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Yankees pitcher Luis Gil is Box-Toppers Player of the Day in Friday’s spring training games.
Other top players Friday include Cole Young of the Mariners, Dodgers pitcher Yoshinobu Yamamoto, Dillon Lewis of the Marlins, Blue Jays pitcher Max Scherzer, Marlins pitcher Chris Paddack and Matt McLain of the Reds.
Player of the Day: Luis Gil, Yankees
Gil struck out seven over five scoreless innings, allowing one hit and one walk, in the 3-1 win over the Orioles. Gil did not earn the win, picking up a no-decision, because when he exited, the game was in a scoreless tie.
Gil earned just 1.0 Box-Toppers point in 2025 after earning 17.4 in 2024, sixth among all players, second among American League pitchers and first among AL rookies, winning AL Rookie of the Year honors. Gil was sidelined in 2025 with a right lat strain that kept him out until Aug. 3, and limited him to 11 starts.
His drop of 16.4 points from 2024 to 2025 was the biggest decline among all players. However, this is Gil’s second Box-Toppers Player of the Game honor of the 2026 spring training season. Both times, he was the overall Player of the Day winner, including previously on March 4 (3IP 2H 0R 2BB 6K W in the 4-0 win over the Red Sox).
NL Player of the Day: Yoshinobu Yamamoto, Dodgers
Yamamoto struck out seven over five scoreless innings, allowing three hits and one walk, in the 4-3 win over the Padres.
Yamamoto earned 17.7 Box-Toppers points in 2025, seventh overall and fourth among National League pitchers.
Yamamoto also won Box-Toppers Player of the Game honors in three of the Dodgers’ four wins as they captured the 2025 World Series crown. He won Player of the Game honors in five of his six 2025 postseason appearances.
Yamamoto recorded a +8.0 Box-Toppers game score Friday, same as another NL pitcher who won Player of the Game honors, Matthew Liberatore of the Cardinals (5IP H 0R BB 5K W in the 4-3 win over the Mets). But Yamamoto won NL Player of the Day over Liberatore on a tiebreaker, recording more strikeouts (seven vs. five).
AL Batter of the Day: Cole Young, Mariners
Young hit two home runs, doubled and went 3-for-4, scoring four times and driving in five runs, in the 20-8 win over the Guardians.
Young played in 77 games in his 2025 rookie season but did not earn Player of the Game honors in any of them, so has 0.0 career Box-Toppers points.
NL Batter of the Day: Dillon Lewis, Marlins
Lewis hit a seventh-inning, go-ahead grand slam and went 1-for-1, scoring once and driving in four runs, in the 7-4 win over the Astros.
Lewis, 22, has played two minor league seasons but has yet to make his regular-season Major League debut and so has 0.0 career Box-Toppers points.
Notable
Five of Friday’s Player of the Game winners have won multiple honors during the 2026 spring training season, including Player of the Day Gil, who won his second. The others:
Matt McLain of the Reds won his fourth Player of the Game honor of the spring, more than any other player. McLain (HR 2-4 R 3BI in the 8-6 win over the Cubs), also won March 2, March 5 and March 11. He was overall Player of the Day on March 2.
Marlins pitcher Chris Paddack won his third Player of the Game honor of the spring (4IP 2H R 0BB 3K W in the 3-2 win over the Nationals). Paddack also won March 1 and March 13.
Rays pitcher Shane McClanahan won his second Player of the Game honor of the spring (5IP 3H 0R 2BB 4K W in the 2-0 win over the Red Sos). McClanahan also won March 15, when he was overall Player of the Day.
Angels pitcher José Soriano won his second Player of the Game honors of the spring (3IP H 0R 3BB 3K W in the 4-3 win over the White Sox). Soriano also won March 9, when he was overall Player of the Day.
Also notable: Max Scherzer, Blue Jays
Scherzer, the active leader in career Box-Toppers points, won his first Box-Toppers Player of the Game honor of the 2026 spring training season on Friday.
