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Mets pitcher Jacob deGrom is Wednesday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day, rising to fifth place in season player rankings.
Also Wednesday, Braves pitcher Max Fried rises to eighth place in Box-Toppers season player rankings after earning Player of the Game honors.
Read MoreMets pitcher Jacob deGrom is Friday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day and rises to sixth place in season player rankings.
Also Friday, two players in Box-Toppers season player rankings top 10 earned Player of the Game honors—Indians pitcher Shane Bieber (ranked fourth) and Rays pitcher Charlie Morton (ranked fifth).
Read MoreAthletics pitcher Mike Fiers is Friday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day.
Also Friday, Indians pitcher Shane Bieber rises to third place in Box-Toppers season player rankings after earning Player of the Game honors.
Read MoreAthletics pitcher Mike Fiers, pitching a no-hitter, is Tuesday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day.
Fiers struck out eight and walked two, throwing 131 pitches over nine innings, in the 2-0 win over the Reds.
Read MoreThe Oakland Athletics visit the New York Yankees in the American League one-game Wild Card playoff game Wednesday.
Read MoreAstros pitcher Justin Verlander is Saturday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day, rising to third place in season player rankings.
Also Saturday, Javier Baez of the Cubs rises to first place among National League batters in 2018 Box-Toppers points after earning NL Batter of the Day honors.
Read MoreAthletics pitcher Mike Fiers is Monday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day.
Fiers struck out eight over seven scoreless innings, allowing one hit and one walk, in the 9-0 win over the Rangers.
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The Boston Red Sox maintain their lead in Box-Toppers team rankings for the second straight week.
Meanwhile, the Los Angeles Dodgers maintain their lead among National League teams and the Oakland Athletics are Box-Toppers’ hottest team of the past week.
Read MoreDiamondbacks pitcher Patrick Corbin is Wednesday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day and rises to seventh place in season player rankings.
Corbin struck out nine over 7 1/3 scoreless innings, allowing four hits and no walks, in the 6-0 win over the Phillies.
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Cubs pitcher Jose Quintana is Sunday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day and rises to ninth place in season player rankings.
| Player | Pos | Team | BTP | |
| 1 | Kershaw, Clayton 2494 | pi sp | lad nl | 21.1 |
| 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 | Santana, Ervin 2005 | pi sp | min al | 12.4 |
| 6 | Carrasco, Carlos 2885 | pi sp | cle al | 11.4 |
| 7 | Greinke, Zack 1871 | pi sp | ari nl | 11.4 |
| 8 | Strasburg, Stephen 2736 | pi sp | dc nl | 10.4 |
| 9 | Quintana, Jose 3040 | pi sp | chi nl | 10.0 |
| 10 | Ray, Robbie 3502 | pi sp | ari nl | 10.0 |
Quintana, making his debut for the Cubs after being traded from the White Sox during the All-Star break, struck out 12 over seven scoreless innings, allowing three hits and no walks, in the 8-0 win over the Orioles.
Quintana earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day, giving him 10.0 for the season, rising to ninth place among all players, sixth place among National League pitchers. Quintana is the 10th player this season to reach 10.0 or more Box-Toppers points.
American League Player of the Day—Astros pitcher Mike Fiers struck out 11 over seven innings, allowing two hits, four hits and no walks, in the 5-3 win over the Twins.
National League Batter of the Day—Daniel Murphy of the Nationals hit two homers and went 3-for-4, scoring twice and driving in five runs, in the 14-4 win over the Reds.
American League Batter of the Day—There is no AL Batter of the Day for Sunday because no AL batter earned Player of the Game honors.
Notable—Two players with 100.0 or more career Box-Toppers points earned Player of the Game honors Sunday:
Debut—Nick Williams of the Phillies made his Box-Toppers debut Sunday with his first career Player of the Game honor.
Williams (HR 2-4 R 4BI in the 5-2 win over the Brewers) made his Major League debut June 30 and was playing in his 13th career game. He is the 3,852nd player to debut in Box-Toppers since record keeping began in 1995.
