Box-Toppers Toppers Box
Today’s key Box-Toppers numbers. Click links to jump to charts elsewhere on this page.▪️ Box-Toppers Player of the Game winners.
▪️ Box-Toppers points of the day’s top players.
▪️ Top 10 players in 2023 Box-Toppers points.
▪️ A B-T look at upcoming pitching matchups.
▪️ Subscribe to Box-Toppers Email Newsletter.
Blue Jays pitcher Chris Bassitt is Friday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day, rising to fifth place in season player rankings.
Also Friday, Dodgers pitcher Clayton Kershaw rises to eighth place in Box-Toppers season player rankings after earning Player of the Game honors.
Player of the Day—Bassitt struck out eight over 7 2/3 scoreless innings, allowing three hits and no walks, in the 3-0 win over the Mets.
Bassitt earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day, giving him 7.7 for the season, fifth among all players and fourth among American League pitchers.
National League Player of the Day—Marlins pitcher Edward Cabrera struck out 10 over six scoreless innings, allowing four hits and one walk, in the 4-0 win over the Athletics.
Cabrera earns 1.7 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day, giving him 2.7 for the season, 38th among NL pitchers.
National League Batter of the Day—Ke'Bryan Hayes of the Pirates hit a three-run homer, doubled and went 3-for-4, scoring once and driving in four runs, in the 7-5 win over the Cardinals.
American League Batter of the Day—There is no separate AL Batter of the Day for Friday because no AL batters earned Player of the Game honors.
Rankings—Dodgers pitcher Clayton Kershaw rises to eighth place in Box-Toppers season player rankings after earning Player of the Game honors Friday.
Kershaw (7IP 4H 2R BB 9K W in the 8-4 win over the Yankees) earns 1.0 Box-Toppers point, giving him 7.1 for the season, eighth among all players and second among NL pitchers, behind Zac Gallen of the Diamondbacks (8.7).
Kershaw also now has 266.4 career Box-Toppers points, second among all players since Box-Toppers tracking began in 1995, behind only Randy Johnson (282.5). (It should be noted Johnson would have more Box-Toppers points if his entire career from 1988 were tracked—projections put his point total at about 385.) Kershaw leads active players in career points, ahead of second-place player, Mets pitcher Max Scherzer (242.0).
Top 10 players
Here are the top 10 in Box-Toppers season player rankings for 2023. Players are ranked by Box-Toppers points (BTP) earned this season through Friday, June 2.| Player | Pos | Team | BTP | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Gausman, Kevin 3191 | pi sp | tor al | 10.0 |
| 2 | Ohtani, Shohei 3933 | pi sp dh | ana al | 9.4 |
| 3 | Gallen, Zac 4171 | pi sp | ari nl | 8.7 |
| 4 | McClanahan, Shane 4399 | pi sp | tb al | 8.7 |
| 5 | Bassitt, Chris 3413 | pi sp | tor al | 7.7 |
| 6 | deGrom, Jacob 3343 | pi sp | tex al | 7.7 |
| 7 | Judge, Aaron 3767 | rf cf dh | nyy al | 7.5 |
| 8 | Kershaw, Clayton 2494 | pi sp | lad nl | 7.1 |
| 9 | Rasmussen, Drew 4547 | pi sp | tb al | 6.7 |
| 10 | Eovaldi, Nathan 2928 | pi sp | tex al | 6.7 |
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Notable—Orioles pitcher Danny Coulombe earned his first Box-Toppers Player of the Game honor Friday in more than six years.
Coulombe (1IP 0H 0R 0BB 3K ND in the 3-2 win over the Giants) last earned Player of the Game honors Sept. 12, 2016, when he was with the Athletics. He earned 2.0 points that season and now has 3.0 career points.
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Scoring—Bassitt earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day and Cabrera earns 1.7 points for being NL Player of the Day. Hayes earns 1.5 points for being NL Batter of the Day. All of Friday’s other Player of the Game winners (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.
