Indians' Carlos Carrasco (9IP 0R H 7K ND) tops players for Tuesday, Aug. 4

Shawn Plank August 5, 2015

Indians pitcher Carlos Carrasco is Tuesday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day.

Also Tuesday, Giants pitcher Jake Peavy rises to 25th place in Box-Toppers points among all players since 1995.

Top 10 players

Here are the top 10 players in Box-Toppers points (BTP) for the 2015 season as of Aug. 4.


	Player	Pos	Team	BTP
1	deGrom, Jacob 3343	pi sp	nym nl	16.4
2	Scherzer, Max 2588	pi sp	dc nl	16.0
3	Hernandez, Felix 2064	pi sp	sea al	15.4
4	Price, David 2593	pi sp	tor al	15.1
5	Kershaw, Clayton 2494	pi sp	lad nl	15.0
6	Sale, Chris 2806	pi sp	chi al	14.4
7	Gray, Sonny 3259	pi sp	oak al	14.1
8	Keuchel, Dallas 3050	pi sp	hou al	13.7
9	Greinke, Zack 1871	pi sp	lad nl	13.0
10	Archer, Chris 3194	pi sp	tb al	13.0

What are those numbers after players' names?

Player of the Day—Carrasco pitched nine scoreless innings, allowing one hit and striking out seven, in the 2-0, 12-inning win over the Angels. Carrasco did not earn the win, picking up a no-decision, because when he exited, the game was tied 0-0.

Carrasco earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day, giving him 13.0 for the season, rising to 11th place in season player rankings. He ranks seventh among American League pitchers.

National League Player of the Day—Cubs pitcher Jake Arrieta pitched seven scoreless innings, allowing two hits and striking out five, in the 5-0 win over the Pirates.

Arrieta earns 1.7 Box-Toppers points for being NL Player of the Day, giving him 12.7 for the season, rising to 13th in player rankings. He ranks sixth among NL pitchers.

American League Batter of the Day—Chris Young of the Yankees homered and went 3-for-4, scoring four times and driving in three runs, in the 13-3 win over the Red Sox.

National League Batter of the Day—There is no NL Batter of the Day for Tuesday because no NL batter earned Player of the Game honors.

Notable—Giants pitcher Jake Peavy rose to 25th place in Box-Toppers points among all players since 1995 after earning Player of the Game honors Tuesday.

Peavy (6IP 5H R 8K ND in the 8-3 win over the Braves) earns 1.0 Box-Toppers point, giving him 133.8 for his career. With his point Tuesday, Peavy passes two players on Box-Toppers “all-time” list—Miguel Cabrera (132.9) and Jason Giambi (133.4). Peavy trails 24th-place player David Ortiz (135.9). Box-Toppers record keeping began in 1995.

Peavy ranks 10th among active players in career Box-Toppers points. He has 2.0 Box-Toppers points this season.

Debut—Mariners pitcher Rob Rasmussen made his Box-Toppers debut Tuesday, the first time in his career he earned Player of the Game honors. Rasmussen (1.1IP 0H 0R 2K in the 10-4 win over the Rockies) made his Major League debut May 20, 2014, and was playing in his 13th career game. He is the 3,549th player to debut in Box-Toppers since record keeping began in 1995.

Scoring—Carrasco earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day and Arrieta earns 1.7 Box-Toppers points for being NL Player of the Day. Young earns 1.5 Box-Toppers points for being AL 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.

Top player from each game

Listed from highest to lowest Box-Toppers game score

  
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
  

    8/4
    Score
    Team
    Player
    AB
    R
    H
    BI
    BB
    K
    
    IP
    H
    R
    ER
    BB
    K
  

    MLB
    14.0
    `Indians
    Carlos Carrasco
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    9.0
    1
    0
    0
    1
    7
  

    
    7.0
    Athletics
    Chris Bassitt (W,1-4)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    7.0
    5
    0
    0
    2
    7
  

    NL
    7.0
    Cubs
    Jake Arrieta (W,12-6)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    7.0
    2
    0
    0
    3
    5
  

    BAT
    6.0
    Yankees
    Chris Young, LF
    4
    4
    3
    3
    1
    1
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    6.0
    Mets
    Jonathon Niese (W,6-9)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    7.0
    4
    1
    1
    1
    6
  

    
    6.0
    `Giants
    Jake Peavy
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    6.0
    5
    1
    1
    1
    8
  

    
    5.2
    Blue Jays
    Marco Estrada (W,9-6)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    6.2
    2
    1
    1
    2
    5
  

    
    5.2
    Brewers
    Jimmy Nelson (W,9-9)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    6.2
    3
    1
    0
    1
    4
  

    
    4.0
    `Reds
    Anthony DeSclafani (W,7-7)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    6.0
    7
    2
    2
    0
    9
  

    
    3.1
    Phillies
    Ken Giles (S,3)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    1.1
    0
    0
    0
    1
    3
  

    
    3.1
    Mariners
    Rob Rasmussen (W,1-0)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    1.1
    0
    0
    0
    0
    2
  

    
    3.0
    Royals
    Salvador Perez, C
    4
    1
    3
    3
    0
    0
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    3.0
    `Rangers
    Spencer Patton (H,2)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    1.0
    0
    0
    0
    0
    2
  

    
    2.0
    Rays
    Asdrubal Cabrera, SS
    4
    3
    2
    1
    1
    0
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    2.0
    Nationals
    Drew Storen (W,2-0)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    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.
  

Blue Jays' David Price tops players for Monday, Aug. 3, rises to 4th in Box-Toppers player rankings

Shawn Plank August 4, 2015

Blue Jays pitcher David Price is Monday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day and rises to fourth in player rankings.

Price struck out 11 over eight innings, allowing one run and three hits, in the 5-1 win over the Twins in his debut with the Blue Jays. Price, previously with the Tigers, was Box-Toppers’ highest-ranked player traded prior to the July trade deadline.

Top 10 players

Here are the top 10 players in Box-Toppers points (BTP) for the 2015 season as of Aug. 2.


	Player	Pos	Team	BTP
1	deGrom, Jacob 3343	pi sp	nym nl	16.4
2	Scherzer, Max 2588	pi sp	dc nl	16.0
3	Hernandez, Felix 2064	pi sp	sea al	15.4
4	Price, David 2593	pi sp	tor al	15.1
5	Kershaw, Clayton 2494	pi sp	lad nl	15.0
6	Sale, Chris 2806	pi sp	chi al	14.4
7	Gray, Sonny 3259	pi sp	oak al	14.1
8	Keuchel, Dallas 3050	pi sp	hou al	13.7
9	Greinke, Zack 1871	pi sp	lad nl	13.0
10	Archer, Chris 3194	pi sp	tb al	13.0

What are those numbers after players' names?

Price earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Game, giving him 15.1 for the season. He ranks fourth among all players and second among American League pitchers, behind Felix Hernandez of the Mariners (15.4).

National League Player of the Day—Diamondbacks pitcher Zack Godley pitched six scoreless innings, striking out six and allowing three hits, in the 6-4 win over the Nationals.

American League Batter of the Day—Adrian Beltre of the Rangers hit for the cycle (home run, triple, double, single), going 4-for-5, scoring twice and driving in three runs, in the 12-9 win over the Astros.

National League Batter of the Day—Yoenis Cespedes of the Mets doubled and went 3-for-5, scoring twice and driving in four runs, in the 12-7 win over the Marlins.

Cespedes earns 1.5 Box-Toppers points for being NL Batter of the Day, giving him 8.2 for the season, rising to second place among NL batters, behind Randal Grichuk of the Cardinals (9.5).

Scoring—Price earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day and Godley earns 1.7 Box-Toppers points for being NL Player of the Day. Beltre and Cespedes 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) earn 1.0 Box-Toppers point.

Top player from each game

Listed from highest to lowest Box-Toppers game score

  
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
  

    8/3
    Score
    Team
    Player
    AB
    R
    H
    BI
    BB
    K
    
    IP
    H
    R
    ER
    BB
    K
  

    MLB
    12.0
    Blue Jays
    David Price (W,10-4)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    8.0
    3
    1
    1
    2
    11
  

    NL
    7.0
    Dbacks
    Zack Godley (W,3-0)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    6.0
    3
    0
    0
    2
    6
  

    BAT
    4.0
    Rangers
    Adrian Beltre, 3B
    5
    2
    4
    3
    0
    0
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    BAT
    4.0
    Mets
    Yoenis Cespedes, CF
    5
    2
    3
    4
    0
    0
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    4.0
    Padres
    Yangervis Solarte, 3B
    4
    2
    2
    4
    1
    1
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    3.1
    Angels
    Garrett Richards (W,11-8)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    7.1
    4
    4
    4
    3
    11
  

    
    3.1
    `Rays
    Nathan Karns
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    5.1
    3
    2
    2
    2
    7
  

    
    3.0
    Braves
    Jace Peterson, 2B
    5
    2
    3
    3
    1
    0
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    3.0
    Mariners
    Kyle Seager, 3B
    4
    3
    3
    1
    1
    0
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    2.0
    Orioles
    Caleb Joseph, C
    4
    1
    2
    3
    0
    0
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

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

Mariners' Iwakuma tops players for Sunday, Aug. 2, Athletics' Gray rises to 6th in Box-Toppers player rankings

Shawn Plank August 3, 2015

Mariners pitcher Hisashi Iwakuma is Sunday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day.

Also Sunday, Athletics pitcher Sonny Gray rises to sixth in Box-Toppers season player rankings and Randal Grichuk of the Cardinals extends his Box-Toppers points lead among National League batters.

Top 10 players

Here are the top 10 players in Box-Toppers points (BTP) for the 2015 season as of Aug. 2.


	Player	Pos	Team	BTP
1	deGrom, Jacob 3343	pi sp	nym nl	16.4
2	Scherzer, Max 2588	pi sp	dc nl	16.0
3	Hernandez, Felix 2064	pi sp	sea al	15.4
4	Kershaw, Clayton 2494	pi sp	lad nl	15.0
5	Sale, Chris 2806	pi sp	chi al	14.4
6	Gray, Sonny 3259	pi sp	oak al	14.1
7	Keuchel, Dallas 3050	pi sp	hou al	13.7
8	Price, David 2593	pi sp	tor al	13.1
9	Greinke, Zack 1871	pi sp	lad nl	13.0
10	Archer, Chris 3194	pi sp	tb al	13.0

What are those numbers after players' names?

