Phillies' Eickhoff tops players for Tuesday, June 7; Dbacks' Greinke rises to 9th in Box-Toppers '16 rankings

Phillies pitcher Jerad Eickhoff is Tuesday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day.

Top 10 players

Here are the top 10 players in Box-Toppers points (BTP) for the 2016 season as of June 7:  

	Player	Pos	Team	BTP
1	Kershaw, Clayton 2494	pi sp	lad nl	15.0
2	Fernandez, Jose 3147	pi sp	fla nl	11.7
3	Cueto, Johnny 2400	pi sp	sf nl	9.0
4	Arrieta, Jake 2738	pi sp	chi nl	8.7
5	Sale, Chris 2806	pi sp	chi al	8.7
6	Machado, Manny 3087	ss 3b	bal al	8.7
7	Matz, Steven 3516	pi sp	nym nl	8.7
8	Hill, Rich 2215	pi sp	oak al	8.4
9	Greinke, Zack 1871	pi sp	ari nl	8.0
10	Syndergaard, Noah 3472	pi sp	nym nl	8.0

What are those numbers after players' names?

Also Tuesday, Diamondbacks pitcher Zack Greinke rises to ninth place in Box-Toppers season player rankings after earning Player of the Game honors. 

Player of the Day—Eickhoff struck out eight over seven innings, allowing one run and two hits, in the 3-2 win over the Cubs.

American League Player of the Day—Mark Trumbo of the Orioles homered, doubled and went 2-for-4, scoring twice and driving in four runs, in the 9-1 win over the Royals.

National League Batter of the Day—Chris Carter of the Brewers hit two homers and went 2-for-4, driving in five runs, in the 5-4 win over the Athletics.

American League Batter of the Day—There is no separate AL Batter of the Day for Tuesday because the overall AL Player of the Day is batter Mark Trumbo.

Rankings—Diamondbacks pitcher Zack Grienke rises to ninth place in Box-Toppers season player rankings after earning Player of the Game honors Tuesday.

Greinke (CG 3H 0R 2K in the 5-0 win over the Rays) earns 1.0 Box-Toppers point, giving him 8.0 for the season. He ranks sixth among NL pitchers.

Greinke also now has 154.4 career Box-Toppers points, maintaining his rank of 16th place among all players since 1995, when Box-Toppers tracking began. (See list of Box-Toppers’ updated top 20 players since 1995.) Greinke trails 15th-ranked player, Mike Mussina (155.6).

Debut—Three players made their Box-Toppers debut Tuesday, the first time in their careers they earned Player of the Game honors:

• Dodgers pitcher Julio Urias (4IP 3H R 7K ND in the 5-3 win over the Rockies) made his Major League debut May 27 and was playing in his third career game. He is the 3,652nd player to debut in Box-Toppers since record keeping began in 1995. 
• Twins pitcher Fernando Abad (1IP H 0R 3K ND in the 6-4 win over the Marlins) made his Major League debut July 28, 2010, and was playing in his 284th career game. He is the 3,653rd player to debut in Box-Toppers since record keeping began in 1995.
• Reds pitcher John Lamb (7.1IP 4H 3R 5K ND in the 7-6 win over the Cardinals) made his Major League debut Aug. 14, 2015, and was playing in his 17th career game. He is the 3,654th player to debut in Box-Toppers since record keeping began in 1995.

Scoring—Eickhoff earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day and Trumbo earns 1.7 points for being AL Player of the Day. Carter earns 1.5 points for being NL 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.

