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Yankees pitcher Masahiro Tanaka is Friday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day.
Tanaka struck out 14 over eight innings, allowing one run, two hits and no walks, in the 6-1 win over the Rays. Tanaka retired the first 17 batters and had a perfect game in the sixth inning before giving up his first hit.
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Though he’s now on the disabled list, Dodgers pitcher Clayton Kershaw remains atop Box-Toppers weekly player rankings for the 11th straight week.
Meanwhile, Edwin Encarnacion of the Indians takes the lead among American League batters in Box-Toppers points, passing last week’s leader, Ryon Healy of the Athletics.
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The Los Angeles Dodgers top Box-Toppers team rankings for the fifth straight week.
Meanwhile, the Houston Astros maintain their lead in Box-Toppers rankings among American League teams for the 10th straight week and the Kansas City Royals are the week’s hottest team, thanks in part to recent player trades.
Read MoreDiamondbacks pitcher Zack Godley is Thursday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day.
Also Thursday, Nationals pitcher Max Scherzer, ranked second in Box-Toppers season player rankings, earns Player of the Game honors. He becomes the second player this season with 20 Box-Toppers points, his fourth straight season with 20 points. Also, he rises to 19th place onBox-Toppers’ “all-time” career points list.
Read MoreRed Sox pitcher Chris Sale is Wednesday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day, bolstering his lead among American League pitchers in season player rankings.
Sale struck out 11 over seven scoreless innings, allowing three hits and one walk, in the 4-0 win over the Mariners.
Read MoreAstros pitcher Charlie Morton is Tuesday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day.
Morton struck out nine over seven scoreless innings, allowing three hits and one walk, in the 5-0 win over the Phillies.
Read MoreMariners pitcher James Paxton is Monday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day and rises to ninth place in season player rankings.
Also Monday, two other players rise in Box-Toppers season player ranking after earning Player of the Game honors—Diamondbacks pitcher Zack Greinke rises to sixth and Mets pitcher Jacob deGrom rises to 10th.
Read MoreIndians pitcher Corey Kluber is Sunday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day and rises to ninth place in season player rankings.
Also Sunday, 2017 Box-Toppers points leader, Dodgers pitcher Clayton Kershaw, is headed to the 10-day disabled list after pitching only two innings in his start against the Braves.
Read MoreIndians pitcher Danny Salazar is Saturday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day.
Also Saturday, Cubs pitcher Jon Lester rises to 18th place on Box-Toppers “all-time” career points list after earning National League Player of the Day honors.
Read MoreRed Sox pitcher Chris Sale is Friday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day, maintaining his player rankings lead among American League pitchers and becoming the 79th player since 1995 with 100 or more career Box-Toppers points.
Also Friday, Edwin Encarnacion of the Indians rises to first place in Box-Toppers points among AL batters after earning AL Batter of the Day honors.
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Kershaw continues lead in Box-Toppers player rankings. Jay Bruce of the Mets retakes the lead among NL batters. Red Sox' Chris Sale leads AL pitchers, Athletics' Ryon Healy leads AL batters.
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While the Dodgers and Astros continue leading Box-Toppers team rankings, the Cubs, Nationals and Yankees make big gains thanks in part to post All-Star Game trades.
Read MoreBlue Jays pitcher Dominic Leone is Thursday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day.
Leone pitched 2 1/3 innings of scoreless middle relief, allowing no hits, no runs, one walk, striking out four and earning the win, in the 8-6 win over the Red Sox.
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Angels pitcher Alex Meyer is Wednesday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day.
Meyer pitched seven scoreless innings, allowing one hit, one walk and striking out seven, in the 7-0 win over the Nationals.
| Player | Pos | Team | BTP | |
| 1 | Kershaw, Clayton 2494 | pi sp | lad nl | 22.1 |
| 2 | Scherzer, Max 2588 | pi sp | dc nl | 19.0 |
| 3 | Sale, Chris 2806 | pi sp | bos al | 13.1 |
| 4 | Wood, Alex 3246 | pi sp | lad nl | 13.0 |
| 5 | Strasburg, Stephen 2736 | pi sp | dc nl | 12.4 |
| 6 | Santana, Ervin 2005 | pi sp | min al | 12.4 |
| 7 | Carrasco, Carlos 2885 | pi sp | cle al | 11.4 |
| 8 | Greinke, Zack 1871 | pi sp | ari nl | 11.4 |
| 9 | Quintana, Jose 3040 | pi sp | chi nl | 10.0 |
| 10 | Ray, Robbie 3502 | pi sp | ari nl | 10.0 |
National League Player of the Day—Nolan Arenado of the Rockies hit three home runs, including a three-run shot, in the 18-4 win over the Padres. Arenado went 5-for-6, scoring four times and driving in seven runs.
Arenado had a Box-Toppers game score of +10.0, the third-highest game score for a batter in 2017 and only the fourth that was +10.0 or greater. The others:
American League Batter of the Day—Brandon Moss of the Royals homered, doubled and went 3-for-4, scoring twice and driving in two runs, in the 4-3 win over the Tigers.
National League Batter of the Day—There is no separate NL Batter of the Day for Wednesday because the overall NL Player of the Day is batter Nolan Arenado.
Notable—Mariners pitcher James Paxton has the most 2017 Box-Toppers points among the 15 who earned Player of the Game honors Wednesday.
Paxton (7IP 6H R BB 7K W in the 4-1 win over the Astros) earns 1.0 Box-Toppers point, giving him 9.0 for the season and ranks 13th among all players, fifth among AL pitchers.
Scoring—Meyer earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day and Arenado earns 1.7 points for being NL Player of the Day. Moss earns 1.5 points for being AL Batter of the Day. All of Wednesday’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.
