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The Los Angeles Dodgers maintain their lead in Box-Toppers weekly team rankings report for the sixth straight week.
Meanwhile, the Chicago White Sox regain the lead among American League teams and the Toronto Blue Jays are the week’s hottest team.
Read MoreRockies pitcher German Marquez is Wednesday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day.
Also Wednesday, Brewers pitcher Brandon Woodruff maintains his fourth-place spot in Box-Toppers season player rankings after earning Player of the Game honors.
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The Cleveland Indians are the top-ranked team in Box-Toppers’ 2018 preseason rankings, the same position where they finished the 2017 season.
The Nationals top NL teams and the World Series-champion Astros fall to 8th.
Meanwhile, the New York Mets made the biggest offseason improvement in players’ accumulated Box-Toppers points, while the Tampa Bay Rays and the Kansas City Royals had the biggest declines.
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Reds pitcher Anthony DeSclafani is Saturday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day.
| Player | Pos | Team | BTP | |
| 1 | Scherzer, Max 2588 | pi sp | dc nl | 20.7 |
| 2 | Kershaw, Clayton 2494 | pi sp | lad nl | 20.0 |
| 3 | Fernandez, Jose 3147 | pi sp | fla nl | 18.4 |
| 4 | Kluber, Corey 3200 | pi sp | cle al | 17.2 |
| 5 | Hamels, Cole 2135 | pi sp | tex al | 16.8 |
| 6 | Lester, Jon 2173 | pi sp | chi nl | 15.4 |
| 7 | Cueto, Johnny 2400 | pi sp | sf nl | 14.4 |
| 8 | Strasburg, Stephen 2736 | pi sp | dc nl | 14.1 |
| 9 | Syndergaard, Noah 3472 | pi sp | nym nl | 14.0 |
| 10 | Arrieta, Jake 2738 | pi sp | chi nl | 13.7 |
Also Saturday, Mets pitcher Noah Syndergaard rises to ninth place in Box-Toppers season player rankings after earning Player of the Game honors.
Player of the Day—DeSclafani pitched a complete-game, four-hit shutout, striking out nine and walking one, in the 13-0 win over the Diamondbacks.
American League Player of the Day—White Sox pitcher Jose Quintana struck out eight over 7 2/3 innings, allowing two runs, five hits and one walk, in the 9-3 win over the Mariners.
American League Batter of the Day—Starlin Castro of the Yankees homered and went 4-for-6, scoring three times and driving in three runs, in the 13-5 win over the Orioles.
National League Batter of the Day—Charlie Blackmon of the Rockies hit two homers and went 3-for-6, scoring three times and driving in three runs, in the 9-4, 11-inning win over the Nationals.
Rankings—Mets pitcher Noah Syndergaard rises to ninth place in Box-Toppers season player rankings after earning Player of the Game honors Saturday.
Syndergaard (7IP 2H R 2BB 7K W in the 12-1 win over the Phillies) earns 1.0 Box-Toppers point, giving him 14.0 for the season, rising from 10th to ninth place for the season. He ranks seventh among NL pitchers.