Player of the Day—Iwakuma struck out eight over 8 2/3 innings, allowing one run and three hits, in the 4-1, 11-inning win over the Twins. Iwakuma did not earn the win, picking up a no-decision, because he exited the game with the score tied, 1-1.

National League Player of the Day—Marlins pitcher Jose Fernandez pitched six scoreless innings, striking out 10 and allowing four hits, in the 5-2 win over the Padres. Fernandez did not earn the win, picking up a no-decision, because after he exited, the Padres tied the game 2-2.

American League Batter of the Day—Stephen Drew of the Yankees tripled, doubled and went 3-for-5, scoring twice and driving in four runs, in the 12-3 win over the White Sox.

National League Batter of the Day—Jace Peterson of the Braves hit a three-run homer and went 3-for-4 in the 6-2 win over the Phillies.

Rankings—Athletics pitcher Sonny Gray rose to sixth place in Box-Toppers season player rankings after earning Player of the Game honors Sunday.

Gray (7IP 4H R 7K ND in the 2-1 win over the Indians) earns 1.0 Box-Toppers point, giving him 14.1 for the season. He ranks third among AL pitchers, behind Felix Hernandez of the Mariners (15.4) and Chris Sale of the White Sox (14.4).

Notable—Randal Grichuk of the Cardinals extends his Box-Toppers point lead among NL batters after earning Player of the Game honors Sunday.

Grichuk (2-R HR 2-4 in the 3-2 win over the Rockies) earns 1.0 Box-Toppers point, giving him 9.5 for the season. Grichuk ranks 24th among all players this season.

Debut—Tigers pitcher Daniel Norris made his Box-Toppers debut Sunday, the first time in his career he earned Player of the Game honors.

Norris (7.1IP 4H R 5K W in the 6-1 win over the Orioles) made his Major League debut Sept. 5, 2014, and was playing in his 11th career game. He is the 3,548th player to debut in Box-Toppers since record keeping began in 1995.

Scoring—Iwakuma earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day and Fernandez earns 1.7 Box-Toppers points for being NL Player of the Day. Drew and Peterson each earn 1.5 Box-Toppers points for being their league’s Batter of the Day. All of Sunday’s other Players of the Game (listed in the chart below) earn 1.0 Box-Toppers point.

Top player from each game

Listed from highest to lowest Box-Toppers game score

  
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
  

    8/2
    Score
    Team
    Player
    AB
    R
    H
    BI
    BB
    K
    
    IP
    H
    R
    ER
    BB
    K
  

    MLB
    10.2
    `Mariners
    Hisashi Iwakuma
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    8.2
    3
    1
    1
    1
    8
  

    
    10.1
    Rangers
    Martin Perez (W,1-2)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    8.0
    2
    1
    1
    0
    6
  

    NL
    10.0
    `Marlins
    Jose Fernandez
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    6.0
    4
    0
    0
    2
    10
  

    
    9.0
    Pirates
    Charlie Morton (W,7-4)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    7.0
    5
    0
    0
    0
    7
  

    
    9.0
    Blue Jays
    R.A. Dickey (W,6-10)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    7.0
    2
    0
    0
    2
    6
  

    
    6.0
    Mets
    Noah Syndergaard (W, 6-5)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    8.0
    7
    2
    2
    0
    9
  

    
    5.1
    Tigers
    Daniel Norris (W,2-1)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    7.1
    4
    1
    1
    1
    5
  

    BAT
    4.0
    Yankees
    Stephen Drew, 2B
    5
    2
    3
    4
    0
    1
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    4.0
    `Athletics
    Sonny Gray
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    7.0
    4
    1
    1
    4
    7
  

    
    4.0
    Rays
    Brad Boxberger (S,26)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    1.0
    0
    0
    0
    0
    3
  

    BAT
    3.0
    Braves
    Jace Peterson, 2B
    4
    1
    3
    3
    0
    1
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    2.0
    Dodgers
    Andre Ethier, LF
    5
    2
    2
    3
    0
    2
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    2.0
    Astros
    Collin McHugh (W,13-5)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    7.0
    8
    1
    1
    1
    6
  

    
    2.0
    Cubs
    Clayton Richard (W,2-0)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    6.0
    5
    1
    1
    0
    3
  

    
    1.0
    Cardinals
    Randal Grichuk, CF
    4
    1
    2
    2
    0
    2
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

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

Dodgers' Clayton Kershaw tops players for Saturday, Aug. 1, rises to 4th in Box-Toppers player rankings

Shawn Plank August 2, 2015

Dodgers pitcher Clayton Kershaw is Saturday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day and rises to fourth in season player rankings.

Also Saturday, Astros pitcher Dallas Keuchel rises to sixth in Box-Toppers player rankings and Ryan Howard of the Phillies earns Player of the Game honors for the second straight day.

Top 10 players

Here are the top 10 players in Box-Toppers points (BTP) for the 2015 season as of Aug. 1.


	Player	Pos	Team	BTP
1	deGrom, Jacob 3343	pi sp	nym nl	16.4
2	Scherzer, Max 2588	pi sp	dc nl	16.0
3	Hernandez, Felix 2064	pi sp	sea al	15.4
4	Kershaw, Clayton 2494	pi sp	lad nl	15.0
5	Sale, Chris 2806	pi sp	chi al	14.4
6	Keuchel, Dallas 3050	pi sp	hou al	13.7
7	Price, David 2593	pi sp	tor al	13.1
8	Gray, Sonny 3259	pi sp	oak al	13.1
9	Greinke, Zack 1871	pi sp	lad nl	13.0
10	Archer, Chris 3194	pi sp	tb al	13.0

What are those numbers after players' names?

Player of the Day—Kershaw pitched eight scoreless innings, allowing two hits and striking out seven, in the 3-1 win over the Angels.

Kershaw earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day, giving him 15.0 for the season, rising to fourth place among all players and third among National League pitchers, behind overall leader Jacob deGrom of the Mets (16.4) and Max Scherzer of the Nationals (16.0). Kershaw led all players in Box-Toppers points in 2014 with 31.5.

Kershaw also rises to 18th place in Box-Toppers points among all players since 1995, when record keeping began. Kershaw has 148.6 career Box-Toppers points and with his points Saturday passes two players on the “all-time” list—Jim Thome (146.7) and Javier Vazquez (148.3). He trails 17th-place player, Chipper Jones (149.0).

American League Player of the Day—Travis Shaw of the Red Sox hit two home runs, doubled and went 4-for-4, scoring five times and driving in three runs, in the 11-7 win over the Rays.

This was Shaw’s Box-Toppers debut, the first time in his career he earned Player of the Game honors. He made his Major League debut May 8 and was playing in his 10th career game. He is the 3,544th player to debut in Box-Toppers since record keeping began in 1995.

National League Batter of the Day—Lucas Duda of the Mets homered twice, doubled and went 3-for-3, driving in three runs, in the 3-2 win over the Nationals.

American League Batter of the Day—There is no separate AL Batter of the Day Saturday because the overall AL Player of the Day is a batter (Travis Shaw).

Rankings—Astros pitcher Dallas Keuchel rose to sixth place in Box-Toppers player rankings after earning Player of the Game honors Saturday. Keuchel (6IP 2H 2R 8K W in the 9-2 win over the Diamondbacks) earns 1.0 Box-Toppers point, giving him 13.7 for the season. He ranks third among AL pitchers.

Notable—Ryan Howard of the Phillies earned Player of the Game honors for the second straight day Saturday. Howard (2B 3-4 2R BI in the 12-2 win over the Braves) was also NL Batter of the Day Friday. Howard has 4.5 Box-Toppers points for the season, 17th among NL batters. He has 95.7 for his career, 74th among all players since 1995 (when Box-Toppers record keeping began) and first among active NL first basemen.

Debuts—In addition to Shaw, three other players made their Box-Toppers debut Saturday, earning their first career Player of the Game honors:

Athletics pitcher Aaron Brooks (7.1IP 5H R 5K W in the 5-1 win over the Indians) made his Major League debut May 3, 2014, and was playing in his fifth career game. He is the 3,545th player to debut in Box-Toppers since record keeping began in 1995.
Giants pitcher Hunter Strickland (2IP 0H 0R K W in the 9-7 win over the Rangers) made his Major League debut Sept. 1, 2014, and was playing in his 37th career game. He is the 3,546th player to debut in Box-Toppers since record keeping began in 1995.
Ben Paulsen of the Rockies (HR 2B 2-5 R 3BI in the 6-2 win over the Cardinals) made his Major League debut July 21, 2014, and was playing in his 95th career game. He is the 3,547th player to debut in Box-Toppers since record keeping began in 1995.

Scoring—Kershaw earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day and Shaw earns 1.7 Box-Toppers points for being AL Player of the Day. Duda earns 1.5 Box-Toppers points for being NL Batter of the Day. All of Saturday’s other Players of the Game (listed in the chart below) earn 1.0 Box-Toppers point.

Top player from each game

Listed from highest to lowest Box-Toppers game score

  
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
  

    8/1
    Score
    Team
    Player
    AB
    R
    H
    BI
    BB
    K
    
    IP
    H
    R
    ER
    BB
    K
  

    MLB
    12.0
    Dodgers
    Clayton Kershaw (W,9-6)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    8.0
    2
    0
    0
    1
    7
  

    AL
    8.0
    Red Sox
    Travis Shaw, 3B
    4
    5
    4
    3
    1
    0
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    5.1
    Athletics
    Aaron Brooks (W,1-0)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    7.1
    5
    1
    1
    0
    5
  

    BAT
    5.0
    Mets
    Lucas Duda, 1B
    3
    2
    3
    3
    1
    0
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    5.0
    Orioles
    Kevin Gausman (W,2-2)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    7.0
    4
    2
    2
    0
    6
  

    
    5.0
    Cubs
    Kyle Hendricks (W,5-5)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    7.0
    4
    1
    1
    2
    6
  

    
    5.0
    Astros
    Dallas Keuchel (W,13-5)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    6.0
    2
    2
    2
    3
    8
  

    
    4.2
    White Sox
    John Danks (W,6-8)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    5.2
    3
    1
    1
    4
    8
  

    
    4.0
    Royals
    Ben Zobrist, LF
    4
    3
    3
    2
    0
    1
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    3.0
    Giants
    Hunter Strickland (W,2-1)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    2.0
    0
    0
    0
    0
    1
  

    
    2.0
    Phillies
    Ryan Howard, 1B
    4
    2
    3
    1
    1
    1
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    2.0
    Reds
    Eugenio Suarez, SS
    2
    0
    1
    3
    0
    1
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    2.0
    Padres
    Craig Kimbrel (S,31)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    1.0
    0
    0
    0
    0
    1
  

    
    2.0
    Twins
    Trevor May (W,7-7)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    1.0
    0
    0
    0
    0
    1
  

    
    1.0
    Rockies
    Ben Paulsen, 1B
    5
    1
    2
    3
    0
    1
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

Mariners' Walker tops players for Friday, July 31; Dodgers' Greinke rises to 8th in player rankings

Shawn Plank August 1, 2015

Mariners pitcher Taijuan Walker is Friday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day.

