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Today’s key Box-Toppers numbers. Click links to jump to charts elsewhere on this page.▪️ Players of the Game
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▪️ Top 10 players in 2026
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Marlins pitcher Sandy Alcantara is Saturday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day.
Other Player of the Game winners Saturday include Rangers pitcher Jacob deGrom, Jake McCarthy of the Rockies, Jac Caglianone of the Royals, Yankees pitcher Gerrit Cole and Dodgers pitcher Yoshinobu Yamamoto.
Player of the Day: Sandy Alcantara, Marlins
Alcantara struck out eight over seven scoreless innings, allowing three hits and one walk, in the 7-0 win over the Angels.
Alcantara earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day, giving him 10.7 for the season, 23rd among all players and 12th among National League pitchers.
Alcantara is the 25th player to reach 10 Box-Toppers points in 2026. It is his second season with 10 or more points after earning 21.1 in 2022 with the Marlins, third overall and first among NL pitchers. He had 8.0 Box-Toppers points in 2025 with the Marlins, 31st among NL pitchers, his first full season after returning from October 2023 Tommy John surgery.
All-time leaders
Here are Box-Toppers top 20 players since record keeping began in 1995:| Player | Pos | Team | BTP | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Randy Johnson | pi sp | Retired | 282.5 |
| 2 | Clayton Kershaw | pi sp | Retired | 280.8 |
| 3 | Max Scherzer | pi sp | Blue Jays | 257.7 |
| 4 | Justin Verlander | pi sp | Tigers | 250.0 |
| 5 | Pedro Martinez | pi sp | Retired | 244.8 |
| 6 | Zack Greinke | pi sp | Free agent | 224.5 |
| 7 | Albert Pujols | 1b | Retired | 207.8 |
| 8 | CC Sabathia | pi sp | Retired | 203.4 |
| 9 | Chris Sale | pi sp | Braves | 195.2 |
| 10 | Curt Schilling | pi sp | Retired | 194.1 |
| 11 | Alex Rodriguez | 3b | Retired | 187.0 |
| 12 | Jon Lester | pi sp | Retired | 179.3 |
| 13 | Felix Hernandez | pi sp | Retired | 175.1 |
| 14 | Cole Hamels | pi sp | Retired | 174.2 |
| 15 | Roy Halladay | pi sp | Retired | 170.7 |
| 16 | Gerrit Cole | pi sp | Yankees | 169.0 |
| 17 | Johan Santana | pi sp | Retired | 166.6 |
| 18 | Manny Ramirez | lf dh | Retired | 166.2 |
| 19 | Roger Clemens | pi sp | Retired | 164.8 |
| 20 | Jacob deGrom | pi sp | Rangers | 162.6 |
AL Player of the Day: Jacob deGrom, Rangers
deGrom struck out nine over five innings, allowing one run, three hits and one walk, in the 5-1 win over the Orioles.
deGrom earns 1.7 Box-Toppers points as American League Player of the Day, giving him 11.4 for the season, 18th among all players and ninth among AL pitchers.
He is the 26th player to reach 10 Box-Toppers points in 2026. It is his eighth season with 10 or more points and second in a row. His best season was 2015 with the Mets, when he had 22.4 points, third overall and third among NL pitchers. He earned 11.0 points in 2025 with the Rangers, 20th among AL pitchers, his first full season after returning from June 2023 Tommy John surgery, his second such procedure (the first was in 2010).
deGrom now has 162.6 career Box-Toppers points, 20th-most among all players since Box-Toppers tracking began in 1995. He trails 19th-ranked player Roger Clemens (164.8) on the “all-time” career points list. (It should be noted that Clemens began his career before the 1995 start of Box-Toppers tracking. He would have an estimated 320 points if his entire career from 1984 were tracked.)
deGrom ranks fifth among active, signed players in career points, fourth among active AL pitchers.
NL Batter of the Day: Jake McCarthy, Rockies
McCarthy hit two home runs and went 4-for-5, scoring four times and driving in three runs, in the 8-6 win over the Cardinals.
McCarthy earns 1.5 Box-Toppers points as NL Batter of the Day, bringing his total to 8.7 for the season, fourth among NL batters.
AL Batter of the Day: Jac Caglianone, Royals
Caglianone hit two home runs, two doubles and went 4-for-4, scoring twice and driving in four runs, in the 6-3 win over the Cubs.
Notable: Yoshinobu Yamamoto, Dodgers
Yamamoto is Box-Toppers’ highest-ranked player to earn Player of the Game honor Saturday (5.2IP 3H 0R 3BB 6K ND in the 2-1, 10-inning win over the Diamondbacks).
He earns 1.0 Box-Toppers point, giving him 11.4 for the season, 16th overall and eighth among NL pitchers. He ranks ahead of Jacob deGrom (who also reached 11.4 points Saturday) because he has more 2025 points (17.7 vs. 11.0).