Top player from each game

Listed from highest to lowest Box-Toppers game score

6/7	Score	Game	Player of Game	AB	R	H	BI		IP	H	R	ER	BB	K
MLB	9.0	PHI 3/CHC 2	Jerad Eickhoff (W,3-8)	-	-	-	-		7.0	2	1	1	2	8
	6.0	ARI 5/TB 0	Zack Greinke (W,8-3)	-	-	-	-		9.0	3	0	0	2	2
BAT	5.0	MIL 5/OAK 4	Chris Carter, 1B	4	2	2	5		-	-	-	-	-	-
	5.0	PIT 3/NYM 1	Juan Nicasio (W,5-4)	-	-	-	-		5.0	3	1	1	2	7
	5.0	`LAD 5/COL 3	Julio Urias	-	-	-	-		4.0	3	1	1	1	7
AL	4.0	BAL 9/KC 1	Mark Trumbo, RF	4	2	2	4		-	-	-	-	-	-
	4.0	SEA 7/CLE 1	Nelson Cruz, RF	3	2	2	3		-	-	-	-	-	-
	3.0	DC 10/CHW 5	Anthony Rendon, 3B	5	2	3	3		-	-	-	-	-	-
	3.0	PIT 3/NYM 1	Jonathon Niese (W,6-2)	-	-	-	-		7.0	4	0	0	2	2
	3.0	`MIN 6/MIA 4	Fernando Abad	-	-	-	-		1.0	1	0	0	0	3
	2.1	`CIN 7/STL 6	John Lamb	-	-	-	-		7.1	4	3	1	2	5
	2.0	TEX 4/HOU 3	Jake Diekman (W,1-1)	-	-	-	-		1.0	0	0	0	1	2
	2.0	DET 3/TOR 2	Justin Wilson (W,2-1)	-	-	-	-		1.0	0	0	0	0	1
	2.0	BOS 5/SF 3	Junichi Tazawa (W,1-1)	-	-	-	-		1.0	0	0	0	0	1
	1.0	NYY 6/LAA 3	Starlin Castro, 2B	4	2	2	1		-	-	-	-	-	-
	1.0	SD 4/ATL 3	Matt Thornton (W,1-0)	-	-	-	-		1.0	0	0	0	0	0
		`Denotes that the 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 (16). Also shown are each players’ Box-Toppers point total for this season and last (15-16), the period 2011-2016 (11-16) and each players’ career point total. Also shown is how their 2016 Box-Toppers point total compares with their 2015 total (+/-).  

Player of Game	Pos	Team	16	15-16	11-16	Career	+/-
Greinke, Zack 1871	pi sp	ari nl	8.0	28.7	93.8	154.4	-12.7
Eickhoff, Jerad 3566	pi sp	phi nl	5.0	10.0	10.0	10.0	0.0
Carter, Chris 2828	1b	mil nl	5.0	6.0	23.9	24.9	4.0
Nicasio, Juan 2888	pi sp	pit nl	5.0	6.0	21.4	21.4	4.0
Trumbo, Mark 2851	rf dh	bal al	4.2	6.7	29.9	29.9	1.7
Castro, Starlin 2767	ss 2b	nyy al	3.0	7.5	20.5	21.5	-1.5
Cruz, Nelson 2224	dh rf	sea al	3.0	5.0	30.7	50.2	1.0
Niese, Jonathon 2531	pi sp	pit nl	2.0	8.0	23.7	30.7	-4.0
Rendon, Anthony 3258	3b	dc nl	1.0	2.0	7.5	7.5	0.0
Tazawa, Junichi 3151	pi mr	bos al	1.0	2.0	7.0	7.0	0.0
Wilson, Justin 3140	pi cp	det al	1.0	2.0	6.0	6.0	0.0
Diekman, Jake 3266	pi mr	tex al	1.0	1.0	4.0	4.0	1.0
Thornton, Matt 1928	pi cp mr	sd nl	1.0	1.0	4.7	26.4	1.0
Abad, Fernando 3653	pi mr	min al	1.0	1.0	1.0	1.0	1.0
Lamb, John 3654	pi sp	cin nl	1.0	1.0	1.0	1.0	1.0
Urias, Julio 3652	pi sp	lad nl	1.0	1.0	1.0	1.0	1.0

What are those numbers after players' names?

