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
▪️ Subscribe to newsletter
▪️ Support Box-Toppers
Cubs pitcher Cade Horton is Wednesday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day.
Other Player of the Game winners Wednesday include Blue Jays pitcher Kevin Gausman, Junior Caminero of the Rays and Blake Perkins of the Brewers.
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, Aug. 6.| Player | Pos | Team | BTP | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Zack Wheeler | pi sp | Phillies | 19.1 |
| 2 | Tarik Skubal | pi sp | Tigers | 17.4 |
| 3 | Nick Pivetta | pi sp | Padres | 15.7 |
| 4 | Paul Skenes | pi sp | Pirates | 14.4 |
| 5 | Garrett Crochet | pi sp | Red Sox | 14.1 |
| 6 | Yoshinobu Yamamoto | pi sp | Dodgers | 14.0 |
| 7 | Sonny Gray | pi sp | Cardinals | 13.0 |
| 8 | Bryan Woo | pi sp | Mariners | 13.0 |
| 9 | Jesús Luzardo | pi sp | Phillies | 12.7 |
| 10 | Nathan Eovaldi | pi sp | Rangers | 12.4 |
Horton struck out six over 5 2/3 scoreless innings, allowing two hits and no walks, in the 6-1 win over the Reds.
Horton earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day, giving him 5.0 for the season, 130th among all players and 46th among National League pitchers.
American League Player of the Day
Blue Jays pitcher Kevin Gausman struck out eight over seven innings, allowing one run, three hits and two walks, in the 20-1 win over the Rockies.
Gausman earns 1.7 Box-Toppers points for being AL Player of the Day, giving him 10.4 for the season, 17th among all players and 10th among AL pitchers.
Gausman becomes the 18th player to reach 10 Box-Toppers points in 2025. It is his seventh season with 10 or more points and fifth in a row. His best season was 2023 with the Blue Jays, when he had 18.7 Box-Toppers points, fourth overall and third among AL pitchers. In 2024, he had 10.0 points with the Blue Jays, 26th among AL pitchers.
Gausman also now has 108.5 career Box-Toppers points, 75th-most among all players since Box-Toppers tracking began in 1995. With his 1.7 points Wednesday, he passes two players on the “all-time” career points list—Lance Berkman (108.1) and Kevin Millwood (108.3). He now trails 74th-ranked player Gio Gonzalez (108.6).
Gausman ranks 13th among active, signed players in career points, fifth among active AL pitchers.
American League Batter of the Day
Junior Caminero of the Rays hit two home runs and went 2-for-4, scoring twice and driving in three runs, in the 5-4 win over the Angels.
Caminero earns 1.5 Box-Toppers points for being AL Batter of the Day, giving him 7.0 for the season, 66th among all players and seventh among AL batters.
National League Batter of the Day
Blake Perkins of the Brewers homered, doubled and went 3-for-5, scoring twice and driving in two runs, in the 5-4 win over the Braves.
Career Box-Toppers points—Active AL pitchers 1—Max Scherzer #BlueJays 256.7 2—Gerrit Cole #Yankees 165.0 3—Jacob deGrom #Rangers 149.2 4—Charlie Morton #Tigers 118.5 5—Kevin Gausman #BlueJays 108.5* 6—Patrick Corbin #Rangers 101.4 *Earns 1.7 B-T points Wednesday www.box-toppers.com/blog/2025/8/...
— Box-Toppers Baseball (@boxtoppers.bsky.social) Aug 7, 2025 at 7:16 AM
Debut
Three players made their Box-Toppers debut Wednesday, each with their first career Player of the Game honor:
Nationals pitcher Cade Cavalli (4.1IP 3H 0R BB 6K ND in the 2-1 win over the Athletics) made his Major League debut Aug. 26, 2022, and was playing in his second career game.
Coby Mayo of the Orioles (HR 2-4 R 3BI in the 5-1 win over the Phillies) made his Major League debut Aug. 2, 2024, and was playing in his 59th career game.
