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Cubs pitcher Kevin Gausman is Thursday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day.
Other Player of the Game winners Thursday include Rangers pitcher Cal Quantrill, Carter Jensen of the Royals and Jake Mangum of the Pirates.
Player of the Day: Kevin Gausman, Cubs
Career Box-Toppers points—Active NL pitchers 1—Chris Sale #Braves 197.2 2—Yu Darvish #Padres 144.4 3—Zack Wheeler #Phillies 139.1 4—Aaron Nola #Phillies 126.5 5—Kevin Gausman #Cubs 120.2* 6—Blake Snell #Dodgers 115.5 *Earns 2.0 B-T points Thursday www.box-toppers.com/blog/2026/9/...
— Box-Toppers Baseball (@boxtoppers.bsky.social) 7:29 AM · Sep 4, 2026
Gausman struck out nine over seven innings, allowing one run, five hits and one walk, in the 2-1 win over the Brewers.
Gausman earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day, giving him 8.0 for the season, 51st among all players and 22nd among National League pitchers.
Gausman also now has 120.2 career Box-Toppers points, rising to 54th among all players since Box-Toppers tracking began in 1995. With his 2.0 points Thursday, he passes two players on the “all-time” career points list—Carlos Delgado (118.7) and Cliff Lee (119.1). He now trails 53rd-ranked player Charlie Morton (120.5).
Gausman ranks 10th among active, signed players in career points, fifth among active NL pitchers.
AL Player of the Day: Cal Quantrill, Rangers
Quantrill struck out five over seven scoreless innings, allowing two hits and two walks, in the 6-0 win over the Rays.
Quantrill earns 1.7 Box-Toppers points as American League Player of the Day, giving him 6.4 for the season, 98th among all players and 39th among AL pitchers.
Quantrill recorded a +8.0 Box-Toppers game score Thursday, same as Gausman. But Gausman beat Quantrill for overall Player of the Day honors on a tiebreaker with more strikeouts—nine vs. five.
Thursday’s Sidelights Sidebar
Box-Toppers review of the day's top pitchers, overlooked top performers & lowest B-T game scores:
⬛ Brewers’ Henderson posts best game score among day’s non-Player of the Game winners
AL Batter of the Day: Carter Jensen, Royals
Jensen homered, tripled, doubled and went 3-for-4, scoring three times and driving in three runs, in the 7-3 win over the Marlins.
This was Jensen’s Box-Toppers debut, his first career Player of the Game honor. The 2026 rookie made his Major League debut Sept. 2, 2025, and was playing in his 151st career game.
Top 10 players
Here are the top 10 players in 2026 Box-Toppers points (BTP) earned in the regular season through Thursday, Sept. 3.| Player | Pos | Team | BTP | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Jacob Misiorowski | pi sp | Brewers | 21.4 |
| 2 | Jesús Luzardo | pi sp | Phillies | 21.0 |
| 3 | Dylan Cease | pi sp | Blue Jays | 20.4 |
| 4 | Cam Schlittler | pi sp | Yankees | 18.7 |
| 5 | Cristopher Sánchez | pi sp | Phillies | 17.7 |
| 6 | Braxton Ashcraft | pi sp | Pirates | 16.4 |
| 7 | Gavin Williams | pi sp | Guardians | 15.7 |
| 8 | Shohei Ohtani | pi sp dh | Dodgers | 15.7 |
| 9 | Jacob deGrom | pi sp | Rangers | 15.4 |
| 10 | Bryan Woo | pi sp | Mariners | 14.4 |
NL Batter of the Day: Jake Mangum, Pirates
Mangum hit a sacrifice bunt and went 1-for-1, scoring twice and driving in one run, in the 6-3 win over the Giants.
Scoring
Gausman earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points as Player of the Day.
Quantrill earns 1.7 points as AL Player of the Day.
