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Athletics pitcher Chris Bassitt is Thursday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day.
Also Thursday, Reds pitcher Luis Castillo rises to third place in Box-Toppers season player rankings after earning Player of the Game honors. Plus, Joey Gallo of the Rangers rises to lead American League batters in Box-Toppers points after earning Player of the Game honors.
Read MoreYankees pitcher David Robertson is Tuesday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day in Tuesday’s American League Wild Card Game.
Robertson pitched 3 1/3 scoreless innings of middle relief, allowing three hits, one walk, striking out three and earning the win, in the 8-4 win over the Royals.
Read MoreBraves pitcher Mike Foltynewicz is Saturday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day.
Also Saturday, Rangers pitcher Cole Hamels became the 22nd player since 1995 to reach 150 career Box-Toppers points after earning American League Player of the Day honors.
Read More
Cardinals pitcher Michael Wacha is Tuesday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day.
Also Tuesday, Dodgers pitcher Clayton Kershaw extended his lead in Box-Toppers season player rankings after earning Player of the Game honors.
| Player | Pos | Team | BTP | |
| 1 | Kershaw, Clayton 2494 | pi sp | lad nl | 22.1 |
| 2 | Scherzer, Max 2588 | pi sp | dc nl | 19.0 |
| 3 | Sale, Chris 2806 | pi sp | bos al | 13.1 |
| 4 | Wood, Alex 3246 | pi sp | lad nl | 13.0 |
| 5 | Strasburg, Stephen 2736 | pi sp | dc nl | 12.4 |
| 6 | Santana, Ervin 2005 | pi sp | min al | 12.4 |
| 7 | Carrasco, Carlos 2885 | pi sp | cle al | 11.4 |
| 8 | Greinke, Zack 1871 | pi sp | ari nl | 11.4 |
| 9 | Quintana, Jose 3040 | pi sp | chi nl | 10.0 |
| 10 | Ray, Robbie 3502 | pi sp | ari nl | 10.0 |
Player of the Day—Wacha pitched a complete-game, three-hit shutout, striking out eight and walking one, in the 5-0 win over the Mets.
American League Player of the Day—Astros pitcher Brad Peacock struck out nine over seven innings, allowing one run, three hits and one walk in the 6-2 win over the Mariners.
American League Batter of the Day—Nicholas Castellanos of the Tigers homered twice and tripled, going 4-for-5 and driving in five runs, in the 9-3 win over the Royals.
National League Batter of the Day—Gerardo Parra of the Rockies doubled and went 3-for-3, scoring three times and driving in one run, in the 9-7 win over the Padres.
Rankings—Dodgers pitcher Clayton Kershaw extends his lead in Box-Toppers season player rankings after earning Player of the Game honors Tuesday.
Kershaw (7IP 7H 0R BB 7K W in the 1-0 win over the White Sox) earns 1.0 Box-Toppers point, giving him 22.1 for the season, leading second-place player, Nationals pitcher Max Scherzer (19.0 Box-Toppers points).
Kershaw is on pace to earn about 38.0 Box-Toppers points in 2017, which would break the single-season record of 33.7, set by Randy Johnson of the Diamondbacks in both 2000 and 2002. Box-Toppers record keeping began in 1995.
Kershaw also now has 205.8 career Box-Toppers points, third-most among all players since 1995, when Box-Toppers tracking began. He trails second-ranked player Pedro Martinez (244.8). Kershaw leads all active players in career points.
Remarkably, Kershaw has more career Box-Toppers points than the combined total of the 14 others who earned Player of the Game honors Tuesday. The 14 other players have 190.5 career Box-Toppers points combined. Kershaw still beats them by more than 10.0 with 205.8. Granted, none of the other 14 has significantly high career Box-Toppers point totals—Bryce Harper of the Nationals has the most with 34.4, which ranks 540th among all players since 1995.
Notable—Phillies pitcher Pat Neshek Tuesday earned his first Player of the Game honor in nearly three years.
Neshek (1IP 0H 0R 0BB K W in the 5-2 win over the Marlins) last earned Player of the Game honors on Aug. 5, 2014. Despite his lack of recent Player of the Game honors and Box-Toppers points, Neshek was selected to be a 2017 National League All-Star.
Debut—Red Sox pitcher Hector Velazquez made his Box-Toppers debut Tuesday after earning his first career Player of the Game honor.
Velazquez (4IP 2H 0R BB 3K W in the 5-4, 15-inning win over the Blue Jays) made his Major League debut May 18 and was playing in his fourth career game. He is the 3,853rd player to debut in Box-Toppers since record keeping began in 1995.
