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Today’s key Box-Toppers numbers. Click links to jump to charts elsewhere on this page.▪️ Players of the Game
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▪️ Top 10 players in 2026
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Reds pitcher Chase Burns is Tuesday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day.
Other Player of the Game winners Tuesday include Rangers pitcher Kumar Rocker, Nick Kurtz of the Athletics, James Wood of the Nationals and Freddie Freeman of the Dodgers.
Player of the Day: Chase Burns, Reds
Burns struck out nine over six innings, allowing one run, three hits and no walks, in the 4-1 win over the Phillies.
Burns earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day, giving him 6.0 for the season, 14th among all players and eighth among National League pitchers.
Burns recorded a +10.0 Box-Toppers game score Tuesday, same as another Player of the Game winner, Brewers pitcher Jacob Misiorowski (6IP 3H 0R BB 8K W in the 5-2 win over the Cubs). But Burns beat Misiorowski for Player of the Day on a tiebreaker with more strikeouts—nine vs. eight. As a result, though they had the same +10.0 game score, Burns earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points while Misiorowski earns just 1.0.
AL Player of the Day: Kumar Rocker, Rangers
Rocker struck out seven over 7 2/3 scoreless innings, allowing three hits and three walks, in the 10-0 win over the Rockies.
Rocker earns 1.7 Box-Toppers points as American League Player of the Day, giving him 2.7 for the season, 31st among AL pitchers.
AL Batter of the Day: Nick Kurtz, Athletics
Kurtz doubled and went 3-for-5, scoring twice and driving in five runs, in the 14-6 win over the Angels.
Kurtz earns 1.5 Box-Toppers points as AL Batter of the Day, giving him 4.0 for the season, second among AL batters, behind Jeremiah Jackson of the Orioles (4.2 points).
NL Batter of the Day: James Wood, Nationals
Wood hit an inside-the-park grand slam and went 3-for-5, scoring twice and driving in four runs, in the 9-6 win over the Mets.
Wood earns 1.5 Box-Toppers points as NL Batter of the Day, giving him 3.5 for the season, eighth among NL batters.
Streak: Freddie Freeman, Dodgers
Active season streaks
Here are the 14 players who have active streaks of earning Box-Toppers points for 13 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* |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 18 | Max Scherzer | pi sp | Blue Jays | 2009‑2026 | 257.7 |
| 17 | Andrew McCutchen | dh lf | Rangers | 2009‑2025 | 82.9 |
| 17 | Aroldis Chapman | pi mr cp | Red Sox | 2010‑2026 | 76.1 |
| 16 | Giancarlo Stanton | dh rf ph | Yankees | 2010‑2025 | 82.9 |
| 16 | Kenley Jansen | pi cp | Tigers | 2011‑2026 | 73.4 |
| 16 | Freddie Freeman | 1b | Dodgers | 2011‑2026 | 96.9 |
| 14 | Sonny Gray | pi sp | Red Sox | 2013‑2026 | 128.3 |
| 14 | Kevin Gausman | pi sp | Blue Jays | 2013‑2026 | 115.2 |
| 13 | Jacob deGrom | pi sp | Rangers | 2014‑2026 | 156.9 |
| 13 | Christian Yelich | dh | Brewers | 2014‑2026 | 80.1 |
| 13 | José Ramírez | 3b | Guardians | 2014‑2026 | 77.3 |
| 13 | Nolan Arenado | 3b | Diamondbacks | 2014‑2026 | 68.4 |
| 13 | Eugenio Suárez | 3b | Reds | 2014‑2026 | 61.5 |
| 13 | Xander Bogaerts | ss | Padres | 2014‑2026 | 53.4 |
Freeman has now earned Box-Toppers points in 16 straight seasons after earning his first Player of the Game honor of 2026 Tuesday.
Freeman (2HR 2-4 2R 3BI in the 5-4 win over the Padres) earned his first Player of the Game honor in 2011 with the Braves and has 96.9 career points, the most among all active exclusive batters, ahead of Mike Trout of the Angels (88.2). (Freeman ranks second among all players categorized as batters, behind teammate Shohei Ohtani’s 97.9. However, Ohtani has earned 45.7 points as a batter and 52.2 as a pitcher.) Freeman ranks 34th among all batters since Box-Toppers tracking began in 1995.
His best season was 2013 with the Braves when he had 11.5 Box-Toppers points, second among NL batters. In 2025, he had 4.5 points with the Dodgers, 42nd among NL batters.
