Pirates’ Skenes tops players for Wednesday, May 6, rising to 1st in 2026 player rankings

Pirates pitcher Paul Skenes is Wednesday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day, becoming the new leader in season player rankings.

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
▪️ Subscribe to newsletter
▪️ Support Box-Toppers

Pirates pitcher Paul Skenes is Wednesday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day, becoming the new leader in season player rankings.

Top 10 players

Here are the top 10 players in 2026 Box-Toppers points (BTP) earned in the regular season through Wednesday, May 6.
  Player Pos Team BTP
1 Paul Skenes pi sp Pirates 7.0
2 Max Fried pi sp Yankees 7.0
3 José Soriano pi sp Angels 7.0
4 Gavin Williams pi sp Guardians 6.7
5 Braxton Ashcraft pi sp Pirates 6.7
6 Cristopher Sánchez pi sp Phillies 6.0
7 Chris Sale pi sp Braves 5.7
8 Cam Schlittler pi sp Yankees 5.7
9 Taj Bradley pi sp Twins 5.7
10 Tyler Glasnow pi sp Dodgers 5.7
Back to top

Other Player of the Game winners Wednesday include Mariners pitcher Bryan Woo, Rangers pitcher Nathan Eovaldi, Andy Pages of the Dodgers, Marcus Semien of the Mets, Adley Rutschman of the Orioles and Red Sox pitcher Sonny Gray.

Player of the Day: Paul Skenes, Pirates

Skenes struck out seven over eight scoreless innings, allowing two hits and no walks, in the 1-0 win over the Diamondbacks.

Skenes earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day, giving him 7.0 for the season, rising to first in Box-Toppers season player rankings, passing previous leader, Yankees pitcher Max Fried.

While three players—Skenes, Fried and Angels pitcher José Soriano—are tied with 7.0 points, Skenes takes the top spot via the tiebreaker (higher 2025 point total). Skenes earned 21.1 points last season (second overall), compared to Fried’s 14.4 and Soriano’s 12.7.

Skenes also rises to first place among National League pitchers, passing previous leader, teammate Braxton Ashcraft (6.7 points), who falls to second.

This is the first time Skenes has led Box-Toppers season player rankings at any point in a season.

AL Player of the Day: Bryan Woo, Mariners

Woo struck out nine over six scoreless innings, allowing one hit and two walks, in the 3-1 win over the Braves.

Woo earns 1.7 Box-Toppers points for being American League Player of the Day, giving him 4.7 for the season, 14th overall and seventh among AL pitchers.

AL Player of the Day: Bryan Woo, Mariners.

NL Batter of the Day: Andy Pages, Dodgers

Pages hit three home runs, including a three-run home run, in the 12-2 win over the Astros. Pages went 3-for-5, scoring three times and driving in six runs.

Pages earns 1.5 Box-Toppers points for being NL Batter of the Day, giving him 3.0 for the season, eighth among NL batters.

NL Batter of the Day: Andy Pages, Dodgers.

AL Batter of the Day: Adley Rutschman, Orioles

Rutschman hit two doubles and went 2-for-3, scoring once and driving in two runs, in the 7-4 win over the Marlins.

Rutschman earns 1.5 Box-Toppers points for being AL Batter of the Day, giving him 3.2 for the season, seventh among AL batters.

AL Batter of the Day: Adley Rutschman, Orioles.

Career Box-Toppers points—Active second basemen 1—Jose Altuve #Astros 67.5 2—Marcus Semien #Mets 51.1* 3—Brandon Lowe #Pirates 35.5 4—Ketel Marte #Dbacks 34.5 5—Ozzie Albies #Braves 27.5 6—Gleyber Torres #Tigers 27.0 *Earns 1.0 B-T point as Player of the Game Wednesday

— Box-Toppers Baseball (@boxtoppers.bsky.social) 10:17 AM · May 7, 2026

Streak: Marcus Semien, Mets

Semien has now earned Box-Toppers points in 11 straight seasons after earning his first Player of the Game honor of 2026 on Wednesday.

Semien (HR 2B 4-5 3R 2BI in the 10-5 win over the Rockies) earned his first point in 2013 with the White Sox, but earned no points in 2015, so his current streak began in 2016 when he was with the Athletics. Semien has 51.1 career Box-Toppers points, 15th among active NL batters and first among active NL second basemen, ahead of Brandon Lowe of the Pirates (35.5).

