Mariners’ Kirby tops players for Tuesday, Aug. 25; Orioles’ Alonso rises to lead AL batters

Mariners pitcher George Kirby is Tuesday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day.

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Mariners pitcher George Kirby is Tuesday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day.

Also Tuesday, Pete Alonso of the Orioles rises to first place among American League batters, passing previous leader Yordan Alvarez of the Astros, after earning AL Batter of the Day honors.

Other Player of the Game winners Tuesday include Pirates pitcher Paul Skenes and Ryan Waldschmidt of the Diamondbacks.

Player of the Day: George Kirby, Mariners

Kirby struck out nine over 7.2 innings, allowing one run, six hits and one walk, in the 4-1 win over the Phillies.

Kirby earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day, giving him 7.0 for the season, 65th among all players and 30th among American League pitchers.

NL Player of the Day: Paul Skenes, Pirates.

NL Player of the Day: Paul Skenes, Pirates

Skenes struck out four over six scoreless innings, allowing three hits and no walks, in the 1-0 win over the Padres. Skenes did not earn the win, picking up a no-decision, because the game was in a scoreless tie when he exited.

He earns 1.7 Box-Toppers points as National League Player of the Day, giving him 12.7 for the season, 17th among all players and ninth among NL pitchers.

AL Batter of the Day: Pete Alonso, Orioles.

2026 Box-Toppers points—AL batters 1—Pete Alonso #Orioles 8.2* 2—Yordan Alvarez #Astros 7.5 3—Yandy Díaz #Rays 7.5 4—Willson Contreras #RedSox 7.0 5—Nick Kurtz #Athletics 7.0 6—Kody Clemens #Twins 7.0 *Earns 1.5 B-T points as Tuesday AL Batter of the Day www.box-toppers.com/blog/2026/8/...

— Box-Toppers Baseball (@boxtoppers.bsky.social) 7:53 AM · Aug 26, 2026

Top 10 players

Here are the top 10 players in 2026 Box-Toppers points (BTP) earned in the regular season through Tuesday, Aug. 25.

	Player	Pos	Team	BTP
1	Jacob Misiorowski	pi sp	Brewers	21.4
2	Dylan Cease	pi sp	Blue Jays	18.4
3	Jesús Luzardo	pi sp	Phillies	18.0
4	Braxton Ashcraft	pi sp	Pirates	16.4
5	Cristopher Sánchez	pi sp	Phillies	15.7
6	Cam Schlittler	pi sp	Yankees	15.7
7	Shohei Ohtani	pi sp dh	Dodgers	15.7
8	Gavin Williams	pi sp	Guardians	13.7
9	Kyle Harrison	pi sp	Brewers	13.7
10	Bryan Woo	pi sp	Mariners	13.4

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AL Batter of the Day: Pete Alonso, Orioles

Alonso hit a three-run homer, doubled and went 4-for-4, scoring twice and driving in four runs, in the 13-1 win over the Cardinals.

Alonso earns 1.5 Box-Toppers points as AL Batter of the Day, giving him 8.2 for the season, rising to first place among AL batters, passing previous leader Yordan Alvarez of the Astros (7.5 points). Alonso ranks 43rd among all players.

NL Batter of the Day: Ryan Waldschmidt, Diamondbacks

Waldschmidt hit a walk-off, pinch-hit, two-run home run in the bottom of the ninth inning in the 5-4 win over the Cubs. Waldschmidt went 1-for-1, scoring once and driving in two runs.

Debut

Tuesday’s Sidelights Sidebar

Box-Toppers review of the day's top pitchers, overlooked top performers & lowest B-T game scores:

⬛ Holmes posts Tuesday’s best game score but D-backs come back to beat Cubs in walk-off

Three 2026 rookie relief pitchers made their Box-Toppers debut Tuesday, each earning their first career Player of the Game honor:

• Nate Lavender of the Mets (2IP 0H 0R 0BB K ND in the 3-2, 10-inning win over the Brewers) made his Major League debut Aug. 4 and was playing in his ninth career game.

• Drew Sommers of the Tigers (1.2IP 0H 0R 0BB K W in the 4-1 win over the Rays) made his Major League debut Aug. 22, 2025, and was playing in his 36th career game.

• Mark Manfredi of the Rockies (1IP H 0R 0BB 2K W in the 3-1 win over the Nationals) made his Major League debut Aug. 19 and was playing in his fourth career game.

