Both National League Division Series begin Tuesday.
The Miami Marlins face the Atlanta Braves in one best-of-five game series and the San Diego Padres take on the Los Angeles Dodgers in the other series.
NL Division Series, Game 1: Marlins vs. Braves
The Marlins rank 14th in Box-Toppers team rankings (35.5 Box-Toppers points), while the Braves rank sixth (44.0).
The Marlins finished the season stronger than the Astros, picking up 7.5 Box-Toppers points in the final 10 days of the season, while the Braves picked up 6.0.
The Marlins finished the season in second place in the NL East, four games behind the Braves and were the sixth seed among NL teams in the 2020 postseason, upsetting the third-seeded Chicago Cubs, two games to zero, in the opening Wild Card round of the playoffs.
The Braves finished the season in first place in the NL East, four games ahead of the Marlins and were the second seed among AL teams in the 2020 postseason, defeating the seventh-seeded Cincinnati Reds, two games to zero, in the opening Wild Card round of the playoffs.
Due to the pandemic, the remainder of baseball’s postseason is being played at neutral site ballparks with limited days off. This series will be played at Minute Maid Park in Houston, with Atlanta serving as the home team for up to three games of the series.
The pitching matchup Tuesday:
Marlins—Sandy Alcantara, 3.0 Box-Toppers points, 88th among all players, 29th among NL pitchers.
Braves—Max Fried, 5.7 Box-Toppers points, 26th among all players, 13th among NL pitchers.
Alcantara and Fried were both Player of the Game winners in their teams’ NL Wild Card Game 1 wins Sept. 30. Alcantara was Player of the Game in the 5-1 win over the Cubs and Fried was Player of the Game in the 1-0, 13-inning win over the Reds.
Pitcher Pablo Lopez led all Marlins with 6.0 Box-Toppers points in 2020, 10th among NL pitchers. Shortstop Miguel Rojas led Marlins batters with 3.5 points, 11th among NL batters. Alcantara ranked third among Marlins players.
Fried led Braves players in 2020 Box-Toppers points. Outfielder Marcell Ozuna led Braves batters with 4.5 Box-Toppers points, first among NL batters.
The Box-Toppers point totals of all players on the teams’ active rosters at season’s end are below. Players who did not earn Box-Toppers points in 2020 are not listed in the chart. However, here are notable players on both teams who did not earn points in 2020, along with their 2019 Box-Toppers point totals:
Marlins
Pitcher Jordan Yamamoto, 6.0 in 2019.
Outfielder Corey Dickerson, 4.7.
Braves
Pitcher Mike Soroka, 11.4 in 2019.
Pitcher Cole Hamels, 9.7.
Closing pitcher Luke Jackson, 8.0.
Pitcher Mike Foltynewicz, 5.0.
Closing pitcher Will Smith, 5.0.
