Phillies’ Nola tops players for Sunday, Aug. 27; White Sox’ Clevinger tops AL players

Phillies pitcher Aaron Nola is Sunday’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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Phillies pitcher Aaron Nola is Sunday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day.

Nola struck out nine over seven scoreless innings, allowing one hit and one walk, in the 3-0 win over the Cardinals.

Nola earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day, giving him 10.0 for the season, 24th among all players and 11th among National League pitchers.

Nola also becomes the 29th player this season to reach 10 Box-Toppers points. It is his fifth season with 10 or more points and third straight, all with the Phillies:

  • 2017—15.8 points, sixth among NL pitchers.

  • 2018—21.1, fifth among all players and second among NL pitchers.

  • 2021—10.7, 22nd among NL pitchers.

  • 2022—16.0, ninth among NL pitchers.

American League Player of the Day is White Sox pitcher Mike Clevinger.

American League Player of the Day

White Sox pitcher Mike Clevinger struck out 10 over seven innings, allowing one run, one hit and two walks, in the 6-1 win over the Athletics.

Clevinger earns 1.7 Box-Toppers points for being AL Player of the Day, giving him 6.7 for the season, 36th among AL pitchers.

American League Batter of the Day is Brandon Lowe of the Rays.

American League Batter of the Day

Brandon Lowe of the Rays homered, doubled and went 3-for-4, scoring once and driving in four runs, in the 7-4 win over the Yankees.

Lowe earns 1.5 Box-Toppers points for being AL Batter of the Day, giving him 5.5 for the season, 19th among AL batters.

National League Batter of the Day is Mookie Betts of the Dodgers.

National League Batter of the Day

Mookie Betts of the Dodgers homered and went 3-for-5, scoring twice and driving in three runs, in the 7-4 win over the Red Sox.

Betts earns 1.5 Box-Toppers points for being NL Batter of the Day, giving him 8.5 for the season, third among NL batters, behind Pete Alonso of the Mets (9.0) and Nolan Gorman of the Cardinals (9.0).

Mariners pitcher Luis Castillo is Box-Toppers Player of the Game in Sunday’s win over the Royals.

Notable

Mariners pitcher Luis Castillo has the most 2023 Box-Toppers points among Sunday’s 15 Player of the Game winners.

Castillo (7IP H 0R BB 6K W in the 3-2 win over the Royals) earns 1.0 Box-Toppers point, giving him 12.4 for the season, 12th among all players and eighth among AL pitchers.

Astros pitcher Justin Verlander is Box-Toppers Player of the Game in Sunday’s win over the Tigers.

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 Sunday, Aug. 27.

Player Pos Team BTP
1 Ohtani, Shohei 3933 pi sp dh ana al 19.4
2 Strider, Spencer 4626 pi sp atl nl 19.1
3 Luzardo, Jesus 4282 pi sp fla nl 15.1
4 Gausman, Kevin 3191 pi sp tor al 14.7
5 Peralta, Freddy 3965 pi sp mil nl 14.7
6 Scherzer, Max 2588 pi sp tex al 14.4
7 Gallen, Zac 4171 pi sp ari nl 13.7
8 Bassitt, Chris 3413 pi sp tor al 13.4
9 Lopez, Pablo 4028 pi sp min al 13.4
10 Miller, Bryce 4797 pi sp sea al 13.1
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Also notable

Astros pitcher Justin Verlander now has 241.3 career Box-Toppers points—fifth-most since 1995—after earning Player of the Game honors Sunday.

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Verlander (5IP 2H 0R 2BB 7K W in the 17-4 win over the Tigers) earns 1.0 Box-Toppers point and now trails fourth-ranked player Pedro Martinez (244.8) on the “all-time” career points list by 3.5 points. (It should be noted that Martinez’s career total is only from 1995, when tracking began. If his entire career from 1992 were tracked, Martinez is projected to have 270 points.)

Verlander ranks third among active players in career points, behind Dodgers pitcher Clayton Kershaw (269.4) and Rangers pitcher Max Scherzer (250.7). Verlander ranks second among active AL pitchers behind Scherzer.

Verlander has 8.7 Box-Toppers points in 2023, 19th among AL pitchers.

Debut

Diamondbacks pitcher Slade Cecconi made his Box-Toppers debut Sunday with his first career Player of the Game honor.

Cecconi (5.2IP 3H R 0BB 5K ND in the 5-2 win over the Reds) made his Major League debut Aug. 2 and was playing in his fifth career game.

Scoring

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

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

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

  • All of Sunday’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).