Also notable: Gerrit Cole, Yankees
Cole now has 169.0 career Box-Toppers points—16th-most among players since Box-Toppers tracking began in 1995—after earning Player of the Game honors Saturday (7IP 6H 2R 0BB 9K W in the 5-4 win over the Braves).
Cole trails 15th-ranked player Roy Halladay (170.7) on the “all-time” career points list. He ranks fourth among active, signed players in career points and third among active AL pitchers, behind Max Scherzer of the Blue Jays (257.7) and Justin Verlander of the Tigers (250.0).
Cole now has 4.0 Box-Toppers points in 2026, 60th among AL pitchers.
Saturday’s Sidelights Sidebar
Box-Toppers review of the day’s top pitchers, overlooked top performers & lowest B-T game scores:
⬛ D-backs’ Pfaadt posts best game score among Saturday’s non-Player of the Game winners
Top 10 players
Here are the top 10 players in 2026 Box-Toppers points (BTP) earned in the regular season through Saturday, Aug. 8.| Player | Pos | Team | BTP | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Jacob Misiorowski | pi sp | Brewers | 17.7 |
| 2 | Dylan Cease | pi sp | Blue Jays | 17.4 |
| 3 | Jesús Luzardo | pi sp | Phillies | 16.0 |
| 4 | Cristopher Sánchez | pi sp | Phillies | 15.7 |
| 5 | Cam Schlittler | pi sp | Yankees | 15.7 |
| 6 | Braxton Ashcraft | pi sp | Pirates | 14.4 |
| 7 | Shohei Ohtani | pi sp dh | Dodgers | 13.7 |
| 8 | Zack Wheeler | pi sp | Phillies | 13.0 |
| 9 | Gavin Williams | pi sp | Guardians | 12.7 |
| 10 | Bryan Woo | pi sp | Mariners | 12.4 |
Debut
Tristan Peters of the White Sox made his Box-Toppers debut Saturday with his first career Player of the Game honor (2B 1-2 R 2BI in the 6-3 win over the Guardians).
Peters made his Major League debut Aug. 9, 2025, and was playing in his 115th career game.
Scoring
Alcantara earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points as Player of the Day.
deGrom earns 1.7 points as AL Player of the Day.
McCarthy and Caglianone each earns 1.5 points as their league’s Batter of the Day.
All of Saturday’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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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).| 8/8 | BTG | Game | Player | AB | R | H | BI | IP | H | R | ER | BB | K | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| MLB | 11.0 | MIA 7, LAA 0 | Sandy Alcantara (W, 13‑6) | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | 7 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 8 | |
| AL | 8.0 | TEX 5, BAL 1 | Jacob deGrom (W, 8‑7) | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | 5 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 9 | |
| 7.0 | PIT 9, NYM 0 | Bubba Chandler (W, 5‑8) | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | 6 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 5 | ||
| 7.0 | DET 8, SF 0 | Jackson Jobe (W, 1‑0) | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | 5 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 4 | ||
| BAT | 6.0 | COL 8, STL 6 | Jake McCarthy LF | 5 | 4 | 4 | 3 | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | |
| BAT | 6.0 | KC 6, CHC 3 | Jac Caglianone 1B | 4 | 2 | 4 | 4 | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | |
| 6.0 | NYY 5, ATL 4 | Gerrit Cole (W, 6‑5) | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | 7.0 | 6 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 9 | ||
| 6.0 | SD 3, HOU 2 | Michael King (W, 7‑8) | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | 6.0 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 6 | ||
| 5.2 | LAD 2, ARI 1 (F/10) | Yoshinobu Yamamoto | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | 5.2 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 6 | ||
| 5.0 | WSH 8, CIN 2 | Andrés Chaparro PH‑DH | 2 | 2 | 2 | 3 | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ||
| 5.0 | ATH 7, BOS 3 | Gage Jump (W, 5‑7) | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | 6.0 | 6 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 11 | ||
