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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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Nationals pitcher Cade Cavalli is Thursday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day.
Also Thursday, two players in Box-Toppers season player rankings top 10 list earn Player of the Game honors—Pirates pitcher Braxton Ashcraft (who holds steady in sixth place) and Mariners pitcher Logan Gilbert (who rises to ninth place).
Other Player of the Game winners Thursday include Red Sox pitcher Payton Tolle and Sal Stewart of the Reds.
Player of the Day: Cade Cavalli, Nationals
Cavalli struck out 10 over eight scoreless innings, allowing one hit and two walks, in the 7-0 win over the Cubs.
He carried a no-hitter into the seventh inning before giving up a two-out single to Michael Busch—the only hit he allowed.
Cavalli earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day, bringing his season total to 6.7, 72nd among all players and 25th among National League pitchers.
AL Player of the Day: Payton Tolle, Red Sox
Tolle struck out four over eight scoreless innings, allowing two hits and two walks, in the 7-0 win over the Blue Jays.
Tolle earns 1.7 Box-Toppers points as American League Player of the Day, bringing his season total to 9.7, 14th among AL pitchers.
NL Batter of the Day: Sal Stewart, Reds
Stewart homered and went 2-for-3, scoring four times and driving in two runs, in the 9-8 win over the White Sox.
Stewart earns 1.5 Box-Toppers points as NL Batter of the Day, giving him 12.0 for the season, 14th overall and second among NL batters, behind Shohei Ohtani of the Dodgers (13.7).
It should be noted that Ohtani has earned only 5.0 of his points as a batter while the other 8.7 have come as a pitcher, but he qualifies to rank as both a pitcher and batter with his full 13.7-point total. Stewart has the most points among all players who serve solely as batters in the Major Leagues, ahead of Dansby Swanson of the Cubs, whose 9.2 points rank third among NL batters.
Top 10 players
Here are the top 10 players in 2026 Box-Toppers points (BTP) earned in the regular season through Thursday, Aug. 13 .| Player | Pos | Team | BTP | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Jacob Misiorowski | pi sp | Brewers | 18.7 |
| 2 | Dylan Cease | pi sp | Blue Jays | 17.4 |
| 3 | Jesús Luzardo | pi sp | Phillies | 17.0 |
| 4 | Cristopher Sánchez | pi sp | Phillies | 15.7 |
| 5 | Cam Schlittler | pi sp | Yankees | 15.7 |
| 6 | Braxton Ashcraft | pi sp | Pirates | 15.4 |
| 7 | Shohei Ohtani | pi sp dh | Dodgers | 13.7 |
| 8 | Zack Wheeler | pi sp | Phillies | 13.0 |
| 9 | Logan Gilbert | pi sp | Mariners | 13.0 |
| 10 | Gavin Williams | pi sp | Guardians | 12.7 |
Thursday’s Sidelights Sidebar
Box-Toppers review of the day's top pitchers, overlooked top performers & lowest B-T game scores:
⬛ Pirates batters Flores, Triolo combine for 9 RBIs, but neither wins top player honors
Rankings: Braxton Ashcraft, Pirates
Ashcraft maintains sixth place in Box-Toppers season player rankings after earning Player of the Game honors Thursday (CG 3H R BB 10K W in the 13-1 win over the Marlins).
Ashcraft earns 1.0 Box-Toppers point, bringing his total to 15.4 for the season. He ranks fourth among NL pitchers.
Rankings: Logan Gilbert, Mariners
Gilbert rises to ninth place in Box-Toppers season player rankings after earning Player of the Game honors Thursday (6IP 4H 0R BB 7K W in the 1-0 win over the Yankees).
Gilbert earns 1.0 Box-Toppers point, bringing his total to 13.0 for the season. He ranks third among AL pitchers, behind Dylan Cease of the Blue Jays (17.4) and Cam Schlittler of the Yankees (15.7).
Scoring
Cavalli earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points as Player of the Day.
Tolle earns 1.7 points as AL Player of the Day.
Stewart earns 1.5 points as NL Batter of the Day.
