Yankees' Masahiro Tanaka tops players for Friday, June 23; Dodgers' Wood rises to 7th in Box-Toppers player rankings

Yankees pitcher Masahiro Tanaka is Friday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day.

Top 10 players

Here are the top 10 players in Box-Toppers points (BTP) for the 2017 season as of June 23:  

	Player	Pos	Team	BTP
1	Kershaw, Clayton 2494	pi sp	lad nl	14.4
2	Scherzer, Max 2588	pi sp	dc nl	13.0
3	Santana, Ervin 2005	pi sp	min al	11.4
4	Sale, Chris 2806	pi sp	bos al	10.1
5	Ray, Robbie 3502	pi sp	ari nl	10.0
6	Carrasco, Carlos 2885	pi sp	cle al	9.4
7	Wood, Alex 3246	pi sp	lad nl	9.0
8	Judge, Aaron 3767	rf	nyy al	8.2
9	Vargas, Jason 2055	pi sp	kc al	8.0
10	Greinke, Zack 1871	pi sp	ari nl	7.7

What are those numbers after players' names?

Also Friday, Dodgers pitcher Alex Wood rises to seventh place in Box-Toppers season player rankings after earning Player of the Game honors.

Player of the Day—Tanaka struck out nine over eight scoreless innings, allowing three hits and two walks, in the 2-1, 10-inning win over the Rangers. Tanaka did not earn the win, picking up a no-decision, because the game was in a scoreless tie when he exited.

National League Player of the Day—Phillies pitcher Mark Leiter Jr. pitched six scoreless innings, striking out five and allowing three hits and one walk, in the 6-1 win over the Diamondbacks.

This was Leiter’s Box-Toppers debut, the first time in his career he earned Player of the Game honors. Leiter made his Major League debut April 28 and was playing in his 13th career game. He is the 3,834th player to debut in Box-Toppers since record keeping began in 1995.

Leiter is the son of pitcher Mark Leiter Sr. who had 23.4 career Box-Toppers points from 1995 to 1998. Leiter would likely have more Box-Toppers point if his entire career beginning in 1990 were tracked (Box-Toppers tracking began in 1995).

American League Batter of the Day—Derek Norris of the Rays homered, doubled and went 3-for-3, scoring three times and driving in two runs, in the 15-5 win over the Orioles.

National League Batter of the Day—Yoenis Cespedes of the Mets homered, doubled and went 3-for-5, scoring twice and driving in three runs, in the 11-4 win over the Giants.

Rankings—Dodgers pitcher Alex Wood rises from eighth to seventh place in Box-Toppers season player rankings after earning Player of the Game honors Friday.

Wood (6IP 3H R 2BB 7K W in the 6-1 win over the Rockies) earns 1.0 Box-Toppers point, giving him 9.0 for the season. He ranks fourth among NL pitchers.

With Wood earning a point Friday, it marks the first time this season that all of the Box-Toppers top 10 point leaders have different Box-Toppers point totals—there are for the first time in 2017 no ties among the top 10 players. However, 10th-ranked player, Diamondbacks pitcher Zack Greinke, has 7.7 Box-Toppers points and beats out three other players with the same Box-Toppers point total on tiebreakers—Red Sox pitcher Craig Kimbrel, Marlins pitcher Dan Straily and Astros pitcher Lance McCullers.

Debut—Brian Goodwin of the Nationals made his Box-Toppers debut, the first time in his career he earned Player of the Game honors.

Goodwin (2HR 3-4 2R 2BI in the 6-5, 10-inning win over the Reds) made his Major League debut Aug. 6, 2016, and was playing in his 54th career game. He is the 3,835th player to debut in Box-Toppers since record keeping began in 1995.

Scoring—Tanaka earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day and Leiter earns 1.7 points for being NL Player of the Day. Norris and Cespedes each earn 1.5 points for being their league’s Batter of the Day. All of Friday’s other Players of the Game (listed in the chart below) earn 1.0 Box-Toppers point.

About Box-Toppers—Box-Toppers tracks who most helps their team win the most games. Using standard box score statistics, Box-Toppers uses a simple formula to determine a Player of the Game for each Major League Baseball game played. That player is the person who contributed most to his team’s win. In regular season games, players earn 1.0 Box-Toppers point for being named Player of the Game and can earn bonus points for being Player of the Day or top player or batter in their league for the day.

Box-Toppers strives for accuracy. See a mistake in a post? A wrong name, wrong team, grammar error, spelling goof, etc.? Thanks for pointing it out! Contact Box-Toppers here. Let's fix it and make it right.

