Astros pitcher Cristian Javier and Rhys Hoskins of the Phillies are Box-Toppers Player of the Game winners in Saturday’s two league championship series games.
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Today’s key Box-Toppers numbers. Click links to jump to charts elsewhere on this page.▪️ Box-Toppers Player of the Game winners.
▪️ Box-Toppers points of the day’s top players.
▪️ A B-T look at today’s pitching matchups.
AL Championship Series Game 3: Astros 5, Yankees 0
Astros pitcher Cristian Javier struck out five over 5 1/3 scoreless innings, allowing one hit and three walks.
The Astros take a 3-0 lead in the best-of-seven game series.
Javier earned 15.7 Box-Toppers points in 2022, 16th among all players and seventh among AL pitchers. This was his first Player of the Game honor of the 2022 postseason.
Javier had a Box-Toppers game score of +6.1, best among all Astros players Saturday. Astros top batter was center fielder Chas McCormick with a +1.0 game score (HR 1-3 R 2BI). Yankees starting pitcher Gerrit Cole had a -3.0 game score (5IP 5H 5R 3ER 2BB 7K L).
NL Championship Series Game 4: Phillies 10, Padres 6
Rhys Hoskins of the Phillies hit a pair of two-run home runs and went 2-for-4, scoring twice and driving in four runs.
The Phillies take a 3-1 lead in the best-of-seven game series.
Hoskins earned 6.5 Box-Toppers points in the regular season, 112th among all players, 12th among NL batters and sixth among NL first basemen.
Hoskins had a Box-Toppers game score of +4.0, best among all Phillies players Saturday. Neither starting pitcher fared well. Phillies starting pitcher Bailey Falter had a -11.8 game score (0.2IP 3H 4R BB 0K ND). Padres starting pitcher Mike Clevinger had a -10.0 game score (0IP 3H 3R BB 0K ND).
Saturday’s Player of the Game winners are listed in the chart below.
Box‑Toppers Player of the Game winners
Here is the top player from each of the day’s games listed from highest to lowest Box‑Toppers game score (BTG).Back to top
| BTG | Game | Player | AB | R | H | BI | IP | H | R | ER | BB | K | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| +6.1 | HOU 5, NYY 0 | Cristian Javier, (W 1‑0) | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | 5.1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 5 | |
| +4.0 | PHI 10, SD 6 | Rhys Hoskins, 1B | 4 | 2 | 2 | 4 | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ |
Box-Toppers point totals of the day’s Player of the Game winners
Here are Box-Toppers point totals of each of the Player of the Game winners. Players are ranked by their Box-Toppers point total in 2022 (’22). Also shown is their point total for this season and last (’21-22), the period 2017-2022 (’17-22) and each players’ career point total. Also shown is how their 2022 Box-Toppers point total compares with their 2021 total (+/-).Back to top
| Player of the Game | Pos | Team | ’22 | ’21‑22 | ’17‑22 | Career | +/‑ |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Javier, Cristian 4290 | pi sp | hou al | 15.7 | 21.7 | 23.7 | 23.7 | +9.7 |
| Hoskins, Rhys 3909 | 1b | phi nl | 6.5 | 11.0 | 18.0 | 18.0 | +2.0 |
About Box-Toppers’ team abbreviations
NOTE: These are player point totals as of the end of the 2022 regular season. No Box-Toppers points are awarded in postseason games.
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Sunday’s pitching matchups (for more, see matchups chart below):
NL Championship Series Game 5: Phillies lead Padres, 3-1
Padres—Yu Darvish, 16.8 Box-Toppers points in 2022, 10th among all players, seventh among NL pitchers.
Phillies—Zack Wheeler, 14.4 Box-Toppers points in 2022, 22nd among all players, 11th among NL pitchers.
This is a rematch of Game 1 of the series on Oct. 18, won by the Phillies in which Wheeler was Player of the Game.
Darvish has started three games this postseason, but has not earn Player of the Game in any—the Oct.7 NL Wild Card Game 1 win over the Mets, the Oct. 12 NLDS Game 2 win over the Dodgers and the Oct. 18 NLCS Game 1 loss to the Phillies.
Wheeler is one of five players this postseason with multiple Box-Toppers Player of the Game honors. He was Player of the Game in the Oct. 7 NL Wild Card series Game 1 win over the Cardinals and the Oct. 18 NLCS Game 1 win over the Padres. He also started the NLDS Game 2 loss to the Braves.
AL Championship Series Game 4: Astros lead Yankees, 3-0
Astros—Lance McCullers, 5.4 Box-Toppers points in 2022, 155th overall, 55th among AL pitchers.
Yankees—Nestor Cortes, 15.4 Box-Toppers points in 2022, 19th overall, ninth among AL pitchers.
McCullers has made one postseason start in the Oct. 15 ALDS Game 3 win over the Mariners, but did not earn Player of the Game honors.
Cortes has made two postseason starts—in the Oct. 14 ALDS Game 2 loss to the Guardians and in the Oct. 18 ALDS Game 5 win over the Guardians. He did not earn Player of the Game honors in either game.
A Box-Toppers look at Sunday’s pitching matchups
A Box-Toppers look at the upcoming day’s probable pitching matchups. Teams are paired below with visiting teams on top and home teams on the bottom. Each team’s starting pitcher is shown with their Box-Toppers point total from 2022 (’22), over a two-year period (’21-22), over a six-year period (’17-22) and their career point total.Back to top
| Game | Starter | ’22 | ’21‑22 | ’17‑22 | Career |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| SD | Darvish, Yu 3003 | 16.8 | 29.9 | 68.4 | 124.0 |
| PHI | Wheeler, Zack 3204 | 14.4 | 35.5 | 57.2 | 68.9 |
| HOU | McCullers, Lance 3488 | 5.4 | 14.1 | 36.9 | 49.7 |
| NYY | Cortes, Nestor 4160 | 15.4 | 20.4 | 22.4 | 22.4 |
What are those numbers after players' names?
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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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