Dodgers closing pitcher Kenley Jansen is Box-Toppers Player of the Game in Wednesday’s National League Wild Card Game.
Jansen struck out three in the ninth inning, allowing one hit, no runs and no walks, in the 3-1 win over the Cardinals.
Read MoreBox-Toppers’ NL Wild Card preview—St. Louis Cardinals vs. Los Angeles Dodgers
The St. Louis Cardinals visit the Los Angeles Dodgers in the National League one-game Wild Card playoff game Wednesday.
Read MoreNathan Eovaldi tops players as Red Sox beat Yankees in AL Wild Card Game
Red Sox pitcher Nathan Eovaldi is Box-Toppers Player of the Game in Tuesday’s American League Wild Card Game.
Eovaldi struck out eight over 5 1/3 innings, allowing one run, four hits and no walks, in the 6-2 win over the Yankees. The Red Sox advance to the AL Division Series Thursday against the Rays.
Read MoreBox-Toppers’ AL Wild Card Game preview—New York Yankees vs. Boston Red Sox
The New York Yankees visit the Boston Red Sox in the American League one-game Wild Card playoff game Tuesday.
Read MoreMarlins’ Sixto Sanchez, Padres’ Jake Cronenworth top players in Friday's 2 NL Wild Card games
Marlins pitcher Sixto Sanchez and Jake Cronenworth of the Padres are Box-Toppers Player of the Game winners in Friday’s two National League Wild Card playoff games.
Read MoreDodgers’ Clayton Kershaw tops players in Thursday's 4 Wild Card round games
Dodgers pitcher Clayton Kershaw tops players in Thursday’s four Wild Card playoff games.
Other Player of the Game winners Thursday:
Braves pitcher Ian Anderson.
Fernando Tatis Jr. of the Padres.
Sean Murphy of the Athletics.
Braves’ Max Fried tops players in Wednesday's 8 Wild Card round games
Snell, Cole, Giolito, Valdez top players in Tuesday's four AL Wild Card games
Rays pitcher Blake Snell topped players Tuesday in the four American League Wild Card games to open the 2020 postseason.
Snell was Player of the Game in the 3-1 win over the Blue Jays. In addition, Yankees pitcher Gerrit Cole, White Sox pitcher Lucas Giolito and Astros pitcher Framber Valdez were Player of the Game winners Tuesday in their AL Wild Card Game 1 wins.
Read MoreYandy Diaz tops players as Rays beat Athletics in AL Wild Card Game
Yandy Diaz of the Rays is Box-Toppers Player of the Game in Wednesday’s American League Wild Card Game.
Diaz hit two home runs and went 3-for-4, scoring twice and driving in two runs, in the 5-1 win over the Athletics. The Rays advance to the AL Division Series Friday against the Astros.
Read MoreTampa Bay Rays face Oakland Athletics in AL Wild Card Game Wednesday
The Tampa Bay Rays visit the Oakland Athletics in the American League one-game Wild Card playoff game Wednesday.
Starting pitchers are:
Rays—Charlie Morton, 18.8 Box-Toppers points in 2019, fifth among all players and third among American League pitchers. Morton is also the top Rays player in 2019’s Box-Toppers season player rankings.
Athletics—Sean Manaea, 3.7 Box-Toppers points in 2019, 265th among all players and 66th among AL pitchers.
Read MoreMilwaukee Brewers face Washington Nationals in NL Wild Card Game Tuesday
The Milwaukee Brewers visit the Washington Nationals in the National League one-game Wild Card playoff game Tuesday.
Starting pitchers are:
Brewers—Brandon Woodruff, 7.7 Box-Toppers points, ranked 94th among all players, 40th among NL pitchers.
Nationals—Max Scherzer, 15.4 Box-Toppers points, ranked 15th among all players, ninth among NL pitchers.
Read MoreDellin Betances tops players as Yankees defeat Athletics in AL Wild Card Game
Yankees pitcher Dellin Betances is Wednesday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day in the American League Wild Card Game.
Betances struck out three over two scoreless innings, allowing no hits and no walks, picking up the win, in the 7-2 win over the Athletics.
Read MoreCurious starting pitcher choices highlight AL Wild Card preview of Athletics vs. Yankees
The Oakland Athletics visit the New York Yankees in the American League one-game Wild Card playoff game Wednesday.
Read MoreKyle Freeland tops players as Rockies beat Cubs in NL Wild Card Game
Rockies pitcher Kyle Freeland is Tuesday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day in the National League Wild Card Game.
Freeland struck out six over 6 2/3 scoreless innings, allowing four hits and one walk, in the 2-1, 13-inning win over the Cubs, as the Rockies advance to the NL Division Series Thursday against the Brewers.