Also Friday, Dodgers pitcher Zack Greinke rose to eighth place in Box-Toppers player rankings.

Player of the Day—Walker pitched a complete-game one-hitter, allowing one home run and striking out 11, in the 6-1 win over the Twins.

Top 10 players

Here are the top 10 players in Box-Toppers points (BTP) for the 2015 season as of July 31.


	Player	Pos	Team	BTP
1	deGrom, Jacob 3343	pi sp	nym nl	16.4
2	Scherzer, Max 2588	pi sp	dc nl	16.0
3	Hernandez, Felix 2064	pi sp	sea al	15.4
4	Sale, Chris 2806	pi sp	chi al	14.4
5	Price, David 2593	pi sp	tor al	13.1
6	Gray, Sonny 3259	pi sp	oak al	13.1
7	Kershaw, Clayton 2494	pi sp	lad nl	13.0
8	Greinke, Zack 1871	pi sp	lad nl	13.0
9	Archer, Chris 3194	pi sp	tb al	13.0
10	Cole, Gerrit 3232	pi sp	pit nl	13.0

What are those numbers after players' names?

National League Player of the Day—Mets pitcher Matt Harvey struck out nine over 7 2/3 innings, allowing one run and five hits, in the 2-1, 12-inning win over the Nationals. Harvey picked up a no-decision and did not earn the win because he exited the game with the score tied, 1-1.

Harvey earns 1.7 Box-Toppers points for being NL Player of the Day, giving him 12.4 for the season. He ranks 13th among all players and seventh among NL pitchers.

American League Batter of the Day—Mark Teixeira of the Yankees hit two home runs—a grand slam and a two-run homer—in the 13-6 win over the White Sox. Teixeira also doubled and went 3-for-4.

Teixeira earns 1.5 Box-Toppers points for being AL Batter of the Day, giving him 7.5 for the season and ranks fifth among AL batters.

National League Batter of the Day—Ryan Howard of the Phillies doubled and went 2-for-3, scoring twice and driving in four runs, in the 9-3 win over the Braves.

Rankings—Dodgers pitcher Zack Greinke rose to eighth in Box-Toppers season player rankings after earning Player of the Game honors Friday.

Greinke (8IP 5H 2R 8K W in the 5-3 win over the Angels) earns 1.0 Box-Toppers point, giving him 13.0 for the season. He ranks fourth among NL pitchers.

Greinke also rises to 21st place in Box-Toppers points among all players since 1995, when Box-Toppers record keeping began. Greinke now has 138.7 career points and passes one player on the “all-time” list—Andy Pettitte (138.5). Greinke trails 20th-place player and teammate, Clayton Kershaw (146.6).

Scoring—Walker earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day and Harvey earns 1.7 Box-Toppers points for being NL Player of the Day. Teixeira and Howard each earn 1.5 Box-Toppers 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.

Top player from each game

Listed from highest to lowest Box-Toppers game score

  
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
  

    7/31
    Score
    Team
    Player
    AB
    R
    H
    BI
    BB
    K
    
    IP
    H
    R
    ER
    BB
    K
  

    MLB
    16.0
    Mariners
    Taijuan Walker (W,8-7)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    9.0
    1
    1
    1
    1
    11
  

    NL
    9.2
    `Mets
    Matt Harvey
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    7.2
    5
    1
    1
    0
    9
  

    
    9.0
    Indians
    Danny Salazar (W,9-6)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    8.0
    1
    1
    0
    1
    4
  

    
    9.0
    Cardinals
    Michael Wacha (W,12-4)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    7.0
    4
    0
    0
    1
    7
  

    BAT
    7.0
    Yankees
    Mark Teixeira, 1B
    4
    2
    3
    6
    2
    0
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    6.0
    Dodgers
    Zack Greinke (W,10-2)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    8.0
    5
    2
    2
    1
    8
  

    BAT
    5.0
    Phillies
    Ryan Howard, 1B
    3
    2
    2
    4
    2
    0
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    4.0
    Dbacks
    Daniel Hudson (W,3-3)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    2.0
    0
    0
    0
    0
    2
  

    
    3.0
    Blue Jays
    Josh Donaldson, 3B
    5
    1
    3
    4
    1
    0
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    3.0
    Orioles
    Manny Machado, 3B
    3
    2
    2
    2
    1
    0
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    3.0
    Red Sox
    Mike Napoli, 1B
    2
    2
    1
    2
    2
    0
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    2.0
    Rangers
    Adrian Beltre, 3B
    4
    1
    3
    2
    0
    0
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    2.0
    Pirates
    Jung Ho Kang, SS
    4
    2
    3
    1
    0
    0
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    2.0
    Padres
    Jedd Gyorko, 2B
    4
    0
    3
    3
    0
    1
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    2.0
    Cubs
    Anthony Rizzo, 1B
    3
    2
    2
    1
    1
    1
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

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

Mets' Jacob deGrom takes the lead in Box-Toppers player rankings; Cards' Grichuk leads NL batters

Shawn Plank July 31, 2015

deGrom passes Scherzer to lead all players in Box-Toppers points. Cards' Grichuk leads NL batters. Hernandez leads AL pitchers. Trout leads AL batters.

Houston Astros maintain Box-Toppers team rankings lead in trade-deadline shake-up

Shawn Plank July 31, 2015

Astros remain active buyers and stay atop team rankings. Dodgers pass Cardinals in NL. Blue Jays, picking up Price & Tulo, gain most points in past week.

Indians' Carrasco tops players for Thursday, July 30; Nationals' Scherzer rises to 2nd in Box-Toppers player rankings

Shawn Plank July 31, 2015

Indians pitcher Carlos Carrasco is Thursday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day.

Also Thursday, Nationals pitcher Max Scherzer rose to second place in Box-Toppers player rankings and Brandon Phillips of the Reds earned Box-Toppers points for the 10th straight season.

Top 10 players

Here are the top 10 players in Box-Toppers points (BTP) for the 2015 season as of July 30.


	Player	Pos	Team	BTP
1	deGrom, Jacob 3343	pi sp	nym nl	16.4
2	Scherzer, Max 2588	pi sp	dc nl	16.0
3	Hernandez, Felix 2064	pi sp	sea al	15.4
4	Sale, Chris 2806	pi sp	chi al	14.4
5	Price, David 2593	pi sp	tor al	13.1
6	Gray, Sonny 3259	pi sp	oak al	13.1
7	Kershaw, Clayton 2494	pi sp	lad nl	13.0
8	Archer, Chris 3194	pi sp	tb al	13.0
9	Cole, Gerrit 3232	pi sp	pit nl	13.0
10	Keuchel, Dallas 3050	pi sp	hou al	12.7

What are those numbers after players' names?

Player of the Day—Carrasco pitched a two-hit complete game, allowing one run and striking out seven, in the 3-1 win over the Athletics.

Carrasco earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day, giving him 11.0 for the season and becomes the 22nd player this season with 10 or more Box-Toppers points. He ranks 15th among all players and eighth among AL pitchers.

National League Player of the Day—Brandon Phillips of the Reds hit two homers and went 4-for-5, driving in seven runs, in the 15-5 win over the Pirates.

Phillips earns 1.7 Box-Toppers points for being NL Player of the Day, his first points of the season, and has now earned Box-Toppers points for 10 straight seasons. He earned his first Box-Toppers points in 2002 with the Indians, but did not earn points in 2004 or 2005. His 10-season streak began in 2006 when he earned Box-Toppers points with both the Indians and the Reds. His best year was 2012 with the Reds, when he earned 9.5 Box-Toppers points, seventh among NL batters. In 2014, he had 2.0 Box-Toppers points with the Reds.

Phillips has 61.1 career Box-Toppers points and ranks eighth among second basemen since 1995 (when Box-Toppers record keeping began). He ranks second among active NL second basemen, behind Chase Utley of the Phillies (72.1).

American League Batter of the Day—Eddie Rosario of the Twins hit a three-run homer and also tripled and doubled, going 3-for-5 and scoring three times, in the 9-5 win over the Mariners.

This was Rosario’s Box-Toppers debut, the first time in his career he earned Player of the Game honors. Rosario made his Major League debut May 6 and was playing in his 66th career game. He is the 3,542nd player to debut in Box-Toppers since record keeping began in 1995.

National League Batter of the Day—There is no separate NL Batter of the Day for Thursday because the overall NL Player of the Day is a batter (Brandon Phillips).

Rankings—Nationals pitcher Max Scherzer rose to second place in Box-Toppers season player rankings after earning Player of the Game honors Thursday. Scherzer (7IP 3H 0R 6K W in the 1-0 win over the Marlins) earns 1.0 Box-Toppers point, giving him 16.0 for the season. He also ranks second among NL pitchers, behind overall leader Jacob deGrom of the Mets (16.4).

Scherzer also rises to 64th place among all players since 1995, when Box-Toppers record keeping began. With his point Thursday, Scherzer now has 101.0 career Box-Toppers points and passes three players on the “all-time” list—Larry Walker (100.1), Jeff Bagwell (100.4) and Paul Konerko (100.7). Scherzer trails 63rd-place player Jason Schmidt (101.2).

Notable—Astros pitcher Scott Kazmir rose to 13th place in Box-Toppers season player rankings after earning Player of the Game honors Thursday. Kazmir (7.2IP 3H 0R 5K ND in the 3-0 win over the Angels) earns 1.0 Box-Toppers point, giving him 11.7 for the season. He ranks seventh among AL pitchers.

Debuts—In addition to Rosario, one other player made his Box-Toppers debut Thursday, the first time in his career he earned Player of the Game honors:

Phillies pitcher Elvis Araujo (1IP 0H 0R 2K ND in the 4-1 win over the Braves) made his Major League debut May 5 and was playing in his 29th career game. He is the 3,543rd player to debut in Box-Toppers since record keeping began in 1995.

