Guardians’ Williams tops players for Tuesday, June 27; Angels’ Ohtani extends lead

Guardians pitcher Gavin Williams is Tuesday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day.

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▪️ Box-Toppers Player of the Game winners.
▪️ Box-Toppers points of the day’s top players.
▪️ Top 10 players in 2023 Box-Toppers points.
▪️ A B-T look at upcoming pitching matchups.
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Guardians pitcher Gavin Williams is Tuesday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day.

Also Tuesday, Angels pitcher Shohei Ohtani increases his lead in season player rankings after earning Player of the Game honors. Plus, Dodgers pitcher Clayton Kershaw rises to third place in season player rankings and takes the 2023 Box-Toppers points lead among National League pitchers. In addition, Ronald Acuna Jr. of the Braves rises to first place among NL batters.

Player of the Day

Williams struck out six over seven scoreless innings, allowing one hit and one walk, in the 2-1 win over the Royals. Williams did not earn the win, picking up a no-decision, because when he exited, the game was in a scoreless tie.

Williams earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day, his first points of the season, and is 297th among all players, 84th among American League pitchers.

This was Williams’ Box-Toppers debut, his first career Player of the Game honor. Williams made his Major League debut June 21 and was playing in his second career game.

National League Player of the Day is Phillies pitcher Ranger Suarez.

National League Player of the Day

Phillies pitcher Ranger Suarez struck out eight over 7 1/3 innings, allowing one run, four hits and one walk, in the 5-1 win over the Cubs.

Suarez earns 1.7 Box-Toppers points for being NL Player of the Day, giving him 3.7 for the season, 39th among NL pitchers.

National League Batter of the Day is Jazz Chisholm Jr. of the Marlins.

National League Batter of the Day

Jazz Chisholm Jr. of the Marlins doubled and went 3-for-4, scoring twice and driving in three runs, in the 10-1 win over the Red Sox.

American League Batter of the Day is Nathaniel Lowe of the Rangers.

American League Batter of the Day

Nathaniel Lowe of the Rangers went 2-for-3, scoring twice and driving in one run, in the 8-3 win over the Tigers.

Angels pitcher Shohei Ohtani is Box-Toppers Player of the Game in Tuesday’s win over the White Sox.

Top 10 players

Here are the top 10 in Box-Toppers season player rankings for 2023. Players are ranked by Box-Toppers points (BTP) earned this season through Tuesday, June 27.

Player Pos Team BTP
1 Ohtani, Shohei 3933 dh pi sp ana al 13.9
2 Gausman, Kevin 3191 pi sp tor al 12.0
3 Kershaw, Clayton 2494 pi sp lad nl 10.1
4 Gallen, Zac 4171 pi sp ari nl 9.7
5 McClanahan, Shane 4399 pi sp tb al 9.7
6 Strider, Spencer 4626 pi sp atl nl 9.7
7 Garrett, Braxton 4341 pi sp fla nl 9.7
8 Bassitt, Chris 3413 pi sp tor al 9.4
9 Miller, Bryce 4797 pi sp sea al 9.4
10 Scherzer, Max 2588 pi sp nym nl 8.7
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Ohtani

Angels pitcher Shohei Ohtani increases his lead in Box-Toppers season player rankings after earning Player of the Game honors Tuesday.

Ohtani (6.1IP 4H R 2BB 10K W in the 4-2 win over the White Sox) earns 1.0 Box-Toppers point, giving him 13.9 for the season. He leads over second-place player, Blue Jays pitcher Kevin Gausman (12.0). Gausman is also second among AL pitchers. Ohtani also leads AL batters ahead of Aaron Judge of the Yankees (7.5).

This is Ohtani’s 12th Player of the Game honor of 2023 and his sixth as a starting pitcher. The other six have come as a designated hitter. Because he has earned more than 25 percent of his Player of the Game honors at both positions, he qualifies to rank among both batters and pitchers in Box-Toppers points, the only player to do so. The past two seasons, Ohtani finished the season only qualified to rank among pitchers since such an overwhelming majority of his Player of the Game honors came as a pitcher, despite his playing in far more games as a designated hitter.

This is Ohtani’s first Player of the Game honor as a pitcher since May 21. His subsequent four Player of the Game honors until Tuesday came as a designated hitter—on May 31, June 9, June 12 and June 13.

Ohtani had a Box-Toppers game score of +8.1 as a pitcher and a +4.0 game score as a batter (2HR 3-3 2R 2BI), best among all Angels batters Tuesday.