White Sox' Sale tops players for Friday, April 15; Dbacks' Greinke rises to 20th on 'all-time' list

White Sox pitcher Chris Sale 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 2016 season as of April 15:  

	Player	Pos	Team	BTP
1	Velasquez, Vince 3611	pi sp	phi nl	4.0
2	Salazar, Danny 3223	pi sp	cle al	3.4
3	Kershaw, Clayton 2494	pi sp	lad nl	3.0
4	Volquez, Edinson 2220	pi sp	kc al	2.7
5	Bettis, Chad 3481	pi sp	col nl	2.7
6	Ross, Joe 3499	pi sp	dc nl	2.7
7	Latos, Mat 2644	pi sp	chi al	2.7
8	Davis, Chris 2478	1b	bal al	2.5
9	Brown, Trevor 3610	ca	sf nl	2.5
10	Sale, Chris 2806	pi sp	chi al	2.0

What are those numbers after players' names?

Sale pitched a two-hit shutout, allowing no walks and striking out nine, in the 1-0 win over the Rays. Sale earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day, his first of the season, and now ranks 10th in Box-Toppers season player rankings.

National League Player of the Day—Nationals pitcher Joe Ross pitched 7 2/3 scoreless innings, allowing three hits and striking out five, in the 9-1 win over the Phillies. Ross earns 1.7 Box-Toppers points for being NL Player of the Day, giving him 2.7 for the season and rises to sixth in season player rankings.

National League Batter of the Day—Matt Holliday of the Cardinals hit two home runs, going 2-for-2 and driving in four runs, in the 4-3 win over the Reds.

Holliday has now earned Box-Toppers points in 13 straight seasons. He earned his first points in 2004 with the Rockies and has 93.3 career points, ranked 88th among all players since 1995 (when Box-Toppers tracking began) and second among active NL batters (behind Ryan Howard of the Phillies who has 96.7). Holliday’s best season was 2007 with the Rockies when he had 16.2 Box-Toppers points to lead NL batters. In 2015, he had 1.5 points with the Cardinals.

American League Batter of the Day—Mark Trumbo of the Orioles hit two seventh-inning home runs, going 2-for-4 and driving in five runs, in the 11-5 win over the Rangers.

All-time leaders

Here are Box-Toppers top 20 players since record keeping began in 1995:

	Player	Pos	Team	BTP
1	Randy Johnson	pi sp	retired	278.8
2	Pedro Martinez	pi sp	retired	244.8
3	Curt Schilling	pi sp	retired	194.1
4	Alex Rodriguez	dh	nyy al	187.0
5	CC Sabathia	pi sp	nyy al	179.0
6	Albert Pujols	1b dh	ana al	174.3
7	Roy Halladay	pi sp	retired	170.7
8	Manny Ramirez	lf dh	retired	167.2
9	Johan Santana	pi sp	free agent	166.6
10	Roger Clemens	pi sp	retired	164.8
11	Felix Hernandez	pi sp	sea al	162.7
12	Clayton Kershaw	pi sp	lad nl	162.3
13	John Smoltz	pi sp	retired	160.9
14	Tim Hudson	pi sp	retired	157.0
15	Mike Mussina	pi sp	retired	155.6
16	Barry Bonds	lf	retired	153.2
17	Greg Maddux	pi sp	retired	151.7
18	Chipper Jones	3b	retired	149.0
19	Javier Vazquez	pi sp	retired	148.3
20	Zack Greinke	pi sp	ari nl	147.4

List of top 100 players since 1995 (through the 2015 season)

Notable—Diamondbacks pitcher Zack Greinke rises to 20th place on Box-Toppers “all-time” player rankings after earning Player of the Game honors Friday. He also extended his streak of consecutive seasons earning Box-Toppers points to 10.