Scherzer (5IP 2H 0R 2BB 3K W in the 2-1 win over the Twins) has 256.7 career Box-Toppers points, third-most among all players since 1995, when Box-Toppers tracking began, behind Randy Johnson (282.5) and Clayton Kershaw (280.8). Upon Kershaw’s retirement at the end of 2025, Scherzer became the active leader in career points, just ahead of Tigers pitcher Justin Verlander (250.0).
Scherzer earned Player of the Game honors three times during the 2025 spring training season with the Blue Jays. However, Scherzer earned just 3.0 Box-Toppers points during the regular season as he was limited to 17 starts, missing much of the first half of the season with right thumb problems.
Friday’s games
In 17 spring training games between two Major League teams:
Twelve games featured Player of the Game winners with previous career Box-Toppers points; 10 of those earned points in 2025 (see table).
Four games featured Player of the Game winners with 0.0 career regular-season Box-Toppers points.
One game ended in a tie (Tigers vs. Phillies); no Player of the Game was awarded.
Friday’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:
Luis Gil, Yankees: 2.0 points (Player of the Day)
Yoshinobu Yamamoto, Dodgers: 1.7 points (NL Player of the Day)
Cole Young, Mariners: 1.5 points (AL Batter of the Day)
Dillon Lewis, Marlins: 1.5 points (NL 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).| 3/20 | BTG | Game | Player | AB | R | H | BI | IP | H | R | ER | BB | K | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| MLB | +10.0 | `NYY 3, BAL 1 | Luis Gil | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | 5.0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 7 | |
| BAT | +8.0 | SEA 20, CLE 8 | Cole Young SS | 4 | 4 | 3 | 5 | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | |
| NL | +8.0 | LAD 4, SD 3 | Yoshinobu Yamamoto (W, 2‑0) | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | 5.0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 7 | |
| +8.0 | STL 4, NYM 3 | Matthew Liberatore (W, 1‑0) | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | 5.0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 5 | ||
| +6.0 | ATH 6, CHC 2 | Luis Severino (W, 1‑0) | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | 5.0 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 7 | ||
| +5.1 | ATL 8, PIT 1 | José Suarez (W, 2‑0) | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | 5.1 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 6 | ||
| BAT | +5.0 | MIA 7, HOU 4 | Dillon Lewis LF | 1 | 1 | 1 | 4 | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | |
| +4.0 | COL 9, SD 3 | Bryant Betancourt C | 1 | 1 | 1 | 3 | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ||
| +4.0 | TB 2, BOS 0 | Shane McClanahan (W, 3‑0) | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | 5.0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 4 | ||
| +4.0 | TOR 2, MIN 1 | Max Scherzer (W, 1‑0) | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | 5.0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 3 | ||
| +3.0 | MIA 3, WSH 2 | Chris Paddack (W, 2‑0) | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | 4.0 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 3 | ||
| +3.0 | TEX 6, SF 5 | Carter Baumler (W, 1‑0) | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | 1.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | ||
| +3.0 | ARI 8, MIL 7 | Bryce Jarvis (W, 1‑0) | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | 1.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | ||
| +2.0 | CIN 8, CHC 6 | Matt McLain 2B | 4 | 1 | 2 | 3 | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ||