Box-Toppers strives for accuracy. See a mistake in a post? A wrong name, wrong team, grammar error, spelling goof, etc.? Thanks for pointing it out! Contact Box-Toppers here. Let's fix it and make it right.
| 7/19 | Score | Game | Player of the Game | AB | R | H | BI | IP | H | R | ER | BB | K | |
| MLB | 12.0 | LAA 7, WSH 0 | Alex Meyer (W, 4-5) | - | - | - | - | 7.0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 7 | |
| NL | 10.0 | COL 18, SD 4 | Nolan Arenado (3B) | 6 | 4 | 5 | 7 | - | - | - | - | - | - | |
| 9.0 | `PIT 3, MIL 2 (F/10) | Gerrit Cole | - | - | - | - | 7.0 | 6 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 10 | ||
| 6.0 | BAL 10, TEX 2 | Kevin Gausman (W, 6-7) | - | - | - | - | 6.0 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 8 | ||
| 6.0 | CHC 8, ATL 2 | Mike Montgomery (W, 2-6) | - | - | - | - | 6.0 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 5 | ||
| 5.0 | SEA 4, HOU 1 | James Paxton (W, 9-3) | - | - | - | - | 7.0 | 6 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 7 | ||
| 4.0 | LAD 9, CHW 1 (F/8) | Corey Seager (SS) | 4 | 2 | 3 | 3 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| BAT | 3.0 | KC 4, DET 3 | Brandon Moss (DH) | 4 | 2 | 3 | 2 | - | - | - | - | - | - | |
| 3.0 | CIN 4, ARI 3 (F/11) | Michael Lorenzen (W, 5-2) | - | - | - | - | 2.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 2 | ||
| 2.1 | NYM 7, STL 3 | Addison Reed (S, 16) | - | - | - | - | 1.1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | ||
| 2.0 | PHI 10, MIA 3 | Maikel Franco (3B) | 4 | 1 | 2 | 3 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 2.0 | BOS 5, TOR 1 | Dustin Pedroia (2B) | 3 | 0 | 2 | 3 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 2.0 | SF 5, CLE 4 | Buster Posey (PH) | 1 | 0 | 1 | 2 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 1.2 | MIN 6, NYY 1 | Jose Berrios (W, 9-3) | - | - | - | - | 6.2 | 6 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 5 | ||
| 1.0 | OAK 7, TB 2 | Yonder Alonso (1B) | 2 | 0 | 2 | 1 | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| Player of the Game | Pos | Team | ’17 | ’16-17 | ’12-17 | Career | +/- |
| Paxton, James 3280 | pi sp | sea al | 9.0 | 13.4 | 20.1 | 20.1 | 4.6 |
| Arenado, Nolan 3306 | 3b | col nl | 7.2 | 17.9 | 27.9 | 27.9 | -3.5 |
| Meyer, Alex 3742 | pi sp | ana al | 7.0 | 8.0 | 8.0 | 8.0 | 6.0 |
| Posey, Buster 2745 | ca 1b | sf nl | 6.5 | 10.0 | 35.0 | 39.5 | 3.0 |
| Cole, Gerrit 3232 | pi sp | pit nl | 6.0 | 12.5 | 41.9 | 41.9 | -0.5 |
| Gausman, Kevin 3191 | pi sp | bal al | 5.4 | 16.2 | 29.6 | 29.6 | -5.4 |
| Seager, Corey 3587 | ss | lad nl | 5.0 | 9.0 | 10.5 | 10.5 | 1.0 |
| Berrios, Jose 3791 | pi sp | min al | 5.0 | 5.0 | 5.0 | 5.0 | 5.0 |
| Alonso, Yonder 2945 | 1b | oak al | 4.0 | 6.0 | 15.5 | 17.0 | 2.0 |
| Moss, Brandon 2520 | dh | kc al | 3.5 | 7.5 | 28.5 | 30.5 | -0.5 |
| Montgomery, Mike 3513 | pi sp cp | chi nl | 3.0 | 8.0 | 12.0 | 12.0 | -2.0 |
| Lorenzen, Michael 3479 | pi cp | cin nl | 3.0 | 4.0 | 5.0 | 5.0 | 2.0 |
| Franco, Maikel 3510 | 3b | phi nl | 2.7 | 7.2 | 10.4 | 10.4 | -1.8 |
| Pedroia, Dustin 2320 | 2b | bos al | 2.0 | 7.0 | 20.0 | 39.5 | -3.0 |
| Reed, Addison 3023 | pi cp mr | nym nl | 1.0 | 3.0 | 12.0 | 12.0 | -1.0 |
Cardinals pitcher Michael Wacha is Tuesday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day.
Also Tuesday, Dodgers pitcher Clayton Kershaw extended his lead in Box-Toppers season player rankings after earning Player of the Game honors.
| Player | Pos | Team | BTP | |
| 1 | Kershaw, Clayton 2494 | pi sp | lad nl | 22.1 |
| 2 | Scherzer, Max 2588 | pi sp | dc nl | 19.0 |
| 3 | Sale, Chris 2806 | pi sp | bos al | 13.1 |
| 4 | Wood, Alex 3246 | pi sp | lad nl | 13.0 |
| 5 | Strasburg, Stephen 2736 | pi sp | dc nl | 12.4 |
| 6 | Santana, Ervin 2005 | pi sp | min al | 12.4 |
| 7 | Carrasco, Carlos 2885 | pi sp | cle al | 11.4 |
| 8 | Greinke, Zack 1871 | pi sp | ari nl | 11.4 |
| 9 | Quintana, Jose 3040 | pi sp | chi nl | 10.0 |
| 10 | Ray, Robbie 3502 | pi sp | ari nl | 10.0 |
Player of the Day—Wacha pitched a complete-game, three-hit shutout, striking out eight and walking one, in the 5-0 win over the Mets.
American League Player of the Day—Astros pitcher Brad Peacock struck out nine over seven innings, allowing one run, three hits and one walk in the 6-2 win over the Mariners.
American League Batter of the Day—Nicholas Castellanos of the Tigers homered twice and tripled, going 4-for-5 and driving in five runs, in the 9-3 win over the Royals.
National League Batter of the Day—Gerardo Parra of the Rockies doubled and went 3-for-3, scoring three times and driving in one run, in the 9-7 win over the Padres.
Rankings—Dodgers pitcher Clayton Kershaw extends his lead in Box-Toppers season player rankings after earning Player of the Game honors Tuesday.
Kershaw (7IP 7H 0R BB 7K W in the 1-0 win over the White Sox) earns 1.0 Box-Toppers point, giving him 22.1 for the season, leading second-place player, Nationals pitcher Max Scherzer (19.0 Box-Toppers points).
Kershaw is on pace to earn about 38.0 Box-Toppers points in 2017, which would break the single-season record of 33.7, set by Randy Johnson of the Diamondbacks in both 2000 and 2002. Box-Toppers record keeping began in 1995.
Kershaw also now has 205.8 career Box-Toppers points, third-most among all players since 1995, when Box-Toppers tracking began. He trails second-ranked player Pedro Martinez (244.8). Kershaw leads all active players in career points.
Remarkably, Kershaw has more career Box-Toppers points than the combined total of the 14 others who earned Player of the Game honors Tuesday. The 14 other players have 190.5 career Box-Toppers points combined. Kershaw still beats them by more than 10.0 with 205.8. Granted, none of the other 14 has significantly high career Box-Toppers point totals—Bryce Harper of the Nationals has the most with 34.4, which ranks 540th among all players since 1995.
