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Trade deadline deals helped both the Atlanta Braves and San Diego Padres rise closer to the top of Box-Toppers team rankings this week.
But the top two spots in Box-Toppers team rankings remain the same with the New York Yankees in first place and the top National League team, the Los Angeles Dodgers in second.
Read MoreBraves pitcher Ian Anderson is Sunday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day.
Also Sunday, Marlins pitcher Sandy Alcantara rises to fifth in Box-Toppers season player rankings after earning Player of the Game honors.
Read MoreMarlins pitcher Sandy Alcantara is Wednesday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day.
Alcantara struck out 14 over nine innings, allowing one run, four hits and one walk, in the 2-1, 10-inning win over the Mets. Alcantara did not earn the win, picking up a no-decision, because the game was tied, 1-1, when he exited after nine innings.
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Reds pitcher Alfredo Simon is Wednesday’s Player of the Day, while Tigers pitcher Max Scherzer bolstered his Box-Toppers points lead among American League pitchers.
Simon struck out eight over 6 2/3 innings, allowing one run, in the 4-1 win over the Cubs.
Scherzer, American League Player of the Day, added to his lead among AL pitchers in Box-Toppers points and maintained his second-place spot in overall player rankings. (See the updated top 10 player list on the home page.) Scherzer struck out seven over seven innings, allowing one run, in the 4-1 win over the Dodgers. He earns 1.7 Box-Toppers points for being AL Player of the Day, giving him 16.1 for the season. He widens his lead over second-place AL pitcher Masahiro Tanaka of the Yankees (12.7 Box-Toppers points). He ties Dodgers pitcher Clayton Kershaw with 16.1 Box-Toppers points, but Kershaw maintains the overall player rankings lead on a tie-breaker—he has more points since the start of the 2013 season—37.8 vs. 34.2.
Scherzer is only 2.0 Box-Toppers points away from his 2013 total of 18.1, his best season, a year in which he led all AL players.
Robbie Grossman of the Astros is AL Batter of the Day. Grossman went 4-for-5, scored twice and drove in two runs, in the 8-4 win over the Rangers.
Jayson Werth of the Nationals is National League Batter of the Day. Werth homered and went 2-for-3, scoring twice and driving in two runs, in the 6-2 win over the Orioles.
Notables: Troy Tulowitzki of the Rockies rose to eighth place in Box-Toppers player rankings after earning Player of the Game honors Wednesday. (See the updated top 10 player list on the home page.) Tulowitzki homered twice in the 6-3 win over the Padres, earning 1.0 Box-Toppers point, giving him 11.6 for the season. He rejoins the overall top 10 after being bumped July 6 and is again the only batter on the list.
Tulowitzki also surpassed his highest Box-Toppers points total for a season with 11.6. His previous high was 11.5 during the 2011 season.
Chris Colabello of the Twins, who early in the season led all players in Box-Toppers points before slumping and being sent to the minors, earned Player of the Game honors Wednesday for the first time since his return to the Majors. Colabello (2-4 R 2BI in the 8-1 win over the Mariners) earns 1.0 Box-Toppers point, giving him 6.2 for the season. He ranks sixth among all AL batters. He last earned Player of the Game honors April 17.
Simon receives 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day. Scherzer receives 1.7 for AL Player of the Day. Grossman and Werth each receive 1.5 for being top Batter of the Day in their league.
All of Wednesday’s other Players of the Game (listed in the chart below) receive 1.0 Box-Toppers point.
Box-Toppers watches the daily performances of selected star players and Box-Toppers points leaders. To see how they performed Wednesday, click here.
Box-Toppers tracks who most helps their team win the most games. Using standard box score statistics, Box-Toppers uses a simple formula to determine a Player of the Game for each Major League Baseball game played. That player is the person who contributed most to his team’s win. Players earn Box-Toppers points for being named Player of the Game and can earn bonus points for being Player of the Day or top player or batter in their league for the day.