Scoring—Carrasco earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day and Phillips earns 1.7 Box-Toppers points for being NL Player of the Day. Rosario earns 1.5 Box-Toppers points for being AL Batter of the Day. All of Thursday’s other Players of the Game (listed in the chart below) earn 1.0 Box-Toppers point.

Top player from each game

Listed from highest to lowest Box-Toppers game score

  
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
  

    7/30
    Score
    Team
    Player
    AB
    R
    H
    BI
    BB
    K
    
    IP
    H
    R
    ER
    BB
    K
  

    MLB
    11.0
    Indians
    Carlos Carrasco (W,11-8)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    9.0
    2
    1
    1
    1
    7
  

    NL
    8.0
    Reds
    Brandon Phillips, 2B
    5
    2
    4
    7
    0
    0
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    7.0
    Cardinals
    Matt Carpenter, 3B-1B
    5
    4
    4
    4
    0
    0
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    7.0
    Nationals
    Max Scherzer (W,11-8)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    7.0
    3
    0
    0
    3
    6
  

    
    6.2
    `Astros
    Scott Kazmir
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    7.2
    3
    0
    0
    3
    5
  

    
    6.0
    Padres
    Derek Norris, C
    5
    2
    5
    4
    0
    0
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    BAT
    4.0
    Twins
    Eddie Rosario, LF
    5
    3
    3
    3
    0
    0
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    3.0
    Tigers
    Yoenis Cespedes, LF
    5
    2
    3
    3
    0
    1
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    3.0
    Cubs
    Anthony Rizzo, 1B
    4
    1
    3
    3
    0
    0
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    3.0
    Rangers
    Josh Hamilton, DH
    4
    1
    2
    4
    1
    1
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    3.0
    Red Sox
    Steven Wright (W,4-4)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    7.0
    6
    2
    2
    2
    8
  

    
    3.0
    `Phillies
    Elvis Araujo (H,1)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    1.0
    0
    0
    0
    0
    2
  

    
    2.0
    Blue Jays
    Dioner Navarro, C
    2
    1
    1
    2
    2
    0
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

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

Cubs' Jon Lester tops players for Wednesday, July 29; Peavy, Verlander each earn 1st Box-Toppers points of 2015

Shawn Plank July 30, 2015

Cubs pitcher Jon Lester is Wednesday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day.

Also Wednesday, two players who earned their first Player of the Game honors of the season extended their streaks of seasons with at least 1.0 Box-Toppers point:

Giants pitcher Jake Peavy—14 seasons.
Tigers pitcher Justin Verlander—10 seasons.

Top 10 players

Here are the top 10 players in Box-Toppers points (BTP) for the 2015 season as of July 29.


	Player	Pos	Team	BTP
1	deGrom, Jacob 3343	pi sp	nym nl	16.4
2	Hernandez, Felix 2064	pi sp	sea al	15.4
3	Scherzer, Max 2588	pi sp	dc nl	15.0
4	Sale, Chris 2806	pi sp	chi al	14.4
5	Price, David 2593	pi sp	det al	13.1
6	Gray, Sonny 3259	pi sp	oak al	13.1
7	Kershaw, Clayton 2494	pi sp	lad nl	13.0
8	Archer, Chris 3194	pi sp	tb al	13.0
9	Cole, Gerrit 3232	pi sp	pit nl	13.0
10	Keuchel, Dallas 3050	pi sp	hou al	12.7

What are those numbers after players' names?

Player of the Day—Lester struck out 14 over eight innings, allowing two runs and five hits, in the 3-2 win over the Rockies.

Lester earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day, giving him 117.1 for his career, rising to 40th among all players since 1995, when Box-Toppers record keeping began. With his points Wednesday, he passes two players on the “all-time” list, Todd Helton (116.4) and Mark Buehrle (116.7). He trails 39th-place player Barry Zito (117.4).

Lester is also the season’s highest-ranked of the 15 who earned Player of the Game honors Wednesday. With 8.0 Box-Toppers points this season, Lester ranks 31st among all players and 15th among NL pitchers.

Lester had a Box-Toppers game score of 12 Wednesday, the same as Tigers pitcher Justin Verlander (Player of the Game in the win over the Rays) but Lester won overall Player of the Day on a tiebreaker—he had more strikeouts than Verlander (14 vs. 10).

American League Player of the Day—Tigers pitcher Justin Verlander struck out 10 over eight innings, allowing one run and four hits, in the 2-1 win over the Rays.

Verlander, earning his first Player of the Game honor of 2015, has now earned Box-Toppers points for 10 straight seasons. He earned his first Box-Toppers points in 2006 with the Tigers. His best season was 2012 with the Tigers when he had 24.8 Box-Toppers points, first among all players that season. Verlander also led AL pitchers in Box-Toppers points in 2011, when he had 24.4. In 2014, he had 4.0 Box-Toppers points.

Verlander earns 1.7 Box-Toppers points for being AL Player of the Day and now has 119.9 for his career, rising to 35th among all players since 1995, when Box-Toppers record keeping began. With his points Wednesday, Verlander passes two players on the “all-time” list, Cliff Lee (119.1) and Jered Weaver (119.4). He trails 34th-place player Cole Hamels (120.8).

National League Batter of the Day—Bryce Harper of the Nationals hit two home runs and went 3-for-4, scoring three times and driving in four, in the 7-2 win over the Marlins.

Harper earns 1.5 Box-Toppers points for being NL Batter of the Day, giving him 8.0 for the season and rises to second place among NL batters, behind Randal Grichuk of the Cardinals (8.5).

American League Batter of the Day—Troy Tulowitzki of the Blue Jays homered, doubled twice and went 3-for-5, scoring three times and driving in three runs, in the 8-2 win over the Phillies.

This was Tulowitzki’s first game since being traded from the Rockies. Tulowitzki led all NL batters in Box-Toppers points in 2014 with 11.6. With the 1.5 Box-Toppers points earned Wednesday for being AL Batter of the Day, Tulowitzki now has 6.0 for the season and ranks eighth among AL batters.

Streak—Giants pitcher Jake Peavy has now earned Box-Toppers points for 14 straight seasons after earning Player of the Game honors Wednesday.

Peavy (6IP 4H 0R 3K ND in the 5-0 win over the Brewers) earns 1.0 Box-Toppers point, his first of the season.

Peavy earned his first Box-Toppers points in 2002 with the Padres. His best year was 2007 with the Padres when he had 23.4 Box-Toppers points, first among all players that season. In 2014, Peavy had 5.7 Box-Toppers points with the Red Sox and Giants.

Peavy has 132.8 career Box-Toppers points and ranks 27th among all players since 1995, when Box-Toppers record keeping began. He trails 26th-place player Miguel Cabrera (132.9). Peavy’s 132.8 career Box-Toppers points ranks fifth among active NL pitchers.

Debut—Enrique Hernandez of the Dodgers made his Box-Toppers debut Wednesday, the first time in his career he earned Player of the Game honors. Hernandez (PH 2B 1-1 R 2BI in the 10-7 win over the Athletics) made his Major League debut July 1, 2014, and was playing in his 91st career game. He is the 3,541st player to debut in Box-Toppers since record keeping began in 1995.

Scoring—Lester 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. Harper and Tulowitzki each earn 1.5 Box-Toppers points for being their league’s Batter of the Day. All of Wednesday’s other Players of the Game (listed in the chart below) earn 1.0 Box-Toppers point.

Top player from each game

Listed from highest to lowest Box-Toppers game score

  
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
  

    7/29
    Score
    Team
    Player
    AB
    R
    H
    BI
    BB
    K
    
    IP
    H
    R
    ER
    BB
    K
  

    MLB
    12.0
    Cubs
    Jon Lester (W,6-8)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    8.0
    5
    2
    2
    1
    14
  

    AL
    12.0
    Tigers
    Justin Verlander (W,1-3)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    8.0
    4
    1
    1
    0
    10
  

    
    7.0
    Indians
    Corey Kluber (W,6-11)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    9.0
    5
    1
    1
    1
    6
  

    
    6.2
    Orioles
    Chris Tillman (W,8-7)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    8.2
    4
    0
    0
    0
    2
  

    BAT
    6.0
    Nationals
    Bryce Harper, RF
    4
    3
    3
    4
    0
    1
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    5.0
    Astros
    Lance McCullers (W,5-3)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    7.0
    5
    1
    1
    0
    5
  

    
    5.0
    Dbacks
    Patrick Corbin (W,2-3)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    6.0
    3
    1
    1
    2
    6
  

    
    5.0
    `Giants
    Jake Peavy
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    6.0
    4
    0
    0
    0
    3
  

    BAT
    4.0
    Blue Jays
    Troy Tulowitzki, SS
    5
    3
    3
    3
    0
    1
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    4.0
    Reds
    Anthony DeSclafani (W,6-7)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    7.0
    3
    0
    0
    3
    3
  

    
    3.0
    Pirates
    Andrew McCutchen, CF
    4
    2
    2
    3
    1
    1
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    3.0
    Dodgers
    Enrique Hernandez, PH
    1
    1
    1
    2
    0
    0
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    3.0
    Rangers
    Shawn Tolleson (S,18)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    1.0
    0
    0
    0
    0
    2
  

    
    2.0
    Padres
    Yangervis Solarte, 3B
    5
    2
    4
    1
    0
    0
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    1.0
    White Sox
    Adam Eaton, CF
    6
    2
    3
    2
    0
    1
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

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

Athletics' Sonny Gray (CG 0R 3H 9K) tops players for Tuesday, July 28, rises to 6th in player rankings

Shawn Plank July 29, 2015

Athletics pitcher Sonny Gray is Tuesday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day and rises to sixth place in player rankings.

Gray pitched a complete-game, three-hit shutout, striking out nine, in the 2-0 win over the Dodgers.

Top 10 players

Here are the top 10 players in Box-Toppers points (BTP) for the 2015 season as of July 28.


	Player	Pos	Team	BTP
1	deGrom, Jacob 3343	pi sp	nym nl	16.4
2	Hernandez, Felix 2064	pi sp	sea al	15.4
3	Scherzer, Max 2588	pi sp	dc nl	15.0
4	Sale, Chris 2806	pi sp	chi al	14.4
5	Price, David 2593	pi sp	det al	13.1
6	Gray, Sonny 3259	pi sp	oak al	13.1
7	Kershaw, Clayton 2494	pi sp	lad nl	13.0
8	Archer, Chris 3194	pi sp	tb al	13.0
9	Cole, Gerrit 3232	pi sp	pit nl	13.0
10	Keuchel, Dallas 3050	pi sp	hou al	12.7

What are those numbers after players' names?