Top player from each game

Listed from highest to lowest Box-Toppers game score 

6/23	Score	Game	Player of the Game	AB	R	H	BI		IP	H	R	ER	BB	K
MLB	12.0	`NYY 2, TEX 1 (F/10)	Masahiro Tanaka	-	-	-	-		8.0	3	0	0	2	9
NL	7.0	PHI 6, ARI 1	Mark Leiter Jr. (W,1-0)	-	-	-	-		6.0	3	0	0	1	5
	6.0	LAD 6, COL 1	Alex Wood (W,8-0)	-	-	-	-		6.0	3	1	1	2	7
BAT	5.0	TB 15, BAL 5	Derek Norris, C	3	3	3	2		-	-	-	-	-	-
	5.0	SD 1, DET 0	Luis Perdomo (W,2-4)	-	-	-	-		6.0	2	0	0	5	6
	5.0	ATL 5, MIL 4	Mike Foltynewicz (W,5-5)	-	-	-	-		5.0	4	1	1	3	9
	4.0	BOS 9, LAA 4	Sandy Leon, C	4	1	3	4		-	-	-	-	-	-
	4.0	OAK 3, CHW 0	Jharel Cotton (W,5-7)	-	-	-	-		5.0	3	0	0	1	3
	3.0	SEA 13, HOU 3	Danny Valencia, 1B	5	2	4	2		-	-	-	-	-	-
BAT	3.0	NYM 11, SF 4	Yoenis Cespedes, LF	5	2	3	3		-	-	-	-	-	-
	3.0	WSH 6, CIN 5 (F/10)	Brian Goodwin, LF-CF	4	2	3	2		-	-	-	-	-	-
	3.0	`PIT 4, STL 3	Jameson Taillon	-	-	-	-		6.0	4	2	2	2	7
	2.0	MIN 5, CLE 0	Adalberto Mejia (W,2-3)	-	-	-	-		5.0	2	0	0	5	4
	1.0	MIA 2, CHC 0	Giancarlo Stanton, RF	3	1	2	1		-	-	-	-	-	-
	0.0	KC 5, TOR 4	Salvador Perez, C	4	1	2	1		-	-	-	-	-	-

MLB—Overall Box-Toppers Player of the Day, worth 2.0 total Box-Toppers points.
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.

Box-Toppers point totals of the day’s top players

Here are Box-Toppers point totals of each of the Players of the Game. Players are ranked by their Box-Toppers point total for the current season (’17). Also shown are each players’ Box-Toppers point total for this season and last (’16-17), the period 2012-2017 (’12-17) and each players’ career point total. Also shown is how their 2017 Box-Toppers point total compares with their 2016 total (+/-).  

Player of the Game	Pos	Team	’17	’16-17	’12-17	Career	+/-
Wood, Alex 3246	pi sp	lad nl	9.0	10.0	28.4	28.4	8.0
Tanaka, Masahiro 3305	pi sp	nyy al	4.7	18.8	39.5	39.5	-9.4
Perez, Salvador 2972	ca	kc al	4.5	8.5	23.7	26.2	0.5
Cotton, Jharel 3733	pi sp	oak al	3.0	5.0	5.0	5.0	1.0
Norris, Derek 3198	ca	tb al	3.0	4.0	16.0	16.0	2.0
Valencia, Danny 2772	1b 3b	sea al	2.7	7.2	11.7	15.7	-1.8
Cespedes, Yoenis 3008	lf	nym nl	2.5	10.5	42.4	42.4	-5.5
Leon, Sandy 3676	ca	bos al	2.5	5.5	5.5	5.5	-0.5
Stanton, Giancarlo 2737	rf	fla nl	2.0	8.5	32.7	41.2	-4.5
Taillon, Jameson 3658	pi sp	pit nl	2.0	7.0	7.0	7.0	-3.0
Perdomo, Luis D. 3715	pi sp	sd nl	2.0	4.0	4.0	4.0	0.0
Mejia, Adalberto 3812	pi sp	min al	2.0	2.0	2.0	2.0	2.0
Leiter, Mark Jr. 3834	pi sp	phi nl	1.7	1.7	1.7	1.7	1.7
Foltynewicz, Mike 3455	pi sp	atl nl	1.0	5.0	7.7	7.7	-3.0
Goodwin, Brian 3835	lf cf	dc nl	1.0	1.0	1.0	1.0	1.0

What are those numbers after players' names?

Nationals' Joe Ross tops players for Thursday, June 8; Astros' McCullers rises to 7th in Box-Toppers player rankings

Nationals pitcher Joe Ross is Thursday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day.

Top 10 players

Here are the top 10 players in Box-Toppers points (BTP) for the 2017 season as of June 8:  

	Player	Pos	Team	BTP
1	Kershaw, Clayton 2494	pi sp	lad nl	14.4
2	Scherzer, Max 2588	pi sp	dc nl	12.0
3	Santana, Ervin 2005	pi sp	min al	9.4
4	Sale, Chris 2806	pi sp	bos al	8.4
5	Ray, Robbie 3502	pi sp	ari nl	8.0
6	Greinke, Zack 1871	pi sp	ari nl	7.7
7	McCullers, Lance 3488	pi sp	hou al	7.7
8	Strasburg, Stephen 2736	pi sp	dc nl	7.4
9	Keuchel, Dallas 3050	pi sp	hou al	7.4
10	Wood, Alex 3246	pi sp	lad nl	7.0

What are those numbers after players' names?

Also Thursday, Astros pitcher Lance McCullers Jr. rises to seventh place in Box-Toppers season player rankings after earning Player of the Game honors.

Player of the Day—Ross struck out 12 over 7 1/3 innings, allowing one run, four hits and no walks, in the 6-1 win over the Orioles.

American League Player of the Day—Astros pitcher Lance McCullers Jr. Struck out eight over seven innings, allowing two hits, one run and two walks, in the 6-1 win over the Royals. McCullers took a no-hitter into the seventh inning, but did not earn the win, picking up a no-decision, because he exited with the score tied, 1-1.

McCullers earns 1.7 Box-Toppers points for being AL Player of the Day, giving him 7.7 for the season, rising to seventh place in season player rankings. He ranks third among AL pitchers.

National League Batter of the Day—Chris Iannetta of the Diamondbacks homered, doubled twice and went 3-for-5, scoring three times and driving in seven runs, in the 15-3 win over the Padres.