Ohtani has now earned 6.7 of his Box-Toppers points as a pitcher and 7.2 as a batter.

Dodgers pitcher Clayton Kershaw is Box-Toppers Player of the Game in Tuesday’s win over the Rockies.

Kershaw

Dodgers pitcher Clayton Kershaw rises from ninth to third place in Box-Toppers season player rankings and also takes the 2023 Box-Toppers points lead among NL pitchers after earning Player of the Game honors Tuesday.

Kershaw (6IP H 0R BB 2K W in the 5-0 win over the Rockies) earns 1.0 Box-Toppers point, giving him 10.1 for the season. He trails Angels pitcher Shohei Ohtani (13.9) and Blue Jays pitcher Kevin Gausman (12.0). He rises past previous NL pitching leader Zac Gallen of the Diamondbacks (9.7).

Kershaw becomes the third player this season to reach 10.0 Box-Toppers points. It is his 13th season with 10.0 or more points and his third straight. In Kershaw’s 16 seasons, he’s only failed to reach 10.0 Box-Toppers points in three seasons—his rookie year of 2008 (4.0), 2018 (8.0) and the pandemic-shortened 2020 season (7.7). Kershaw had 10.7 points in 2022, his fourth-lowest single-season total.

Kershaw also now has 269.4 career Box-Toppers points, second among all players since player tracking began in 1995, behind Randy Johnson (282.5). Kershaw leads active players in career points, ahead of Mets pitcher Max Scherzer (245.0), who ranks third in career points since 1995.

Ronald Acuna Jr. of the Braves is Box-Toppers Player of the Game in Tuesday’s win over the Twins.

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Acuna

Ronald Acuna Jr. of the Braves rises to first place among NL batters in 2023 Box-Toppers points after earning Player of the Game honors Tuesday.

Acuna (2HR 2-4 2R 2BI in the 6-2 win over the Twins) earns 1.0 Box-Toppers point, giving him 6.0 for the season. He passes previous NL batting leader James Outman of the Dodgers (5.7). Acuna ranks 38th among all players.

Debut

Nationals pitcher Jordan Weems also made his Box-Toppers debut Tuesday with his first career Player of the Game honor.

Weems (2IP 0H 0R 2BB 3K W in the 7-4, 11-inning win over the Mariners) made his Major League debut July 28, 2020, and was playing in his 59th career game.

Scoring

  • Williams earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day.

  • Suarez earns 1.7 points for being NL Player of the Day.

  • Chisholm and Lowe each earn 1.5 points for being their league’s Batter of the Day.

  • All of Tuesday’s other Player of the Game winners (listed in the chart) 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.

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.

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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).

