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, who came within three outs of pitching a no-hitter, is Wednesday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day, taking the lead among American League pitchers 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, July 8.| Player | Pos | Team | BTP | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Jacob Misiorowski | pi sp | Brewers | 15.0 |
| 2 | Cristopher Sánchez | pi sp | Phillies | 14.7 |
| 3 | Dylan Cease | pi sp | Blue Jays | 14.4 |
| 4 | Cam Schlittler | pi sp | Yankees | 13.7 |
| 5 | Shohei Ohtani | pi sp dh | Dodgers | 13.7 |
| 6 | Braxton Ashcraft | pi sp | Pirates | 13.4 |
| 7 | Bryan Woo | pi sp | Mariners | 11.4 |
| 8 | Zack Wheeler | pi sp | Phillies | 11.0 |
| 9 | Jesús Luzardo | pi sp | Phillies | 11.0 |
| 10 | Logan Gilbert | pi sp | Mariners | 11.0 |
Other Player of the Game winners Wednesday include Nationals pitcher Foster Griffin, Elly De La Cruz of the Reds and Kody Clemens of the Twins.
Player of the Day: Dylan Cease, Blue Jays
Cease carried a no-hitter into the ninth inning, striking out 11 over eight-plus scoreless innings before allowing a leadoff single to Heliot Ramos on his 118th and final pitch. He allowed just that one hit and three walks in the 10-0 win over the Giants. Tyler Rogers relieved Cease to close out the game.
Cease earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points, giving him 14.4 for the season. He climbs from sixth to third place overall—trailing only Brewers pitcher Jacob Misiorowski (15.0) and Phillies pitcher Cristopher Sánchez (14.7)—and overtakes the Yankees' Cam Schlittler (13.7) for the AL pitching lead.
NL Player of the Day: Foster Griffin, Nationals
Griffin struck out nine over seven innings, allowing one run, five hits and no walks, in the 8-2 win over the Astros.
Griffin earns 1.7 Box-Toppers points as National League Player of the Day, giving him 9.4 for the season, 20th among all players and 10th among NL pitchers.
NL Batter of the Day: Elly De La Cruz, Reds
De La Cruz homered, doubled and went 2-for-3, scoring three times and driving in two runs, in the 11-5 win over the Phillies.
De La Cruz earns 1.5 Box-Toppers points as NL Batter of the Day, giving him 5.5 for the season, 11th among NL batters.
Wednesday’s Sidelights Sidebar
Box-Toppers review of the day’s top pitchers, overlooked top performers & lowest B-T game scores:
⬛ Jones perfect over 6 innings, but does not win Player of the Game as Braves defeat Pirates
Justin Verlander #Tigers, 43, announces retirement at season’s end. His 250.0 career Box-Toppers points are 4th among all players since 1995, 2nd among active players. He led all players in B-T points in 2012 (24.8) & 2022 (26.0). He has 0 B-T pts in 2026 in one appearance.
— Box-Toppers Baseball (@boxtoppers.bsky.social) 2:37 PM · Jul 8, 2026
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AL Batter of the Day: Kody Clemens, Twins
Clemens doubled and went 3-for-4, scoring once and driving in one run, in the 6-5 win over the Guardians.
Clemens earns 1.5 Box-Toppers points as AL Batter of the Day, giving him 5.5 for the season, third among AL batters, behind Nick Kurtz of the Athletics (7.0 points) and Yordan Alvarez of the Astros (6.5 points).
Debut
Angels pitcher Samy Natera Jr. made his Box-Toppers debut Wednesday with his first career Player of the Game honor.
Natera (2IP 0H 0R 0BB 5K W in the 13-1 win over the Rangers) made his Major League debut June 6 and was playing in his 11th career game.
Scoring
Cease earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points as Player of the Day.
Griffin earns 1.7 points as NL Player of the Day.
De La Cruz and Clemens 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.
