Box-Toppers Toppers Box
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 Spencer Strider is Friday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day, bolstering his Box-Toppers points lead among National League pitchers and moving to within 1.0 point of overall leader Shohei Ohtani.
Also Friday, two other players rise in Box-Toppers season player rankings top 10 list after both earned Player of the Game honors—Twins pitcher Pablo Lopez rises to fourth place and Mariners pitcher Bryce Miller rises to seventh place.
Player of the Day
Strider struck out 10 over seven scoreless innings, allowing one hit and one walk, in the 4-0 win over the Giants.
Strider earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day, giving him 17.4 for the season, maintaining his second-place spot in season player rankings and moving to within 1.0 point of overall leader, Angels pitcher Shohei Ohtani (18.4 points). Strider increases his lead among NL pitchers ahead of second-place Jesus Luzardo of the Marlins (13.1 points).
American League Player of the Day
Tigers pitcher Tarik Skubal struck out seven over six innings, allowing one run, three hits and one walk, in the 4-2 win over the Guardians.
Skubal 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
William Contreras of the Brewers doubled and went 3-for-5, scoring twice and driving in three runs, in the 9-8 win over the Rangers.
American League Batter of the Day
Gunnar Henderson of the Orioles homered and went 3-for-5, scoring twice and driving in three runs, in the 9-4 win over the Athletics.
Henderson earns 1.5 Box-Toppers points for being AL Batter of the Day, giving him 5.5 for the season, 18th among AL batters.
Rankings
Two other players rise in Box-Toppers season player rankings top 10 list after both earned Player of the Game honors Friday:
Twins pitcher Pablo Lopez (6IP 6H 0R 2BB 7K W in the 5-1 win over the Pirates) earns 1.0 Box-Toppers point, giving him 13.4 for the season, rising from eighth to fourth place overall. He ranks third among AL pitchers, behind Ohtani (18.4) and Kevin Gausman of the Blue Jays (14.7). He ranks ahead of fourth-place AL pitcher Max Scherzer of the Rangers. Though Lopez and Scherzer both have 13.4 points on the season, Lopez ranks ahead because he has more 2022 points—10.7 vs. 10.0.
Mariners pitcher Bryce Miller (6.1IP 2H 0R BB 2K W in the 2-0 win over the Astros) earns 1.0 Box-Toppers point, giving him 13.1 for the season, rising from ninth to seventh place in season player rankings. Miller ranks fifth among AL pitchers.
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 Friday, Aug. 18.| Player | Pos | Team | BTP | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Ohtani, Shohei 3933 | pi sp dh | ana al | 18.4 |
| 2 | Strider, Spencer 4626 | pi sp | atl nl | 17.4 |
| 3 | Gausman, Kevin 3191 | pi sp | tor al | 14.7 |
| 4 | Lopez, Pablo 4028 | pi sp | min al | 13.4 |
| 5 | Scherzer, Max 2588 | pi sp | tex al | 13.4 |
| 6 | Luzardo, Jesus 4282 | pi sp | fla nl | 13.1 |
| 7 | Miller, Bryce 4797 | pi sp | sea al | 13.1 |
| 8 | Gallen, Zac 4171 | pi sp | ari nl | 12.7 |
| 9 | Bassitt, Chris 3413 | pi sp | tor al | 12.4 |
| 10 | Burnes, Corbin 4029 | pi sp | mil nl | 11.7 |
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Debut
Blake Rutherford of the Nationals made his Box-Toppers debut Friday with his first career Player of the Game honor.
Rutherford (3-4 2R 2BI in the 8-7 win over the Phillies) made his Major League debut Aug. 4 and was playing in his ninth career game.
Scoring
Strider earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day.
Skubal earns 1.7 points for being AL Player of the Day.
Contreras and Henderson each earn 1.5 points for being their league’s Batter of the Day.
All of Friday’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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Friday’s best performances by players who did not earn Box-Toppers points (thread):
— Box-Toppers (@BoxToppers) August 19, 2023
Jose Berrios @BlueJays 5.2IP H 0R 4BB 8K ND
Brandon Pfaadt @Dbacks 7IP H 0R 3BB 5K ND
Ian Hamilton @Yankees 3.2IP H 0R 0BB 5K ND
Friday’s B-T Player of the Game winners—https://t.co/sBbyd6IPj6
Friday’s lowest Box-Toppers game scores:
— Box-Toppers (@BoxToppers) August 19, 2023
-26.9—Tony Gonsolin @Dodgers 3.1IP 8H 10R 4BB 2K L vs. MIA
-23.0—Michael Kopech @WhiteSox
-18.9—Jhony Brito @Yankees
-17.9—Michael Lorenzen @Phillies
-13.0—Joan Adon @Nationals
-11.0—Tyler Anderson @Angels https://t.co/sBbyd6IPj6
Michael Lorenzen @Phillies, who threw no-hitter in previous start Aug. 9, struggled Friday—he had the day’s 4th-lowest Box-Toppers game score (-17.9—3.1IP 8H 7R 6ER BB K L vs. WSH).
