Angels' Albert Pujols tops players for Monday, July 20, ranks 6th among all players since 1995

Albert Pujols of the Angels is Monday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day and now has 173.3 career Box-Toppers points, sixth-most among all players since 1995.

Pujols hit two homers, scored three runs and drove in three, in the 7-3 win over the Red Sox.

Top 10 players

Here are the top 10 players in Box-Toppers points (BTP) for the 2015 season as of July 20.  

	Player	Pos	Team	BTP
1	Scherzer, Max 2588	pi sp	dc nl	15.0
2	Hernandez, Felix 2064	pi sp	sea al	14.4
3	Sale, Chris 2806	pi sp	chi al	13.4
4	deGrom, Jacob 3343	pi sp	nym nl	13.4
5	Price, David 2593	pi sp	det al	13.1
6	Keuchel, Dallas 3050	pi sp	hou al	12.7
7	Greinke, Zack 1871	pi sp	lad nl	12.0
8	Archer, Chris 3194	pi sp	tb al	12.0
9	Cole, Gerrit 3232	pi sp	pit nl	12.0
10	Martinez, Carlos 3371	pi sp	stl nl	11.7

What are those numbers after players' names?

Pujols earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day, giving him 6.0 for the season and ranks fifth among AL batters this season.

Pujols ranks sixth in Box-Toppers points among all players since 1995, when record keeping began. He trails fifth-place player CC Sabathia (176.3). He ranks second in “all-time” Box-Toppers points among batters behind Alex Rodriguez (185.3).

Monday was the fifth time in his career that Pujols earned overall Box-Toppers Player of the Day.

National League Player of the Day—Travis Ishikawa of the Pirates hit a homer, two doubles and drove in four runs in the 10-7 win over the Royals.

AL and NL Batters of the Day—Since Monday’s overall Player of the Day and NL Player of the Day are batters, there are no separate AL and NL Batters of the Day for Monday.

Notable—Angels pitcher Hector Santiago is the highest-ranked of the 11 who earned Player of the Game honors Monday.

Santiago (5IP 8H R 10K W in the 11-1 win over the Red Sox) earns 1.0 Box-Toppers point, giving him 7.0 for the season. He ranks 40th among all players and 16th among AL pitchers.

Scoring—Pujols earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day and Ishikawa earns 1.7 Box-Toppers points for being NL Player 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

7/20	Score	Team	Player	AB	R	H	BI	BB	K		IP	H	R	ER	BB	K
MLB	5.0	Angels	Albert Pujols, 1B	3	3	2	3	1	0		-	-	-	-	-	-
	4.0	Angels	Hector Santiago (W,7-4)	-	-	-	-	-	-		5.0	8	1	1	1	10
NL	3.0	Pirates	Travis Ishikawa, 1B	5	1	3	4	0	2		-	-	-	-	-	-
	3.0	Tigers	Ian Kinsler, 2B	4	2	2	3	0	0		-	-	-	-	-	-
	3.0	Braves	Nick Markakis, RF	3	2	2	2	1	1		-	-	-	-	-	-
	3.0	Phillies	Jonathan Papelbon (S,16)	-	-	-	-	-	-		1.0	0	0	0	0	2
	3.0	Reds	Aroldis Chapman (S,19)	-	-	-	-	-	-		1.0	0	0	0	0	2
	2.2	Dbacks	Brad Ziegler (S,15)	-	-	-	-	-	-		1.2	0	0	0	1	2
	2.0	Nationals	Clint Robinson, 1B	4	2	2	2	0	0		-	-	-	-	-	-
	2.0	Padres	Matt Kemp, RF	3	1	2	2	1	0		-	-	-	-	-	-
	1.0	Rockies	Troy Tulowitzki, SS	4	1	2	2	0	1		-	-	-	-	-	-

How impressive was Madison Bumgarner in postseason? Of 32 total playoff games, he was top player in five

How impressive was Madison Bumgarner’s postseason performance?

The ace starting pitcher earned Box-Toppers Player of the Game honors five times in the Giants’ World Series-winning playoff run. That means he was top player in 15 percent of the 32 postseason games played. He was top player in 29 percent of the 17 postseason games the Giants played. He was top player in 42 percent of the 12 postseason games the Giants won. And he was top player in 71 percent of the seven games in which he appeared.

