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.
▪️ A B-T look at upcoming pitching matchups.
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Orioles pitcher Corbin Burnes is Thursday’s Opening Day Box-Toppers Player of the Day.
Burnes struck out 11 over six innings, allowing one run, one hit and no walks, in the 11-3 win over the Angels.
Burnes earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day. His 2.0 points for the season is now first among all players, passing previous leader Jake Cronenworth of the Padres, who was Player of the Day March 21 in the season kickoff Seoul Series in South Korea. While both Burnes and Cronenworth have 2.0 Box-Toppers points, Burnes ranks higher because he has more 2023 points—11.7 vs. 1.0.
Burnes’ 11.7 Box-Toppers points in 2023 with the Brewers was 13th among National League pitchers.
National League Player of the Day
Lourdes Gurriel Jr. of the Diamondbacks homered and went 3-for-5, scoring three times and driving in five runs, in the 16-1 win over the Rockies.
Gurriel earns 1.7 Box-Toppers points for being NL Player of the Day, giving him 1.7 for the season, fourth among all players.
Gurriel earned 4.0 Box-Toppers points in 2023, 52nd among NL batters.
American League Batter of the Day
Cavan Biggio of the Blue Jays homered and went 1-for-2, scoring twice and driving in one run, in the 8-2 win over the Rays.
Biggio earns 1.5 Box-Toppers points for being AL Batter of the Day, giving him 1.5 for the season, fifth among all players.
Biggio earned 2.0 Box-Toppers points in 2023, 105th among AL batters.
National League Batter of the Day
There is no separate NL Batter of the Day for Thursday because the overall NL Player of the Day is batter Lourdes Gurriel Jr.
Active season streaks
Here are the 12 players who have active streaks of earning Box-Toppers points for 13 or more consecutive seasons. Players are listed by the length of their streak and with their current team status. Also shown is the duration of their streak and their career Box-Toppers point (BTP) total.| Streak | Player | Pos | Team | Duration | BTP* |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 17 | Zack Greinke | pi sp | Free agent | 2007‑2023 | 224.5 |
| 16 | Clayton Kershaw | pi sp | Dodgers | 2008‑2023 | 270.4 |
| 16 | Evan Longoria | 3b | Free agent | 2008‑2023 | 62.7 |
| 15 | Max Scherzer | pi sp | Mets | 2009‑2023 | 251.7 |
| 15 | Andrew McCutchen | dh lf | Pirates | 2009‑2023 | 80.9 |
| 14 | Craig Kimbrel | pi cp | Orioles | 2010‑2023 | 88.1 |
| 14 | Giancarlo Stanton | rf dh | Yankees | 2010‑2023 | 75.9 |
| 14 | Aroldis Chapman | pi cp mr | Pirates | 2010‑2023 | 66.1 |
| 14 | Kenley Jansen | pi cp | Red Sox | 2011‑2024 | 65.4 |
| 13 | Mike Trout | cf | Angels | 2011‑2023 | 84.2 |
| 13 | Freddie Freeman | 1b | Dodgers | 2011‑2023 | 65.9 |
| 13 | Brandon Belt | 1b dh | Free agent | 2011‑2023 | 46.2 |
Streak
Red Sox closing pitcher Kenley Jansen has now earned Box-Toppers points in 14 straight seasons after earning his first Player of the Game honor of 2024 Thursday.
Jansen (1IP 0H 0R BB 2K Sv in the 6-4 win over the Mariners) earned his first Box-Toppers point in 2011 with the Dodgers and has 65.4 career points, second among active AL closers behind Craig Kimbrel of the Orioles (88.1). Jansen’s best season was 2013 with the Dodgers when he had 9.7 points, second among NL closers. He had 3.0 points in 2023 with the Red Sox, 13th among AL closers.
His 14 consecutive seasons earning Box-Toppers points is now tied for the sixth-longest currently active streak. He’s one of 12 players with an active streak of 13 or more consecutive seasons earning Box-Toppers points.
Notable
Padres pitcher Yu Darvish now has 132.0 career Box-Toppers points after earning Player of the Game honors Thursday.
Darvish (5IP 5H R BB 7K ND in the 6-4 win over the Giants) earns 1.0 Box-Toppers point, his first point of the season. His 132.0 career points ranks 39th among all players since Box-Toppers tracking began in 1995. He trails 38th-ranked player Jason Giambi (133.4). Darvish ranks third among active NL pitchers in career points, behind Clayton Kershaw of the Dodgers (270.4) and Chris Sale of the Braves (153.3).
