Box-Toppers Toppers Box
Today’s key Box-Toppers numbers. Click links to jump to charts elsewhere on this page.▪️ Players of the Game
▪️ B-T points of day’s top players
▪️ Top 10 players in 2025
▪️ Upcoming pitching matchups
▪️ Wednesday’s Sidelights Sidebar
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▪️ Support Box-Toppers
Padres pitcher Yu Darvish is Wednesday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day.
Top 10 players
Here are the top 10 players in 2025 Box-Toppers points (BTP) earned in the regular season through Wednesday’s, July 30.| Player | Pos | Team | BTP | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Zack Wheeler | pi sp | Phillies | 19.1 |
| 2 | Tarik Skubal | pi sp | Tigers | 16.4 |
| 3 | Nick Pivetta | pi sp | Padres | 14.7 |
| 4 | Paul Skenes | pi sp | Pirates | 14.4 |
| 5 | Garrett Crochet | pi sp | Red Sox | 13.1 |
| 6 | Yoshinobu Yamamoto | pi sp | Dodgers | 13.0 |
| 7 | Jesús Luzardo | pi sp | Phillies | 12.7 |
| 8 | Hunter Brown | pi sp | Astros | 12.4 |
| 9 | Bryan Woo | pi sp | Mariners | 12.0 |
| 10 | Carlos Rodón | pi sp | Yankees | 11.7 |
Other Player of the Game winners Wednesday include Athletics pitcher Jeffrey Springs, Jose Altuve of the Astros and Pete Crow-Armstrong of the Cubs.
Player of the Day
Darvish struck out seven over seven scoreless innings, allowing two hits and no walks, in the 5-0 win over the Mets.
Darvish earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day, his first points of the season, and is 296th among all players, 82nd among National League pitchers.
Darvish has now earned Box-Toppers points in 10 straight seasons with his first Player of the Game honor of 2025 and his first since Sept. 22, 2024. Darvish was out for the first half of the season with right elbow inflammation, making his season debut July 8. Wednesday was his fifth start of the season.
Darvish made his Box-Toppers debut in 2012 with the Rangers but earned no points in 2015, so his 10-season streak began in 2016 with the Rangers.
Darvish. 38, now has 141.7 career Box-Toppers points, 34th among all players since Box-Toppers tracking began in 1995. He trails 33rd-ranked player Jake Peavy (141.8). Darvish ranks seventh among active, signed players and fourth among active NL pitchers.
Darvish’s best seasons were 2012 with the Rangers and 2022 with the Padres, when he earned 16.8 Box-Toppers points each season. In 2012, he ranked fourth among American League pitchers and in 2022, he ranked 10th overall and seventh among NL pitchers. In the pandemic-shortened 2020 season, he earned 9.7 points with the Cubs, third overall and second among NL pitchers.
In 2024, Darvish earned 8.7 Box-Toppers points with the Padres, 34th among NL pitchers.
American League Player of the Day
Athletics pitcher Jeffrey Springs struck out seven over six innings, allowing one run, two hits and one walk, in the 5-4 win over the Mariners.
Springs earns 1.7 Box-Toppers points for being AL Player of the Day, giving him 7.7 for the season, 29th among all players and 18th among AL pitchers.
American League Batter of the Day
Jose Altuve of the Astros hit a three-run home run and went 4-for-4, scoring three times and driving in three runs, in the 9-1 win over the Nationals.
Altuve earns 1.5 Box-Toppers points for being AL Batter of the Day, giving him 7.0 for the season, 52nd among all players and fourth among AL batters.
Career Box-Toppers points—Active NL pitchers 1—Clayton Kershaw #Dodgers 276.1 2—Justin Verlander #SFGiants 247.0 3—Chris Sale #Braves 179.8 4—Yu Darvish #Padres 141.7* 5—Zack Wheeler #Phillies 124.1 6—Sonny Gray #STLCards 121.3 *Earns 2.0 B-T points Wednesday www.box-toppers.com/blog/2025/7/...
— Box-Toppers Baseball (@boxtoppers.bsky.social) Jul 31, 2025 at 9:51 AM
2025 Box-Toppers points—AL batters 1—Riley Greene #Tigers 9.0 2—George Springer #BlueJays 8.7 3—Wilyer Abreu #RedSox 8.5 4—Jose Altuve #Astros 7.0* 5—Salvador Perez #Royals 6.5 6—José Ramírez #Guardians 6.0 *Earns 1.5 B-T points as Wednesday’s AL Batter of the Day www.box-toppers.com/blog/2025/7/...