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Box‑Toppers Player of the Game winners
Here is the top player from each of the day’s games listed from highest to lowest Box‑Toppers game score (BTG).Back to top
| 6/2 | BTG | Game | Player | AB | R | H | BI | IP | H | R | ER | BB | K | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| MLB | +12.2 | TOR 3, NYM 0 | Chris Bassitt, (W 6‑4) | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | 7.2 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 8 | |
| NL | +11.0 | MIA 4, OAK 0 | Edward Cabrera, (W 4‑4) | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | 6.0 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 10 | |
| +9.0 | TEX 2, SEA 0 | Jon Gray, (W 6‑1) | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | 7.0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 5 | ||
| +8.0 | HOU 6, LAA 2 | Framber Valdez, (W 6‑4) | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | 7.0 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 7 | ||
| +7.0 | LAD 8, NYY 4 | Clayton Kershaw, (W 7‑4) | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | 7.0 | 4 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 9 | ||
| +7.0 | `CHW 3, DET 0 | Mike Clevinger | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | 5.0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 6 | ||
| +5.0 | `MIN 1, CLE 0 | Bailey Ober | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | 6.0 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | ||
| BAT | +4.0 | PIT 7, STL 5 | Ke’Bryan Hayes, 3B | 4 | 1 | 3 | 4 | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | |
| +4.0 | CHC 2, SD 1 | Mark Leiter Jr., (S 3) | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | 1.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | ||
| +4.0 | `BAL 3, SF 2 | Danny Coulombe, (Hld 9) | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | 1.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | ||
| +3.0 | WSH 8, PHI 7 | Jeimer Candelario, 3B | 4 | 2 | 2 | 3 | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ||
| +3.0 | ARI 3, ATL 2 | Merrill Kelly, (W 7‑3) | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | 7.0 | 5 | 2 | 2 | 3 | 8 | ||
| +3.0 | `MIL 5, CIN 4 (F/11) | Peter Strzelecki | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | 1.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | ||
| +2.0 | COL 7, KC 2 | Ryan McMahon, 3B | 4 | 2 | 2 | 2 | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ |
AL—Overall American League Player of the Day, worth 1.7 total Box‑Toppers points.
NL—Overall National League Player of the Day, worth 1.7 total Box‑Toppers points.
BAT—Top AL or NL Batter of the Day, worth 1.5 total Box‑Toppers points.
All other players listed here would earn Player of the Game honors, worth 1.0 Box‑Toppers point.
` Pitcher had a no‑decision in the game and did not pick up a win or a save.
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Box-Toppers point totals of the day’s Player of the Game winners
Here are Box-Toppers point totals of each of the Player of the Game winners. Players are ranked by their Box-Toppers point total in 2023 (’23). Also shown is their point total for this season and last (’22-23), the period 2018-2023 (’18-23) and each players’ career point total. Also shown is how their 2023 Box-Toppers point total compares with their 2022 total (+/-).Back to top
| Player of the Game | Pos | Team | ’23 | ’22‑23 | ’18‑23 | Career | +/‑ |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bassitt, Chris 3413 | pi sp | tor al | 7.7 | 18.7 | 47.5 | 51.5 | -3.3 |
