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
▪️ Sunday’s Sidelights Sidebar
▪️ Subscribe to newsletter
▪️ Support Box-Toppers
Nationals pitcher MacKenzie Gore is Sunday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day.
Also Sunday, Phillies pitcher Zack Wheeler extends his lead in Box-Toppers season player rankings—becoming the first player to 20 Box-Toppers points for the second year in a row—after earning Player of the Game honors.
In addition, Cardinals pitcher Sonny Gray rises to sixth place in Box-Toppers season player rankings after earning Player of the Game honors.
Other Player of the Game winners Sunday include Noelvi Marte of the Reds, Astros pitcher Jason Alexander and Kerry Carpenter of the Tigers.
Player of the Day
Gore struck out 10 over six scoreless innings, allowing three hits and one walk, in the 8-0 win over the Giants.
Gore earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day, giving him 8.7 for the season, 32nd among all players and 13th among National League pitchers.
American League Player of the Day
Astros pitcher Jason Alexander struck out three over six scoreless innings, allowing one hit and three walks, in the 7-1 win over the Yankees.
Alexander earns 1.7 Box-Toppers points for being AL Player of the Day, giving him 3.4 for the season, 68th among AL pitchers.
National League Batter of the Day
Noelvi Marte of the Reds hit a three-run homer, doubled and went 3-for-5, scoring three times and driving in four runs, in the 14-8 win over the Pirates.
American League Batter of the Day
Kerry Carpenter of the Tigers hit a three-run home run, doubled, hit a sacrifice fly and went 2-for-4, scoring twice and driving in four runs, in the 9-5 win over the Angels.
Top 10 players
Here are the top 10 players in 2025 Box-Toppers points (BTP) earned in the regular season through Sunday, Aug. 10.| Player | Pos | Team | BTP | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Zack Wheeler | pi sp | Phillies | 20.1 |
| 2 | Tarik Skubal | pi sp | Tigers | 17.4 |
| 3 | Paul Skenes | pi sp | Pirates | 16.1 |
| 4 | Nick Pivetta | pi sp | Padres | 15.7 |
| 5 | Garrett Crochet | pi sp | Red Sox | 14.1 |
| 6 | Sonny Gray | pi sp | Cardinals | 14.0 |
| 7 | Yoshinobu Yamamoto | pi sp | Dodgers | 14.0 |
| 8 | Bryan Woo | pi sp | Mariners | 13.0 |
| 9 | Jesús Luzardo | pi sp | Phillies | 12.7 |
| 10 | Nathan Eovaldi | pi sp | Rangers | 12.4 |
Rankings
Wheeler extends lead
Phillies pitcher Zack Wheeler extends his lead in Box-Toppers season player rankings after earning Player of the Game honors Sunday.
Wheeler (5IP 3H 2R 3BB 7K W in the 4-2 win over the Rangers) earns 1.0 Box-Toppers point, giving him 20.1 for the season. He is now 2.7 points ahead of second-place player, Tigers pitcher Tarik Skubal (17.4), meaning Skubal would now need at least two starts (earning a maximum of 2.0 points in each start) to catch or pass Wheeler.
Wheeler also leads NL pitchers, 4.0 points ahead of Paul Skenes of the Pirates (16.1 points).
Wheeler becomes the first player to reach 20 Box-Toppers points in 2025. It is his third season with 20 or more and his second in a row. He also did it:
In 2021 with the Philies, when he had 21.1 points, third overall and second among NL pitchers.
In 2024 with the Phillies, when he had 21.4 points, first overall.
Wheeler was also the first player to reach 20 points in 2024, but reached the milestone a full month later into the season, on Sept. 11. (Three players reached 20.0 points in 2024.)
Wheeler has held the 2025 season lead in Box-Toppers points since May 11.
Wheeler also now has 125.1 career Box-Toppers points, rising to 47th among all players since Box-Toppers tracking began in 1995. With his 1.0 point Sunday, Wheeler passes two players on the “all-time” career points list—Lance Lynn (124.5) and Corey Kluber (125.1). Wheeler now trails 46th-ranked player Mariano Rivera (126.4).
Wheeler ranks eighth among active, signed players in career points, fifth among active NL pitchers.
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 125.1* 6—Sonny Gray #STLCards 124.3* *Earns 1.0 B-T point Sunday www.box-toppers.com/blog/2025/8/...
— Box-Toppers Baseball (@boxtoppers.bsky.social) Aug 11, 2025 at 8:31 AM
Gray rises to sixth
Cardinals pitcher Sonny Gray rises from seventh to sixth place in Box-Toppers season player rankings after earning Player of the Game honors Sunday.
Gray (7IP 5H 2R ER BB 7K W in the 3-2 win over the Cubs) earns 1.0 Box-Toppers point, giving him 14.0 for the season. He ranks fourth among NL pitchers.
Gray now has 124.3 career Box-Toppers points, rising to 50th among all players since Box-Toppers tracking began in 1995. With his 1.0 point Sunday, he passes Gary Sheffield (124.1) on the “all-time” career points list. (Sheffield began his career before the 1995 advent of Box-Toppers. If his entire career from 1988 were tracked, Box-Toppers estimates his career total at 155.) Gray now trails 49th-ranked player Lance Lynn (124.5).