Scoring

• Kirby earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points as Player of the Day.

• Skenes earns 1.7 points as NL Player of the Day.

• Alonso and Waldschmidt each earn 1.5 points as their league’s Batter of the Day.

• All of Tuesday’s other Player of the Game winners (listed in the chart) earn 1.0 Box-Toppers point.

About Box-Toppers

Box-Toppers tracks who contributes most to their team’s victory. Using standard box score statistics, we identify the Player of the Game for every MLB contest. In the regular season, winners earn 1.0 Box-Toppers point, with bonus points awarded to the top overall and league-specific players of the day. More on how Box-Toppers works.

Help us stay accurate! Spot a mistake? Contact Box-Toppers here so we can fix it.

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Box‑Toppers Player of the Game winners

Here is the top player from each of the day’s games listed from highest to lowest Box‑Toppers game score (BTG).

8/25	BTG	Game	Player	AB	R	H	BI		IP	H	R	ER	BB	K
MLB	7.2	SEA 4, PHI 1	George Kirby (W, 9‑10)	‑	‑	‑	‑		7.2	6	1	1	1	9
NL	7.0	`PIT 1, SD 0	Paul Skenes	‑	‑	‑	‑		6.0	3	0	0	0	4
	6.1	ATH 4, MIN 2	Gage Jump (W, 6‑8)	‑	‑	‑	‑		6.1	3	2	2	2	9
BAT	6.0	BAL 13, STL 1	Pete Alonso 1B	4	2	4	4		‑	‑	‑	‑	‑	‑
	5.0	HOU 9, NYY 7	Yainer Diaz C	4	3	3	3		‑	‑	‑	‑	‑	‑
	5.0	CHW 11, TEX 7	Tristan Peters LF	3	2	3	3		‑	‑	‑	‑	‑	‑
	4.0	CLE 8, LAA 6 (F/10)	Steven Kwan DH‑CF	5	3	5	1		‑	‑	‑	‑	‑	‑
	4.0	BOS 7, MIA 3 (F/11)	Mickey Gasper DH	2	2	2	2		‑	‑	‑	‑	‑	‑
	3.1	SF 3, CIN 1	Anthony Molina (W, 1‑0)	‑	‑	‑	‑		4.1	1	0	0	1	1
BAT	3.0	ARI 5, CHC 4	Ryan Waldschmidt PH	1	1	1	2		‑	‑	‑	‑	‑	‑
	3.0	`NYM 3, MIL 2 (F/10)	Nate Lavender (H, 6)	‑	‑	‑	‑		2.0	0	0	0	0	1
	2.2	DET 4, TB 1	Drew Sommers (W, 1‑3)	‑	‑	‑	‑		1.2	0	0	0	0	1
	2.0	COL 3, WSH 1	Mark Manfredi (W, 1‑0)	‑	‑	‑	‑		1.0	1	0	0	0	2
	1.0	ATL 4, LAD 3	Ozzie Albies 2B	3	0	2	2		‑	‑	‑	‑	‑	‑
	1.0	KC 5, TOR 3	Seth Lugo (W, 6‑7)	‑	‑	‑	‑		5.0	6	1	1	1	5

MLB—Overall Box‑Toppers Player of the Day, worth 2.0 total Box‑Toppers points.
AL—Overall American League Player of the Day, worth 1.7 total Box‑Toppers points.
NL—Overall National League Player of the Day, worth 1.7 total Box‑Toppers points.
BAT—Top AL or NL Batter of the Day, worth 1.5 total Box‑Toppers points.
All other players listed here earn Player of the Game honors, worth 1.0 Box‑Toppers point.
` Pitcher had a no‑decision in the game and did not pick up a win or a save.
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Box-Toppers point totals of the day’s Player of the Game winners