Read MoreColorado Rockies face the Chicago Cubs in NL Wild Card Game Tuesday
The Colorado Rockies visit the Chicago Cubs in the National League one-game Wild Card playoff game Tuesday.
Read MoreIndians' Bauer, Astros' Altuve top players in Thursday's AL Division Series openers
Trevor Bauer of the Indians and Jose Altuve of the Astros are Box-Toppers Players of the Game in Thursday’s pair of American League Division Series openers.
Bauer struck out eight over 6 2/3 scoreless innings, allowing two hits and one walk, in the 4-0 win over the Yankees. The Indians now lead the Yankees 1-0 in the best-of-five series.
Read MoreDiamondbacks' Jake Lamb tops players in Wednesday's NL Wild Card Game
Jake Lamb of the Diamondbacks is Box-Toppers Player of the Day in Wednesday’s National League Wild Card game.
Lamb went 4-for-5, scoring three times, in the Arizona Diamondbacks 11-8 win over the Colorado Rockies.
Read MoreDavid Robertson tops players as Yankees beat Twins in AL Wild Card Game
Yankees pitcher David Robertson is Tuesday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day in Tuesday’s American League Wild Card Game.
Robertson pitched 3 1/3 scoreless innings of middle relief, allowing three hits, one walk, striking out three and earning the win, in the 8-4 win over the Royals.
Read MoreTwo pitchers ranked among Box-Toppers' top 10 (Santana, Severino) face off in AL Wild Card Game Tuesday
The Minnesota Twins visit the New York Yankeesin the American League one-game Wild Card playoff game Tuesday.
Starting pitchers are: Twins—Ervin Santana, 16.1 Box-Toppers points, ranked 10th among all players, fifth among AL pitchers. Yankees—Luis Severino, 21.1 Box-Toppers points, ranked eighth among all players, fourth among AL pitchers.
Read MoreGiants' Madison Bumgarner tops players in NL Wild Card Game win over Mets
Giants pitcher Madison Bumgarner is Box-Toppers Player of the Day in Wednesday’s National League Wild Card game.
Bumgarner pitched a complete-game, four-hit shutout, striking out six and walking two, in the 3-0 win over the Mets.
Bumgarner had a Box-Toppers game score of +9.0. Third baseman Conor Gillaspie who hit the ninth-inning, three-run homer that put the Giants ahead, had a Box-Toppers game score of +2.0 (HR 2-4 R 3BI).
Bumgarner had 13.0 Box-Toppers points during the regular season, 19th among all players and 12th among NL pitchers. Over the past two seasons, Bumgarner has 30.0 Box-Toppers points, ranked seventh among NL pitchers. Gillaspie had 2.0 Box-Toppers points during the regular season.
The Giants, 10th-ranked in Box-Toppers team rankings (112.7), beat the Mets, ranked sixth (119.1). The Giants are the lowest-ranked team to qualify for the postseason but among the 10 teams in the playoffs, they were hottest down the stretch—in the season’s final 10 games, they picked up 8.7 Box-Toppers points.
The Giants will face the Cubs in the best-of-five NL Divisional Series beginning Friday in Chicago. The Cubs have baseball’s best record and highest accumulated Box-Toppers point total of 139.5.
Top player from NL Wild Card Game
| BTG | Game | Player of Game | AB | R | H | BI | IP | H | R | ER | BB | K | |
| 9.0 | SF 3, NYM 0 | Madison Bumgarner (W,1-0) | - | - | - | - | 9.0 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 6 | |
| BTG: Box-Toppers game score | |||||||||||||
Coming Thursday: The American League begins both division playoff series:
AL Division Series, Game 1: Blue Jays at Rangers
The Blue Jays rank 10th in Box-Toppers team rankings (114.0 Box-Toppers points) while the Rangers rank fifth (122.5). In the final 10 days of the season, the Rangers picked up 7.5 Box-Toppers points while the Blue Jays picked up 6.0.
The pitching matchup Thursday:
Blue Jays—Marco Estrada, 11.0 Box-Toppers points, ranked 37th among all players, 15th among AL pitchers.
Rangers—Cole Hamels, 17.8 Box-Toppers points, ranked sixth among all players, second among AL pitchers.
The Blue Jays have three players who are among the top 10 in their Box-Toppers category:
- J.A. Happ, 14.7 Box-Toppers points, ranks third among AL pitchers.
- Catcher Russell Martin, 10.5 Box-Toppers points, ranks sixth among AL batters.
- Third baseman Josh Donaldson, 9.7 Box-Toppers poitns, ranks seventh among AL batters.
The Rangers also have three players who are among the top 10 in their Box-Toppers category:
- Hamels, 17.8 Box-Toppers points, second among AL pitchers, sixth among all players.
