Marlins pitcher Sixto Sanchez and Jake Cronenworth of the Padres are Box-Toppers Player of the Game winners in Friday’s two National League Wild Card playoff games.
Marlins 2, Cubs 0—Sanchez struck out six over five scoreless innings, allowing four hits and two walks, as the Marlins win the best-of-three game National League Wild Card series, 2-0, eliminating the Cubs. Sanchez did not earn the win, picking up a no-decision, because the game was in a scoreless tie when he exited.
Sanchez had the highest Box-Toppers game score (+5.0) among all Marlins players in the game. He had 3.0 Box-Toppers points in 2020, 34th among NL pitchers.
The Cubs were the third NL seed in the playoffs, while the Marlins are the sixth seed. The Cubs were ranked third in Box-Toppers team rankings with 46.5 Box-Toppers points in 2020, third among NL teams. The Marlins, who will advance to the the NL Divisional Series beginning Tuesday against the Braves, rank 14th in Box-Toppers team rankings—seventh among NL teams—with 35.5 Box-Toppers points.
Padres 4, Cardinals 0—Jake Cronenworth of the Padres homered and went 3-for-4, scoring twice and driving in one run, as the Padres win the best-of-three game NL Wild Card series, 2-1, eliminating the Cardinals.
Cronenworth had the highest qualifying Box-Toppers game score (+2.0) among all Padres players in the game. Cronenworth had 0.0 Box-Toppers points in 2020 and has 0.0 for his career, as he hasn’t made his Box-Toppers debut with his first career Player of the Game honor. He made his Major League debut July 26 and played in 54 regular season games.
The Cardinals were the fifth NL seed in the playoffs, while the Padres are the fourth seed. The Cardinals were ranked 13th in Box-Toppers team rankings with 35.8 Box-Toppers points in 2020, sixth among NL teams. The Padres advance to the the NL Divisional Series beginning Tuesday against the Dodgers. It sets up a series between the top two teams in Box-Toppers team rankings and comes not in the World Series but in the quarterfinal round of the playoffs, a best-of-five games series. The Padres rank second in Box-Toppers team rankings with 48.0 Box-Toppers points, second among NL teams, behind only the Dodgers (52.8).
Note—In postseason games, no Box-Toppers points are awarded. Also, there are no separate honors and bonus points for overall Player of the Day, league Player of the Day or top league Batter of the Day. Were this a regular season day, Sanchez would have earned 2.0 Box-Toppers points as overall Player of the Day and Cronenworth would have earned 1.5 Box-Toppers points as NL Batter of the Day.
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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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 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| +5.0 | `MIA 2, CHC 0 | Sixto Sánchez | - | - | - | - | 5.0 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 6 | |
| +2.0 | SD 4, STL 0 | Jake Cronenworth, 2B | 4 | 2 | 3 | 1 | - | - | - | - | - | - |