Scoring—Wacha earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day and Peacock earns 1.7 points for being AL Player of the Day. Castellanos and Parra each earn 1.5 points for being their league’s Batter of the Day. All of Tuesday’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.
| 7/18 | Score | Game | Player of the Game | AB | R | H | BI | IP | H | R | ER | BB | K | |
| MLB | 13.0 | STL 5, NYM 0 | Michael Wacha (W, 7-3) | - | - | - | - | 9.0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 8 | |
| AL | 10.0 | HOU 6, SEA 2 | Brad Peacock (W, 8-1) | - | - | - | - | 7.0 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 9 | |
| BAT | 6.0 | DET 9, KC 3 | Nicholas Castellanos (3B) | 5 | 2 | 4 | 5 | - | - | - | - | - | - | |
| 6.0 | LAD 1, CHW 0 | Clayton Kershaw (W, 15-2) | - | - | - | - | 7.0 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 7 | ||
| 5.0 | `TB 4, OAK 3 | Erasmo Ramirez | - | - | - | - | 3.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | ||
| BAT | 4.0 | COL 9, SD 7 | Gerardo Parra (LF) | 3 | 3 | 3 | 1 | - | - | - | - | - | - | |
| 4.0 | BOS 5, TOR 4 (F/15) | Hector Velazquez (W, 2-1) | - | - | - | - | 4.0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 3 | ||
| 3.0 | WSH 4, LAA 3 | Bryce Harper (RF) | 4 | 2 | 4 | 1 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 3.0 | ARI 11, CIN 2 | Rey Fuentes (PH-CF) | 2 | 1 | 1 | 3 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 3.0 | BAL 12, TEX 1 | Dylan Bundy (W, 9-8) | - | - | - | - | 6.0 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 4 | ||
| 2.0 | NYY 6, MIN 3 | Didi Gregorius (SS) | 4 | 1 | 3 | 2 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 2.0 | PHI 5, MIA 2 | Pat Neshek (W, 3-2) | - | - | - | - | 1.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | ||
| 2.0 | PIT 4, MIL 3 | Felipe Rivero (S, 8) | - | - | - | - | 1.0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | ||
| 1.0 | CHC 5, ATL 1 | Javier Baez (2B) | 4 | 1 | 3 | 1 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 1.0 | SF 2, CLE 1 (F/10) | Sam Dyson (W, 1-1) | - | - | - | - | 2.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| Player of the Game | Pos | Team | ’17 | ’16-17 | ’12-17 | Career | +/- |
| Kershaw, Clayton 2494 | pi sp | lad nl | 22.1 | 46.5 | 146.2 | 205.8 | -2.3 |
| Harper, Bryce 3011 | rf | dc nl | 7.0 | 10.0 | 34.4 | 34.4 | 4.0 |
| Parra, Gerardo 2746 | rf lf | col nl | 6.5 | 9.0 | 21.0 | 27.5 | 4.0 |
| Peacock, Brad 2968 | pi sp | hou al | 6.4 | 6.4 | 13.1 | 15.8 | 6.4 |
| Baez, Javier 3395 | 2b 3b | chi nl | 5.2 | 7.2 | 9.7 | 9.7 | 3.2 |
| Wacha, Michael 3276 | pi sp | stl nl | 5.0 | 7.0 | 24.7 | 24.7 | 3.0 |
| Bundy, Dylan 3655 | pi sp | bal al | 4.0 | 10.0 | 10.0 | 10.0 | -2.0 |
| Castellanos, Nicholas 3349 | 3b | det al | 3.5 | 9.0 | 17.2 | 17.2 | -2.0 |
| Ramirez, Erasmo 1786 | pi cp sp mr | tb al | 3.0 | 6.7 | 15.7 | 17.7 | -0.7 |
| Dyson, Sam 3399 | pi cp mr | sf nl | 3.0 | 3.0 | 6.0 | 6.0 | 3.0 |
| Rivero, Felipe 3579 | pi cp | pit nl | 3.0 | 3.0 | 4.0 | 4.0 | 3.0 |
| Gregorius, Didi 3184 | ss | nyy al | 2.0 | 4.0 | 8.5 | 8.5 | 0.0 |
| Neshek, Pat 2196 | pi mr | phi nl | 1.0 | 1.0 | 4.0 | 12.0 | 1.0 |
| Fuentes, Reymond 3301 | cf ph | ari nl | 1.0 | 1.0 | 2.0 | 2.0 | 1.0 |
| Velazquez, Hector 3853 | pi cp | bos al | 1.0 | 1.0 | 1.0 | 1.0 | 1.0 |
Indians pitcher Corey Kluber is Thursday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day.
Also Thursday, Diamondbacks pitcher Zack Greinke rises to fifth place in Box-Toppers season player rankings after earning Player of the Game honors.
| Player | Pos | Team | BTP | |
| 1 | Kershaw, Clayton 2494 | pi sp | lad nl | 10.7 |
| 2 | Scherzer, Max 2588 | pi sp | dc nl | 10.0 |
| 3 | Santana, Ervin 2005 | pi sp | min al | 9.4 |
| 4 | Sale, Chris 2806 | pi sp | bos al | 8.4 |
| 5 | Greinke, Zack 1871 | pi sp | ari nl | 7.7 |
| 6 | Ray, Robbie 3502 | pi sp | ari nl | 7.0 |
| 7 | Wood, Alex 3246 | pi sp | lad nl | 7.0 |
| 8 | Judge, Aaron 3767 | rf | nyy al | 6.5 |
| 9 | Strasburg, Stephen 2736 | pi sp | dc nl | 6.4 |
| 10 | Carrasco, Carlos 2885 | pi sp | cle al | 6.4 |
Player of the Day—Kluber struck out 10 over six scoreless innings, allowing two hits and one walk, in the 8-0 win over the Athletics.