Debut—Two players made their Box-Toppers debut Saturday, the first time in their careers they earned Player of the Game honors:
Scoring—DeSclafani earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day and Quintana earns 1.7 points for being AL Player of the Day. Castro and Blackmon 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
| 8/27 | Score | Game | Player of Game | AB | R | H | BI | IP | H | R | ER | BB | K | |
| MLB | 13.0 | CIN 13, ARI 0 | Anthony DeSclafani (W,8-2) | - | - | - | - | 9.0 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 9 | |
| 8.0 | NYM 12, PHI 1 | Noah Syndergaard (W,12-7) | - | - | - | - | 7.0 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 7 | ||
| 7.0 | `PIT 9, MIL 6 | Juan Nicasio (H,4) | - | - | - | - | 3.0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5 | ||
| AL | 6.2 | CHW 9, SEA 3 | Jose Quintana (W,11-9) | - | - | - | - | 7.2 | 5 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 8 | |
| 6.0 | TEX 7, CLE 0 | A.J. Griffin (W,6-3) | - | - | - | - | 6.0 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 6 | ||
| 5.2 | ATL 3, SF 1 | Mike Foltynewicz (W,7-5) | - | - | - | - | 7.2 | 5 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 6 | ||
| 5.0 | LAA 3, DET 2 | Jhoulys Chacin (W,5-8) | - | - | - | - | 4.0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 5 | ||
| 4.1 | OAK 3, STL 2 | Daniel Coulombe (W,2-1) | - | - | - | - | 1.1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | ||
| BAT | 4.0 | NYY 13, BAL 5 | Starlin Castro, 2B | 6 | 3 | 4 | 3 | - | - | - | - | - | - | |
| 4.0 | TOR 8, MIN 7 | Edwin Encarnacion, 1B | 3 | 2 | 2 | 3 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 4.0 | LAD 3, CHC 2 | Julio Urias (W,5-2) | - | - | - | - | 6.0 | 6 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 8 | ||
| BAT | 3.0 | COL 9, WSH 4 (11) | Charlie Blackmon, CF | 6 | 3 | 3 | 3 | - | - | - | - | - | - | |
| 3.0 | HOU 6, TB 2 | Alex Bregman, 3B | 4 | 2 | 2 | 3 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 3.0 | SD 1, MIA 0 | Kevin Quackenbush (S,1) | - | - | - | - | 1.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | ||
| 2.0 | BOS 8, KC 3 | Dustin Pedroia, 2B | 5 | 1 | 4 | 2 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| `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 | +/- |
| Syndergaard, Noah 3472 | pi sp | nym nl | 14.0 | 24.4 | 24.4 | 24.4 | 3.6 |
| Quintana, Jose 3040 | pi sp | chi al | 9.4 | 15.4 | 34.2 | 34.2 | 3.4 |
| Encarnacion, Edwin 2098 | dh 1b | tor al | 8.0 | 18.4 | 46.6 | 67.1 | -2.4 |
| Nicasio, Juan 2888 | pi sp mr | pit nl | 8.0 | 9.0 | 24.4 | 24.4 | 7.0 |
| Castro, Starlin 2767 | 2b ss | nyy al | 7.0 | 11.5 | 24.5 | 25.5 | 2.5 |
| Griffin, A.J. 3074 | pi sp | tex al | 4.7 | 4.7 | 19.4 | 19.4 | 4.7 |
| DeSclafani, Anthony 3441 | pi sp | cin nl | 4.0 | 11.7 | 11.7 | 11.7 | -3.7 |
| Foltynewicz, Mike 3455 | pi sp | atl nl | 4.0 | 6.7 | 6.7 | 6.7 | 1.3 |
| Blackmon, Charlie 2891 | cf | col nl | 4.0 | 6.5 | 12.0 | 12.0 | 1.5 |
| Chacin, Jhoulys 2711 | pi mr sp | ana al | 4.0 | 4.0 | 18.4 | 26.1 | 4.0 |
| Urias, Julio 3652 | pi sp | lad nl | 4.0 | 4.0 | 4.0 | 4.0 | 4.0 |
| Pedroia, Dustin 2320 | 2b | bos al | 3.0 | 3.0 | 23.4 | 35.5 | 3.0 |
| Quackenbush, Kevin 3462 | pi mr cp | sd nl | 2.0 | 4.0 | 4.0 | 4.0 | 0.0 |
| Bregman, Alex 3721 | 3b | hou al | 1.0 | 1.0 | 1.0 | 1.0 | 1.0 |
| Coulombe, Daniel 3720 | pi mr | oak al | 1.0 | 1.0 | 1.0 | 1.0 | 1.0 |
Cardinals pitcher Jaime Garcia is Friday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day.
Also Friday, Cubs pitcher Jon Lester bolstered his eighth-place rank in Box-Toppers season player rankings after earning Player of the Game honors.
| 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 | 14.5 |
| 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 | Bumgarner, Madison 2753 | pi sp | sf nl | 11.0 |
| 10 | Happ, J.A. 2536 | pi sp | tor al | 11.0 |
Player of the Day—Garcia pitched eight scoreless innings, striking out 11 and allowing three hits and one walk, in the 1-0 win over the Braves.
American League Player of the Day—Red Sox pitcher Steven Wright pitched a complete-game, three-hit shutout, striking out nine and allowing one walk, in the 9-0 win over the Dodgers.
American League Batter of the Day—Starlin Castro of the Yankees hit a grand slam and went 2-for-3, scoring three times, in the 13-7 win over the Indians.
