Brewers’ Ashby, Guardians’ DeLauter top players in Monday’s LCS games

Aaron Ashby struck out two over 1.2 scoreless and hitless innings, walked none and earned the save.

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Brewers' reliever Aaron Ashby and Guardians’ outfielder Chase DeLauter earned Box-Toppers Player of the Game honors in Monday's League Championship Series action.

Ashby earned the save in Game 2 of the National League Championship Series as the Brewers took a 2-0 lead over the Dodgers. DeLauter, meanwhile, led the Guardians’ offensive surge past the Rays in the American League Championship Series opening game.

NL Championship Series Game 2: Brewers 7, Dodgers 4

(Brewers lead best-of-seven series, 2-0)

Aaron Ashby struck out two over 1.2 scoreless and hitless innings, walked none and earned the save, as the Brewers won the first two games of the series.

This was Ashby’s second Player of the Game honor of the 2026 postseason after also winning Oct. 7 in the NL Division Series Game 4 win over the Padres. He is the second player to earn multiple Player of the Game honors this postseason, joining Rays pitcher Ian Seymour, who has also won twice.

Ashby 2026 Regular Season

Ashby earned 5.0 Box-Toppers points in 2026 (184th overall, 56th among NL pitchers, 6th among NL middle relievers). This was the first time in 2026 Ashby earned Player of the Game honors as a closing pitcher. In his previous six honors this year (including the postseason), he served as a middle reliever.

Notable Box-Toppers Game Scores

  • Aaron Ashby (+3.2)—Player of the Game winner with a game-high score (1.2IP 0H 0R 0BB 2K Sv).

  • William Contreras (+3.0)—Brewers top batter (HR 3-4 R 3BI).

  • JoJo Romero (+3.0)—Brewers middle reliever who earned the win (1IP 0H 0R 2K W).

  • Logan Henderson (-5.0)—Brewers starting pitcher (4IP 3H 4R 2BB 2K ND).

  • Yoshinobu Yamamoto (-8.8)—Dodgers starting pitcher, who recorded a game-low score in the loss (2.2IP 4H 3R 2BB K ND).

  • Brock Stewart (-3.8)—Dodgers reliever who picked up the loss (0.2IP 2H R BB K L).

  • Tommy Edman (+1.0)—Dodgers top batter (SAC 1-2 2R 0BI).

The series resumes with Game 3 in Los Angeles on Wednesday.

Chase DeLauter homered, doubled and went 3-for-4, scoring three times and driving in one run, as the Guardians won the series opening game..

AL Championship Series Game 1: Guardians 7, Rays 3

(Guardians lead best-of-seven series, 1-0)

Chase DeLauter homered, doubled and went 3-for-4, scoring three times and driving in one run, as the Guardians won the series opening game on the road.

DeLauter opened the Guardians’ scoring with a sixth-inning solo home run to make the score 2-1. He doubled in the eighth inning and was driven in by a Nathaniel Lowe single as the Guardians took a 4-2 lead. In the ninth inning, he walked and scored on a Jo Adell double, bringing the lead to 7-3.

DeLauter 2026 Regular Season

DeLauter earned 4.5 Box-Toppers points in 2026 (218th overall, 32nd among AL batters, 9th among AL outfielders).

Notable Box-Toppers Game Scores

  • Chase DeLauter (+3.0)—Player of the Game winner with a game-high score (HR 2B 3-4 3R BI).

  • José Ramírez (+1.0)—Next-best game score among Guardians batters (3-5 2R BI).

  • Hunter Gaddis (+1.0)—Guardians reliever who picked up the win (1IP H 0R 0BB K W).

  • Foster Griffin (-2.0)—Guardians starting pitcher (4IP 5H 2R 0BB 3K ND).

  • Drew Rasmussen (+1.0)—Rays starting pitcher in the loss (6IP 8H 2R 0BB 7K ND).

  • Tyler Wells (-5.9)—Rays reliever who picked up the loss (0.1IP 2H 2R 0BB 0K L).

  • Cedric Mullins (+2.0)—Rays top batter (HR 1-1 R BI).

All of Monday’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).
10/12 BTG Game Player AB R H BI   IP H R ER BB K
  3.2 MIL 7, LAD 4 Aaron Ashby (S, 1) ‑ ‑ ‑ ‑   1.2 0 0 0 0 2
  3.0 CLE 7, TB 3 Chase DeLauter RF 4 3 3 1   ‑ ‑ ‑ ‑ ‑ ‑
No Box-Toppers points are awarded in postseason games.
` Pitcher had a no‑decision in the game and did not pick up a win or a save.

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 2026 (’26). Also shown is their point total for this season and last (’25-26), the period 2021-2026 (’21-26) and each players’ career point total. Also shown is how their 2026 Box-Toppers point total compares with their 2025 total (+/-).
Player of the Game Pos Team ’26 ’25‑26 ’21‑26 Career +/‑
Ashby, Aaron 4511 pi mr mil nl 5.0 7.0 14.4 14.4 +3.0
DeLauter, Chase 5298 rf cle al 4.5 4.5 4.5 4.5 +4.5
What are those numbers after players' names?
About Box-Toppers’ team abbreviations
Chart is sortable. Click a column header to re-sort the chart by the values in that column. Refresh page to restore chart to default view.

Tuesday’s pitching matchups (for more, see matchups chart below):

AL Championship Series Game 2, Guardians lead Rays, 1-0

Guardians—Parker Messick, 11.7 Box-Toppers points in 2026, 28th overall, 14th among AL pitchers.

Rays—Freddy Peralta, 5.7 Box-Toppers points in 2026, 148th overall, 57th among AL pitchers.

A Box-Toppers look at Tuesday’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 2026 ('26), this year and last year ('25-26), over six years ('21-26), and their career point total.
Game Starter ’26 ’25‑26 ’21‑26 Career
CLE Messick Parker 5266 11.7 12.7 12.7 12.7
TB Peralta, Freddy 3965 5.7 20.4 71.6 90.3
Starters subject to change.
* Player has yet to earn any career Box-Toppers points.
What are those numbers after players' names?
Chart is sortable. Click a column header to re-sort the chart by the values in that column. Refresh page to restore chart to default, game-by-game view.

About Box-Toppers

Box-Toppers tracks who contributes most to their team’s victory. Using standard box score statistics, we identify the Player of the Game for every MLB contest. In the regular season, winners earn 1.0 Box-Toppers point, with bonus points awarded to the top overall and league-specific players of the day. (No Box-Toppers points are awarded in postseason games.) More on how Box-Toppers works.

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