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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Nationals pitcher Andrew Alvarez is Saturday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day.
Also Saturday, Mariners pitcher Bryan Woo maintains sixth place in Box-Toppers season player rankings after earning Player of the Game honors.
Other Player of the Game winners Saturday include Red Sox pitcher Ranger Suarez, Garrett Mitchell of the Brewers, Hao-Yu Lee of the Tigers and Padres closing pitcher Mason Miller.
Player of the Day: Andrew Alvarez, Nationals
Alvarez struck out eight over seven scoreless innings, allowing one hit and four walks, in the 6-5, 10-inning win over the Angels. Alvarez did not earn the win, picking up a no-decision, because the Angels tied the game after he exited.
Alvarez carried a no-hitter into the sixth inning before giving up a one-out double to Jose Siri, the only hit he allowed.
Alvarez earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day, giving him 4.0 for the season, 224th among all players and 68th among National League pitchers.
AL Player of the Day: Ranger Suarez, Red Sox
Suarez struck out eight over seven innings, allowing one run, five hits and no walks, in the 5-1 win over the Royals.
Suarez earns 1.7 Box-Toppers points as American League Player of the Day, giving him 9.7 for the season, 33rd among all players and 16th among AL pitchers.
NL Batter of the Day: Garrett Mitchell, Brewers
Mitchell homered, doubled and went 4-for-5, scoring twice and driving in four runs, in the 13-9 win over the Reds.
Top 10 players
Here are the top 10 players in 2026 Box-Toppers points (BTP) earned in the regular season through Saturday, Sept. 12.| Player | Pos | Team | BTP | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Jacob Misiorowski | pi sp | Brewers | 23.1 |
| 2 | Jesús Luzardo | pi sp | Phillies | 23.0 |
| 3 | Dylan Cease | pi sp | Blue Jays | 20.4 |
| 4 | Cam Schlittler | pi sp | Yankees | 19.7 |
| 5 | Cristopher Sánchez | pi sp | Phillies | 17.7 |
| 6 | Bryan Woo | pi sp | Mariners | 17.4 |
| 7 | Braxton Ashcraft | pi sp | Pirates | 16.4 |
| 8 | Zack Wheeler | pi sp | Phillies | 15.7 |
| 9 | Gavin Williams | pi sp | Guardians | 15.7 |
| 10 | Shohei Ohtani | pi sp dh | Dodgers | 15.7 |
AL Batter of the Day: Hao-Yu Lee, Tigers
Lee tripled, hit two doubles and went 3-for-5, scoring twice and driving in three runs, in the 11-7 win over the Rockies.
Rankings: Bryan Woo, Mariners
Woo maintains sixth place in Box-Toppers season player rankings after earning Player of the Game honors Saturday (6IP 3H R 0ER 2BB 5K W in the 19-1 win over the Athletics).
He earns 1.0 Box-Toppers point, giving him 17.4 for the season. He ranks third among AL pitchers, behind Dylan Cease of the Blue Jays (20.4) and Cam Schlittler of the Yankees (19.7).
Best seasons by closers
Mason Miller of the Padres has the fourth-most Box-Toppers points by a closing pitcher in any single season since tracking of closers began in 1998. Here are the closing pitchers with the most Box-Toppers points in a single season, led by Eric Gagne of the Dodgers, who earned 19.7 points in 2004.| Player | Team | Year | BTP | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Eric Gagne | Dodgers | 2004 | 19.7 |
| 2 | Eric Gagne | Dodgers | 2003 | 19.0 |
| 3 | Josh Hader | Brewers | 2019 | 17.7 |
| 4 | Billy Wagner | Astros | 1999 | 15.0 |
| 4 | Craig Kimbrel | Braves | 2012 | 15.0 |
| 4 | *Mason Miller | Padres | 2026 | 15.0 |
| 7 | Troy Percival | Angels | 1998 | 14.0 |
| 7 | Mariano Rivera | Yankees | 2008 | 14.0 |
| 7 | Aroldis Chapman | Reds | 2012 | 14.0 |
| 10 | Brad Lidge | Astros | 2004 | 13.7 |
| 11 | Eric Gagne | Dodgers | 2002 | 13.0 |
| 12 | Billy Wagner | Braves | 2010 | 13.0 |
Notable: Mason Miller, Padres
Miller now has 15.0 Box-Toppers points, tied for the fourth-highest single-season total for a closing pitcher since 1998, after earning Player of the Game honors Saturday.