National League Batter of the Day—Cameron Rupp of the Phillies hit a three-run homer and doubled, going 2-for-4 and driving in four total runs, in the 5-4 win over the Padres.
Rankings—Cubs pitcher Jon Lester bolstered his eighth-place spot in Box-Toppers season player rankings after earning Player of the Game honors Friday.
Lester (7IP 6H 2R 0BB 8K W in the 7-2 win over the Athletics) earns 1.0 Box-Toppers point, giving him 13.4 for the season. He ranks sixth among NL pitchers.
Lester now also has 134.5 career Box-Toppers points and ranks 28th among all players since 1995, when Box-Toppers tracking began. He trails 27th-ranked player Andy Pettitte (138.5).
Notable—Tigers pitcher Justin Verlander now has 131.6 career Box-Toppers points after earning Player of the Game honors Friday.
Verlander (6IP 4H 2R BB 9K W in the 4-3 win over the Mets) ranks 30th in career points among all players since 1995, when Box-Toppers tracking began. He trails 29th-ranked player Jason Giambi (133.4). Verlander has 7.0 Box-Toppers points for the season, 20th among AL pitchers, and exceeding his 6.4 point total he earned in 2015.
Scoring—Garcia earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day and Wright earns 1.7 points for being AL Player of the Day. Castro and Rupp each earn 1.5 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.
Listed from highest to lowest Box-Toppers game score
| 8/5 | Score | Game | Player of Game | AB | R | H | BI | IP | H | R | ER | BB | K | |
| MLB | 15.0 | STL 1, ATL 0 | Jaime Garcia (W,8-8) | - | - | - | - | 8.0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 11 | |
| AL | 14.0 | BOS 9, LAD 0 | Steven Wright (W,13-5) | - | - | - | - | 9.0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 9 | |
| 11.0 | HOU 5, TEX 0 | Dallas Keuchel (W,7-11) | - | - | - | - | 9.0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 7 | ||
| 9.0 | WSH 5, SF 1 | Gio Gonzalez (W,7-9) | - | - | - | - | 7.0 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 7 | ||
| BAT | 6.0 | NYY 13, CLE 7 | Starlin Castro, SS-2B | 3 | 3 | 2 | 4 | - | - | - | - | - | - | |
| 6.0 | DET 4, NYM 3 | Justin Verlander (W,12-6) | - | - | - | - | 6.0 | 4 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 9 | ||
| 5.0 | CHC 7, OAK 2 | Jon Lester (W,12-4) | - | - | - | - | 7.0 | 6 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 8 | ||
| 4.1 | MIN 6, TB 2 | Ervin Santana (W,5-9) | - | - | - | - | 6.1 | 6 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 8 | ||
| 4.0 | BAL 7, CHW 5 | Zach Britton (S,34) | - | - | - | - | 1.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | ||
| 4.0 | SEA 6, LAA 4 | Edwin Diaz (S,3) | - | - | - | - | 1.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | ||
| 3.1 | `MIA 5, COL 3 | David Phelps | - | - | - | - | 4.1 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 4 | ||
| BAT | 3.0 | PHI 5, SD 4 | Cameron Rupp, C | 4 | 1 | 2 | 4 | - | - | - | - | - | - | |
| 3.0 | `PIT 3, CIN 2 | Jameson Taillon | - | - | - | - | 6.0 | 6 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 6 | ||
| 3.0 | ARI 3, MIL 2 (11) | Adam Loewen (W,1-0) | - | - | - | - | 1.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | ||
| 2.0 | TOR 4, KC 3 | Brett Cecil (W,1-6) | - | - | - | - | 1.0 | 0 | 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. | ||||||||||||||
| Player of Game | Pos | Team | 16 | 15-16 | 11-16 | Career | +/- |
| Lester, Jon 2173 | pi sp | chi nl | 13.4 | 25.4 | 71.6 | 134.5 | 1.4 |
| Wright, Steven 3224 | pi sp | bos al | 8.4 | 12.1 | 13.1 | 13.1 | 4.7 |
| Garcia, Jaime 2508 | pi sp | stl nl | 8.0 | 17.4 | 35.1 | 43.8 | -1.4 |
