Braves’ Morton tops players for Wednesday, Aug. 16; Athletics’ Blackburn tops AL players

Braves pitcher Charlie Morton is Wednesday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day.

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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.
▪️ Top 10 players in 2023 Box-Toppers points.
▪️ A B-T look at upcoming pitching matchups.
▪️ Subscribe to Box-Toppers Email Newsletter.

Braves pitcher Charlie Morton is Wednesday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day.

Morton struck out 10 over six scoreless innings, allowing four hits and one walk, in the 2-0 win over the Yankees.

Morton earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day, giving him 7.0 for the season, 62nd among all players and 26th among National League pitchers.

Morton also now has 101.1 career Box-Toppers points, becoming the 89th player since 1995 to reach 100 career Box-Toppers points. With his 2.0 points Wednesday, he passes six players on Box-Toppers’ “all-time” career points list—Jim Edmonds (99.8), Larry Walker (100.1), Jeff Bagwell (100.4), Paul Konerko (100.7), Matt Cain (100.7) and Matt Holliday (100.8). Morton now trails 83rd-ranked player Jason Schmidt (101.2). Morton ranks 16th among active players in career points, eighth among active NL pitchers.

Morton is the first player to reach 100 Box-Toppers points in more than two years. The last player to pass the 100-point threshold was Lance Lynn who did it July 2, 2021, when he was with the White Sox. Lynn, now with the Dodgers, has 117.5 career points, 52nd-most since 1995.

American League Player of the Day is Athletics pitcher Paul Blackburn.

American League Player of the Day

Athletics pitcher Paul Blackburn struck out eight over seven scoreless innings, allowing six hits and one walk, in the 8-0 win over the Cardinals.

Blackburn earns 1.7 Box-Toppers points for being AL Player of the Day, giving him 4.7 for the season, 52nd among AL pitchers.

National League Batter of the Day is Christian Walker of the Diamondbacks.

National League Batter of the Day

Christian Walker of the Diamondbacks hit two homers and went 3-for-3, scoring three times and driving in four runs, in the 9-7 win over the Rockies.

Walker earns 1.5 Box-Toppers points for being NL Batter of the Day, giving him 4.5 for the season, 22nd among NL batters.

American League Batter of the Day is Chas McCormick of the Astros.

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 Wednesday, Aug. 16.

Player Pos Team BTP
1 Ohtani, Shohei 3933 pi sp dh ana al 18.4
2 Strider, Spencer 4626 pi sp atl nl 15.4
3 Gausman, Kevin 3191 pi sp tor al 14.7
4 Scherzer, Max 2588 pi sp tex al 13.4
5 Luzardo, Jesus 4282 pi sp fla nl 13.1
6 Bassitt, Chris 3413 pi sp tor al 12.4
7 Lopez, Pablo 4028 pi sp min al 12.4
8 Miller, Bryce 4797 pi sp sea al 12.1
9 Gallen, Zac 4171 pi sp ari nl 11.7
10 Burnes, Corbin 4029 pi sp mil nl 11.7
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American League Batter of the Day

Chas McCormick of the Astros homered and went 2-for-3, scoring twice and driving in two runs, in the 12-5 win over the Marlins.

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McCormick earns 1.5 Box-Toppers points for being AL Batter of the Day, giving him 6.0 for the season, 15th among AL batters.

Scoring

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

  • Blackburn earns 1.7 points for being AL Player of the Day.

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

  • All of Wednesday’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.

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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).