Heriberto Hernandez of the Marlins (HR 2-3 R 2BI in the 6-4 win over the Astros) made his Major League debut May 30 and was playing in his 42nd career game.
Scoring
Horton earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day.
Gausman earns 1.7 points for being AL Player of the Day.
Caminero and Perkins 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.
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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Wednesday’s Sidelights Sidebar
Reviewing the day’s top pitchers, overlooked top performers & lowest Box-Toppers game scores.Top pitching matchup
Result—SF 4, PIT 2A Box-Toppers look at Wednesday’s pitching matchups Notable—SF at PIT Robbie Ray #SFGiants 8.4 B-T points in 2025, 14th* Andrew Heaney #Pirates 8.7 B-T points in 2025, 11th* *Rank among NL pitchers, 2025 All Wednesday pitching matchups: www.box-toppers.com/blog/2025/8/...
— Box-Toppers Baseball (@boxtoppers.bsky.social) Aug 6, 2025 at 10:47 AM
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Neither starter won Player of the Game honors.
Robbie Ray, Giants, had +2.0 B-T game score (6IP 6H 2R 2BB 8K ND).
Andrew Heaney, Pirates, had +1.2 B-T game score in loss (4.2IP 2H R 0BB K ND).
Player of the Game—Patrick Bailey, Giants (2-2 R BI) with +2.0 game score.
Though Bailey and Ray both had +2.0 game score, Bailey won Player of the Game because in cases of game score ties, batters rank ahead of pitchers.
High scores, no points
Highest Box-Toppers game scores for the day among players who did not earn Player of the Game honors:▪️+8.0—Jeffrey Springs, Athletics (6IP H R 0BB 5K ND)
Was not Player of the Game in loss vs. WSH
Player of the Game—Cade Cavalli, Nationals (4.1IP 3H 0R BB 6K ND) with +6.1 game score.
▪️+8.0—Shohei Ohtani, Dodgers (4IP 2H R 0BB 8K ND)
Was not Player of the Game in loss vs. STL.
Player of the Game—Kyle Leahy, Cardinals (2.2IP H 0R 0BB 4K ND) with +5.2 game score.
▪️+7.1—Tyler Alexander, White Sox (4.1IP H 0R BB 5K ND)
Was not Player of the Game in loss vs. SEA.
Player of the Game—George Kirby, Mariners (6IP 5H 2R 2BB 9K W) with +4.0 game score.
Lowest Box-Toppers game scores
Out of 441* total players Wednesday, 131 pitchers-23.0—Austin Nola, Rockies (1IP 8H 8R 0BB 0K ND vs. TOR)
-18.8—Jonathan Cannon, White Sox
-13.8—Spencer Arrighetti, Astros
-12.9—Angel Chivilli, Rockies
Lowest Box-Toppers game scores by batters
Out of 310 total batters Wednesday-5.0—William Contreras, Brewers 0-5 2K
-5.0—Adolis Garcia, Rangers 0-5 2K
-5.0—Kody Clemens, Twins 0-5 K
-5.0—Luis Arráez, Padres 0-5
* Players, such as Shohei Ohtani, who served dual roles for the day are counted twice—once as a pitcher and once as a batter.
