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
Phillies pitcher Jesús Luzardo is Wednesday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day, rising to second place 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, Aug. 26.| Player | Pos | Team | BTP | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Jacob Misiorowski | pi sp | Brewers | 21.4 |
| 2 | Jesús Luzardo | pi sp | Phillies | 20.0 |
| 3 | Dylan Cease | pi sp | Blue Jays | 18.4 |
| 4 | Braxton Ashcraft | pi sp | Pirates | 16.4 |
| 5 | Cristopher Sánchez | pi sp | Phillies | 15.7 |
| 6 | Cam Schlittler | pi sp | Yankees | 15.7 |
| 7 | Shohei Ohtani | pi sp dh | Dodgers | 15.7 |
| 8 | Gavin Williams | pi sp | Guardians | 13.7 |
| 9 | Kyle Harrison | pi sp | Brewers | 13.7 |
| 10 | Bryan Woo | pi sp | Mariners | 13.4 |
Other Player of the Game winners Wednesday include Rays pitcher Freddy Peralta, Connor Norby of the Rockies and Luis Garcia Jr. of the Yankees.
Player of the Day: Jesús Luzardo, Phillies
Luzardo struck out nine over seven scoreless innings, allowing one hit and three walks, in the 6-0 win over the Mariners.
Luzardo earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day, giving him 20.0 for the season, rising from third to second place overall, trailing Brewers pitcher Jacob Misiorowski (21.4 points). Luzardo also ranks second among National League pitchers behind Misiorowski.
Luzardo is the second player this season to reach 20 points. It is his first season with 20 or more points. His previous high was 17.8 in 2023 with the Marlins, when he finished fifth overall and second among NL pitchers. He earned 17.4 points in 2025 with the Phillies, eighth overall and fifth among NL pitchers.
AL Player of the Day: Freddy Peralta, Rays
Peralta struck out four over six scoreless innings, allowing two hits and no walks, in the 3-0 win over the Tigers.
Peralta earns 1.7 Box-Toppers points as American League Player of the Day, his first points of the season, and is 123rd among AL pitchers.
Peralta finished among the top 10 NL pitchers in each of his past three seasons with the Brewers, including eighth in 2025 with 14.7 points. But he earned no Player of the Game honors in his first 26 starts of the 2026 season—22 with the Mets before being traded to the Rays.
Wednesday’s Sidelights Sidebar
Box-Toppers review of the day's top pitchers, overlooked top performers & lowest B-T game scores:
⬛ Rockies’ Gordon posts best game score among Wednesday’s non-Player of the Game winners
NL Batter of the Day: Connor Norby, Rockies
Norby hit a grand slam and went 2-for-4, scoring three times and driving in five runs, in the 13-1 win over the Nationals.
AL Batter of the Day: Luis Garcia Jr., Yankees
Garcia hit a home run and went 3-for-5, scoring three times and driving in two runs, in the 9-3 win over the Astros.
Debut
Two 2026 rookies made their Box-Toppers debut Wednesday, each with their first career Player of the Game honor:
Blue Jays relief pitcher Chad Dallas (2.2IP 0H 0R 0BB 4K W in the 3-0 win over the Royals) made his Major League debut June 4 and was playing in his fourth career game.
Tommy White of the Athletics (3-4 2R 0BI in the 7-4 win over the Twins) made his Major League debut July 17 and was playing in his 35th career game.
Scoring
Luzardo earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points as Player of the Day.
Peralta earns 1.7 points as AL Player of the Day.
Norby and Garcia 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).| 8/26 | BTG | Game | Player | AB | R | H | BI | IP | H | R | ER | BB | K | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| MLB | 12.0 | PHI 6, SEA 0 | Jesús Luzardo (W, 12‑5) | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | 7.0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 9 | |
| 11.0 | ARI 2, CHC 0 | Eduardo Rodriguez (W, 14‑4) | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | 7.0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 9 | ||
| AL | 8.0 | TB 3, DET 0 | Freddy Peralta (W, 6‑11) | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | 6.0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | |
| 6.2 | TOR 3, KC 0 | Chad Dallas (W, 2‑1) | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | 2.2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | ||
| BAT | 6.0 | COL 13, WSH 1 | Connor Norby 2B | 4 | 3 | 2 | 5 | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | |
| 4.0 | SD 3, PIT 0 | Randy Vásquez (W, 10‑6) | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | 5.0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 2 | ||
| BAT | 3.0 | NYY 9, HOU 3 | Luis García Jr. 1B | 5 | 3 | 3 | 2 | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | |
| 3.0 | CHW 10, TEX 4 | Tristan Peters LF | 4 | 2 | 3 | 2 | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ||
| 3.0 | ATL 6, LAD 5 | Victor Mederos (W, 3‑1) | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | 1.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | ||
| 2.0 | BAL 8, STL 7 | Christian Encarnacion‑Strand 3B‑1B | 5 | 1 | 4 | 2 | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ||
| 2.0 | CIN 10, SF 9 | Eugenio Suárez DH | 5 | 1 | 2 | 4 | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ||
| 2.0 | MIL 8, NYM 1 | Sal Frelick LF | 4 | 1 | 3 | 2 | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ||
| 2.0 | CLE 4, LAA 3 | Travis Bazzana 2B | 3 | 1 | 2 | 2 | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ||
| 1.0 | ATH 7, MIN 4 | Tommy White 1B | 4 | 2 | 3 | 0 | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ||
| 1.0 | MIA 4, BOS 0 | Esteury Ruiz PR‑RF | 0 | 1 | 0 | 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.