Freeman’s 16-season streak earning Box-Toppers points is now tied for the fourth-longest active streak with two other players.
Top 10 players
Here are the top 10 players in 2026 Box-Toppers points (BTP) earned in the regular season through Tuesday, May 19.| Player | Pos | Team | BTP | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Paul Skenes | pi sp | Pirates | 9.0 |
| 2 | Cristopher Sánchez | pi sp | Phillies | 9.0 |
| 3 | José Soriano | pi sp | Angels | 8.0 |
| 4 | Cam Schlittler | pi sp | Yankees | 7.7 |
| 5 | Braxton Ashcraft | pi sp | Pirates | 7.7 |
| 6 | Max Fried | pi sp | Yankees | 7.0 |
| 7 | Gavin Williams | pi sp | Guardians | 6.7 |
| 8 | Shohei Ohtani | pi sp dh | Dodgers | 6.7 |
| 9 | Davis Martin | pi sp | White Sox | 6.7 |
| 10 | Bryan Woo | pi sp | Mariners | 6.4 |
Debut
Travis Bazzana of the Guardians made his Box-Toppers debut Tuesday with his first career Player of the Game honor.
Bazzana (HR 2-3 R 2BI in the 4-3 win over the Tigers) made his Major League debut April 28 and was playing in his 19th career game.
Scoring
Burns earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points as Player of the Day.
Rocker earns 1.7 points as AL Player of the Day.
Kurtz and Wood each earn 1.5 points as their league’s Batter of the Day.
All of Tuesday’s other Player of the Game winners (listed in the chart) earn 1.0 Box-Toppers point.
About Box-Toppers
Tuesday’s Sidelights Sidebar
Box-Toppers review of the day’s top pitchers, overlooked top performers & lowest B-T game scores:
⬛ Miller posts Tuesday’s best B‑T game score but fails to win Player of the Game in Mariners loss
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.
Help us stay accurate! Spot a mistake? Contact Box-Toppers here so we can fix it.
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Most career Box-Toppers points—active batters 1—Shohei Ohtani #Dodgers 97.9† 2—Freddie Freeman #Dodgers 96.9* 3—Mike Trout #Angels 88.2 4—Paul Goldschmidt #Yankees 88.0 5—Giancarlo Stanton #Yankees 82.9 †52.2 pts as a pitcher, 45.7 as a batter *Earns 1.0 B-T point Tuesday
— Box-Toppers Baseball (@boxtoppers.bsky.social) 8:32 AM · May 20, 2026
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).| 5/19 | BTG | Game | Player | AB | R | H | BI | IP | H | R | ER | BB | K | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| MLB | +10.0 | CIN 4, PHI 1 | Chase Burns (W, 6‑1) | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | 6.0 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 9 | |
| +10.0 | MIL 5, CHC 2 | Jacob Misiorowski (W, 4‑2) | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | 6.0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 8 | ||
| AL | +8.2 | TEX 10, COL 0 | Kumar Rocker (W, 2‑4) | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | 7.2 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 7 | |
| BAT | +5.0 | ATH 14, LAA 6 | Nick Kurtz 1B | 5 | 2 | 3 | 5 | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | |
| +5.0 | HOU 2, MIN 1 | Jason Alexander (W, 1‑0) | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | 6.0 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 4 | ||
| +5.0 | `TB 4, BAL 1 | Griffin Jax | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | 5.0 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 6 | ||
| +4.1 | `CHW 2, SEA 1 | Anthony Kay | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | 5.1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 5 | ||
| BAT | +4.0 | WSH 9, NYM 6 | James Wood RF | 5 | 2 | 3 | 4 | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | |
| +4.0 | BOS 7, KC 1 | Jarren Duran LF | 3 | 2 | 2 | 3 | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ||
| +3.0 | LAD 5, SD 4 | Freddie Freeman 1B | 4 | 2 | 2 | 3 | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ||