— Box-Toppers Baseball (@boxtoppers.bsky.social) Jul 31, 2025 at 10:01 AM
2025 Box-Toppers points—NL batters 1—Christian Yelich #Brewers 9.7 2—Seiya Suzuki #Cubs 9.5 3—Pete Crow-Armstrong #Cubs 9.5* 4—James Wood #Nationals 7.7 5—Pete Alonso #Mets 7.2 6—Kyle Stowers #Marlins 7.0 *Earns 1.5 B-T points as Wednesday’s NL Batter of the Day www.box-toppers.com/blog/2025/7/...
— Box-Toppers Baseball (@boxtoppers.bsky.social) Jul 31, 2025 at 10:06 AM
National League Batter of the Day
Pete Crow-Armstrong of the Cubs hit two doubles and went 3-for-4, scoring twice and driving in one run, in the 10-3 win over the Brewers.
Crow-Armstrong earns 1.5 Box-Toppers points for being NL Batter of the Day, giving him 9.5 for the season, most among Wednesday’s Player of the Game winners, 22nd among all players and third among NL batters, behind Christian Yelich of the Brewers (9.7 points) and Seiya Suzuki of the Cubs (9.5 points). Though Suzuki and Crow-Armstrong both have 9.5 points in 2025, Suzuki ranks higher because he has more 2024 points—6.0 vs. 1.0.
Debut
Royals pitcher Jonathan Bowlan made his Box-Toppers debut Wednesday with his first career Player of the Game honor.
Bowlan (2IP 0H 0R BB 3K ND in the 1-0, 10-inning win over the Braves) made his Major League debut Sept. 27, 2023, and was playing in his 22nd career game.
Scoring
Darvish earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day.
Springs earns 1.7 points for being AL Player of the Day.
Altuve and Crow-Armstrong each earn 1.5 points for being their league’s Batter of the Day.
All of Wednesday’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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Wednesday’s Sidelights Sidebar
Reviewing the day’s top pitchers, overlooked top performers & lowest Box-Toppers game scores.Top pitching matchup
Result—CHC 10, MIL 3A Box-Toppers look at Wednesday’s pitching matchups Notable—CHC at MIL Shota Imanaga #Cubs 26.7 B-T points over 2024-25, 4th* Freddy Peralta #Brewers 21.4 B-T points over 2024-25, 8th* *Rank among NL pitchers, 2024-25 All Wednesday pitching matchups: www.box-toppers.com/blog/2025/7/...
— Box-Toppers Baseball (@boxtoppers.bsky.social) Jul 30, 2025 at 11:21 AM
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Neither starter was Player of the Game.
Shota Imanaga, Cubs, had +2.0 B-T game socre (5IP 5H 3R 0BB 8K W).
Freddy Peralta, Brewers, had -12.0 B-T game score in loss (4IP 5H 5R 4BB 3K L), 3rd-lowest among all players Wednesday.
Player of the Game—Pete Crow-Armstrong, Cubs (2-2B 3-4 2R BI) with +2.0 game score.
In cases of game score ties, batters beat pitchers, so though Imanaga and Crow-Armstrong both had +2.0 game scores, Crow-Armstrong won Player of the Game honors.
High scores, no points
Highest Box-Toppers game scores for the day among players who did not earn Player of the Game honors:▪️+9.2—Joey Wentz, Braves (6.2IP H 0R 3BB 7K ND)
Was not Player of the Game in loss vs. KC
Player of the Game—Jonathan Bowlan (2IP 0H 0R BB 3K ND) with +4.0 game score.
▪️+7.0—Juan Mejia, Rockies (3IP 0H 0R 0BB 4K ND)
Was not Player of the Game in loss vs. CLE.
Player of the Game—Kolby Allard, Guardians (3.1IP H 0R 0BB 5K ND) with +7.1 game score.
▪️+5.2—Logan Webb, Giants (5.2IP 5H R 4BB 11K ND)
Was not Player of the Game in loss vs. PIT.
Player of the Game—Mike Burrows, Pirates (6IP 3H R BB 7K ND) with +7.0 game score.
Lowest Box-Toppers game scores
Out of 446 total players Wednesday, 137 pitchers-18.9—Max Lazar, Phillies (0.1IP 7H 6R 0BB 0K L vs. CHW)
-13.8—Yennier Cano, Orioles
-12.0—Freddy Peralta, Brewers
-11.9—MacKenzie Gore, Nationals
Lowest Box-Toppers game scores by batters
Out of 309 total batters Wednesday-5.0—Mookie Betts, Dodgers 0-5 K
-5.0—Shohei Ohtani, Dodgers 0-5 K
-4.0—Javier Báez, Tigers 0-4 3K
-4.0—Matt McLain, Reds 0-4 3K
-4.0—Eli White, Braves 0-4 3K
-4.0—Bobby Witt Jr., Royals 0-4 3K
Box-Toppers uses Baseball-Reference.com, MLB.com and other sources to compile this information.