Notable—Phillies pitcher Pat Neshek Tuesday earned his first Player of the Game honor in nearly three years.
Neshek (1IP 0H 0R 0BB K W in the 5-2 win over the Marlins) last earned Player of the Game honors on Aug. 5, 2014. Despite his lack of recent Player of the Game honors and Box-Toppers points, Neshek was selected to be a 2017 National League All-Star.
Debut—Red Sox pitcher Hector Velazquez made his Box-Toppers debut Tuesday after earning his first career Player of the Game honor.
Velazquez (4IP 2H 0R BB 3K W in the 5-4, 15-inning win over the Blue Jays) made his Major League debut May 18 and was playing in his fourth career game. He is the 3,853rd player to debut in Box-Toppers since record keeping began in 1995.
Scoring—Wacha earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day and Peacock earns 1.7 points for being AL Player of the Day. Castellanos and Parra each earn 1.5 points for being their league’s Batter of the Day. All of Tuesday’s other Players of the Game (listed in the chart below) earn 1.0 Box-Toppers point.
About Box-Toppers—Box-Toppers tracks who most helps their team win the most games. Using standard box score statistics, Box-Toppers uses a simple formula to determine a Player of the Game for each Major League Baseball game played. That player is the person who contributed most to his team’s win. In regular season games, players earn 1.0 Box-Toppers point for being named Player of the Game and can earn bonus points for being Player of the Day or top player or batter in their league for the day.
Box-Toppers strives for accuracy. See a mistake in a post? A wrong name, wrong team, grammar error, spelling goof, etc.? Thanks for pointing it out! Contact Box-Toppers here. Let's fix it and make it right.
| 7/18 | Score | Game | Player of the Game | AB | R | H | BI | IP | H | R | ER | BB | K | |
| MLB | 13.0 | STL 5, NYM 0 | Michael Wacha (W, 7-3) | - | - | - | - | 9.0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 8 | |
| AL | 10.0 | HOU 6, SEA 2 | Brad Peacock (W, 8-1) | - | - | - | - | 7.0 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 9 | |
| BAT | 6.0 | DET 9, KC 3 | Nicholas Castellanos (3B) | 5 | 2 | 4 | 5 | - | - | - | - | - | - | |
| 6.0 | LAD 1, CHW 0 | Clayton Kershaw (W, 15-2) | - | - | - | - | 7.0 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 7 | ||
| 5.0 | `TB 4, OAK 3 | Erasmo Ramirez | - | - | - | - | 3.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | ||
| BAT | 4.0 | COL 9, SD 7 | Gerardo Parra (LF) | 3 | 3 | 3 | 1 | - | - | - | - | - | - | |
| 4.0 | BOS 5, TOR 4 (F/15) | Hector Velazquez (W, 2-1) | - | - | - | - | 4.0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 3 | ||
| 3.0 | WSH 4, LAA 3 | Bryce Harper (RF) | 4 | 2 | 4 | 1 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 3.0 | ARI 11, CIN 2 | Rey Fuentes (PH-CF) | 2 | 1 | 1 | 3 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 3.0 | BAL 12, TEX 1 | Dylan Bundy (W, 9-8) | - | - | - | - | 6.0 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 4 | ||
| 2.0 | NYY 6, MIN 3 | Didi Gregorius (SS) | 4 | 1 | 3 | 2 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 2.0 | PHI 5, MIA 2 | Pat Neshek (W, 3-2) | - | - | - | - | 1.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | ||
| 2.0 | PIT 4, MIL 3 | Felipe Rivero (S, 8) | - | - | - | - | 1.0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | ||
| 1.0 | CHC 5, ATL 1 | Javier Baez (2B) | 4 | 1 | 3 | 1 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 1.0 | SF 2, CLE 1 (F/10) | Sam Dyson (W, 1-1) | - | - | - | - | 2.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| Player of the Game | Pos | Team | ’17 | ’16-17 | ’12-17 | Career | +/- |
| Kershaw, Clayton 2494 | pi sp | lad nl | 22.1 | 46.5 | 146.2 | 205.8 | -2.3 |
| Harper, Bryce 3011 | rf | dc nl | 7.0 | 10.0 | 34.4 | 34.4 | 4.0 |
| Parra, Gerardo 2746 | rf lf | col nl | 6.5 | 9.0 | 21.0 | 27.5 | 4.0 |
| Peacock, Brad 2968 | pi sp | hou al | 6.4 | 6.4 | 13.1 | 15.8 | 6.4 |
| Baez, Javier 3395 | 2b 3b | chi nl | 5.2 | 7.2 | 9.7 | 9.7 | 3.2 |
| Wacha, Michael 3276 | pi sp | stl nl | 5.0 | 7.0 | 24.7 | 24.7 | 3.0 |
| Bundy, Dylan 3655 | pi sp | bal al | 4.0 | 10.0 | 10.0 | 10.0 | -2.0 |
| Castellanos, Nicholas 3349 | 3b | det al | 3.5 | 9.0 | 17.2 | 17.2 | -2.0 |
| Ramirez, Erasmo 1786 | pi cp sp mr | tb al | 3.0 | 6.7 | 15.7 | 17.7 | -0.7 |
| Dyson, Sam 3399 | pi cp mr | sf nl | 3.0 | 3.0 | 6.0 | 6.0 | 3.0 |
| Rivero, Felipe 3579 | pi cp | pit nl | 3.0 | 3.0 | 4.0 | 4.0 | 3.0 |
| Gregorius, Didi 3184 | ss | nyy al | 2.0 | 4.0 | 8.5 | 8.5 | 0.0 |
| Neshek, Pat 2196 | pi mr | phi nl | 1.0 | 1.0 | 4.0 | 12.0 | 1.0 |
| Fuentes, Reymond 3301 | cf ph | ari nl | 1.0 | 1.0 | 2.0 | 2.0 | 1.0 |
| Velazquez, Hector 3853 | pi cp | bos al | 1.0 | 1.0 | 1.0 | 1.0 | 1.0 |
Nationals pitcher Stephen Strasburg is Monday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day and rises to fifth place in season player rankings.
| Player | Pos | Team | BTP | |
| 1 | Kershaw, Clayton 2494 | pi sp | lad nl | 21.1 |
| 2 | Scherzer, Max 2588 | pi sp | dc nl | 19.0 |
| 3 | Sale, Chris 2806 | pi sp | bos al | 13.1 |
| 4 | Wood, Alex 3246 | pi sp | lad nl | 13.0 |
| 5 | Strasburg, Stephen 2736 | pi sp | dc nl | 12.4 |
| 6 | Santana, Ervin 2005 | pi sp | min al | 12.4 |
| 7 | Carrasco, Carlos 2885 | pi sp | cle al | 11.4 |
| 8 | Greinke, Zack 1871 | pi sp | ari nl | 11.4 |
| 9 | Quintana, Jose 3040 | pi sp | chi nl | 10.0 |
| 10 | Ray, Robbie 3502 | pi sp | ari nl | 10.0 |
Strasburg struck out 11 over seven innings, allowing one run, four hits and one walk, in the 6-1 win over the Reds.