Scoring—Quintana earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day and Fiers earns 1.7 points for being AL Player of the Day. Murphyearns 1.5 points for being NL 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.
| 7/16 | Score | Game | Player of the Game | AB | R | H | BI | IP | H | R | ER | BB | K | |
| MLB | 16.0 | CHC 8, BAL 0 | Jose Quintana, W (5-8) | - | - | - | - | 7.0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 12 | |
| AL | 10.0 | HOU 5, MIN 3 | Mike Fiers (W, 6-4) | - | - | - | - | 7.0 | 4 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 11 | |
| 9.0 | BOS 3, NYY 0 | David Price (W, 5-2) | - | - | - | - | 8.0 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 8 | ||
| 7.0 | LAD 3, MIA 2 | Rich Hill (W, 6-4) | - | - | - | - | 5.0 | 5 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 9 | ||
| BAT | 6.0 | WSH 14, CIN 4 | Daniel Murphy (2B) | 4 | 2 | 3 | 5 | - | - | - | - | - | - | |
| 5.0 | ATL 7, ARI 1 | Jaime Garcia (W, 3-7) | - | - | - | - | 7.0 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 7 | ||
| 4.0 | SEA 7, CHW 6 (F/10) | Edwin Diaz (S, 16) | - | - | - | - | 1.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | ||
| 3.2 | SD 7, SF 1 | Trevor Cahill (W, 4-3) | - | - | - | - | 6.2 | 8 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 8 | ||
| 3.1 | `LAA 4, TB 3 | Parker Bridwell | - | - | - | - | 6.1 | 6 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 8 | ||
| 3.0 | PHI 5, MIL 2 | Nick Williams (RF) | 4 | 1 | 2 | 4 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 3.0 | COL 13, NYM 4 | Gerardo Parra (RF) | 4 | 2 | 2 | 3 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 3.0 | OAK 7, CLE 3 | Sean Manaea (W, 8-5) | - | - | - | - | 7.0 | 5 | 2 | 2 | 3 | 8 | ||
| 2.2 | `KC 4, TEX 3 | Ian Kennedy | - | - | - | - | 6.2 | 5 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 6 | ||
| 2.0 | NYY 3, BOS 0 | CC Sabathia (W, 8-3) | - | - | - | - | 6.0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 3 | ||
| 2.0 | PIT 4, STL 3 | Wade LeBlanc (W, 4-2) | - | - | - | - | 1.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | ||
| 2.0 | `DET 6, TOR 5 (F/11) | Bruce Rondon | - | - | - | - | 1.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 2 |
| Player of the Game | Pos | Team | ’17 | ’16-17 | ’12-17 | Career | +/- |
| Quintana, Jose 3040 | pi sp | chi nl | 10.0 | 20.4 | 45.2 | 45.2 | -0.4 |
| Hill, Rich 2215 | pi sp | lad nl | 7.7 | 22.1 | 26.1 | 45.8 | -6.7 |
| Cahill, Trevor 2658 | pi sp | sd nl | 6.4 | 9.4 | 24.1 | 46.6 | 3.4 |
| Murphy, Daniel 2589 | 2b | dc nl | 6.0 | 13.5 | 34.5 | 38.5 | -1.5 |
| Sabathia, C.C. 1492 | pi sp | nyy al | 6.0 | 12.0 | 38.5 | 191.0 | 0.0 |
| Manaea, Sean 3637 | pi sp | oak al | 5.4 | 12.1 | 12.1 | 12.1 | -1.3 |
| Kennedy, Ian 2723 | pi sp | kc al | 5.0 | 15.0 | 46.1 | 71.5 | -5.0 |
| Parra, Gerardo 2746 | rf | col nl | 5.0 | 7.5 | 19.5 | 26.0 | 2.5 |
| Fiers, Michael 3029 | pi sp | hou al | 4.4 | 9.4 | 30.5 | 30.5 | -0.6 |
| Diaz, Edwin 3690 | pi cp | sea al | 4.0 | 11.0 | 11.0 | 11.0 | -3.0 |
| Price, David 2593 | pi sp | bos al | 3.7 | 16.1 | 78.1 | 109.9 | -8.7 |
| LeBlanc, Wade 2669 | pi cp mr sp | pit nl | 3.0 | 6.0 | 6.0 | 13.0 | 0.0 |
| Garcia, Jaime 2508 | pi sp | atl nl | 2.0 | 10.0 | 28.1 | 45.8 | -6.0 |
| Bridwell, Parker 3844 | pi sp | ana al | 2.0 | 2.0 | 2.0 | 2.0 | 2.0 |
| Rondon, Bruce 3245 | pi mr | det al | 1.0 | 1.0 | 5.0 | 5.0 | 1.0 |
| Williams, Nick 3852 | rf | phi nl | 1.0 | 1.0 | 1.0 | 1.0 | 1.0 |
Cardinals pitcher Carlos Martinez is Saturday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day and rises to eighth place in season player rankings.
| 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 | 11.4 |
| 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 | Martinez, Carlos 3371 | pi sp | stl nl | 7.5 |
| 9 | Strasburg, Stephen 2736 | pi sp | dc nl | 7.4 |
| 10 | Keuchel, Dallas 3050 | pi sp | hou al | 7.4 |
Martinez pitched a complete-game, four-hit shutout, striking out 11 and walking one, in the 7-0 win over the Phillies.
