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Today’s key Box-Toppers numbers. Click links to jump to charts elsewhere on this page.▪️ Players of the Game
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Dodgers pitcher Yoshinobu Yamamoto tops players in Wednesday’s four Wild Card playoff games.
Other Player of the Game winners in Wednesday’s Wild Card series games:
Padres pitcher Dylan Cease.
Yankees closing pitcher David Bednar.
Guardians closing pitcher Cade Smith.
NL Wild Card Game 2: Dodgers 8, Reds 4
Dodgers pitcher Yoshinobu Yamamoto struck out nine over 6 2/3 innings, allowing two runs (none earned), four hits and two walks.
The Dodgers win the best-of-three series, 2-0.
Yamamoto earned 17.7 Box-Toppers points in 2025, seventh among all players and fourth among National League pitchers.
Yamamoto recorded a +7.2 Box-Toppers game score Wednesday to lead all Dodgers players. Top Dodgers batter was Mookie Betts with a +3.0 game score (3-2B 4-5 R 3BI). Reds starting pitcher Zack Littell had a -6.9 game score in the loss (3.1IP 6H 3R 0BB 2K L).
The Dodgers finished 2025 in fifth place overall in Box-Toppers team rankings with their players accumulating 117.9 points, third-most among NL teams. The Reds ranked 15th overall with 102.7 Box-Toppers points, the lowest among all NL postseason teams. The Dodgers are the third-seeded NL playoff team while the Reds were seeded sixth.
The Dodgers will face the Philadelphia Phillies, the second-seeded NL team, in the NL Divisional Series beginning Saturday in Philadelphia.
NL Wild Card Game 2: Padres 3, Cubs 0
Padres pitcher Dylan Cease struck out five over 3 2/3 scoreless innings, allowing three hits and no walks. Cease did not earn the win, picking up a no-decision, because he did not pitch the required five innings to earn the win.
The Padres tie the best-of-three series, 1-1, forcing Game 3 Thursday.
Cease earned 8.7 Box-Toppers points in 2025, 61st among all players, 24th among NL pitchers.
Cease had a +4.2 Box-Toppers game score Wednesday, leading all Padres players. Top Padres batter was Manny Machado (HR 1-4 R 2BI) with a 0.0 game score. Cubs opening pitcher Andrew Kittredge had a -2.0 game score (1IP 2H R 0BB K L). Shota Imanaga, who pitched the bulk of the game for the Cubs, also recorded a -2.0 game score (4IP 3H 2R 2BB 3K ND).
AL Wild Card Game 2: Yankees 4, Red Sox 3
Yankees closing pitcher David Bednar struck out two over one scoreless and hitless inning, walking none and picking up the save.
The Yankees tie the best-of-three series, 1-1, forcing Game 3 Thursday.
Bednar earned 7.0 Box-Toppers points in 2025, 110th among all players, 44th among American League pitchers and third among AL closing pitchers.
Bednar had a +3.0 Box-Toppers game score Wednesday to lead Yankees players. Yankees starting pitcher Carlos Rodón recorded a -1.0 game score (6IP 4H 3R 3BB 6K ND). Yankees top batter, Ben Rice, recorded a +1.0 game score (HR 2-4 R 2BI). Red Sox starting pitcher Brayan Bello recorded a -6.9 game score (2.1IP 4H 2R BB 0K ND).
AL Wild Card Game 2: Guardians 6, Tigers 1
Guardians closing pitcher Cade Smith struck out two over 1 1/3 scoreless and hitless innings, walking one and earning the win.
The Guardians tie the best-of-three series, 1-1, forcing Game 3 Thursday.
Smith earned 6.0 Box-Toppers points in 2025, 148th among all players, 57th among American League pitchers and fifth among AL closing pitchers.
Smith had a Box-Toppers game score Wednesday of +2.1. Guardians starting pitcher Tanner Bibbee had a +0.2 game score (4.2IP 5H R 3BB 6K ND). Guardians top batter Bo Naylor had a +1.0 game score (HR 1-4 R BI). Tigers starting pitcher Casey Mize had a -1.0 game score (3IP H R 2BB K ND).