Gray earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day, giving him 13.1 for the season, rising to sixth in player rankings. He ranks fourth among American League pitchers.

Gray had a Box-Toppers game score Tuesday of 14, tied with Mets pitcher Noah Syndergaard, who was Player of the Game in his team’s win over the Padres. However, Gray won overall Player of the Day on a tie-breaker—he had more innings pitched than Syndergaard (nine vs. eight).

National League Player of the Day—Mets pitcher Noah Syndergaard pitched eight scoreless innings, allowing three hits and striking out nine, in the 4-0 win over the Padres. Syndergaard had a perfect game until the seventh inning.

American League Batter of the Day—Chris Davis of the Orioles hit two homers and drove in five runs in the 7-3 win over the Braves.

National League Batter of the Day—David Peralta of the Diamondbacks doubled and went 3-for-4, scoring once and driving in two runs, in the 8-4 win over the Mariners.

Debut—Yankees pitcher Diego Moreno made his Box-Toppers debut Tuesday, the first time in his career he earned Player of the Game honors. Moreno (5.1IP 0H 0R 5K W in the 21-5 win over the Rangers) made his Major League debut June 22 and was playing in his third career game. He is the 3,540th player to debut in Box-Toppers since record keeping began in 1995.

Notable—Eric Hosmer of the Royals earned Player of the Game honors for the second day in a row Tuesday.

Hosmer (HR 3-4 R 2BI in the 2-1 win over the Indians) earns 1.0 Box-Toppers point, giving him 7.5 for the season, rising to fourth among AL batters. Hosmer was AL Batter of the Day Monday, so has earned 2.5 Box-Toppers points in the past two days.

Scoring—Gray earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day and Syndergaard earns 1.7 Box-Toppers points for being NL Player of the Day. Davis and Peralta 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.

Top player from each game

Listed from highest to lowest Box-Toppers game score

  
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
  

    7/28
    Score
    Team
    Player
    AB
    R
    H
    BI
    BB
    K
    
    IP
    H
    R
    ER
    BB
    K
  

    MLB
    14.0
    Athletics
    Sonny Gray (W,11-4)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    9.0
    3
    0
    0
    1
    9
  

    NL
    14.0
    Mets
    Noah Syndergaard (W,5-5)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    8.0
    3
    0
    0
    0
    9
  

    
    9.1
    Yankees
    Diego Moreno (W,1-0)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    5.1
    0
    0
    0
    1
    5
  

    
    6.0
    Reds
    Mike Leake (W,9-5)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    8.0
    4
    0
    0
    1
    3
  

    BAT
    5.0
    Orioles
    Chris Davis, RF
    4
    2
    2
    5
    0
    0
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    5.0
    White Sox
    Geovany Soto, C
    2
    2
    2
    3
    3
    0
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    5.0
    Rays
    Jake Odorizzi (W,6-6)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    6.0
    6
    1
    1
    1
    8
  

    
    4.0
    Astros
    Jose Altuve, 2B
    5
    1
    3
    5
    0
    1
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    BAT
    2.0
    Dbacks
    David Peralta, LF
    4
    1
    3
    2
    1
    1
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    2.0
    Royals
    Eric Hosmer, 1B
    4
    1
    3
    2
    0
    0
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    2.0
    Brewers
    Gerardo Parra, RF
    4
    3
    3
    0
    0
    0
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    2.0
    Rockies
    DJ LeMahieu, 2B
    4
    2
    3
    1
    1
    1
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    2.0
    Marlins
    Martin Prado, 3B
    3
    1
    3
    1
    1
    0
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    2.0
    Phillies
    Cody Asche, LF
    3
    1
    2
    2
    0
    1
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    1.0
    Pirates
    Jung Ho Kang, SS
    4
    2
    2
    1
    0
    1
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

Orioles' Kevin Gausman (7.2IP 0R 5K ND) tops players for Monday, July 27

Shawn Plank July 28, 2015

Orioles pitcher Kevin Gausman is Monday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day.

Gausman pitched 7 2/3 scoreless innings, allowing six hits and striking out five, in the 2-1, 11-inning win over the Braves. Gausman did not pick up the win and had a no-decision because when he exited, the score was tied 0-0.

Top 10 players

Here are the top 10 players in Box-Toppers points (BTP) for the 2015 season as of July 27.


	Player	Pos	Team	BTP
1	deGrom, Jacob 3343	pi sp	nym nl	16.4
2	Hernandez, Felix 2064	pi sp	sea al	15.4
3	Scherzer, Max 2588	pi sp	dc nl	15.0
4	Sale, Chris 2806	pi sp	chi al	14.4
5	Price, David 2593	pi sp	det al	13.1
6	Kershaw, Clayton 2494	pi sp	lad nl	13.0
7	Archer, Chris 3194	pi sp	tb al	13.0
8	Cole, Gerrit 3232	pi sp	pit nl	13.0
9	Keuchel, Dallas 3050	pi sp	hou al	12.7
10	Martinez, Carlos 3371	pi sp	stl nl	12.7

What are those numbers after players' names?

National League Player of the Day—Kolten Wong of the Cardinals hit a grand slam in the 4-1 win over the Reds.

American League Batter of the Day—Eric Hosmer of the Royals hit a three-run homer and went 3-for-5, scoring three times and driving in four runs, in the 9-4 win over the Indians.

Hosmer is the highest ranked of all nine who earned Player of the Game honors Monday. Hosmer earns 1.5 Box-Toppers points for being AL Batter of the Day, giving him 6.5 for the season. He ranks 51st among all players, sixth among AL batters.

National League Batter of the Day—There is no separate NL Batter of the Day for Monday because the overall NL Player of the Day was a batter (Kolten Wong).

Scoring—Gausman earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day and Wong earns 1.7 Box-Toppers points for being NL Player of the Day. Hosmer earns 1.5 Box-Toppers points for being AL Batter of the Day. All of Monday’s other Players of the Game (listed in the chart below) earn 1.0 Box-Toppers point.

Top player from each game

Listed from highest to lowest Box-Toppers game score

  
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
  

    7/27
    Score
    Team
    Player
    AB
    R
    H
    BI
    BB
    K
    
    IP
    H
    R
    ER
    BB
    K
  

    MLB
    5.2
    `Orioles
    Kevin Gausman
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    7.2
    6
    0
    0
    1
    5
  

    BAT
    5.0
    Royals
    Eric Hosmer, 1B
    5
    3
    3
    4
    0
    0
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    4.0
    Yankees
    Didi Gregorius, SS
    4
    1
    3
    4
    0
    0
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    4.0
    Rays
    Curt Casali, C
    4
    2
    3
    3
    0
    1
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    NL
    3.0
    Cardinals
    Kolten Wong, 2B
    3
    1
    1
    4
    0
    1
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    3.0
    Giants
    Brandon Crawford, SS
    2
    2
    1
    2
    1
    0
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    3.0
    `Dbacks
    Robbie Ray
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    7.0
    6
    2
    2
    2
    8
  

    
    2.0
    Cubs
    Kris Bryant, 3B
    5
    2
    2
    3
    0
    2
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    2.0
    White Sox
    Jose Abreu, 1B
    3
    2
    2
    1
    1
    1
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

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

Mets' Jacob deGrom (7.2IP 0R 2H 8K ND) tops players for Sunday, July 26, rises to top Box-Toppers player rankings

Shawn Plank July 27, 2015

Mets pitcher Jacob deGrom is Sunday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day and rises to the top of season player rankings.

Top 10 players

Here are the top 10 players in Box-Toppers points (BTP) for the 2015 season as of July 26.


	Player	Pos	Team	BTP
1	deGrom, Jacob 3343	pi sp	nym nl	16.4
2	Hernandez, Felix 2064	pi sp	sea al	15.4
3	Scherzer, Max 2588	pi sp	dc nl	15.0
4	Sale, Chris 2806	pi sp	chi al	14.4
5	Price, David 2593	pi sp	det al	13.1
6	Kershaw, Clayton 2494	pi sp	lad nl	13.0
7	Archer, Chris 3194	pi sp	tb al	13.0
8	Cole, Gerrit 3232	pi sp	pit nl	13.0
9	Keuchel, Dallas 3050	pi sp	hou al	12.7
10	Martinez, Carlos 3371	pi sp	stl nl	12.7

What are those numbers after players' names?

Also Sunday, Mike Trout of the Angels becomes the first batter with 10 Box-Toppers points, Pirates pitcher Gerrit Cole rises to eighth place in season Box-Toppers player rankings and David Ortiz of the Red Sox now has 135.9 career Box-Toppers points.

Player of the Day—deGrom pitched 7 2/3 scoreless innings, allowing two hits and striking out eight, in the 3-2, 10-inning win over the Dodgers. deGrom picked up a no-decision and did not earn the win because after he exited, the Dodgers tied the game, 2-2.

deGrom earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day, giving him 16.4 Box-Toppers points for the season, rising from fourth to first place in season player rankings. DeGrom passes previous Box-Toppers points leader, Mariners pitcher Felix Hernandez (15.4 Box-Toppers points) who only regained the overall lead on Friday.

American League Player of the Day—White Sox pitcher Carlos Rodon pitched 6 2/3 scoreless innings, striking out nine and allowing five hits, in the 2-1 win over the Indians.

American League Batter of the Day—David Ortiz of the Red Sox hit two three-run homers and went 4-for-5, scoring three times and driving in seven runs, in the 11-1 win over the Tigers.

Ortiz earns 1.5 Box-Toppers points for being AL Player of the Day, giving him 135.9 career Box-Toppers points. He ranks 24th among all players since 1995, when Box-Toppers record keeping began. He trails 23rd-place player Bartolo Colon (136.4). Ortiz has 2.5 Box-Toppers points this season.

National League Batter of the Day—Carlos Gonzalez of the Rockies hit two homers and went 3-for-4, scoring four times and driving in six runs, in the 17-7 win over the Reds.

Gonzalez earns 1.5 Box-Toppers points for being NL Batter of the Day, giving him 6.5 for the season, fourth among NL batters.

Lead changes
Here are the season’s lead changes among players in Box-Toppers points. Chart shows the date and the player’s Box-Toppers point (BTP) total when they took the lead.  