- Third baseman Adrian Beltre, 9.5 Box-Toppers points, eighth among AL batters.
- Shortstop Elvis Andrus, 9.2 Box-Toppers points, 10th among AL batters.
Blue Jays vs. Rangers
Here are players for both teams in the AL Divisional Series beginning Thursday. Players are listed for both teams ranked by Box-Toppers points earned in 2016. All players listed were on active Major or Minor League rosters at the end of the season—not necessarily all of them will be included on postseason rosters.| Toronto Blue Jays | Texas Rangers | |||||
| Player | Pos | BTP | Player | Pos | BTP | |
| Happ, J.A. 2536 | pi sp | 14.7 | Hamels, Cole 2135 | pi sp | 17.8 | |
| Estrada, Marco 2847 | pi sp | 11.0 | Darvish, Yu 3003 | pi sp | 10.4 | |
| Sanchez, Aaron 3392 | pi sp | 10.7 | Beltre, Adrian 1141 | 3b | 9.5 | |
| Martin, Russell 2202 | ca | 10.5 | Andrus, Elvis 2582 | ss | 9.2 | |
| Donaldson, Josh 3144 | 3b | 9.7 | Lewis, Colby 1567 | pi sp | 7.7 | |
| Liriano, Francisco 2104 | pi sp | 8.0 | Mazara, Nomar 3614 | rf lf | 7.0 | |
| Encarnacion, Edwin 2098 | dh 1b | 8.0 | Odor, Rougned 3336 | 2b | 6.5 | |
| Dickey, R.A. 1734 | pi sp | 7.0 | Beltran, Carlos 1194 | dh rf | 6.0 | |
| Stroman, Marcus 3327 | pi sp | 6.7 | Lucroy, Jonathan 2744 | ca | 5.7 | |
| Saunders, Michael 2768 | lf | 5.2 | Griffin, A.J. 3074 | pi sp | 5.7 | |
| Smoak, Justin 2731 | 1b | 3.5 | Gomez, Carlos 2397 | lf | 4.5 | |
| Osuna, Roberto 3512 | pi cp | 3.0 | Holland, Derek 2634 | pi sp | 4.0 | |
| Upton, Melvin 1922 | lf cf | 2.5 | Desmond, Ian 2673 | cf lf | 4.0 | |
| Pillar, Kevin 3486 | cf | 2.0 | Moreland, Mitch 2799 | 1b | 3.5 | |
| Biagini, Joe 3646 | pi mr | 2.0 | Harrell, Lucas 2988 | pi sp | 3.0 | |
| Goins, Ryan 3478 | 2b | 1.5 | Rua, Ryan 3631 | 1b lf | 3.0 | |
| Bautista, Jose 2169 | rf | 1.0 | DeShields, Delino 3557 | cf lf | 2.0 | |
| Tulowitzki, Troy 2308 | ss | 1.0 | Perez, Martin 3213 | pi sp | 2.0 | |
| Bolsinger, Mike 3318 | pi sp | 1.0 | Barnette, Tony 3670 | pi mr | 2.0 | |
| Grilli, Jason 2209 | pi mr cp | 1.0 | Bush, Matt 3673 | pi mr cp | 2.0 | |
| Travis, Devon 3436 | 2b | 1.0 | Tolleson, Shawn 3077 | pi cp | 1.0 | |
| Benoit, Joaquin 1663 | pi mr | 1.0 | Choo, Shin-Soo 2267 | rf | 1.0 | |
| Cecil, Brett 2566 | pi mr | 1.0 | Claudio, Alex 3459 | pi mr | 1.0 | |
| Navarro, Dioner 2087 | dh ca | 1.0 | Jeffress, Jeremy 3473 | pi cp | 1.0 | |
| Diekman, Jake 3266 | pi mr | 1.0 | ||||
| Alvarez, Dario 3663 | pi mr | 1.0 | ||||
| Profar, Jurickson 3665 | ph | 1.0 | ||||
| Totals | 114.0 | Totals | 122.5 | |||
AL Division Series, Game 1: Red Sox at Indians
The Red Sox rank second in Box-Toppers team rankings (128.3 Box-Toppers points) while the Indians rank fourth (123.7). In the final 10 days of the season, the Indians picked up 6.0 Box-Toppers points while the Red Sox picked up 5.0.
The pitching matchup Thursday:
Red Sox—Rick Porcello, 8.0 Box-Toppers points, 91st among all players, 31st among AL pitchers. (Despite leading all pitchers with 22 wins, Porcello did not rank highly in Box-Toppers player rankings in 2016.)