| Kershaw, Clayton 2494 | pi sp | lad nl | 7.1 | 17.8 | 59.6 | 266.4 | -3.6 |
| Kelly, Merrill 4143 | pi sp | ari nl | 6.0 | 17.0 | 32.0 | 32.0 | -5.0 |
| Valdez, Framber 4048 | pi sp | hou al | 5.0 | 21.0 | 36.4 | 36.4 | -11.0 |
| Gray, Jon 3634 | pi sp | tex al | 4.7 | 10.7 | 38.4 | 50.1 | -1.3 |
| Ober, Bailey 4441 | pi sp | min al | 3.7 | 6.7 | 13.4 | 13.4 | +0.7 |
| Cabrera, Edward 4641 | pi sp | fla nl | 2.7 | 9.1 | 9.1 | 9.1 | -3.7 |
| McMahon, Ryan 4004 | 3b 2b | col nl | 2.5 | 5.0 | 19.9 | 19.9 | 0.0 |
| Clevinger, Mike 3707 | pi sp | chi al | 2.0 | 8.4 | 41.5 | 55.9 | -4.4 |
| Candelario, Jeimer 4025 | 3b | dc nl | 2.0 | 6.0 | 17.0 | 17.0 | -2.0 |
| Leiter, Mark Jr. 3834 | pi cp mr | chi nl | 2.0 | 5.0 | 5.0 | 7.7 | -1.0 |
| Hayes, Ke’Bryan 4561 | 3b | pit nl | 1.5 | 4.5 | 5.5 | 5.5 | -1.5 |
| Strzelecki, Peter 4733 | pi mr | mil nl | 1.0 | 2.0 | 2.0 | 2.0 | 0.0 |
| Coulombe, Daniel 3720 | pi mr | bal al | 1.0 | 1.0 | 1.0 | 3.0 | +1.0 |
About Box-Toppers’ team abbreviations
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A Box-Toppers look at Saturday’s pitching matchups
A Box-Toppers look at the upcoming day’s probable pitching matchups. Teams are paired below with visiting teams on top and home teams on the bottom. Each team’s starting pitcher is shown with their Box-Toppers point total from 2023 (’23), over a two-year period (’22-23), over a six-year period (’18-23) and their career point total.Back to top
| Game | Starter | ’23 | ’22‑23 | ’18‑23 | Career |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| TB | Kelley, Trevor 4631 | 0.0 | 1.0 | 1.0 | 1.0 |
| BOS | Whitlock, Garrett 4431 | 2.0 | 6.0 | 9.0 | 9.0 |
| DET | Lorenzen, Michael 3479 | 2.0 | 6.0 | 10.5 | 16.5 |
| CHW | Cease, Dylan 4231 | 4.0 | 24.4 | 40.8 | 40.8 |
| PHI | Strahm, Matt 3724 | 3.0 | 4.0 | 10.0 | 12.0 |
| WSH | Gore, MacKenzie 4582 | 2.0 | 6.7 | 6.7 | 6.7 |
| SEA | Woo, Bryan* | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 |
| TEX | Heaney, Andrew 3515 | 4.7 | 12.7 | 35.8 | 40.8 |
| STL | Montgomery, Jordan 3814 | 1.0 | 10.4 | 21.1 | 27.1 |
| PIT | Ortiz, Luis 4738 | 0.0 | 1.0 | 1.0 | 1.0 |
| LAA | Sandoval, Patrick 4357 | 0.0 | 8.0 | 11.0 | 11.0 |
| HOU | Javier, Cristian 4290 | 5.0 | 20.7 | 28.7 | 28.7 |
| COL | Gomber, Austin 3985 | 1.0 | 4.0 | 18.7 | 18.7 |
| KC | Lynch, Daniel 4488 | 0.0 | 4.7 | 8.4 | 8.4 |
| MIL | Rea, Colin 3582 | 2.0 | 2.0 | 2.0 | 5.7 |
| CIN | Ashcraft, Graham 4645 | 1.0 | 5.0 | 5.0 | 5.0 |
| OAK | Medina, Luis* | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 |
| MIA | Perez, Eury 4814 | 2.0 | 2.0 | 2.0 | 2.0 |
| TOR | Berrios, Jose 3791 | 3.7 | 12.7 | 53.6 | 62.6 |
| NYM | Megill, Tylor 4464 | 2.0 | 7.7 | 13.7 | 13.7 |
| TB | Glasnow, Tyler 3948 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 36.4 | 36.4 |
| BOS | Undecided | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 |
| CLE | Allen, Logan T. 4789 | 2.7 | 2.7 | 2.7 | 2.7 |
| MIN | Gray, Sonny 3259 | 5.7 | 17.8 | 52.0 | 93.2 |
| NYY | Cole, Gerrit 3232 | 6.0 | 21.4 | 101.4 | 144.3 |
| LAD | Grove, Michael 4774 | 1.0 | 1.0 | 1.0 | 1.0 |
| BAL | Bradish, Kyle 4597 | 3.0 | 9.0 | 9.0 | 9.0 |
| SF | Cobb, Alex 2916 | 3.0 | 9.7 | 21.1 | 60.9 |
| ATL | Strider, Spencer 4626 | 6.0 | 19.4 | 19.4 | 19.4 |
| ARI | Nelson, Ryne 4728 | 2.7 | 4.4 | 4.4 | 4.4 |
| CHC | Smyly, Drew 3009 | 4.0 | 12.7 | 24.7 | 60.2 |
| SD | Darvish, Yu 3003 | 1.0 | 17.8 | 56.4 | 125.0 |
* Player has yet to earn Box-Toppers points.
What are those numbers after players' names?
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