Strasburg earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day, giving him 12.4 for the season, rising from eighth to fifth place in season player rankings, fourth place among National League pitchers.
American League Player of the Day—Rays pitcher Jake Odorizzi allowed one run and one hit over seven innings, striking out five and walking two, in the 3-2 win over the Athletics.
National League Batter of the Day—Gregory Polanco of the Pirates hit two doubles and went 4-for-4, scoring twice and driving in two runs, in the 4-2 win over the Brewers.
American League Batter of the Day—Steve Pearce of the Blue Jays homered and went 2-for-3, driving in two runs, in the 4-3 win over the Red Sox.
Notable—Cubs pitcher Jon Lester became the 21st player since 1995 to reach 150 career Box-Toppers points after earning Player of the Game honors Monday.
Lester (7IP 3H R BB 6K W in the 4-3 win over the Braves) earns 1.0 Box-Toppers point, giving him 150.2 career points, 21st-most since 1995, when Box-Toppers tracking began. He trails 20th-ranked player, Nationals pitcher Max Scherzer (150.7), who just passed Lester on the “all-time” list on Saturday.
Lester has 7.0 Box-Toppers points on the season, 14th among NL pitchers.
Scoring—Strasburg earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day and Odorizzi earns 1.7 points for being AL Player of the Day. Polanco and Pearce each earn 1.5 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.
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.
Box-Toppers strives for accuracy. See a mistake in a post? A wrong name, wrong team, grammar error, spelling goof, etc.? Thanks for pointing it out! Contact Box-Toppers here. Let's fix it and make it right.
| 7/17 | Score | Game | Player of the Game | AB | R | H | BI | IP | H | R | ER | BB | K | |
| MLB | 11.0 | WSH 6, CIN 1 | Stephen Strasburg (W, 10-3) | - | - | - | - | 7.0 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 11 | |
| 7.0 | CHC 4, ATL 3 | Jon Lester (W, 6-6) | - | - | - | - | 7.0 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 6 | ||
| AL | 7.0 | TB 3, OAK 2 | Jake Odorizzi (W, 6-4) | - | - | - | - | 7.0 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 5 | |
| 4.2 | DET 10, KC 2 | Jordan Zimmermann (W, 6-7) | - | - | - | - | 6.2 | 7 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 7 | ||
| BAT | 4.0 | PIT 4, MIL 2 | Gregory Polanco (RF) | 4 | 2 | 4 | 2 | - | - | - | - | - | - | |
| 4.0 | MIA 6, PHI 5 (F/10) | Giancarlo Stanton (RF) | 3 | 2 | 2 | 3 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 3.0 | STL 6, NYM 3 | Tommy Pham (LF) | 3 | 1 | 2 | 3 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 3.0 | COL 9, SD 6 | Trevor Story (SS) | 3 | 1 | 2 | 3 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 3.0 | SEA 9, HOU 7 (F/10) | Edwin Diaz (S, 17) | - | - | - | - | 1.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | ||
| 2.1 | `MIN 4, NYY 2 | Adalberto Mejia | - | - | - | - | 5.1 | 5 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 4 | ||
| BAT | 2.0 | TOR 4, BOS 3 | Steve Pearce (LF-1B) | 3 | 1 | 2 | 2 | - | - | - | - | - | - | |
| 1.0 | `BAL 3, TEX 1 | Chris Tillman | - | - | - | - | 6.0 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 4 | 3 | ||
| 1.0 | CLE 5, SF 3 | Cody Allen (S, 17) | - | - | - | - | 1.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Player of the Game | Pos | Team | ’17 | ’16-17 | ’12-17 | Career | +/- |
| Strasburg, Stephen 2736 | pi sp | dc nl | 12.4 | 27.5 | 86.6 | 95.3 | -2.7 |
| Lester, Jon 2173 | pi sp | chi nl | 7.0 | 29.1 | 74.6 | 150.2 | -15.1 |
| Odorizzi, Jake 3291 | pi sp | tb al | 5.1 | 11.5 | 31.2 | 31.2 | -1.3 |
| Diaz, Edwin 3690 | pi cp | sea al | 5.0 | 12.0 | 12.0 | 12.0 | -2.0 |
| Stanton, Giancarlo 2737 | rf | fla nl | 4.5 | 11.0 | 35.2 | 43.7 | -2.0 |
| Polanco, Gregory 3361 | rf | pit nl | 4.5 | 10.0 | 17.0 | 17.0 | -1.0 |
| Mejia, Adalberto 3812 | pi sp | min al | 4.0 | 4.0 | 4.0 | 4.0 | 4.0 |
| Pearce, Steve 2371 | lf 1b | tor al | 3.5 | 5.5 | 17.5 | 19.5 | 1.5 |
| Pham, Thomas 3596 | lf | stl nl | 3.5 | 5.0 | 6.5 | 6.5 | 2.0 |
| Tillman, Chris 2754 | pi sp | bal al | 2.0 | 10.0 | 41.8 | 45.8 | -6.0 |
| Allen, Cody 3265 | pi cp mr | cle al | 2.0 | 9.0 | 18.0 | 18.0 | -5.0 |
| Story, Trevor 3607 | ss | col nl | 1.0 | 7.5 | 7.5 | 7.5 | -5.5 |
| Zimmermann, Jordan 2612 | pi sp | det al | 1.0 | 4.0 | 54.4 | 61.4 | -2.0 |
Cubs pitcher Jose Quintana is Sunday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day and rises to ninth place in season player rankings.
| Player | Pos | Team | BTP | |
| 1 | Kershaw, Clayton 2494 | pi sp | lad nl | 21.1 |
| 2 | Scherzer, Max 2588 | pi sp | dc nl | 19.0 |
| 3 | Sale, Chris 2806 | pi sp | bos al | 13.1 |
| 4 | Wood, Alex 3246 | pi sp | lad nl | 13.0 |
| 5 | Santana, Ervin 2005 | pi sp | min al | 12.4 |
| 6 | Carrasco, Carlos 2885 | pi sp | cle al | 11.4 |
| 7 | Greinke, Zack 1871 | pi sp | ari nl | 11.4 |
| 8 | Strasburg, Stephen 2736 | pi sp | dc nl | 10.4 |
| 9 | Quintana, Jose 3040 | pi sp | chi nl | 10.0 |
| 10 | Ray, Robbie 3502 | pi sp | ari nl | 10.0 |
Quintana, making his debut for the Cubs after being traded from the White Sox during the All-Star break, struck out 12 over seven scoreless innings, allowing three hits and no walks, in the 8-0 win over the Orioles.