Greinke (7.1IP 6H 2R 5K ND in the 3-2 win over the Padres) earns 1.0 Box-Toppers point, giving him 147.4 for his career, rising to 20th among all players since 1995 when Box-Toppers tracking began. Greinke passes Jim Thome (146.7) and now trails 19th-place player Javier Vazquez (148.3).

Greinke has now earned Box-Toppers points in 10 straight seasons. He earned his first points in 2004 with the Royals but his current 10-year streak did not begin until 2007, when he was also with the Royals (he earned no points in 2006). His best year was 2009 with the Royals when he had 21.5 points to lead NL pitchers. In 2015, he had 20.7 points with the Dodgers, fifth among NL pitchers.

Streak—Ryan Braun of the Brewers has now earned Box-Toppers points in 10 straight seasons after earning Player of the Game honors Friday. Braun (2HR 3-5 2R 4BI in the 8-4 win over the Pirates) earned his first points in 2007 with the Brewers and has 78.7 career points, third among active NL batters. His best year was 2012 with the Brewers when he had 12.5 Box-Toppers points to lead NL batters. He had 5.0 points in 2015.

Debut—Adonis Garcia of the Braves made his Box-Toppers debut Friday, the first time in his career he earned Player of the Game honors. Garcia (2B 2-4 3BI in the 6-3 win over the Marlins) made his Major League debut May 19, 2015, and was playing in his 68th career game. He is the 3,613th player to debut in Box-Toppers since record keeping began in 1995.

Rankings—Rockies pitcher Chad Bettis rose to fifth place in Box-Toppers season player rankings after earning Player of the Game honors Friday. Bettis (6IP 3H 0R 4 W in the 6-1 win over the Cubs) earned 1.0 Box-Toppers point, giving him 2.7 for the season.

Scoring—Sale earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day and Ross earns 1.7 points for being NL Player of the Day. Holliday and Trumbo 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.

Top player from each game

Listed from highest to lowest Box-Toppers game score

4/15	Score	Team	Player	AB	R	H	BI	BB	K		IP	H	R	ER	BB	K
MLB	16.0	White Sox	Chris Sale (W,3-0)	-	-	-	-	-	-		9.0	2	0	0	0	9
NL	7.2	Nationals	Joe Ross (W,2-0)	-	-	-	-	-	-		7.2	3	0	0	2	5
BAT	6.0	Cardinals	Matt Holliday, 1B	2	2	2	4	1	0		-	-	-	-	-	-
	6.0	Astros	Dallas Keuchel (W,2-1)	-	-	-	-	-	-		8.0	5	0	0	1	4
	5.1	Red Sox	Rick Porcello (W,2-0)	-	-	-	-	-	-		6.1	2	3	3	1	8
BAT	5.0	Orioles	Mark Trumbo, DH	4	2	2	5	0	1		-	-	-	-	-	-
	4.0	Brewers	Ryan Braun, LF	5	2	3	4	0	1		-	-	-	-	-	-
	4.0	Dodgers	Enrique Hernandez, LF	5	2	3	4	0	0		-	-	-	-	-	-
	4.0	Mariners	Chris Iannetta, C	3	1	3	3	1	0		-	-	-	-	-	-
	4.0	Rockies	Chad Bettis (W,2-0)	-	-	-	-	-	-		6.0	3	0	0	3	4
	3.0	Twins	Eduardo Nunez, 2B	3	2	3	1	0	0		-	-	-	-	-	-
	2.0	Royals	Wade Davis (S,5)	-	-	-	-	-	-		1.0	0	0	0	0	1
	1.1	`Dbacks	Zack Greinke	-	-	-	-	-	-		7.1	6	2	2	1	5
	1.0	Mets	Yoenis Cespedes, DH	5	1	3	2	0	1		-	-	-	-	-	-
	1.0	Braves	Adonis Garcia, 3B	4	0	2	3	0	0		-	-	-	-	-	-
		`Denotes that the pitcher had a no-decision in the game and did not pick up a win or a save.