Semien’s best season was 2019 with the Athletics when he had 8.7 Box-Toppers points, 10th among AL batters. He earned 3.0 points in 2025 with the Rangers.

Marcus Semien, Mets has now earned Box-Toppers points in 11 straight seasons after earning his first Player of the Game honor of 2026.

Wednesday’s Sidelights Sidebar

Box-Toppers review of the day’s top pitchers, overlooked top performers & lowest B-T game scores:

Yankees’ de los Santos has highest game score among day’s non-Player of the Game winners

Notable: Nathan Eovaldi, Rangers

Eovaldi becomes the 96th player to reach 100 career Box-Toppers points since player tracking began in 1995, after earning Player of the Game honors Wednesday.

Eovaldi (8IP 3H R 0BB 8K W in the 6-1 win over the Yankees) now has 100.7 career Box-Toppers points, 92nd-most among all players since 1995. With his 1.0 point Wednesday, he passes five players on the “all-time” career points list—Jim Edmonds (99.8), Larry Walker (100.1), Jeff Bagwell (100.4), Paul Konerko (100.7) and Matt Cain (100.7). Eovaldi now trails 91st-ranked player Matt Holliday (100.8).

Eovaldi ranks 13th among active, signed players in career points, eighth among active AL pitchers.

He now has 4.0 Box-Toppers points in 2026, 18th overall and ninth among AL pitchers.

Nathan Eovladi, Rangers, becomes the 96th player to reach 100 career Box-Toppers points since player tracking began in 1995..

Career Box-Toppers points—active players 1—Max Scherzer #BlueJays 257.7 2—Justin Verlander #Tigers 250.0 3—Chris Sale #Braves 189.5 4—Gerrit Cole #Yankees 165.0 5—Jacob deGrom #Rangers 154.9 6—Yu Darvish #Padres 144.4 7—Sonny Gray #RedSox 126.3* *Earns 1.0 B-T point Wednesday

— Box-Toppers Baseball (@boxtoppers.bsky.social) 10:29 AM · May 7, 2026

Also notable: Sonny Gray, Red Sox

Gray now has 126.3 career Box-Toppers points—47th-most among all players since tracking began in 1995—after earning Player of the Game honors Wednesday.

Gray (5IP 4H 0R 2BB 2K W in the 4-0 win over the Tigers), with 1.0 point Wednesday, passes Phillies pitcher Zack Wheeler (125.1) on the “all-time” career points list. (Wheeler also started Wednesday but did not win Player of the Game honors.) Gray now trails 46th-ranked player Mariano Rivera (126.4).

Gray ranks seventh among active, signed players in career points, fifth among active AL pitchers.

Gray now has 2.0 Box-Toppers points in 2026.

Sonny Gray, Red Sox, now has 126.3 career Box-Toppers points—47th-most among all players since tracking began in 1995.

Debut

Angels pitcher Walbert Ureña made his Box-Toppers debut Wednesday with his first career Player of the Game honor.

Ureña (6IP 2H R 3BB 5K W in the 8-2 win over the White Sox) made his Major League debut March 26 and was playing in his sixth career game.

Scoring

  • Skenes earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points as Player of the Day.

  • Woo earns 1.7 points as AL Player of the Day.

  • Pages and Rutschman each earn 1.5 points as their league’s Batter of the Day.

  • All of Wednesday’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.

Follow us: Bluesky | X | Facebook | Substack (newsletter)