American League Batter of the Day—Derek Norris of the Rays hit two homers and went 2-for-3, driving in three runs, in the 7-5 win over the White Sox.

Debut—Austin Slater of the Giants made his Box-Toppers debut Thursday, the first time in his career he earned Player of the Game honors.

Slater (HR 1-2 2R BI in the 9-5, 10-inning win over the Brewers) made his Major League debut June 2 and was playing in his fourth career game. He is the 3,818th player to debut in Box-Toppers since record keeping began in 1995.

Scoring—Ross earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day and McCullers earns 1.7 points for being AL Player of the Day. Iannetta and Norris each earn 1.5 points for being their league’s Batter of the Day. All of Thursday’s other Players of the Game (listed in the chart below) earn 1.0 Box-Toppers point.

About Box-Toppers—Box-Toppers tracks who most helps their team win the most games. Using standard box score statistics, Box-Toppers uses a simple formula to determine a Player of the Game for each Major League Baseball game played. That player is the person who contributed most to his team’s win. In regular season games, players earn 1.0 Box-Toppers point for being named Player of the Game and can earn bonus points for being Player of the Day or top player or batter in their league for the day.

Box-Toppers strives for accuracy. See a mistake in a post? A wrong name, wrong team, grammar error, spelling goof, etc.? Thanks for pointing it out! Contact Box-Toppers here. Let's fix it and make it right.

Top player from each game

Listed from highest to lowest Box-Toppers game score 

6/8	Score	Game	Player of the Game	AB	R	H	BI		IP	H	R	ER	BB	K
MLB	13.1	WSH 6, BAL 1	Joe Ross (W,3-2)	-	-	-	-		7.1	4	1	1	0	12
	10.0	MIA 7, PIT 1	Edinson Volquez (W,3-7)	-	-	-	-		7.0	3	0	0	2	8
	10.0	ATL 3, PHI 1	R.A. Dickey (W,4-4)	-	-	-	-		7.0	3	1	1	0	8
AL	9.0	`HOU 6, KC 1	Lance McCullers Jr.	-	-	-	-		7.0	2	1	1	2	8
BAT	8.0	ARI 15, SD 3	Chris Iannetta, C	5	3	3	7		-	-	-	-	-	-
	8.0	NYY 9, BOS 1	Michael Pineda (W,7-3)	-	-	-	-		7.0	4	1	0	2	8
	7.0	CIN 5, STL 2	Scott Feldman (W,5-4)	-	-	-	-		7.0	4	0	0	0	4
BAT	4.0	TB 7, CHW 5	Derek Norris, C	3	2	2	3		-	-	-	-	-	-
	3.0	LAA 11, DET 4	Danny Espinosa, 2B	4	1	3	3		-	-	-	-	-	-
	3.0	MIN 2, SEA 1	Brandon Kintzler (S,16)	-	-	-	-		1.0	0	0	0	0	2
	2.0	SF 9, MIL 5 (F/10)	Austin Slater, LF	2	2	1	1		-	-	-	-	-	-
	2.0	COL 4, CHC 1	Tyler Chatwood (W,6-7)	-	-	-	-		6.0	4	1	1	2	4

MLB—Overall Box-Toppers Player of the Day, worth 2.0 total Box-Toppers points.
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.

Box-Toppers point totals of the day’s top players

Here are Box-Toppers point totals of each of the Players of the Game. Players are ranked by their Box-Toppers point total for the current season (’17). Also shown are each players’ Box-Toppers point total for this season and last (’16-17), the period 2012-2017 (’12-17) and each players’ career point total. Also shown is how their 2017 Box-Toppers point total compares with their 2016 total (+/-).  

Player of the Game	Pos	Team	’17	’16-17	’12-17	Career	+/-
McCullers, Lance 3488	pi sp	hou al	7.7	13.8	20.5	20.5	1.6
Chatwood, Tyler 2856	pi sp	col nl	6.4	13.4	20.1	23.1	-0.6
Feldman, Scott 2632	pi sp	cin nl	5.0	5.0	21.7	29.7	5.0
Volquez, Edinson 2220	pi sp	fla nl	4.0	10.4	40.1	68.2	-2.4
Pineda, Michael 2841	pi sp	nyy al	4.0	10.0	26.4	38.1	-2.0
Kintzler, Brandon 3150	pi cp	min al	4.0	4.0	6.0	6.0	4.0
Ross, Joe 3499	pi sp	dc nl	2.0	7.7	12.7	12.7	-3.7
Espinosa, Danny 2804	2b	ana al	2.0	5.2	11.7	18.9	-1.2
Norris, Derek 3198	ca	tb al	1.5	2.5	14.5	14.5	0.5
Iannetta, Chris 2239	ca	ari nl	1.5	2.5	9.5	20.0	0.5
Dickey, R.A. 1734	pi sp	atl nl	1.0	8.0	48.2	78.9	-6.0
Slater, Austin 3818	lf	sf nl	1.0	1.0	1.0	1.0	1.0

What are those numbers after players' names?

Marlins' Jose Fernandez tops players in Tuesday, March 22's spring training games

Marlins pitcher Jose Fernandez is Box-Toppers spring training Player of the Day for Tuesday.

Fernandez pitched five scoreless, no-hit innings, striking out four and walking one, in the 3-0 win over the Red Sox. Fernandez had 4.7 Box-Toppers points in 2015. His best season was his 2013 rookie year, when he had 19.0 Box-Toppers points, ranking fourth among all players.

