Box-Toppers Toppers Box
Today’s key Box-Toppers numbers. Click links to jump to charts elsewhere on this page.▪️ Players of the Game
▪️ B-T points of day’s top players
▪️ Top 10 players in 2026
▪️ Upcoming pitching matchups
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Pirates pitcher Braxton Ashcraft is Sunday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day, rising to first place among National League pitchers in 2026 Box-Toppers points.
Top 10 players
Here are the top 10 players in 2026 Box-Toppers points (BTP) earned in the regular season through Sunday, May 3.| Player | Pos | Team | BTP | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Max Fried | pi sp | Yankees | 7.0 |
| 2 | José Soriano | pi sp | Angels | 7.0 |
| 3 | Gavin Williams | pi sp | Guardians | 6.7 |
| 4 | Braxton Ashcraft | pi sp | Pirates | 6.7 |
| 5 | Chris Sale | pi sp | Braves | 5.7 |
| 6 | Cam Schlittler | pi sp | Yankees | 5.7 |
| 7 | Tyler Glasnow | pi sp | Dodgers | 5.7 |
| 8 | Randy Vásquez | pi sp | Padres | 5.4 |
| 9 | Paul Skenes | pi sp | Pirates | 5.0 |
| 10 | Jesús Luzardo | pi sp | Phillies | 5.0 |
Meanwhile, Phillies pitcher Jesús Luzardo rises to 10th place in Box-Toppers season player rankings after earning Player of the Game honors.
Other Player of the Game winners Sunday include Royals pitcher Kris Bubic, Jonah Heim of the Braves and Jasson Domínguez of the Yankees.
Player of the Day: Braxton Ashcraft, Pirates
Ashcraft struck out six over 7 2/3 scoreless innings, allowing four hits and two walks, in the 1-0 win over the Reds. Ashcraft did not earn the win, picking up a no-decision, because he exited when the game was in a scoreless tie.
Ashcraft earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day, giving him 6.7 for the season, fourth overall and first among NL pitchers, passing previous leader Chris Sale of the Braves (5.7 points).
AL Player of the Day: Kris Bubic, Royals
Bubic struck out seven over seven innings, allowing one run, four hits and two walks, in the 4-1 win over the Mariners.
Bubic earns 1.7 Box-Toppers points for being American League Player of the Day, giving him 4.7 for the season, 12th among all players and sixth among AL pitchers.
NL Batter of the Day: Jonah Heim, Braves
Heim homered, doubled, hit a sacrifice fly and went 2-for-5, scoring twice and driving in five runs, in the 11-6 win over the Rockies.
AL Batter of the Day: Jasson Domínguez, Yankees
Domínguez hit a home run, two doubles and went 3-for-5, scoring twice and driving in five runs, in the 11-3 win over the Orioles.
Rankings: Jesús Luzardo, Phillies
Luzardo rises to 10th place in Box-Toppers season player rankings after earning Player of the Game honors Sunday.
Luzardo (6.1IP 8H 2R 0BB 10K W in the 7-2 win over the Marlins) earns 1.0 Box-Toppers point, giving him 5.0 for the season. He ranks sixth among NL pitchers.
Sunday’s Sidelights Sidebar
Box-Toppers review of the day’s top pitchers, overlooked top performers & lowest B-T game scores:
⬛ Burns records Sunday’s best B‑T game score, but fails to win top player honors in Reds’ loss
Debut
Twins pitcher Andrew Morris made his Box-Toppers debut Sunday with his first career Player of the Game honor.
Morris (3.2IP 2H 0R BB 3K W in the 4-3 win over the Blue Jays) made his Major League debut April 12 and was playing in his sixth career game.
Scoring
Ashcraft earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day.
Bubic earns 1.7 points for being AL Player of the Day.
Heim and Domínguez each earn 1.5 points for being their league’s Batter of the Day.
All of Sunday’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.
Help us stay accurate! Spot a mistake? Contact Box-Toppers here so we can fix it.