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 | +/‑ |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Luzardo, Jesus 4282 | pi sp | phi nl | 20.0 | 37.4 | 68.6 | 73.3 | +2.6 |
| Vasquez, Randy 4841 | pi sp | sd nl | 8.4 | 13.8 | 16.8 | 16.8 | +3.0 |
| Rodriguez, Eduardo 3480 | pi sp | ari nl | 8.0 | 12.7 | 36.7 | 80.9 | +3.3 |
| Suarez, Eugenio 3355 | 3b | cin nl | 4.5 | 12.0 | 32.0 | 65.0 | -3.0 |
| Bazzana, Travis 5362 | 2b | cle al | 3.5 | 3.5 | 3.5 | 3.5 | +3.5 |
| Garcia, Luis Jr. 4671 | 2b 1b | nyy al | 3.2 | 4.2 | 14.4 | 14.4 | +2.2 |
| Peters, Tristan 5433 | lf cf | chi al | 3.0 | 3.0 | 3.0 | 3.0 | +3.0 |
| Norby, Connor 5188 | 1b 2b 3b | col nl | 2.5 | 5.0 | 5.0 | 5.0 | 0.0 |
| Frelick, Sal 4880 | rf lf | mil nl | 2.0 | 4.0 | 6.7 | 6.7 | 0.0 |
| Ruiz, Esteury 4808 | rf pr | fla nl | 2.0 | 2.0 | 3.5 | 3.5 | +2.0 |
| Mederos, Victor 5413 | pi cp | atl nl | 2.0 | 2.0 | 2.0 | 2.0 | +2.0 |
| Peralta, Freddy 3965 | pi sp | tb al | 1.7 | 16.4 | 67.6 | 86.3 | -13.0 |
| Encarnacion-Strand, Christian 4883 | 3b 1b | bal al | 1.0 | 3.5 | 6.0 | 6.0 | -1.5 |
| Dallas, Chad 5451 | pi mr | tor al | 1.0 | 1.0 | 1.0 | 1.0 | +1.0 |
| White, Tommy 5452 | 1b | oak al | 1.0 | 1.0 | 1.0 | 1.0 | +1.0 |
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), this year and last year ('25-26), over six years ('21-26), and their career point total.Back to top
| Game | Starter | ’26 | ’25‑26 | ’21‑26 | Career |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| COL | Hughes, Gabriel* | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 |
| WSH | Irvin, Jake 4805 | 3.0 | 10.7 | 23.7 | 23.7 |
| BAL | Rogers, Trevor 4311 | 6.0 | 17.7 | 32.7 | 33.7 |
| STL | Undecided | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 |
| HOU | Wesneski, Hayden 4731 | 1.0 | 2.0 | 8.4 | 8.4 |
| NYY’ | Cole, Gerrit 3232 | 5.0 | 5.0 | 69.5 | 170.0 |
| KC | Cameron, Noah 5167 | 5.7 | 12.4 | 12.4 | 12.4 |
| TOR | Arrighetti, Spencer 5022 | 6.4 | 7.4 | 14.1 | 14.1 |
| MIL | Misiorowski, Jacob 5200 | 21.4 | 27.4 | 27.4 | 27.4 |
| NYM | Manaea, Sean 3637 | 2.0 | 4.0 | 44.8 | 73.3 |
| LAD | Yamamoto, Yoshinobu 4964 | 13.4 | 31.1 | 37.5 | 37.5 |
| ATL | Sale, Chris 2806 | 11.4 | 22.8 | 52.6 | 195.2 |
| ARI | Cabrera, Jose* | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 |
| 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?
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.