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
▪️ Saturday’s Sidelights Sidebar
▪️ Subscribe to newsletter
▪️ Support Box-Toppers
Guardians pitcher Gavin Williams is Saturday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day.
Other Player of the Game winners Saturday include Phillies pitcher Cristopher Sánchez, Connor Norby of the Marlins and Josh Jung of the Rangers.
Player of the Day
Williams struck out eight over seven innings, allowing one run, four hits and one walk, in the 4-3 win over the Mariners.
Williams earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day, giving him 9.0 for the season, 43rd among all players and 22nd among American League pitchers.
National League Player of the Day
Phillies pitcher Cristopher Sánchez struck out eight over seven innings, allowing one run, seven hits and no walks, in the 3-2, 10-inning win over the Braves. Sánchez did not earn the win, picking up a no-decision, because the score was tied, 1-1, when he exited.
Sánchez earns 1.7 Box-Toppers points for being NL Player of the Day, giving him 12.7 for the season, 14th among all players and ninth among NL pitchers.
National League Batter of the Day
Connor Norby of the Marlins doubled, hit a sacrifice fly and went 1-for-2, scoring twice and driving in three runs, in the 11-8 win over the Mets.
American League Batter of the Day
Josh Jung of the Rangers hit two doubles and went 3-for-5, scoring twice and driving in two runs, in the 9-3 win over the Athletics.
Top 10 players
Here are the top 10 players in 2025 Box-Toppers points (BTP) earned in the regular season through Saturday, Aug. 30.| Player | Pos | Team | BTP | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Zack Wheeler | pi sp | Phillies | 20.1 |
| 2 | Tarik Skubal | pi sp | Tigers | 19.4 |
| 3 | Paul Skenes | pi sp | Pirates | 18.1 |
| 4 | Nick Pivetta | pi sp | Padres | 17.7 |
| 5 | Garrett Crochet | pi sp | Red Sox | 16.1 |
| 6 | Jesús Luzardo | pi sp | Phillies | 14.7 |
| 7 | Nathan Eovaldi | pi sp | Rangers | 14.4 |
| 8 | Sonny Gray | pi sp | Cardinals | 14.0 |
| 9 | Bryan Woo | pi sp | Mariners | 14.0 |
| 10 | Yoshinobu Yamamoto | pi sp | Dodgers | 14.0 |
Debut
Two players made their Box-Toppers debut Saturday, each with their first career Player of the Game honor:
Angels pitcher José Fermin (1IP 0H 0R 0BB 2K W in the 4-1 win over the Astros) made his Major League debut April 26 and was playing in his 29th career game.
Nathan Church of the Cardinals (1-3 0R 2BI in the 4-2 win over the Reds) made his Major League debut Aug. 17 and was playing in his 10th career game.
Scoring
Saturday’s Sidelights Sidebar
Box-Toppers post reviewing the day’s top pitchers, overlooked top performers & lowest Box-Toppers game scores is on Substack:
⬛ Blue Jays’ Gausman records day’s highest game score but earns no points in loss
Williams earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day.
Sánchez earns 1.7 points for being AL Player of the Day.
Norby and Jung each earn 1.5 points for being their league’s Batter of the Day.
All of Saturday’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.
Box-Toppers strives for accuracy. See a mistake in a post? A wrong name, wrong team, grammar error, spelling goof, etc.? Thanks for pointing it out! Contact Box-Toppers here. Let's fix it and make it right.
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Nick Pivetta #Padres remains in 4th in 2025 Box-Toppers points (17.7) after not winning Player of the Game honors Saturday in win vs. MIN (5IP 5H 3R BB 6K), with -1.0 B-T game score. Player of the Game—Elias Diaz #Padres (2HR 2-5 2R 3BI) with +2.0 game score. www.box-toppers.com/blog/2025/8/...
— Box-Toppers Baseball (@boxtoppers.bsky.social) Aug 31, 2025 at 3:35 PM
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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).| 8/30 | BTG | Game | Player of the Game | AB | R | H | BI | IP | H | R | ER | BB | K | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| MLB | +8.0 | CLE 4, SEA 3 | Gavin Williams (W, 9‑5) | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | 7.0 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 8 | |
| +7.0 | TB 4, WSH 1 | Ryan Pepiot (W, 10‑10) | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | 5.0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 6 | ||
| +7.0 | `NYY 5, CHW 3 (F/11) | Cam Schlittler | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | 6.0 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 8 | ||
| NL | +6.0 | `PHI 3, ATL 2 (F/10) | Cristopher Sánchez | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | 7.0 | 7 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 8 | |