Quintana earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day, giving him 10.0 for the season, rising to ninth place among all players, sixth place among National League pitchers. Quintana is the 10th player this season to reach 10.0 or more Box-Toppers points.
American League Player of the Day—Astros pitcher Mike Fiers struck out 11 over seven innings, allowing two hits, four hits and no walks, in the 5-3 win over the Twins.
National League Batter of the Day—Daniel Murphy of the Nationals hit two homers and went 3-for-4, scoring twice and driving in five runs, in the 14-4 win over the Reds.
American League Batter of the Day—There is no AL Batter of the Day for Sunday because no AL batter earned Player of the Game honors.
Notable—Two players with 100.0 or more career Box-Toppers points earned Player of the Game honors Sunday:
Debut—Nick Williams of the Phillies made his Box-Toppers debut Sunday with his first career Player of the Game honor.
Williams (HR 2-4 R 4BI in the 5-2 win over the Brewers) made his Major League debut June 30 and was playing in his 13th career game. He is the 3,852nd player to debut in Box-Toppers since record keeping began in 1995.
Scoring—Quintana earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day and Fiers earns 1.7 points for being AL Player of the Day. Murphyearns 1.5 points for being NL Batter of the Day. All of Sunday’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.
Box-Toppers strives for accuracy. See a mistake in a post? A wrong name, wrong team, grammar error, spelling goof, etc.? Thanks for pointing it out! Contact Box-Toppers here. Let's fix it and make it right.
| 7/16 | Score | Game | Player of the Game | AB | R | H | BI | IP | H | R | ER | BB | K | |
| MLB | 16.0 | CHC 8, BAL 0 | Jose Quintana, W (5-8) | - | - | - | - | 7.0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 12 | |
| AL | 10.0 | HOU 5, MIN 3 | Mike Fiers (W, 6-4) | - | - | - | - | 7.0 | 4 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 11 | |
| 9.0 | BOS 3, NYY 0 | David Price (W, 5-2) | - | - | - | - | 8.0 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 8 | ||
| 7.0 | LAD 3, MIA 2 | Rich Hill (W, 6-4) | - | - | - | - | 5.0 | 5 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 9 | ||
| BAT | 6.0 | WSH 14, CIN 4 | Daniel Murphy (2B) | 4 | 2 | 3 | 5 | - | - | - | - | - | - | |
| 5.0 | ATL 7, ARI 1 | Jaime Garcia (W, 3-7) | - | - | - | - | 7.0 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 7 | ||
| 4.0 | SEA 7, CHW 6 (F/10) | Edwin Diaz (S, 16) | - | - | - | - | 1.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | ||
| 3.2 | SD 7, SF 1 | Trevor Cahill (W, 4-3) | - | - | - | - | 6.2 | 8 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 8 | ||
| 3.1 | `LAA 4, TB 3 | Parker Bridwell | - | - | - | - | 6.1 | 6 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 8 | ||
| 3.0 | PHI 5, MIL 2 | Nick Williams (RF) | 4 | 1 | 2 | 4 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 3.0 | COL 13, NYM 4 | Gerardo Parra (RF) | 4 | 2 | 2 | 3 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 3.0 | OAK 7, CLE 3 | Sean Manaea (W, 8-5) | - | - | - | - | 7.0 | 5 | 2 | 2 | 3 | 8 | ||
| 2.2 | `KC 4, TEX 3 | Ian Kennedy | - | - | - | - | 6.2 | 5 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 6 | ||
| 2.0 | NYY 3, BOS 0 | CC Sabathia (W, 8-3) | - | - | - | - | 6.0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 3 | ||
| 2.0 | PIT 4, STL 3 | Wade LeBlanc (W, 4-2) | - | - | - | - | 1.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | ||
| 2.0 | `DET 6, TOR 5 (F/11) | Bruce Rondon | - | - | - | - | 1.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 2 |
| Player of the Game | Pos | Team | ’17 | ’16-17 | ’12-17 | Career | +/- |
| Quintana, Jose 3040 | pi sp | chi nl | 10.0 | 20.4 | 45.2 | 45.2 | -0.4 |
| Hill, Rich 2215 | pi sp | lad nl | 7.7 | 22.1 | 26.1 | 45.8 | -6.7 |
| Cahill, Trevor 2658 | pi sp | sd nl | 6.4 | 9.4 | 24.1 | 46.6 | 3.4 |
| Murphy, Daniel 2589 | 2b | dc nl | 6.0 | 13.5 | 34.5 | 38.5 | -1.5 |
| Sabathia, C.C. 1492 | pi sp | nyy al | 6.0 | 12.0 | 38.5 | 191.0 | 0.0 |
| Manaea, Sean 3637 | pi sp | oak al | 5.4 | 12.1 | 12.1 | 12.1 | -1.3 |
| Kennedy, Ian 2723 | pi sp | kc al | 5.0 | 15.0 | 46.1 | 71.5 | -5.0 |
| Parra, Gerardo 2746 | rf | col nl | 5.0 | 7.5 | 19.5 | 26.0 | 2.5 |
| Fiers, Michael 3029 | pi sp | hou al | 4.4 | 9.4 | 30.5 | 30.5 | -0.6 |
| Diaz, Edwin 3690 | pi cp | sea al | 4.0 | 11.0 | 11.0 | 11.0 | -3.0 |
| Price, David 2593 | pi sp | bos al | 3.7 | 16.1 | 78.1 | 109.9 | -8.7 |
| LeBlanc, Wade 2669 | pi cp mr sp | pit nl | 3.0 | 6.0 | 6.0 | 13.0 | 0.0 |
| Garcia, Jaime 2508 | pi sp | atl nl | 2.0 | 10.0 | 28.1 | 45.8 | -6.0 |
| Bridwell, Parker 3844 | pi sp | ana al | 2.0 | 2.0 | 2.0 | 2.0 | 2.0 |
| Rondon, Bruce 3245 | pi mr | det al | 1.0 | 1.0 | 5.0 | 5.0 | 1.0 |
| Williams, Nick 3852 | rf | phi nl | 1.0 | 1.0 | 1.0 | 1.0 | 1.0 |
Nationals pitcher Max Scherzer is Saturday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day, maintaining his spot in second place in season player rankings and rising to 20th in career points on Box-Toppers “all-time” list.