— Box-Toppers (@BoxToppers) August 19, 2023
In his no-hitter, he was B-T Player of the Day with +10.0 B-T game score—https://t.co/kzSln3DFc3
Friday’s lowest Box-Toppers game score among batters:
— Box-Toppers (@BoxToppers) August 19, 2023
-5.0—Nick Castellanos @Phillies 0-5 4K
-5.0—Mickey Moniak @Angels 0-5 3K
-5.0—Ty France @Mariners 0-5 2K
-5.0—5 were 0-5 with 1K, including Cody Bellinger CHC, Joey Meneses WSH & Bryan De La Cruz MIA.https://t.co/sBbyd6IPj6
All 3 of Friday’s Box-Toppers top 3-ranked starters earned Player of the Game honors.
— Box-Toppers (@BoxToppers) August 19, 2023
Spencer Strider @Braves earned 2.0 B-T pt (17.4 B-T pts, 2nd overall).
Pablo Lopez @Twins (13.4, 4th) & Bryce Miller @Mariners (13.1, 7th) both earned 1.0 B-T pt.
Details—https://t.co/Jh5Asbw1Y3
’23 Box-Toppers points—AL pitchers
— Box-Toppers (@BoxToppers) August 19, 2023
1—Shohei Ohtani @Angels 18.4
2—Kevin Gausman @BlueJays 14.7
3—Pablo Lopez @Twins 13.4*
4—Max Scherzer @Rangers 13.4
5—Bryce Miller @Mariners 13.1*
6—Chris Bassitt @BlueJays 12.4
*Earns 1.0 B-T pts as Player of the Game FRhttps://t.co/Jh5AsbwzNB pic.twitter.com/wkf029Chnb
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).| 8/18 | BTG | Game | Player | AB | R | H | BI | IP | H | R | ER | BB | K | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| MLB | +15.0 | ATL 4, SF 0 | Spencer Strider (W, 14‑4) | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | 7.0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 10 | |
| AL | +7.0 | DET 4, CLE 2 | Tarik Skubal (W, 3‑2) | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | 6.0 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 7 | |
| +7.0 | `SD 4, ARI 0 | Seth Lugo | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | 6.0 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 9 | ||
| +5.1 | SEA 2, HOU 0 | Bryce Miller (W, 8‑4) | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | 6.1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 2 | ||
| +5.0 | COL 14, CHW 1 | Peter Lambert (W, 3‑4) | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | 7.0 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 5 | ||
| +5.0 | MIN 5, PIT 1 | Pablo López (W, 9‑6) | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | 6.0 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 7 | ||
| +4.2 | NYM 7, STL 1 | Joey Lucchesi (W, 2‑0) | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | 5.2 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 5 | ||
| BAT | +3.0 | MIL 9, TEX 8 | William Contreras C | 5 | 2 | 3 | 3 | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | |
| BAT | +3.0 | BAL 9, OAK 4 | Gunnar Henderson SS | 5 | 2 | 3 | 3 | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | |
| +3.0 | BOS 8, NYY 3 | Rafael Devers 3B | 4 | 2 | 3 | 2 | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ||
| +3.0 | WSH 8, PHI 7 | Blake Rutherford LF | 4 | 2 | 3 | 2 | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ||
| +3.0 | MIA 11, LAD 3 | Jazz Chisholm Jr. CF | 4 | 2 | 2 | 3 | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ||
| +3.0 | `CLE 4, DET 1 | Xzavion Curry | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | 6.0 | 5 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 6 | ||
| +3.0 | `CIN 1, TOR 0 | Brett Kennedy | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | 5.0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 2 | ||
| +2.0 | KC 4, CHC 3 | Bobby Witt Jr. SS | 4 | 2 | 2 | 2 | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ||
| +1.0 | TB 9, LAA 6 (F/10) | Harold Ramírez DH | 5 | 1 | 3 | 2 | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ |
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 (+/-).Back to top