Miller (1IP 0H 0R 0BB 2K Sv in the 7-6 win over the Giants) earns 1.0 Box-Toppers point. His 15.0 points ranks 13th among all players, eighth among NL pitchers and first among all closing pitchers, ahead of second-place Jacob Latz of the Rangers (8.0). The second-place NL closer, Riley O'Brien of the Cardinals, has 6.0 points.
While Box-Toppers tracking began in 1995, separate tracking for closing and middle relief pitchers began in 1998, and there are only three other times when a closing pitcher earned more points in a season:
2004, when Eric Gagne of the Dodgers earned 19.7 points.
2003, when Gagne earned 19.0 points.
2019, when Josh Hader of the Brewers earned 17.7 points.
Miller’s 15.0 points in a season are tied with two other closers: Billy Wagner of the Astros (1999) and Craig Kimbrel of the Braves (2012).
Scoring
Alvarez earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points as Player of the Day.
Suarez earns 1.7 points as AL Player of the Day.
Mitchell and Lee each earn 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.
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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).| 9/12 | BTG | Game | Player | AB | R | H | BI | IP | H | R | ER | BB | K | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| MLB | 10.0 | `WSH 6, LAA 5 (F/10) | Andrew Alvarez | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | 7.0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 8 | |
| AL | 8.0 | BOS 5, KC 1 | Ranger Suarez (W, 7‑4) | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | 7.0 | 5 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 8 | |
| 7.0 | `TB 3, HOU 2 | Ian Seymour | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | 6.0 | 4 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 10 | ||
| BAT | 5.0 | MIL 13, CIN 9 | Garrett Mitchell CF | 5 | 2 | 4 | 4 | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | |
| 5.0 | NYM 12, NYY 2 | Francisco Lindor SS | 5 | 2 | 3 | 5 | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ||
| 5.0 | SEA 19, ATH 1 | Bryan Woo (W, 12‑9) | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | 6.0 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 5 | ||
| 5.0 | `CHW 6, STL 5 | Hagen Smith | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | 2.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | ||
| 4.0 | ATL 12, PHI 2 | Michael Harris II CF | 5 | 2 | 4 | 3 | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ||
| BAT | 3.0 | DET 11, COL 7 | Hao‑Yu Lee 2B | 5 | 2 | 3 | 3 | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | |
| 3.0 | SD 7, SF 6 | Mason Miller (S, 36) | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | 1.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | ||
| 3.0 | MIN 4, CLE 3 | A.J. Minter (S, 1) | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | 1.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | ||
| 3.0 | `TEX 6, ARI 2 | Kumar Rocker | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | 4.0 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 5 | ||
| 2.0 | TOR 7, BAL 3 | Alejandro Kirk C | 4 | 1 | 2 | 3 | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ||