By comparison, Bumgarner earned Box-Toppers Player of the Game honors 15 times in his 33 regular season starts. Bumgarner ranked third among all players in regular season Box-Toppers points with 22.6 (see Box-Toppers top 10 player rankings), so his regular season was pretty impressive. But if he were to maintain his pace this October throughout a regular season, he would have something like 45.0 Box-Toppers points for a season. That would shatter the all-time record for Box-Toppers points in a single season of 33.7 set by Randy Johnson in both 2000 and 2002. (Box-Toppers record keeping began in 1995).

See a recap of who earned Box-Toppers Player of the Game honors in all 32 of the 2014 postseason games in the chart below. Bumgarner’s five top player honors are highlighted in red text.

Bumgarner’s five Player of the Game honors were far and away the most by any player in the 2014 postseason. Four other players were each Player of the Game twice during the postseason:

• Travis Ishikawa of the Giants: In National League Championship Series Game 3 and Game 5.

• Yusmeiro Petit of the Giants: In NL Division Series Game 2 and NLCS Game 4.

• Wade Davis of the Royals: In American League Championship Series Game 1 and World Series Game 3.

• Lorenzo Cain of the Royals: In ALCS Game 2 and World Series Game 6.

Nineteen players each earned Player of the Game honors once during the 2014 postseason.

Bumgarner also had the highest Box-Toppers game score of any Player of the Game in all 32 postseason games. On Oct. 1, in the NL Wild Card Game, Bumgarner had a Box-Toppers game score of +14.0—he pitched a complete game 8-0 shutout over the Pirates, striking out 10.

Bumgarner also had the second-highest Box-Toppers game score of the postseason’s 32 Players of the Game (+13.0 in his World Series Game 5 shutout of the Royals, 5-0). In fact, Bumgarner had five of the 10 highest Box-Toppers game scores of all 2014 postseason Player of the Game honorees (see the chart of the top 10 at the bottom of the post).

Three of Bumgarner’s five Player of the Game honors came during the World Series as the Giants defeated the Royals four games to three.

Wade Davis had the highest Box-Toppers game score for a Player of the Game honoree among Royals players in the postseason. His game score of +6.0 in Game 1 of the American League Championship Series ranks as 10th-highest in the 2014 postseason among Player of the Game honorees.

Pitchers monopolized the top 10 chart for highest Box-Toppers game score among Player of the Game honorees. The highest game score among batters was +3.0 by Hunter Pence of the Giants when he was Player of the Game in World Series Game 4.

The lowest Box-Toppers game score to win Player of the Game honors was +1.0 by Travis Ishikawa in Game 3 of the NLCS. The second-lowest Box-Toppers game score to win Player of the Game honors was +2.0 by Oscar Taveras of the Cardinals, who hit a pinch-hit home run in Game 2 of the NLCS. Taveras was killed in a car accident Oct. 26, 12 days after the game.

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 Player of the Game for each 2014 postseason game

Listings below are chronological, starting from the first Wild Card Game on Sept. 30 to the final World Series Game on Oct. 29—32 games in all (out of a total of 43 possible games if all series went the distance). On days where more than one game was played, players are listed from highest to lowest Box-Toppers game score. There is a different background color for each postseason round—Wild Card round in yellow, League Division Series round in green, League Championship Series round in blue and World Series in red. Madison Bumgarner’s name is highlighted in red text in his five Player of the Game postseason honors.