National League Player of the Day—Brewers pitcher Chase Anderson pitched seven scoreless innings, striking out seven and allowing three hits and one walk, in the 2-1 win over the Mets.
American League Batter of the Day—Aaron Hicks of the Yankees hit three doubles and went 4-for-5, scoring twice and driving in six runs, in the 12-2 win over the Blue Jays.
National League Batter of the Day—Gerardo Parra of the Rockies doubled and went 4-for-4, scoring once and driving in one run, in the 6-3 win over the Mariners.
Rankings—Diamondbacks pitcher Zack Greinke rises to fifth place in Box-Toppers season player rankings after earning Player of the Game honors Thursday.
Greinke (7IP 4H 2R 1ER 2BB 8K W in the 3-2 win over the Marlins) earns 1.0 Box-Toppers point, giving him 7.7 for the season, rising from seventh to fifth place among players for 2017. He ranks third among NL pitchers.
Greinke also now has 163.8 career Box-Toppers points, 13th among all players since 1995, when Box-Toppers tracking began. Greinke trails 12th-ranked player Roger Clemens (164.8).
Notable—Cardinals pitcher Adam Wainwright now has 115.5 career Box-Toppers points after earning Player of the Game honors Thursday.
Wainwright (6IP 4H 0R 2BB 6K W in the 2-0 win over the Dodgers) rises to 46th place among all players in Box-Toppers points since 1995, when player tracking began. With his 1.0 Box-Toppers point earned Thursday, Wainwright passes two players on the “all-time” list—Josh Beckett (114.9) and Tim Lincecum (115.0). He trails 45th-ranked player Torii Hunter (115.9).
Wainwright has 3.5 Box-Toppers points for the season.
Debut—Twins pitcher Adalberto Mejia made his Box-Toppers debut Thursday with his first career Player of the Game honor.
Mejia (6IP 5H R 2BB 5K ND in the 4-2 win over the Angels) made his Major League debut Aug. 20, 2016, and was playing in his seventh career game. He is the 3,812th player to debut in Box-Toppers since record keeping began in 1995.
Scoring—Kluber earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day and Anderson earns 1.7 points for being NL Player of the Day. Hicks and Parra 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.
| 6/1 | Score | Game | Player of the Game | AB | R | H | BI | IP | H | R | ER | BB | K | |
| MLB | 13.0 | CLE 8, OAK 0 | Corey Kluber (W,4-2) | - | - | - | - | 6.0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 10 | |
| NL | 10.0 | MIL 2, NYM 1 | Chase Anderson (W,4-1) | - | - | - | - | 7.0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 7 | |
| BAT | 7.0 | NYY 12, TOR 2 | Aaron Hicks, CF | 5 | 2 | 4 | 6 | - | - | - | - | - | - | |
| 6.0 | ARI 3, MIA 2 | Zack Greinke (W,7-3) | - | - | - | - | 7.0 | 4 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 8 | ||
| 6.0 | STL 2, LAD 0 | Adam Wainwright (W,6-3) | - | - | - | - | 6.0 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 6 | ||
| BAT | 2.0 | COL 6, SEA 3 | Gerardo Parra, LF | 4 | 1 | 4 | 1 | - | - | - | - | - | - | |
| 2.0 | BAL 7, BOS 5 | Mark Trumbo, RF | 4 | 1 | 3 | 2 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 2.0 | `MIN 4, LAA 2 | Adalberto Mejia | - | - | - | - | 6.0 | 5 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 5 |
| Player of the Game | Pos | Team | ’17 | ’16-17 | ’12-17 | Career | +/- |
| Greinke, Zack 1871 | pi sp | ari nl | 7.7 | 17.4 | 86.7 | 163.8 | -2.0 |
| Kluber, Corey 3200 | pi sp | cle al | 4.0 | 25.2 | 69.4 | 69.4 | -17.2 |
| Parra, Gerardo 2746 | rf lf | col nl | 4.0 | 6.5 | 18.5 | 25.0 | 1.5 |
| Anderson, Chase 3328 | pi sp | mil nl | 3.7 | 10.7 | 19.7 | 19.7 | -3.3 |
| Wainwright, Adam 2150 | pi sp | stl nl | 3.5 | 13.7 | 64.8 | 115.5 | -6.7 |
| Hicks, Aaron 3170 | cf | nyy al | 3.0 | 4.0 | 8.0 | 8.0 | 2.0 |
| Trumbo, Mark 2851 | dh rf | bal al | 2.0 | 10.2 | 29.9 | 35.9 | -6.2 |
| Mejia, Adalberto 3812 | pi sp | min al | 1.0 | 1.0 | 1.0 | 1.0 | 1.0 |
Pirates pitcher Ivan Nova is Sunday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day.