Closing pitcher Mark Melancon, 5.0
Marlins vs. Braves
Here are players for both teams in the NL Division Series beginning Tuesday. Players are listed for both teams ranked by Box-Toppers points earned in 2020. All players listed were on active Major or Minor League rosters at the end of the season—not necessarily all of them will be included on postseason rosters.| Miami Marlins | Atlanta Braves | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Player | Pos | BTP | Player | Pos | BTP | |
| Lopez, Pablo 4028 | pi sp | 6.0 | Fried, Max 4011 | pi sp | 5.7 | |
| Rojas, Miguel 3642 | ss | 3.5 | Ozuna, Marcell 3190 | lf dh | 4.5 | |
| Alcantara, Sandy 4061 | pi sp | 3.0 | Duvall, Adam 3573 | lf dh rf ph | 4.0 | |
| Sanchez, Sixto 4335 | pi sp | 3.0 | Freeman, Freddie 2887 | 1b ph | 3.5 | |
| Marte, Starling 3122 | cf | 2.0 | Anderson, Ian 4312 | pi sp | 2.7 | |
| Hernandez, Elieser 4181 | pi sp | 2.0 | Markakis, Nick 2116 | rf lf | 2.5 | |
| Berti, Jon 4132 | 2b | 2.0 | Riley, Austin 4144 | 3b lf | 2.0 | |
| Alfaro, Jorge 3920 | ca | 1.5 | Swanson, Dansby 3751 | ss | 2.0 | |
| Anderson, Brian W. 3954 | 3b rf | 1.5 | Matzek, Tyler 3351 | pi mr sp | 2.0 | |
| Aguilar, Jesus 3787 | 1b | 1.0 | Toussaint, Touki 4110 | pi sp mr | 1.7 | |
| Tarpley, Stephen 4193 | pi mr cp | 1.0 | Ynoa, Huascar 4343 | pi sp | 1.7 | |
| Brinson, Lewis 4010 | cf lf | 1.0 | d’Arnaud, Travis 3384 | ca | 1.5 | |
| Smith, Josh 3674 | pi cp mr | 1.0 | Acuna, Ronald Jr. 3947 | cf | 1.5 | |
| Morin, Mike 3603 | pi mr | 1.0 | Albies, Ozzie 3953 | 2b | 1.0 | |
| Hoyt, James 3731 | pi mr | 1.0 | Sandoval, Pablo 2524 | dh 1b 3b | 1.0 | |
| Chisholm, Jazz 4364 | ss | 1.0 | Minter, A.J. 3946 | pi mr cp | 1.0 | |
| Garrett, Braxton 4341 | pi sp | 1.0 | Tomlin, Josh 2771 | pi mr cp sp | 1.0 | |
| Harrison, Monte 4352 | rf pr | 1.0 | Wilson, Bryse 4048 | pi sp | 1.0 | |
| Moran, Brian 4283 | pi mr | 1.0 | Wright, Kyle 4349 | pi sp | 1.0 | |
| Rogers, Trevor 4311 | pi sp | 1.0 | ||||
| Totals | 35.5 | Totals | 41.3 | |||
NL Division Series, Game 1: Padres vs. Dodgers
It is a matchup of Box-Toppers’ top two-ranked teams.
The Padres rank second in Box-Toppers team rankings (48.0 Box-Toppers points), while the Dodgers rank first (52.8 points). The Dodgers also rank first among NL teams while the Padres rank second.
The Dodgers finished the season slightly stronger, picking up 8.5 Box-Toppers points in the regular season’s final 10 days, compared to the Padres’ 5.5 points over that span.
The Padres finished the season in second place in the NL West, six games out of first place, and were the fourth-seeded team in the NL playoffs, defeating the fifth-seed St. Louis Cardinals, two games to one, in the opening Wild Card round of the playoffs
The Dodgers finished the season in first place in the NL West, six games ahead of the Padres and were the top-seeded team in the NL playoffs, defeating the eighth-seeded Milwaukee Brewers, two games to zero, in the opening Wild Card round of the playoffs.
Due to the pandemic, the remainder of baseball’s postseason is being played at neutral site ballparks with limited days off. This series will be played at Globe Life Field in Arlington, Texas, with Los Angeles serving as the home team for up to three games of the series.
The pitching matchup Tuesday:
Padres—Mike Clevinger, 2.0 Box-Toppers points, 151st among all players, 42nd among NL pitchers..
Dodgers—Walker Buehler, 5.7 Box-Toppers points, 25th among all players, 12th among NL pitchers.
Pitcher Dinelson Lamet leads all Padres players with 9.0 Box-Toppers points, fifth among all players and third among NL pitchers. Lamet was out with a biceps injury, did not appear in the NL Wild Card round and his status for the NL Division Series was uncertain as of Monday afternoon. Padres top batter is outfielder Trent Grisham, with 4.5 Box-Toppers points, third among NL batters.