Martinez earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day, giving him 7.5 for the season, rising to eighth place in season player rankings, fifth among National League pitchers.
American League Player of the Day—Astros pitcher Mike Fiers struck out eight over 7 1/3 innings, allowing one run, two hits and two walks, in the 3-1 win over the Angels.
American League Batter of the Day—Lorenzo Cain of the Royals hit two home runs, including a grand slam, in the 12-6 win over the Padres. Cain went 3-for-5, scoring three times and driving in five runs.
National League Batter of the Day—T.J. Rivera of the Mets hit a two-run, eighth-inning, pinch-hit home run, in the 8-1 win over the Braves.
Scoring—Martinez earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day and Fiers earns 1.7 points for being AL Player of the Day. Cain and Rivera each earn 1.5 points for being their league’s 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.
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.
| 6/10 | Score | Game | Player of the Game | AB | R | H | BI | IP | H | R | ER | BB | K | |
| MLB | 15.0 | STL 7, PHI 0 | Carlos Martinez (W,5-5) | - | - | - | - | 9.0 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 11 | |
| AL | 10.1 | HOU 3, LAA 1 | Mike Fiers (W,4-2) | - | - | - | - | 7.1 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 8 | |
| 9.0 | NYY 16, BAL 3 | Luis Severino (W,5-2) | - | - | - | - | 7.0 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 8 | ||
| 7.1 | COL 9, CHC 1 | Jeff Hoffman (W,4-0) | - | - | - | - | 6.1 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 8 | ||
| BAT | 6.0 | KC 12, SD 6 | Lorenzo Cain, CF | 5 | 3 | 3 | 5 | - | - | - | - | - | - | |
| 6.0 | TEX 6, WSH 3 (F/11) | Keone Kela (W,3-1) | - | - | - | - | 2.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | ||
| 5.2 | NYM 6, ATL 1 | Robert Gsellman (W,5-3) | - | - | - | - | 6.2 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 4 | ||
| 5.0 | CHW 5, CLE 3 | David Robertson (S,10) | - | - | - | - | 2.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 4 | ||
| 4.1 | PIT 7, MIA 6 | Felipe Rivero (S,1) | - | - | - | - | 1.1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | ||
| 4.0 | BOS 11, DET 3 | Mitch Moreland, 1B | 3 | 2 | 2 | 3 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 4.0 | TOR 4, SEA 2 | Marcus Stroman (W,7-2) | - | - | - | - | 7.0 | 6 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 6 | ||
| 3.2 | ARI 3, MIL 2 | Zack Godley (W,2-1) | - | - | - | - | 6.2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 4 | ||
| BAT | 3.0 | NYM 8, ATL 1 | T.J. Rivera, PH | 1 | 1 | 1 | 2 | - | - | - | - | - | - | |
| 2.0 | TB 6, OAK 5 (F/10) | Steven Souza Jr., DH | 2 | 1 | 1 | 2 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 2.0 | MIN 3, SF 2 | Brandon Kintzler (S,17) | - | - | - | - | 1.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | ||
| 2.0 | LAD 5, CIN 4 | Kenley Jansen (W,4-0) | - | - | - | - | 1.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | ||
| 1.0 | OAK 7, TB 2 | Yonder Alonso, 1B | 5 | 1 | 4 | 1 | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| Player of the Game | Pos | Team | ’17 | ’16-17 | ’12-17 | Career | +/- |
| Martinez, Carlos 3371 | pi sp | stl nl | 7.5 | 19.9 | 34.6 | 34.6 | -4.9 |
| Severino, Luis 3567 | pi sp | nyy al | 6.7 | 8.7 | 11.7 | 11.7 | 4.7 |
| Godley, Zack 3538 | pi sp | ari nl | 5.0 | 6.0 | 9.7 | 9.7 | 4.0 |
| Kintzler, Brandon 3150 | pi cp | min al | 5.0 | 5.0 | 7.0 | 7.0 | 5.0 |
| Hoffman, Jeff 3806 | pi sp | col nl | 3.7 | 3.7 | 3.7 | 3.7 | 3.7 |