8/16 BTG Game Player AB R H BI IP H R ER BB K
MLB +11.0 ATL 2, NYY 0 Charlie Morton (W, 12‑10) ‑ ‑ ‑ ‑ 6.0 4 0 0 1 10
+10.1 `WSH 6, BOS 2 MacKenzie Gore ‑ ‑ ‑ ‑ 6.1 1 0 0 2 7
AL +8.0 OAK 8, STL 0 Paul Blackburn (W, 3‑3) ‑ ‑ ‑ ‑ 7.0 6 0 0 1 8
+7.1 LAA 2, TEX 0 Reid Detmers (W, 3‑9) ‑ ‑ ‑ ‑ 7.1 1 0 0 4 5
+7.1 DET 8, MIN 7 Tyler Holton (W, 2‑2) ‑ ‑ ‑ ‑ 2.1 0 0 0 0 5
BAT +7.0 ARI 9, COL 7 Christian Walker 1B 3 3 3 4 ‑ ‑ ‑ ‑ ‑ ‑
+5.0 TB 6, SF 1 Aaron Civale (W, 6‑3) ‑ ‑ ‑ ‑ 6.0 5 0 0 1 5
+4.0 PHI 9, TOR 4 Bryce Harper 1B 4 3 3 2 ‑ ‑ ‑ ‑ ‑ ‑
+3.0 LAD 7, MIL 1 Mookie Betts RF 4 4 3 0 ‑ ‑ ‑ ‑ ‑ ‑
+3.0 NYM 8, PIT 3 DJ Stewart RF 4 2 2 3 ‑ ‑ ‑ ‑ ‑ ‑
BAT +3.0 HOU 12, MIA 5 Chas McCormick LF 3 2 2 2 ‑ ‑ ‑ ‑ ‑ ‑
+2.0 CIN 7, CLE 2 Matt McLain 2B 5 1 3 3 ‑ ‑ ‑ ‑ ‑ ‑
+2.0 SD 5, BAL 2 Fernando Tatis Jr. RF 4 2 3 1 ‑ ‑ ‑ ‑ ‑ ‑
+2.0 CHC 4, CHW 3 Christopher Morel DH 4 1 2 3 ‑ ‑ ‑ ‑ ‑ ‑
+2.0 SEA 6, KC 5 Ty France 1B 1 1 1 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 +/‑
Morton, Charlie 2503 pi sp atl nl 7.0 17.4 65.7 101.1 -3.4
Gore, MacKenzie 4582 pi sp dc nl 7.0 11.7 11.7 11.7 +2.3
Detmers, Reid 4513 pi sp ana al 6.7 13.7 14.7 14.7 -0.3
McCormick, Chas 4444 cf rf lf hou al 6.0 7.0 9.0 9.0 +5.0
Betts, Mookie 3404 2b rf lad nl 5.5 17.2 42.3 59.5 -6.2
Civale, Aaron 4173 pi sp tb al 5.0 10.0 27.4 27.4 0.0
Blackburn, Paul 3869 pi sp oak al 4.7 8.7 10.7 11.7 +0.7
Morel, Christopher 4704 dh chi nl 4.7 8.2 8.2 8.2 +1.2
Walker, Christian 3958 1b ari nl 4.5 10.0 17.5 17.5 -1.0
Tatis, Fernando Jr. 4101 rf sd nl 3.5 3.5 19.7 19.7 +3.5
McLain, Matt 4847 2b ss cin nl 3.5 3.5 3.5 3.5 +3.5
Holton, Tyler 4775 pi mr det al 3.0 3.0 3.0 3.0 +3.0
France, Ty 4243 1b sea al 1.0 8.0 17.5 17.5 -6.0
Harper, Bryce 3011 1b dh phi nl 1.0 7.0 29.5 63.9 -5.0
Stewart, DJ 4396 rf nym nl 1.0 1.0 2.0 2.0 +1.0
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A Box-Toppers look at Thursday’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
SEA Kirby, George 4595 10.7 22.1 22.1 22.1
KC Zerpa, Angel* 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0
BOS Sale, Chris 2806 6.7 6.7 39.8 151.3
WSH Corbin, Patrick 3027 4.4 8.4 47.5 89.7
DET Skubal, Tarik 4414 3.0 13.7 22.4 22.4
CLE Curry, Xzavion 4875 1.0 1.0 1.0 1.0
NYM Quintana, Jose 3040 0.0 11.4 32.9 83.1
STL Wainwright, Adam 2150 0.0 10.0 34.8 152.3
ARI Gallen, Zac 4171 11.7 30.4 46.1 46.1
SD Hill, Rich 2215 4.0 11.7 32.4 83.2
MIL Burnes, Corbin 4029 11.7 27.1 55.9 55.9
LAD Lynn, Lance 2992 3.7 13.4 52.9 117.5
Starters subject to change.
* Player has yet to earn Box-Toppers points.
What are those numbers after players' names?
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