American League Player of the Day—Jimmy Rollins of the White Sox hit a three-run homer and went 3-for-4, scoring three times, in the 8-7 win over the Giants. Rollins had 3.0 Box-Toppers points in 2015 with the Dodgers. He has 50.4 career points since 2001, which ranks third among active shortstops. His best year was 2007 with the Phillies when he had 4.7 points, fourth among NL shortstops.

National League Batter of the Day—Derek Norris of the Padres homered, doubled and went 2-for-4, scoring twice and driving in four runs, in the 17-5 win over the Rangers. Norris had 4.5 Box-Toppers points in 2015, his best season, when he ranked fourth among NL catchers.

Notable—James Loney of the Rays was Player of the Game in the 4-1 win over the Cuban National Team, in a game played in Havana, Cuba. Loney homered and went 2-for-2, driving in three runs. Loney had no Box-Toppers points in 2015, but has 32.4 career points since 2006. His best year was 2008 with the Dodgers, when he had 6.0 points.

Scoring—No Box-Toppers points are awarded in spring training games, but if it were the regular season, Fernandez would earn 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day, Rollins would earn 1.7 points for being AL Player of the Day and Norris would earn 1.5 points for being NL Batter of the Day. All of Tuesday’s other Players of the Game (listed in the chart below) would earn 1.0 Box-Toppers point.

Note—Fifteen spring training games were scheduled for Tuesday—13 are listed below. One game is not included because it ended in a tie (Giants vs. Diamondbacks) and one other game was cancelled (Angels vs. a non-Major League opponent).

About Box-Toppers—Box-Toppers tracks who most helps their team win the most games. Using standard box score statistics, Box-Toppers uses a simple formula to determine a Player of the Game for each Major League Baseball game played. That player is the person who contributed most to his team’s win. In regular season games, players earn 1.0 Box-Toppers point for being named Player of the Game and can earn bonus points for being Player of the Day or top player or batter in their league for the day.

Top player from each game

Listed from highest to lowest Box-Toppers game score

3/22	Score	Team	Player	AB	R	H	BI	BB	K		IP	H	R	ER	BB	K
MLB	8.0	Marlins	José Fernández (W, 1-0)	-	-	-	-	-	-		5.0	0	0	0	1	4
AL	5.0	White Sox	Jimmy Rollins SS	4	3	3	3	0	1		-	-	-	-	-	-
	4.1	Royals	Chris Young (W, 1-0)	-	-	-	-	-	-		4.1	0	1	1	3	5
BAT	4.0	Padres	Derek Norris C	4	2	2	4	0	0		-	-	-	-	-	-
	4.0	*Rays	James Loney 1B	2	1	2	3	0	0		-	-	-	-	-	-
	4.0	Blue Jays	Ryan Goins 2B	2	2	2	2	1	0		-	-	-	-	-	-
	4.0	Twins	Logan Darnell (W, 1-0)	-	-	-	-	-	-		2.0	0	0	0	0	2
	3.0	Astros	Carlos Correa SS	3	2	2	2	1	0		-	-	-	-	-	-
	3.0	Twins	Daniel Palka DH	3	2	2	2	0	1		-	-	-	-	-	-
	3.0	Angels	Geovany Soto PH-DH	1	1	1	2	1	0		-	-	-	-	-	-
	3.0	Rockies	Christian Bergman (W, 1-0)	-	-	-	-	-	-		4.0	1	0	0	3	3
	3.0	Cubs	Trevor Cahill (SV, 1)	-	-	-	-	-	-		2.0	0	0	0	0	1
	2.0	Yankees	Didi Gregorius SS	3	2	2	1	0	0		-	-	-	-	-	-
		* Game was against a non-Major League opponent, Rays beat Cuban National Team, 4-1

Royals' Moustakas tops players for Thursday, Sept. 24; Kershaw's chances to pass Arrieta for Box-Toppers lead diminish

Mike Moustakas of the Royals is Thursday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day.

Also Thursday, Dodgers pitcher Clayton Kershaw did not earn Player of the Game honors in his start, greatly reducing the chances that he will take the Box-Toppers point lead this season and further solidifying Cubs pitcher Jake Arrieta’s chances that he will end the season as leader.

Top 10 players

Here are the top 10 players in Box-Toppers points (BTP) for the 2015 season as of Sept. 24.  

	Player	Pos	Team	BTP
1	Arrieta, Jake 2738	pi sp	chi nl	25.1
2	Kershaw, Clayton 2494	pi sp	lad nl	22.7
3	Price, David 2593	pi sp	tor al	21.1
4	deGrom, Jacob 3343	pi sp	nym nl	20.4
5	Keuchel, Dallas 3050	pi sp	hou al	20.4
6	Greinke, Zack 1871	pi sp	lad nl	19.7
7	Hernandez, Felix 2064	pi sp	sea al	19.4
8	Cole, Gerrit 3232	pi sp	pit nl	18.0
9	Sale, Chris 2806	pi sp	chi al	17.1
10	Bumgarner, Madison 2753	pi sp	sf nl	17.0

What are those numbers after players' names?

Player of the Day—Moustakas homered, doubled and went 3-for-3, scoring three times and driving in two runs, in the 10-4 win over the Mariners.

National League Player of the Day—Stephen Piscotty of the Cardinals homered and went 3-for-4, driving in four runs, in the 7-3 win over the Brewers.

American League and National League Batters of the Day—There are no separate AL and NL Batters of the Day for Thursday because both the overall Player of the Day and the NL Player of the Day were batters—Mike Moustakas and Stephen Piscotty.