| Jansen, Kenley 2871 | pi cp mr | lad nl | 3.0 | 9.0 | 34.7 | 39.4 | -3.0 |
| Souza, Steven Jr. 3461 | rf dh | tb al | 3.0 | 8.7 | 14.2 | 14.2 | -2.7 |
| Robertson, David 2774 | pi cp | chi al | 3.0 | 8.0 | 25.0 | 29.0 | -2.0 |
| Moreland, Mitch 2799 | 1b ph | bos al | 3.0 | 6.5 | 19.7 | 21.7 | -0.5 |
| Cain, Lorenzo 3171 | cf | kc al | 2.5 | 9.0 | 23.2 | 23.2 | -4.0 |
| Rivera, T.J. 3710 | 1b ph | nym nl | 2.5 | 3.5 | 3.5 | 3.5 | 1.5 |
| Stroman, Marcus 3327 | pi sp | tor al | 2.0 | 8.7 | 25.1 | 25.1 | -4.7 |
| Alonso, Yonder 2945 | 1b | oak al | 2.0 | 4.0 | 13.5 | 15.0 | 0.0 |
| Gsellman, Robert 3748 | pi sp | nym nl | 2.0 | 3.7 | 3.7 | 3.7 | 0.3 |
| Kela, Keone 3789 | pi cp | tex al | 2.0 | 2.0 | 2.0 | 2.0 | 2.0 |
| Fiers, Michael 3029 | pi sp | hou al | 1.7 | 6.7 | 27.8 | 27.8 | -3.3 |
| Rivero, Felipe 3579 | pi cp | pit nl | 1.0 | 1.0 | 2.0 | 2.0 | 1.0 |
Yoenis Cespedes of the Mets had the highest single-game Box-Toppers game score for a batter in 2015 of +11. Here's a look at the 16 best batting performances in 2015 as measured by Box-Toppers game score.
Read MoreNationals pitcher Max Scherzer had three of the 13 best Box-Toppers game scores of 2015, including the top score of +26 with his 2nd no-hitter of the season on Oct. 3.
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Baseball proceeds whether we are ready or not.
In the past few weeks, other duties put me behind staying up-to-date with the Box-Toppers daily blog and I have been scrambling to catch up. I fell behind three weeks and three days ago, on Aug. 13 and only caught up today (Monday, Sept. 7) with yesterday’s games.
Usually when a person falls behind doing something, it’s best to just move ahead and ignore most of what was missed. But when you’re trying to keep comprehensive track of the baseball season, to assess and evaluate teams and players across an entire season, it is a mistake to simply ignore a chunk of the season, simply due to lack of convenience or lack of attention. So I’ve gone back and picked up the days I’ve missed, posting each day’s summary in the blog, even if was sometimes more than a week late.
During my catch-up phase, I did not post daily highlights to Box-Toppers’ Twitter and Facebook feeds. Instead, I’ve opted to post a summary of highlights of what was missed in the interim while I wasn’t posting to social media here in this post, with links to the relevant posts in the Box-Toppers blog:
New Box-Toppers leaders—Cubs pitcher Jake Arrieta took over the lead in Box-Toppers season player rankings on Saturday, Sept. 5. Arrieta has 21.1 Box-Toppers points and passed previous leader, Dodgers pitcher Clayton Kershaw, who took the lead Wednesday, Sept. 2. (Kershaw has 20.7 Box-Toppers points.) Previously, Mets pitcher Jacob deGrom led from July 26 to Sept. 1. He currently ranks third with 19.4 points.
Arrieta picked up 6.7 Box-Toppers points during the catch-up period (Aug. 13 to Sept. 6), including earning Player of the Day honors twice—on Sunday, Aug. 30 (when he pitched a no-hitter) and on Sept. 5.
New American League pitching leader—Astros pitcher Dallas Keuchel took the lead among AL pitchers on Sunday, Sept. 6 with 19.4 Box-Toppers points. Previously, Blue Jays pitcher David Price led AL pitchers. He currently ranks second among AL pitchers with 19.1 points.
New American League batting leader—Edwin Encarnacion of the Blue Jays took the lead among AL batters on Saturday, Aug. 29 with 10.4 Box-Toppers points. Previously, Mike Trout of the Angels led AL batters. Trout currently has 10.0 Box-Toppers points and ranks second among AL batters.