Scoring
Burnes earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day.
Gurriel earns 1.7 points for being NL Player of the Day.
Biggio earns 1.5 points for being AL Batter of the Day.
All of Thursday’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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Edward Oliveras @PIrates is Box-Toppers Player of the Game in TH’s win vs. @Marlins (HR 1-1 R BI), +2.0 B-T game score
— Box-Toppers (@BoxToppers) March 29, 2024
Starters:
PIT—Mitch Keller 5.2IP 7H 5R 4ER 2BB 3K ND, -9.8 game score.
MIA—Jesus Luzardo 5IP 2H 2R 2BB 8K ND, +5.0 game score
TH results—https://t.co/6NvUBlkTvw
Thursday’s highest Box-Toppers game scores by those who did not win Player of the Game:
— Box-Toppers (@BoxToppers) March 29, 2024
+7.0—Garrett Crochet @WhiteSox 6IP 5IP R 0BB 8K L
+6.0—Brent Suter @Reds 2IP 0H 0R 0BB 4K ND
+5.0—Nick Martini @Reds 2HR 2-4 2R 5BI
TH’s B-T Player of the Game winners—https://t.co/Ez85Q6IYNb
Thursday’s lowest Box-Toppers game scores:
— Box-Toppers (@BoxToppers) March 29, 2024
-26.9—Kyle Freeland @Rockies (2.1IP 10H 10R BB 2K L vs. ARI)
-18.9—Anthony Molina @Rockies
-14.0—Josiah Gray @Nationals
-13.9—Alex Wood @Atheltics
-12.8—Patrick Sandoval @Angels
TH’s B-T Player of the Game winners—https://t.co/6NvUBlklFY
Thursday’s lowest Box-Toppers game scores by batters
— Box-Toppers (@BoxToppers) March 29, 2024
-6.0—Luis Arraez @Marlins 0-6 K
-5.0—Ryan Jeffers @Twins 0-5 K
-5.0—Henry Davis @Marlins 1-6K
-4.0—5 were 0-4 w/3Ks, including Joey Gallo WSH & Mike Yastrzemski SF
TH’s B-T Player of the Game winners—https://t.co/6NvUBlklFY
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).| 3/28 | BTG | Game | Player | AB | R | H | BI | IP | H | R | ER | BB | K | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| MLB | +14.0 | BAL 11, LAA 3 | Corbin Burnes (W, 1‑0) | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | 6.0 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 11 | |
| +12.0 | CLE 8, OAK 0 | Shane Bieber (W, 1‑0) | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | 6.0 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 11 | ||
| +9.0 | DET 1, CHW 0 | Tarik Skubal (W, 1‑0) | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | 6.0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6 | ||
| +8.0 | MIN 4, KC 1 | Pablo López (W, 1‑0) | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | 7.0 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 7 | ||
| NL | +6.0 | ARI 16, COL 1 | Lourdes Gurriel Jr. LF | 5 | 3 | 3 | 5 | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | |
| +6.0 | LAD 7, STL 1 | Tyler Glasnow (W, 1‑0) | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | 6.0 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 5 | ||
| +6.0 | CIN 8, WSH 2 | Frankie Montas (W, 1‑0) | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | 6.0 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | ||
| +4.0 | `SD 6, SF 4 | Yu Darvish | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | 5.0 | 5 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 7 | ||
| BAT | +2.0 | TOR 8, TB 2 | Cavan Biggio 2B | 2 | 2 | 1 | 1 | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | |
| +2.0 | PIT 6, MIA 5 (F/12) | Edward Olivares PH‑RF | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ||
| +2.0 | TEX 4, CHC 3 (F/10) | Travis Jankowski PH‑CF | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ||