    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

Notable—Mike Trout of the Angels is the first batter this season with 10 or more Box-Toppers points after earning Player of the Game honors Sunday.

Trout (2HR GS 4-4 3R 5BI in the 13-7 win over the Rangers) earns 1.0 Box-Toppers point, giving him 10.0 Box-Toppers points for the season. He maintains his rank as first among AL batters and ranks 21st among all players. Trout is the 21st overall player with 10 Box-Toppers points this season.

Rankings—Pirates pitcher Gerrit Cole rises to eighth in Box-Toppers season player rankings after earning Player of the Game honors Sunday.

Cole (7.2IP 7H R 8K W in the 3-1 win over the Nationals) earns 1.0 Box-Toppers point, giving him 13.0 for the season. He ranks fourth among NL pitchers.

Scoring—deGrom 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. Ortiz and Gonzalez each earn 1.5 Box-Toppers points for being their league’s Batter of the Day. All of Sunday’s other Players of the Game (listed in the chart below) earn 1.0 Box-Toppers point.

Top player from each game

Listed from highest to lowest Box-Toppers game score

  
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
  

    7/26
    Score
    Team
    Player
    AB
    R
    H
    BI
    BB
    K
    
    IP
    H
    R
    ER
    BB
    K
  

    MLB
    11.2
    `Mets
    Jacob deGrom
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    7.2
    2
    0
    0
    2
    8
  

    AL
    10.2
    White Sox
    Carlos Rodon (W,4-3)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    6.2
    5
    0
    0
    0
    9
  

    BAT
    9.0
    Red Sox
    David Ortiz, DH
    5
    3
    4
    7
    0
    0
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    BAT
    9.0
    Rockies
    Carlos Gonzalez, RF
    4
    4
    3
    6
    1
    0
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    8.0
    Angels
    Mike Trout, CF
    4
    3
    4
    5
    1
    0
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    6.2
    Pirates
    Gerrit Cole (W,14-4)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    7.2
    7
    1
    1
    0
    8
  

    
    5.0
    Dbacks
    Jeremy Hellickson (W,7-6)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    6.0
    4
    0
    0
    3
    6
  

    
    4.0
    Royals
    Yordano Ventura (W,5-7)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    7.0
    6
    1
    1
    0
    5
  

    
    3.0
    Yankees
    Chase Headley, 3B
    4
    2
    2
    3
    0
    1
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    3.0
    Padres
    Odrisamer Despaigne (W,4-7)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    6.0
    2
    1
    1
    2
    3
  

    
    3.0
    Orioles
    Zach Britton (S,25)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    1.0
    0
    0
    0
    1
    3
  

    
    2.0
    Phillies
    Domonic Brown, RF
    5
    1
    3
    3
    0
    0
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    2.0
    Giants
    Matt Duffy, 3B
    4
    1
    2
    3
    0
    0
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    2.0
    Mariners
    Joe Beimel (W,2-1)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    1.0
    0
    0
    0
    0
    1
  

    
    1.0
    `Braves
    Arodys Vizcaino
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    1.0
    0
    0
    0
    1
    1
  

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

Phillies' Cole Hamels, throwing a no-hitter, tops players for Saturday, July 25; Sale, Martinez rise in Box-Toppers' top 10

Shawn Plank July 26, 2015

Phillies pitcher Cole Hamels, throwing a no-hitter against the Cubs, is Saturday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day.

Top 10 players

Here are the top 10 players in Box-Toppers points (BTP) for the 2015 season as of July 25.


	Player	Pos	Team	BTP
1	Hernandez, Felix 2064	pi sp	sea al	15.4
2	Scherzer, Max 2588	pi sp	dc nl	15.0
3	Sale, Chris 2806	pi sp	chi al	14.4
4	deGrom, Jacob 3343	pi sp	nym nl	14.4
5	Price, David 2593	pi sp	det al	13.1
6	Kershaw, Clayton 2494	pi sp	lad nl	13.0
7	Archer, Chris 3194	pi sp	tb al	13.0
8	Keuchel, Dallas 3050	pi sp	hou al	12.7
9	Martinez, Carlos 3371	pi sp	stl nl	12.7
10	Greinke, Zack 1871	pi sp	lad nl	12.0

What are those numbers after players' names?

Also Saturday, two players rose in Box-Toppers player rankings top 10 after earning Player of the Game honors—White Sox pitcher Chris Sale rose to third place and Cardinals pitcher Carlos Martinez rose to ninth place. Plus, Alex Rodriguez of the Yankees, the active career Box-Toppers points leader, now has 187.0 career Box-Toppers points.

Player of the Day—Hamels pitched a no-hitter in the 5-0 win over the Cubs. He faced 29 batters and allowed two walks and struck out 13.

Hamels earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day, giving him 10.0 for the season. He is the 19th player this season with 10 or more Box-Toppers points and now ranks 20th among all players, 12th among NL pitchers.

Hamels has now earned at least 10 Box-Toppers points in each of his first 10 seasons.

In addition, Hamels now has 120.8 career Box-Toppers points, rising to 34th place in among all players since 1995, when Box-Toppers record keeping began. With his points Saturday, Hamels passes two players on the “all-time” list—Cliff Lee (119.1) and Jered Weaver (119.4). He trails 33rd-place player Gary Sheffield (124.1). Hamels ranks seventh in career Box-Toppers points among active NL pitchers.

American League Player of the Day—Alex Rodriguez of the Yankees hit three home runs and drove in four runs in the 8-5 win over the Twins.

Rodriguez earns 1.7 Box-Toppers points for being AL Player of the Day, giving him 7.7 for the season, rising to third among AL batters.

Rodriguez also now has 187.0 career Box-Toppers points, maintaining his rank in fourth place among all players since 1995, when Box-Toppers record keeping began. He trails third-place player Curt Schilling (194.1). Rodriguez leads all batters and all active players in career Box-Toppers points.

National League Batter of the Day—Kirk Nieuwenhuis of the Mets doubled and went 4-for-4, scoring twice and driving in four runs, in the 15-2 win over the Dodgers.

American League Batter of the Day—There is no separate AL Batter of the Day Saturday because the overall AL Player of the Day is a batter (Alex Rodriguez).

Rankings—Two players rose in Box-Toppers top 10 season player rankings after earning Player of the Game honors Saturday:

White Sox pitcher Chris Sale (7IP 7H 2R 7K W in the 10-3 win over the Indians) rose to third place with 14.4 Box-Toppers points. Sale, who earned 1.0 Box-Toppers point Saturday, ranks second among AL pitchers, behind overall leader Felix Hernandez of the Mariners (15.4).
Cardinals pitcher Carlos Martinez (8IP 6H 0R 6K W in the 1-0 win over the Braves) rose to ninth place with 12.7 Box-Toppers points. Martinez, who earned 1.0 Box-Toppers point Saturday, ranks fourth among NL pitchers.

Notable—Reds pitcher Johnny Cueto became the 20th player this season with 10 or more Box-Toppers points after earning Player of the Game honors Saturday. Cueto (8IP 4H 0R 5K W in the 5-2 win over the Rockies) earned 1.0 Box-Toppers point, giving him 10.8 for the season. He ranks 14th among all players and eighth among NL pitchers.

Scoring—Hamels earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day and Rodriguez earns 1.7 Box-Toppers points for being AL Player of the Day. Nieuwenhuis earns 1.5 Box-Toppers points for being NL Batter of the Day. All of Saturday’s other Players of the Game (listed in the chart below) earn 1.0 Box-Toppers point.

Top player from each game

Listed from highest to lowest Box-Toppers game score

  
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
  

    7/25
    Score
    Team
    Player
    AB
    R
    H
    BI
    BB
    K
    
    IP
    H
    R
    ER
    BB
    K
  

    MLB
    20.0
    Phillies
    Cole Hamels (W,6-7)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    9.0
    0
    0
    0
    2
    13
  

    
    8.0
    Dbacks
    Rubby De La Rosa (W,8-5)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    8.0
    4
    0
    0
    2
    6
  

    
    8.0
    Reds
    Johnny Cueto (W,7-6)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    8.0
    4
    0
    0
    1
    5
  

    
    7.0
    Cardinals
    Carlos Martinez (W,11-4)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    8.0
    6
    0
    0
    1
    6
  

    BAT
    6.0
    Mets
    Kirk Nieuwenhuis, CF-RF
    4
    2
    4
    4
    1
    0
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    AL
    6.0
    Yankees
    Alex Rodriguez, DH
    4
    3
    3
    4
    0
    0
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    5.2
    Orioles
    Miguel Gonzalez (W,9-6)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    7.2
    5
    1
    1
    0
    5
  

    
    5.0
    Giants
    Madison Bumgarner (W,11-5)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    7.0
    5
    1
    1
    2
    7
  

    
    3.0
    Nationals
    Michael Taylor, CF
    5
    1
    4
    3
    0
    1
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    3.0
    White Sox
    Chris Sale (W,9-5)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    7.0
    7
    2
    2
    0
    7
  

    
    3.0
    Padres
    Ian Kennedy (W,6-9)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    6.0
    7
    1
    1
    1
    7
  

    
    3.0
    `Royals
    Danny Duffy
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    6.0
    3
    1
    1
    1
    3
  

    
    2.0
    Tigers
    Nick Castellanos, 3B
    4
    1
    2
    3
    0
    0
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    2.0
    Blue Jays
    Ezequiel Carrera, PH-LF
    2
    1
    1
    2
    0
    1
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    1.0
    Rangers
    Rougned Odor, 2B
    4
    2
    2
    1
    0
    1
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

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

White Sox' Quintana tops players for Friday, July 24; Mariners' Hernandez regains lead in Box-Toppers player rankings

Shawn Plank July 25, 2015

White Sox pitcher Jose Quintana is Friday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day.

Other highlights Friday:

Top 10 players

Here are the top 10 players in Box-Toppers points (BTP) for the 2015 season as of July 24.


	Player	Pos	Team	BTP
1	Hernandez, Felix 2064	pi sp	sea al	15.4
2	Scherzer, Max 2588	pi sp	dc nl	15.0
3	deGrom, Jacob 3343	pi sp	nym nl	14.4
4	Sale, Chris 2806	pi sp	chi al	13.4
5	Price, David 2593	pi sp	det al	13.1
6	Kershaw, Clayton 2494	pi sp	lad nl	13.0
7	Archer, Chris 3194	pi sp	tb al	13.0
8	Keuchel, Dallas 3050	pi sp	hou al	12.7
9	Greinke, Zack 1871	pi sp	lad nl	12.0
10	Cole, Gerrit 3232	pi sp	pit nl	12.0

What are those numbers after players' names?