New National League batting leader—Carlos Gonzalez of the Rockies took the lead among NL batters on Thursday, Sept. 3 with 11.5 Box-Toppers points. Previously, Yoenis Cespedes of the Mets took the lead among NL batters on Friday, Aug. 21 with 9.9 points. Before that, Randal Grichuk of the Cardinals led NL batters. He currently ranks fourth with 9.5 points.
New Box-Toppers team rankings leader—The Kansas City Royals took over the lead among teams at the last Box-Toppers team ranking report, as of Thursday, Sept. 3. The St. Louis Cardinals rose to top NL teams. For three weeks previously (Aug. 13, 20 and 27), the Pittsburgh Pirates were the top-ranked team. The Pirates ranked third as of Sept. 3.
Notable—Here are some notable achievements by players that happened during the catch-up phase (Aug. 13 to Sept. 6):
Debuts—Twenty-three players made their Box-Toppers debut during the catch-up phase. Here is the list with links to the blog post for the day they made their debut with more information:
•
So what was I doing that was keeping me from Box-Toppers? I served as a volunteer coordinator for our local high school band’s major fundraiser. Over the course of the 11-day Iowa State Fair, I helped wrangle nearly 300 student and parent volunteers to fill 550 volunteer spots to serve ice cream and shakes at the fair’s Dairy Barn.
It’s a task that requires a few months of preparation to set up—to get volunteers signed up, to comply with various red-tape regulations and to develop and implement logistics to make it all work. But when the fair starts, the task can sometimes become even more time-consuming. As soon as the fair started on Aug. 13, Box-Toppers fell to the wayside.
My last “on-time” post was Thursday, Aug. 13, covering the games of Wednesday, Aug. 12. The very next post was more than a week later on Friday, Aug. 21, covering the games of Thursday, Aug. 13. After the fair ended on Aug. 23, I kept plugging away, finally catching up two more weeks later.
The fundraiser went well, by the way. All our volunteers made it, worked hard, had a little fun (and a little ice cream) and raised a lot of money for our high school band program. It was my fifth and final year of coordinating volunteers for the fundraiser. And though it put me a little behind updating the Box-Toppers blog, it was a lot of fun and now that it’s over, tremendously satisfying.
And now, with my attention returned more fully to baseball, onto the homestretch of the season …
(Other duties have put us behind updating Box-Toppers. Playing catch up …)
Astros pitcher Mike Fiers, pitching a no-hitter, is Box-Toppers Player of the Day for Friday, Aug. 21.
| Player | Pos | Team | BTP | |
| 1 | deGrom, Jacob 3343 | pi sp | nym nl | 19.4 |
| 2 | Price, David 2593 | pi sp | tor al | 17.1 |
| 3 | Sale, Chris 2806 | pi sp | chi al | 17.1 |
| 4 | Kershaw, Clayton 2494 | pi sp | lad nl | 16.7 |
| 5 | Scherzer, Max 2588 | pi sp | dc nl | 16.0 |
| 6 | Greinke, Zack 1871 | pi sp | lad nl | 16.0 |
| 7 | Gray, Sonny 3259 | pi sp | oak al | 15.8 |
| 8 | Hernandez, Felix 2064 | pi sp | sea al | 15.4 |
| 9 | Arrieta, Jake 2738 | pi sp | chi nl | 15.4 |
| 10 | Harvey, Matt 3075 | pi sp | nym nl | 15.4 |
Also Friday, Blue Jays pitcher David Price rose to second place in Box-Toppers season player rankings and White Sox pitcher Chris Sale rose to third. Plus, Yoenis Cespedes of the Mets took the lead among NL batters in Box-Toppers points.
Player of the Day—Fiers threw 134 pitches in the 3-0 no-hitter over the Dodgers. He struck out 10 and walked three.
Fiers earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day, giving him 6.0 for the season. They were his first Box-Toppers points since being traded from the Brewers.
National League Player of the Day—Yoenis Cespedes of the Mets hit three home runs—a grand-slam, a two-run homer and a solo shot—in the 14-9 win over the Rockies. Cespedes also hit a double and went 5-for-6, scoring five times and driving in seven runs.
Cespedes earns 1.7 Box-Toppers points for being NL Player of the Day, giving him 9.9 for the season and rising to first among NL batters. He passes previous leader Randal Grichuk of the Cardinals (9.5 Box-Toppers points). Cespedes has 3.2 of his Box-Toppers points since being traded from the Tigers.