Gray ranks ninth among active, signed players in career points, sixth among active NL pitchers.
Scoring
Gore earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day.
Alexander earns 1.7 points for being AL Player of the Day.
Marte and Carpenter each earn 1.5 points for being their league’s Batter of the Day.
All of Sunday’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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Sunday’s Sidelights Sidebar
Reviewing the day’s top pitchers, overlooked top performers & lowest Box-Toppers game scores.Top pitching matchup
Result—STL 3, CHC 2A Box-Toppers look at Sunday’s pitching matchups Notable—CHC at STL Shota Imanaga #Cubs 26.7 B-T points over 2024-25, 4th* Sonny Gray #STLCards 25.4 B-t points over 2024-25, 7th* *Rank among NL pitchers, 2024-25 All Sunday pitching matchups: www.box-toppers.com/blog/2025/8/...
— Box-Toppers Baseball (@boxtoppers.bsky.social) Aug 10, 2025 at 11:22 AM
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Sonny Gray, Cardinals, was Player of the Game (7IP 5H 2R ER BB 7K W) with +5.0 B-T game score. Shota Imanaga, Cubs, had +5.2 B-T game score in loss (6.2IP 4H 3R 0BB 9K L), second-best game score among all Sunday players and highest among those who did not win Player of the Game honors.
Gray earns 1.0 B-T point, giving him 26.4 over 2024-25, rising to 6th among NL pitchers over that span.
High scores, no points
Highest Box-Toppers game scores for the day among players who did not earn Player of the Game honors:▪️+5.2—Shota Imanaga, Cubs (6.2IP 4H 3R 0BB 9K L)
Was not Player of the Game in loss vs. STL
Player of the Game—Sonny Gray, Cardinals (7IP 5H 2R ER BB 7K W) with +5.0 game score.
▪️+5.0—Miguel Andujar, Reds (HR 2-3 3R 3BI)
Was not Player of the Game in win vs. PIT.
Player of the Game—Teammate Noelvi Marte (HR 2B 3-5 3R 4BI) with +5.0 game score.
Though they both had +5.0 game scores, Marte beat Andujar for Player of the Game honors on a tiebreaker, with more at bats (5 vs. 3).
▪️+4.2—Ryan Bergert, Royals (5.2IP 4H 2R BB 8K ND)
Was not Player of the Game in loss vs. MIN
Player of the Game—Michael Tonkin, Twins (2IP 0H 0R 2BB 2K W) with +2.0 game score.
Lowest Box-Toppers game scores
Out of 456 total players Sunday, 136 pitchers-21.8—Tanner Gordon, Rockies (4.2IP 12H 10R 0BB 6K L vs. ARI)
-20.0—Jack Kochanowicz, Angels
-16.9—Quinn Priester, Brewers
-15.9—Cam Sanders, Pirates
-12.0—Slade Cecconi, Guardians
Lowest Box-Toppers game scores by batters
Out of 320 total batters Sunday-5.0—Shea Langeliers, Athletics 0-5 2K
-5.0—Mickey Moniak, Rockies 0-5 2K
-5.0—Jeremy Peña, Astros 0-5 2K
-5.0—Josh Smith, Rangers 0-5 2K
-5.0—Jonathan India, Royals 0-5 K
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).| 8/10 | BTG | Game | Player of the Game | AB | R | H | BI | IP | H | R | ER | BB | K | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| MLB | +12.0 | WSH 8, SF 0 | MacKenzie Gore (W, 5‑12) | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | 6.0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 10 | |
| +5.2 | `MIL 7, NYM 6 | DL Hall | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | 3.2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 4 | ||
| BAT | +5.0 | CIN 14, PIT 8 | Noelvi Marte RF | 5 | 3 | 3 | 4 | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | |
| +5.0 | STL 3, CHC 2 | Sonny Gray (W, 11‑5) | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | 7.0 | 5 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 7 | ||
| AL | +5.0 | HOU 7, NYY 1 | Jason Alexander (W, 3‑1) | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | 6.0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 3 | |
| BAT | +4.0 | DET 9, LAA 5 | Kerry Carpenter RF | 4 | 2 | 2 | 4 | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | |
| +3.2 | `ATH 3, BAL 2 | Tyler Ferguson | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | 1.2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | ||
