Kirby tops players in Friday’s ALDS Game 5, as Mariners eliminate Tigers in 15 innings

Mariners pitcher George Kirby is Box-Toppers Player of the Game in Friday’s American League Division Series Game 5.

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Mariners pitcher George Kirby is Box-Toppers Player of the Game in Friday’s American League Division Series Game 5, as the Seattle Mariners win the series, eliminating the Detroit Tigers.

The game took six extra innings to finish and was tied 2-2 from the seventh inning until Jorge Polanco of the Mariners hit a single with the bases loaded in the bottom of the 15th inning to win it, 3-2. However, Player of the Game winner Kirby’s contributions came entirely within the game’s first six innings.

AL Division Series Game 5: Mariners 3, Tigers 2 (F/15)

Mariners pitcher George Kirby struck out six over five innings, allowing one run, three hits and no walks.

Kirby exited after giving up a lead-off double to Javier Báez of the Tigers in the sixth inning, still holding a 1-0 lead after throwing 66 pitches. Mariners reliever Gabe Speier gave up a two-run home run to the next batter, Kerry Carpenter, giving the Tigers a 2-1 lead. So Kirby did not earn the win, picking up a no-decision, because the Tigers took the lead after he exited.

The Mariners win the best-of-five game series, 3-2, eliminating the Tigers.

Kirby earned 11.0 Box-Toppers points in 2025, 34th among all players and 19th among AL pitchers. He started in the ALDS Game 1 against the Tigers on Oct. 4, recording a +2.0 game score in the loss (5IP 6H 2R BB 8K ND).

His Box-Toppers game score Friday was +6.0 to lead all Mariners players. Luis Castillo, normally a starter, who served as what turned out to be a closer Friday, pitching in the 14th and 15th innings, picked up the win and recorded a +2.1 game score (1.1IP 0H 0R 0BB K W). Tigers top batter Mitch Garver had a 0.0 game score (SF 0-1 0R BI).

Tigers starting pitcher Tarik Skubal recorded a game-high +15.0 Box-Toppers game score in the loss.

Tigers starting pitcher Tarik Skubal recorded a game-high +15.0 Box-Toppers game score in the loss (6IP 2H R 0BB 13K ND). It’s the second time in this series he’s recorded the highest game score in a loss. In Game 2 on Oct. 5, Skubal had a game-high +6.0 Box-Toppers game score (7IP 5H 2R BB 9K ND), but the Tigers lost to the Mariners, also by a 3-2 score.

Kerry Carpenter of the Tigers had the highest Box-Toppers game score by all batters Friday of +2.0 (HR 4-5 R 2BI).

The Mariners advance to the AL Championship Series beginning Sunday in Toronto against the Blue Jays. It is a matchup of the 1977 expansion teams.

The Mariners were higher-ranked than the Tigers in Box-Toppers’ final team rankings for 2025. Mariners players accumulated 117.6 Box-Toppers points during the season, sixth overall and third among AL teams, while the Tigers had 109.3 points, 11th overall and sixth among AL teams.

The Tigers, however, had been one of Box-Toppers’ top teams through much of the season, leading AL teams for 14 of 16 weeks from May 15 to Sept. 4 and leading all teams for 10 of those weeks, including five straight weeks from July 31 to Aug. 28. They went 7-18 in September and lost their commanding lead in the AL Central, finishing second and barely clinging to the sixth and final Wild Card spot. The Mariners, meanwhile, held the second AL playoff seed.

All of Friday’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).
10/10 BTG Game Player of the Game AB R H BI   IP H R ER BB K
  +6.0 `SEA 3, DET 2 (F/15) George Kirby ‑ ‑ ‑ ‑   5.0 3 1 1 0 6
No Box-Toppers points are awarded in postseason games.
` 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 (+/-).
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Player of the Game Pos Team ’25 ’24‑25 ’20‑25 Career +/‑
Kirby, George 4595 pi sp sea al 11.0 26.4 51.5 51.5 -4.4
What are those numbers after players' names?
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Saturday’s pitching matchups (for more, see matchups chart below):

NL Division Series Game 5: Cubs at Brewers, series tied, 2-2

It appears to be a bullpen game as both teams feature opening pitchers who will likely appear only for an inning or two, to be replaced by a succession of pitchers.

Cubs—Drew Pomeranz, 0.0 Box-Toppers points in 2025, 1,728th among all players, 332nd among NL pitchers.

Pomeranz was Box-Toppers Player of the Game in the NLDS Game 3 win over the Brewers on Oct. 8 (1IP 0H 0R 0BB 2K W). He has made four “starts” in 2025, all one inning or less.

Pomeranz has not won a regular-season Player of the Game honor in more than five years, the last being July 28, 2020, with the Padres, his only Player of the Game honor that season. As a result, his overall rank of 1,728th is behind all 776 players who earned Box-Toppers points in 2025 and behind all 1,691 players who have earned Box-Toppers points since the start of the 2021 season.

Pomeranz earned no points in 27 relief appearances with the Padres in 2021. In August of that season, he underwent season-ending surgery to repair a torn flexor tendon. He did not appear in the Major Leagues in 2022, 2023 and 2024. He signed with the Cubs in April 2025 and appeared in 57 games this season. Pomeranz, 36, has 35.8 career Box-Toppers points earned from 2012 to 2020, including earning 12.4 in 2016 as a starting pitcher with the Padres and Red Sox, finishing the season 11th among American League pitchers.

Brewers—Trevor Megill, 3.0 Box-Toppers points in 2025, 311th among all players , 90th among NL pitchers and ninth among NL closing pitchers.

Megill appeared in 50 games for the Brewers in the 2025 regular season, closing 44 of them and earning 30 saves. He has two career “starts,” both in 2023 and both were one-inning appearances.

More details—Previews of NL Division Series.

A Box-Toppers look at Saturday’s League Division Series 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.
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Game Starter ’25 ’24‑25 ’20‑25 Career
CHC Pomeranz, Drew 3061 0.0 0.0 1.0 35.8
MIL Megill, Trevor 4531 3.0 9.0 10.0 10.0
Starters subject to change.
* Player has yet to earn any career Box-Toppers points.
What are those numbers after players' names?
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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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