Giants' Madison Bumgarner (8IP R 9K) tops players for Tuesday, April 28

Giants pitcher Madison Bumgarner is Tuesday’s Player of the Day.

Bumgarner struck out nine over eight innings, allowing one run, in the 2-1 win over the Dodgers. 

It was the second straight start in which Bumgarner outdueled Dodgers pitcher Clayton Kershaw. Kershaw led all players in Box-Toppers points in 2014 with 31.5. Bumgarner was third among all players with 22.6.

This was Bumgarner’s first Box-Toppers Player of the Game honor this season.

Top 10 players

Here are the top 10 players in Box-Toppers points (BTP) for the 2015 season as of April 28.  

	Player	Pos	Team	BTP
1	Hernandez, Felix 2064	pi sp	sea al	6.0
2	Archer, Chris 3194	pi sp	tb al	5.0
3	Stanton, Giancarlo 2737	rf	fla nl	4.5
4	Cueto, Johnny 2400	pi sp	cin nl	4.4
5	Cole, Gerrit 3232	pi sp	pit nl	4.0
6	Kazmir, Scott 1947	pi sp	oak al	3.7
7	Harvey, Matt 3075	pi sp	nym nl	3.7
8	DeSclafani, Anthony 3441	pi sp	cin nl	3.7
9	Hechavarria, Adeiny 3445	ss	fla nl	3.5
10	Harang, Aaron 1599	pi sp	phi nl	3.4

What are those numbers after players' names?

American League Player of the Day—Mariners pitcher J.A. Happ struck out nine over 6 2/3 innings, allowing one run, in the 2-1 win over the Rangers.

National League Batter of the Day—Mark Trumbo of the Diamondbacks homered, tripled and went 4-for-4 with three runs and four RBIs, in the 12-5 win over the Rockies.

American League Batter of the Day—Kendrys Morales of the Royals hit a three-run homer and went 3-for-5, scoring four times and driving in three runs, in the 11-5 win over the Indians.

Rankings—Reds pitcher Johnny Cueto rose to fourth place in Box-Toppers player rankings after earning Player of the Game honors Tuesday (8IP 3H 2R 6K W in the 4-2 win over the Brewers). Cueto earns 1.0 Box-Toppers point for being Player of the Game, giving him 4.4 for the season. He becomes the top-ranked NL pitcher.

Notable—Dan Uggla of the Nationals earned his first Player of the Game honor in nearly two years (HR 3B 3-5 2R 5BI in the 13-12 win over the Braves). In 2011, Uggla earned 11.5 Box-Toppers points with the Braves (fifth among NL batters) but in 2013, earned only 1.5 Box-Toppers points (on June 9) and in 2014 earned no points and was released by both the Braves and the Giants.

Scoring—Bumgarner earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day and Happ earns 1.7 Box-Toppers points for being AL Player of the Day. Trumbo and Morales each earn 1.5 Box-Toppers 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.

Top player from each game

Listed from highest to lowest Box-Toppers game score

4/28	Score	Team	Player	AB	R	H	BI	BB	K		IP	H	R	ER	BB	K
MLB	9.0	Giants	Madison Bumgarner (W, 2-1)	-	-	-	-	-	-		8.0	5	1	1	1	9
BAT	7.0	Dbacks	Mark Trumbo RF	4	3	4	4	0	0		-	-	-	-	-	-
	7.0	Reds	Johnny Cueto (W, 2-2)	-	-	-	-	-	-		8.0	3	2	2	0	6
	7.0	Cubs	Travis Wood (W, 2-1)	-	-	-	-	-	-		7.0	5	2	2	0	9
AL	6.2	Mariners	J.A. Happ (W, 2-1)	-	-	-	-	-	-		6.2	6	1	1	1	9
	6.0	Twins	Mike Pelfrey (W, 2-0)	-	-	-	-	-	-		7.0	3	2	1	2	7
	5.0	Nationals	Dan Uggla 2B	5	2	3	5	0	0		-	-	-	-	-	-
BAT	5.0	Royals	Kendrys Morales DH	5	4	3	3	0	0		-	-	-	-	-	-
	4.0	Astros	Luis Valbuena 3B	4	4	3	1	0	0		-	-	-	-	-	-
	4.0	Blue Jays	Marco Estrada (W, 1-0)	-	-	-	-	-	-		3.0	0	0	0	2	3
	3.0	Athletics	Josh Reddick RF	4	2	2	3	0	0		-	-	-	-	-	-
	2.0	Cardinals	Matt Adams 1B	4	1	3	2	0	1		-	-	-	-	-	-
	1.0	Yankees	Jacoby Ellsbury CF	4	2	3	0	0	0		-	-	-	-	-	-
	1.0	Marlins	Steve Cishek (S, 2)	-	-	-	-	-	-		1.0	0	0	0	1	1

