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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Blue Jays pitcher Dylan Cease is Friday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day, rising to fourth place overall and taking the 2026 Box-Toppers points lead among American League pitchers.
Cease struck out nine over seven scoreless innings, allowing three hits and one walk, in the 2-0 win over the Mariners.
Cease earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day, giving him 12.4 for the season, rising from seventh to fourth place overall. He jumps to first place among AL pitchers, passing previous leader, Cam Schlittler of the Yankees (11.7).
NL Player of the Day: Jake McCarthy, Rockies
McCarthy hit two home runs, including a grand slam, in the 15-3 win over the Giants. McCarthy went 4-for-5, scoring twice and driving in six runs.
McCarthy earns 1.7 Box-Toppers points as National League Player of the Day, giving him 7.2 for the season, 24th among all players and third among NL batters, behind Shohei Ohtani of the Dodgers (12.7) and Dansby Swanson of the Cubs (8.2).
Top 10 players
Here are the top 10 players in 2026 Box-Toppers points (BTP) earned in the regular season through Friday, July 3.| Player | Pos | Team | BTP | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Cristopher Sánchez | pi sp | Phillies | 14.7 |
| 2 | Jacob Misiorowski | pi sp | Brewers | 14.0 |
| 3 | Shohei Ohtani | pi sp dh | Dodgers | 12.7 |
| 4 | Dylan Cease | pi sp | Blue Jays | 12.4 |
| 5 | Braxton Ashcraft | pi sp | Pirates | 12.4 |
| 6 | Cam Schlittler | pi sp | Yankees | 11.7 |
| 7 | Bryan Woo | pi sp | Mariners | 11.4 |
| 8 | Jesús Luzardo | pi sp | Phillies | 10.0 |
| 9 | Kyle Harrison | pi sp | Brewers | 10.0 |
| 10 | José Soriano | pi sp | Angels | 9.7 |
AL and NL Batters of the Day
There is no AL Batter of the Day for Friday because no AL batters won Player of the Game honors in the 13 games completed. There is no separate NL Batter of the Day for Friday because the overall NL Player of the Day is batter Jake McCarthy.
Debut
Guardians closing pitcher Erik Sabrowski made his Box-Toppers debut with his first career Player of the Game honor.
Sabrowski (1IP 0H 0R 0BB 2K W in the 4-3, 10-inning win over the White Sox) made his Major League debut Sept. 4, 2024, and was playing in his 72nd career game.
Scoring
Friday’s Sidelights Sidebar
Box-Toppers review of the day’s top pitchers, overlooked top performers & lowest B-T game scores:
⬛ Astros’ Arrighetti records best B‑T game score among Friday’s non-Player of the Game winners
Cease earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points as Player of the Day.
McCarthy earns 1.7 points as NL Player 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.
Help us stay accurate! Spot a mistake? Contact Box-Toppers here so we can fix it.
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Andrew McCutchen, 39, to sign minor league deal with #Braves after May release by #Rangers. His 82.9 career Box-Toppers points would be 6th among active batters. He’s earned B-T points in 17 straight seasons (2009-25)—tied for 2nd-longest active streak—but has 0.0 points in 2026.
— Box-Toppers Baseball (@boxtoppers.bsky.social) 4:14 PM · Jul 3, 2026
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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).| 7/3 | BTG | Game | Player | AB | R | H | BI | IP | H | R | ER | BB | K | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| MLB | +12.0 | TOR 2, SEA 0 | Dylan Cease (W, 5‑4) | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | 7.0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 9 | |
| NL | +7.0 | COL 15, SF 3 | Jake McCarthy LF | 5 | 2 | 4 | 6 | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | |
| +5.0 | MIA 12, ATH 5 | Kyle Stowers 1B | 5 | 3 | 4 | 3 | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ||
| +5.0 | WSH 9, PIT 5 | Daylen Lile LF | 4 | 2 | 3 | 4 | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ||
| +4.2 | BOS 5, LAA 2 | Jake Bennett (W, 3‑3) | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | 7.2 | 5 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 6 | ||