All of Thursday’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).| 8/13 | BTG | Game | Player | AB | R | H | BI | IP | H | R | ER | BB | K | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| MLB | 15.0 | WSH 7, CHC 0 | Cade Cavalli (W, 10‑5) | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | 8.0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 10 | |
| 13.0 | PIT 13, MIA 1 | Braxton Ashcraft (W, 12‑5) | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | 9.0 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 10 | ||
| AL | 8.0 | BOS 7, TOR 0 | Payton Tolle (W, 8‑6) | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | 8.0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 4 | |
| 8.0 | SEA 1, NYY 0 | Logan Gilbert (W, 9‑7) | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | 6.0 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 7 | ||
| 7.0 | LAA 7, TEX 0 | Walbert Ureña (W, 8‑8) | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | 6.0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 5 | ||
| BAT | 5.0 | CIN 9, CHW 8 | Sal Stewart 1B | 3 | 4 | 2 | 2 | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | |
| 5.0 | MIL 5, LAD 4 | DL Hall (W, 2‑0) | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | 2.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | ||
| 4.0 | PHI 7, MIN 1 | Brandon Marsh LF | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ||
| 2.1 | DET 3, CLE 0 | Keider Montero (W, 9‑7) | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | 6.1 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 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 | +/‑ |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ashcraft, Braxton 5208 | pi sp | pit nl | 15.4 | 20.1 | 20.1 | 20.1 | +10.7 |
| Gilbert, Logan 4439 | pi sp | sea al | 13.0 | 26.1 | 73.6 | 73.6 | -0.1 |
| Stewart, Sal 5288 | 1b | cin nl | 12.0 | 14.5 | 14.5 | 14.5 | +9.5 |
| Tolle, Payton 5348 | pi sp | bos al | 9.7 | 9.7 | 9.7 | 9.7 | +9.7 |
| Cavalli, Cade 5244 | pi sp | dc nl | 6.7 | 8.7 | 8.7 | 8.7 | +4.7 |
| Ureña, Walbert 5350 | pi sp | ana al | 6.0 | 6.0 | 6.0 | 6.0 | +6.0 |
| Montero, Keider 5057 | pi sp | det al | 5.7 | 9.7 | 14.4 | 14.4 | +1.7 |
| Marsh, Brandon 4670 | lf | phi nl | 2.0 | 2.0 | 7.5 | 7.5 | +2.0 |
| Hall, DL 5097 | pi mr sp | mil nl | 1.0 | 3.0 | 4.0 | 4.0 | -1.0 |
About Box-Toppers’ team abbreviations
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A Box-Toppers look at Friday’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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| STL | Liberatore, Matthew 4662 | 7.7 | 13.7 | 20.7 | 20.7 |
| CHC | Holmes, Clay 4022 | 2.0 | 7.0 | 19.0 | 20.0 |
| MIA | Alcantara, Sandy 4061 | 10.7 | 18.7 | 56.5 | 65.9 |
| CIN | Burns, Chase 5301 | 10.0 | 10.0 | 10.0 | 10.0 |
| BOS | Bennett, Jake 5396 | 4.0 | 4.0 | 4.0 | 4.0 |
| PIT | Chandler, Bubba 5269 | 3.0 | 7.7 | 7.7 | 7.7 |
| CHW | Newcomb, Sean 3831 | 3.0 | 4.0 | 7.0 | 24.1 |
| DET | Jobe, Jackson 5141 | 1.0 | 2.0 | 2.0 | 2.0 |
| BAL | Bradish, Kyle 4597 | 7.1 | 8.1 | 33.1 | 33.1 |
| TB | Matz, Steven 3516 | 5.0 | 7.0 | 24.1 | 56.4 |
| SD | King, Michael 4549 | 6.0 | 10.4 | 37.8 | 37.8 |
| CLE | Williams, Gavin 4865 | 12.7 | 24.4 | 32.1 | 32.1 |
| WSH | Alvarez, Andrew 5274 | 2.0 | 4.0 | 4.0 | 4.0 |
| NYM | Stock, Robert* | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 |
| ARI | Pfaadt, Brandon 4812 | 1.7 | 9.4 | 25.5 | 25.5 |
| ATL | Sale, Chris 2806 | 11.4 | 22.8 | 52.6 | 195.2 |
| NYY | Cole, Gerrit 3232 | 4.0 | 4.0 | 68.5 | 169.0 |
| TOR | Bieber, Shane 4005 | 3.0 | 6.0 | 32.4 | 68.3 |
| SEA | Kirby, George 4595 | 5.0 | 16.0 | 56.5 | 56.5 |
| HOU | Lambert, Peter 4155 | 6.7 | 6.7 | 11.7 | 13.7 |
| KC | Lugo, Seth 3729 | 1.0 | 6.0 | 28.5 | 44.5 |
| LAA | Rodriguez, Grayson 4790 | 1.0 | 1.0 | 13.0 | 13.0 |
| TEX | Rocker, Kumar 5108 | 5.7 | 10.4 | 11.4 | 11.4 |
| ATH | Jump, Gage 5372 | 5.0 | 5.0 | 5.0 | 5.0 |
| MIL | Gasser, Robert 4998 | 3.0 | 3.0 | 5.7 | 5.7 |
| LAD | Yamamoto, Yoshinobu 4964 | 11.4 | 29.1 | 35.5 | 35.5 |
| COL | Freeland, Kyle 3763 | 3.7 | 7.7 | 28.4 | 48.8 |
| SF | Roupp, Landen 5079 | 5.0 | 9.7 | 11.7 | 11.7 |
* Player has yet to earn any career Box-Toppers points.
What are those numbers after players' names?
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