Tigers' Alfredo Simon (5IP 0R H) tops players for Saturday, April 4's final spring games

Tigers pitcher Alfredo Simon is Saturday’s Player of the Day on the final day of spring training.

Simon pitched five scoreless innings, allowing one hit, in the 1-0 win over the Rays.

Phillies pitcher David Buchanan is National League Player of the Day. Buchanan pitched five scoreless innings and struck out four in the 6-4 win over the Pirates.

Mark Trumbo of the Diamondbacks is NL Batter of the Day. Trumbo hit a two-run homer and went 2-for-2 with three RBIs in the 4-2 win over the Cubs.

Chris Young of the Yankees is AL Batter of the Day. Young hit a two-run homer in the 4-3 win over the Nationals.

Box-Toppers points aren’t awarded for spring training games, but if this were the regular season, Simon would earn 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day and Buchanan would earn 1.7 Box-Toppers points for being NL Player of the Day. Trumbo and Young would each earn 1.5 Box-Toppers points for being their league’s Batter of the Day. All of Saturday’s other Players of the Game (listed in the chart below) would earn 1.0 Box-Toppers point.

Fifteen spring training games were scheduled Saturday. Two games which ended in ties (Mets-Rangers and Angels-Dodgers) and two games that featured non-Major League teams (Marlins-Jacksonville and Padres-Diablos) are not included in Box-Toppers results.

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

404	Score	Team	BATTERS	AB	R	H	RBI	BB	K		IP	H	R	ER	BB	K
MLB	7.0	Tigers	Alfredo Simon (W, 2-2)	-	-	-	-	-	-		5.0	1	0	0	0	3
	6.0	`Royals	Jason Vargas	-	-	-	-	-	-		4.0	0	0	0	1	3
NL	5.0	Phillies	David Buchanan (W, 3-0)	-	-	-	-	-	-		5.0	2	0	0	2	4
BAT	4.0	Dbacks	Mark Trumbo DH	2	1	2	3	0	0		-	-	-	-	-	-
	4.0	Mariners	James Gillheeney (S, 1)	-	-	-	-	-	-		2.0	1	0	0	0	3
	4.0	Giants	Hunter Strickland (S, 2)	-	-	-	-	-	-		1.0	0	0	0	0	3
BAT	3.0	Yankees	Chris Young CF	1	1	1	2	0	0		-	-	-	-	-	-
	3.0	Brewers	Wirfin Obispo (W, 1-0)	-	-	-	-	-	-		1.0	0	0	0	0	2
	2.0	Blue Jays	Josh Donaldson 3B	3	1	2	2	0	0		-	-	-	-	-	-
	2.0	Red Sox	Jemile Weeks PR, 2B	1	1	1	1	0	0		-	-	-	-	-	-
	1.0	Braves	Alberto Callaspo 3B	2	1	2	0	0	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 (2-hit shutout) tops players for Monday, Sept. 15

Padres pitcher Andrew Cashner, who pitched a two-hit shutout, is Monday’s Player of the Day. Cashner also walked one and struck out seven in the 1-0 win over the Phillies.