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).
5/6 BTG Game Player AB R H BI   IP H R ER BB K
MLB +13.0 PIT 1, ARI 0 Paul Skenes (W, 5‑2)   8.0 2 0 0 0 7
AL +12.0 SEA 3, ATL 1 Bryan Woo (W, 2‑2)   6.0 1 0 0 2 9
  +11.0 TEX 6, NYY 1 Nathan Eovaldi (W, 4‑4)   8.0 3 1 1 0 8
  +8.0 SD 5, SF 1 Matt Waldron (W, 1‑1)   5.0 2 1 1 0 7
BAT +7.0 LAD 12, HOU 2 Andy Pages CF 5 3 3 6  
  +6.2 TB 3, TOR 0 Shane McClanahan (W, 4‑2)   5.2 2 0 0 1 4
  +5.0 WSH 15, MIN 2 CJ Abrams SS 5 2 3 5  
  +5.0 `MIL 6, STL 2 Brandon Sproat   4.0 1 0 0 3 5
  +4.0 NYM 10, COL 5 Marcus Semien 2B 5 3 4 2  
  +4.0 LAA 8, CHW 2 Walbert Ureña (W, 1‑3)   6.0 2 1 1 3 5
  +3.0 CLE 3, KC 1 Cade Smith (S, 9)   1.0 1 0 0 0 3
  +2.0 CHC 7, CIN 6 (F/10) Ian Happ LF 5 2 3 2  
BAT +2.0 BAL 7, MIA 4 Adley Rutschman C 3 1 2 2  
  +1.0 PHI 6, ATH 3 Edmundo Sosa 2B‑3B 4 1 2 2  
  +1.0 BOS 4, DET 0 Sonny Gray (W, 3‑1)   5.0 4 0 0 2 2
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.
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.
Back to top

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 +/‑
Skenes, Paul 5005 pi sp pit nl 7.0 28.1 41.1 41.1 -14.1
Woo, Bryan 4842 pi sp sea al 4.7 22.7 43.1 43.1 -13.3
Eovaldi, Nathan 2928 pi sp tex al 4.0 18.4 61.2 100.7 -10.4
Rutschman, Adley 4659 ca dh bal al 3.2 5.2 18.7 18.7 +1.2
Pages, Andy 5123 cf lad nl 3.0 5.7 6.7 6.7 +0.3
McClanahan, Shane 4399 pi sp tb al 3.0 3.0 33.8 33.8 +3.0
Gray, Sonny 3259 pi sp bos al 2.0 16.0 57.3 126.3 -12.0
Abrams, CJ 4688 ss dc nl 2.0 4.0 9.0 9.0 0.0
Sproat, Brandon 5324 pi sp mil nl 2.0 2.0 2.0 2.0 +2.0
Happ, Ian 3798 lf chi nl 1.0 7.0 22.0 28.0 -5.0
Smith, Cade 5066 pi cp cle al 1.0 7.0 9.0 9.0 -5.0
Semien, Marcus 3302 2b nym nl 1.0 4.0 25.9 51.1 -2.0
Sosa, Edmundo 4495 2b 3b phi nl 1.0 3.0 10.5 10.5 -1.0
Waldron, Matt 4946 pi mr sp sd nl 1.0 1.0 8.0 8.0 +1.0
Ureña, Walbert 5350 pi sp ana al 1.0 1.0 1.0 1.0 +1.0
What are those numbers after players' names?
About Box-Toppers’ team abbreviations
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 view.
Back to top

A Box-Toppers look at Thursday’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
TEX Gore, MacKenzie 4582 3.0 11.7 31.4 31.4
NYY Blackburn, Paul 3869 0.0 1.0 13.7 16.7
MIN Woods Richardson, Simeon 4974 0.0 6.0 9.7 9.7
WSH Irvin, Jake 4805 2.0 9.7 22.7 22.7
CLE Cecconi, Slade 4913 0.0 6.0 9.0 9.0
KC Lugo, Seth 3729 1.0 6.0 28.5 44.5
CIN Lowder, Rhett 5107 1.0 1.0 2.0 2.0
CHC Imanaga, Shota 4960 4.0 11.0 31.7 31.7
NYM Scott, Christian 5344 1.0 1.0 1.0 1.0
COL Quintana, Jose 3040 1.0 3.0 25.4 96.1
PIT Keller, Mitch 4230 2.0 8.7 39.4 40.4
ARI Gallen, Zac 4171 1.0 13.7 65.5 77.2
ATH Ginn, J.T. 5142 1.0 6.7 6.7 6.7
PHI Painter, Andrew 5302 1.0 1.0 1.0 1.0
BAL Povich, Cade 5029 1.0 2.0 6.0 6.0
MIA Meyer, Max 4965 3.0 7.0 9.0 9.0
TB Jax, Griffin 4478 1.0 2.0 7.7 7.7
BOS Bennett, Jake* 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0
STL Liberatore, Matthew 4662 2.0 8.0 15.0 15.0
SD King, Michael 4549 2.0 6.4 33.8 33.8
Starters subject to change.
* 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.
Back to top