| +4.1 | `MIL 7, ARI 4 (F/11) | Chad Patrick | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | 3.1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | ||
| +4.0 | STL 17, CHC 1 | Iván Herrera C | 4 | 3 | 3 | 2 | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ||
| +4.0 | NYY 5, MIN 2 | David Bednar (S, 17) | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | 1.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | ||
| +4.0 | LAD 4, SD 3 | Tanner Scott (S, 12) | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | 1.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | ||
| +3.0 | ATL 5, NYM 3 | Matt Olson 1B | 3 | 2 | 2 | 2 | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ||
| +3.0 | CLE 4, CHW 3 (F/10) | Erik Sabrowski (W, 3‑1) | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | 1.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | ||
| +2.1 | `TB 3, HOU 1 | Nick Martinez | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | 5.1 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 3 | ||
| +2.0 | BAL 3, CIN 0 | Trevor Rogers (W, 6‑7) | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | 5.0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 4 |
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 | +/‑ |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cease, Dylan 4231 | pi sp | tor al | 12.4 | 21.1 | 87.0 | 89.0 | +3.7 |
| McCarthy, Jake 4621 | cf rf lf | col nl | 7.2 | 7.2 | 13.2 | 13.2 | +7.2 |
| Rogers, Trevor 4311 | pi sp | bal al | 4.0 | 15.7 | 30.7 | 31.7 | -7.7 |
| Bednar, David 4499 | pi cp | nyy al | 4.0 | 11.0 | 28.0 | 28.0 | -3.0 |
| Martinez, Nick 3430 | pi sp | tb al | 4.0 | 10.7 | 32.8 | 39.5 | -2.7 |
| Olson, Matt 3836 | 1b | atl nl | 4.0 | 10.0 | 29.7 | 41.4 | -2.0 |
| Patrick, Chad 5131 | pi mr | mil nl | 4.0 | 7.0 | 7.0 | 7.0 | +1.0 |
| Stowers, Kyle 5019 | 1b lf | fla nl | 3.5 | 10.5 | 12.0 | 12.0 | -3.5 |
| Herrera, Ivan 4954 | dh ca | stl nl | 3.0 | 9.0 | 12.0 | 12.0 | -3.0 |
| Scott, Tanner 4292 | pi cp | lad nl | 3.0 | 5.0 | 15.0 | 17.0 | +1.0 |
| Lile, Daylen 5353 | lf | dc nl | 2.5 | 2.5 | 2.5 | 2.5 | +2.5 |
| Bennett, Jake 5396 | pi sp | bos al | 2.0 | 2.0 | 2.0 | 2.0 | +2.0 |
| Sabrowski, Erik 5400 | pi cp | 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 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| PIT | Ashcraft, Braxton 5208 | 12.4 | 17.1 | 17.1 | 17.1 |
| WSH | Littell, Zack 4533 | 3.0 | 9.7 | 24.1 | 24.1 |
| MIN | Matthews, Zebby 5186 | 2.7 | 6.7 | 6.7 | 6.7 |
| NYY | Rodon, Carlos 3494 | 1.7 | 15.4 | 60.6 | 85.7 |
| DET | Flaherty, Jack 3971 | 1.0 | 9.4 | 32.4 | 66.7 |
| TEX | Rocker, Kumar 5108 | 3.7 | 8.4 | 9.4 | 9.4 |
| TOR | Bieber, Shane 4005 | 0.0 | 3.0 | 29.4 | 65.3 |
| SEA | Gilbert, Logan 4439 | 9.0 | 22.1 | 69.6 | 69.6 |
| BAL | Young, Brandon 5253 | 3.0 | 5.0 | 5.0 | 5.0 |
| CIN | Greene, Hunter 4651 | 0.0 | 13.4 | 34.8 | 34.8 |
| CHW | Burke, Sean 5124 | 4.7 | 8.4 | 9.4 | 9.4 |
| CLE | Messick Parker 5266 | 6.7 | 7.7 | 7.7 | 7.7 |
| TB | Rasmussen, Drew 4547 | 7.0 | 16.7 | 38.2 | 38.2 |
| HOU | Brown, Hunter 4729 | 2.0 | 15.4 | 38.5 | 38.5 |
| NYM | Manaea, Sean 3637 | 0.0 | 2.0 | 42.8 | 71.3 |
| ATL | Sale, Chris 2806 | 6.7 | 18.1 | 47.9 | 190.5 |
| STL | Leahy, Kyle 5001 | 1.0 | 4.0 | 5.7 | 5.7 |
| CHC | Imanaga, Shota 4960 | 5.0 | 12.0 | 32.7 | 32.7 |
| PHI | Luzardo, Jesus 4282 | 10.0 | 27.4 | 58.6 | 63.3 |
| KC | Wacha, Michael 3276 | 5.7 | 15.8 | 52.7 | 87.4 |
| SF | Ray, Robbie 3502 | 5.7 | 15.1 | 50.9 | 95.0 |
| COL | Sugano, Tomoyuki 5163 | 2.0 | 8.7 | 8.7 | 8.7 |
| BOS | Gray, Sonny 3259 | 9.0 | 23.0 | 64.3 | 133.3 |
| LAA | Aldegheri, Samuel 5103 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 1.0 | 1.0 |
| MIA | Alcantara, Sandy 4061 | 5.7 | 13.7 | 51.5 | 60.9 |
| ATH | Civale, Aaron 4173 | 1.0 | 6.0 | 35.8 | 41.5 |
| MIL | Woodruff, Brandon 3868 | 3.0 | 12.7 | 57.6 | 74.3 |
| ARI | Kelly, Merrill 4143 | 2.7 | 15.4 | 44.4 | 56.4 |
| SD | Canning, Griffin 4134 | 2.0 | 7.0 | 20.7 | 29.4 |
| LAD | Yamamoto, Yoshinobu 4964 | 7.7 | 25.4 | 31.8 | 31.8 |
* Player has yet to earn any career Box-Toppers points.
What are those numbers after players' names?
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