Date	Round	Score	Team	Player of the Game	AB	R	H	BI	BB	K		IP	H	R	ER	BB	K
9/30	ALWC	2.0	Royals	Eric Hosmer 1B	4	2	3	1	2	0		-	-	-	-	-	-
10/1	NLWC	14.0	Giants	Madison Bumgarner (W, 1-0)	-	-	-	-	-	-		9.0	4	0	0	1	10
10/2	ALDS	3.0	Orioles	Nelson Cruz DH	4	2	2	3	0	2		-	-	-	-	-	-
10/2	ALDS	3.0	Royals	Greg Holland (S, 1)	-	-	-	-	-	-		1.0	0	0	0	0	2
10/3	ALDS	4.0	`Royals	Yordano Ventura	-	-	-	-	-	-		7.0	5	1	1	1	5
10/3	NLDS	3.2	Giants	Jake Peavy (W, 1-0)	-	-	-	-	-	-		5.2	2	0	0	3	3
10/3	NLDS	3.0	Cardinals	Matt Carpenter 3B	5	2	2	4	0	1		-	-	-	-	-	-
10/3	ALDS	3.0	Orioles	Delmon Young PH	1	0	1	3	0	0		-	-	-	-	-	-
10/4	NLDS	10.0	`Dodgers	Zack Greinke	-	-	-	-	-	-		7.0	2	0	0	2	7
10/4	NLDS	9.0	Giants	Yusmeiro Petit (W, 1-0)	-	-	-	-	-	-		6.0	1	0	0	3	7
10/5	ALDS	8.1	Orioles	Bud Norris (W, 1-0)	-	-	-	-	-	-		6.1	2	0	0	2	6
10/5	ALDS	3.0	Royals	Norichika Aoki RF	3	2	3	1	1	0		-	-	-	-	-	-
10/6	NLDS	7.0	Cardinals	John Lackey (W, 1-0)	-	-	-	-	-	-		7.0	5	1	1	1	8
10/6	NLDS	3.0	Nationals	Doug Fister (W, 1-0)	-	-	-	-	-	-		7.0	4	0	0	3	3
10/7	NLDS	3.2	`Giants	Ryan Vogelsong	-	-	-	-	-	-		5.2	2	1	1	2	4
10/7	NLDS	2.0	Cardinals	Matt Adams 1B	3	1	1	3	0	0		-	-	-	-	-	-
10/10	ALCS	6.0	Royals	Wade Davis (W, 1-0)	-	-	-	-	-	-		2.0	0	0	0	0	4
10/11	NLCS	9.2	Giants	Madison Bumgarner (W, 2-1)	-	-	-	-	-	-		7.2	4	0	0	1	7
10/11	ALCS	2.0	Royals	Lorenzo Cain CF, RF	5	2	4	1	0	0		-	-	-	-	-	-
10/12	NLCS	2.0	Cardinals	Oscar Taveras PH	1	1	1	1	0	0		-	-	-	-	-	-
10/14	ALCS	3.0	`Royals	Kelvin Herrera (H, 1)	-	-	-	-	-	-		1.0	0	0	0	0	2
10/14	NLCS	1.0	Giants	Travis Ishikawa LF	3	0	1	3	0	0		-	-	-	-	-	-
10/15	NLCS	5.0	Giants	Yusmeiro Petit (W, 2-0)	-	-	-	-	-	-		3.0	1	0	0	1	4
10/15	ALCS	4.1	Royals	Jason Vargas (W, 1-0)	-	-	-	-	-	-		5.1	2	1	1	3	6
10/16	NLCS	2.0	Giants	Travis Ishikawa LF	3	1	1	3	1	1		-	-	-	-	-	-
10/21	WS	6.0	Giants	Madison Bumgarner (W, 1-0)	-	-	-	-	-	-		7.0	3	1	1	1	5
10/22	WS	3.0	Royals	Omar Infante 2B	3	2	2	2	0	0		-	-	-	-	-	-
10/24	WS	3.0	`Royals	Wade Davis (H, 1)	-	-	-	-	-	-		1.0	0	0	0	0	2
10/25	WS	3.0	Giants	Hunter Pence RF	5	2	3	3	0	0		-	-	-	-	-	-
10/26	WS	13.0	Giants	Madison Bumgarner (W, 2-0)	-	-	-	-	-	-		9.0	4	0	0	0	8
10/28	WS	3.0	Royals	Lorenzo Cain CF, RF	3	1	2	3	2	0		-	-	-	-	-	-
10/29	WS	7.0	Giants	Madison Bumgarner (S, 1)	-	-	-	-	-	-		5.0	2	0	0	0	4

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

Most dominating Players of the Game in 2014 postseason

Here are the top 10 Box-Toppers game scores for 2014 postseason Player of the Game honorees, representing the most dominating performances in the 32 playoff games. Madison Bumgarner of the Giants had the highest Box-Toppers game score of any Player of the Game in the 2014 postseason (+14.0) and also had five of the top 10 game scores among 2014 postseason Player of the Game honorees.