| 4.0 | TB 3, SEA 2 | Steven Matz (W, 5‑4) | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | 2.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | ||
| 3.0 | MIL 4, MIN 3 | Aaron Ashby (W, 13‑2) | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | 1.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | ||
| 2.0 | TOR 7, PHI 5 (F/11) | Vladimir Guerrero Jr. 1B | 4 | 2 | 2 | 2 | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ||
| 2.0 | CHW 6, CLE 3 | Tristan Peters CF‑LF | 2 | 1 | 1 | 2 | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ |
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 | +/‑ |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Yamamoto, Yoshinobu 4964 | pi sp | lad nl | 11.4 | 29.1 | 35.5 | 35.5 | -6.3 |
| deGrom, Jacob 3343 | pi sp | tex al | 11.4 | 22.4 | 57.2 | 162.6 | +0.4 |
| Alcantara, Sandy 4061 | pi sp | fla nl | 10.7 | 18.7 | 56.5 | 65.9 | +2.7 |
| McCarthy, Jake 4621 | cf lf rf | col nl | 8.7 | 8.7 | 14.7 | 14.7 | +8.7 |
| King, Michael 4549 | pi sp | sd nl | 6.0 | 10.4 | 37.8 | 37.8 | +1.6 |
| Matz, Steven 3516 | pi sp mr | tb al | 5.0 | 7.0 | 24.1 | 56.4 | +3.0 |
| Ashby, Aaron 4511 | pi mr | mil nl | 5.0 | 7.0 | 14.4 | 14.4 | +3.0 |
| Jump, Gage 5372 | pi sp | oak al | 5.0 | 5.0 | 5.0 | 5.0 | +5.0 |
| Cole, Gerrit 3232 | pi sp | nyy al | 4.0 | 4.0 | 68.5 | 169.0 | +4.0 |
| Chaparro, Andrés 5409 | dh 1b ph | dc nl | 4.0 | 4.0 | 4.0 | 4.0 | +4.0 |
| Caglianone, Jac 5377 | 1b rf | kc al | 3.5 | 3.5 | 3.5 | 3.5 | +3.5 |
| Chandler, Bubba 5269 | pi sp | pit nl | 3.0 | 7.7 | 7.7 | 7.7 | -1.7 |
| Guerrero, Vladimir Jr. 4142 | 1b | tor al | 1.0 | 5.0 | 19.4 | 26.6 | -3.0 |
| Peters, Tristan 5433 | cf lf | chi al | 1.0 | 1.0 | 1.0 | 1.0 | +1.0 |
| Jobe, Jackson 5141 | pi sp | det al | 1.0 | 2.0 | 2.0 | 2.0 | 0.0 |
About Box-Toppers’ team abbreviations
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A Box-Toppers look at Sunday’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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| CIN | Singer, Brady 4337 | 1.0 | 11.0 | 40.7 | 44.7 |
| WSH | Lord, Brad 5234 | 2.0 | 5.0 | 5.0 | 5.0 |
| ATH | Ginn, J.T. 5142 | 4.0 | 9.7 | 9.7 | 9.7 |
| BOS | Undecided | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 |
| ATL | Holmes, Grant 5127 | 4.0 | 7.0 | 9.0 | 9.0 |
| NYY | Schlittler, Cam 5261 | 15.7 | 23.1 | 23.1 | 23.1 |
| NYM | Manaea, Sean 3637 | 0.0 | 2.0 | 42.8 | 71.3 |
| PIT | Jones, Jared 4956 | 3.7 | 3.7 | 10.7 | 10.7 |
| TOR | Bieber, Shane 4005 | 3.0 | 6.0 | 32.4 | 68.3 |
| PHI | Luzardo, Jesus 4282 | 16.0 | 33.4 | 64.6 | 69.3 |
| LAA | Rodriguez, Grayson 4790 | 1.0 | 1.0 | 13.0 | 13.0 |
| MIA | Gusto, Ryan 5156 | 3.0 | 4.0 | 4.0 | 4.0 |
| CHC | Boyd, Matthew 3550 | 3.0 | 13.7 | 18.7 | 45.5 |
| KC | Dobnak, Randy 4263 | 1.0 | 1.0 | 2.0 | 6.0 |
| CLE | Cantillo, Joey 5106 | 8.7 | 14.4 | 17.4 | 17.4 |
| CHW | Martin, Davis 4657 | 9.7 | 12.7 | 17.7 | 17.7 |
| MIN | Prielipp, Connor 5397 | 2.0 | 2.0 | 2.0 | 2.0 |
| MIL | Misiorowski, Jacob 5200 | 17.7 | 23.7 | 23.7 | 23.7 |
| COL | Lorenzen, Michael 3479 | 1.0 | 6.0 | 23.7 | 34.2 |
| STL | McGreevy, Michael 5113 | 5.0 | 9.0 | 11.0 | 11.0 |
| BAL | Povich, Cade 5029 | 2.0 | 3.0 | 7.0 | 7.0 |
| TEX | Rocker, Kumar 5108 | 5.7 | 10.4 | 11.4 | 11.4 |
| DET | Melton, Troy 5231 | 6.0 | 9.7 | 9.7 | 9.7 |
| SF | Webb, Logan 4258 | 7.0 | 16.0 | 64.6 | 67.3 |
| LAD | Wrobleski, Justin 5062 | 7.4 | 13.4 | 15.4 | 15.4 |
| ARI | Rodriguez, Eduardo 3480 | 5.0 | 9.7 | 33.7 | 77.9 |
| TB | Seymour, Ian 5265 | 6.7 | 10.4 | 10.4 | 10.4 |
| SEA | Hancock, Emerson 4985 | 5.0 | 7.7 | 8.7 | 8.7 |
| HOU | Javier, Cristian 4290 | 2.0 | 3.7 | 33.4 | 35.4 |
| SD | Vasquez, Randy 4841 | 7.4 | 12.8 | 15.8 | 15.8 |
* Player has yet to earn any career Box-Toppers points.
What are those numbers after players' names?
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