| Verlander, Justin 2112 | pi sp | det al | 7.0 | 13.4 | 76.6 | 131.6 | 0.6 |
| Rupp, Cameron 3556 | ca | phi nl | 6.5 | 7.5 | 7.5 | 7.5 | 5.5 |
| Keuchel, Dallas 3050 | pi sp | hou al | 6.0 | 27.4 | 41.8 | 41.8 | -15.4 |
| Castro, Starlin 2767 | ss 2b | nyy al | 5.5 | 10.0 | 23.0 | 24.0 | 1.0 |
| Gonzalez, Gio 2626 | pi sp | dc nl | 4.0 | 13.7 | 70.8 | 84.5 | -5.7 |
| Phelps, David 2994 | pi mr | fla nl | 4.0 | 7.4 | 20.8 | 20.8 | 0.6 |
| Taillon, Jameson 3658 | pi sp | pit nl | 4.0 | 4.0 | 4.0 | 4.0 | 4.0 |
| Britton, Zach 2835 | pi cp | bal al | 3.0 | 11.7 | 31.1 | 31.1 | -5.7 |
| Santana, Ervin 2005 | pi sp | min al | 3.0 | 8.4 | 46.8 | 96.3 | -2.4 |
| Diaz, Edwin 3690 | pi cp mr | sea al | 3.0 | 3.0 | 3.0 | 3.0 | 3.0 |
| Cecil, Brett 2566 | pi mr | tor al | 1.0 | 3.0 | 9.7 | 21.8 | -1.0 |
| Loewen, Adam 2212 | pi cp | ari nl | 1.0 | 2.0 | 3.0 | 5.7 | 0.0 |
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Starlin Castro of the Cubs is Friday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day.
Also, despite four top 10 pitchers from Box-Toppers player rankings starting Friday, none of them earned Player of the Game honors.
| Player | Pos | Team | BTP | |
| 1 | Arrieta, Jake 2738 | pi sp | chi nl | 23.1 |
| 2 | Kershaw, Clayton 2494 | pi sp | lad nl | 22.7 |
| 3 | deGrom, Jacob 3343 | pi sp | nym nl | 20.4 |
| 4 | Price, David 2593 | pi sp | tor al | 20.1 |
| 5 | Greinke, Zack 1871 | pi sp | lad nl | 19.7 |
| 6 | Hernandez, Felix 2064 | pi sp | sea al | 19.4 |
| 7 | Keuchel, Dallas 3050 | pi sp | hou al | 19.4 |
| 8 | Sale, Chris 2806 | pi sp | chi al | 17.1 |
| 9 | Bumgarner, Madison 2753 | pi sp | sf nl | 17.0 |
| 10 | Scherzer, Max 2588 | pi sp | dc nl | 17.0 |
Player of the Day—Castro hit a three-run homer and a two-run homer, going 3-for-3 and driving in six runs, in the 8-3 win over the Cardinals.
American League Player of the Day—Tigers pitcher Justin Verlander struck out seven over 8 2/3 innings, allowing two runs and five hits, in the 5-4, 12-inning win over the Royals. Verlander did not earn the win, picking up a no-decision because the Royals tied the game after he exited with a 3-2 lead.
Verlander earns 1.7 Box-Toppers points for being AL Player of the Day, giving him 124.6 career Box-Toppers points, rising to 33rd place among all players since 1995, when Box-Toppers record keeping began. With his points Friday, Verlander passes two players on the “all-time” list—Jered Weaver (123.1) and Gary Sheffield (124.1). (Sheffield, who started his career in 1988, seven years prior to the start of Box-Toppers record keeping, would likely have about 150 career Box-Toppers points based on rough projections, if his entire career were tracked.) Verlander now trails 32nd-ranked player Mariano Rivera (126.4).
Among Friday’s 14 Players of the Game, Verlander has the most Box-Toppers points this season—6.4, ranking 111th among all players and 43rd among AL pitchers.
American League Batter of the Day—Danny Valencia of the Athletics hit two homers and went 3-for-3, driving in three runs, in the 4-3 win over the Astros.
National League Batter of the Day—There is no separate NL Batter of the Day Friday because the overall Player of the Day was batter Starlin Castro.
Notable—Four pitchers in Box-Toppers top 10 player rankings started Friday but none of them earned Player of the Game honors:
Scoring—Castro earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day and Verlander earns 1.7 Box-Toppers points for being AL Player of the Day. Valencia earns 1.5 Box-Toppers points for being AL 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.