Date	Round	Score	Team	Player of the Game	AB	R	H	BI	BB	K		IP	H	R	ER	BB	K
10/1	NLWC	14.0	Giants	Madison Bumgarner (W, 1-0)	-	-	-	-	-	-		9.0	4	0	0	1	10
10/26	WS	13.0	Giants	Madison Bumgarner (W, 2-0)	-	-	-	-	-	-		9.0	4	0	0	0	8
10/4	NLDS	10.0	`Dodgers	Zack Greinke	-	-	-	-	-	-		7.0	2	0	0	2	7
10/11	NLCS	9.2	Giants	Madison Bumgarner (W, 2-1)	-	-	-	-	-	-		7.2	4	0	0	1	7
10/4	NLDS	9.0	Giants	Yusmeiro Petit (W, 1-0)	-	-	-	-	-	-		6.0	1	0	0	3	7
10/5	ALDS	8.1	Orioles	Bud Norris (W, 1-0)	-	-	-	-	-	-		6.1	2	0	0	2	6
10/6	NLDS	7.0	Cardinals	John Lackey (W, 1-0)	-	-	-	-	-	-		7.0	5	1	1	1	8
10/29	WS	7.0	Giants	Madison Bumgarner (S, 1)	-	-	-	-	-	-		5.0	2	0	0	0	4
10/21	WS	6.0	Giants	Madison Bumgarner (W, 1-0)	-	-	-	-	-	-		7.0	3	1	1	1	5
10/10	ALCS	6.0	Royals	Wade Davis (W, 1-0)	-	-	-	-	-	-		2.0	0	0	0	0	4

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

Madison Bumgarner earns Box-Toppers Player of the Game for third time in World Series, leading Giants to title in Game 7, Wednesday, Oct. 29

Madison Bumgarner won Box-Toppers Player of the Game honors Wednesday for the third time in this World Series and led the Giants to its third title in five years.

Bumgarner, who pitched five scoreless innings of relief, allowing two hits, striking out four and earning the save, is top player in the decisive Game 7. The Giants beat the Royals in the game 3-2 and won the series 4-3. The Giants previously won the World Series in 2010 and 2012.

Bumgarner had a Box-Toppers game score of +7.0, highest of any Giants player. He had been Player of the Game in World Series Game 1 and Game 5—both games he started. In Game 7, pitching on two-days’ rest, the Giants ace entered the game in unfamiliar territory for him— in relief in the fifth inning with the Giants already leading 3-2.

In the Giants four wins in the World Series, Bumgarner—who won World Series Most Valuable Player—was Box-Toppers Player of the Game in three of them. The only game in which Bumgarner was not Player of the Game was in Game 4, the Giants’ second win of the series. The honor that game went to Hunter Pence.

Bumgarner also earned Player of the Game honors five times during the postseason. Previously, he was Player of the Game:

• Oct. 1 in the National League Wild Card win over the Pirates.

• Oct. 11 in the NL Championship Series Game 1 win over the Cardinals.

• Oct. 21 in the World Series Game 1 win over the Royals.

• Oct. 26 in the World Series Game 5 win over the Royals.

Bumgarner was top player in nearly half the games the Giants won this postseason—five of 12. No other player earned Player of the Game honors more than twice during the postseason. The players who won it twice:

• Travis Ishikawa of the Giants: In National League Championship Series Game 3 and Game 5.

• Yusmeiro Petit of the Giants: In NL Division Series Game 2 and NLCS Game 4.

• Wade Davis of the Royals: In American League Championship Series Game 1 and World Series Game 3.

• Lorenzo Cain of the Royals: In ALCS Game 2 and World Series Game 6.

During the regular season, Bumgarner earned 22.6 Box-Toppers points, ranking third among all players and second among NL pitchers. He was the highest-ranked player remaining in the postseason and the only player in the World Series in Box-Toppers top 10 player rankings.

Bumgarner had originally been credited with a win in the game, even though he entered the game with the Giants already leading. That was corrected by official scorers within an hour after the game, giving the win to Jeremy Affeldt and the save to Bumgarner who was a five-inning closer. Affeldt, who pitched 2 1/3 innings of relief, was the pitcher of record when the Giants took the lead.

