Dodgers’ Yamamoto, Padres’ Cronenworth top players in Tuesday’s NLDS games

Dodgers pitcher Yoshinobu Yamamoto leads Box-Toppers Player of the Game winners in Tuesday’s National League Division Series games.

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Dodgers pitcher Yoshinobu Yamamoto leads Box-Toppers Player of the Game winners in Tuesday’s National League Division Series games.

Yamamoto won top player honors in the Game 3 win over the Braves. Meanwhile, Jake Cronenworth is Box-Toppers’ top player in Tuesday’s other NL Division Series game, keeping the Padres alive with their win over the Brewers.

NL Division Series Game 3: Dodgers 3, Braves 1

(Dodgers lead best-of-five series, 2-1)

Yoshinobu Yamamoto struck out 10 over seven innings, allowing one run, four hits and one walk as the Dodgers moved within one game of winning the series.

This was Yamamoto’s first Box-Toppers Player of the Game honor of the 2026 postseason in his first appearance. In the 2025 postseason, he won Player of the Game honors five times, most of all players, including once in the Wild Card round and three times in the World Series.

Yamamoto 2026 Regular Season

Yamamoto earned 17.4 Box-Toppers points (8th overall, 5th among NL pitchers).

Game Scores

  • Yamamoto posted a game-high +10.0 Box-Toppers game score.

  • Dodgers top batter Enrique Hernández had a 0.0 game score (HR 1-4 R 2BI).

  • Braves starter Chris Sale recorded a -1.0 game score in the loss (5IP 7H 3R 0BB 7K L).

Jake Cronenworth homered and went 2-for-2, scoring once and driving in one run, as the Padres prevented a series sweep.

NL Division Series Game 3: Padres 4, Brewers 3

(Brewers lead best-of-five series, 2-1)

Jake Cronenworth homered, laid down a sacrifice bunt and went 2-for-2, scoring once and driving in one run, as the Padres held off the Brewers and prevented a series sweep.

Cronenworth 2026 Regular Season

Cronenworth earned just 1.5 Box-Toppers points playing in 106 games in 2026. His sole Player of the Game honor came on Sept. 20, when he was NL Batter of the Day.

Game Scores

  • Cronenworth posted a +2.0 Box-Toppers game score.

  • Brewers top batter William Contreras had a +2.0 game score in the loss (HR 3-4 2R BI).

  • Padres starting pitcher Nick Pivetta recorded a -0.9 game score (4.1IP 5H 2R 0BB 4K ND).

  • Padres reliever Yuki Matsui, who earned the win, had a 0.0 game score (1IP H 0R BB K W).

  • Padres reliever Michael King, who earned the save, had a 0.0 game score (2IP H 0R 2BB K Sv). King, normally a starter, has seven career regular-season saves (earned in 2022 and 2023). He was the Padres starter in Sunday’s Game 2 loss to the Brewers, but posted a game-high +6.0 game score. The team’s usual closer, Mason Miller, who leads all relievers with 16.0 Box-Toppers points, was placed on paternity leave as his wife went into labor hours before the game.

  • Brewers starting pitcher Dustin May posted a -3.0 game score (3IP 3H 2R 2BB 3K ND).

  • Brewers reliever JoJo Romero, who picked up the loss, had a +0.2 game score (1.2IP H R 0BB 2K L).

All of Tuesday’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).
10/6 BTG Game Player AB R H BI   IP H R ER BB K
  10.0 LAD 3, ATL 1 Yoshinobu Yamamoto (W, 1‑0) ‑ ‑ ‑ ‑   7.0 4 1 1 1 10
  2.0 SD 4, MIL 3 Jake Cronenworth 2B 2 1 2 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 +/‑
Yamamoto, Yoshinobu 4964 pi sp lad nl 17.4 35.1 41.5 41.5 -0.3
Cronenworth, Jake 4380 3b 2b sd nl 1.5 2.5 17.5 17.5 +0.5
What are those numbers after players' names?
About Box-Toppers’ team abbreviations
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Wednesday’s pitching matchups (for more, see matchups chart below):

ALDS Game 3, White Sox lead Guardians, 2-0

Guardians—Daniel Espino, 0.0 Box-Toppers points, unranked. Has yet to earn his first career Player of the Game honors in 14 regular season appearances, all in 2026.

White Sox—Sean Newcomb, 4.0 Box-Toppers points in 2026 (250th overall, 84th among AL pitchers).

More details—Previews of AL Division Series

NLDS Game 4, Dodgers lead Braves, 2-1

Dodgers—Tyler Glasnow, 8.4 Box-Toppers points in 2026 (70th overall, 29th among NL pitchers).

Braves—Tyler Mahle, 9.1  Box-Toppers points in 2026 (52nd overall, 22nd among NL pitchers).

More details—Previews of NL Division Series

ALDS Game 3, Rays lead Yankees, 2-0

Rays—Nick Martinez, 8.0 Box-Toppers points in 2026 (74th overall, 30th among AL pitchers).

Yankees—Max Fried, 12.0 Box-Toppers points, 24th overall, 11th among AL pitchers.

Fried was Player of the Game in the AL Wild Card Game 2 win over the Red Sox on Sept. 30.

More details—Previews of AL Division Series

NLDS Game 4, Brewers lead Padres, 2-1

Brewers—Milwaukee had not announced a starter as of Wednesday morning, but it was expected to be one of three candidates, none of whom have appeared in the 2026 postseason:

  • Robert Gasser, 6.0 Box-Toppers points in 2026, 142nd overall, 48th among NL pitchers. Gasser started 20 regular-season games. He last appeared Sept. 25, when he won Player of the Game.

  • Shane Drohan, 2.0 Box-Toppers points in 2026, 491st overall, 123rd among NL pitchers. Drohan started 19 regular-season games. He last appeared Sept. 27.

  • Chad Patrick, 7.0 Box-Toppers points in 2026, 99th overall, 37th among NL pitchers. Patrick started six regular-season games. He last appeared Sept. 27.

Padres—Walker Buehler, 1.0 Box-Toppers point in 2026 (592nd overall, 144th among NL pitchers).

Buehler’s best season was 2021 with the Dodgers when he had 16.7 Box-Toppers points, 10th overall and eighth among NL pitchers. He underwent his second Tommy John surgery in 2022, missing all of 2023 and has struggled to regain his previous form since.

More details—Previews of NL Division Series

A Box-Toppers look at Wednesday’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 Espino, Daniel* 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0
CHW Newcomb, Sean 3831 4.0 5.0 8.0 25.1
LAD Glasnow, Tyler 3948 8.4 13.4 50.2 73.9
ATL Mahle, Tyler 3929 9.1 14.8 35.2 47.2
TB Martinez, Nick 3430 8.0 14.7 36.8 43.5
NYY Fried, Max 4011 12.0 26.4 76.6 93.3
MIL Undecided 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0
SD Buehler, Walker 3943 1.0 7.0 29.4 66.6
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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