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Blue Jays pitcher Kevin Gausman is Friday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day.
Other top players Friday include Braves pitcher Chris Sale, Tigers pitcher Kenley Jansen and Alex Freeland of the Dodgers.
Player of the Day: Kevin Gausman, Blue Jays
Gausman struck out 11 over six innings, allowing one run, one hit and no walks, in the 3-2 win over the Athletics. Gausman did not earn the win, picking up a no-decision, because the Athletics tied the game after he exited.
Gausman earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day, his first of 2026, and is now in third place in season player rankings. Phillies pitcher Cristopher Sánchez and Yankees pitcher Max Fried, who both also have 2.0 points, rank ahead of Gausman based on their 2025 point totals—Sanchez had 15.4, Fried had 14.4 and Gausman had 14.1.
Active season streaks
Here are the 16 players who have active streaks of earning Box-Toppers points for 12 or more consecutive seasons. Players are listed by the length of their streak and with their current team status. Also shown is the duration of their streak and their career Box-Toppers point (BTP) total.| Streak | Player | Pos | Team | Duration | BTP* |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 17 | Max Scherzer | pi sp | Blue Jays | 2009‑2025 | 256.7 |
| 17 | Andrew McCutchen | dh lf | Rangers | 2009‑2025 | 82.9 |
| 16 | Giancarlo Stanton | dh rf ph | Yankees | 2010‑2025 | 82.9 |
| 16 | Aroldis Chapman | pi mr cp | Red Sox | 2010‑2025 | 75.1 |
| 16 | Kenley Jansen | pi cp | Tigers | 2011‑2026 | 73.4 |
| 15 | Freddie Freeman | 1b | Dodgers | 2011‑2025 | 95.9 |
| 14 | Kevin Gausman | pi sp | Blue Jays | 2013‑2026 | 114.2 |
| 13 | Sonny Gray | pi sp | Red Sox | 2013‑2025 | 124.3 |
| 12 | Jacob deGrom | pi sp | Rangers | 2014‑2025 | 151.2 |
| 12 | Christian Yelich | dh | Brewers | 2014‑2025 | 78.1 |
| 12 | José Ramírez | 3b | Guardians | 2014‑2025 | 76.3 |
| 12 | Mookie Betts | ss | Dodgers | 2014‑2025 | 71.2 |
| 12 | Nolan Arenado | 3b | Diamondbacks | 2014‑2025 | 66.9 |
| 12 | Eugenio Suárez | 3b | Reds | 2014‑2025 | 60.5 |
| 12 | George Springer | rf | Blue Jays | 2014‑2025 | 57.6 |
| 12 | Xander Bogaerts | ss | Padres | 2014‑2025 | 52.4 |
Gausman has also now earned Box-Toppers points in 14 consecutive seasons with his first Player of the Game honor of 2026.
Gausman earned his first Box-Toppers points in 2013 with the Orioles and now has 114.2 career points, 65th among all players since Box-Toppers tracking began in 1995, 10th among active, signed players and sixth among active AL pitchers. With his 2.0 points Friday, he passes five players on Box-Toppers’ “all-time” career points list—Kevin Brown (112.8), Sammy Sosa (113.2), Dan Haren (113.2), Chris Carpenter (113.3) and Braves pitcher Carlos Carrasco (114.2). Gausman now trails 64th-ranked player Ervin Santana (114.4).
Gausman’s best season was 2023 with the Blue Jays when he earned 18.7 points, fourth overall and third among AL pitchers, behind Chris Bassitt of the Blue Jays (20.1) and Shohei Ohtani of the Angels (19.4). He earned 14.1 Box-Toppers points in 2025 with the Blue Jays, seventh among AL pitchers.
Gausman is now one of 16 players with an active streak of earning Box-Toppers points for 12 or more consecutive seasons. Gausman’s 14-season streak is the seventh-longest.
