Rangers’ Bradford tops players for Friday, April 5; Royals’ Singer rises to 1st in rankings

Rangers pitcher Cody Bradford is Friday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day.

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Rangers pitcher Cody Bradford is Friday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day.

Also Friday, Royals pitcher Brady Singer rises to first place in Box-Toppers season player rankings after earning Player of the Game honors. Plus, two players extend significant streaks of consecutive seasons earning Box-Toppers points after earning Player of the Game honors Friday—Orioles closer Craig Kimbrel (15 seasons) and Phillies pitcher Aaron Nola (10 seasons).

Player of the Day

Bradford struck out four over 7 2/3 innings, allowing one run, two hits and no walks, in the 10-2 win over the Astros.

Bradford earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day, his first points of the season, and ranks 15th among all players.

National League Player of the Day is Ryan McMahon of the Rockies.

National League Player of the Day

Ryan McMahon of the Rockies hit a walk-off grand slam, doubled and went 3-for-5, scoring twice and driving in four runs, in the 10-7 win over the Rays.

McMahon earns 1.7 Box-Toppers points for being NL Player of the Day, his first points of the season, and ranks 20th among all players.

American League Batter of the Day is Tyler O'Neill of the Red Sox.

American League Batter of the Day

Tyler O'Neill of the Red Sox hit two home runs and went 3-for-4, scoring three times and driving in two runs, in the 8-6 win over the Angels.

National League Batter of the Day

There is no separate NL Batter of the Day for Friday because the overall NL Player of the Day is batter Ryan McMahon.

Royals pitcher Brady Singer rises to first place in Box-Toppers season player rankings after earning Player of the Game honors Friday.

New Box-Toppers points leader

Royals pitcher Brady Singer rises to first place in Box-Toppers season player rankings after earning Player of the Game honors Friday.

Singer (6.1IP 2H R BB 4K ND in the 2-1 win over the White Sox) earns 1.0 Box-Toppers point, giving him 3.0 for the season, passing previous leader, Dodgers closing pitcher Evan Phillips (3.0 points), who falls to second place. Though both Singer and Phillips have 3.0 points on the season, Singer ranks higher because he has more 2023 points—5.0 vs. 1.0.

Singer previously earned 2.0 Box-Toppers points when he was overall Player of the Day on March 31.

Orioles closing pitcher Craig Kimbrel has now earned Box-Toppers points in 15 straight seasons after earning his first Player of the Game honor of 2024 Friday.

Craig Kimbrel streak

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
15 Craig Kimbrel pi cp Orioles 2010‑2024 89.1
14 Giancarlo Stanton rf dh Yankees 2010‑2023 75.9
14 Aroldis Chapman pi cp mr Pirates 2010‑2023 66.1
14 Freddie Freeman 1b Dodgers 2011‑2024 86.9
14 Kenley Jansen pi cp Red Sox 2011‑2024 65.4
13 Mike Trout cf Angels 2011‑2023 84.2
13 Brandon Belt 1b dh Free agent 2011‑2023 46.2
BTP*: Career Box-Toppers points

Orioles closing pitcher Craig Kimbrel has now earned Box-Toppers points in 15 straight seasons after earning his first Player of the Game honor of 2024 Friday.

Kimbrel (1IP 0H 0R 0BB 2K Sv in the 5-2 win over the Pirates) earned his first Box-Toppers point in 2010 with the Braves and now has 89.1 career points, first among active closers, ahead of Aroldis Chapman of the Pirates (66.1). He leads active AL closers in career points ahead of Kenley Jansen of the Red Sox (65.4). Since Box-Toppers tracking began in 1995, Kimbrel ranks behind only three retired closers in career points—Trevor Hoffman (128.4), Mariano Rivera (126.4) and Billy Wagner (108.7).

Kimbrel’s best season was 2012 with the Braves when he had 15.0 Box-Toppers points, first among NL closing pitchers and tied for the fourth-highest single-season Box-Toppers point total for a closing pitcher since 1998. Kimbrel earned 4.0 Box-Toppers points in 2023 with the Phillies, 13th among NL closers. He has earned just 1.0 point in a season four times—2010, 2019, 2020 and 2022.

