Cardinals pitcher Jack Flaherty and Anthony Rendon of the Nationals are Box-Toppers Player of the Game winners in Wednesday’s pair of deciding National League Division Series games.
NLDS Game 5: Cardinals 13, Braves 1
Flaherty struck out eight over six innings, allowing one run, four hits and one walk, as the Cardinals win the best-of-five game series, 3-2.
Flaherty had 16.5 Box-Toppers points in the regular season, 11th among all players, fifth among NL pitchers.
Flaherty had a Box-Toppers game score Wednesday of +7.0, highest among all Cardinals players. Second baseman Kolten Wong had the highest Box-Toppers game score (+3.0) among Cardinals batters (2B 2-3 2R 2BI).
The Cardinals scored 10 runs in the first inning. Braves starter Mike Foltynewicz did not make it through that first inning and had a Box-Toppers game score of -18.9 (0.1IP 3H 7R 6ER 3BB 0K L). Foltynewicz had earned Player of the Game honors in Friday’s Game 2 win against the Cardinals, which was also a pitching matchup vs. Wednesday’s Cardinals starter Flaherty.
The Cardinals rank 12th in Box-Toppers team rankings (105.8 Box-Toppers points), the second-lowest ranked team to make the 2019 postseason (behind the 14th-ranked Milwaukee Brewers) and are the lowest-ranked team still alive.
The Braves, now eliminated, ranked eighth (112.7 Box-Toppers points), but Box-Toppers had them ranked behind the Washington Nationals (second overall with 132.9 poins), even though they led the Nationals in the NL East by four games.
The Cardinals now face the Nationals in the NL Championship Series beginning Friday in St. Louis. The Cardinals hold home-field advantage because they are a division winner while the Nationals are a Wild Card team, even though the Nationals rank higher in Box-Toppers team rankings and have more wins in the 2019 regular season (93 vs. 91).
NLDS Game 5: Nationals 7, Dodgers 3 (10 innings)
Rendon homered, hit two doubles and went 3-for-5, scoring three times and driving in one run, as the Nationals win the best-of-five game series, 3-2.
Rendon earned 5.0 Box-Toppers points in the 2019 regular season, 169th among all players, 32nd among NL batters and ninth among NL third basemen.
Rendon had the highest Box-Toppers game score among Nationals players (+2.0). Howie Kendrick, who hit the go-ahead, 10th-inning grand slam had a game score of +1.0 (GS 1-5 R 4BI). Starting pitcher Stephen Strasburg had a game score of 0.0 (6IP 6H 3R BB 7K ND). Strasburg had been Player of the Game twice so far this postseason—in the NL Wild Card Game and in the NLDS Game 2.
Dodgers starting pitcher Walker Buehler had the highest Box-Toppers game score among all players in the game (+4.2) but was on the losing end, so did not earn Player of the Game honors (6.2IP 4H R 3BB 7K ND). Clayton Kershaw pitching in unusual middle relief, gave up two eighth-inning homers on back-to-back pitches which tied the game and had a Box-Toppers game score of -4.9 (0.1IP 2H 2R 0BB K ND). But Dodgers reliever Joe Kelly fared worse, giving up the 10th-inning grand slam to Kendrick, with a Box-Toppers game score of -9.9 (1.1IP 3H 4R 2BB 2K L).
While the Dodgers had the home-field advantage edge in the series, the Nationals were higher in Box-Toppers team rankings, second overall and first among NL teams with 132.9 Box-Toppers points. The Dodgers ranked third overall and second among NL teams (129.9 points). Only the Houston Astros in the American League are ranked higher than either team, in first overall with 158.1 Box-Toppers points.
The Nationals now face the Cardinals in the NL Championship Series beginning Friday in St. Louis.
Top player from each game
Listed from highest to lowest Box-Toppers game score (BTG)| BTG | Game | Player | AB | R | H | BI | IP | H | R | ER | BB | K | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| +7.0 | STL 13, ATL 1 | Jack Flaherty (W, 1‑1) | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | 6.0 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 8 | |
| +2.0 | WSH 7, LAD 3 (F/10) | Anthony Rendon 3B | 5 | 3 | 3 | 1 | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ |
` Pitcher had a no-decision in the game and did not pick up a win or a save.
Coming Thursday: One AL Division Series concludes:
ALDS Game 5: Rays at Astros, series tied, 2-2
The pitching matchup Thursday:
Rays—Tyler Glasnow, 9.7 Box-Toppers points, 55th among all players, 22nd among AL pitchers.
Astros—Gerrit Cole, 32.2 Box-Toppers points, first among all players, first among AL pitchers.
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.