Notable—Mets closing pitcher Jeurys Familia has the highest Box-Toppers point total of any of the 12 who earned Player of the Game honors Thursday. Familia (1IP 0H 0R K Sv in the 6-4 win over the Reds) earns 1.0 Box-Toppers point, giving him 8.0 for the season. He ranks 81st among all players, 27th among NL pitchers and second among NL closers, behind Aroldis Champman of the Reds (8.0 points).

Kershaw, Arrieta and the Box-Toppers points lead—While Clayton Kershaw of the Dodgers won his game, he did not earn Player of the Game honors. Kershaw (5IP 6H 3R 9K W in the 6-3 win over the Diamondbacks) had a Box-Toppers game score of +1. Player of the Game was Chris Heisey (1-3 R 4BI) with a Box-Toppers game score of +3.

Kershaw’s chances to repeat as Box-Toppers points leaders and his chances to repeat as leader among NL pitchers for the fifth straight season now seem to be greatly diminished. With 10 days left in the season, Kershaw probably will not make more than one more start and he already trails overall Box-Toppers points leader, Cubs pitcher Jake Arrieta (25.1), by 2.4 points. If Kershaw makes one more start, the most he can earn is 2.0 points, giving him 24.7, short of Arrieta’s total.

But if Kershaw does make two more starts—or even two more appearances this season—he may have a chance, but would have to earn at least Player of the Game honors in both games. However, if Arrieta earns overall Player of the Day honors in his start Sunday, he would probably wrap up Box-Toppers Player of the Year honors, barring any miracle by another player.

The only other player who has a realistic chance of catching or passing Arrieta is Blue Jays pitcher David Price. Price has 21.1 Box-Toppers points, third place among all players and trails Arrieta by 4.0 Box-Toppers points. Price likely has two starts remaining, the first of which is Saturday. Price would have to earn overall Player of the Day honors in both starts, earning 2.0 Box-Toppers points each time, to give him 25.1 Box-Toppers points, the same total Arrieta currently has. Price would win the tiebreaker over Arrieta because he had more Box-Toppers points in 2014—19.1 vs. 14.7. But again, if Arrieta even earns Player of the Game honors in a start, Price would have no realistic shot of catching him.

Rankings—Two other pitchers in Box-Toppers top 10 season player rankings started Thursday, but neither earned Player of the Game honors:

• Chris Sale of the White Sox (7IP 7H 3R 8K L in the 3-2 loss to the Yankees) had a Box-Toppers game score of +1. Player of the Game was Carlos Beltran of the Yankees (2-4 R 3BI, Box-Toppers game score +2). Sale is ranked ninth in Box-Toppers player rankings, fourth among AL pitchers, with 17.1 points.
• Madison Bumgarner of the Giants (7IP 3H 3R 9K ND in the 5-4 loss to the Padres) had a Box-Toppers game score of +4. Player of the Game was Derek Norris of the Padres (3-4 R 3BI, Box-Toppers game score of +3). (Bumgarner had a higher Box-Toppers game score than Norris, but Norris earned Player of the Game because he had the highest score on the Padres—the team that won the game.) Bumgarner is ranked 10th in Box-Toppers player rankings, sixth among NL pitchers, with 17.0 points.

Scoring—Moustakas earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day and Piscotty earns 1.7 Box-Toppers points for being NL Player of the Day. All of Thursday’s other Players of the Game (listed in the chart below) earn 1.0 Box-Toppers point.

About Box-Toppers—Box-Toppers tracks who most helps their team win the most games. Using standard box score statistics, Box-Toppers uses a simple formula to determine a Player of the Game for each Major League Baseball game played. That player is the person who contributed most to his team’s win. In regular season games, players earn 1.0 Box-Toppers point for being named Player of the Game and can earn bonus points for being Player of the Day or top player or batter in their league for the day.

Top player from each game

Listed from highest to lowest Box-Toppers game score

9/24	Score	Team	Player	AB	R	H	BI	BB	K		IP	H	R	ER	BB	K
MLB	6.0	Royals	Mike Moustakas, 3B	3	3	3	3	2	0		-	-	-	-	-	-
	5.0	Rays	Erasmo Ramirez (W,11-6)	-	-	-	-	-	-		7.0	4	2	2	0	6
NL	4.0	Cardinals	Stephen Piscotty, 1B-LF	4	1	3	4	0	1		-	-	-	-	-	-
	3.1	`Marlins	Chris Narveson	-	-	-	-	-	-		1.1	0	0	0	0	2
	3.0	Padres	Derek Norris, C	4	1	3	3	0	1		-	-	-	-	-	-
	3.0	Dodgers	Chris Heisey, CF-RF	3	1	1	4	0	1		-	-	-	-	-	-
	3.0	Pirates	Mark Melancon (S,50)	-	-	-	-	-	-		1.0	0	0	0	0	2
	2.0	Rangers	Delino DeShields, CF	5	2	3	2	0	0		-	-	-	-	-	-
	2.0	Yankees	Carlos Beltran, RF	4	1	2	3	0	1		-	-	-	-	-	-
	2.0	Orioles	Matt Wieters, C	4	2	2	2	0	0		-	-	-	-	-	-
	2.0	Indians	Carlos Santana, DH	3	1	1	3	2	0		-	-	-	-	-	-
	2.0	Mets	Jeurys Familia (S,42)	-	-	-	-	-	-		1.0	0	0	0	0	1
		`Denotes that the pitcher had a no-decision in the game and did not pick up a win or a save.