| +2.0 | SF 5, KC 2 | Matt Chapman 3B | 2 | 1 | 1 | 2 | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ||
| +2.0 | LAA 4, CHW 3 | José Soriano (W, 1‑1) | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | 3.0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 3 | ||
| 0.0 | DET 4, PHI 4 | 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Yamamoto, Yoshinobu 4964 | pi sp | lad nl | 0.0 | 17.7 | 24.1 | 24.1 |
| Soriano, Jose 4884 | pi sp | ana al | 0.0 | 12.7 | 16.7 | 16.7 |
| Liberatore, Matthew 4662 | pi sp mr | stl nl | 0.0 | 6.0 | 13.0 | 13.0 |
| Chapman, Matt 3849 | 3b | sf nl | 0.0 | 5.0 | 26.7 | 43.7 |
| Paddack, Chris 4093 | pi sp | fla nl | 0.0 | 5.0 | 17.7 | 36.5 |
| Severino, Luis 3567 | pi sp | oak al | 0.0 | 4.0 | 23.1 | 68.9 |
| Scherzer, Max 2588 | pi sp | tor al | 0.0 | 3.0 | 55.5 | 256.7 |
| McLain, Matt 4847 | 2b ss | cin nl | 0.0 | 2.5 | 6.0 | 6.0 |
| Gil, Luis 4498 | pi sp | nyy al | 0.0 | 1.0 | 19.4 | 19.4 |
| Suarez, Jose 4425 | pi sp cp | atl nl | 0.0 | 1.0 | 18.4 | 18.4 |
| Jarvis, Bryce 4992 | pi mr | ari nl | 0.0 | 0.0 | 1.0 | 1.0 |
| McClanahan, Shane 4399 | pi sp | tb al | 0.0 | 0.0 | 30.8 | 30.8 |
About Box-Toppers’ team abbreviations
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A Box-Toppers look at Saturday’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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| NYM | Undecided | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 |
| WSH | Cavalli, Cade 5244 | 0.0 | 2.0 | 2.0 | 2.0 |
| TOR | Gausman, Kevin 3191 | 0.0 | 14.1 | 69.2 | 112.2 |
| PIT | Skenes, Paul 5005 | 0.0 | 21.1 | 34.1 | 34.1 |
| MIN | Ryan, Joe 4539 | 0.0 | 11.7 | 47.5 | 47.5 |
| TB | Baumeister, Jackson* | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 |
| PHI | Cusick, Ryab* | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 |
| BAL | Wells, Levi* | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 |
| ATL | Sale, Chris 2806 | 0.0 | 11.4 | 41.2 | 183.8 |
| BOS | Crochet, Garrett 4434 | 0.0 | 19.8 | 31.5 | 31.5 |
| MIA | Junk, Janson 4697 | 0.0 | 4.7 | 6.4 | 6.4 |
| STL | Undecided | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 |
| NYY | Schlittler, Cam 5261 | 0.0 | 7.4 | 7.4 | 7.4 |
| DET | Valdez, Framber 4048 | 0.0 | 11.7 | 58.1 | 68.5 |
| HOU | Burrows, Mike 5196 | 0.0 | 2.0 | 2.0 | 2.0 |
| NYM | Tong, Jonah 5291 | 0.0 | 1.0 | 1.0 | 1.0 |
| ATH | Lopez, Jacob 5202 | 0.0 | 11.4 | 11.4 | 11.4 |
| LAD | Sheehan, Emmet 4886 | 0.0 | 3.0 | 7.7 | 7.7 |
| COL | Freeland, Kyle 3763 | 0.0 | 4.0 | 24.7 | 45.1 |
| KC | Ragans, Cole 4889 | 0.0 | 7.0 | 23.4 | 23.4 |
| CLE | Bibee, Tanner 4792 | 0.0 | 7.0 | 29.7 | 29.7 |
| SF | Ray, Robbie 3502 | 0.0 | 9.4 | 45.2 | 89.3 |
| TEX | Undecided | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 |
| ARI | Nelson, Ryne 4728 | 0.0 | 8.4 | 25.2 | 25.2 |
| SD | Vasquez, Randy 4841 | 0.0 | 5.4 | 8.4 | 8.4 |
| MIL | Gasser, Robert 4998 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 2.7 | 2.7 |
| CHW | Borucki, Ryan 4034 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 3.0 | 7.0 |
| CIN | Abbott, Andrew 4839 | 0.0 | 10.7 | 26.7 | 26.7 |
| CHC | Rea, Colin 3582 | 0.0 | 3.0 | 18.4 | 22.1 |
| SEA | Undecided | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 |
| CHC | Taillon, Jameson 3658 | 0.0 | 10.1 | 43.2 | 69.6 |
| ATH | Undecided | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 |
| COL | Mejia, Juan* | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 |
| SD | Pivetta, Nick 3825 | 0.0 | 17.7 | 49.1 | 71.8 |
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?
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