Listed from highest to lowest Box-Toppers game score
| 709 | Score | Team | Player | AB | R | H | BI | BB | K | IP | H | R | ER | BB | K | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| MLB | 6.2 | Reds | Alfredo Simon (W, 12-3) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 6.2 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 8 | |
| AL | 6.0 | Tigers | Max Scherzer (W, 11-3) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 7.0 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 7 | |
| 4.0 | Phillies | Roberto Hernandez (W, 4-8) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 8.0 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 3 | ||
| 4.0 | Yankees | Chase Whitley (W, 4-2) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 2.0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | ||
| 4.0 | Red Sox | Koji Uehara (W, 5-2) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 1.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | ||
| BAT | 3.0 | Astros | Robbie Grossman RF | 5 | 2 | 4 | 2 | 0 | 1 | - | - | - | - | - | - | |
| BAT | 3.0 | Nationals | Jayson Werth RF | 3 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 0 | - | - | - | - | - | - | |
| 3.0 | `Ddbacks | Josh Collmenter | - | - | - | - | - | - | 7.0 | 7 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 6 | ||
| 3.0 | Angels | Joe Smith (S, 12) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 1.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | ||
| 3.0 | Royals | Greg Holland (S, 24) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 1.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | ||
| 3.0 | `Giants | Sergio Romo (H, 1) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 1.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | ||
| 2.0 | Rockies | Troy Tulowitzki SS | 4 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 2 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 2.0 | Cardinals | Matt Holliday LF | 3 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 0 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 2.0 | Mets | Dillon Gee (W, 4-1) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 7.0 | 6 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 4 | ||
| 1.0 | Twins | Chris Colabello 1B | 4 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 1 | - | - | - | - | - | - |
` Denotes that the pitcher had a no-decision in the game and did not pick up a win or a save.
Giants pitcher Madison Bumgarner is Thursday’s Player of the Day. Bumgarner gave up one run over eight innings in the 6-1 win over the Reds.
Bumgarner earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day, giving him 10.5 for the season and moving up to third place in Box-Toppers season player rankings (see the updated top 10 list on the home page). Bumgarner moves to second place among National League pitchers, behind overall Box-Toppers points leader, Adam Wainwright of the Cardinals (12.0).
Rangers pitcher Robbie Ross Jr. Is American League Player of the Day. Ross struck out two over two scoreless innings of middle relief, earning the win, in the 8-6 win over the Orioles.
Marcell Ozuna of the Marlins is NL Batter of the Day. Ozuna homered, went 3-for-5, scored three times and drove in four runs in the 11-6 win over the Rays.
Robbie Grossman of the Astros is NL Batter of the Day. Grossman went 2-for-2 and drove in the go-ahead run on a squeeze bunt in the 8-5 win over the Angels.
Notables: Masahiro Tanaka of the Yankees solidified his lead in Box-Toppers points among AL pitchers after earning Player of the Game honors Thursday. Tanaka (6IP 1R 4K W in the 2-1 win over the Athletics, earns 1.0 Box-Toppers point, giving him 10.7 for the season. He remains in second place overall, behind only Wainwright with 12.0 (see the updated top 10 list on the home page) and is the top AL pitcher, ahead of Chris Sale of the White Sox with 8.0.
Cubs pitcher Travis Wood earned Player of the Game honors for batting. He is the fourth pitcher this season to earn Player of the Game for batting. Wood hit a two-run homer and drove in another run on a fielder’s choice in the 7-4 win over the Mets.
Bumgarner receives 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day. Ross receives 1.7 for AL Player of the Day. Ozuna and Grossman 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
| 605 | Score | Team | Player | AB | R | H | BI | BB | K | IP | H | R | ER | BB | K | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| MLB | 8.0 | Giants | Madison Bumgarner (W, 8-3) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 8.0 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 5 | |
| BAT | 5.0 | Marlins | Marcell Ozuna CF | 5 | 3 | 3 | 4 | 0 | 2 | - | - | - | - | - | - | |
| 4.0 | Dbacks | Chris Owings SS | 5 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 0 | 1 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 4.0 | Nationals | Doug Fister (W, 4-1) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 7.0 | 4 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 5 | ||
| AL | 4.0 | Rangers | Robbie Ross Jr. (W, 2-4) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 2.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | |
| BAT | 3.0 | Astros | Robbie Grossman LF | 2 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | - | - | - | - | - | - | |
| 3.0 | Cubs | Travis Wood P | 2 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 0 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 3.0 | Royals | Greg Holland (S, 17) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 1.0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | ||
| 2.0 | Yankees | Masahiro Tanaka (W, 9-1) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 6.0 | 5 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 4 | ||
| 2.0 | Brewers | Francisco Rodriguez (S, 18) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 1.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | ||
| 1.0 | Blue Jays | Brett Lawrie 2B, 3B | 3 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | - | - | - | - | - | - |
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.