Athletics pitcher Jon Lester is Thursday’s Player of the Day, earning his first Box-Toppers points since being traded from the Red Sox.
Lester pitched a complete game shutout and struck out eight in the 3-0 win over the Twins. He earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day, giving him 12.0 for the season and moving into 16th place in Box-Toppers player rankings. He ranks 10th among American League pitchers.
Reds pitcher Homer Bailey is National League Player of the Day. Bailey pitched seven scoreless innings and struck out eight in the 4-0 win over the Indians.
Javier Baez of the Cubs is NL Batter of the Day. Baez homered twice and went 3-for-4, scoring twice and driving in four runs, in the 6-2 win over the Rockies. This was Baez’s Box-Toppers debut, the first time he has earned Player of the Game honors. He is the 3,395th player to debut in Box-Toppers since record keeping began in 1995. He made his Major League debut Aug. 5 and was playing in his third game.
Dustin Ackley of the Mariners is AL Batter of the Day. Ackley homered and went 2-for-4, scoring twice and driving in four runs, in the 13-3 win over the White Sox.
Lester receives 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day. Bailey receives 1.7 for NL Player of the Day. Baez and Ackley each receive 1.5 for being top Batter of the Day in their league.
All of Thursday’s other Players of the Game (listed in the chart below) receive 1.0 Box-Toppers point.
Box-Toppers watches the daily performances of selected star players and Box-Toppers points leaders. To see how they performed Thursday, click here.
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. 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.
Top player from each game
Listed from highest to lowest Box-Toppers game score
| 807 | Score | Team | Player | AB | R | H | BI | BB | K | IP | H | R | ER | BB | K | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| MLB | 12.0 | Athletics | Jon Lester (W, 12-7) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 9.0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 8 | |
| NL | 10.0 | Reds | Homer Bailey (W, 9-5) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 7.0 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 8 | |
| 10.0 | Pirates | Edinson Volquez (W, 9-7) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 7.0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 7 | ||
| 8.0 | Dodgers | Hyun-Jin Ryu (W, 13-5) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 7.0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 4 | ||
| 5.2 | Brewers | Wily Peralta (W, 14-6) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 6.2 | 7 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 9 | ||
| BAT | 5.0 | Cubs | Javier Baez 2B | 4 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 0 | 0 | - | - | - | - | - | - | |
| 5.0 | Yankees | Shane Greene (W, 3-1) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 8.0 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 5 | ||
| 4.0 | Cardinals | Kolten Wong 2B | 4 | 3 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 0 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| BAT | 4.0 | Mariners | Dustin Ackley LF | 4 | 2 | 2 | 4 | 1 | 0 | - | - | - | - | - | - | |
| 2.0 | Nationals | Ian Desmond SS | 5 | 2 | 2 | 3 | 1 | 1 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 2.0 | Phillies | Ryan Howard 1B | 4 | 1 | 1 | 4 | 0 | 2 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 2.0 | Royals | Jeremy Guthrie (W, 8-9) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 9.0 | 7 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 4 | ||
| 2.0 | Orioles | Miguel Gonzalez (W, 6-6) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 6.0 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 4 |