Padres pitcher Joe Musgrove, pitching a no-hitter, is Friday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day.
Musgrove struck out 10 in a complete-game shutout, allowing no walks, in the 3-0 win over the Rangers. Musgrove faced 28 batters, one over the minimum, allowing only one baserunner on a hit by pitch.
Top 10 players
Here are the top 10 in Box-Toppers season player rankings for 2021. Players are ranked by Box-Toppers points (BTP) earned this season through Friday, April 9.| Player | Pos | Team | BTP | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Musgrove, Joe 3705 | pi sp | sd nl | 3.0 |
| 2 | Kimbrel, Craig 2825 | pi cp mr | chi nl | 2.7 |
| 3 | Lynn, Lance 2992 | pi sp | chi al | 2.0 |
| 4 | Glasnow, Tyler 3948 | pi sp | tb al | 2.0 |
| 5 | Cole, Gerrit 3232 | pi sp | nyy al | 2.0 |
| 6 | Woodruff, Brandon 3868 | pi sp | mil nl | 2.0 |
| 7 | Buehler, Walker 3943 | pi sp | lad nl | 2.0 |
| 8 | Berrios, Jose 3791 | pi sp | min al | 2.0 |
| 9 | Means, John 4115 | pi sp | bal al | 2.0 |
| 10 | Mahle, Tyler 3929 | pi sp | cin nl | 2.0 |
About Box-Toppers’ team abbreviations
Musgrove earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day, giving him 3.0 for the season and rising to first place in Box-Toppers season player rankings, passing previous leader, Cubs closing pitcher Craig Kimbrel (2.7), who only took the lead Thursday.
Musgrove recorded a Box-Toppers game score Friday of +19.0, highest for any Player of the Game winner in 2021, beating the previous high +18.0 recorded by Twins pitcher Jose Berrios on April 3. In 2020, there was only one instance in which there was a higher Box-Toppers game score—on Aug. 25, White Sox pitcher Lucas Giolito recorded a +21.0 game score, pitching a no-hitter against the Pirates.
American League Player of the Day—Indians pitcher Zach Plesac struck out six over seven scoreless innings, allowing three hits and no walks, in the 4-1 win over the Tigers.
Plesac earns 1.7 Box-Toppers points for being AL Player of the Day, his first points of the season, and is 17th in season player rankings, 11th among AL pitchers.
Plesac recorded a Box-Toppers game score Friday of +10.0, same as Angels pitcher Andrew Heaney, who was Player of the Game in the 7-1 win over the Blue Jays (6IP 3H 0R 2BB 9K W). But Plesac won AL Player of the Day honors over Heaney because he had more innings pitched—seven vs. six.
American League Batter of the Day—Matt Olson of the Athletics hit a three-run homer and went 2-for-4, scoring once and driving in three runs, in the 6-2 win over the Astros.
National League Batter of the Day—There is no NL Batter of the Day for Friday because no NL batter earned Player of the Game honors.
Active season streaks
Here are the 13 players who have active streaks of earning Box-Toppers points for 13 or more consecutive seasons. Players are listed by the length of their streak and with their current team status. Also shown is the duration of their streak and their career Box-Toppers point (BTP) total.| Player | Pos | Team | Duration | BTP* | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 20 | Albert Pujols | 1b | Angels | 2001‑2020 | 202.8 |
| 18 | Miguel Cabrera | dh | Tigers | 2003‑2020 | 153.4 |
| 16 | Edwin Encarnacion | dh | Free agent | 2005‑2020 | 88.2 |
| 15 | Zack Greinke | pi sp | Astros | 2007‑2021 | 210.1 |
| 15 | Justin Verlander | pi sp | Astros | 2006‑2020 | 206.6 |
| 15 | Jon Lester | pi sp | Nationals | 2006‑2020 | 176.3 |
| 15 | Nelson Cruz | dh | Twins | 2006‑2020 | 77.2 |
| 14 | Clayton Kershaw | pi sp | Dodgers | 2008‑2021 | 236.9 |
| 14 | Johnny Cueto | pi sp | Giants | 2008‑2021 | 107.8 |
| 14 | Asdrubal Cabrera | 1b 3b | Diamondbacks | 2007‑2020 | 62.7 |
| 14 | Kurt Suzuki | ca | Angels | 2007‑2020 | 45.0 |
| 13 | J.A. Happ | pi sp | Twins | 2008‑2020 | 85.3 |
| 13 | Evan Longoria | 3b | Giants | 2008‑2020 | 55.0 |
Streak—Giants pitcher Johnny Cueto has now earned Box-Toppers points for 14 straight seasons after earning his first Player of the Game honor in 2021 Friday.
It is tied for the eighth-longest currently active streak (see chart Active season streaks elsewhere on this page).