American League Batter of the Day—Blake Swihart of the Red Sox doubled and went 4-for-4, scoring three times and driving in two runs, in the 7-2 win over the Royals.
This was Swihart’s Box-Toppers debut, the first time in his career he earned Player of the Game honors. Swihart made his Major League debut May 2 and was playing in his 59th career game. He is the 3,565th 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 Friday because the overall NL Player of the Day is a batter—Yoenis Cespedes.
Rankings—Two players rose in Box-Toppers season player rankings top 10 after earning Player of the Game honors Friday:
Notable—Indians pitcher Carlos Carrasco (6IP 5H R 11K W in the 7-3 win over the Yankees) earns 1.0 Box-Toppers point for being Player of the Game, giving him 15.0 for the season. He ranks 12th among all players and sixth among AL pitchers.
Debut—In addition to Swihart, one other player made his Box-Toppers debut Friday—Phillies pitcher Jerad Eickhoff (6IP 5H 0R 5K W in the 7-1 win over the Marlins), who also was making his Major League debut. He is the 3,566th player to debut in Box-Toppers since record keeping began in 1995.
Scoring—Fiers earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day and Cespedes earns 1.7 Box-Toppers points for being NL Player of the Day. Swihart earns 1.5 Box-Toppers points for being AL 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.
Listed from highest to lowest Box-Toppers game score
| 8/21 | Score | Team | Player | AB | R | H | BI | BB | K | IP | H | R | ER | BB | K | |
| MLB | 16.0 | Astros | Mike Fiers (W,6-9) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 9.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 10 | |
| NL | 11.0 | Mets | Yoenis Cespedes, CF-LF | 6 | 5 | 5 | 7 | 0 | 0 | - | - | - | - | - | - | |
| 10.0 | White Sox | Chris Sale (W,12-7) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 7.0 | 4 | 3 | 3 | 1 | 14 | ||
| 9.2 | Indians | Carlos Carrasco (W,12-9) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 6.0 | 5 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 11 | ||
| 7.0 | Padres | Andrew Cashner (W,5-12) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 6.0 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 8 | ||
| 6.0 | Blue Jays | David Price (W,12-4) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 8.0 | 6 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 9 | ||
| BAT | 5.0 | Red Sox | Blake Swihart, C | 4 | 3 | 4 | 2 | 0 | 0 | - | - | - | - | - | - | |
| 5.0 | Phillies | Jerad Eickhoff (W,1-0) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 6.0 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 5 | ||
| 4.0 | Twins | Kevin Jepsen (S,6) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 1.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | ||
| 3.0 | Dbacks | A.J. Pollock, CF | 5 | 3 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 0 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 3.0 | Rangers | Shawn Tolleson (S,24) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 1.0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | ||
| 2.0 | Brewers | Kyle Lohse (S,1) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 3.0 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 4 | ||
| 2.0 | Cubs | Jason Motte (MR) (W,8-1) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 1.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | ||
| 1.2 | Rays | Drew Smyly (W,1-2) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 5.0 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | ||
| 1.0 | Giants | Marlon Byrd, RF | 5 | 1 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 1 | - | - | - | - | - | - |
Astros remain active buyers and stay atop team rankings. Dodgers pass Cardinals in NL. Blue Jays, picking up Price & Tulo, gain most points in past week.
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Brewers pitcher Mike Fiers is Saturday’s Player of the Day.
Fiers struck out 12 over six innings, allowing one run, in the 6-1 win over the Cubs.
American League Player of the Day—Orioles pitcher Miguel Gonzalez pitched 7 2/3 scoreless innings, striking out six, in the 4-0 win over the Rays.
| Player | Pos | Team | BTP | |
| 1 | Hernandez, Felix 2064 | pi sp | sea al | 6.0 |
| 2 | Cole, Gerrit 3232 | pi sp | pit nl | 6.0 |
| 3 | Archer, Chris 3194 | pi sp | tb al | 5.0 |
| 4 | Keuchel, Dallas 3050 | pi sp | hou al | 4.7 |
| 5 | Harvey, Matt 3075 | pi sp | nym nl | 4.7 |
| 6 | Stanton, Giancarlo 2737 | rf | fla nl | 4.5 |
| 7 | Cueto, Johnny 2400 | pi sp | cin nl | 4.4 |
| 8 | Price, David 2593 | pi sp | det al | 3.7 |
| 9 | Kazmir, Scott 1947 | pi sp | oak al | 3.7 |
| 10 | Cabrera, Miguel 1776 | 1b | det al | 3.7 |
American League Batter of the Day—Kyle Blanks of the Rangers homered, doubled and went 4-for-5, scoring twice and driving in three, in the 8-7, 10-inning win over the Athletics.