Here are Box-Toppers point totals of each of the Player of the Game winners. Players are ranked by their Box-Toppers point total in 2026 (’26). Also shown is their point total for this season and last (’25-26), the period 2021-2026 (’21-26) and each players’ career point total. Also shown is how their 2026 Box-Toppers point total compares with their 2025 total (+/-).
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Player of the Game	Pos	Team	’26	’25‑26	’21‑26	Career	+/‑
Skenes, Paul 5005	pi sp	pit nl	12.7	33.8	46.8	46.8	-8.4
Alonso, Pete 4118	1b	bal al	8.2	15.4	50.3	58.8	+1.0
Kirby, George 4595	pi sp	sea al	7.0	18.0	58.5	58.5	-4.0
Jump, Gage 5372	pi sp	oak al	6.0	6.0	6.0	6.0	+6.0
Albies, Ozzie 3953	2b	atl nl	5.5	8.5	22.0	31.5	+2.5
Diaz, Yainer 4871	ca	hou al	3.5	6.7	10.2	10.2	+0.3
Gasper, Mickey 5267	dh	bos al	3.0	4.0	4.0	4.0	+2.0
Waldschmidt, Ryan 5361	cf ph	ari nl	2.5	2.5	2.5	2.5	+2.5
Lugo, Seth 3729	pi sp	kc al	2.0	7.0	29.5	45.5	-3.0
Peters, Tristan 5433	cf lf	chi al	2.0	2.0	2.0	2.0	+2.0
Kwan, Steven 4573	dh cf	cle al	1.0	4.5	15.7	15.7	-2.5
Molina, Anthony 5112	pi mr	sf nl	1.0	1.0	2.0	2.0	+1.0
Lavender, Nate 5448	pi mr	nym nl	1.0	1.0	1.0	1.0	+1.0
Manfredi, Mark 5450	pi mr	col nl	1.0	1.0	1.0	1.0	+1.0
Sommers, Drew 5449	pi mr	det al	1.0	1.0	1.0	1.0	+1.0

What are those numbers after players' names?
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A Box-Toppers look at Wednesday’s pitching matchups

A Box-Toppers look at the upcoming day's probable pitching matchups. Teams are paired below with visiting teams on top and home teams on the bottom. Each team's starting pitcher is shown with their Box-Toppers point total from 2026 ('26), this year and last year ('25-26), over six years ('21-26), and their career point total.
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Game	Starter	’26	’25‑26	’21‑26	Career
TB	Peralta, Freddy 3965	0.0	14.7	65.9	84.6
DET	Melton, Troy 5231	7.0	10.7	10.7	10.7
CHC	Boyd, Matthew 3550	3.0	13.7	18.7	45.5
ARI	Rodriguez, Eduardo 3480	7.0	11.7	35.7	79.9
CIN	Lodolo, Nick 4586	1.0	10.7	26.7	26.7
SF	Roupp, Landen 5079	5.0	9.7	11.7	11.7
CLE	Cantillo, Joey 5106	9.7	15.4	18.4	18.4
LAA	Rodriguez, Grayson 4790	1.0	1.0	13.0	13.0
PHI	Luzardo, Jesus 4282	18.0	35.4	66.6	71.3
SEA	Woo, Bryan 4842	13.4	31.4	51.8	51.8
PIT	Chandler, Bubba 5269	3.0	7.7	7.7	7.7
SD	Vasquez, Randy 4841	7.4	12.8	15.8	15.8
BOS	Gray, Sonny 3259	12.0	26.0	67.3	136.3
MIA	Gusto, Ryan 5156	3.0	4.0	4.0	4.0
COL	Gordon, Tanner 5230	0.0	3.7	3.7	3.7
WSH	Waldron, Matt 4946	1.0	1.0	8.0	8.0
HOU	Lambert, Peter 4155	6.7	6.7	11.7	13.7
NYY	Undecided	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0
KC	Dobnak, Randy 4263	1.0	1.0	2.0	6.0
TOR	Miles, Spencer 5357	3.0	3.0	3.0	3.0
MIL	May, Dustin 4214	6.7	12.4	20.1	24.1
NYM	Stock, Robert 5437	2.0	2.0	2.0	2.0
LAD	Sasaki, Roki 5358	5.4	5.4	5.4	5.4
ATL	Smith-Shawver, AJ 4951	0.0	4.7	6.7	6.7
TEX	Gore, MacKenzie 4582	10.0	18.7	38.4	38.4
CHW	Burke, Sean 5124	11.1	14.8	15.8	15.8
BAL	Bradish, Kyle 4597	7.1	8.1	33.1	33.1
STL	McGreevy, Michael 5113	5.0	9.0	11.0	11.0
MIN	Prielipp, Connor 5397	2.0	2.0	2.0	2.0
ATH	Ginn, J.T. 5142	4.0	9.7	9.7	9.7

Starters subject to change.
* Player has yet to earn any career Box-Toppers points.
What are those numbers after players' names?
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