White Sox' Erik Johnson (6.2IP 9K ND) tops players for Tuesday, April 15

White Sox pitcher Erik Johnson is Tuesday’s Player of the Day. Johnson struck out nine over 6 2/3 innings in the 2-1 win over the Red Sox.

Johnson picked up a no-decision and did not earn the win because he left the mound with the game tied 1-1.

Giancarlo Stanton of the Marlins is National League Player of the Day. Stanton hit a three-run homer, drove in five runs, scored three times and went 2-for-4 in the 11-2 win over the Nationals.

Brett Lawrie of the Blue Jays is American League Batter of the Day. Lawrie hit a grand slam and drove in five runs in the 9-3 win over the Twins.

Notable: Reds pitcher Mike Leake was Player of the Game for batting in the 7-5 win over the Pirates. Leake hit a two-run homer and doubled, scored two runs and went 2-for-3 at the plate, giving him a Box-Toppers game score of +3.0. He narrowly beat out Mike Leake (himself) the pitcher for top player in the game. Leake struck out eight over 6 2/3 innings and had a Box-Toppers game score of +2.2 as a pitcher. Leake is the second pitcher this season to earn Player of the Game honors as a batter (Giants pitcher Madison Bumgarner did it on April 11.) In 2013, six pitchers won Player of the Game honors for batting.

Johnson receives 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day. Stanton receives 1.7 for NL Player of the Day. Lawrie 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 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

415	Score	Team	Player	AB	R	H	BI	BB	K		IP	H	R	ER	BB	K
MLB	8.2	`White Sox	Erik Johnson	-	-	-	-	-	-		6.2	3	1	1	2	9
NL	6.0	Marlins	Giancarlo Stanton RF	4	3	2	5	1	2		-	-	-	-	-	-
	5.0	Cardinals	Shelby Miller (W, 1-2)	-	-	-	-	-	-		6.0	3	1	1	3	7
	4.2	Rangers	Robbie Ross Jr. (W, 1-0)	-	-	-	-	-	-		7.2	5	0	0	0	2
	4.0	Royals	Yordano Ventura (W, 1-0)	-	-	-	-	-	-		7.0	4	2	1	3	7
	4.0	Mets	Jenrry Mejia (W, 2-0)	-	-	-	-	-	-		5.0	2	0	0	2	3
BAT	3.0	Blue Jays	Brett Lawrie 3B	4	1	1	5	0	1		-	-	-	-	-	-
	3.0	Reds	Mike Leake P	3	2	2	2	0	1		-	-	-	-	-	-
	3.0	`Giants	Tim Lincecum	-	-	-	-	-	-		5.0	5	1	1	0	5
	3.0	Pirates	Jason Grilli (S, 4)	-	-	-	-	-	-		1.0	0	0	0	0	2
	1.0	Athletics	Jed Lowrie SS	5	2	3	1	1	1		-	-	-	-	-	-
	1.0	Rockies	Troy Tulowitzki SS	3	2	2	0	1	0		-	-	-	-	-	-

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

Padres' Andrew Cashner pitches 1-hitter, tops players for Monday, Sept. 16

Padres pitcher Andrew Cashner is Monday's Player of the Day. Cashner pitched a one-hit, complete game shutout, striking out seven in the 2-0 win over the Pirates. He gave up the one hit in the seventh inning.

White Sox pitcher Erik Johnson is American League Player of the Day. Johnson pitched six shutout innings and struck out eight in the 12-1 win over the Twins. This was Johnson's Box-Toppers debut, the first time he has earned Player of the Game honors. He is the 3,284th player to make his Box-Toppers debut since record keeping began in 1995.  

Caleb Gindl of the Brewers is National League Batter of the Day. Gindl homered, drove in three runs, scored three runs and went 3-for-3 in the 6-1 win over the Cubs. This was Gindl's Box-Toppers debut, the first time he has earned Player of the Game honors. He is the 3,285th player to make his Box-Toppers debut since record keeping began in 1995.

No American League batters earned Player of the Game honors Monday, so there is no AL Batter of the Day. 

Notable: Phillies pitcher Cliff Lee rises to 20th place in Box-Toppers player rankings after earning Player of the Game honors Monday. Lee (8IP 14K W in 12-2 win vs. Marlins) earns 1.0 Box-Toppers point, giving him 13.4 for the season.

Coming Tuesday: Two of Box-Toppers top 10 pitchers face off. Zack Greinke of the Dodgers faces Patrick Corbin of the Diamondbacks. Greinke has 18.4 Box-Toppers points and is in third place in Box-Toppers standings (see the top 10 list on the home page), while Corbin has 17.4 and is in fifth. Both trail points leader Marlins pitcher Jose Fernandez (19.0) and either could pass him to take the points lead after Tuesday's game.

Cashner receives 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day. Johnson receives 1.7 for AL Player of the Day. Gindl receives 1.5 for being NL Batter of the Day.

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

Top player from each game

Listed from highest to lowest Box-Toppers game score

916	Score	Team	BATTERS	AB	R	H	RBI	BB	SO	-	-	PITCHERS	IP	H	R	ER	BB	SO
MLB	15.0	Padres	0	0	0	0	0	0	0			Andrew Cashner (W, 10-8)	9.0	1	0	0	0	7
	10.0	Phillies	0	0	0	0	0	0	0			Cliff Lee (W, 14-6)	8.0	8	2	2	0	14
AL	8.0	White Sox	0	0	0	0	0	0	0			Erik Johnson (W, 1-2)	6.0	4	0	0	2	8
	7.0	Rays	0	0	0	0	0	0	0			Alex Cobb (W, 9-3)	8.0	6	2	2	1	10
	7.0	Tigers	0	0	0	0	0	0	0			Rick Porcello (W, 13-8)	6.0	5	1	1	2	10
BAT	6.0	Brewers	Caleb Gindl LF	3	3	3	3	1	0			0	0.0	0	0	0	0	0
	6.0	Royals	0	0	0	0	0	0	0			James Shields (W, 12-9)	6.0	6	1	1	2	10
	4.0	Angels	0	0	0	0	0	0	0			C.J. Wilson (W, 17-6)	7.0	4	1	1	3	6
	4.0	Reds	0	0	0	0	0	0	0			Johnny Cueto (W, 5-2)	5.0	5	0	0	1	5
	2.0	Rockies	Charlie Blackmon CF, LF	4	1	3	2	0	0			0	0.0	0	0	0	0	0
	1.1	Diamondbacks	0	0	0	0	0	0	0			Trevor Cahill (W, 7-10)	5.1	2	1	1	4	4