Nova struck out seven over seven innings, allowing one run and four hits, in the 2-1 win over the Yankees.
| Player | Pos | Team | BTP | |
| 1 | Kershaw, Clayton 2494 | pi sp | lad nl | 5.0 |
| 2 | Vargas, Jason 2055 | pi sp | kc al | 5.0 |
| 3 | Sale, Chris 2806 | pi sp | bos al | 4.7 |
| 4 | Santana, Ervin 2005 | pi sp | min al | 4.7 |
| 5 | Scherzer, Max 2588 | pi sp | dc al | 4.0 |
| 6 | Harper, Bryce 3011 | rf | dc nl | 4.0 |
| 7 | Holland, Greg 2906 | pi cp | col nl | 4.0 |
| 8 | Carrasco, Carlos 2885 | pi sp | cle al | 3.7 |
| 9 | Chacin, Jhoulys 2711 | pi mr sp | sd nl | 3.7 |
| 10 | Keuchel, Dallas 3050 | pi sp | hou al | 3.4 |
American League Player of the Day—Red Sox pitcher Eduardo Rodriguez struck out seven over six scoreless innings, allowing one hit, in the 6-2 win over the Orioles.
American League Batter of the Day—John Hicks of the Tigers homered and went 3-for-5, scoring twice and driving in five runs, in the 13-4 win over the Twins.
This was Hicks’ Box-Toppers debut, the first time in his career he earned Player of the Game honors. Hicks made his Major League debut Aug. 29, 2015, and was playing in his 20th career game. He is the 3,777th player to debut in Box-Toppers since record keeping began in 1995.
National League Batter of the Day—Gerardo Parra of the Rockies homered and went 2-for-4, scoring twice and driving in three runs, in the 8-0 win over the Giants.
Rankings—Nationals pitcher Max Scherzer rises to fifth place in Box-Toppers season player rankings after earning Player of the Game honors Sunday.
Scherzer (8IP 5H 3R BB 9K W in the 6-3 win over the Mets) earns 1.0 Box-Toppers point, giving him 4.0 for the season. Scherzer led all players in Box-Toppers points in 2016 with 25.7.
Scherzer now has 135.7 career Box-Toppers points, 30th-most among all players since 1995, when Box-Toppers tracking began. He trails 29th-ranked player Andy Pettitte (138.5).
Streak—Mariners pitcher Yovani Gallardo has now earned Box-Toppers points in 11 straight seasons after earning Player of the Game honors Sunday.
Gallardo (6.1IP 4H R BB 7K W in the 11-1 win over the Athletics) earned his first Box-Toppers points in 2007 with the Brewers and has 90.7 career points, 10th among active AL pitchers. His best season was 2011 with the Brewers when he had 19.9 points, fourth among NL pitchers.
Notable—Reds pitcher Bronson Arroyo earns his first Box-Toppers points in nearly three years after earning Player of the Game honors Sunday.
Arroyo (6IP 3H 2R 0BB 7K W in the 7-5 win over the Cubs) last earned Player of the Game honors on May 13, 2014, when he was with the Diamondbacks. He was out in 2015 recovering from Tommy John surgery and did not appear in 2016.
Scoring—Nova earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day and Rodriguez earns 1.7 points for being AL Player of the Day. Hicks and Parra each earn 1.5 points for being their league’s Batter of the Day. All of Sunday’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.
| 4/23 | Score | Game | Player of the Game | AB | R | H | BI | IP | H | R | ER | BB | K | |
| MLB | 7.0 | PIT 2, NYY 1 | Ivan Nova (W,2-2) | - | - | - | - | 7.0 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 7 | |
| AL | 7.0 | BOS 6, BAL 2 | Eduardo Rodriguez (W,1-1) | - | - | - | - | 6.0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 7 | |
| 6.1 | SEA 11, OAK 1 | Yovani Gallardo (W,1-2) | - | - | - | - | 6.1 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 7 | ||
| 6.0 | TEX 5, KC 2 | Yu Darvish (W,2-2) | - | - | - | - | 8.0 | 5 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 8 | ||
| 6.0 | CIN 7, CHC 5 | Bronson Arroyo (W,2-2) | - | - | - | - | 6.0 | 3 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 7 | ||
| BAT | 5.0 | DET 13, MIN 4 | John Hicks, 1B | 5 | 2 | 3 | 5 | - | - | - | - | - | - | |
| 5.0 | WSH 6, NYM 3 | Max Scherzer (W,3-1) | - | - | - | - | 8.0 | 5 | 3 | 3 | 1 | 9 | ||
| 5.0 | `PHI 5, ATL 2 | Zach Eflin | - | - | - | - | 7.0 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 3 | ||
| 4.0 | CHW 6, CLE 2 | Derek Holland (W,2-2) | - | - | - | - | 6.0 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 6 | ||
| 4.0 | `HOU 6, TB 4 (F/10) | Brad Peacock | - | - | - | - | 2.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 4 | ||
| BAT | 3.0 | COL 8, SF 0 | Gerardo Parra, LF | 4 | 2 | 2 | 3 | - | - | - | - | - | - | |