| 2.0 | CHC 4, PIT 3 | Pedro Ramírez 2B | 3 | 2 | 2 | 1 | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ||
| 2.0 | MIA 4, LAD 3 | Graham Pauley 3B | 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 | +/‑ |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Woo, Bryan 4842 | pi sp | sea al | 17.4 | 35.4 | 55.8 | 55.8 | -0.6 |
| Miller, Mason 4975 | pi cp | sd nl | 15.0 | 22.0 | 27.0 | 27.0 | +8.0 |
| Suarez, Ranger 4228 | pi sp | bos al | 9.7 | 25.5 | 53.6 | 54.6 | -6.1 |
| Harris, Michael 4682 | cf | atl nl | 9.5 | 11.5 | 22.5 | 22.5 | +7.5 |
| Seymour, Ian 5265 | pi sp | tb al | 8.7 | 12.4 | 12.4 | 12.4 | +5.0 |
| Rocker, Kumar 5108 | pi mr sp | tex al | 6.7 | 11.4 | 12.4 | 12.4 | +2.0 |
| Alvarez, Andrew 5274 | pi cp mr sp | dc nl | 4.0 | 6.0 | 6.0 | 6.0 | +2.0 |
| Mitchell, Garrett 4723 | cf | mil nl | 4.0 | 4.0 | 5.0 | 5.0 | +4.0 |
| Ramírez, Pedro 5392 | 2b dh | chi nl | 3.5 | 3.5 | 3.5 | 3.5 | +3.5 |
| Lindor, Francisco 3586 | ss | nym nl | 2.7 | 10.2 | 38.8 | 60.9 | -4.8 |
| Lee, Hao-Yu 5442 | 2b | det al | 2.5 | 2.5 | 2.5 | 2.5 | +2.5 |
| Pauley, Graham 5311 | 1b 3b ph | fla nl | 2.5 | 2.5 | 2.5 | 2.5 | +2.5 |
| Kirk, Alejandro 4353 | ca | tor al | 2.0 | 9.0 | 16.5 | 18.0 | -5.0 |
| Smith, Hagen 5466 | pi mr | chi al | 2.0 | 2.0 | 2.0 | 2.0 | +2.0 |
| Minter, A.J. 3946 | pi cp mr | min al | 1.0 | 1.0 | 6.0 | 14.0 | +1.0 |
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), 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 |
| DET | Jobe, Jackson 5141 | 1.0 | 2.0 | 2.0 | 2.0 |
| LAA | Rodriguez, Grayson 4790 | 1.0 | 1.0 | 13.0 | 13.0 |
| WSH | Irvin, Jake 4805 | 3.0 | 10.7 | 23.7 | 23.7 |
| NYM | Scott, Christian 5344 | 7.0 | 7.0 | 7.0 | 7.0 |
| NYY | Schlittler, Cam 5261 | 19.7 | 27.1 | 27.1 | 27.1 |
| PHI | Painter, Andrew 5302 | 3.7 | 3.7 | 3.7 | 3.7 |
| ATL | Holmes, Grant 5127 | 5.7 | 8.7 | 10.7 | 10.7 |
| BAL | Rogers, Trevor 4311 | 7.0 | 18.7 | 33.7 | 34.7 |
| TOR | Cease, Dylan 4231 | 20.4 | 29.1 | 95.0 | 97.0 |
| HOU | Wesneski, Hayden 4731 | 3.0 | 4.0 | 10.4 | 10.4 |
| TB | Peralta, Freddy 3965 | 2.7 | 17.4 | 68.6 | 87.3 |
| LAD | Sheehan, Emmet 4886 | 5.0 | 8.0 | 12.7 | 12.7 |
| MIA | Perez, Eury 4814 | 8.4 | 15.4 | 21.4 | 21.4 |
| CIN | Burns, Chase 5301 | 11.0 | 11.0 | 11.0 | 11.0 |
| MIL | Gasser, Robert 4998 | 4.0 | 4.0 | 6.7 | 6.7 |
| CLE | Bibee, Tanner 4792 | 4.7 | 11.7 | 34.4 | 34.4 |
| MIN | Ryan, Joe 4539 | 7.7 | 19.4 | 55.2 | 55.2 |
| CHW | Burke, Sean 5124 | 12.1 | 15.8 | 16.8 | 16.8 |
| STL | McGreevy, Michael 5113 | 5.0 | 9.0 | 11.0 | 11.0 |
| PIT | Chandler, Bubba 5269 | 4.0 | 8.7 | 8.7 | 8.7 |
| CHC | Boyd, Matthew 3550 | 3.0 | 13.7 | 18.7 | 45.5 |
| KC | Cameron, Noah 5167 | 5.7 | 12.4 | 12.4 | 12.4 |
| BOS | Tolle, Payton 5348 | 10.7 | 10.7 | 10.7 | 10.7 |
| SEA | Miller, Bryce 4797 | 6.7 | 9.7 | 38.5 | 38.5 |
| ATH | Lopez, Jacob 5202 | 4.0 | 15.4 | 15.4 | 15.4 |
| TEX | Quantrill, Cal 4195 | 6.4 | 13.1 | 31.8 | 35.8 |
| ARI | Rodriguez, Eduardo 3480 | 9.0 | 13.7 | 37.7 | 81.9 |
| SD | Pivetta, Nick 3825 | 3.7 | 21.4 | 52.8 | 75.5 |
| SF | Webb, Logan 4258 | 9.0 | 18.0 | 66.6 | 69.3 |
* Player has yet to earn any career Box-Toppers points.
What are those numbers after players' names?
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