Had Bumgarner been pulled in favor of a closer—possibly Santiago Casilla—in the ninth inning, he still likely would have won Box-Toppers Player of the Game honors, even though Casilla would have been credited with the save and Bumgarner would have earned a no decision (no win or save). Under Box-Toppers rules, non-decision-earning pitchers are eligible to earn Player of the Game honors if they pitch three or more innings. After eight innings, Bumgarner pitched four innings and had a Box-Toppers game score of +6.0.

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.

Previous Box-Toppers 2014 World Series previews:

Giants have clear Box-Toppers advantage over Royals in World Series, but since 2014 is underdog year, watch out for David slaying 'Giant'

Royals sweep Giants in series—in regular season, interleague series back in August, that is

Can a Royals diehard fan of the 1970s rekindle lapsed fandom with Kansas City's 2014 World Series team? A personal essay

Top 4 players in World Series Game 7 

Here are the top four Giants players in Wednesday’s World Series Game 7, ranked from highest to lowest Box-Toppers game score (how game score is calculated). Madison Bumgarner, who had a Box-Toppers game score of +7.0, is Player of the Game (POG). Pablo Sandoval was the Giants’ batter with the highest Box-Toppers game score of +2.0. Only four Giants players had Box-Toppers game scores of 0.0 or above.

1029	Score	Team	Player	AB	R	H	BI	BB	K		IP	H	R	ER	BB	K
POG	7.0	Giants	Madison Bumgarner (S, 1)	-	-	-	-	-	-		5.0	2	0	0	0	4
	2.0	Giants	Pablo Sandoval 3B	3	2	3	0	0	0		-	-	-	-	-	-
	1.1	Giants	Jeremy Affeldt (W, 1-0)	-	-	-	-	-	-		2.1	1	0	0	0	0
	0.0	Giants	Michael Morse DH	3	0	1	2	0	2		-	-	-	-	-	-

Travis Ishikawa, with 3-run homer to win NL pennant for Giants, tops players for Thursday, Oct. 16

Travis Ishikawa’s three-run homer in the bottom of the ninth Thursday sent the San Francisco Giants to the World Series and made Ishikawa Box-Toppers Player of the Day.

Ishikawa’s walk-off blast gave the Giants a 6-3 win over the Cardinals in Game 5 of the National League Championship Series. The Giants won the best-of-five game series 4-1 and advance to the World Series. Game 1 will be Tuesday in Kansas City against the American League champion Royals.

Ishikawa, who went 1-for-3 with the run and three RBIs, had the highest Box-Toppers game score of any Giants player of +2.

During the regular season, Ishikawa had 1.0 Box-Toppers point, ranked 644th among all players and 159th among NL batters.

While Ishikawa only earned Player of the Game honors once during the season (on Aug. 20), he has earned Player of the Game honors twice during the postseason, both times in the NLCS and previously just two days ago, when he was Player of the Game in the Giants’ Game 3 win.

The Giants were ranked eighth in Box-Toppers team rankings during the regular season. Giants players accumulated 110.8 Box-Toppers points. The Cardinals were ranked fifth with 114.8 Box-Toppers points.

The Giants were the lowest-ranked of four NL teams qualifying for the NL Division Series. In the World Series, they will face the lowest-ranked American League team to qualify for the playoffs—the Kansas City Royals, ranked 10th in Box-Toppers team rankings with 101.1 Box-Toppers points.

The starting pitchers in Game 5, Madison Bumgarner of the Giants and Adam Wainwright of the Cardinals, were the final two players in Box-Toppers player rankings top 10 who were still active in the playoffs.

Bumgarner (22.6 Box-Toppers points, ranked third) had a Box-Toppers game score Thursday of 0. He gave up three runs and five hits over eight innings, striking out five and walking two. He earned a no decision.

Wainwright (18.7 Box-Toppers points, ranked eighth) had a Box-Toppers game score of +4. He gave up two runs and four hits over seven innings, striking out seven and walking two. He earned a no decision—however, when he exited the game, the Cardinals had a 3-2 lead.