8/27 BTG Game Player AB R H BI IP H R ER BB K
MLB 14.0 PHI 3, STL 0 Aaron Nola (W, 12‑8) ‑ ‑ ‑ ‑ 7.0 1 0 0 1 9
AL +12.0 CHW 6, OAK 1 Mike Clevinger (W, 6‑6) ‑ ‑ ‑ ‑ 7.0 1 1 1 2 10
+11.0 SEA 3, KC 2 Luis Castillo (W, 11‑7) ‑ ‑ ‑ ‑ 7.0 1 0 0 1 6
+8.0 HOU 17, DET 4 Justin Verlander (W, 10‑6) ‑ ‑ ‑ ‑ 5.0 2 0 0 2 7
+8.0 `COL 4, BAL 3 Ty Blach ‑ ‑ ‑ ‑ 7.0 3 1 1 1 7
+7.0 CHC 10, PIT 1 Javier Assad (W, 3‑2) ‑ ‑ ‑ ‑ 7.0 3 1 1 2 7
+7.0 `NYM 3, LAA 2 David Peterson ‑ ‑ ‑ ‑ 7.0 3 1 1 3 8
+5.2 `ARI 5, CIN 2 Slade Cecconi ‑ ‑ ‑ ‑ 5.2 3 1 1 0 5
+5.0 MIL 10, SD 6 Bryse Wilson (W, 6‑0) ‑ ‑ ‑ ‑ 4.0 2 0 0 1 4
BAT +4.0 TB 7, NYY 4 Brandon Lowe 2B 4 1 3 4 ‑ ‑ ‑ ‑ ‑ ‑
+4.0 CLE 10, TOR 7 (F/11) Ramón Laureano RF 4 3 3 2 ‑ ‑ ‑ ‑ ‑ ‑
BAT +3.0 LAD 7, BOS 4 Mookie Betts 2B‑RF 5 2 3 3 ‑ ‑ ‑ ‑ ‑ ‑
+3.0 `MIN 7, TEX 6 (F/13) Caleb Thielbar ‑ ‑ ‑ ‑ 1.0 0 0 0 0 2
+3.0 SF 8, ATL 5 Camilo Doval (S, 34) ‑ ‑ ‑ ‑ 1.0 0 0 0 0 2
+2.0 MIA 2, WSH 1 Bryan Hoeing (W, 2‑2) ‑ ‑ ‑ ‑ 4.0 4 1 1 1 5
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 +/‑
Castillo, Luis Miguel 3840 pi sp sea al 12.4 22.4 58.8 67.2 +2.4
Nola, Aaron 3569 pi sp phi nl 10.0 26.0 75.2 99.7 -6.0
Verlander, Justin 2112 pi sp hou al 8.7 34.7 87.3 241.3 -17.3
Betts, Mookie 3404 rf 2b lad nl 8.5 20.2 45.3 62.5 -3.2
Clevinger, Mike 3707 pi sp chi al 6.7 13.1 46.2 60.6 +0.3
Lowe, Brandon 4108 2b tb al 5.5 9.0 21.5 21.5 +2.0
Doval, Camilo 4658 pi cp sf nl 4.0 9.0 9.0 9.0 -1.0
Thielbar, Caleb 3272 pi mr min al 3.0 8.7 12.7 13.7 -2.7
Laureano, Ramon 4054 rf dh cle al 2.0 4.5 15.2 15.2 -0.5
Wilson, Bryse 4048 pi mr sp mil nl 2.0 4.0 6.0 6.0 0.0
Blach, Ty 3754 pi sp cp col nl 2.0 4.0 6.0 10.0 0.0
Assad, Javier 4899 pir sp chi nl 2.0 2.0 2.0 2.0 +2.0
Hoeing, Bryan 4856 pi sp fla nl 2.0 2.0 2.0 2.0 +2.0
Peterson, David 4347 pi sp nym nl 1.0 6.0 11.0 11.0 -4.0
Cecconi, Slade 4913 pi sp ari nl 1.0 1.0 1.0 1.0 +1.0
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A Box-Toppers look at Monday’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
LAA Giolito, Lucas 3900 3.0 7.0 43.1 46.1
PHI Walker, Taijuan 3453 7.7 15.4 30.8 57.2
NYY Severino, Luis 3567 3.0 9.7 30.4 56.5
DET Olson, Reese 4861 2.7 2.7 2.7 2.7
CHW Kopech, Michael 4385 8.0 17.0 22.7 22.7
BAL Rodriguez, Grayson 4790 4.0 4.0 4.0 4.0
WSH Gray, Josiah 4503 5.7 10.4 11.4 11.4
TOR Gausman, Kevin 3191 14.7 27.4 48.8 84.1
HOU Javier, Cristian 4290 5.0 20.7 28.7 28.7
BOS Sale, Chris 2806 6.7 6.7 39.8 151.3
TEX Gray, Jon 3634 6.7 12.7 40.4 52.1
NYM Megill, Tylor 4464 3.0 8.7 14.7 14.7
CLE Curry, Xzavion 4875 2.0 2.0 2.0 2.0
MIN Maeda, Kenta 3609 7.7 7.7 41.2 61.2
SD Snell, Blake 3688 7.7 20.8 73.1 82.1
STL Wainwright, Adam 2150 0.0 10.0 34.8 152.3
MIL Miley, Wade 3006 3.0 4.0 26.4 66.5
CHC Taillon, Jameson 3658 4.4 15.1 36.5 50.5
PIT Oviedo, Johan 4442 7.7 10.7 11.7 11.7
KC Greinke, Zack 1871 2.0 6.7 48.3 224.5
ATL Elder, Bryce 4709 7.0 11.7 11.7 11.7
COL Gomber, Austin 3985 1.0 4.0 18.7 18.7
OAK Muller, Kyle 4454 0.0 0.0 2.0 2.0
SEA Woo, Bryan 4842 5.0 5.0 5.0 5.0
CIN Abbott, Andrew 4839 10.0 10.0 10.0 10.0
SF Harrison Kyle* 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0
ARI Gallen, Zac 4171 13.7 32.4 48.1 48.1
LAD Miller, Bobby 4820 5.0 5.0 5.0 5.0
Starters subject to change.
* Player has yet to earn Box-Toppers points.
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