| Player | Pos | Team | BTP | |
| 1 | Kershaw, Clayton 2494 | pi sp | lad nl | 21.1 |
| 2 | Scherzer, Max 2588 | pi sp | dc nl | 19.0 |
| 3 | Sale, Chris 2806 | pi sp | bos al | 13.1 |
| 4 | Wood, Alex 3246 | pi sp | lad nl | 13.0 |
| 5 | Santana, Ervin 2005 | pi sp | min al | 12.4 |
| 6 | Carrasco, Carlos 2885 | pi sp | cle al | 11.4 |
| 7 | Greinke, Zack 1871 | pi sp | ari nl | 11.4 |
| 8 | Strasburg, Stephen 2736 | pi sp | dc nl | 10.4 |
| 9 | Ray, Robbie 3502 | pi sp | ari nl | 10.0 |
| 10 | deGrom, Jacob 3343 | pi sp | nym nl | 9.7 |
Also Saturday, Dodgers pitcher Alex Wood rises to fourth in Box-Toppers season player rankings after earning Player of the Game honors. Plus, Jay Bruce of the Mets retakes the lead among National League batters in Box-Toppers points after he earns Player of the Game honors.
Player of the Day—Scherzer struck out 10 over six scoreless innings, allowing three hits and four walks, in the 10-7 win over the Reds.
Scherzer earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day, giving him 19.0 for the season. He remains in second place in Box-Toppers points, behind Dodgers pitcher Clayton Kershaw (21.1), who also leads all NL pitchers.
Scherzer now has 150.7 career Box-Toppers points and rises to 20th place among all players since 1995, when Box-Toppers tracking began. With his points Saturday, he passes two players on the “all-time” list—Chipper Jones (149.0) and Cubs pitcher Jon Lester (149.2). He now trails 19th-ranked player, Twins pitcher Bartolo Colon (151.2). Scherzer is the 20th player to reach 150 career Box-Toppers points.
| Player | Pos | Team | BTP | |
| 1 | Randy Johnson | pi sp | retired | 278.8 |
| 2 | Pedro Martinez | pi sp | retired | 244.8 |
| 3 | Clayton Kershaw | pi sp | lad nl | 204.8 |
| 4 | Curt Schilling | pi sp | retired | 194.1 |
| 5 | CC Sabathia | pi sp | nyy al | 190.0 |
| 6 | Alex Rodriguez | dh | released | 187.0 |
| 7 | Albert Pujols | 1b dh | ana al | 184.3 |
| 8 | Felix Hernandez | pi sp | sea al | 171.4 |
| 9 | Roy Halladay | pi sp | retired | 170.7 |
| 10 | Zack Greinke | pi sp | ari nl | 167.5 |
| 11 | Manny Ramirez | lf dh | retired | 167.2 |
| 12 | Johan Santana | pi sp | free agent | 166.6 |
| 13 | Roger Clemens | pi sp | retired | 164.8 |
| 14 | John Smoltz | pi sp | retired | 160.9 |
| 15 | Tim Hudson | pi sp | retired | 157.0 |
| 16 | Mike Mussina | pi sp | retired | 155.6 |
| 17 | Barry Bonds | lf | retired | 153.2 |
| 18 | Greg Maddux | pi sp | retired | 151.7 |
| 19 | Bartolo Colon | pi sp | min al | 151.2 |
| 20 | Max Scherzer | pi sp | dc nl | 150.7 |
Passing Lester, Scherzer is now seventh among active players in career Box-Toppers points, sixth among active pitchers.
American League Player of the Day—Rangers pitcher Cole Hamels pitched 7 2/3 scoreless innings, striking out five and allowing four hits and one walk, in the 1-0 win over the Royals. Hamels picked up a no-decision and did not earn the win because the game was in a scoreless tie when he exited.
Hamels earns 1.7 Box-Toppers points for being AL Player of the Day, giving him 148.7 career points, rising to 23rd place among all players since 1995, when Box-Toppers tracking began. With his points Saturday, he passes Javier Vazquez (148.3) on the “all-time” list and now trails 22nd-ranked player Chipper Jones (149.0).
Hamels has 4.7 Box-Toppers points on the season, 25th among AL pitchers.
American League Batter of the Day—Matt Chapman of the Athletics hit two home runs and doubled in the 5-3 win over the Indians. Chapman went 3-for-3, scoring three times and driving in two runs.
This was Chapman’s Box-Toppers debut, the first time in his career he earned Player of the Game honors. Chapman made his Major League debut June 15 and was playing in his 13th career game. He is the 3,849th player to debut in Box-Toppers since record keeping began in 1995.
National League Batter of the Day—Lane Adams of the Braves hit a pinch-hit, sixth-inning, three-run double in the 8-5 win over the Diamondbacks.
This was Adam’s Box-Toppers debut, the first time in his career he earned Player of the Game honors. Adams made his Major League debut Sept. 1, 2014, and was playing in his 39th career game. He is the 3,850th player to debut in Box-Toppers since record keeping began in 1995.
Rankings—Dodgers pitcher Alex Wood rises to fourth place in Box-Toppers season player rankings after earning Player of the Game honors Saturday.
Wood (6IP 3H 0R BB 4K W in the 7-1 win over the Marlins) earns 1.0 Box-Toppers point, giving him 13.0 for the season. He ranks third among NL pitchers, behind Kershaw (21.1) and Scherzer (19.0).
Notable—Jay Bruce of the Mets regains the season Box-Toppers points lead among NL batters after earning Player of the Game honors Saturday.
Bruce (HR 1-4 2R 3BI in the 9-3 win over the Rockies) earns 1.0 Box-Toppers point, giving him 8.0 for the season. He passes previous leader Cody Bellinger of the Dodgers (7.7). Bruce ranks 19th among all players in Box-Toppers season player rankings.
Debut—Jabari Blash of the Padres also made his Box-Toppers debut Saturday, the first time in his career he earned Player of the Game honors.
Blash (HR 2-4 2R 2BI in the 5-3 win over the Giants) made his Major League debut April, 4, 2016, and was playing in his 54th career game. He is the 3,851st player to debut in Box-Toppers since record keeping began in 1995.
Scoring—Scherzer earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day and Hamels earns 1.7 points for being AL Player of the Day. Chapman and Adams each earn 1.5 points for being their league’s Batter of the Day. All of Saturday’s other Players of the Game (listed in the chart below) earn 1.0 Box-Toppers point.