Mariners pitcher Felix Hernandez regains the lead in Box-Toppers player rankings.
Randal Grichuk of the Cardinals takes the Box-Toppers points lead among National League batters after earning NL Batter of the Day honors for the second straight day.
Rays pitcher Chris Archer rises to seventh in Box-Toppers player rankings.
Pitcher Scott Kazmir, newly traded from the Athletics to the Astros, becomes the 18th player this season with 10 or more Box-Toppers points.

Player of the Day—Quintana pitched a seven-hit, complete-game shutout, striking out eight, in the 6-0 win over the Indians.

National League Player of the Day—Dodgers pitcher Ian Thomas allowed one run on three hits in five innings, striking out five, in the 7-2 win over the Mets.

This was Thomas’ Box-Toppers debut, the first time in his career he earned Player of the Game honors. Thomas made his Major League debut March 31, 2014, and was playing in his 24th career game. He is the 3,539th player to debut in Box-Toppers since record keeping began in 1995.

National League Batter of the Day—Randal Grichuk of the Cardinals hit a two-run homer and went 2-for-3, scoring twice, in the 4-2 win over the Braves. It is the second straight day Grichuk has earned NL Batter of the Day honors and the third time since July 18, meaning he’s earned 4.5 Box-Toppers points in eight days.

Grichuk also rose to top NL batters in Box-Toppers points. He earned 1.5 Box-Toppers points for being NL Batter of the Day, giving him 8.5 for the season and passes previous leader Todd Frazier of the Reds (7.2 Box-Toppers points). Grichuk ranks 24th among all players in Box-Toppers points this season.

American League Batter of the Day—There is no AL Batter of the Day for Friday because no AL batter earned Player of the Game honors.

New leader—Mariners pitcher Felix Hernandez rose to first place in Box-Toppers season player rankings after earning Player of the Game honors Friday.

Hernandez (7IP 6H 2R 7K W in the 5-2 win over the Blue Jays) earns 1.0 Box-Toppers point, giving him 15.4 for the season. He rises from second to first in player rankings, passing previous leader, Nationals pitcher Max Scherzer (15.0 Box-Toppers points).

It is the fourth separate time this season Hernandez has led players in Box-Toppers points. He led from April 6 to April 12, April 18 to June 26 and July 9 to July 11.

Hernandez also now has 158.7 career Box-Toppers points, maintaining his 12th-place rank among all players since 1995, when Box-Toppers record keeping began. He trails 11th-place player John Smoltz (160.9 Box-Toppers points).

Rankings—Rays pitcher Chris Archer rose to seventh place in Box-Toppers player rankings after earning Player of the Game honors Friday.

Archer (6IP 5H R 9K ND in the 3-1 win over the Orioles) earns 1.0 Box-Toppers point, giving him 13.0 for the season. He ranks fourth among AL pitchers.

Notable—Astros pitcher Scott Kazmir became the 18th player this season with 10 or more Box-Toppers points after earning Player of the Game honors Friday.

Kazmir, in his first start since being traded from the Athletics (7IP 3H 0R 3K W in the 4-0 win over the Royals), earns 1.0 Box-Toppers point, giving him 10.7 for the season. He ranks 14th among all players and seventh among AL pitchers.

Scoring—Quintana earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day and Thomas earns 1.7 Box-Toppers points for being NL Player of the Day. Grichuk earns 1.5 Box-Toppers points for being NL Batter of the Day. All of Friday’s other Players of the Game (listed in the chart below) earn 1.0 Box-Toppers point.

Top player from each game

Listed from highest to lowest Box-Toppers game score

  
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
  

    7/24
    Score
    Team
    Player
    AB
    R
    H
    BI
    BB
    K
    
    IP
    H
    R
    ER
    BB
    K
  

    MLB
    10.0
    White Sox
    Jose Quintana (W,5-9)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    9.0
    7
    0
    0
    0
    8
  

    
    6.2
    Rangers
    Colby Lewis (W,10-4)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    7.2
    5
    2
    2
    1
    9
  

    
    6.0
    Astros
    Scott Kazmir (W,6-5)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    7.0
    3
    0
    0
    1
    3
  

    
    6.0
    `Red Sox
    Rick Porcello
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    7.0
    5
    1
    1
    0
    6
  

    
    6.0
    `Rays
    Chris Archer
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    6.0
    5
    1
    1
    2
    9
  

    NL
    5.0
    Dodgers
    Ian Thomas (W,1-1)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    5.0
    3
    1
    1
    0
    5
  

    
    4.0
    Mariners
    Felix Hernandez (W,12-5)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    7.0
    6
    2
    1
    1
    7
  

    
    4.0
    Brewers
    Jimmy Nelson (W,8-9)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    7.0
    5
    0
    0
    3
    5
  

    
    4.0
    Padres
    Andrew Cashner (W,4-10)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    7.0
    5
    1
    1
    1
    5
  

    BAT
    3.0
    Cardinals
    Randal Grichuk, CF-LF
    3
    2
    2
    2
    1
    1
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    3.0
    Twins
    Phil Hughes (W,9-6)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    7.0
    7
    0
    0
    0
    3
  

    
    2.0
    Giants
    Hunter Pence, RF
    5
    1
    4
    2
    0
    0
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    2.0
    Rockies
    Carlos Gonzalez, RF
    4
    2
    2
    2
    0
    1
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    2.0
    Pirates
    Gregory Polanco, RF
    4
    1
    2
    3
    0
    2
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    1.0
    Phillies
    Cody Asche, LF
    4
    0
    2
    3
    0
    0
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

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

Nationals' Max Scherzer continues lead in Box-Toppers player rankings

Shawn Plank July 24, 2015

All 4 category leaders remain unchanged: NL pitcher—Scherzer, AL pitcher—Hernandez, AL batter—Trout, NL batter—Frazier.

With trade for Scott Kazmir, Houston Astros rise to top Box-Toppers team rankings

Shawn Plank July 24, 2015

Astros rocket from 8th to 1st in team rankings with Kazmir trade. St. Louis Cardinals fall from 1st to 2nd but remain top NL team.

Dodgers' Clayton Kershaw tops players for Thursday, July 23, rises to 6th in Box-Toppers player rankings

Shawn Plank July 24, 2015

Dodgers pitcher Clayton Kershaw is Thursday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day and rises to sixth in season player rankings.

Also Thursday, Twins pitcher Ervin Santana earned a Box-Toppers point in his 11th straight season.

Player of the Day—Kershaw pitched a complete game, three-hit shutout, striking out 11, in the 3-0 win over the Mets.

Top 10 players

Here are the top 10 players in Box-Toppers points (BTP) for the 2015 season as of July 23.


	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	deGrom, Jacob 3343	pi sp	nym nl	14.4
4	Sale, Chris 2806	pi sp	chi al	13.4
5	Price, David 2593	pi sp	det al	13.1
6	Kershaw, Clayton 2494	pi sp	lad nl	13.0
7	Keuchel, Dallas 3050	pi sp	hou al	12.7
8	Greinke, Zack 1871	pi sp	lad nl	12.0
9	Archer, Chris 3194	pi sp	tb al	12.0
10	Cole, Gerrit 3232	pi sp	pit nl	12.0

What are those numbers after players' names?

Kershaw earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day, giving him 13.0 for the season and rising to sixth in player rankings, third among NL pitchers.

Kershaw now has 146.6 career Box-Toppers points, maintaining his rank of 20th place among all players since 1995, when Box-Toppers record keeping began. He trails 19th-place player on the “all-time” list, Jim Thome (146.7).

Kershaw, who led all players in Box-Toppers points in 2011, 2013 and 2014, has far and away the most Box-Toppers points of all players since 2010. Since the start of the 2010 season, Kershaw has 129.2 Box-Toppers points. In second place is Mariners pitcher Felix Hernandez (100.8), 28.4 points behind.

American League Player of the Day—Twins pitcher Ervin Santana pitched eight scoreless innings, allowing four hits and striking out seven, in the 3-0 win over the Angels.

Thursday marked the first time Santana earned Player of the Game honors this season, giving him a streak of 11 straight seasons with Box-Toppers points. He earned his first points in 2005 with the Angels. His best year was 2008 with the Angels, when he had 16.7, most among AL pitchers. In 2014, he had 11.0 Box-Toppers points with the Braves.

Santana has 89.6 career Box-Toppers points, 93rd among all players since 1995 when Box-Toppers record keeping began. He ranks ninth in career Box-Toppers points among active AL pitchers.

Santana was suspended for the first 80 games of the season under baseball’s performance enhancing drug policy.

American League Batter of the Day—Jose Altuve of the Astros hit a walk-off homer in the 5-4 win over the Red Sox. Altuve also hit a double and went 4-for-5, scoring twice.

National League Batter of the Day—Randal Grichuk of the Cardinals hit a two-run homer and went 2-for-4 in the 4-3 win over the Royals.

Debut—Diamondbacks pitcher Zack Godley made his Box-Toppers debut Thursday, the first time in his career he earned Player of the Game honors. Godley (6IP 4H 0R 7K W in the 8-3 win over the Brewers) was also making his Major League debut. He is the 3,538th player to debut in Box-Toppers since record keeping began in 1995.

Scoring—Kershaw earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day and Santana earns 1.7 Box-Toppers points for being AL Player of the Day. Altuve and Grichuk each earn 1.5 Box-Toppers points for being their league’s Batter of the Day. All of Thursday’s other Players of the Game (listed in the chart below) earn 1.0 Box-Toppers point.

Top player from each game

Listed from highest to lowest Box-Toppers game score

  
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
  

    7/23
    Score
    Team
    Player
    AB
    R
    H
    BI
    BB
    K
    
    IP
    H
    R
    ER
    BB
    K
  

    MLB
    17.0
    Dodgers
    Clayton Kershaw (W,8-6)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    9.0
    3
    0
    0
    0
    11
  

    AL
    11.0
    Twins
    Ervin Santana (W,2-0)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    8.0
    4
    0
    0
    0
    7
  

    
    9.0
    Pirates
    Francisco Liriano (W,6-6)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    6.0
    3
    1
    1
    3
    11
  

    
    9.0
    Dbacks
    Zack Godley (W,1-0)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    6.0
    4
    0
    0
    0
    7
  

    
    7.0
    Marlins
    Tom Koehler (W,8-6)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    7.0
    3
    0
    0
    4
    7
  

    
    5.0
    White Sox
    Jeff Samardzija (W,7-5)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    8.0
    4
    1
    1
    0
    3
  

    
    4.2
    Yankees
    Masahiro Tanaka (W,7-3)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    7.2
    4
    3
    3
    0
    7
  

    
    4.1
    Blue Jays
    R.A. Dickey (W,4-10)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    8.1
    5
    2
    2
    1
    6
  

    BAT
    2.0
    Astros
    Jose Altuve, 2B
    5
    2
    4
    1
    0
    0
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    2.0
    `Mariners
    Hisashi Iwakuma
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    7.0
    6
    2
    2
    2
    7
  

    BAT
    1.0
    Cardinals
    Randal Grichuk, LF
    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.
  