Tigers' Sanchez, Phillies' Harang top players for Thursday, May 14

Tigers pitcher Anibal Sanchez is Thursday’s Player of the Day.

Meanwhile, Phillies pitcher Aaron Harang rises to fourth in Box-Toppers player rankings and Shane Victorino of the Red Sox scores a Box-Toppers point for the 10th season in a row.

Top 10 players

Here are the top 10 players in Box-Toppers points (BTP) for the 2015 season as of May 14.  

	Player	Pos	Team	BTP
1	Hernandez, Felix 2064	pi sp	sea al	8.7
2	Archer, Chris 3194	pi sp	tb al	6.0
3	Cole, Gerrit 3232	pi sp	pit nl	6.0
4	Harang, Aaron 1599	pi sp	phi nl	5.1
5	Miller, Shelby 3134	pi sp	atl nl	5.0
6	Hosmer, Eric 2886	1b	kc al	5.0
7	Harper, Bryce 3011	lf rf	dc nl	5.0
8	Heston, Chris 3437	pi sp	sf nl	5.0
9	Cabrera, Miguel 1776	1b	det al	4.7
10	Keuchel, Dallas 3050	pi sp	hou al	4.7

What are those numbers after players' names?

Player of the Day—Sanchez struck out nine over eight innings, allowing one run, in the 13-1 win over the Twins.

National League Player of the Day—Phillies pitcher Aaron Harang pitched eight scoreless innings, allowing five hits and striking out six, in the 4-2 win over the Pirates.

Harang rises to fourth in Box-Toppers player rankings for the season. He earns 1.7 Box-Toppers points for being NL Player of the Day, giving him 5.1 for the season. He ranks second among NL pitchers, behind Gerrit Cole of the Pirates (6.0).

National League Batter of the Day—Derek Norris of the Padres hit a three-run homer and a two-run triple in the 8-3 win over the Nationals.

American League Batter of the Day—Alcides Escobar of the Royals went 3-for-5, scoring twice and driving in three runs, in the 6-3 win over the Rangers.

Streak—Shane Victorino of the Red Sox has now earned at least 1.0 Box-Toppers point for 10 straight seasons.

Victorino was Player of the Game in Thursday’s 2-1 win over the Mariners (HR 2-3) and earned 1.0 Box-Toppers point, his first of the season.

Victorino earned his first Box-Toppers points in 2006 with the Phillies. His best season was 2009 with the Phillies, when he had 9.5 Box-Toppers points, 10th among NL batters. In 2014, he had 2.5 Box-Toppers points with the Red Sox.

Victorino has 48.2 career Box-Toppers points, which ranks 24th among active batters currently in the AL.

Scoring—Sanchez earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day and Harang earns 1.7 Box-Toppers points for being NL Player of the Day. Norris and Escobar each earn 1.5 Box-Toppers points for being their league’s Batter of the Day. All of Thursday’s other Players of the Game (listed in the chart below) earn 1.0 Box-Toppers point.

About Box-Toppers—Box-Toppers tracks who most helps their team win the most games. Using standard box score statistics, Box-Toppers uses a simple formula to determine a Player of the Game for each Major League Baseball game played. That player is the person who contributed most to his team’s win. In regular season games, players earn 1.0 Box-Toppers point for being named Player of the Game and can earn bonus points for being Player of the Day or top player or batter in their league for the day.

Top player from each game

Listed from highest to lowest Box-Toppers game score

5/14	Score	Team	Player	AB	R	H	BI	BB	K		IP	H	R	ER	BB	K
MLB	9.0	Tigers	Anibal Sanchez (W, 3-4)	-	-	-	-	-	-		8.0	5	1	1	1	9
NL	8.0	Phillies	Aaron Harang (W, 4-3)	-	-	-	-	-	-		8.0	5	0	0	1	6
	6.0	Rays	Erasmo Ramirez (W, 1-1)	-	-	-	-	-	-		5.0	1	0	0	2	4
BAT	5.0	Padres	Derek Norris C	3	1	2	5	1	0		-	-	-	-	-	-
	4.0	Reds	Marlon Byrd LF	2	1	2	3	2	0		-	-	-	-	-	-
	3.1	Cardinals	Trevor Rosenthal (S, 12)	-	-	-	-	-	-		1.1	1	0	0	0	3
	3.1	Cubs	Pedro Strop (W, 1-2)	-	-	-	-	-	-		1.1	0	0	0	0	2
BAT	3.0	Royals	Alcides Escobar SS	5	2	3	3	0	0		-	-	-	-	-	-
	3.0	Rockies	Carlos Gonzalez RF	3	2	1	3	2	1		-	-	-	-	-	-
	2.0	Astros	Chad Qualls (S, 4)	-	-	-	-	-	-		1.0	0	0	0	0	1
	1.0	Red Sox	Shane Victorino RF	3	1	2	1	1	1		-	-	-	-	-	-

Rays' Odorizzi tops players for Saturday, Aug. 9; Indians' Kluber rises to 5th in Box-Toppers rankings

Rays pitcher Jake Odorizzi is Saturday’s Player of the Day, while Indians pitcher Corey Kluber rises to fifth place in Box-Toppers player rankings.

Odorizzi pitched six scoreless innings and struck out nine in the 4-0 win over the Cubs.