About Box-Toppers—Box-Toppers tracks who most helps their team win the most games. Using standard box score statistics, Box-Toppers uses a simple formula to determine a Player of the Game for each Major League Baseball game played. That player is the person who contributed most to his team’s win. In regular season games, players earn 1.0 Box-Toppers point for being named Player of the Game and can earn bonus points for being Player of the Day or top player or batter in their league for the day.
Box-Toppers strives for accuracy. See a mistake in a post? A wrong name, wrong team, grammar error, spelling goof, etc.? Thanks for pointing it out! Contact Box-Toppers here. Let's fix it and make it right.
| 7/15 | Score | Game | Player of the Game | AB | R | H | BI | IP | H | R | ER | BB | K | |
| MLB | 9.0 | WSH 10, CIN 7 | Max Scherzer (W, 11-5) | - | - | - | - | 6.0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 10 | |
| AL | 7.2 | `TEX 1, KC 0 | Cole Hamels | - | - | - | - | 7.2 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 5 | |
| 6.2 | `MIL 3, PHI 2 | Jimmy Nelson | - | - | - | - | 6.2 | 3 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 9 | ||
| 6.0 | DET 11, TOR 1 | Michael Fulmer (W, 10-6) | - | - | - | - | 8.0 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 3 | ||
| 6.0 | LAD 7, MIA 1 | Alex Wood (W, 11-0) | - | - | - | - | 6.0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 4 | ||
| BAT | 5.0 | OAK 5, CLE 3 | Matt Chapman (3B) | 3 | 3 | 3 | 2 | - | - | - | - | - | - | |
| 5.0 | `NYY 4, BOS 1 (F/16) | Luis Severino | - | - | - | - | 7.0 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 6 | ||
| BAT | 4.0 | ATL 8, ARI 5 | Lane Adams (PH) | 1 | 1 | 1 | 3 | - | - | - | - | - | - | |
| 3.0 | CHC 10, BAL 3 | Jason Heyward (RF) | 4 | 2 | 2 | 3 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 2.1 | `MIN 4, HOU 2 | Taylor Rogers (H, 22) | - | - | - | - | 1.1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | ||
| 2.0 | SD 5, SF 3 | Jabari Blash (RF) | 4 | 2 | 2 | 2 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 2.0 | NYM 9, COL 3 | Jay Bruce (RF) | 4 | 2 | 1 | 3 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 2.0 | `SEA 4, CHW 3 | Nick Vincent (H, 13) | - | - | - | - | 1.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | ||
| 1.1 | STL 4, PIT 0 | Lance Lynn (W, 8-6) | - | - | - | - | 6.1 | 8 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | ||
| 0.2 | TB 6, LAA 3 | Alex Cobb (W, 8-6) | - | - | - | - | 7.2 | 6 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 4 |
| Player of the Game | Pos | Team | ’17 | ’16-17 | ’12-17 | Career | +/- |
| Scherzer, Max 2588 | pi sp | dc nl | 19.0 | 44.7 | 122.9 | 150.7 | -6.7 |
| Wood, Alex 3246 | pi sp | lad nl | 13.0 | 14.0 | 32.4 | 32.4 | 12.0 |
| Nelson, Jimmy 3299 | pi sp | mil nl | 9.0 | 12.0 | 22.4 | 22.4 | 6.0 |
| Bruce, Jay 2453 | rf | nym nl | 8.0 | 16.5 | 33.7 | 66.8 | -0.5 |
| Severino, Luis 3567 | pi sp | nyy al | 7.7 | 9.7 | 12.7 | 12.7 | 5.7 |
| Lynn, Lance 2992 | pi sp | stl nl | 6.7 | 6.7 | 62.6 | 62.6 | 6.7 |
| Fulmer, Michael 3640 | pi sp | det al | 5.7 | 18.4 | 18.4 | 18.4 | -7.0 |
| Cobb, Alex 2916 | pi sp | tb al | 5.4 | 5.4 | 35.8 | 36.8 | 5.4 |
| Hamels, Cole 2135 | pi sp | tex al | 4.7 | 22.5 | 73.7 | 148.7 | -13.1 |
| Adams, Lane 3850 | ph | atl nl | 1.5 | 1.5 | 1.5 | 1.5 | 1.5 |
| Chapman, Matt 3849 | 3b | oak al | 1.5 | 1.5 | 1.5 | 1.5 | 1.5 |
| Heyward, Jason 2695 | rf | chi nl | 1.0 | 2.0 | 12.5 | 19.5 | 0.0 |
| Vincent, Nick 3203 | pi mr | sea al | 1.0 | 2.0 | 5.0 | 5.0 | 0.0 |
| Rogers, Taylor 3648 | pi mr | min al | 1.0 | 2.0 | 2.0 | 2.0 | 0.0 |
| Blash, Jabari 3851 | rf | sd nl | 1.0 | 1.0 | 1.0 | 1.0 | 1.0 |
Mets pitcher Jacob deGrom is Friday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day and rises to 10th place in season player rankings.
| Player | Pos | Team | BTP | |
| 1 | Kershaw, Clayton 2494 | pi sp | lad nl | 21.1 |
| 2 | Scherzer, Max 2588 | pi sp | dc nl | 17.0 |
| 3 | Sale, Chris 2806 | pi sp | bos al | 13.1 |
| 4 | Santana, Ervin 2005 | pi sp | min al | 12.4 |
| 5 | Wood, Alex 3246 | pi sp | lad nl | 12.0 |
| 6 | Carrasco, Carlos 2885 | pi sp | cle al | 11.4 |
| 7 | Greinke, Zack 1871 | pi sp | ari nl | 11.4 |
| 8 | Strasburg, Stephen 2736 | pi sp | dc nl | 10.4 |
| 9 | Ray, Robbie 3502 | pi sp | ari nl | 10.0 |
| 10 | deGrom, Jacob 3343 | pi sp | nym nl | 9.7 |
deGrom struck out 11 over eight innings, allowing two runs, four hits and one walk, in the 14-2 win over the Rockies.
deGrom earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day, giving him 9.7 for the season, rising to 10th place in player rankings, seventh place among National League pitchers.
American League Player of the Day—Athletics pitcher Sonny Gray pitched six scoreless innings, allowing two hits, one walk and striking out five, in the 5-0 win over the Indians.
National League Batter of the Day—Yasiel Puig of the Dodgers hit two homers, including a ninth-inning, three-run shot, in the 6-4 win over the Marlins. Puig went 2-for-4, driving in four total runs.
Puig earns 1.5 Box-Toppers points for being NL Batter of the Day, giving him 4.5 Box-Toppers points for 2017, which is his highest single-season total of his five-season career. His previous best seasons were 2015 and 2016 when he had 3.5 each season. He had just 1.5 points in 2013 and just 1.0 point in 2014.