Reds' Mike Leake (8IP R 6K) tops players for Wednesday, July 22

Shawn Plank July 23, 2015

Reds pitcher Mike Leake is Wednesday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day.

Leake allowed one run over eight innings, striking out six and allowing four hits, in the 9-1 win over the Cubs.

American League Player of the Day—Michael Brantley of the Indians homered, doubled and went 4-for-5, scoring twice and driving in four runs, in the 7-5 win over the Brewers.

Top 10 players

Here are the top 10 players in Box-Toppers points (BTP) for the 2015 season as of July 22.


	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	deGrom, Jacob 3343	pi sp	nym nl	14.4
4	Sale, Chris 2806	pi sp	chi al	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?

National League Batter of the Day—Odubel Herrera of the Phillies hit a walk-off, pinch-hit, 10th-inning single in the 5-4 win over the Rays.

American League Batter of the Day—There is no separate AL Batter of the Day for Wednesday because the overall AL Player of the Day was a batter (Michael Brantley).

Notable—Cardinals pitcher Lance Lynn became the 17th player with 10 or more Box-Toppers points this season after earning Player of the Game honors Wednesday.

Lynn (6IP 5H 2R 8K ND in the 3-2 win over the White Sox) earns 1.0 Box-Toppers point, giving him 10.4 for the season. He ranks 15th among all players this season and ninth among NL pitchers.

Debut—Athletics pitcher Fernando Rodriguez made his Box-Toppers debut Wednesday, the first time in his career he earned Player of the Game honors. Rodriguez (1IP 0H 0R K W in the 4-3, 10-inning win over the Blue Jays) made his Major League debut May 2, 2009, and was playing in his 154th career game. He is the 3,537th player to debut in Box-Toppers since record keeping began in 1995.

Scoring—Leake earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day and Brantley earns 1.7 Box-Toppers points for being AL Player of the Day. Herrera earns 1.5 Box-Toppers points for being NL Batter of the Day. All of Wednesday’s other Players of the Game (listed in the chart below) earn 1.0 Box-Toppers point.

Top player from each game

Listed from highest to lowest Box-Toppers game score

  
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
  

    7/22
    Score
    Team
    Player
    AB
    R
    H
    BI
    BB
    K
    
    IP
    H
    R
    ER
    BB
    K
  

    MLB
    8.0
    Reds
    Mike Leake (W,8-5)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    8.0
    4
    1
    1
    0
    6
  

    
    6.0
    Dodgers
    Mike Bolsinger (W,5-3)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    7.0
    3
    1
    0
    1
    4
  

    AL
    5.0
    Indians
    Michael Brantley, CF
    5
    2
    4
    4
    0
    0
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    5.0
    Rangers
    Rougned Odor, 2B
    4
    4
    3
    2
    1
    0
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    5.0
    Marlins
    Jose Fernandez (W,3-0)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    7.0
    5
    3
    3
    2
    11
  

    
    4.2
    Royals
    Edinson Volquez (W,9-5)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    7.2
    8
    1
    1
    1
    8
  

    
    4.0
    Tigers
    Nick Castellanos, 3B
    3
    1
    2
    4
    1
    1
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    4.0
    `Cardinals
    Lance Lynn
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    6.0
    5
    2
    2
    1
    8
  

    
    4.0
    Giants
    Matt Cain (W,2-1)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    6.0
    5
    1
    1
    1
    6
  

    
    4.0
    Nationals
    Drew Storen (S,29)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    1.0
    0
    0
    0
    0
    3
  

    
    3.2
    `Cubs
    Pedro Strop
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    1.2
    0
    0
    0
    2
    4
  

    
    3.0
    Astros
    Preston Tucker, LF
    4
    2
    2
    3
    0
    0
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    2.0
    Angels
    Johnny Giavotella, 2B
    4
    3
    3
    0
    0
    0
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    2.0
    Athletics
    Fernando Rodriguez (W,1-1)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    1.0
    0
    0
    0
    0
    1
  

    
    1.0
    Yankees
    Mark Teixeira, 1B
    4
    1
    2
    2
    0
    0
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    BAT
    1.0
    Phillies
    Odubel Herrera, PH
    1
    0
    1
    1
    0
    0
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

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

Angels' Shoemaker tops players for Tuesday, July 21; Mets' deGrom rises to 3rd in Box-Toppers player rankings

Shawn Plank July 22, 2015

Angels pitcher Matt Shoemaker is Tuesday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day.

Also Tuesday, Mets pitcher Jacob deGrom rose to third place in Box-Toppers season player rankings, Giants pitcher Chris Heston became the 16th player this season with 10 Box-Toppers points and Matt Holliday of the Cardinals earned Box-Toppers points for the 12th straight season.

Top 10 players

Here are the top 10 players in Box-Toppers points (BTP) for the 2015 season as of July 21.


	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	deGrom, Jacob 3343	pi sp	nym nl	14.4
4	Sale, Chris 2806	pi sp	chi al	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?

Player of the Day—Shoemaker pitched six scoreless innings, striking out 10 and allowing two hits, in the 7-0 win over the Twins.

National League Player of the Day—Giants pitcher Chris Heston pitched 7 1/3 scoreless innings, allowing one hit and striking out six, in the 9-3 win over the Padres.

Heston earns 1.7 Box-Toppers points for being NL Player of the Day, giving him 10.4 for the season, rising to 15th place in Box-Toppers season player rankings, ninth among NL pitchers. He is the 16th player this season with 10 or more Box-Toppers points.

American League Batter of the Day—Shin-Soo Choo of the Rangers hit for the cycle and went 4-for-5, scoring three times and driving in three, in the 9-0 win over the Rockies.

National League Batter of the Day—Matt Holliday of the Cardinals hit a grand slam and went 2-for-4, scoring two runs, in the 8-5 win over the White Sox.

Holliday earned 1.5 Box-Toppers points for being NL Batter of the Day, his first points of the season, and has now earned Box-Toppers points for 12 straight seasons. He earned his first Box-Toppers points in 2004 with the Rockies. His best season was 2007 with the Rockies when he had 16.2 points, first among NL batters and seventh among all players. In 2014, he had 7.5 points with the Cardinals, eighth among NL batters.

Holliday has 91.8 career Box-Toppers points and ranks 88th among all players since 1995, when Box-Toppers record keeping began. Holliday ranks first among active NL outfielders in career Box-Toppers points and third among active NL batters, behind Aramis Ramirez of the Brewers (103.3) and Ryan Howard of the Phillies (93.2).

Rankings—Mets pitcher Jacob deGrom rose to third place in Box-Toppers season player rankings after earning Player of the Game honors Tuesday.

deGrom (6IP 3H 2R 8K W in the 7-2 win over the Nationals) earns 1.0 Box-Toppers point, giving him 14.4 for the season. He ranks second among NL pitchers behind overall leader Max Scherzer of the Nationals (15.0).

Debut—Kyle Schwarber of the Cubs made his Box-Toppers debut Tuesday, the first time in his career he earned Player of the Game honors. Schwarber hit two home runs—a game-tying two-run homer in the ninth and a go-ahead homer in the 13th—in the 5-4 win over the Reds. Schwarber (4-7 2R 4BI) made his Major League debut June 16 and was playing in his 11th career game. He is the 3,536th player to debut in Box-Toppers since record keeping began in 1995.

Scoring—Shoemaker earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day and Heston earns 1.7 Box-Toppers points for being NL Player of the Day. Choo and Holliday 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.

Top player from each game

Listed from highest to lowest Box-Toppers game score

  
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
  

    7/21
    Score
    Team
    Player
    AB
    R
    H
    BI
    BB
    K
    
    IP
    H
    R
    ER
    BB
    K
  

    MLB
    11.0
    Angels
    Matt Shoemaker (W,5-7)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    6.0
    2
    0
    0
    3
    10
  

    NL
    10.1
    Giants
    Chris Heston (W,10-5)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    7.1
    1
    0
    0
    2
    6
  

    
    9.0
    Marlins
    Mat Latos (W,4-6)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    7.0
    4
    0
    0
    1
    7
  

    
    7.0
    Mets
    Jacob deGrom (W,10-6)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    6.0
    3
    2
    2
    0
    8
  

    
    6.2
    `Royals
    Joe Blanton
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    3.2
    2
    0
    0
    0
    5
  

    BAT
    5.0
    Rangers
    Shin-Soo Choo, RF
    5
    3
    4
    3
    0
    0
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    5.0
    Mariners
    Franklin Gutierrez, PH-LF
    1
    1
    1
    4
    0
    0
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    BAT
    4.0
    Cardinals
    Matt Holliday, DH
    4
    2
    2
    4
    1
    0
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    4.0
    Rays
    Nathan Karns (W,5-5)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    5.0
    3
    0
    0
    2
    4
  

    
    3.0
    Cubs
    Kyle Schwarber, C
    7
    2
    4
    4
    0
    2
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    3.0
    Brewers
    Jean Segura, SS
    4
    2
    3
    2
    0
    0
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    3.0
    Astros
    Chris Carter, DH
    3
    2
    2
    2
    1
    0
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    2.1
    `Yankees
    Dellin Betances (H,15)
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    
    1.1
    1
    0
    0
    0
    2
  

    
    2.0
    Blue Jays
    Russell Martin, C
    4
    1
    2
    3
    0
    0
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

    
    1.0
    Braves
    Chris Johnson, 1B
    4
    0
    3
    2
    0
    0
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

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

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

Shawn Plank July 21, 2015

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.

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
    
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
    -
  

Top 10 players

Top player from each game

Top 10 players

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Lead changes

Top player from each game

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Box-Toppers

Tracking who most helps their teams win the most games, based on box score stats. A method to measure & compare baseball's top players.