Astros pitcher Collin McHugh is American League Player of the Day. McHugh struck out seven over 6 2/3 innings, allowing one run, in the 3-1 win over the Indians. McHugh earns 1.7 Box-Toppers points for being AL Player of the Day, giving him 11.8 for the season. He ranks 30th among all players and 17th among AL pitchers.

Mark Trumbo of the Diamondbacks is National League Batter of the Day. Trumbo hit a grand slam and went 2-for-4, driving in five runs, in the 6-2 win over the Giants.

Miguel Cabrera of the Tigers is AL Batter of the Day. Cabrera homered and doubled, going 3-for-5 with three runs in the 8-6 win over the Twins. Cabrera earns 1.5 Box-Toppers points for being AL Batter of the Day, giving him 12.5 for the season. He ranks 23rd among all players and second among AL batters, behind Jose Abreu of the White Sox (15.5 Box-Toppers points).

Notables: Nationals pitcher Stephen Strasburg rose to 14th place in Box-Toppers player rankings after earning Player of the Game honors Monday. Strasburg (7IP 0R 7K W in the 4-2 win over the Braves) earns 1.0 Box-Toppers point, giving him 14.7 for the season. He ranks sixth among NL pitchers.

Angels pitcher Matt Shoemaker rose to 33rd place in Box-Toppers player rankings after earning Player of the Game honors Monday. Shoemaker (7.2IP R 5K W in the 8-1 win over the Mariners) earns 1.0 Box-Toppers point, giving him 11.7 for the season. He ranks 19th among AL pitchers.

Adam Jones of the Orioles becomes the 49th player (and only the fifth batter) with 10.0 or more Box-Toppers points this season after earning Player of the Game honors Monday. Jones (3-4 R BI in the 5-2 win over the Blue Jays) earns 1.0 Box-Toppers point, giving him 10.5 for the season. He ranks 46th among all players and fourth among AL batters.

Cashner receives 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day. McHugh receives 1.7 for AL Player of the Day. Trumbo and Cabrera each receive 1.5 for being top Batter of the Day in their league.

All of Monday’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, 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

915	Score	Team	Player	AB	R	H	BI	BB	K		IP	H	R	ER	BB	K
MLB	13.0	Padres	Andrew Cashner (W, 4-7)	-	-	-	-	-	-		9.0	2	0	0	1	7
	9.0	Nationals	Stephen Strasburg (W, 12-11)	-	-	-	-	-	-		7.0	5	0	0	0	7
AL	7.2	Astros	Collin McHugh (W, 10-9)	-	-	-	-	-	-		6.2	5	1	0	0	7
	5.2	Angels	Matt Shoemaker (W, 16-4)	-	-	-	-	-	-		7.2	5	1	1	0	5
BAT	4.0	Dbacks	Mark Trumbo 1B	4	1	2	5	0	1		-	-	-	-	-	-
	4.0	`Cubs	Travis Wood	-	-	-	-	-	-		6.0	3	0	0	3	4
	3.2	`Rays	Alex Colome	-	-	-	-	-	-		6.2	6	0	0	1	4
	3.0	Dodgers	Justin Turner PH	1	1	1	2	0	0		-	-	-	-	-	-
	3.0	`Marlins	Chris Hatcher (H, 5)	-	-	-	-	-	-		1.0	0	0	0	0	2
BAT	2.0	Tigers	Miguel Cabrera 1B	5	3	3	1	0	0		-	-	-	-	-	-
	1.0	Royals	Norichika Aoki RF	4	1	4	0	1	0		-	-	-	-	-	-
	1.0	Orioles	Adam Jones CF	4	1	3	1	0	0		-	-	-	-	-	-

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

Angels' Mark Trumbo (HR, 5-5) tops players for Tuesday, Sept. 10

Mark Trumbo of the Angels is Tuesday's Player of the Day. Trumbo homered and went 5-for-5 in the 12-6 win over the Blue Jays. 