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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).| 5/3 | BTG | Game | Player | AB | R | H | BI | IP | H | R | ER | BB | K | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| MLB | +7.2 | `PIT 1, CIN 0 | Braxton Ashcraft | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | 7.2 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 6 | |
| AL | +6.0 | KC 4, SEA 1 | Kris Bubic (W, 3‑1) | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | 7.0 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 7 | |
| BAT | +5.0 | ATL 11, COL 6 | Jonah Heim C | 4 | 2 | 2 | 5 | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | |
| +4.1 | PHI 7, MIA 2 | Jesús Luzardo (W, 3‑3) | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | 6.1 | 8 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 10 | ||
| +4.0 | NYM 5, LAA 1 | Mark Vientos 1B | 4 | 2 | 2 | 4 | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ||
| +4.0 | CHC 8, ARI 4 | Michael Busch 1B | 3 | 1 | 2 | 4 | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ||
| +4.0 | `SD 4, CHW 3 | Griffin Canning | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | 5.0 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 7 | ||
| +3.2 | MIN 4, TOR 3 | Andrew Morris (W, 1‑1) | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | 3.2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 3 | ||
| BAT | +3.0 | NYY 11, BAL 3 | Jasson Domínguez DH | 5 | 2 | 3 | 3 | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | |
| +3.0 | LAD 4, STL 1 | Tanner Scott (S, 2) | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | 1.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | ||
| +2.2 | `HOU 3, BOS 1 (F/10) | AJ Blubaugh | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | 3.2 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 5 | ||
| +2.1 | DET 7, TEX 1 | Brant Hurter (W, 4‑0) | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | 3.1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 2 | ||
| +2.0 | ATH 7, CLE 1 | Tyler Soderstrom LF | 4 | 2 | 3 | 1 | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ||
| +2.0 | WSH 3, MIL 2 | Nasim Nuñez 2B | 3 | 1 | 2 | 2 | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ||
| +2.0 | `TB 2, SF 1 (F/10) | Bryan Baker | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | 1.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 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. 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 | +/‑ |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ashcraft, Braxton 5208 | pi sp | pit nl | 6.7 | 11.4 | 11.4 | 11.4 | +2.0 |
| Luzardo, Jesus 4282 | pi sp | phi nl | 5.0 | 22.4 | 53.6 | 58.3 | -12.4 |
| Bubic, Kris 4413 | pi sp | kc al | 4.7 | 13.4 | 18.4 | 18.4 | -4.0 |
| Soderstrom, Tyler 5039 | lf 1b | oak al | 2.5 | 9.0 | 11.0 | 11.0 | -4.0 |
| Blubaugh, AJ 5243 | pi mr sp | hou al | 2.0 | 4.0 | 4.0 | 4.0 | 0.0 |
| Heim, Jonah 4492 | ca | atl nl | 1.5 | 4.0 | 17.7 | 17.7 | -1.0 |
| Domínguez, Jasson 5146 | dh lf | nyy al | 1.5 | 4.0 | 4.0 | 4.0 | -1.0 |
| Canning, Griffin 4134 | pi sp | sd nl | 1.0 | 6.0 | 19.7 | 28.4 | -4.0 |
| Busch, Michael 4981 | 1b | chi nl | 1.0 | 5.4 | 8.9 | 8.9 | -3.4 |
| Vientos, Mark 5024 | 1b 3b | nym nl | 1.0 | 3.5 | 8.0 | 8.0 | -1.5 |
| Scott, Tanner 4292 | pi cp | lad nl | 1.0 | 3.0 | 13.0 | 15.0 | -1.0 |
| Hurter, Brant 5099 | pi mr | det al | 1.0 | 2.0 | 7.0 | 7.0 | 0.0 |
| Baker, Bryan 4710 | pi mr | tb al | 1.0 | 2.0 | 6.0 | 6.0 | 0.0 |
| Nuñez, Nasim 5278 | 2b ss | dc nl | 1.0 | 2.0 | 2.0 | 2.0 | 0.0 |
| Morris, Andrew 5347 | pi mr | min 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 Monday’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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| NYM | Undecided | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 |
| COL | Sugano, Tomoyuki 5163 | 1.0 | 7.7 | 7.7 | 7.7 |
| BOS | Tolle, Payton* | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 |
| DET | Skubal, Tarik 4414 | 3.0 | 25.1 | 76.3 | 76.3 |
| PHI | Nola, Aaron 3569 | 1.7 | 7.4 | 59.5 | 122.5 |
| MIA | Junk, Janson 4697 | 2.0 | 6.7 | 8.4 | 8.4 |
| TOR | Lauer, Eric 4017 | 1.0 | 11.0 | 28.4 | 41.8 |
| TB | Martinez, Nick 3430 | 3.0 | 9.7 | 31.8 | 38.5 |
| BAL | Baz, Shane 4560 | 1.0 | 11.7 | 17.4 | 17.4 |
| NYY | Schlittler, Cam 5261 | 5.7 | 13.1 | 13.1 | 13.1 |
| CIN | Petty, Chase* | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 |
| CHC | Cabrera, Edward 4641 | 2.0 | 13.7 | 25.8 | 25.8 |
| CLE | Bibee, Tanner 4792 | 0.0 | 7.0 | 29.7 | 29.7 |
| KC | Wacha, Michael 3276 | 2.0 | 12.1 | 49.0 | 83.7 |
| MIL | Patrick, Chad 5131 | 0.0 | 3.0 | 3.0 | 3.0 |
| STL | Leahy, Kyle 5001 | 0.0 | 3.0 | 4.7 | 4.7 |
| LAD | Yamamoto, Yoshinobu 4964 | 3.7 | 21.4 | 27.8 | 27.8 |
| HOU | Okert, Steven 3745 | 0.0 | 1.0 | 3.0 | 5.0 |
| CHW | Martin, Davis 4657 | 2.0 | 5.0 | 10.0 | 10.0 |
| LAA | Soriano, Jose 4884 | 7.0 | 19.7 | 23.7 | 23.7 |
| ATL | Ritchie, JR* | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 |
| SEA | Gilbert, Logan 4439 | 1.0 | 14.1 | 61.6 | 61.6 |
| SD | Vasquez, Randy 4841 | 5.4 | 10.8 | 13.8 | 13.8 |
| SF | McDonald, Trevor 5297 | 0.0 | 1.0 | 1.0 | 1.0 |
* Player has yet to earn any career Box-Toppers points.
What are those numbers after players' names?
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