6/27 BTG Game Player AB R H BI IP H R ER BB K
MLB +11.0 `CLE 2, KC 1 Gavin Williams 7.0 1 0 0 1 6
NL +8.1 PHI 5, CHC 1 Ranger Suárez (W, 2‑2) 7.1 4 1 1 1 8
+8.1 LAA 4, CHW 2 Shohei Ohtani (W, 7‑3) 6.1 4 1 1 2 10
+7.0 CIN 3, BAL 1 Andrew Abbott (W, 4‑0) 6.0 2 1 1 3 8
+7.0 SF 3, TOR 0 Alex Wood (W, 3‑2) 5.0 5 0 0 0 7
+6.0 LAD 5, COL 0 Clayton Kershaw (W, 10‑4) 6.0 1 0 0 1 2
BAT +4.0 MIA 10, BOS 1 Jazz Chisholm Jr. CF 4 2 3 3
+3.1 OAK 2, NYY 1 Paul Blackburn (W, 1‑0) 5.1 4 1 1 1 5
+3.0 NYM 7, MIL 2 Brandon Nimmo CF 4 2 2 3
+3.0 WSH 7, SEA 4 (F/11) Jordan Weems (W, 1‑0) 2.0 0 0 0 2 3
+3.0 PIT 9, SD 4 Roansy Contreras (S, 1) 3.0 2 0 0 1 3
+2.2 STL 4, HOU 2 Jordan Montgomery (W, 5‑7) 6.2 6 2 1 1 6
+2.0 ARI 8, TB 4 Corbin Carroll LF 4 1 2 3
+2.0 ATL 6, MIN 2 Ronald Acuña Jr. RF 4 2 2 2
BAT +2.0 TEX 8, DET 3 Nathaniel Lowe 1B 3 2 2 1
MLB—Overall Box‑Toppers Player of the Day, worth 2.0 total Box‑Toppers points.
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.
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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 2023 (’23). Also shown is their point total for this season and last (’22-23), the period 2018-2023 (’18-23) and each players’ career point total. Also shown is how their 2023 Box-Toppers point total compares with their 2022 total (+/-).
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Player of the Game Pos Team ’23 ’22‑23 ’18‑23 Career +/‑
Ohtani, Shohei 3933 dh pi sp ana al 13.9 38.6 69.2 69.2 -10.8
Kershaw, Clayton 2494 pi sp lad nl 10.1 20.8 62.6 269.4 -0.6
Acuna, Ronald Jr. 3947 rf atl nl 6.0 9.5 24.9 24.9 +2.5
Montgomery, Jordan 3814 pi sp stl nl 5.7 15.1 25.8 31.8 -3.7
Abbott, Andrew 4839 pi sp cin nl 5.0 5.0 5.0 5.0 +5.0
Contreras, Roansy 4574 pi sp cp pit nl 4.0 8.0 8.0 8.0 0.0
Suarez, Ranger 4228 pi sp phi nl 3.7 8.7 18.7 18.7 -1.3
Carroll, Corbin 4818 rf lf ari nl 3.0 3.0 3.0 3.0 +3.0
Lowe, Nathaniel 4340 1b tex al 2.5 4.5 10.5 10.5 +0.5
Chisholm, Jazz Jr. 4364 cf 2b ss fla nl 2.5 4.0 8.0 8.0 +1.0
Wood, Alex 3246 pi sp mr sf nl 2.0 9.0 27.0 62.1 -5.0
Blackburn, Paul 3869 pi sp oak al 2.0 6.0 8.0 9.0 -2.0
Nimmo, Brandon 3895 cf nym nl 2.0 4.0 9.7 12.9 0.0
Williams, Gavin 4865 pi sp cle al 2.0 2.0 2.0 2.0 +2.0
Weems, Jordan 4866 pi cp dc nl 1.0 1.0 1.0 1.0 +1.0
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A Box-Toppers look at Wednesday’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 2023 (’23), over a two-year period (’22-23), over a six-year period (’18-23) and their career point total.
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Game Starter ’23 ’22‑23 ’18‑23 Career
MIN Maeda, Kenta 3609 2.0 2.0 35.5 55.5
ATL Allard, Kolby 4232 0.0 1.0 4.0 4.0
WSH Corbin, Patrick 3027 1.7 5.7 44.8 87.0
SEA Gilbert, Logan 4439 6.0 20.1 27.1 27.1
CIN Weaver, Luke 3719 0.0 0.0 16.0 25.7
BAL Gibson, Kyle 3312 3.0 12.0 37.5 56.5
SD Snell, Blake 3688 4.7 17.8 70.1 79.1
PIT Keller, Mitch 4230 7.0 9.0 14.0 14.0
SF Webb, Logan 4258 4.0 13.7 31.9 31.9
TOR Undecided 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0
MIA Garrett, Braxton 4341 9.7 15.4 17.4 17.4
BOS Undecided 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0
MIL Miley, Wade 3006 2.0 3.0 25.4 65.5
NYM Senga, Kodai 4762 7.0 7.0 7.0 7.0
HOU Javier, Cristian 4290 5.0 20.7 28.7 28.7
STL Mikolas, Miles 3034 4.7 16.8 31.5 34.2
DET Wentz, Joey 4639 1.0 4.0 4.0 4.0
TEX Dunning, Dane 4317 0.0 4.4 9.4 9.4
PHI Nola, Aaron 3569 5.0 21.0 70.2 94.7
CHC Smyly, Drew 3009 4.0 12.7 24.7 60.2
CLE Allen, Logan T. 4789 3.7 3.7 3.7 3.7
KC Cox, Austin 4860 1.0 1.0 1.0 1.0
LAD Undecided 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0
COL Freeland, Kyle 3763 5.7 11.7 33.1 39.1
CHW Giolito, Lucas 3900 3.0 7.0 43.1 46.1
LAA Barria, Jaime 3964 2.0 4.0 12.0 12.0
NYY German, Domingo 3957 4.0 5.0 28.4 28.4
OAK Sears, JP 4627 1.0 6.0 6.0 6.0
TB Eflin, Zach 3679 4.0 7.7 30.5 35.5
ARI Davies, Zach 3581 1.0 2.0 15.0 30.7
Starters subject to change.
* Player has yet to earn Box-Toppers points.
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