Padres pitcher Andrew Cashner is National League Player of the Day. Cashner allowed two runs and struck out seven over 7 2/3 innings in the 8-2 win over the Phillies. 

Michael Cuddyer of the Rockies is NL Batter of the Day. Cuddyer hit two homers, including a three-run shot, went 3-for-5 and drove in four runs in the 9-8 win over the Giants. Cuddyer rises to 31st in Box-Toppers player rankings for the season. He earns 1.5 Box-Toppers points for being NL Batter of the Day, giving him 11.5 for the season.

Notables: Four other Players of the Games from Tuesday are among the top 40 in Box-Toppers player rankings for the season:

• Cardinals pitcher Shelby Miller rises to 11th in the rankings (6.2IP 0R W in 4-2 win vs. Brewers). He earns 1.0 Box-Toppers point for being Player of the Game, giving him 15.4 for the season.
• Alfonso Soriano of the Yankees rises to 21st in rankings (2HR 3RBI in 7-5 win vs. Orioles).  He earns 1.0 Box-Toppers point for being Player of the Game, giving him 12.9 for the season.
• Red Sox pitcher Clay Buchholz rises to 33rd in rankings (5IP 0R 6K W in 2-0 win vs. Rays). He earns 1.0 Box-Toppers point for being Player of the Game, giving him 11.1 for the season.
• Braves closing pitcher Craig Kimbrel rises to 37th in rankings (1IP 0R 2K Sv in 4-3 win vs. Marlins). He earns 1.0 Box-Toppers point for being Player of the Game, giving him 10.7 for the season. 

Trumbo receives 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day. Cashner receives 1.7 for NL Player of the Day. Cuddyer receives  1.5 for being NL Batter of the Day.

All of Tuesday'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

910	Score	Team	BATTERS	AB	R	H	RBI	BB	SO	-	-	PITCHERS	IP	H	R	ER	BB	SO
MLB	7.0	Angels	Mark Trumbo 1B	5	5	5	2	0	0			0	0.0	0	0	0	0	0
	7.0	Red Sox	0	0	0	0	0	0	0			Clay Buchholz (W, 10-0)	5.0	3	0	0	1	6
	6.2	`Royals	0	0	0	0	0	0	0			Luke Hochevar (H, 6)	1.2	0	0	0	0	5
NL	5.2	Padres	0	0	0	0	0	0	0			Andrew Cashner (W, 9-8)	7.2	4	2	2	1	7
BAT	4.0	Rockies	Michael Cuddyer RF	5	2	3	4	0	0			0	0.0	0	0	0	0	0
	4.0	Tigers	Alex Avila C	4	2	4	2	1	0			0	0.0	0	0	0	0	0
	4.0	Twins	Josh Willingham LF	3	2	2	3	1	0			0	0.0	0	0	0	0	0
	3.2	Cardinals	0	0	0	0	0	0	0			Shelby Miller (W, 13-9)	6.2	5	0	0	2	4
	3.0	Astros	Jose Altuve 2B	6	3	3	3	0	1			0	0.0	0	0	0	0	0
	3.0	Cubs	Welington Castillo C	5	2	3	3	0	0			0	0.0	0	0	0	0	0
	3.0	Nationals	Jayson Werth RF	4	2	3	2	0	0			0	0.0	0	0	0	0	0
	3.0	Dodgers	Scott Van Slyke PH	1	1	1	2	0	0			0	0.0	0	0	0	0	0
	2.0	Pirates	Andrew McCutchen CF	5	1	3	3	0	1			0	0.0	0	0	0	0	0
	2.0	Yankees	Alfonso Soriano LF	5	2	2	3	0	1			0	0.0	0	0	0	0	0
	2.0	Braves	0	0	0	0	0	0	0			Craig Kimbrel (S, 46)	1.0	1	0	0	0	2

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