Indians—Trevor Bauer, 11.4 Box-Toppers points, 34th among all players, 12th among AL pitchers. (Bauer ranks higher than Porcello in Box-Toppers player rankings but has 10 fewer wins—he was 12-8 in 2016.)
The Red Sox are the AL’s top-ranked team in Box-Toppers points, but have only one player ranked in the top 10 in a Box-Toppers category—David Price, 12.4 Box-Toppers points, ranks ninth among AL pitchers.
The Indians have three pitchers in Box-Toppers top 10 pitchers list, none of whom is starting Game 1:
- Corey Kluber, 21.2 Box-Toppers points, ranks first among AL pitchers and fifth among all players.
- Danny Salazar, 12.5 Box-Toppers points, ranks eighth among AL pitchers.
- Carlos Carrasco, 12.4 Box-Toppers points, ranks 10th among AL pitchers.
Red Sox vs. Indians
Here are players for both teams in the AL Divisional Series beginning Thursday. Players are listed for both teams ranked by Box-Toppers points earned in 2016. All players listed were on active Major or Minor League rosters at the end of the season—not necessarily all of them will be included on postseason rosters.| Boston Red Sox | Cleveland Indians | |||||
| Player | Pos | BTP | Player | Pos | BTP | |
| Price, David 2593 | pi sp | 12.4 | Kluber, Corey 3200 | pi sp | 21.2 | |
| Pomeranz, Drew 3061 | pi sp | 12.4 | Salazar, Danny 3223 | pi sp | 12.5 | |
| Wright, Steven 3224 | pi sp | 8.4 | Carrasco, Carlos 2885 | pi sp | 12.4 | |
| Kimbrel, Craig 2825 | pi cp | 8.0 | Bauer, Trevor 3065 | pi sp | 11.4 | |
| Ortiz, David | dh | 8.0 | Miller, Andrew 2436 | pi cp mr | 8.0 | |
| Porcello, Rick 2573 | pi sp | 8.0 | Allen, Cody 3265 | pi cp mr | 7.0 | |
| Shaw, Travis 3544 | 1b 3b | 7.0 | Lindor, Francisco 3586 | ss | 7.0 | |
| Ramirez, Hanley 2119 | 1b | 7.0 | Napoli, Mike 2161 | 1b | 6.5 | |
| Betts, Mookie 3404 | rf | 6.2 | Tomlin, Josh 2771 | pi sp | 5.0 | |
| Bradley, Jackie Jr. 3293 | cf | 5.5 | Chisenhall, Lonnie 2959 | rf | 3.5 | |
| Hill, Aaron 2056 | 2b | 5.5 | Crisp, Coco 1876 | lf | 3.0 | |
| Buchholz, Clay 2363 | pi sp | 5.0 | Otero, Dan 3365 | pi mr | 3.0 | |
| Pedroia, Dustin 2320 | 2b | 5.0 | Shaw, Bryan 2995 | pi mr | 3.0 | |
| Rodriguez, Eduardo 3480 | pi sp | 4.7 | Clevinger, Mike 3707 | pi mr sp | 3.0 | |
| Uehara, Koji 2802 | pi cp | 4.0 | Byrd, Marlon 1751 | rf | 2.5 | |
| Ross, Robbie Jr. 2999 | pi cp mr sp | 3.0 | Santana, Carlos 2757 | dh 1b | 2.5 | |
| Leon, Sandy 3676 | ca | 3.0 | Almonte, Abraham 3554 | rf ph | 2.0 | |
| Holt, Brock 3340 | 3b lf | 2.5 | Naquin, Tyler 3662 | cf ph | 2.0 | |
| Ziegler, Brad 2504 | pi cp | 2.0 | Anderson, Cody 3509 | pi sp | 1.7 | |
| Abad, Fernando 3653 | pi mr | 2.0 | Ramirez, Jose 3436 | 3b | 1.5 | |
| Hembree, Heath 3620 | pi cp | 1.7 | Brantley, Michael 2785 | lf | 1.0 | |
| Swihart, Blake 3565 | lf ca | 1.0 | McAllister, Zach 3088 | pi mr sp | 1.0 | |
| Kelly, Joe 3066 | pi sp | 1.0 | Gomes, Yan 3177 | ca | 1.0 | |
| Bogaerts, Xander 3383 | ss | 1.0 | Guyer, Brandon 3363 | lf | 1.0 | |
| Hanigan, Ryan 2708 | ca | 1.0 | Gimenez, Chris 2870 | ca | 1.0 | |
| Tazawa, Junichi 3151 | pi mr | 1.0 | ||||
| Vazquez, Christian 3380 | ca | 1.0 | ||||
| Brentz, Bryce 3680 | lf | 1.0 | ||||
| Totals | 128.3 | Totals | 123.7 | |||
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.
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