Listed from highest to lowest Box-Toppers game score
| 9/18 | Score | Team | Player | AB | R | H | BI | BB | K | IP | H | R | ER | BB | K | |
| MLB | 8.0 | Cubs | Starlin Castro, 2B | 3 | 2 | 3 | 6 | 1 | 0 | - | - | - | - | - | - | |
| 5.2 | Dbacks | Rubby De La Rosa (W,13-8) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 5.2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 5 | ||
| AL | 5.2 | `Tigers | Justin Verlander | - | - | - | - | - | - | 8.2 | 5 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 7 | |
| BAT | 5.0 | Athletics | Danny Valencia, 3B | 3 | 2 | 3 | 3 | 1 | 0 | - | - | - | - | - | - | |
| 4.0 | Rockies | Chad Bettis (W,8-5) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 5.0 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 6 | ||
| 3.0 | Mets | Juan Uribe, PH | 1 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 3.0 | Braves | Arodys Vizcaino (S,5) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 1.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 3 | ||
| 3.0 | Mariners | Tom Wilhelmsen (S,12) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 1.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | ||
| 2.0 | Rays | Grady Sizemore, LF | 4 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 0 | 1 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 2.0 | Indians | Carlos Santana, 1B | 4 | 1 | 1 | 4 | 1 | 2 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 1.2 | Nationals | Casey Janssen (W,2-5) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 0.2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | ||
| 1.0 | Blue Jays | Justin Smoak, 1B | 4 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 2 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 1.0 | Dodgers | Justin Ruggiano, LF | 3 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 0.0 | Reds | Brandon Finnegan (W,4-0) | 5 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 4 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| `Denotes that the pitcher had a no-decision in the game and did not pick up a win or a save. | ||||||||||||||||
Pirates pitcher Francisco Liriano is Tuesday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day.
| Player | Pos | Team | BTP | |
| 1 | Kershaw, Clayton 2494 | pi sp | lad nl | 21.7 |
| 2 | Arrieta, Jake 2738 | pi sp | chi nl | 21.1 |
| 3 | deGrom, Jacob 3343 | pi sp | nym nl | 19.4 |
| 4 | Keuchel, Dallas 3050 | pi sp | hou al | 19.4 |
| 5 | Price, David 2593 | pi sp | tor al | 19.1 |
| 6 | Greinke, Zack 1871 | pi sp | lad nl | 18.0 |
| 7 | Hernandez, Felix 2064 | pi sp | sea al | 17.4 |
| 8 | Sale, Chris 2806 | pi sp | chi al | 17.1 |
| 9 | Cole, Gerrit 3232 | pi sp | pit nl | 17.0 |
| 10 | Gray, Sonny 3259 | pi sp | oak al | 16.8 |
Also Tuesday, Dodgers pitcher Clayton Kershaw regained the lead in Box-Toppers player rankings and Athletics pitcher Sonny Gray rose to 10th. Also, two players with more than 150 career Box-Toppers points earned Player of the Game honors Tuesday—Kershaw and Giants pitcher Tim Hudson, who rose to 13th place among all players since 1995.
Player of the Day—Liriano struck out 10 over six scoreless innings, allowing three hits, in the 7-3 win over the Reds.
Liriano earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day, giving him 12.9 for the season. He rises to 16th place among all players and ninth among National League pitchers.
American League Player of the Day—White Sox pitcher Carlos Rodon struck out eight over seven innings, allowing one run and five hits, in the 7-4 win over the Indians.
National League Batter of the Day—Starlin Castro of the Cubs hit a three-run homer and doubled, going 2-for-4, scoring three times and driving in four runs, in the 8-5 win over the Cardinals.
American League Batter of the Day—Eric Hosmer of the Royals hit a three-run double in the 4-2 win over the Twins.
Hosmer earns 1.5 Box-Toppers points for being AL Batter of the Day, giving him 9.0 for the season and rises to fifth among AL batters.