All-time leaders
Here are Box-Toppers top 20 players since record keeping began in 1995:| Player | Pos | Team | BTP | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Randy Johnson | pi sp | Retired | 282.5 |
| 2 | Clayton Kershaw | pi sp | Retired | 280.8 |
| 3 | Max Scherzer | pi sp | Blue Jays | 256.7 |
| 4 | Justin Verlander | pi sp | Tigers | 250.0 |
| 5 | Pedro Martinez | pi sp | Retired | 244.8 |
| 6 | Zack Greinke | pi sp | Free agent | 224.5 |
| 7 | Albert Pujols | 1b | Retired | 207.8 |
| 8 | CC Sabathia | pi sp | Retired | 203.4 |
| 9 | Curt Schilling | pi sp | Retired | 194.1 |
| 10 | Alex Rodriguez | 3b | Retired | 187.0 |
| 11 | Chris Sale | pi sp | Braves | 185.5 |
| 12 | Jon Lester | pi sp | Retired | 179.3 |
| 13 | Felix Hernandez | pi sp | Retired | 175.1 |
| 14 | Cole Hamels | pi sp | Retired | 174.2 |
| 15 | Roy Halladay | pi sp | Retired | 170.7 |
| 16 | Johan Santana | pi sp | Retired | 166.6 |
| 17 | Manny Ramirez | lf dh | Retired | 166.2 |
| 18 | Gerrit Cole | pi sp | Yankees | 165.0 |
| 19 | Roger Clemens | pi sp | Retired | 164.8 |
| 20 | John Smoltz | pi sp | Retired | 160.9 |
NL Player of the Day: Chris Sale, Braves
Sale struck out six over six scoreless innings, allowing three hits and three walks, in the 6-0 win over the Royals.
Sale earns 1.7 Box-Toppers points for being NL Player of the Day, giving him 185.5 career Box-Toppers points, 11th among all players since Box-Toppers tracking began in 1995, trailing 10th-ranked player Álex Rodríguez (187.0) by 1.5 points.
Sale ranks ninth among all pitchers since tracking began in 1995 and leads active National League pitchers ahead of Yu Darvish of the Padres (144.4). Sale ranks third among active, signed players in career points behind Blue Jays pitcher Max Scherzer (256.7) and Tigers pitcher Justin Verlander (250.0).
NL Batter of the Day: Alex Freeland, Dodgers
Freeland homered, doubled and went 2-for-3, scoring twice and driving in one run, in the 5-4 win over the Diamondbacks.
This was Freeland’s Box-Toppers debut, his first career Player of the Game honor. Freeland made his Major League debut July 30, 2025, and was playing in his 30th career game.
AL Batter of the Day
There is no separate AL Batter of the Day for Friday because no AL batter won Player of the Game honors in the eight games completed.
Jason Heyward, 36, announces retirement. He earned 42.7 career Box-Toppers points from 2010-24, 94th among OFs since 1995. Best season 2023 with #Dodgers, 7.5 B-T points, 13th among NL batters, 7th among NL OFs. Last B-T pts: 8/20/24 w/LAD. Also notably played for #Braves & #Cubs.
— Box-Toppers Baseball (@boxtoppers.bsky.social) Mar 28, 2026 at 9:09 AM
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Streak
Tigers closing pitcher Kenley Jansen has now earned Box-Toppers points in 16 consecutive seasons after earning his first Player of the Game honor of 2026 on Friday.
Jansen (1IP 0H 0R 0BB 3K Sv in the 5-2 win over the Padres) earned his first Box-Toppers point in 2011 with the Dodgers and has 73.4 career points, second among active AL closers behind Aroldis Chapman of the Red Sox (75.1). Jansen’s best season was 2013 with the Dodgers when he had 9.7 points, second among NL closers. He had 3.0 points in 2025 with the Angels, 14th among AL closers.
His 16 consecutive seasons earning Box-Toppers points is now tied for the third-longest active streak.
Scoring
Gausman earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day.
Sale earns 1.7 points for being NL Player of the Day.
Freeland earns 1.5 points for being NL Batter of the Day.
All of Friday’s other Player of the Game winners (listed in the chart) earn 1.0 Box-Toppers 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).| 3/27 | BTG | Game | Player | AB | R | H | BI | IP | H | R | ER | BB | K | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| MLB | +14.0 | `TOR 3, ATH 2 | Kevin Gausman | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | 6.0 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 11 | |
| +12.1 | NYY 3, SF 0 | Cam Schlittler (W, 1‑0) | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | 5.1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 8 | ||
| +6.0 | SEA 5, CLE 1 | George Kirby (W, 1‑0) | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | 6.0 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 6 | ||
| NL | +6.0 | ATL 6, KC 0 | Chris Sale (W, 1‑0) | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | 6.0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 6 | |
| +5.0 | MIA 2, COL 1 | Sandy Alcantara (W, 1‑0) | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | 7.0 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 5 | ||
| +4.0 | LAA 6, HOU 2 | Ryan Zeferjahn (W, 1‑0) | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | 2.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | ||
| +4.0 | DET 5, SD 2 | Kenley Jansen (S, 1) | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | 1.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | ||
| BAT | +2.0 | LAD 5, ARI 4 | Alex Freeland 2B | 3 | 2 | 2 | 1 | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ |
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.