American League Batter of the Day—Adrian Beltre of the Rangers hit a three-run homer and went 2-for-3, in the 5-3 win over the Royals.
Beltre earns 1.5 Box-Toppers points for being AL Batter of the Day, giving him 113.8 career Box-Toppers points, rising to 49th place among all players since 1995, when Box-Toppers tracking began. With his points Friday, he passes four players on the “all-time” list—Kevin Brown (112.8), Sammy Sosa (113.2), Dan Haren (113.2) and Chris Carpenter (113.3). Beltre now trails 48th-ranked player Josh Beckett (114.9).
Passing Sosa, Beltre now ranks 15th among all batters since 1995, trailing 14th-ranked Torii Hunter (115.9). Beltre also ranks 15th among active players in career Box-Toppers points, trailing 14th-ranked player, Cardinals pitcher Adam Wainwright (117.5). He ranks third among active batters in career points, behind second-ranked Miguel Cabrera of the Tigers (146.9).
Beltre has 2.5 Box-Toppers points on the season.
Scoring—deGrom earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day and Gray earns 1.7 points for being AL Player of the Day. Puig and Beltre each earn 1.5 points for being their league’s Batter of the Day. All of Friday’s other Players of the Game (listed in the chart below) earn 1.0 Box-Toppers point.
About Box-Toppers—Box-Toppers tracks who most helps their team win the most games. Using standard box score statistics, Box-Toppers uses a simple formula to determine a Player of the Game for each Major League Baseball game played. That player is the person who contributed most to his team’s win. In regular season games, players earn 1.0 Box-Toppers point for being named Player of the Game and can earn bonus points for being Player of the Day or top player or batter in their league for the day.
Box-Toppers strives for accuracy. See a mistake in a post? A wrong name, wrong team, grammar error, spelling goof, etc.? Thanks for pointing it out! Contact Box-Toppers here. Let's fix it and make it right.
| 7/14 | Score | Game | Player of the Game | AB | R | H | BI | IP | H | R | ER | BB | K | |
| MLB | 11.0 | NYM 14, COL 2 | Jacob deGrom (W, 10-3) | - | - | - | - | 8.0 | 4 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 11 | |
| 8.1 | WSH 5, CIN 0 | Gio Gonzalez (W, 8-4) | - | - | - | - | 8.1 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 6 | ||
| AL | 8.0 | OAK 5, CLE 0 | Sonny Gray (W, 5-4) | - | - | - | - | 6.0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 5 | |
| 6.0 | SEA 4, CHW 2 | James Paxton (W, 8-3) | - | - | - | - | 6.0 | 5 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 9 | ||
| BAT | 4.0 | LAD 6, MIA 4 | Yasiel Puig (RF) | 4 | 2 | 2 | 4 | - | - | - | - | - | - | |
| 4.0 | PIT 5, STL 2 | Josh Bell (1B) | 3 | 1 | 2 | 4 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 4.0 | `BOS 5, NYY 4 | Matt Barnes | - | - | - | - | 2.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | ||
| BAT | 3.0 | TEX 5, KC 3 | Adrian Beltre (3B) | 3 | 1 | 2 | 3 | - | - | - | - | - | - | |
| 3.0 | CHC 9, BAL 8 | Wade Davis (S, 17) | - | - | - | - | 1.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | ||
| 2.0 | HOU 10, MIN 5 | Marwin Gonzalez (LF) | 5 | 2 | 3 | 2 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 2.0 | MIL 9, PHI 6 | Ryan Braun (LF) | 4 | 1 | 1 | 4 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 2.0 | TOR 7, DET 2 | Jose Bautista (RF) | 3 | 2 | 1 | 2 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 2.0 | ATL 4, ARI 3 | Jim Johnson (S, 20) | - | - | - | - | 1.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | ||
| 2.0 | TB 2, LAA 1 (F/10) | Alex Colome (S, 26) | - | - | - | - | 1.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | ||
| 1.0 | SF 5, SD 4 | Gorkys Hernandez (LF) | 4 | 1 | 4 | 0 | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| Player of the Game | Pos | Team | ’17 | ’16-17 | ’12-17 | Career | +/- |
| deGrom, Jacob 3343 | pi sp | nym nl | 9.7 | 19.4 | 54.8 | 54.8 | 0.0 |
| Paxton, James 3280 | pi sp | sea al | 8.0 | 12.4 | 19.1 | 19.1 | 3.6 |
| Johnson, Jim 2417 | pi cp | atl nl | 6.0 | 10.0 | 21.0 | 27.7 | 2.0 |
| Gray, Sonny 3259 | pi sp | oak al | 5.7 | 6.7 | 38.5 | 38.5 | 4.7 |
| Colome, Alex 3189 | pi cp | tb al | 5.0 | 14.0 | 22.7 | 22.7 | -4.0 |
| Puig, Yasiel 3193 | rf | lad nl | 4.5 | 8.0 | 14.0 | 14.0 | 1.0 |
| Gonzalez, Gio 2626 | pi sp | dc nl | 3.0 | 9.0 | 60.1 | 89.5 | -3.0 |
| Barnes, Matt 3466 | pi mr cp | bos al | 3.0 | 3.0 | 4.0 | 4.0 | 3.0 |
| Beltre, Adrian 1141 | 3b | tex al | 2.5 | 12.0 | 45.9 | 113.8 | -7.0 |
| Bautista, Jose 2169 | rf | tor al | 2.5 | 3.5 | 26.5 | 65.4 | 1.5 |
| Gonzalez, Marwin 3078 | lf | hou al | 2.5 | 3.5 | 8.0 | 8.0 | 1.5 |
| Hernandez, Goryks 3758 | cf lf | sf nl | 2.5 | 2.5 | 2.5 | 2.5 | 2.5 |
| Braun, Ryan J. 2300 | lf | mil nl | 2.0 | 12.5 | 38.0 | 90.2 | -8.5 |
| Davis, Wade 2681 | pi cp | chi nl | 2.0 | 6.0 | 21.0 | 28.0 | -2.0 |
| Bell, Josh E. 3682 | 1b | pit nl | 1.0 | 2.5 | 2.5 | 2.5 | -0.5 |
A look at who leads each of the 30 teams in 2017 Box-Toppers points at the All-Star break.
Read MoreBox-Toppers tracks who most helps their team win the most games. Using standard box score statistics, Box-Toppers uses a simple formula to determine a Player of the Game for each Major League Baseball game played. That player is the person who contributed most to his team’s win. Players earn Box-Toppers points for being named Player of the Game and can earn bonus points for being Player of the Day or top player or batter in their league for the day.