| 3.0 | STL 6, MIL 4 | Kolten Wong, 2B | 2 | 2 | 2 | 1 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 3.0 | TOR 6, LAA 2 | Marcus Stroman (W,2-2) | - | - | - | - | 9.0 | 7 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 5 | ||
| 3.0 | LAD 6, ARI 2 | Brandon McCarthy (W,3-0) | - | - | - | - | 7.0 | 5 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 6 | ||
| 2.0 | MIA 7, SD 3 | Christian Yelich, CF | 2 | 1 | 2 | 1 | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| Player of the Game | Pos | Team | ’17 | ’16-17 | ’12-17 | Career | +/- |
| Scherzer, Max 2588 | pi sp | dc nl | 4.0 | 29.7 | 107.9 | 135.7 | -21.7 |
| Nova, Ivan 2796 | pi sp | pit nl | 3.0 | 11.0 | 26.7 | 34.1 | -5.0 |
| Rodriguez, Eduardo 3480 | pi sp | bos al | 2.7 | 7.4 | 13.4 | 13.4 | -2.0 |
| Darvish, Yu 3003 | pi sp | tex al | 2.0 | 12.4 | 57.6 | 57.6 | -8.4 |
| Holland, Derek 2634 | pi sp | chi al | 2.0 | 6.0 | 28.1 | 47.8 | -2.0 |
| McCarthy, Brandon 2082 | pi sp | lad nl | 2.0 | 4.7 | 24.4 | 38.5 | -0.7 |
| Parra, Gerardo 2746 | rf | col nl | 1.5 | 4.0 | 16.0 | 22.5 | -1.0 |
| Hicks, John 3777 | 1b | det al | 1.5 | 1.5 | 1.5 | 1.5 | 1.5 |
| Stroman, Marcus 3327 | pi sp | tor al | 1.0 | 7.7 | 24.1 | 24.1 | -5.7 |
| Yelich, Christian 3334 | cf | fla nl | 1.0 | 6.5 | 16.5 | 16.5 | -4.5 |
| Eflin, Zach 3679 | pi sp | phi nl | 1.0 | 5.0 | 5.0 | 5.0 | -3.0 |
| Gallardo, Yovani 2333 | pi sp | sea al | 1.0 | 3.0 | 39.4 | 90.7 | -1.0 |
| Wong, Kolten 3377 | 2b | stl nl | 1.0 | 2.0 | 11.5 | 11.5 | 0.0 |
| Arroyo, Bronson 1375 | pi sp | cin nl | 1.0 | 1.0 | 21.4 | 85.9 | 1.0 |
| Peacock, Brad 2968 | pi sp | hou al | 1.0 | 1.0 | 7.7 | 10.4 | 1.0 |
Cardinals pitcher Jaime Garcia is Thursday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day.
| Player | Pos | Team | BTP | |
| 1 | Arrieta, Jake 2738 | pi sp | chi nl | 6.0 |
| 2 | Kershaw, Clayton 2494 | pi sp | lad nl | 6.0 |
| 3 | Altuve, Jose 3007 | 2b | hou al | 5.0 |
| 4 | Matz, Steven 3516 | pi sp | nym nl | 5.0 |
| 5 | Velasquez, Vince 3611 | pi sp | phi nl | 5.0 |
| 6 | Quintana, Jose 3040 | pi sp | chi al | 4.7 |
| 7 | Nola, Aaron 3569 | pi sp | phi nl | 4.7 |
| 8 | Cespedes, Yoenis 3008 | cf lf dh ph | nym nl | 4.5 |
| 9 | Cano, Robinson 2092 | 2b | sea al | 4.5 |
| 10 | Suarez, Eugenio 3355 | 3b | cin nl | 4.5 |
Garcia pitched seven scoreless innings, allowing two hits and striking out five, in the 4-0 win over the Phillies.
American League Player of the Day—Orioles pitcher Kevin Gausman pitched eight scoreless innings, allowing three hits and striking out four, in the 10-inning, 1-0 win over the Yankees. Gausman did not earn the win, picking up a no-decision, because he exited the game with the score tied, 0-0.
American League Batter of the Day—Edwin Encarnacion of the Blue Jays hit a three-run homer and doubled twice, going 3-for-4, scoring twice and driving in six runs, in the 12-2 win over the Rangers. This was the second straight day Encarnacion earned Player of the Game honors. He has 2.5 Box-Toppers points for the season.
National League Batter of the Day—Gerardo Parra of the Rockies doubled and went 3-for-5, scoring three times and driving in three runs, in the 17-7 win over the Giants.
Rankings—Robinson Cano of the Mariners rose to ninth place in Box-Toppers season player rankings after earning Player of the Game honors Thursday.
Cano (2B 3-5 4BI in the 6-3 win over the Astros) earns 1.0 Box-Toppers point, giving him 4.5 for the season. He ranks second among AL batters, behind Jose Altuve of the Astros (5.0).
Streak—Brandon Phillips of the Reds has now earned Box-Toppers points in 11 straight seasons after earning Player of the Game honors Thursday.
Phillips (HR 2B 2-3 R 3BI in the 9-5 win over the Brewers) earned his first Box-Toppers points in 2002 with the Indians, but his 11-season streak began in 2006 with the Indians and Reds. He has 63.1 career Box-Toppers points, second among active NL second basemen, behind Chase Utley of the Dodgers (72.1). His best season was 2012 with the Reds, when he had 9.5 points, seventh among NL batters. He had 2.7 points in 2015 with the Reds.
Scoring—Garcia earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day and Gausman earns 1.7 points for being AL Player of the Day. Encarnacion and Parra 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.