Cueto (8.2IP 4H R BB 7K W in the 3-1 win over the Rockies) earned his first Box-Toppers points in 2008 with the Reds and has 107.8 career points, 67th among all players since 1995, when Box-Toppers tracking began. He trails 66th-ranked player Lance Berkman (108.1). He ranks 15th among active, signed players in career points, eighth among active NL pitchers.
Cueto’s best season was 2014 with the Reds when he had 22.4 Box-Toppers points, fourth among all players. He’s had five seasons with 10 or more Box-Toppers points, but earned 2.0 or fewer points in each of the four previous seasons, 2017-2020, including a career-low 1.0 point in 2019 with the Giants, after missing more than a year after undergoing Tommy John surgery. He had 2.0 points in 2020.
Notable—In addition to Musgrove, two other players earned Player of the Game honors for a second time in 2021:
Dodgers pitcher Walker Buehler (6IP 6H 0R 0BB 4K W in the 1-0 win over the Nationals) now has 2.0 Box-Toppers points and rises to seventh place in season player rankings. He was also Player of the Game April 3.
Reds pitcher Tyler Mahle (4IP 0H 0R 4BB 6K ND in the 6-5, 10-inning win over the Diamondbacks) now has 2.0 Box-Toppers points and rises to 10th in season player rankings. He was also Player of the Game April 3.
Scoring—Musgrove earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day and Plesac earns 1.7 points for being AL Player of the Day. Olson earns 1.5 points for being AL Batter of the Day. All of Friday’s other Players of the Game (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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Top player from each game
Listed from highest to lowest Box-Toppers game score (BTG)| 4/9 | BTG | Game | Player | AB | R | H | BI | IP | H | R | ER | BB | K | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| MLB | +19.0 | SD 3, TEX 0 | Joe Musgrove, (W 2‑0) | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | 9.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 10 | |
| AL | +10.0 | CLE 4, DET 1 | Zach Plesac, (W 1‑1) | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | 7.0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6 | |
| +10.0 | LAA 7, TOR 1 | Andrew Heaney, (W 1‑1) | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | 6.0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 9 | ||
| +8.2 | SF 3, COL 1 | Johnny Cueto, (W 1‑0) | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | 8.2 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 7 | ||
| +6.0 | ATL 8, PHI 1 | Charlie Morton, (W 1‑1) | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | 6.0 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 7 | ||
| +6.0 | `CIN 6, ARI 5 (F/10) | Tyler Mahle | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | 4.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 6 | ||
| +4.0 | LAD 1, WSH 0 | Walker Buehler, (W 1‑0) | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | 6.0 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | ||
| BAT | +2.0 | OAK 6, HOU 2 | Matt Olson, 1B | 4 | 1 | 2 | 3 | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | |
| +1.0 | TB 10, NYY 5 | Austin Meadows, LF | 4 | 2 | 3 | 0 | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ |
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 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.
Box-Toppers point totals of the day’s top players
Here are Box-Toppers point totals of each of the Player of the Game winners. Players are ranked by their Box-Toppers point total for the current season (’21). Also shown are each players’ Box-Toppers point total for this season and last (’20-21), the period 2016-2021 (’16-21) and each players’ career point total. Also shown is how their 2021 Box-Toppers point total compares with their 2020 total (+/-).| Player of the Game | Pos | Team | ’21 | ’20‑21 | ’16‑21 | Career | +/- |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Musgrove, Joe 3705 | pi sp | sd nl | 3.0 | 5.0 | 22.7 | 22.7 | +1.0 |
| Buehler, Walker 3943 | pi sp | lad nl | 2.0 | 7.7 | 39.2 | 39.2 | ‑3.7 |
| Mahle, Tyler 3929 | pi sp | cin nl | 2.0 | 4.0 | 14.0 | 14.0 | +0.0 |
| Plesac, Zach 4168 | pi sp | cle al | 1.7 | 6.1 | 11.8 | 11.8 | ‑2.7 |
| Olson, Matt 3836 | 1b | oak al | 1.5 | 2.5 | 13.2 | 13.2 | +0.5 |
| Heaney, Andrew 3515 | pi sp | ana al | 1.0 | 4.4 | 20.1 | 24.1 | ‑2.4 |
| Morton, Charlie 2503 | pi sp | atl nl | 1.0 | 3.0 | 47.3 | 72.0 | ‑1.0 |
| Cueto, Johnny 2400 | pi sp | sf nl | 1.0 | 3.0 | 24.4 | 107.8 | ‑1.0 |
| Meadows, Austin 4079 | lf dh | tb al | 1.0 | 1.0 | 5.5 | 5.5 | +1.0 |
About Box-Toppers’ team abbreviations
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