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Cubs pitcher Shota Imanaga is Box-Toppers Player of the Day in Tuesday’s spring training games.
Other top players Tuesday include Seby Zavala of the Dodgers, Phillies pitcher Jesús Luzardo, Guardians pitcher Kolby Allard and Joey Loperfido of the Astros.
Player of the Day: Shota Imanaga, Cubs
Imanaga struck out eight over 4 2/3 innings, allowing one run, one hit and one walk, in the 8-6 win over the Angels.
Imanaga earned 7.0 Box-Toppers points in 2025, 35th among National League pitchers. He had the second-biggest decline in Box-Toppers points among all players from 2024 to 2025 of 13.7 points. In his 2024 rookie season, he earned 20.7 points, fourth overall, third among NL pitchers and first among NL rookies. Only Yankees pitcher Luis Gil had a bigger decline of 16.4 points, falling from 17.4 in 2024 to 1.0 in 2025.
AL Player of the Day: Kolby Allard, Guardians
Allard struck out five over three innings, allowing two runs, one hit and no walks, in the 8-6 win over the Reds. Allard did not earn the win, picking up a no-decision, because the Guardians trailed when he exited.
Allard earned 1.0 Box-Toppers point in 2025.
NL Batter of the Day: Seby Zavala, Dodgers
Zavala hit a grand slam and went 1-for-1, scoring once and driving in four runs, in the 10-4 win over the Royals.
Zavala played in 72 minor league games in 2025 in the Red Sox organization and did not earn Box-Toppers points. He has 2.0 career Box-Toppers points earned in 2023 and 2024 for the White Sox and Mariners. He signed as a free agent with the Dodgers in February.
This is his second Box-Toppers Player of the Game honor of the 2026 spring training season. He also did it March 9.
AL Batter of the Day: Joey Loperfido, Astros
Loperfido went 1-for-1 and scored three times, in the 10-2 win over the Pirates.
Loperfido played 41 games for the Blue Jays in 2025 but earned no Box-Toppers points. He has 1.0 career Box-Toppers point, earned in 2024 with the Astros. In February, he returned to the Astros via trade for outfielder Jesús Sánchez (4.5 points in 2025).
This is his second Box-Toppers Player of the Game honor of the 2026 spring training season. He also did it March 9.
Notable: Jesús Luzardo, Phillies
Luzardo has the most 2025 Box-Toppers points among Tuesday’s spring training Player of the Game winners.
Luzardo (5IP 5H 0R BB 5K W in the 2-0 win over the Twins) earned 17.4 Box-Toppers points in 2025, eighth overall and fifth among NL pitchers.
This is his second Box-Toppers Player of the Game honor of the 2026 spring training season. He also did it March 5.
Also notable
In addition to Zavala, Loperfido and Luzardo, two others also earned their second Box-Toppers Player of the Game honor of the 2026 spring training season on Tuesday:
Nationals pitcher Jake Irvin (5IP 3IP 0R BB 5K W in the 1-0 win over the Cardinals) also did it Feb. 28.
Padres pitcher Germán Márquez (5IP 3H 3R BB 9K ND in the 9-6 win over the Mariners) also did it March 6.
Tuesday’s games
In 13 spring training games between two Major League teams:
Eight games featured Player of the Game winners with previous career Box-Toppers points; five of those earned points in 2025 (see table).
Three games featured Player of the Game winners with 0.0 career regular-season Box-Toppers points.
Two games ended in a tie (Orioles vs. Tigers and Mets vs. Marlins); no Player of the Game honors awarded.
(Excludes World Baseball Classic games.)
Tuesday’s Scoring Summary
No Box-Toppers points are awarded for preseason exhibition games. Had this been the regular season, points would have been awarded as follows:
Shota Imanaga, Cubs: 2.0 points (Player of the Day)
Kolby Allard, Guardians: 1.7 points (AL Player of the Day)
Seby Zavala, Dodgers: 1.5 points (NL Batter of the Day)
Joey Loperfido, Astros: 1.5 points (AL Batter of the Day)
All other winners, listed in the chart: 1.0 point
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. More on how Box-Toppers works.
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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).| 3/17 | BTG | Game | Player | AB | R | H | BI | IP | H | R | ER | BB | K | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| MLB | +8.2 | CHC 8, LAA 6 | Shota Imanaga (W, 2‑1) | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | 4.2 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 8 | |
| +6.0 | WSH 1, STL 0 | Jake Irvin (W, 2‑0) | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | 5.0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 5 | ||
| BAT | +5.0 | LAD 10, KC 4 | Seby Zavala C | 1 | 1 | 1 | 4 | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | |
| +4.0 | `SD 9, SEA 6 | Germàn Márquez | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | 5.0 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 1 | 9 | ||
| +4.0 | PHI 2, MIN 0 | Jesús Luzardo (W, 3‑0) | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | 5.0 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 5 | ||
| AL | +4.0 | `CLE 8, CIN 6 | Kolby Allard | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | 3.0 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 5 | |
| +3.2 | CHW 6, ATH 4 | Anthony Kay (W, 3‑0) | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | 4.2 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 5 | ||
| BAT | +3.0 | HOU 10, PIT 2 | Joey Loperfido RF | 1 | 3 | 1 | 0 | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | |
| +3.0 | NYY 3, TB 2 | Yovanny Cruz (W, 1‑0) | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | 1.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | ||
| +2.0 | SEA 10, COL 6 | Rhylan Thomas CF | 2 | 1 | 2 | 1 | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ||
| 0.0 | BOS 4, ATL 3 | Nate Eaton RF | 3 | 0 | 1 | 2 | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ||
| 0.0 | BAL 1, DET 1 | N/A | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ||
| 0.0 | NYM 5, MIA 5 | N/A | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ |
MLB—Overall Box‑Toppers Player of the Day, worth 2.0 total Box‑Toppers points.