Listed from highest to lowest Box-Toppers game score
| 5/5 | Score | Team | Player | AB | R | H | BI | BB | K | IP | H | R | ER | BB | K | |
| MLB | 10.0 | Cardinals | Jaime Garcia (W,2-2) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 7.0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5 | |
| AL | 9.0 | `Orioles | Kevin Gausman | - | - | - | - | - | - | 8.0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | |
| 8.1 | Marlins | Adam Conley (W,2-1) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 5.1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 6 | ||
| BAT | 7.0 | Blue Jays | Edwin Encarnacion, DH | 4 | 2 | 3 | 6 | 1 | 0 | - | - | - | - | - | - | |
| 7.0 | Padres | Colin Rea (W,3-1) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 8.0 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 5 | ||
| 6.0 | Cubs | Kyle Hendricks (W,2-2) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 6.0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 4 | ||
| BAT | 4.0 | Rockies | Gerardo Parra, RF | 5 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | - | - | - | - | - | - | |
| 4.0 | `Red Sox | Robbie Ross | - | - | - | - | - | - | 2.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 3 | ||
| 3.0 | Indians | Michael Brantley, LF | 5 | 1 | 4 | 3 | 0 | 0 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 3.0 | Reds | Brandon Phillips, 2B | 3 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 0 | 1 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 2.0 | Mariners | Robinson Cano, 2B | 5 | 0 | 3 | 4 | 0 | 0 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| `Denotes that the pitcher had a no-decision in the game and did not pick up a win or a save. | ||||||||||||||||
| Player | Pos | Team | 16 | 15-16 | 11-16 | Career | +/- |
| Cano, Robinson 2092 | 2b | sea al | 4.5 | 11.0 | 40.0 | 71.9 | -2.0 |
| Garcia, Jaime 2508 | pi sp | stl nl | 3.0 | 12.4 | 30.1 | 38.8 | -6.4 |
| Encarnacion, Edwin 2098 | dh | tor al | 2.5 | 12.9 | 41.1 | 61.6 | -7.9 |
| Conley, Adam 3594 | pi sp | fla nl | 2.0 | 5.0 | 5.0 | 5.0 | -1.0 |
| Gausman, Kevin 3191 | pi sp | bal al | 1.7 | 7.4 | 15.1 | 15.1 | -4.0 |
| Parra, Gerardo 2746 | rf | col nl | 1.5 | 8.0 | 19.0 | 20.0 | -5.0 |
| Hendricks, Kyle 3386 | pi sp | chi nl | 1.0 | 10.7 | 15.7 | 15.7 | -8.7 |
| Brantley, Michael 2785 | lf | cle al | 1.0 | 5.2 | 19.9 | 21.4 | -3.2 |
| Phillips, Brandon 1691 | 2b | cin nl | 1.0 | 3.7 | 29.2 | 63.1 | -1.7 |
| Rea, Colin 3582 | pi sp | sd nl | 1.0 | 2.0 | 2.0 | 2.0 | 0.0 |
| Ross, Robbie 2999 | pi cp | bos al | 1.0 | 1.0 | 10.7 | 10.7 | 1.0 |
Analysis of the 2,429 games played and tracked by Box-Toppers in 2015 shows pitchers bested batters with more Player of the Game honors, more Box-Toppers points and far and away the most Player of the Day honors.
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Nationals pitcher Max Scherzer, pitching his second no-hitter of the season, is Saturday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day, rising to sixth place in player rankings.
| Player | Pos | Team | BTP | |
| 1 | Arrieta, Jake 2738 | pi sp | chi nl | 29.1 |
| 2 | Kershaw, Clayton 2494 | pi sp | lad nl | 24.7 |
| 3 | deGrom, Jacob 3343 | pi sp | nym nl | 21.4 |
| 4 | Keuchel, Dallas 3050 | pi sp | hou al | 21.4 |
| 5 | Price, David 2593 | pi sp | tor al | 21.1 |
| 6 | Scherzer, Max 2588 | pi sp | dc nl | 21.0 |
| 7 | Greinke, Zack 1871 | pi sp | lad nl | 20.7 |
| 8 | Hernandez, Felix 2064 | pi sp | sea al | 19.4 |
| 9 | Cole, Gerrit 3232 | pi sp | pit nl | 19.0 |
| 10 | Sale, Chris 2806 | pi sp | chi al | 18.8 |
Also Saturday, Scherzer and Dodgers pitcher Zack Greinke became the sixth and seventh players this season with 20 or more Box-Toppers points. Plus, Christian Yelich of the Marlins became the 11th player since 1995 to earn Player of the Game honors in both games of a doubleheader.
Player of the Day—Scherzer had a perfect game into the sixth inning, when a batter reached on an error, the only baserunner of the game. Scherzer struck out 17 and walked none in the 2-0 win over the Mets.
Scherzer earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day, giving him 21.0 for the season, rising to sixth place in player rankings and fourth among National League pitchers. It is the second straight season Scherzer has earned 20 or more points in season. Last season, he had 22.1 with the Tigers.
Scherzer also had the highest Box-Toppers game score of the season Saturday of +26, beating the previous high of +25, set by Indians pitcher Corey Kluber (8IP H 0R 18K) on May 13. Scherzer also has the third-highest score of +23 on June 14 (CG H 0R 16K). It is the eighth time this season a player has achieved a Box-Toppers game score of +20 or more. In Scherzer’s previous no-hitter this season, on June 20, he had a Box-Toppers game score of +19 (CG 0H 0R 0 BB 10K)—the only baserunner allowed was on a hit-by-pitch.