| +5.0 | BAL 11, SF 1 | Trevor Rogers (W, 8‑2) | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | 7.0 | 5 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 5 | ||
| BAT | +4.0 | MIA 11, NYM 8 | Connor Norby 3B | 2 | 2 | 1 | 3 | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | |
| +3.0 | LAA 4, HOU 1 | José Fermin (W, 3‑2) | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | 1.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | ||
| +3.0 | CHC 4, COL 3 | Daniel Palencia (S, 21) | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | 1.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | ||
| +3.0 | `KC 3, DET 1 | Stephen Kolek | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | 6.0 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 3 | ||
| +3.0 | `MIL 4, TOR 1 | Quinn Priester | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | 6.0 | 5 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 3 | ||
| BAT | +2.0 | TEX 9, ATH 3 | Josh Jung 3B | 5 | 2 | 3 | 2 | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | |
| +2.0 | SD 12, MIN 3 | Elias Díaz C | 5 | 2 | 2 | 3 | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ||
| +2.0 | ARI 6, LAD 1 | Ildemaro Vargas 2B | 4 | 1 | 2 | 3 | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ||
| +2.0 | PIT 10, BOS 3 | Bryan Reynolds RF | 2 | 1 | 1 | 2 | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ||
| 0.0 | STL 4, CIN 2 | Nathan Church CF | 3 | 0 | 1 | 2 | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ |
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 | +/‑ |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sanchez, Cristopher 4850 | pi sp | phi nl | 12.7 | 24.1 | 28.1 | 28.1 | +1.3 |
| Rogers, Trevor 4311 | pi sp | bal al | 9.7 | 11.7 | 25.7 | 25.7 | +7.7 |
| Pepiot, Ryan 4714 | pi sp | tb al | 9.0 | 18.7 | 25.7 | 25.7 | -0.7 |
| Williams, Gavin 4865 | pi sp | cle al | 9.0 | 12.7 | 16.7 | 16.7 | +5.3 |
| Priester, Quinn 5059 | pi sp | mil nl | 9.0 | 10.0 | 10.0 | 10.0 | +8.0 |
| Kolek, Stephen 5046 | pi sp | kc al | 5.0 | 6.0 | 6.0 | 6.0 | +4.0 |
| Jung, Josh 4751 | 3b | tex al | 4.5 | 7.0 | 12.0 | 12.0 | +2.0 |
| Schlittler, Cam 5261 | pi sp | nyy al | 3.7 | 3.7 | 3.7 | 3.7 | +3.7 |
| Reynolds, Bryan 4169 | rf | pit nl | 3.5 | 9.0 | 31.7 | 34.7 | -2.0 |
| Norby, Connor 5188 | 3b | fla nl | 2.5 | 2.5 | 2.5 | 2.5 | +2.5 |
| Palencia, Daniel 4908 | pi mr cp | chi nl | 2.0 | 2.0 | 3.0 | 3.0 | +2.0 |
| Vargas, Ildemaro 3924 | 2b 3b | ari nl | 1.0 | 2.0 | 4.5 | 7.0 | 0.0 |
| Diaz, Elias 3813 | ca | sd nl | 1.0 | 1.0 | 10.0 | 13.5 | +1.0 |
| Church, Nathan 5273 | cf | stl nl | 1.0 | 1.0 | 1.0 | 1.0 | +1.0 |
| Fermin, José 5272 | pi mr | ana 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 Sunday’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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| STL | Pallante, Andre 4656 | 5.7 | 14.4 | 16.4 | 16.4 |
| CIN | Singer, Brady 4337 | 9.0 | 19.0 | 42.7 | 42.7 |
| SD | Morgan, David* | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 |
| MIN | Ryan, Joe 4539 | 10.7 | 20.4 | 46.5 | 46.5 |
| PIT | Keller, Mitch 4230 | 6.7 | 18.4 | 37.4 | 38.4 |
| BOS | Giolito, Lucas 3900 | 9.4 | 9.4 | 36.8 | 57.5 |
| TB | Seymour, Ian 5265 | 1.7 | 1.7 | 1.7 | 1.7 |
| WSH | Lord, Brad 5234 | 2.0 | 2.0 | 2.0 | 2.0 |
| MIL | Woodruff, Brandon 3868 | 6.7 | 6.7 | 58.6 | 68.3 |
| TOR | Scherzer, Max 2588 | 3.0 | 5.0 | 59.5 | 256.7 |
| MIA | Alcantara, Sandy 4061 | 6.0 | 6.0 | 46.8 | 53.2 |
| NYM | Senga, Kodai 4762 | 8.0 | 9.0 | 21.7 | 21.7 |
| SEA | Miller, Bryce 4797 | 2.0 | 17.7 | 30.8 | 30.8 |
| CLE | Bibee, Tanner 4792 | 4.0 | 18.0 | 26.7 | 26.7 |
| LAA | Soriano, Jose 4884 | 10.7 | 13.7 | 14.7 | 14.7 |
| HOU | Brown, Hunter 4729 | 12.4 | 24.4 | 35.5 | 35.5 |
| DET | Skubal, Tarik 4414 | 19.4 | 40.5 | 70.6 | 70.6 |
| KC | Wacha, Michael 3276 | 8.1 | 18.5 | 45.0 | 79.7 |
| NYY | Gil, Luis 4498 | 0.0 | 17.4 | 18.4 | 18.4 |
| CHW | Perez, Martin 3213 | 1.7 | 7.4 | 22.2 | 41.9 |
| CHC | Boyd, Matthew 3550 | 10.7 | 13.7 | 17.7 | 42.5 |
| COL | Gordon, Tanner 5230 | 1.0 | 1.0 | 1.0 | 1.0 |
| BAL | Sugano, Tomoyuki 5163 | 6.7 | 6.7 | 6.7 | 6.7 |
| SF | Verlander, Justin 2112 | 0.0 | 2.0 | 41.4 | 247.0 |
| TEX | deGrom, Jacob 3343 | 9.0 | 10.0 | 52.5 | 149.2 |
| ATH | Ginn, J.T. 5142 | 4.7 | 4.7 | 4.7 | 4.7 |
| ARI | Pfaadt, Brandon 4812 | 6.7 | 19.1 | 22.8 | 22.8 |
| LAD | Yamamoto, Yoshinobu 4964 | 14.0 | 20.4 | 20.4 | 20.4 |
| ATL | Waldrep, Hurston 5248 | 3.7 | 3.7 | 3.7 | 3.7 |
| PHI | Luzardo, Jesus 4282 | 14.7 | 16.7 | 50.6 | 50.6 |
* Player has yet to earn any career Box-Toppers points.
What are those numbers after players' names?
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