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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 Shohei Ohtani tops players in Saturday’s four League Division Series opening games.
Other Player of the Game winners in Saturday’s League Division Series games:
Jackson Chourio of the Brewers.
Tigers pitcher Will Vest.
Vladimir Guerrero Jr. of the Blue Jays.
NL Division Series Game 1: Dodgers 5, Phillies 3
Dodgers pitcher Shohei Ohtani struck out nine over six innings, allowing three runs, three hits and one walk.
The Dodgers now lead the best-of-five seres, 1-0.
Ohtani had 5.5 Box-Toppers points in 2025, 171st overall and 55th among NL pitchers. Despite being a leading contender to repeat as National League Most Valuable Player, hitting 55 home runs and starting 14 games as a pitcher, Ohtani had a drop-off season in Box-Toppers points. He earned 11.0 points in 2024 (hitting 54 homers and driving in 130 runs), to lead NL batters. But in 2025, he had only half that many Box-Toppers points because other Dodgers players frequently beat him for Player of the Game honors in team wins. Ohtani earned 3.5 of his points as a batter, all June 27 and before. He earned 2.0 points as a pitcher, all July 12 and later.
Ohtani had a Box-Toppers game score Saturday of +5.0. Separately, he had a -4.0 game score as a batter (0-4 4K). Top Dodgers batter was Teoscar Hernández (HR 1-4 R 3BI) with a +1.0 game score. Phillies starting pitcher Cristopher Sánchez had a +3.2 game score in the loss (5.2IP 4H 2R 2BB 8K ND).
NL Division Series Game 1: Brewers 9, Cubs 3
Jackson Chourio doubled and went 3-for-3, scoring once and driving in three runs.
The Brewers now lead the best-of-five series, 1-0.
Chourio earned 5.0 Box-Toppers points in 2025, 37th among NL batters.
He had a Box-Toppers game score of +4.0 to lead Brewers players. Brewers starting pitcher Freddy Peralta had a +3.2 game score (5.2IP 4H 2R BB 9K W). Cubs starting pitcher Matthew Boyd recorded a -11.8 game score (0.2IP 4H 6R 2ER BB K L). Reliever Aaron Civale, who pitched the most innings for the Cubs, recorded a +4.1 game score in the loss (4.1IP 3H 0R 0BB 3K ND).
Chourio exited the game with tightness in his right hamstring and underwent an MRI, but said he was optimistic about playing in Game 2 on Monday.
AL Division Series Game 1: Tigers 3, Mariners 2 (F/11)
Tigers relief pitcher Will Vest struck out two over two scoreless and hitless innings, walking none.
The Tigers now lead the best-of-five series, 1-0.
Vest earned 6.0 Box-Toppers points in 2025, most among Saturday’s Player of the Game winners. He ranks 58th among AL pitchers and second among American League middle relievers.
Vest recorded a +4.0 Box-Toppers game score Saturday. Tigers starting pitcher Troy Melton had a +3.0 game score (4IP 2H R BB 4K ND). Mariners starting pitcher George Kirby had a +2.0 game score in the loss (5IP 6H 2R BB 8K ND). No Tigers batters had a positive game score. The best was -1.0 by Kerry Carpenter (HR 1-5 R 2BI).
AL Division Series Game 1: Blue Jays 10, Yankees 1
Vladimir Guerrero Jr. of the Blue Jays homered, hit a sacrifice fly and went 3-for-4, scoring once and driving in two runs.
The Blue Jays now lead the best-of-five series, 1-0.
Guererro earned 4.0 Box-Toppers points in 2025, 47th among AL batters.
Guerrero recorded a +2.0 Box-Toppers game score Saturday. Blue Jays starting pitcher Kevin Gausman had a +0.2 game score (5.2IP 4H R 2BB 3K W). Yankees starting pitcher Luis Gil had a -3.8 game score in the loss (2.2IP 4H 2R 0BB 2K L).
All of Saturday’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).| 10/4 | BTG | Game | Player of the Game | AB | R | H | BI | IP | H | R | ER | BB | K | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| +5.0 | LAD 5, PHI 3 | Shohei Ohtani (W, 1‑0) | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | 6.0 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 1 | 9 | ||
| +4.0 | MIL 9, CHC 3 | Jackson Chourio LF | 3 | 1 | 3 | 3 | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ||
| +4.0 | DET 3, SEA 2 (F/11) | Will Vest (W, 1‑0) | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | 2.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | ||
| +2.0 | TOR 10, NYY 1 | Vladimir Guerrero Jr. 1B | 4 | 1 | 3 | 2 | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ |
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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 | +/‑ |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Vest, Will 4608 | pi cp mr | det al | 6.0 | 7.0 | 10.0 | 10.0 | +5.0 |
| Ohtani, Shohei 3933 | dh pi sp | lad nl | 5.5 | 16.5 | 76.7 | 91.2 | -5.5 |
| Chourio, Jackson 4970 | lf cf | mil nl | 5.0 | 10.7 | 10.7 | 10.7 | -0.7 |
| Guerrero, Vladimir Jr. 4142 | 1b | tor al | 4.0 | 9.0 | 19.4 | 25.6 | -1.0 |
About Box-Toppers’ team abbreviations
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Sunday’s pitching matchups (for more, see matchups chart below):
AL Division Series Game 2: Yankees at Blue Jays
Yankees—Max Fried, 14.4 Box-Toppers points in 2025, 13th among all players and fifth among AL pitchers. (Fried started in the Wild Card series Game 1 loss to the Red Sox.)
Blue Jays—Trey Yesavage, 1.0 Box-Toppers point in 2025, tied for 709th among all players, tied for 194th among AL pitchers. Yesavage made his Major League debut Sept. 15 and has appeared in three regular season games.
More details—Previews of AL Division Series.
AL Division Series Game 2: Tigers at Mariners
Tigers—Tarik Skubal, 22.1 Box-Toppers points in 2025, first among all players. Skubal started Game 1 of the Wild Card series against the Guardians, leading the Tigers to a win and earning Player of the Game honors.
Mariners—Luis Castillo, 16.1 Box-Toppers points, ninth overall, fourth among AL pitchers.
A Box-Toppers look at Sunday’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.Back to top
| Game | Starter | ’25 | ’24‑25 | ’20‑25 | Career |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| NYY | Fried, Max 4011 | 14.4 | 27.8 | 70.3 | 81.3 |
| TOR | Yesavage, Trey 5287 | 1.0 | 1.0 | 1.0 | 1.0 |
| DET | Skubal, Tarik 4414 | 22.1 | 43.2 | 73.3 | 73.3 |
| SEA | Castillo, Luis Miguel 3840 | 16.1 | 26.8 | 66.9 | 97.7 |
* 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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