All of Wednesday’s Player of the Game winners are listed in the chart.
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).| 10/1 | BTG | Game | Player of the Game | AB | R | H | BI | IP | H | R | ER | BB | K | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| +7.2 | LAD 8, CIN 4 | Yoshonobu Yamamoto (W, 1‑0) | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | 6.2 | 4 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 9 | ||
| +4.2 | `SD 3, CHC 0 | Dylan Cease | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | 3.2 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 5 | ||
| +3.0 | NYY 4, BOS 3 | David Bednar (S, 1) | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | 1.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | ||
| +2.1 | CLE 6, DET 1 | Cade Smith (W, 1‑0) | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | 1.1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 2 |
` 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 2025 (’25). Also shown is their point total for this season and last (’24-’25), the period 2020-2025 (’20-25) and each players’ career point total. Also shown is how their 2025 Box-Toppers point total compares with their 2024 total (+/-).Back to top
| Player of the Game | Pos | Team | ’25 | ’24‑25 | ’20‑25 | Career | +/‑ |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Yamamoto, Yoshinobu 4964 | pi sp | lad nl | 17.7 | 24.1 | 24.1 | 24.1 | +11.3 |
| Cease, Dylan 4231 | pi sp | sd nl | 8.7 | 29.8 | 74.6 | 76.6 | -12.4 |
| Bednar, David 4499 | pi cp | nyy al | 7.0 | 9.0 | 24.0 | 24.0 | +5.0 |
| Smith, Cade 5066 | pi cp | cle al | 6.0 | 8.0 | 8.0 | 8.0 | +4.0 |
About Box-Toppers’ team abbreviations
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Thursday’s pitching matchups (for more, see matchups chart below):
AL Wild Card Game 3, Tigers at Guardians, series tied, 1-1
Tigers—Jack Flaherty, 8.4 Box-Toppers points in 2025, 70th among all players, 30th among AL pitchers.
Guardians—Slade Cecconi, 6.0 Box-Toppers points in 2025, 146th among all players, 56th among AL pitchers.
More details—Previews of all four Wild Card series
NL Wild Card Game 3, Padres at Cubs, series tied, 1-1
Padres—Yu Darvish, 4.7 Box-Toppers points in 2025, 209th among all players, 67th among NL pitchers.
Cubs—Jameson Taillon, 10.1 Box-Toppers points in 2025, 42nd among all players, 17th among NL pitchers.
More details—Previews of all four Wild Card series
AL Wild Card Game 3, Red Sox at Yankees, series tied, 1-1
Red Sox—Connelly Early, 1.7 Box-Toppers points in 2025, 535th among all players, 148th among AL pitchers.
Yankees—Cam Schlittler, 7.4 Box-Toppers points in 2025, 93rd among all players, 38th among AL pitchers.
More details—Previews of all four Wild Card series
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. (No Box-Toppers points are awarded in postseason games.)
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A Box-Toppers look at Thursday’s Wild Card round 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 2025 (’25), this year and last year (’24-25), over a six-year period (’20-25) and their career point total.Back to top
| Game | Starter | ’25 | ’24‑25 | ’20‑25 | Career |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| DET | Flaherty, Jack 3971 | 8.4 | 20.4 | 36.1 | 65.7 |
| CLE | Cecconi, Slade 4913 | 6.0 | 8.0 | 9.0 | 9.0 |
| SD | Darvish, Yu 3003 | 4.7 | 13.4 | 60.0 | 144.4 |
| CHC | Taillon, Jameson 3658 | 10.1 | 18.1 | 43.2 | 69.6 |
| BOS | Early, Connelly 5282 | 1.7 | 1.7 | 1.7 | 1.7 |
| NYY | Schlittler, Cam 5261 | 7.4 | 7.4 | 7.4 | 7.4 |
* Player has yet to earn any career Box-Toppers points.
What are those numbers after players' names?
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