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).| 7/30 | BTG | Game | Player of the Game | AB | R | H | BI | IP | H | R | ER | BB | K | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| MLB | +12.0 | SD 5, NYM 0 | Yu Darvish (W, 1‑3) | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | 7.0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 7 | |
| AL | +8.0 | ATH 5, SEA 4 | Jeffrey Springs (W, 10‑7) | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | 6.0 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 7 | |
| +7.1 | `CLE 5, COL 0 | Kolby Allard | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | 3.1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5 | ||
| +7.0 | `PIT 2, SF 1 (F/10) | Mike Burrows | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | 6.0 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 7 | ||
| BAT | +6.0 | HOU 9, WSH 1 | Jose Altuve 2B | 4 | 3 | 4 | 3 | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | |
| +6.0 | DET 7, ARI 2 | Chris Paddack (W, 4‑9) | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | 6.0 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 5 | ||
| +5.0 | BOS 13, MIN 1 | Jarren Duran CF | 5 | 3 | 3 | 4 | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ||
| +4.0 | `CHW 9, PHI 3 | Mike Vasil (W, 5‑3) | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | 4.0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | ||
| +4.0 | `KC 1, ATL 0 (F/10) | Jonathan Bowlan | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | 2.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 3 | ||
| +3.0 | TOR 9, BAL 8 | Myles Straw CF | 4 | 1 | 3 | 3 | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ||
| +3.0 | MIA 2, STL 0 | Cal Quantrill (W, 4‑8) | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | 5.0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 3 | ||
| +3.0 | TEX 6, LAA 3 | Robert Garcia (S, 9) | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | 1.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | ||
| +3.0 | `CIN 5, LAD 2 | Nick Martinez | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | 6.0 | 4 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 7 | ||
| BAT | +2.0 | CHC 10, MIL 3 | Pete Crow‑Armstrong CF | 4 | 2 | 3 | 1 | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | |
| +1.0 | NYY 5, TB 4 (F/11) | Trent Grisham CF | 3 | 2 | 1 | 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 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 | +/‑ |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Crow‑Armstrong, Pete 5073 | cf | chi nl | 9.5 | 10.5 | 10.5 | 10.5 | +8.5 |
| Springs, Jeffrey 4372 | pi sp | oak al | 7.7 | 12.7 | 30.1 | 30.1 | +2.7 |
| Altuve, Jose 3007 | lf 2b | hou al | 7.0 | 11.0 | 29.0 | 66.5 | +3.0 |
| Quantrill, Cal 4195 | pi sp | fla nl | 6.7 | 11.7 | 27.4 | 29.4 | +1.7 |
| Martinez, Nick 3430 | pi sp | cin nl | 4.7 | 14.4 | 26.8 | 33.5 | -5.0 |
| Grisham, Trent 4246 | cf | nyy al | 4.7 | 7.2 | 16.7 | 19.2 | +2.2 |
| Duran, Jarren 4783 | lf cf | bos al | 3.5 | 6.0 | 13.5 | 13.5 | +1.0 |
| Paddack, Chris 4093 | pi sp | det al | 3.0 | 8.7 | 18.7 | 34.5 | -2.7 |
| Garcia, Robert 4892 | pi cp | tex al | 3.0 | 3.0 | 4.0 | 4.0 | +3.0 |
| Darvish, Yu 3003 | pi sp | sd nl | 2.0 | 10.7 | 57.3 | 141.7 | -6.7 |
| Straw, Myles 4152 | lf cf | tor al | 2.0 | 2.0 | 4.5 | 5.5 | +2.0 |
| Burrows, Mike 5196 | pi sp | pit nl | 2.0 | 2.0 | 2.0 | 2.0 | +2.0 |
| Vasil, Mike 5187 | pi mr | chi al | 2.0 | 2.0 | 2.0 | 2.0 | +2.0 |
| Allard, Kolby 4232 | pi sp mr | cle al | 1.0 | 1.0 | 4.0 | 6.0 | +1.0 |
| Bowlan, Jonathan 5237 | pi mr | kc al | 1.0 | 1.0 | 1.0 | 1.0 | +1.0 |
About Box-Toppers’ team abbreviations
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A Box-Toppers look at Thursday’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 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| TB | Pepiot, Ryan 4714 | 7.0 | 16.7 | 23.7 | 23.7 |
| NYY | Stroman, Marcus 3327 | 1.0 | 4.0 | 27.4 | 66.2 |
| ATL | Carrasco, Carlos 2885 | 1.0 | 2.7 | 19.1 | 114.2 |
| CIN | Abbott, Andrew 4839 | 8.7 | 13.7 | 24.7 | 24.7 |
| TEX | Rocker, Kumar 5108 | 4.7 | 5.7 | 5.7 | 5.7 |
| SEA | Kirby, George 4595 | 5.0 | 20.4 | 45.5 | 45.5 |
* Player has yet to earn any career Box-Toppers points.
What are those numbers after players' names?
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