Kluber rose from ninth to fifth place in Box-Toppers player rankings after earning Player of the Game honors Saturday. (See the updated top 10 player list on the home page.) Kluber (6IP 0R 10K W in the 3-0 win over the Yankees) earns 1.0 Box-Toppers point, giving him 15.4 for the season. He ranks second among American League pitchers, behind Max Scherzer of the Tigers (18.1 Box-Toppers points).

Brewers pitcher Mike Fiers is National League Player of the Day. Fiers allowed one run over eight innings and struck out five in the 4-1 win over the Dodgers.

David Peralta of the Diamondbacks is NL Batter of the Day. Peralta hit a grand slam and doubled, going 3-for-5, scoring twice and driving in five runs, in the 14-4 win over the Rockies.

Derek Norris of the Athletics is AL Batter of the Day. Norris hit a three-run homer and drove in five total runs in the 9-4 win over the Twins.

Odorizzi receives 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day. Fiers receives 1.7 for NL Player of the Day. Peralta and Norris each receive 1.5 for being top Batter of the Day in their league.

All of Saturday’s other Players of the Game (listed in the chart below) receive 1.0 Box-Toppers point.

Box-Toppers tracks who most helps their team win the most games. Using standard box score statistics, Box-Toppers uses a simple formula to determine a Player of the Game for each Major League Baseball game played. That player is the person who contributed most to his team’s win. Players earn Box-Toppers points for being named Player of the Game and can earn bonus points for being Player of the Day or top player or batter in their league for the day.

Top player from each game

Listed from highest to lowest Box-Toppers game score

809	Score	Team	Player	AB	R	H	BI	BB	K		IP	H	R	ER	BB	K
MLB	12.0	Rays	Jake Odorizzi (W, 8-9)	-	-	-	-	-	-		6.0	3	0	0	0	9
	11.0	Indians	Corey Kluber (W, 13-6)	-	-	-	-	-	-		6.0	4	0	0	1	10
	9.0	Royals	James Shields (W, 11-6)	-	-	-	-	-	-		9.0	4	0	0	1	5
NL	7.0	Brewers	Mike Fiers (W, 1-1)	-	-	-	-	-	-		8.0	3	1	1	1	5
	7.0	Angels	Matt Shoemaker (W, 10-4)	-	-	-	-	-	-		3.0	0	0	0	0	4
BAT	5.0	Dbacks	David Peralta RF	5	2	3	5	0	0		-	-	-	-	-	-
	4.1	`White Sox	Hector Noesi	-	-	-	-	-	-		7.1	5	1	0	1	4
BAT	4.0	Athletics	Derek Norris C	3	1	1	5	2	1		-	-	-	-	-	-
	3.1	Padres	Eric Stults (W, 5-13)	-	-	-	-	-	-		6.1	7	1	1	0	6
	3.0	Orioles	Delmon Young LF	4	2	2	3	0	0		-	-	-	-	-	-
	3.0	Astros	Jonathan Singleton 1B	3	1	2	3	2	1		-	-	-	-	-	-
	3.0	`Mets	Dillon Gee	-	-	-	-	-	-		7.0	3	1	1	3	4
	2.0	`Blue Jays	Marcus Stroman	-	-	-	-	-	-		9.0	4	2	2	3	4
	2.0	Nationals	Rafael Soriano (S, 26)	-	-	-	-	-	-		1.0	1	0	0	0	2
	1.0	Marlins	Christian Yelich LF	4	1	2	2	0	1		-	-	-	-	-	-

` Denotes that the pitcher had a no-decision in the game and did not pick up a win or a save.

Angels' Shoemaker tops players for Tuesday, June 17, Yankees' Tanaka takes Box-Toppers points lead

Angels pitcher Matt Shoemaker is Tuesday’s Player of the Day, while Yankees pitcher Masahiro Tanaka takes the overall Box-Toppers points lead.

Shoemaker struck out 10 over eight innings in the 9-3 win over the Indians. Shoemaker and Mariners pitcher Roenis Elias, Player of the Game in his team’s win over the Padres, had identical Box-Toppers game scores of 8.0, but Shoemaker earned Player of the Day on a tie-breaker—he had more innings pitched (eight vs. seven).

Tanaka rises from second to first in Box-Toppers season player rankings for the first time after earning Player of the Game honors Tuesday (see the updated top 10 player list on the home page). Tanaka struck out 10 over six innings in the 3-1 win over the Blue Jays. He earns 1.0 Box-Toppers point, giving him 12.7 for the season. He passes previous Box-Toppers points leader, Adam Wainwright of the Cardinals (12.0), who had held the lead since May 25. Tanaka maintains his Box-Toppers points lead among American League pitchers.

Jonathan Lucroy of the Brewers is National League Player of the Day. Lucroy hit two homers, including a grand slam and went 3-for-5 in the 7-5 win over the Diamondbacks.

Derek Norris of the Athletics is AL Batter of the Day. Norris homered, went 2-for-2 and drove in five runs in the 10-6 win over the Rangers.

Shoemaker receives 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day. Lucroy receives 1.7 for NL Player of the Day. Norris receives 1.5 for being AL Batter of the Day.

All of Tuesday’s other Players of the Game (listed in the chart below) receive 1.0 Box-Toppers point.

Box-Toppers watches the daily performances of selected star players and Box-Toppers points leaders. To see how they performed Tuesday, click here.

Box-Toppers tracks who most helps their team win the most games. Using standard box score statistics, Box-Toppers uses a simple formula to determine a Player of the Game for each Major League Baseball game played. That player is the person who contributed most to his team’s win. Players earn Box-Toppers points for being named Player of the Game and can earn bonus points for being Player of the Day or top player or batter in their league for the day.