| +3.0 | STL 9, PIT 6 (F/10) | Alec Burleson 1B | 3 | 3 | 2 | 1 | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ||
| +2.0 | NYY 5, TOR 4 | Ryan McMahon 3B | 4 | 1 | 2 | 3 | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ||
| +2.0 | ATL 8, MIA 4 | Matt Olson 1B | 3 | 0 | 2 | 3 | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ||
| +2.0 | CLE 4, DET 3 | Travis Bazzana 2B | 3 | 1 | 2 | 2 | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ||
| +1.0 | ARI 5, SF 3 | José Fernández PR | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ |
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. 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 (+/-).Back to top
| Player of the Game | Pos | Team | ’26 | ’25‑26 | ’21‑26 | Career | +/‑ |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Misiorowski, Jacob 5200 | pi sp | mil nl | 6.0 | 12.0 | 12.0 | 12.0 | 0.0 |
| Burns, Chase 5301 | pi sp | cin nl | 6.0 | 6.0 | 6.0 | 6.0 | +6.0 |
| Burleson, Alec 4874 | 1b | stl nl | 5.0 | 6.0 | 14.5 | 14.5 | +4.0 |
| Kurtz, Nick 5221 | 1b | oak al | 4.0 | 8.5 | 8.5 | 8.5 | -0.5 |
| Wood, James 5078 | rf | dc nl | 3.5 | 11.2 | 15.2 | 15.2 | -4.2 |
| Olson, Matt 3836 | 1b | atl nl | 3.0 | 9.0 | 28.7 | 40.4 | -3.0 |
| Rocker, Kumar 5108 | pi sp mr | tex al | 2.7 | 7.4 | 8.4 | 8.4 | -2.0 |
| Fernández, José L. 5303 | 3b pr | ari nl | 2.5 | 2.5 | 2.5 | 2.5 | +2.5 |
| Duran, Jarren 4783 | lf | bos al | 2.0 | 8.0 | 18.0 | 18.0 | -4.0 |
| Jax, Griffin 4478 | pi sp mr | tb al | 2.0 | 3.0 | 8.7 | 8.7 | +1.0 |
| Kay, Anthony 4285 | pi sp | chi al | 2.0 | 2.0 | 4.0 | 5.0 | +2.0 |
| Alexander, Jason 5241 | pi sp | hou al | 1.0 | 6.4 | 6.4 | 6.4 | -4.4 |
| Freeman, Freddie 2887 | 1b | lad nl | 1.0 | 5.5 | 34.0 | 96.9 | -3.5 |
| McMahon, Ryan 4004 | 3b | nyy al | 1.0 | 4.0 | 18.9 | 29.6 | -2.0 |
| Bazzana, Travis 5362 | 2b | cle al | 1.0 | 1.0 | 1.0 | 1.0 | +1.0 |
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 | ’25‑26 | ’21‑26 | Career |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| CIN | Abbott, Andrew 4839 | 1.0 | 11.7 | 27.7 | 27.7 |
| PHI | Nola, Aaron 3569 | 2.7 | 8.4 | 60.5 | 123.5 |
| BAL | Baz, Shane 4560 | 1.0 | 11.7 | 17.4 | 17.4 |
| TB | Scholtens, Jesse 5321 | 1.0 | 1.0 | 1.0 | 1.0 |
| HOU | Burrows, Mike 5196 | 1.0 | 3.0 | 3.0 | 3.0 |
| MIN | Ryan, Joe 4539 | 2.0 | 13.7 | 49.5 | 49.5 |
| TEX | Leiter, Jack 5132 | 2.0 | 8.7 | 8.7 | 8.7 |
| COL | Freeland, Kyle 3763 | 1.0 | 5.0 | 25.7 | 46.1 |
| SF | Mahle, Tyler 3929 | 3.4 | 9.1 | 29.5 | 41.5 |
| ARI | Kelly, Merrill 4143 | 2.7 | 15.4 | 44.4 | 56.4 |
| CHW | Burke, Sean 5124 | 2.7 | 6.4 | 7.4 | 7.4 |
| SEA | Hancock, Emerson 4985 | 2.0 | 4.7 | 5.7 | 5.7 |
| ATL | Sale, Chris 2806 | 5.7 | 17.1 | 46.9 | 189.5 |
| MIA | Junk, Janson 4697 | 2.0 | 6.7 | 8.4 | 8.4 |
| CLE | Bibee, Tanner 4792 | 0.0 | 7.0 | 29.7 | 29.7 |
| DET | Undecided | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 |
| NYM | Thornton, Trent* | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 |
| WSH | Littell, Zack 4533 | 1.0 | 7.7 | 22.1 | 22.1 |
| TOR | Yesavage, Trey 5287 | 1.0 | 2.0 | 2.0 | 2.0 |
| NYY | Schlittler, Cam 5261 | 7.7 | 15.1 | 15.1 | 15.1 |
| BOS | Early, Connelly 5282 | 2.0 | 3.7 | 3.7 | 3.7 |
| KC | Wacha, Michael 3276 | 4.7 | 14.8 | 51.7 | 86.4 |
| MIL | Harrison, Kyle 4914 | 4.0 | 6.0 | 14.0 | 14.0 |
| CHC | Cabrera, Edward 4641 | 2.0 | 13.7 | 25.8 | 25.8 |
| PIT | Mlodzinski, Carmen 4894 | 2.0 | 4.0 | 7.0 | 7.0 |
| STL | McGreevy, Michael 5113 | 3.0 | 7.0 | 9.0 | 9.0 |
| LAD | Ohtani, Shohei 3933 | 6.7 | 12.2 | 83.4 | 97.9 |
| SD | Vasquez, Randy 4841 | 6.4 | 11.8 | 14.8 | 14.8 |
| ATH | Civale, Aaron 4173 | 1.0 | 6.0 | 35.8 | 41.5 |
| LAA | Kochanowicz, Jack 5094 | 1.0 | 3.0 | 5.0 | 5.0 |
* Player has yet to earn any career Box-Toppers points.
