ago, they led the Red Sox by 8.2 points and now lead only by 2.7.
The Red Sox have the second-best win-loss record in baseball, behind the Pirates, at .609 and the best record in the American League.
The Baltimore Orioles are top team of the week, picking up 9.4 Box-Toppers points and rising to eighth place in team rankings. The bulk of those points came when the Orioles this week acquired closing pitcher Scott Feldman from the Chicago Cubs. Feldman has 5.7 points and brings his Box-Toppers points to the Orioles. (The Cubs, meanwhile, had a net loss of 1.7 points over the week because of the trade.)
The Cardinals lead the Pirates in Box-Toppers points mainly because Cardinals players, especially pitchers, tend to earn bonus points by being top player or batter of the day overall or in their league.
The Cardinals are led by pitchers Shelby Miller (11.4 Box-Toppers points), Adam Wainwright (10.7) and Lance Lynn (9.4). The Pirates, meanwhile, are led by third baseman Pedro Alvarez (6.2 points), pitcher Francisco Liriano (5.0) and pitcher Jeff Locke (5.0).
| 704 | Top 10 Teams | BTP | BTP/wk | Last week rank |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Cardinals | 66.7 | 3.5 | 1 |
| 2 | Red Sox | 64.0 | 5.0 | 2 |
| 3 | Reds | 61.1 | 5.5 | 5 |
| 4 | Tigers | 60.9 | 4.7 | 3 |
| 5 | Rangers | 58.6 | 3.0 | 4 |
| 6 | Pirates | 58.3 | 3.0 | 6 |
| 7 | Athletics | 58.2 | 4.0 | 7 |
| 8 | Orioles | 58.1 | 9.4 | Not ranked |
| 9 | Indians | 57.3 | 6.0 | 9 |
| 10 | Nationals | 56.7 | 5.2 | 8 |
BTP: Box-Toppers points total. Accumulated points of all players on team in 2013 season.
BTP/wk: Box-Toppers points for the team for the past week, through games on Thursday.
Nationals pitcher Jordan Zimmermann is Thursday's Player of the Day. Zimmerman struck out nine over eight innings in the 5-1 win over the Rockies.
Zimmermann rises to sixth place in Box-Toppers player season standings (see updated top 10 list on the home page). Zimmermann earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day, giving him 9.7 for the season.
Tigers closing pitcher Drew Smyly is American League Player of the Day. Smyly struck out four in two innings and earned the win in the 4-3 win over the Red Sox.
Pedro Alvarez of the Pirates is National League Batter of the Day. Alvarez homered, drove in all of his team's five runs and went 3-for-4 in the 5-3 win over the Reds.
Evan Longoria of the Rays is AL Batter of the Day. Longoria hit two homers in the 8-3 win over the Yankees.
Standings update: Cardinals pitcher Lance Lynn rises to ninth place in Box-Toppers player season standings (see the updated top 10 list on the home page). Lynn (6IP 1R) was Player of the Game in the 6-1 win over the Cubs. He earns 1.0 Box-Toppers for being Player of the Game, giving him 9.4 for the season.
Zimmermann receives 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day. Smyly receives 1.7 for AL Player of the Day. Alvarez and Longoria each receive 1.5 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:
| 620 | Score | Team | BATTERS | AB | R | H | RBI | BB | SO | - | - | PITCHERS | IP | H | R | ER | BB | SO |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| MLB | 9.0 | Nationals | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Jordan Zimmermann (W, 10-3) | 8.0 | 6 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 9 | ||
| BAT | 5.0 | Pirates | Pedro Alvarez 3B | 4 | 1 | 3 | 5 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||
| 5.0 | Cardinals | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Lance Lynn (W, 10-1) | 6.0 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 6 | |||
| AL | 5.0 | Tigers | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Drew Smyly (W, 3-0) | 2.0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | ||
| BAT | 4.0 | Rays | Evan Longoria 3B | 3 | 2 | 2 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||
| 3.0 | Mets | David Wright 3B | 4 | 2 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |||
| 3.0 | Angels | Peter Bourjos CF | 4 | 3 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |||
| 3.0 | Padres | Pedro Ciriaco SS | 4 | 2 | 2 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |||
| 2.0 | Twins | Oswaldo Arcia RF, LF | 4 | 1 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |||
| 2.0 | Marlins | Marcell Ozuna PH | 1 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |||
| 1.0 | Astros | Matt Dominguez 3B | 4 | 1 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |||
| 1.0 | Rangers | Ian Kinsler DH | 3 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Mariners pitcher Aaron Harang is Tuesday's Player of the Day. Harang threw a two-hit shutout, striking out 10, in the 4-0 win over the Astros.
Pedro Alvarez of the Pirates is National League Player of the Day. Alvarez homered and went 3-for-3 and drove in three runs in the 8-2 win over the Giants.
Derek Norris of the Athletics is American League Batter of the Day. Norris homered, doubled and drove in four runs in the 6-4 win over the Yankees.
Standings update: Tigers pitcher Max Scherzer rises to ninth place in Box-Toppers player rankings for the 2013 season (see the updated list of top 10 players on the home page). Scherzer (7IP 3H 6K) was Player of the Game in the 3-2 win over the Royals. Scherzer earns 1.0 Box-Toppers point for being Player of the Game, giving him 8.7 for the season.
Harang receives 2.0 Box-Toppers
points for being Player of the Day. Alvarez receives 1.7 for NL Player of
the Day. Norris receives 1.5 for AL Batter of the Day.
All of Tuesday's other Players of the Game (listed in the chart below) receive 1.0 Box-Toppers point:
| 611 | Score | Team | BATTERS | AB | R | H | RBI | BB | SO | - | - | PITCHERS | IP | H | R | ER | BB | SO |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| MLB | 17.0 | Mariners | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Aaron Harang (W, 3-6) | 9.0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 10 | ||
| 6.0 | Orioles | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Miguel Gonzalez (W, 4-2) | 8.0 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 5 | |||
| NL | 5.0 | Pirates | Pedro Alvarez 3B | 3 | 2 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||
| 4.0 | Rockies | Tyler Colvin RF | 4 | 2 | 2 | 4 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |||
| BAT | 4.0 | Athletics | Derek Norris C | 3 | 1 | 2 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||
| 4.0 | Tigers | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Max Scherzer (W, 9-0) | 7.0 | 3 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 6 | |||
| 4.0 | `Dodgers | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Zack Greinke | 7.0 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 5 | |||
| 3.2 | Blue Jays | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Brett Cecil (W, 2-0) | 1.2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | |||
| 3.0 | Rays | Desmond Jennings CF | 5 | 3 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |||
| 3.0 | Reds | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Tony Cingrani (W, 3-0) | 7.0 | 4 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 5 | |||
| 2.1 | `Twins | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | P.J. Walters | 7.1 | 6 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 5 | |||
| 2.0 | Cardinals | Matt Holliday LF | 5 | 3 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |||
| 2.0 | Marlins | Derek Dietrich 2B | 2 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |||
| 2.0 | Padres | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Andrew Cashner (W, 5-3) | 8.0 | 6 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 5 | |||
| 0.0 | Indians | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Corey Kluber (W, 4-4) | 8.0 | 6 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 3 |
` 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.