National League Batter of the Day—Zack Cozart of the Reds homered and went 3-for-5, scoring twice and driving in two runs, in the 8-4 win over the Braves.
Rankings—Tigers pitcher David Price rose to eighth place in Box-Toppers player rankings after earning Player of the Game honors Saturday (CG 5H R 3K W in the 2-1 win over the Royals). Price earns 1.0 Box-Toppers points, giving him 3.7 for the season.
Streak—Two players extended their lengthy streaks of consecutive seasons scoring at least 1.0 Box-Toppers point:
Hunter was Player of the Game in Saturday’s 5-3 win over the White Sox (HR 3-4 2R 2BI) and earned 1.0 Box-Toppers point, his first of the season.
Hunter earned his first Box-Toppers point in 1999 with the Twins. His best season was 2008 with the Angels when he had 12.4 Box-Toppers points, ranked second among AL batters.. In 2014, he had 5.5 Box-Toppers points with the Tigers.
Hunter has 108.9 career Box-Toppers points and ranks 51st among all players (since Box-Toppers record keeping began in 1995). With Saturday’s point, he passed three players on that list—Billy Wagner (108.7), Kevin Millwood (108.3) and Lance Berkman (108.1). Hunter ranks 16th among all batters since 1995 and ranks fifth among active batters currently in the AL.
Haren earned his first Box-Toppers point in 2003 with the Cardinals. His best season was 2011 with the Angels, when he had 16.8 Box-Toppers points, fifth among AL pitchers. In 2014, he had 8.0 Box-Toppers points with the Dodgers.
Haren has 109.2 career Box-Toppers points and ranks 50th among all players (since Box-Toppers record keeping began in 1995). With Saturday’s point, he also passed Billy Wagner (108.7) and Kevin Millwood (108.3) on that list. Haren ranks 35th among all pitchers since 1995 and ranks 11th among active pitchers currently in the NL, just behind Tim Lincecum of the Giants (109.3).
Scoring—Fiers earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day and Gonzalez earns 1.7 Box-Toppers points for being AL Player of the Day. Blanks and Cozart 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) 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
| 5/2 | Score | Team | Player | AB | R | H | BI | BB | K | IP | H | R | ER | BB | K | |
| MLB | 11.0 | Brewers | Mike Fiers (W, 1-3) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 6.0 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 12 | |
| AL | 8.2 | Orioles | Miguel Gonzalez (W, 3-1) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 7.2 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 6 | |
| 8.0 | Nationals | Gio Gonzalez (W, 2-2) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 7.0 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 9 | ||
| 6.0 | Marlins | Dan Haren (W, 3-1) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 6.0 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | ||
| 5.1 | Yankees | Dellin Betances (S, 1) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 1.1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | ||
| 5.0 | Tigers | David Price (W, 3-1) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 9.0 | 5 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 3 | ||
| 5.0 | Dodgers | Juan Nicasio (W, 1-1) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 3.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | ||
| BAT | 4.0 | Rangers | Kyle Blanks 1B | 5 | 2 | 4 | 3 | 0 | 1 | - | - | - | - | - | - | |
| 3.0 | Twins | Torii Hunter DH | 4 | 2 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 0 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 3.0 | Padres | Craig Kimbrel (S, 7) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 1.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | ||
| BAT | 2.0 | Reds | Zack Cozart SS | 5 | 2 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 0 | - | - | - | - | - | - | |
| 2.0 | Astros | Colby Rasmus LF | 5 | 3 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 2.0 | Blue Jays | Jose Bautista DH | 5 | 1 | 2 | 4 | 0 | 3 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 1.0 | Giants | Casey McGehee 3B | 4 | 1 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 1.0 | Cardinals | Pete Kozma 2B | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | - | - | - | - | - | - |
Mariners pitcher Hisashi Iwakuma is Tuesday’s Player of the Day, while Tigers pitcher Max Scherzer extends his Box-Toppers points lead among American League pitchers.