Scherzer also rises to 57th place in Box-Toppers points among all players since 1995, when record keeping began. Scherzer has 106.0 career Box-Toppers points and passes Aramis Ramirez (105.8) on the “all-time” list. He trails 56th-ranked player Frank Thomas (106.2).
American League Player of the Day—Indians pitcher Corey Kluber pitched eight scoreless innings, allowing three hits and striking out nine, in the 2-0 win over the Red Sox.
Kluber earns 1.7 Box-Toppers points for being AL Player of the Day, giving him 13.4 for the season and ranking 21st among all players, 10th among AL pitchers. In 2014, he led all AL pitchers with 25.8 Box-Toppers points.
American League Batter of the Day—Gerardo Parra of the Orioles doubled and went 4-for-5, scoring once and driving in three runs, in the 9-2 win over the Yankees.
| Date | Player | Team | Pos |
| 7/15/98 | Albert Belle | White Sox | lf |
| 8/13/99 | Rondell White | Expos | lf |
| 8/30/99 | Edgar Martinez | Mariners | dh |
| 4/13/00 | Shawn Green | Dodgers | rf |
| 6/24/02 | Alex Rodriguez | Rangers | ss |
| 5/28/04 | Rob Mackowiak | Pirates | cf 3b |
| 9/2/05 | Chad Cordero | Nationals | pi cp |
| 5/25/08 | Jorge Cantu | Marlins | 3b |
| 7/21/09 | Erick Aybar | Angels | ss |
| 4/28/11 | Ben Zobrist | Rays | 2b |
| 10/3/15 | Christian Yelich | Marlins | cf lf |
National League Batter of the Day—Christian Yelich of the Marlins doubled and went 5-for-5, scoring once and driving in one run, in the 7-6 win over the Phillies in the first game of a doubleheader.
Yelich was also Player of the Game in the second game of the doubleheader (3-4 2R BI in the 5-2 win over the Phillies. He is only the 11th player in 21 seasons of Box-Toppers record keeping to earn Player of the Game in both games of a doubleheader. He earns 1.5 Box-Toppers points for being NL Batter of the Day and 1.0 point for being Player of the Game, giving him 2.5 points for the day, which were also his first points of the season. (Yelich had 7.5 Box-Toppers points in 2014, ninth among NL batters.)
It is the first time a player has earned Player of the Game honors in both games of a doubleheader since April 28, 2011, when it was done by Ben Zobrist of the Rays.
Rankings—Dodgers pitcher Zack Greinke became the seventh player of the season with 20 or more Box-Toppers points after earning Player of the Game honors Saturday.
Greinke (8IP 4H R 8K W in the 2-1 win over the Padres) earns 1.0 Box-Toppers point, giving him 20.7 for the season. He actually slips from sixth to seventh in Box-Toppers player rankings as he was passed by Scherzer. Greinke ranks fifth among NL pitchers.
This is the second season Greinke has earned 20 or more Box-Toppers points in a season. In 2009, he had 21.5 Box-Toppers points with the Royals, his best season.
Greinke ranks 21st among all players in Box-Toppers points since 1995, when record keeping began. He has 146.4 career Box-Toppers points and trails 20th-ranked player Jim Thome (146.7).
Notable—Royals pitcher Yordano Ventura (7IP 4H R 11K W in the 5-1 win over the Twins) earns 1.0 Box-Toppers point, giving him 11.7 for the season. He ranks 30th among all players and 15th among AL pitchers.
Scoring—Scherzer earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day and Kluber earns 1.7 Box-Toppers points for being AL Player of the Day. Parra and Yelich each earn 1.5 Box-Toppers points for being their league’s Batter of the Day (Yelich earns an extra 1.0 point for being Player of the Game in the second game of the doubleheader). All of Saturday’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.
Listed from highest to lowest Box-Toppers game score
| 10/3 | Score | Team | Player | AB | R | H | BI | BB | K | IP | H | R | ER | BB | K | |
| MLB | 26.0 | Nationals | Max Scherzer (W,14-12) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 9.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 17 | |
| 13.0 | Cubs | Kyle Hendricks (W,8-7) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 6.0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 8 | ||
| AL | 12.0 | Indians | Corey Kluber (W,9-16) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 8.0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 9 | |
| 9.0 | Dodgers | Zack Greinke (W,19-3) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 8.0 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 8 | ||
| 9.0 | Royals | Yordano Ventura (W,13-8) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 7.0 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 11 | ||
| 7.0 | `Nationals | Gio Gonzalez | - | - | - | - | - | - | 6.0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 7 | ||
| 6.0 | Athletics | Pat Venditte (MR) (W,2-2) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 3.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | ||
| 5.0 | Reds | Brandon Finnegan (W,5-2) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 6.0 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 6 | ||
| 4.0 | Astros | Collin McHugh (W,19-7) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 7.0 | 6 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 6 | ||
| BAT | 3.0 | Orioles | Gerardo Parra, RF | 5 | 1 | 4 | 3 | 0 | 0 | - | - | - | - | - | - | |
| 3.0 | Orioles | T.J. McFarland (MR) (W,2-2) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 2.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | ||
| 2.1 | `Giants | Sergio Romo (MR) (H,33) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 1.1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | ||
| BAT | 2.0 | Marlins | Christian Yelich, CF | 5 | 1 | 5 | 1 | 0 | 0 | - | - | - | - | - | - | |
| 2.0 | Angels | Johnny Giavotella, 2B | 5 | 1 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 1 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 2.0 | Marlins | Christian Yelich, LF | 4 | 2 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 0 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 2.0 | White Sox | J.B. Shuck, PH | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 2.0 | Rays | Alex Colome (W,8-5) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 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. | ||||||||||||||||
Gerardo Parra of the Brewers is Saturday’s Player of the Day.