Jensen and Mangum each earn 1.5 points as their league’s 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).| 9/3 | BTG | Game | Player | AB | R | H | BI | IP | H | R | ER | BB | K | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| MLB | 8.0 | CHC 2, MIL 1 | Kevin Gausman (W, 9‑11) | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | 7.0 | 5 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 9 | |
| AL | 8.0 | TEX 6, TB 0 | Cal Quantrill (W, 7‑5) | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | 7.0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 5 | |
| BAT | 5.0 | KC 7, MIA 3 | Carter Jensen C | 4 | 3 | 3 | 3 | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | |
| 4.0 | ATH 7, SEA 4 | Scott Blewett (W, 1‑0) | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | 2.0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | ||
| 3.0 | BOS 6, BAL 5 | Adley Rutschman C | 4 | 3 | 2 | 2 | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ||
| BAT | 3.0 | PIT 5, SF 2 | Jake Mangum LF | 1 | 2 | 1 | 1 | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | |
| 2.1 | TOR 6, CLE 3 | Spencer Miles (W, 6‑2) | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | 1.1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | ||
| 1.0 | LAD 3, STL 2 | Tommy Edman CF‑2B‑CF | 5 | 2 | 4 | 0 | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ‑ | ||
| 1.0 | HOU 6, CHW 2 | Isaac Paredes 3B | 3 | 2 | 1 | 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 | +/‑ |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Gausman, Kevin 3191 | pi sp | chi nl | 8.0 | 22.1 | 77.2 | 120.2 | -6.1 |
| Quantrill, Cal 4195 | pi sp | tex al | 6.4 | 13.1 | 31.8 | 35.8 | -0.3 |
| Rutschman, Adley 4659 | ca | bos al | 5.7 | 7.7 | 21.2 | 21.2 | +3.7 |
| Paredes, Isaac 4666 | 3b | hou al | 4.0 | 4.0 | 17.7 | 17.7 | +4.0 |
| Miles, Spencer 5357 | pi mr | tor al | 4.0 | 4.0 | 4.0 | 4.0 | +4.0 |
| Edman, Tommy 4255 | 2b 3b cf | lad nl | 3.5 | 3.5 | 17.0 | 18.0 | +3.5 |
| Mangum, Jake 5369 | lf | ana al | 3.0 | 3.0 | 3.0 | 3.0 | +3.0 |
| Jensen, Carter 5463 | ca | kc al | 1.5 | 1.5 | 1.5 | 1.5 | +1.5 |
| Blewett, Scott 5174 | pi mr cp | oak al | 1.0 | 3.0 | 3.0 | 3.0 | -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), 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| DET | Montero, Keider 5057 | 6.7 | 10.7 | 15.4 | 15.4 |
| CLE | Allen, Logan T. 4789 | 0.0 | 6.0 | 16.7 | 16.7 |
| MIL | Drohan, Shane 5359 | 2.0 | 2.0 | 2.0 | 2.0 |
| CIN | Lowder, Rhett 5107 | 2.0 | 2.0 | 3.0 | 3.0 |
| LAA | Johnson, Ryan 5391 | 3.7 | 3.7 | 3.7 | 3.7 |
| PIT | Jones, Jared 4956 | 3.7 | 3.7 | 10.7 | 10.7 |
| ATL | Sale, Chris 2806 | 13.4 | 24.8 | 54.6 | 197.2 |
| PHI | Sanchez, Cristopher 4850 | 17.7 | 33.1 | 48.5 | 48.5 |
| BOS | Suarez, Ranger 4228 | 7.0 | 22.8 | 50.9 | 51.9 |
| BAL | Baz, Shane 4560 | 4.0 | 14.7 | 20.4 | 20.4 |
| CHC | Imanaga, Shota 4960 | 7.0 | 14.0 | 34.7 | 34.7 |
| MIA | Junk, Janson 4697 | 4.0 | 8.7 | 10.4 | 10.4 |
| DET | Sears, Andrew* | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 |
| CLE | Griffin, Foster 5317 | 9.4 | 9.4 | 9.4 | 9.4 |
| SF | Wilkinson, Matt* | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 |
| NYM | McLean, Nolan 5255 | 8.0 | 15.7 | 15.7 | 15.7 |
| MIN | Matthews, Zebby 5186 | 5.7 | 9.7 | 9.7 | 9.7 |
| CHW | Fedde, Erick 4065 | 7.7 | 10.4 | 32.9 | 37.6 |
| TB | Martinez, Nick 3430 | 8.0 | 14.7 | 36.8 | 43.5 |
| TEX | Rocker, Kumar 5108 | 5.7 | 10.4 | 11.4 | 11.4 |
| ARI | Kelly, Merrill 4143 | 4.7 | 17.4 | 46.4 | 58.4 |
| HOU | Javier, Cristian 4290 | 2.0 | 3.7 | 33.4 | 35.4 |
| TOR | Taillon, Jameson 3658 | 2.0 | 12.1 | 45.2 | 71.6 |
| KC | Lynch, Daniel 4488 | 0.0 | 2.0 | 12.4 | 12.4 |
| STL | Leahy, Kyle 5001 | 5.0 | 8.0 | 9.7 | 9.7 |
| COL | Feltner, Ryan 4635 | 0.0 | 1.7 | 7.7 | 7.7 |
| NYY | Fried, Max 4011 | 10.0 | 24.4 | 74.6 | 91.3 |
| SD | Buehler, Walker 3943 | 1.0 | 7.0 | 29.4 | 66.6 |
| ATH | Ginn, J.T. 5142 | 4.0 | 9.7 | 9.7 | 9.7 |
| SEA | Gilbert, Logan 4439 | 13.0 | 26.1 | 73.6 | 73.6 |
| WSH | Kent, Jackson* | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 |
| LAD | Snell, Blake 3688 | 3.7 | 10.7 | 65.6 | 115.5 |
* Player has yet to earn any career Box-Toppers points.
What are those numbers after players' names?
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