| +3.0 | ARI 13, COL 6 | Adrian Del Castillo DH | 5 | 2 | 3 | 3 | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ||
| +3.0 | CHW 6, CLE 4 | Lenyn Sosa 2B | 3 | 1 | 2 | 3 | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ||
| +3.0 | SD 6, BOS 2 | Dylan Cease (W, 5‑10) | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | 6.0 | 4 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 7 | ||
| +2.0 | ATL 7, MIA 1 | Matt Olson 1B | 3 | 2 | 2 | 1 | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ||
| +2.0 | SEA 6, TB 3 | Josh Naylor 1B | 2 | 2 | 1 | 1 | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ||
| +2.0 | PHI 4, TEX 2 | Zack Wheeler (W, 10‑5) | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | 5.0 | 3 | 2 | 2 | 3 | 7 | ||
| +2.0 | MIN 5, KC 3 (F/11) | Michael Tonkin (W, 1‑0) | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | 2.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 2 | ||
| +1.2 | TOR 5, LAD 4 | Mason Fluharty (S, 1) | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | 0.2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 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 | +/‑ |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wheeler, Zack 3204 | pi sp | phi nl | 20.1 | 41.5 | 92.7 | 125.1 | -1.3 |
| Gray, Sonny 3259 | pi sp | stl nl | 14.0 | 26.4 | 60.0 | 124.3 | +1.6 |
| Cease, Dylan 4231 | pi sp | sd nl | 8.7 | 29.8 | 74.6 | 76.6 | -12.4 |
| Gore, MacKenzie 4582 | pi sp | dc nl | 8.7 | 16.7 | 28.4 | 28.4 | +0.7 |
| Sosa, Lenyn 4907 | 2b | chi al | 6.0 | 9.5 | 11.0 | 11.0 | +2.5 |
| Naylor, Josh 4154 | dh 1b | sea al | 4.5 | 13.5 | 24.0 | 25.5 | -4.5 |
| Olson, Matt 3836 | 1b | atl nl | 3.5 | 8.0 | 24.2 | 34.9 | -1.0 |
| Carpenter, Kerry 4711 | dh rf | det al | 3.5 | 7.5 | 12.0 | 12.0 | -0.5 |
| Alexander, Jason 5241 | pi sp | hou al | 3.4 | 3.4 | 3.4 | 3.4 | +3.4 |
| Marte, Noelvi 5045 | 3b rf | cin nl | 3.0 | 5.5 | 5.5 | 5.5 | +0.5 |
| Ferguson, Tyler 5069 | pi mr cp | oak al | 3.0 | 5.0 | 5.0 | 5.0 | +1.0 |
| Hall, DL 5097 | pi sp mr | mil nl | 2.0 | 3.0 | 3.0 | 3.0 | +1.0 |
| Fluharty, Mason 5197 | pi mr cp | tor al | 2.0 | 2.0 | 2.0 | 2.0 | +2.0 |
| Del Castillo, Adrian 5087 | dh ca | ari nl | 1.0 | 2.5 | 2.5 | 2.5 | -0.5 |
| Tonkin, Michael 3615 | pi cp mr | min al | 1.0 | 1.0 | 7.0 | 9.0 | +1.0 |
About Box-Toppers’ team abbreviations
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A Box-Toppers look at Monday’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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| PHI | Walker, Taijuan 3453 | 4.0 | 5.0 | 35.8 | 62.2 |
| CIN | Abbott, Andrew 4839 | 8.7 | 13.7 | 24.7 | 24.7 |
| MIN | Matthews, Zebby 5186 | 3.0 | 3.0 | 3.0 | 3.0 |
| NYY | Warren, Will 5143 | 8.4 | 8.4 | 8.4 | 8.4 |
| DET | Paddack, Chris 4093 | 3.0 | 8.7 | 18.7 | 34.5 |
| CHW | Peguero, Elvis 4864 | 0.0 | 1.0 | 2.0 | 2.0 |
| PIT | Heaney, Andrew 3515 | 8.7 | 17.7 | 45.5 | 65.2 |
| MIL | Quintana, Jose 3040 | 1.0 | 11.0 | 23.4 | 94.1 |
| WSH | Cavalli, Cade 5244 | 1.0 | 1.0 | 1.0 | 1.0 |
| KC | Falter, Bailey 4473 | 5.7 | 9.4 | 19.1 | 19.1 |
| COL | Dollander, Chase 5169 | 1.0 | 1.0 | 1.0 | 1.0 |
| STL | Mikolas, Miles 3034 | 7.0 | 11.0 | 29.8 | 47.2 |
| ARI | Nelson, Ryne 4728 | 8.4 | 16.8 | 25.2 | 25.2 |
| TEX | Eovaldi, Nathan 2928 | 12.4 | 25.4 | 59.2 | 94.7 |
| BOS | Crochet, Garrett 4434 | 14.1 | 24.8 | 25.8 | 25.8 |
| HOU | Javier, Cristian 4290 | 0.0 | 1.0 | 31.7 | 31.7 |
| LAD | Yamamoto, Yoshinobu 4964 | 14.0 | 20.4 | 20.4 | 20.4 |
| LAA | Soriano, Jose 4884 | 7.7 | 10.7 | 11.7 | 11.7 |
| SD | Darvish, Yu 3003 | 2.0 | 10.7 | 57.3 | 141.7 |
| SF | Webb, Logan 4258 | 6.0 | 17.0 | 55.6 | 57.3 |
| TB | Pepiot, Ryan 4714 | 7.0 | 16.7 | 23.7 | 23.7 |
| ATH | Springs, Jeffrey 4372 | 7.7 | 12.7 | 30.1 | 30.1 |
* Player has yet to earn any career Box-Toppers points.
What are those numbers after players' names?
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