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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).| 7/8 | BTG | Game | Player | AB | R | H | BI | IP | H | R | ER | BB | K | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| MLB | +15.0 | TOR 10, SF 0 | Dylan Cease (W, 6‑4) | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | 8.0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 11 | |
| NL | +9.0 | WSH 8, HOU 2 | Foster Griffin (W, 10‑2) | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | 7.0 | 5 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 9 | |
| +8.1 | DET 6, ATH 1 | Troy Melton (W, 5‑1) | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | 5.1 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 9 | ||
| +7.1 | TB 3, NYY 0 | Shane McClanahan (W, 8‑5) | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | 6.1 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5 | ||
| +7.0 | LAA 13, TEX 1 | Samy Natera Jr. (W, 1‑0) | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | 2.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5 | ||
| +6.0 | BOS 5, CHW 0 | Jake Bennett (W, 4‑3) | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | 7.0 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 4 | ||
| +6.0 | `ATL 3, PIT 0 | Grant Holmes | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | 5.0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 5 | ||
| +6.0 | `NYM 6, KC 2 | Christian Scott | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | 5.0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 5 | ||
| +4.1 | STL 5, MIL 1 | Michael McGreevy (W, 4‑7) | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | 6.1 | 5 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 6 | ||
| BAT | +4.0 | CIN 11, PHI 5 | Elly De La Cruz SS | 3 | 3 | 2 | 2 | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | |
| +3.0 | SD 10, ARI 4 | Miguel Andujar DH | 4 | 2 | 3 | 2 | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ||
| +3.0 | CHC 9, BAL 7 | Pete Crow‑Armstrong CF | 4 | 3 | 2 | 2 | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ||
| +3.0 | LAD 4, COL 3 | Tanner Scott (S, 13) | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | 1.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | ||
| +2.0 | MIA 2, SEA 0 | Tyler Phillips (W, 2‑3) | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | 5.0 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 3 | ||
| BAT | +1.0 | MIN 6, CLE 5 | Kody Clemens 2B | 4 | 1 | 3 | 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 | +/‑ |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cease, Dylan 4231 | pi sp | tor al | 14.4 | 23.1 | 89.0 | 91.0 | +5.7 |
| Griffin, Foster 5317 | pi sp | dc nl | 9.4 | 9.4 | 9.4 | 9.4 | +9.4 |
| McClanahan, Shane 4399 | pi sp | tb al | 7.0 | 7.0 | 37.8 | 37.8 | +7.0 |
| De La Cruz, Elly 4844 | ss | cin nl | 5.5 | 9.0 | 19.5 | 19.5 | +2.0 |
| Clemens, Kody 4679 | 1b | min al | 5.5 | 9.0 | 10.0 | 10.0 | +2.0 |
| McGreevy, Michael 5113 | pi sp | stl nl | 5.0 | 9.0 | 11.0 | 11.0 | +1.0 |
| Crow‑Armstrong, Pete 5073 | cf | chi nl | 4.0 | 13.5 | 14.5 | 14.5 | -5.5 |
| Melton, Troy 5231 | pi sp | det al | 4.0 | 7.7 | 7.7 | 7.7 | +0.3 |
| Scott, Tanner 4292 | pi cp | lad nl | 4.0 | 6.0 | 16.0 | 18.0 | +2.0 |
| Scott, Christian 5344 | pi sp | nym nl | 4.0 | 4.0 | 4.0 | 4.0 | +4.0 |
| Holmes, Grant 5127 | pi sp | atl nl | 3.0 | 6.0 | 8.0 | 8.0 | 0.0 |
| Phillips, Tyler 5064 | pi sp | fla nl | 3.0 | 3.0 | 5.0 | 5.0 | +3.0 |
| Bennett, Jake 5396 | pi sp | bos al | 3.0 | 3.0 | 3.0 | 3.0 | +3.0 |
| Andujar, Miguel 3839 | dh lf | sd nl | 1.0 | 1.0 | 5.5 | 11.0 | +1.0 |
| Natera, Samy Jr. 5403 | pi mr | ana 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 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ATL | Elder, Bryce 4709 | 4.7 | 9.7 | 24.4 | 24.4 |
| PIT | Keller, Mitch 4230 | 3.0 | 9.7 | 40.4 | 41.4 |
| KC | Wacha, Michael 3276 | 5.7 | 15.8 | 52.7 | 87.4 |
| NYM | Manaea, Sean 3637 | 0.0 | 2.0 | 42.8 | 71.3 |
| NYY | Undecided | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 |
| TB | Rasmussen, Drew 4547 | 7.0 | 16.7 | 38.2 | 38.2 |
| CHC | Peterson, David 4347 | 2.0 | 7.7 | 23.4 | 25.4 |
| BAL | Rogers, Trevor 4311 | 4.0 | 15.7 | 30.7 | 31.7 |
| CLE | Williams, Gavin 4865 | 9.7 | 21.4 | 29.1 | 29.1 |
| MIN | Ober, Bailey 4441 | 1.7 | 4.7 | 36.5 | 36.5 |
| BOS | Sandoval, Patrick 4357 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 15.7 | 16.7 |
| CHW | Kay, Anthony 4285 | 4.0 | 4.0 | 6.0 | 7.0 |
| ATH | Perkins, Jack 5225 | 3.0 | 4.0 | 4.0 | 4.0 |
| DET | Valdez, Framber 4048 | 4.0 | 15.7 | 62.1 | 72.5 |
| SEA | Miller, Bryce 4797 | 6.7 | 9.7 | 38.5 | 38.5 |
| MIA | Junk, Janson 4697 | 2.0 | 6.7 | 8.4 | 8.4 |
| PHI | Luzardo, Jesus 4282 | 11.0 | 28.4 | 59.6 | 64.3 |
| CIN | Singer, Brady 4337 | 0.0 | 10.0 | 39.7 | 43.7 |
| MIL | Henderson, Logan 5150 | 1.0 | 4.0 | 4.0 | 4.0 |
| STL | Pallante, Andre 4656 | 6.0 | 11.7 | 22.4 | 22.4 |
| LAA | Detmers, Reid 4513 | 5.0 | 9.0 | 27.4 | 27.4 |
| TEX | Eovaldi, Nathan 2928 | 6.7 | 21.1 | 63.9 | 103.4 |
| ARI | Kelly, Merrill 4143 | 2.7 | 15.4 | 44.4 | 56.4 |
| SD | Canning, Griffin 4134 | 2.0 | 7.0 | 20.7 | 29.4 |
| COL | Feltner, Ryan 4635 | 0.0 | 1.7 | 7.7 | 7.7 |
| SF | Undecided | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 |
* Player has yet to earn any career Box-Toppers points.
What are those numbers after players' names?
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