New leader—Dodgers pitcher Clayton Kershaw regained the top spot in Box-Toppers player rankings after earning Player of the Game honors Tuesday.
| Date | Player | Team | BTP |
| 4/5 | Adam Wainwright | stl nl | 2.0 |
| 4/6 | Felix Hernandez | sea al | 2.0 |
| 4/13 | Scott Kazmir | oak al | 3.7 |
| 4/18 | Felix Hernandez | sea al | 4.0 |
| 6/26 | Max Scherzer | dc nl | 14.0 |
| 7/9 | Felix Hernandez | sea al | 14.4 |
| 7/12 | Max Scherzer | dc nl | 15.0 |
| 7/24 | Felix Hernandez | sea al | 15.4 |
| 7/26 | Jacob deGrom | nym nl | 16.4 |
| 9/2 | Clayton Kershaw | lad nl | 20.7 |
| 9/5 | Jake Arrieta | chi nl | 21.1 |
| 9/8 | Clayton Kershaw | lad nl | 21.7 |
Kershaw (7IP 4H 2R 8K W in the 6-4 win over the Angels) earns 1.0 Box-Toppers point, giving him 21.7 for the season. He passes previous leader, Cubs pitcher Jake Arrieta (21.1 points), who took the lead from Kershaw on Saturday, Sept. 5.
Kershaw also now has 155.3 career Box-Toppers points, maintaining his rank of 15th among all players since 1995, when Box-Toppers record keeping began. He trails 14th-place player Mike Mussina (155.6).
Rankings—Athletics pitcher Sonny Gray rose to 10th place in Box-Toppers season player rankings Tuesday. Gray (7IP 5H 0R 4K W in the 4-0 win over the Astros) earns 1.0 Box-Toppers point, giving him 16.8 for the season. He ranks fifth among AL pitchers.
Notable—Giants pitcher Tim Hudson rose to 13th place among all players in Box-Toppers since 1995 after earning Player of the Game honors Tuesday.
Hudson (6IP 4H R 4K W in the 6-2 win over the Diamondbacks) earns 1.0 Box-Toppers point, giving him 156.0 career Box-Toppers points. With his point Tuesday, he passes Mike Mussina (155.6) on the “all-time” list and trails 12th-place player Felix Hernandez (160.7). (Mussina started his career in 1991, before Box-Toppers record keeping began in 1995, and would likely have an estimated 190 total Box-Toppers points if his entire career were tracked.) Hudson has 3.0 Box-Toppers points this season.
Debuts—Four players made their Box-Toppers debut Tuesday, the first time in their career they earned Player of the Game honors:
Scoring—Liriano earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day and Rodon earns 1.7 Box-Toppers points for being AL Player of the Day. Castro and Hosmer each earn 1.5 Box-Toppers 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.
Listed from highest to lowest Box-Toppers game score
| 9/8 | Score | Team | Player | AB | R | H | BI | BB | K | IP | H | R | ER | BB | K | |
| MLB | 12.0 | Pirates | Francisco Liriano (W,10-7) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 6.0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 10 | |
| AL | 7.0 | White Sox | Carlos Rodon (W,7-6) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 7.0 | 5 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 8 | |
| 7.0 | Phillies | Aaron Nola (W,6-2) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 7.0 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 7 | ||
| 6.0 | Dodgers | Clayton Kershaw (W,13-6) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 7.0 | 4 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 8 | ||
| 6.0 | `Padres | Colin Rea | - | - | - | - | - | - | 7.0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 4 | ||
| 5.2 | Marlins | Kyle Barraclough (MR) (W,2-0) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 1.2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | ||
| BAT | 5.0 | Cubs | Starlin Castro, 2B | 4 | 3 | 2 | 4 | 1 | 0 | - | - | - | - | - | - | |
| 4.0 | Athletics | Sonny Gray (W,13-7) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 7.0 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 4 | ||
| 4.0 | Giants | Tim Hudson (W,7-8) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 6.0 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 4 | ||
| 3.1 | `Tigers | Drew VerHagen (MR) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 2.1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | ||
| 3.0 | `Blue Jays | R.A. Dickey | - | - | - | - | - | - | 6.0 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 4 | ||
| 3.0 | Rangers | Shawn Tolleson (S,31) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 1.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | ||
| 2.1 | `Orioles | T.J. McFarland (MR) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 2.1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | ||
| 2.0 | Mets | Kirk Nieuwenhuis, PH-LF | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| BAT | 1.0 | Royals | Eric Hosmer, 1B | 4 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 1 | - | - | - | - | - | - | |
| `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.