Iwakuma pitched eight scoreless innings and struck out 11 in the 5-2 win over the Phillies. He earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day, giving him 11.0 for the season. He is the 31st player this season with 10.0 or more Box-Toppers points. He ranks 23rd among all players and 13th among AL pitchers.
Scherzer bolstered his top spot among AL pitchers after earning Player of the Game honors Tuesday. Scherzer (7IP 9K ND in the 8-6 win over the Rays) earns 1.0 Box-Toppers point, giving him 21.1 for the season. He ranks second among all players, behind Dodgers pitcher Clayton Kershaw, who has 22.1 Box-Toppers points. (See the updated top 10 player list on the home page.) Scherzer ranks first among AL pitchers, ahead of the current second-place AL pitcher, Corey Kluber of the Indians (17.4 Box-Toppers points).
Brewers pitcher Mike Fiers is National League Player of the Day. Fiers struck out six over seven innings, allowing one run, in the 6-1 win over the Blue Jays.
Carl Crawford of the Dodgers is NL Batter of the Day. Crawford homered and went 3-for-3, scoring three times and driving in three runs, in the 8-6 win over the Padres.
Omar Infante of the Royals is AL Batter of the Day. Infante hit three doubles, going 4-for-5, scoring a run and driving in four more, in the 7-4 win over the Rockies.
Notables: Athletics pitcher Scott Kazmir rose to 12th place in Box-Toppers player rankings after earning Player of the Game honors Tuesday. Kazmir (6IP R 6K W in the 6-2 win over the Mets) earns 1.0 Box-Toppers point, giving him 14.1 for the season. He ranks seventh among AL pitchers.
Nationals pitcher Stephen Strasburg rose to 14th place in Box-Toppers player rankings after earning Player of the Game honors Tuesday. Strasburg (8IP R W in the 8-1 win over the Diamondbacks) earns 1.0 Box-Toppers point, giving him 12.7 for the season. He ranks sixth among NL pitchers.
Iwakuma receives 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day. Fiers receives 1.7 for NL Player of the Day. Crawford and Infante each receive 1.5 for being top Batter of the Day in their league.
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, 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.
Listed from highest to lowest Box-Toppers game score
| 819 | Score | Team | Player | AB | R | H | BI | BB | K | IP | H | R | ER | BB | K | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| MLB | 15.0 | Mariners | Hisashi Iwakuma (W, 12-6) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 8.0 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 11 | |
| 11.0 | Orioles | Chris Tillman (W, 10-5) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 8.0 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 9 | ||
| NL | 8.0 | Brewers | Mike Fiers (W, 3-1) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 7.0 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 6 | |
| BAT | 6.0 | Dodgers | Carl Crawford LF | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 1 | 0 | - | - | - | - | - | - | |
| 6.0 | Nationals | Stephen Strasburg (W, 10-10) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 8.0 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 4 | ||
| BAT | 4.0 | Royals | Omar Infante 2B | 5 | 1 | 4 | 4 | 0 | 0 | - | - | - | - | - | - | |
| 4.0 | Braves | Justin Upton LF | 4 | 1 | 2 | 5 | 1 | 0 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 4.0 | Marlins | Sam Dyson (W, 2-0) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 1.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | ||
| 3.0 | Indians | Yan Gomes C | 4 | 3 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 1 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 3.0 | *Cubs | Anthony Rizzo 1B | 2 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 3.0 | Athletics | Scott Kazmir (W, 14-5) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 6.0 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 6 | ||
| 2.2 | `Astros | Tony Sipp | - | - | - | - | - | - | 1.2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | ||
| 2.0 | Cardinals | Jon Jay CF | 3 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 1.0 | Angels | Chris Iannetta C | 3 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 1.0 | `Tigers | Max Scherzer | - | - | - | - | - | - | 7.0 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 3 | 9 |
` Denotes that the pitcher had a no-decision in the game and did not pick up a win or a save.
* UPDATE: Thursday, August 21, 2014: Rizzo was named Player of the Game in the game that was initially ruled a final, rain-shortened game. However, the Giants protested the game and Major League Baseball upheld the protest. The now-suspended game is to resume in the bottom of the fifth inning on Aug. 21. Rizzo's 1.0 Box-Toppers point earned Aug. 19 will be removed and the game's top player will now be included among Aug. 21's games. Rizzo has 5.5 Box-Toppers points for the season and ranks 15th among NL batters. Before the point was removed, his 6.5 Box-Toppers points put him at seventh place among NL batters.
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.
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.
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.