Parra homered and went 2-for-4, scoring twice and driving in four runs, in the 12-4 win over the Cubs.
American League Player of the Day—Orioles pitcher Wei-Yin Chen struck out seven over seven innings, allowing one run, in the 6-2 win over the Yankees.
| Player | Pos | Team | BTP | |
| 1 | Hernandez, Felix 2064 | pi sp | sea al | 7.7 |
| 2 | Cole, Gerrit 3232 | pi sp | pit nl | 6.0 |
| 3 | Archer, Chris 3194 | pi sp | tb al | 5.0 |
| 4 | Harper, Bryce 3011 | lf rf | dc nl | 5.0 |
| 5 | Cabrera, Miguel 1776 | 1b | det al | 4.7 |
| 6 | Keuchel, Dallas 3050 | pi sp | hou al | 4.7 |
| 7 | Gray, Sonny 3259 | pi sp | oak al | 4.7 |
| 8 | Harvey, Matt 3075 | pi sp | nym nl | 4.7 |
| 9 | Stanton, Giancarlo 2737 | rf | fla nl | 4.5 |
| 10 | Rodriguez, Alex | dh | nyy al | 4.5 |
American League Batter of the Day—Steven Souza Jr. of the Rays hit a three-run home run in the 7-2 win over the Rangers.
This was Souza’s Box-Toppers debut, the first time in his career he earned Player of the Game honors. Souza made his Major League debut April 13, 2014, and was playing in his 51st career game. He is the 3,461st player to debut in Box-Toppers since record keeping began in 1995.
National League Batter of the Day—There is no separate NL Batter of the Day for Saturday since the overall Player of the Day was an NL batter (Gerardo Parra of the Brewers).
Notable—Torii Hunter of the Twins earned Player of the Game honors for the second straight day (and for the third time in eight days) and also rose to 47th place in “all-time” Box-Toppers player rankings.
Hunter (HR 3-5 3R in the 7-4 win over the Indians) earned 1.0 Box-Toppers point for being Player of the Game, giving him 3.5 for the season (fifth among AL batters this season) and 111.4 for his career.
His 111.4 career points puts him at 47th place among all players since 1995 (when Box-Toppers record keeping began). With his point Saturday, he passes Tom Glavine (110.6) and Jon Lester (111.1) on that list. He ranks 15th among all batters since 1995 and fifth among all active batters currently in the AL.
Debut—Padres pitcher Kevin Quackenbush made his Box-Toppers debut Saturday, the first time in his career he earned Player of the Game honors. Quackenbush (2IP H 0R 3K W in the 6-4 win over the Diamondbacks) made his Major League debut April 25, 2014, and was playing in his 64th career game. He is the 3,462nd player to debut in Box-Toppers since record keeping began in 1995.
Scoring—Parra earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day and Chen earns 1.7 Box-Toppers points for being AL Player of the Day. Souza earns 1.5 Box-Toppers points for being AL Batter of the Day. All of Saturday’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.
Listed from highest to lowest Box-Toppers game score
| 5/9 | Score | Team | Player | AB | R | H | BI | BB | K | IP | H | R | ER | BB | K | |
| MLB | 6.0 | Brewers | Gerardo Parra CF | 2 | 2 | 2 | 4 | 1 | 0 | - | - | - | - | - | - | |
| AL | 6.0 | Orioles | Wei-Yin Chen (W, 1-1) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 7.0 | 5 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 7 | |
| 5.0 | Mets | Jon Niese (W, 3-2) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 7.0 | 5 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 6 | ||
| 5.0 | Mariners | J.A. Happ (W, 3-1) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 5.0 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 8 | ||
| 5.0 | `Blue Jays | Liam Hendriks | - | - | - | - | - | - | 3.0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | ||
| BAT | 4.0 | Rays | Steven Souza Jr. RF | 2 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 2 | 0 | - | - | - | - | - | - | |
| 4.0 | Padres | Kevin Quackenbush (W, 1-0) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 2.0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | ||
| 3.0 | White Sox | Alexei Ramirez SS | 4 | 2 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 0 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 2.0 | Twins | Torii Hunter RF | 5 | 3 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 2.0 | Nationals | Jose Lobaton C | 4 | 1 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 0 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 2.0 | Astros | Colby Rasmus RF | 3 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 1 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 2.0 | Marlins | Donovan Solano 2B | 2 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 2.0 | Pirates | Rob Scahill (W, 1-2) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 1.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | ||
| 1.0 | Reds | Skip Schumaker DH | 5 | 1 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 1 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 1.0 | Royals | Alcides Escobar SS | 5 | 2 | 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. | ||||||||||||||||
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.