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).| 8/6 | BTG | Game | Player of the Game | AB | R | H | BI | IP | H | R | ER | BB | K | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| MLB | +9.2 | CHC 6, CIN 1 | Cade Horton (W, 6‑3) | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | 5.2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6 | |
| AL | +8.0 | TOR 20, COL 1 | Kevin Gausman (W, 8‑8) | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | 7.0 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 8 | |
| +7.2 | CLE 4, NYM 1 | Gavin Williams (W, 7‑4) | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | 8.2 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 4 | 6 | ||
| +6.1 | `WSH 2, ATH 1 | Cade Cavalli | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | 4.1 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 6 | ||
| +5.2 | `STL 5, LAD 3 | Kyle Leahy | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | 2.2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | ||
| +5.1 | `SD 3, ARI 2 | Jason Adam | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | 1.1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | ||
| +4.1 | MIN 9, DET 4 | Thomas Hatch (W, 1‑0) | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | 4.1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 3 | ||
| +4.0 | SEA 8, CHW 6 | George Kirby (W, 7‑5) | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | 6.0 | 5 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 9 | ||
| +3.2 | NYY 3, TEX 2 | David Bednar (S, 18) | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | 1.2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 5 | ||
| BAT | +3.0 | TB 5, LAA 4 | Junior Caminero 3B | 4 | 2 | 2 | 3 | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | |
| +3.0 | KC 7, BOS 3 | Jonathan India DH | 4 | 2 | 2 | 3 | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ||
| BAT | +2.0 | MIL 5, ATL 4 | Blake Perkins CF | 5 | 2 | 3 | 2 | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | |
| +2.0 | BAL 5, PHI 1 | Coby Mayo 1B | 4 | 1 | 2 | 3 | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ||
| +2.0 | MIA 6, HOU 4 | Heriberto Hernandez LF | 3 | 1 | 2 | 2 | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ||
| +2.0 | SF 4, PIT 2 | Patrick Bailey PH‑C | 2 | 1 | 2 | 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 | +/‑ |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Gausman, Kevin 3191 | pi sp | tor al | 10.4 | 20.4 | 66.5 | 108.5 | +0.4 |
| Kirby, George 4595 | pi sp | sea al | 7.0 | 22.4 | 47.5 | 47.5 | -8.4 |
| Caminero, Junior 5089 | 3b | tb al | 7.0 | 8.0 | 8.0 | 8.0 | +6.0 |
| Williams, Gavin 4865 | pi sp | cle al | 6.0 | 9.7 | 13.7 | 13.7 | +2.3 |
| Horton, Cade 5216 | pi sp | chi nl | 5.0 | 5.0 | 5.0 | 5.0 | +5.0 |
| Adam, Jason 4256 | pi mr | sd nl | 4.0 | 7.0 | 16.4 | 17.4 | +1.0 |
| Bailey, Patrick 4827 | ca ph | sf nl | 3.5 | 6.0 | 9.5 | 9.5 | +1.0 |
| India, Jonathan 4469 | 3b 2b dh | kc al | 3.0 | 8.0 | 15.7 | 15.7 | -2.0 |
| Bednar, David 4499 | pi cp | nyy al | 3.0 | 5.0 | 20.0 | 20.0 | +1.0 |
| Perkins, Blake 4832 | dh cf pr | mil nl | 2.5 | 7.0 | 9.0 | 9.0 | -2.0 |
| Leahy, Kyle 5001 | pi mr | stl nl | 1.0 | 2.7 | 2.7 | 2.7 | -0.7 |
| Hatch, Thomas 4898 | pi mr | min al | 1.0 | 1.0 | 2.0 | 2.0 | +1.0 |
| Cavalli, Cade 5244 | pi sp | dc nl | 1.0 | 1.0 | 1.0 | 1.0 | +1.0 |
| Hernandez, Heriberto 5246 | lf | fla nl | 1.0 | 1.0 | 1.0 | 1.0 | +1.0 |
| Mayo, Coby 5245 | 1b | bal 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ATH | Lopez, Jacob 5202 | 6.4 | 6.4 | 6.4 | 6.4 |
| WSH | Parker, Mitchell 4982 | 2.0 | 8.0 | 8.0 | 8.0 |
| CHW | Smith, Shane 5158 | 3.0 | 3.0 | 3.0 | 3.0 |
| SEA | Gilbert, Logan 4439 | 8.4 | 21.4 | 55.9 | 55.9 |
| CIN | Singer, Brady 4337 | 7.0 | 17.0 | 40.7 | 40.7 |
| PIT | Skenes, Paul 5005 | 14.4 | 27.4 | 27.4 | 27.4 |
| MIA | Perez, Eury 4814 | 4.0 | 4.0 | 10.0 | 10.0 |
| ATL | Carrasco, Carlos 2885 | 1.0 | 2.7 | 19.1 | 114.2 |
* Player has yet to earn any career Box-Toppers points.
What are those numbers after players' names?
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