Top player from each game

Listed from highest to lowest Box-Toppers game score

617	Score	Team	Player	AB	R	H	BI	BB	K		IP	H	R	ER	BB	K
MLB	8.0	Angels	Matt Shoemaker (W, 4-1)	-	-	-	-	-	-		8.0	5	2	2	1	10
	8.0	Mariners	Roenis Elias (W, 6-5)	-	-	-	-	-	-		7.0	3	1	1	0	6
	7.0	Yankees	Masahiro Tanaka (W, 11-1)	-	-	-	-	-	-		6.0	5	1	1	2	10
BAT	6.0	Athletics	Derek Norris PH, C	2	1	2	5	0	0		-	-	-	-	-	-
	5.1	Red Sox	Jon Lester (W, 8-7)	-	-	-	-	-	-		6.1	4	1	1	1	6
NL	5.0	Brewers	Jonathan Lucroy C	5	2	3	5	0	1		-	-	-	-	-	-
	4.0	Cardinals	Michael Wacha (W, 5-5)	-	-	-	-	-	-		6.0	5	1	1	2	7
	3.0	Orioles	Steve Pearce DH	3	2	2	2	2	1		-	-	-	-	-	-
	2.0	Nationals	Anthony Rendon 3B	4	1	2	3	1	1		-	-	-	-	-	-
	2.0	White Sox	Dayan Viciedo RF	4	2	2	2	0	1		-	-	-	-	-	-
	2.0	Dodgers	Carlos Triunfel SS	1	1	1	1	0	0		-	-	-	-	-	-
	2.0	Phillies	Kyle Kendrick (W, 3-6)	-	-	-	-	-	-		7.0	6	2	2	1	6
	1.0	Royals	Alcides Escobar SS	5	3	3	0	0	0		-	-	-	-	-	-
	1.0	Reds	Billy Hamilton CF	4	2	3	0	1	0		-	-	-	-	-	-
	1.0	Marlins	Garrett Jones 1B	4	1	1	3	0	0		-	-	-	-	-	-

Mariners' Aaron Harang pitches 2-hit shutout, is top player for Tuesday, June 11

Mariners pitcher Aaron Harang is Tuesday's Player of the Day. Harang threw a two-hit shutout, striking out 10, in the 4-0 win over the Astros.

Pedro Alvarez of the Pirates is National League Player of the Day. Alvarez homered and went 3-for-3 and drove in three runs in the 8-2 win over the Giants. 

Derek Norris of the Athletics is American League Batter of the Day. Norris homered, doubled and drove in four runs in the 6-4 win over the Yankees. 

Standings update: Tigers pitcher Max Scherzer rises to ninth place in Box-Toppers player rankings for the 2013 season (see the updated list of top 10 players on the home page). Scherzer (7IP 3H 6K) was Player of the Game in the 3-2 win over the Royals. Scherzer earns 1.0 Box-Toppers point for being Player of the Game, giving him 8.7 for the season. 

Harang receives 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day. Alvarez receives 1.7 for NL Player of the Day. Norris receives 1.5 for AL  Batter of the Day.

All of Tuesday's other Players of the Game (listed in the chart below) receive 1.0 Box-Toppers point:

611	Score	Team	BATTERS	AB	R	H	RBI	BB	SO	-	-	PITCHERS	IP	H	R	ER	BB	SO
MLB	17.0	Mariners	0	0	0	0	0	0	0			Aaron Harang (W, 3-6)	9.0	2	0	0	0	10
	6.0	Orioles	0	0	0	0	0	0	0			Miguel Gonzalez (W, 4-2)	8.0	4	1	1	1	5
NL	5.0	Pirates	Pedro Alvarez 3B	3	2	3	3	0	0			0	0.0	0	0	0	0	0
	4.0	Rockies	Tyler Colvin RF	4	2	2	4	0	2			0	0.0	0	0	0	0	0
BAT	4.0	Athletics	Derek Norris C	3	1	2	4	0	0			0	0.0	0	0	0	0	0
	4.0	Tigers	0	0	0	0	0	0	0			Max Scherzer (W, 9-0)	7.0	3	2	2	2	6
	4.0	`Dodgers	0	0	0	0	0	0	0			Zack Greinke	7.0	2	2	2	2	5
	3.2	Blue Jays	0	0	0	0	0	0	0			Brett Cecil (W, 2-0)	1.2	0	0	0	0	2
	3.0	Rays	Desmond Jennings CF	5	3	3	2	0	0			0	0.0	0	0	0	0	0
	3.0	Reds	0	0	0	0	0	0	0			Tony Cingrani (W, 3-0)	7.0	4	2	2	1	5
	2.1	`Twins	0	0	0	0	0	0	0			P.J. Walters	7.1	6	2	1	1	5
	2.0	Cardinals	Matt Holliday LF	5	3	3	1	0	1			0	0.0	0	0	0	0	0
	2.0	Marlins	Derek Dietrich 2B	2	1	1	2	1	1			0	0.0	0	0	0	0	0
	2.0	Padres	0	0	0	0	0	0	0			Andrew Cashner (W, 5-3)	8.0	6	2	2	1	5
	0.0	Indians	0	0	0	0	0	0	0			Corey Kluber (W, 4-4)	8.0	6	1	1	3	3

` Denotes that the pitcher had a no-decision in the game and did not pick up a win or a save.