Aranda tops players in Saturday’s ALCS Game 4 as Rays even series with Guardians

Jonathan Aranda went 3-for-4, scoring twice and driving in two runs to lead the Rays past the Guardians.

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Jonathan Aranda of the Rays is Box-Toppers Player of the Game in Saturday’s American League Championship Series Game 4 as Tampa Bay evens the series with Cleveland.

AL Championship Series Game 4: Rays 7, Guardians 3

(Rays tie best-of-seven series, 2-2)

Jonathan Aranda went 3-for-4, scoring twice and driving in two runs to lead the Rays past the Guardians.

Aranda hit a third-inning single to drive in Yandy Díaz to tie the game, 1-1. In the sixth, he walked and scored on a Junior Caminero double to give Tampa Bay a 2-1 lead. In the seventh, he hit an RBI single and reached third on an error that allowed a second run to score, extending the lead to 4-1, before scoring on a Chandler Simpson sacrifice fly to make it 5-1. Finally, he hit a ninth-inning single and was later forced out on a fielder’s choice.

Aranda 2026 Regular Season

Aranda earned 2.7 Box-Toppers points in 2026 (372nd overall, 80th among AL batters, 17th among AL first basemen), playing in 155 games.

Rays starter Nick Martinez recorded a +2.1 Box-Toppers game score (5.1IP 2H R 2BB 3K W) in the ALCS Game 4 win over the Guardians.

Notable Box-Toppers Game Scores

  • Jonathan Aranda (+3.0)—Player of the Game winner with a game-high score (3-4 2R 2BI).

  • Nick Martinez (+2.1)—Rays starting pitcher who earned the win (5.1IP 2H R 2BB 3K W).

  • Yandy Díaz (+1.0)—Rays batter (HR 2B 2-5 2R 2BI).

  • Ian Seymour (-6.0)—Rays reliever who recorded a game-low score (1IP 4H 2R 0BB K ND).

  • Shawn Armstrong (+2.0)—Guardians opening pitcher (1IP 0H 0R 0BB K ND).

  • Foster Griffin (+2.2)—Guardians bulk reliever (3.2IP 4H R 0BB 5K ND).

  • Daniel Espino (-3.9)—Guardians reliever who picked up the loss (0.1IP H R 2BB K L).

  • Travis Bazzana (+1.0)—Guardians top batter (HR 2-3 R BI).

All of Saturday’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).
10/17 BTG Game Player AB R H BI   IP H R ER BB K
  3.0 TB 7, CLE 3 Jonathan Aranda 1B 4 2 3 2   ‑ ‑ ‑ ‑ ‑ ‑
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 +/‑
Aranda, Jonathan 4926 1b tb al 2.7 3.7 6.2 6.2 +1.7
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.

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

AL Championship Series Game 5, Rays at Guardians, series tied 2-2.

Rays—Drew Rasmussen, 15.0 Box-Toppers points in 2026, 18th overall, 8th among AL pitchers.

Rasmussen was Player of the Game Oct. 3 in the ALDS Game 1 win over the Yankees. He was the Game 1 starter in this series Oct. 12, but was not Player of the Game in the Rays’ loss.

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

Messick was the Game 2 starter in the series on Oct. 13 in the Guardians’ loss.

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 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
TB Rasmussen, Drew 4547 15.0 24.7 46.2 46.2
CLE Messick Parker 5266 11.7 12.7 12.7 12.7
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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