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

Players of the Game (POG) listed from highest to lowest Box-Toppers game score

1015	Score	Team	Player of the Game	AB	R	H	BI	BB	K		IP	H	R	ER	BB	K
POG	2.0	Giants	Travis Ishikawa LF	3	1	1	3	1	1		-	-	-	-	-	-

Royals' Herrera, Giants' Ishikawa top players in LCS games, Tuesday, Oct. 14

Kelvin Herrera, who pitched a perfect seventh inning in relief for the Royals in their Game 3 American League Championship Series win over the Orioles, is Box-Toppers.com Player of the Day for Tuesday.

Herrera struck out two in one scoreless inning in the 2-1 win, as the Royals took a three games to zero lead over the Orioles in the best-of-seven game ALCS.

Herrera, who held the lead for the Royals, is an unconventional player to earn Box-Toppers Player of the Game honors—he did not pick up a win or a save and pitched only one inning. He had a Box-Toppers game score of 3.0, the highest of any Royals player Tuesday.

Normally, a pitcher without a win or a save who pitched fewer than three innings is not even considered for Player of the Game. But they can win the honor if they pitch the same or more innings as the pitcher who otherwise would earn Player of the Game honors and have a higher Box-Toppers game score.

In this game, Jason Frasor, who pitched the sixth inning for the Royals and earned the win (because the Royals scored the winning run in the bottom of the sixth) would normally be Player of the Game with a Box-Toppers game score of +1. But two other players who also pitched one inning actually had higher Box-Toppers game scores—Wade Davis, who pitched the eighth inning, struck out one and held the lead, had a Box-Toppers game score of +2. And Herrera, Player of the Game, had a game score of +3.

No Royals batter had a positive Box-Toppers game score in the low-scoring contest. The highest score was Jarrod Dyson’s, who had a Box-Toppers game score of 0—he went 0-for-1 with a run.

Three Royals relievers have earned Player of the Game honors so far during the postseason. Previously, closer Greg Holland was Player of the Game in the ALDS Game 1 on Oct. 2. Wade Davis was Player of the Day in the ALCS Game 1 on Oct. 10.

Herrera had 2.0 Box-Toppers points during the regular season, ranking 439th among all players and 114th among AL pitchers.

NLCS Game 3: Giants 5, Cardinals 4

Travis Ishikawa drove in three runs on a first inning double and is Box-Toppers.com Player of the Game in the Giants’ National League Championship Series Game 3 win over the Cardinals.

Ishikawa went 1-for-3, driving in three runs, in the 5-4, 10-inning win over the Cardinals, as the Giants take a 2-1 lead in the best-of-seven game series. He had a Box-Toppers game score of +1.

Giants reliever Santiago Casilla (1IP 1K) actually had a higher Box-Toppers game score than Ishikawa of +2. However, because Casilla pitched fewer than three innings and did not earn the win or save, the only way he could be considered for Player of the Game is if he had a higher Box-Toppers game score and the same or more innings pitched as a pitcher who otherwise would have earned Player of the Game.

During the regular season, Ishikawa had 1.0 Box-Toppers point, ranked 644th among all players and 159th among NL batters.

Coming Wednesday:

ALCS Game 4: Royals lead Orioles, 3-0

The pitching matchup Wednesday:

Orioles: Miguel Gonzalez, 8.7 Box-Toppers points, ranked 70th among all players, 31st among AL pitchers.

Royals: Jason Vargas, 7.0 Box-Toppers points, ranked 107th among all players, 38th among AL pitchers.

NLCS Game 4: Giants lead Cardinals, 2-1

The pitching matchup Wednesday:

Cardinals: Shelby Miller, 9.0 Box-Toppers points, ranked 64th among all players, 30th among NL pitchers.

Giants: Ryan Vogelsong, 8.7 Box-Toppers points, ranked 74th among all players, 36th among NL pitchers.

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

Players of the Game (POG) listed from highest to lowest Box-Toppers game score

1013	Score	Team	Player of the Game	AB	R	H	BI	BB	K		IP	H	R	ER	BB	K
POG	3.0	`Royals	Kelvin Herrera (H, 1)	-	-	-	-	-	-		1.0	0	0	0	0	2
POG	1.0	Giants	Travis Ishikawa LF	3	0	1	3	0	0		-	-	-	-	-	-

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