| Player of the Game | Pos | Team | ’23 | ’22‑23 | ’18‑23 | Career | +/‑ |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Strider, Spencer 4626 | pi sp | atl nl | 17.4 | 30.8 | 30.8 | 30.8 | +4.0 |
| Lopez, Pablo 4028 | pi sp | min al | 13.4 | 24.1 | 47.2 | 47.2 | +2.7 |
| Miller, Bryce 4797 | pi sp | sea al | 13.1 | 13.1 | 13.1 | 13.1 | +13.1 |
| Devers, Rafael 4038 | 3b | bos al | 7.5 | 11.5 | 33.5 | 33.5 | +3.5 |
| Witt, Bobby Jr. 4592 | ss | kc al | 6.2 | 8.2 | 8.2 | 8.2 | +4.2 |
| Henderson, Gunnar 4739 | dh | bal al | 5.5 | 8.7 | 8.7 | 8.7 | +2.3 |
| Skubal, Tarik 4414 | pi sp | det al | 4.7 | 15.4 | 24.1 | 24.1 | -6.0 |
| Chisholm, Jazz Jr. 4364 | cf | fla nl | 3.5 | 5.0 | 9.0 | 9.0 | +2.0 |
| Lambert, Peter 4155 | pi sp mr | col nl | 3.0 | 3.0 | 5.0 | 5.0 | +3.0 |
| Lugo, Seth 3729 | pi sp cp mr | sd nl | 2.7 | 4.7 | 15.7 | 20.7 | +0.7 |
| Ramirez, Harold 4164 | dh 1b rf | tb al | 2.0 | 3.0 | 7.0 | 7.0 | +1.0 |
| Lucchesi, Joey 3936 | pi sp mr | nym nl | 2.0 | 2.0 | 18.4 | 18.4 | +2.0 |
| Curry, Xzavion 4875 | pi sp | cle al | 2.0 | 2.0 | 2.0 | 2.0 | +2.0 |
| Contreras, William 4717 | ca dh | mil nl | 1.5 | 4.0 | 4.0 | 4.0 | -1.0 |
| Kennedy, Brett 4058 | pi sp | cin nl | 1.0 | 1.0 | 2.0 | 2.0 | +1.0 |
| Rutherford, Blake 4905 | lf | dc nl | 1.0 | 1.0 | 1.0 | 1.0 | +1.0 |
About Box-Toppers’ team abbreviations
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A Box-Toppers look at Saturday’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.Back to top
| Game | Starter | ’23 | ’22‑23 | ’18‑23 | Career |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| BOS | Crawford, Kutter 4660 | 3.0 | 7.0 | 7.0 | 7.0 |
| NYY | Cole, Gerrit 3232 | 9.0 | 24.4 | 104.4 | 147.3 |
| KC | Singer, Brady 4337 | 5.0 | 16.7 | 23.7 | 23.7 |
| CHC | Steele, Justin 4415 | 8.1 | 13.1 | 16.1 | 16.1 |
| MIA | Perez, Eury 4814 | 6.0 | 6.0 | 6.0 | 6.0 |
| LAD | Ferguson, Caleb 4006 | 1.0 | 1.0 | 8.0 | 8.0 |
| ARI | Kelly, Merrill 4143 | 8.0 | 19.0 | 34.0 | 34.0 |
| SD | Undecided | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 |
| MIL | Peralta, Freddy 3965 | 11.7 | 19.1 | 50.5 | 50.5 |
| TEX | Dunning, Dane 4317 | 3.0 | 7.4 | 12.4 | 12.4 |
| PHI | Sanchez, Cristopher 4850 | 1.0 | 1.0 | 1.0 | 1.0 |
| WSH | Irvin, Jake 4805 | 2.0 | 2.0 | 2.0 | 2.0 |
| TB | Glasnow, Tyler 3948 | 8.4 | 8.4 | 44.8 | 44.8 |
| LAA | Silseth, Chase 4605 | 3.0 | 5.0 | 5.0 | 5.0 |
| TOR | Bassitt, Chris 3413 | 12.4 | 23.4 | 52.2 | 56.2 |
| CIN | Williamson, Brandon 4813 | 4.7 | 4.7 | 4.7 | 4.7 |
| DET | Rodriguez, Eduardo 3480 | 9.0 | 9.0 | 43.8 | 63.2 |
| CLE | Bibee, Tanner 4792 | 7.7 | 7.7 | 7.7 | 7.7 |
| PIT | Keller, Mitch 4230 | 8.0 | 10.0 | 15.0 | 15.0 |
| MIN | Gray, Sonny 3259 | 8.4 | 20.5 | 54.7 | 95.9 |
| SEA | Gilbert, Logan 4439 | 10.7 | 24.8 | 31.8 | 31.8 |
| HOU | Valdez, Framber 4048 | 9.0 | 25.0 | 40.4 | 40.4 |
| NYM | Senga, Kodai 4762 | 9.7 | 9.7 | 9.7 | 9.7 |
| STL | Mikolas, Miles 3034 | 5.7 | 17.8 | 32.5 | 35.2 |
| SF | Webb, Logan 4258 | 9.0 | 18.7 | 36.9 | 36.9 |
| ATL | Chirinos, Yonny 4039 | 1.0 | 1.0 | 10.0 | 10.0 |
| CHW | Scholtens, Jesse* | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 |
| COL | Freeland, Kyle 3763 | 5.7 | 11.7 | 33.1 | 39.1 |
| ARI | Undecided | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 |
| SD | Darvish, Yu 3003 | 7.0 | 23.8 | 62.4 | 131.0 |
| BAL | Irvin, Cole 4140 | 3.0 | 10.7 | 18.4 | 18.4 |
| OAK | Waldichuk, Ken 4757 | 1.0 | 2.0 | 2.0 | 2.0 |
| TB | Eflin, Zach 3679 | 9.0 | 12.7 | 35.5 | 40.5 |
| LAA | Sandoval, Patrick 4357 | 2.0 | 10.0 | 13.0 | 13.0 |
| MIA | Garrett, Braxton 4341 | 10.7 | 16.4 | 18.4 | 18.4 |
| LAD | Urias, Julio 3652 | 10.0 | 29.4 | 55.5 | 62.2 |
* Player has yet to earn Box-Toppers points.
What are those numbers after players' names?
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