Pitcher Clayton Kershaw leads all Dodgers players with 7.7 Box-Toppers points, ninth among all players and fifth among NL pitchers. Buehler ranks second among Dodgers players with 5.7 points. Shortstop Corey Seager leads Dodgers batters with 3.5 points, 13th among NL batters.
The Box-Toppers point totals of all players on the teams’ active rosters at season’s end are below. Players who did not earn Box-Toppers points in 2020 are not listed. However, here are notable players on both teams who did not earn points in 2020, along with their 2019 Box-Toppers point totals:
Padres
Pitcher Joey Lucchesi, 9.4 in 2019.
Closing pitcher Kirby Yates, 7.0.
Dodgers
Closing pitcher Blake Treinen, 6.0 in 2019.
Pitcher David Price, 5.7 (voluntarily sitting out 2020 season due to COVID-19).
Padres vs. Dodgers
Here are players for both teams in the NL Division Series beginning Tuesday. Players are listed for both teams ranked by Box-Toppers points earned in 2020. All players listed were on active Major or Minor League rosters at the end of the season—not necessarily all of them will be included on postseason rosters.| San Diego Padres | Los Angeles Dodgers | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Player | Pos | BTP | Player | Pos | BTP | |
| Lamet, Dinelson 3808 | pi sp | 9.0 | Kershaw, Clayton 2494 | pi sp | 7.7 | |
| Grisham, Trent 4246 | cf | 4.5 | Buehler, Walker 3943 | pi sp | 5.7 | |
| Rosenthal, Trevor 3124 | pi cp | 4.0 | Gonsolin, Tony 4211 | pi sp | 4.7 | |
| Paddack, Chris 4093 | pi sp | 3.0 | Seager, Corey 3587 | ss | 3.5 | |
| Tatis, Fernando Jr. 4101 | ss | 3.0 | Smith, Will 4175 | ca | 3.0 | |
| Machado, Manny 3087 | 3b ss | 3.0 | Taylor, Chris 3684 | ss 2b lf | 3.0 | |
| Richards, Garrett 3042 | pi sp mr | 3.0 | Pollock, A.J. 3142 | lf dh cf | 3.0 | |
| Hosmer, Eric 2886 | 1b | 2.5 | Betts, Mookie 3404 | rf | 2.5 | |
| Myers, Wil 3228 | rf 1b | 2.5 | Hernandez, Enrique 3541 | 2b rf | 2.0 | |
| Clevinger, Mike 3707 | pi sp | 2.0 | May, Dustin 4214 | pi sp | 2.0 | |
| Moreland, Mitch 2799 | 1b | 2.0 | Ferguson, Caleb 4006 | pi mr | 2.0 | |
| Davies, Zach 3581 | pi sp | 2.0 | McGee, Jake 3385 | pi cp mr | 2.0 | |
| Morejon, Adrian 4298 | pi sp mr | 2.0 | Pederson, Joc 3621 | lf | 1.7 | |
| Profar, Jurickson 3665 | 2b | 1.5 | Muncy, Max 3969 | 3b 1b 2b | 1.5 | |
| Pham, Thomas 3596 | lf | 1.0 | Lux, Gavin 4247 | 2b 3b | 1.5 | |
| Pomeranz, Drew 3061 | pi cp sp | 1.0 | Bellinger, Cody 3781 | cf | 1.0 | |
| Guerra, Javy 4300 | pi mr | 1.0 | Urias, Julio 3652 | pi sp mr cp | 1.0 | |
| Patino, Luis 4308 | pi mr | 1.0 | Jansen, Kenley 2871 | pi cp | 1.0 | |
| Turner, Justin 2865 | 3b | 1.0 | ||||
| Beaty, Matt 4295 | 1b | 1.0 | ||||
| Gonzalez, Victor 4313 | pi mr | 1.0 | ||||
| Santana, Dennis 4275 | pi cp | 1.0 | ||||
| Totals | 48.0 | Totals | 52.8 | |||
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.