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 | ’25‑26 | ’21‑26 | Career | +/‑ |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Gausman, Kevin 3191 | pi sp | tor al | 2.0 | 16.1 | 71.2 | 114.2 | -12.1 |
| Sale, Chris 2806 | pi sp | atl nl | 1.7 | 13.1 | 42.9 | 185.5 | -9.7 |
| Freeland, Alex 5299 | 2b | lad nl | 1.5 | 1.5 | 1.5 | 1.5 | +1.5 |
| Kirby, George 4595 | pi sp | sea al | 1.0 | 12.0 | 52.5 | 52.5 | -10.0 |
| Alcantara, Sandy 4061 | pi sp | fla nl | 1.0 | 9.0 | 46.8 | 56.2 | -7.0 |
| Schlittler, Cam 5261 | pi sp | nyy al | 1.0 | 8.4 | 8.4 | 8.4 | -6.4 |
| Jansen, Kenley 2871 | pi cp | det al | 1.0 | 4.0 | 22.0 | 73.4 | -2.0 |
| Zeferjahn, Ryan 5136 | pi mr | ana al | 1.0 | 3.0 | 3.0 | 3.0 | -1.0 |
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 | ’25‑26 | ’21‑26 | Career |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| TB | Boyle, Joe 4948 | 0.0 | 3.0 | 5.7 | 5.7 |
| STL | McGreevy, Michael 5113 | 0.0 | 4.0 | 6.0 | 6.0 |
| WSH | Mikolas, Miles 3034 | 0.0 | 7.0 | 29.8 | 47.2 |
| CHC | Horton, Cade 5216 | 0.0 | 9.7 | 9.7 | 9.7 |
| ATH | Springs, Jeffrey 4372 | 0.0 | 8.7 | 31.1 | 31.1 |
| TOR | Cease, Dylan 4231 | 0.0 | 8.7 | 74.6 | 76.6 |
| MIN | Bradley, Taj 4780 | 0.0 | 6.0 | 23.1 | 23.1 |
| BAL | Bradish, Kyle 4597 | 0.0 | 1.0 | 26.0 | 26.0 |
| TEX | deGrom, Jacob 3343 | 0.0 | 11.0 | 45.8 | 151.2 |
| PHI | Nola, Aaron 3569 | 0.0 | 5.7 | 57.8 | 120.8 |
| BOS | Gray, Sonny 3259 | 0.0 | 14.0 | 55.3 | 124.3 |
| CIN | Singer, Brady 4337 | 0.0 | 10.0 | 39.7 | 43.7 |
| COL | Lorenzen, Michael 3479 | 0.0 | 5.0 | 22.7 | 33.2 |
| MIA | Perez, Eury 4814 | 0.0 | 7.0 | 13.0 | 13.0 |
| PIT | Keller, Mitch 4230 | 0.0 | 6.7 | 37.4 | 38.4 |
| NYM | Peterson, David 4347 | 0.0 | 5.7 | 21.4 | 23.4 |
| LAA | Detmers, Reid 4513 | 0.0 | 4.0 | 22.4 | 22.4 |
| HOU | Javier, Cristian 4290 | 0.0 | 1.7 | 31.4 | 33.4 |
| CHW | Burke, Sean 5124 | 0.0 | 3.7 | 4.7 | 4.7 |
| MIL | Patrick, Chad 5131 | 0.0 | 3.0 | 3.0 | 3.0 |
| KC | Wacha, Michael 3276 | 0.0 | 10.1 | 47.0 | 81.7 |
| ATL | Lopez, Reynaldo 3712 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 21.2 | 42.0 |
| NYY | Warren, Will 5143 | 0.0 | 9.4 | 9.4 | 9.4 |
| SF | Mahle, Tyler 3929 | 0.0 | 5.7 | 26.1 | 38.1 |
| DET | Flaherty, Jack 3971 | 0.0 | 8.4 | 31.4 | 65.7 |
| SD | Vasquez, Randy 4841 | 0.0 | 5.4 | 8.4 | 8.4 |
| ARI | Rodriguez, Eduardo 3480 | 0.0 | 4.7 | 28.7 | 72.9 |
| LAD | Glasnow, Tyler 3948 | 0.0 | 5.0 | 41.8 | 65.5 |
| CLE | Cantillo, Joey 5106 | 0.0 | 5.7 | 8.7 | 8.7 |
| SEA | Woo, Bryan 4842 | 0.0 | 18.0 | 38.4 | 38.4 |
* Player has yet to earn any career Box-Toppers points.
What are those numbers after players' names?
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