His 15 consecutive seasons earning Box-Toppers points is now tied for the fourth-longest currently active streak. He’s one of six players with an active streak of 15 or more consecutive seasons earning Box-Toppers points.

Phillies pitcher Aaron Nola has now earned Box-Toppers points in 10 consecutive seasons after earning his first Player of the Game of 2024 Friday.

Aaron Nola streak

Phillies pitcher Aaron Nola has now earned Box-Toppers points in 10 consecutive seasons after earning his first Player of the Game of 2024 Friday.

Nola (5.2IP 2H 0R 4BB 4K W in the 4-0 win over the Nationals) earned his first points in 2015 with the Phillies and now has 102.7 career points, rising to 80th among all players since 1995 when Box-Toppers began. With 1.0 point earned Friday, he passes four players on Box-Toppers “all-time” career points list—Mark Teixeira (101.4), Tim Wakefield (101.4), Ken Griffey Jr. (102.2) and Miguel Tejada (102.3). Nola now trails 79th-ranked player Jamie Moyer (104.0).

Nola ranks 11th among active, signed players in career points and sixth among active NL pitchers.

Nola’s best season was 2018 with the Phillies when he had 21.1 Box-Toppers points, fifth overall and second among NL pitchers. He earned 12.0 points in 2023 with the Phillies, 12th among NL pitchers.

Notable

In addition to Singer, three other players earned their second Box-Toppers Player of the Game honor of 2024 Friday:

  • Giants pitcher Jordan Hicks (7IP 5H 2R ER 0BB 5K ND in the 3-2 win over the Padres) earns 1.0 Box-Toppers point, giving him 2.7 for the season, third overall. He also earned NL Player of the Day honors March 30.

  • Seiya Suzuki of the Cubs (2B SF 1-2 0R 3BI in the 9-7 win over the Dodgers) earns 1.0 Box-Toppers point, giving him 2.5 for the season, fourth overall. He also earned NL Batter of the Day honors April 3.

  • Brewers pitcher Freddy Peralta (5.2IP 4H 3R BB 7K ND in the 6-5 win over the Mariners) earns 1.0 Box-Toppers point, giving him 2.0 for the season, fifth overall. He also earned Player of the Game honors March 29.

Scoring

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

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

  • O’Neill earns 1.5 points for being AL 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.

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).