What are those numbers after players' names?
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| Game | Starter | ’26 | ’25‑26 | ’21‑26 | Career |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| CIN | Abbott, Andrew 4839 | 1.0 | 11.7 | 27.7 | 27.7 |
| PHI | Nola, Aaron 3569 | 2.7 | 8.4 | 60.5 | 123.5 |
| BAL | Baz, Shane 4560 | 1.0 | 11.7 | 17.4 | 17.4 |
| TB | Scholtens, Jesse 5321 | 1.0 | 1.0 | 1.0 | 1.0 |
| HOU | Burrows, Mike 5196 | 1.0 | 3.0 | 3.0 | 3.0 |
| MIN | Ryan, Joe 4539 | 2.0 | 13.7 | 49.5 | 49.5 |
| TEX | Leiter, Jack 5132 | 2.0 | 8.7 | 8.7 | 8.7 |
| COL | Freeland, Kyle 3763 | 1.0 | 5.0 | 25.7 | 46.1 |
| SF | Mahle, Tyler 3929 | 3.4 | 9.1 | 29.5 | 41.5 |
| ARI | Kelly, Merrill 4143 | 2.7 | 15.4 | 44.4 | 56.4 |
| CHW | Burke, Sean 5124 | 2.7 | 6.4 | 7.4 | 7.4 |
| SEA | Hancock, Emerson 4985 | 2.0 | 4.7 | 5.7 | 5.7 |
| ATL | Sale, Chris 2806 | 5.7 | 17.1 | 46.9 | 189.5 |
| MIA | Junk, Janson 4697 | 2.0 | 6.7 | 8.4 | 8.4 |
| CLE | Bibee, Tanner 4792 | 0.0 | 7.0 | 29.7 | 29.7 |
| DET | Undecided | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 |
| NYM | Undecided | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 |
| WSH | Littell, Zack 4533 | 1.0 | 7.7 | 22.1 | 22.1 |
| TOR | Yesavage, Trey 5287 | 1.0 | 2.0 | 2.0 | 2.0 |
| NYY | Schlittler, Cam 5261 | 7.7 | 15.1 | 15.1 | 15.1 |
| BOS | Early, Connelly 5282 | 2.0 | 3.7 | 3.7 | 3.7 |
| KC | Wacha, Michael 3276 | 4.7 | 14.8 | 51.7 | 86.4 |
| MIL | Harrison, Kyle 4914 | 4.0 | 6.0 | 14.0 | 14.0 |
| CHC | Cabrera, Edward 4641 | 2.0 | 13.7 | 25.8 | 25.8 |
| PIT | Mlodzinski, Carmen 4894 | 2.0 | 4.0 | 7.0 | 7.0 |
| STL | McGreevy, Michael 5113 | 3.0 | 7.0 | 9.0 | 9.0 |
| LAD | Ohtani, Shohei 3933 | 6.7 | 12.2 | 83.4 | 97.9 |
| SD | Vasquez, Randy 4841 | 6.4 | 11.8 | 14.8 | 14.8 |
| ATH | Civale, Aaron 4173 | 1.0 | 6.0 | 35.8 | 41.5 |
| LAA | Kochanowicz, Jack 5094 | 1.0 | 3.0 | 5.0 | 5.0 |
* 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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