| +2.0 | BOS 6, SEA 4 | Kenley Jansen (S, 1) | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | 1.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 2 | ||
| +1.0 | NYY 5, HOU 4 | Oswaldo Cabrera 3B | 4 | 2 | 2 | 1 | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ |
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 2024 (’24). Also shown is their point total for this season and last (’23-24), the period 2019-2024 (’19-24) and each players’ career point total. Also shown is how their 2024 Box-Toppers point total compares with their 2023 total (+/-).Back to top
| Player of the Game | Pos | Team | ’24 | ’23-24 | ’19‑24 | Career | +/‑ |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Burnes, Corbin 4029 | pi sp | bal al | 2.0 | 13.7 | 54.9 | 57.9 | -9.7 |
| Gurriel, Lourdes Jr. 4148 | lf | ari nl | 1.7 | 5.7 | 18.4 | 18.4 | -2.3 |
| Biggio, Cavan 4183 | 2b rf | tor al | 1.5 | 3.5 | 14.2 | 14.2 | -0.5 |
| Lopez, Pablo 4028 | pi sp | min al | 1.0 | 14.4 | 46.5 | 48.2 | -12.4 |
| Glasnow, Tyler 3948 | pi sp | lad nl | 1.0 | 13.4 | 43.8 | 49.8 | -11.4 |
| Skubal, Tarik 4414 | pi sp | det al | 1.0 | 11.7 | 31.1 | 31.1 | -9.7 |
| Darvish, Yu 3003 | pi sp | sd nl | 1.0 | 8.0 | 58.0 | 132.0 | -6.0 |
| Bieber, Shane 4005 | pi sp | cle al | 1.0 | 5.0 | 54.9 | 61.3 | -3.0 |
| Jansen, Kenley 2871 | pi cp | bos al | 1.0 | 4.0 | 20.0 | 65.4 | -2.0 |
| Montas, Frankie 3803 | pi sp | cin nl | 1.0 | 1.0 | 33.5 | 36.5 | +1.0 |
| Olivares, Edward 4676 | rf dh ph | pit nl | 1.0 | 1.0 | 3.0 | 3.0 | +1.0 |
| Jankowski, Travis 3696 | cf ph | tex al | 1.0 | 1.0 | 3.0 | 5.5 | +1.0 |
| Cabrera, Oswaldo 4747 | lf | nyy al | 1.0 | 1.0 | 2.0 | 2.0 | +1.0 |
About Box-Toppers’ team abbreviations
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A Box-Toppers look at Friday’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 2024 (’24), this year and last year (’23-24), over a six-year period (’19-24) and their career point total.Back to top
| Game | Starter | ’24 | ’23-24 | ’19‑24 | Career |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| MIL | Peralta, Freddy 3965 | 0.0 | 17.7 | 47.8 | 56.5 |
| NYM | Quintana, Jose 3040 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 22.8 | 83.1 |
| ATL | Strider, Spencer 4626 | 0.0 | 21.1 | 34.5 | 34.5 |
| PHI | Wheeler, Zack 3204 | 0.0 | 14.7 | 60.2 | 83.6 |
| TOR | Bassitt, Chris 3413 | 0.0 | 20.1 | 57.9 | 63.9 |
| TB | Civale, Aaron 4173 | 0.0 | 6.0 | 28.4 | 28.4 |
| PIT | Perez, Martin 3213 | 0.0 | 4.7 | 17.5 | 34.5 |
| MIA | Puk, A.J. 4253 | 0.0 | 3.0 | 4.0 | 4.0 |
| NYY | Rodon, Carlos 3494 | 0.0 | 1.0 | 34.5 | 57.6 |
| HOU | Javier, Cristian 4290 | 0.0 | 7.0 | 30.7 | 30.7 |
| BOS | Pivetta, Nick 3825 | 0.0 | 9.0 | 24.7 | 44.4 |
| SEA | Kirby, George 4595 | 0.0 | 13.7 | 25.1 | 25.1 |
| CLE | Allen, Logan T. 4789 | 0.0 | 7.7 | 7.7 | 7.7 |
| OAK | Stripling, Ross 3629 | 0.0 | 1.0 | 24.7 | 39.1 |
| COL | Quantrill, Cal 4195 | 0.0 | 2.0 | 17.7 | 17.7 |
| ARI | Kelly, Merrill 4143 | 0.0 | 13.0 | 39.0 | 39.0 |
| SF | Harrison, Kyle 4914 | 0.0 | 2.0 | 2.0 | 2.0 |
| SD | Musgrove, Joe 3705 | 0.0 | 7.0 | 50.5 | 60.2 |
| STL | Thompson, Zack 4773 | 0.0 | 1.0 | 1.0 | 1.0 |
| LAD | Miller, Bobby 4820 | 0.0 | 8.7 | 8.7 | 8.7 |
* Player has yet to earn any career Box-Toppers points.
What are those numbers after players' names?
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