4/5 BTG Game Player AB R H BI IP H R ER BB K
MLB +7.2 TEX 10, HOU 2 Cody Bradford (W, 2‑0) ‑ ‑ ‑ ‑ 7.2 2 1 1 0 4
+6.1 `TOR 3, NYY 0 Yusei Kikuchi ‑ ‑ ‑ ‑ 5.1 4 0 0 2 7
+5.1 `KC 2, CHW 1 Brady Singer ‑ ‑ ‑ ‑ 6.1 2 1 1 1 4
NL +4.0 COL 10, TB 7 Ryan McMahon 3B 5 2 3 4 ‑ ‑ ‑ ‑ ‑ ‑
BAT +4.0 BOS 8, LAA 6 Tyler O’Neill RF 4 3 3 2 ‑ ‑ ‑ ‑ ‑ ‑
+4.0 `SF 3, SD 2 Jordan Hicks ‑ ‑ ‑ ‑ 7.0 5 2 1 0 5
+3.2 PHI 4, WSH 0 Aaron Nola (W, 1‑1) ‑ ‑ ‑ ‑ 5.2 2 0 0 4 4
+3.0 DET 5, OAK 4 Jason Foley (W, 2‑0) ‑ ‑ ‑ ‑ 1.0 0 0 0 0 2
+3.0 BAL 5, PIT 2 Craig Kimbrel (S, 1) ‑ ‑ ‑ ‑ 1.0 0 0 0 0 2
+3.0 `NYM 3, CIN 2 Adam Ottavino (H, 1) ‑ ‑ ‑ ‑ 1.0 0 0 0 0 2
+2.0 ATL 6, ARI 5 (F/10) Matt Olson 1B 4 2 2 2 ‑ ‑ ‑ ‑ ‑ ‑
+2.0 CHC 9, LAD 7 Seiya Suzuki RF 2 0 1 3 ‑ ‑ ‑ ‑ ‑ ‑
+1.2 `MIL 6, SEA 5 Freddy Peralta ‑ ‑ ‑ ‑ 5.2 4 3 3 1 7
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 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 (+/-).
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Player of the Game Pos Team ’24 ’23‑24 ’19‑24 Career +/‑
Singer, Brady 4337 pi sp kc al 3.0 8.0 26.7 26.7 -2.0
Hicks, Jordan 3991 pi sp cp sf nl 2.7 5.7 9.7 11.7 -0.3
Suzuki, Seiya 4924 rf chi nl 2.5 3.5 3.5 3.5 +1.5
Peralta, Freddy 3965 pi sp mil nl 2.0 19.7 49.8 58.5 -15.7
Bradford, Cody 4938 pi sp mr tex al 2.0 3.0 3.0 3.0 +1.0
McMahon, Ryan 4004 3b col nl 1.7 6.2 21.9 23.6 -2.8
O’Neill, Tyler 4074 rf lf bos al 1.5 1.5 20.0 22.0 +1.5
Nola, Aaron 3569 pi sp phi nl 1.0 13.0 57.1 102.7 -11.0
Kikuchi, Yusei 4136 pi sp tor al 1.0 11.0 28.4 28.4 -9.0
Olson, Matt 3836 1b atl nl 1.0 5.2 21.2 27.9 -3.2
Kimbrel, Craig 2825 pi cp bal al 1.0 5.0 14.7 89.1 -3.0
Foley, Jason 4906 pi mr cp det al 1.0 2.0 2.0 2.0 0.0
Ottavino, Adam 3054 pi mr cp nym nl 1.0 1.0 10.0 21.0 +1.0
What are those numbers after players' names?
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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 2024 (’24), this year and last year (’23-24), over a six-year period (’19-24) and their career point total.
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Game Starter ’24 ’23-24 ’19‑24 Career
OAK Blackburn, Paul 3869 1.0 5.7 9.7 12.7
DET Maeda, Kenta 3609 0.0 11.1 33.9 64.6
CLE Carrasco, Carlos 2885 0.0 1.7 24.1 111.5
MIN Ryan, Joe 4539 1.0 9.7 27.1 27.1
MIA Rogers, Trevor 4311 0.0 1.0 14.0 14.0
STL Matz, Steven 3516 0.0 4.0 26.1 48.4
BAL Wells, Tyler 4428 0.0 5.7 10.7 10.7
PIT Falter, Bailey 4473 0.0 4.7 9.7 9.7
LAD Yamamoto, Yoshinobu* 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0
CHC Wicks, Jordan 4912 0.0 1.0 1.0 1.0
PHI Suarez, Ranger 4228 0.0 3.7 18.7 18.7
WSH Irvin, Jake 4805 0.0 3.0 3.0 3.0
NYM Severino, Luis 3567 0.0 4.7 14.4 58.2
CIN Martinez, Nick 3430 0.0 7.4 12.4 19.1
HOU France, J.P. 4811 0.0 3.0 3.0 3.0
TEX Gray, Jon 3634 0.0 7.7 29.7 53.1
TOR Gausman, Kevin 3191 1.0 19.7 50.1 89.1
NYY Schmidt, Clarke 4581 0.0 2.0 6.4 6.4
CHW Flexen, Chris 4368 0.0 0.0 13.7 13.7
KC Wacha, Michael 3276 0.0 11.0 30.5 61.2
SEA Miller, Bryce 4797 0.0 13.1 13.1 13.1
MIL Hall, DL* 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0
ARI Pfaadt, Brandon 4812 1.0 4.7 4.7 4.7
ATL Fried, Max 4011 0.0 9.0 52.5 53.5
TB Alexander, Tyler 4196 0.0 2.7 12.7 12.7
COL Feltner, Ryan 4635 0.0 2.0 4.0 4.0
SD King, Michael 4549 0.0 9.0 14.7 14.7
SF Winn, Keaton 4931 0.0 1.0 1.0 1.0
BOS Whitlock, Garrett 4431 1.0 5.0 12.0 12.0
LAA Detmers, Reid 4513 1.0 7.7 15.7 15.7
Starters subject to change.
* Player has yet to earn any career Box-Toppers points.
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