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.
N/A—Not applicable. No Player of the Game was chosen because the game ended in a tie.
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. No points are awarded during spring training games, so all players have 0.0 Box-Toppers points for 2026. Players are ranked by their Box-Toppers point total in 2025 (’25). Also shown is their point total for the period 2021-2025 (’21-25) and each players’ career point total. (Player of the Game winners not listed here have yet to earn Box-Toppers points during the regular season.)Back to top
| Player of the Game | Pos | Team | ’26 | ’25 | ’21‑25 | Career |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Luzardo, Jesus 4282 | pi sp | phi nl | 0.0 | 17.4 | 48.6 | 53.3 |
| Irvin, Jake 4805 | pi sp | dc nl | 0.0 | 7.7 | 20.7 | 20.7 |
| Imanaga, Shota 4960 | pi sp | chi nl | 0.0 | 7.0 | 27.7 | 27.7 |
| Marquez, German 3788 | pi sp | sd nl | 0.0 | 1.7 | 23.8 | 53.9 |
| Allard, Kolby 4232 | pi sp mr | cle al | 0.0 | 1.0 | 3.0 | 6.0 |
| Zavala, Seby 4867 | ca | lad nl | 0.0 | 0.0 | 2.0 | 2.0 |
| Loperfido, Joey 5051 | 1b pr | hou al | 0.0 | 0.0 | 1.0 | 1.0 |
| Kay, Anthony 4285 | pi sp mr | chi al | 0.0 | 0.0 | 2.0 | 3.0 |
About Box-Toppers’ team abbreviations
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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)†, last year (’25), over five years (’21-25), and their career point total.Back to top
| Game | Starter | ’26† | ’25 | ’21‑25 | Career |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| HOU | France, J.P. 4811 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 3.0 | 3.0 |
| STL | Undecided | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 |
| PHI | Undecided | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 |
| ATL | Perez, Martin 3213 | 0.0 | 1.7 | 22.2 | 41.9 |
| BOS | Early, Connelly 5282 | 0.0 | 1.7 | 1.7 | 1.7 |
| NYY | Cole, Gerrit 3232 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 64.5 | 165.0 |
| BAL | Suarez, Albert 3870 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 7.0 | 8.0 |
| TOR | Fleming, Josh 4316 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 8.7 | 10.7 |
| COL | Quintana, Jose 3040 | 0.0 | 2.0 | 24.4 | 95.1 |
| CIN | Singer, Brady 4337 | 0.0 | 10.0 | 39.7 | 43.7 |
| SF | Undecided | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 |
| LAD | Ohtani, Shohei 3933 | 0.0 | 5.5 | 76.7 | 91.2 |
| CHC | Cabrera, Edward 4641 | 0.0 | 11.7 | 23.8 | 23.8 |
| ARI | Kelly, Merrill 4143 | 0.0 | 12.7 | 41.7 | 53.7 |
| CIN | Burns, Chase* | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 |
| LAA | Kochanowicz, Jack 5094 | 0.0 | 2.0 | 4.0 | 4.0 |
| LAA | Johnson, Ryan* | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 |
| MIL | Harrison, Kyle 4914 | 0.0 | 2.0 | 10.0 | 10.0 |
| MIL | Rodriguez, Carlos* | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 |
| SEA | Undecided | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 |
| DET | Mize, Casey 4377 | 0.0 | 7.0 | 14.7 | 14.7 |
| PIT | Ashcraft, Braxton 5208 | 0.0 | 4.7 | 4.7 | 4.7 |
| MIA | Garrett, Braxton 4341 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 21.4 | 22.4 |
| WSH | Littell, Zack 4533 | 0.0 | 6.7 | 21.1 | 21.1 |
| KC | Bubic, Kris 4413 | 0.0 | 8.7 | 13.7 | 13.7 |
| TEX | Rocker, Kumar 5108 | 0.0 | 4.7 | 5.7 | 5.7 |
Games shown are spring training games between MLB teams. Doesn't include games vs. non-MLB teams.
† Players don’t earn Box-Toppers points in spring training games, only regular season games, so no pitcher has earned any points in 2026.
* 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.
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