Royals' Vargas tops players for Wednesday, April 19; Dodgers' Kershaw regains Box-Toppers season points lead

Royals pitcher Jason Vargas is Wednesday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day and rises to second place in season player rankings.

Top 10 players

Here are the top 10 players in Box-Toppers points (BTP) for the 2017 season as of April 19:  

	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	Santana, Ervin 2005	pi sp	min al	4.7
4	Chacin, Jhoulys 2711	pi mr sp	sd nl	3.7
5	Keuchel, Dallas 3050	pi sp	hou al	3.4
6	Morrison, Logan 2794	1b	tb al	3.2
7	Scherzer, Max 2588	pi sp	dc nl	3.0
8	Syndergaard, Noah 3472	pi sp	nym nl	3.0
9	Kimbrel, Craig 2825	pi cp	bos al	3.0
10	Devenski, Chris 3702	pi mr cp	hou al	3.0

What are those numbers after players' names?

Also Wednesday, Dodgers pitcher Clayton Kershaw regains first place in Box-Toppers season player rankings after earning Player of the Game honors.

Player of the Day—Vargas pitched seven scoreless innings, striking out nine and allowing four hits, in the 2-0 win over the Giants.

Vargas earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day, giving him 5.0 for the season, rising to second in Box-Toppers season player rankings. He trails Kershaw, who also now has 5.0 Box-Toppers points, but ranks ahead on a tiebreaker because he had more 2016 points than Vargas—24.4 vs. 1.0.

National League Player of the Day—Padres pitcher Jhoulys Chacin pitched eight scoreless innings, striking out five and allowing three hits, in the 1-0 win over the Diamondbacks.

Chacin earns 1.7 Box-Toppers points for being NL Player of the Day, giving him 3.7 for the season, rising to fourth place in season player rankings.

National League Batter of the Day—Bryce Harper of the Nationals hit two home runs, including a grand slam, in the 14-4 win over the Braves. Harper also doubled and went 4-for-4, scoring three times and driving in five total runs.

American League Batter of the Day—Mitch Haniger of the Mariners doubled and went 3-for-4, scoring three times and driving in four runs, in the 10-5 win over the Marlins.

Rankings—Dodgers pitcher Clayton Kershaw regained the lead in Box-Toppers season player rankings after earning Player of the Game honors Wednesday.

Kershaw (7IP 5H 2R BB 10K W in the 4-2 win over the Rockies) earns 1.0 Box-Toppers point, giving him 5.0 for the season, regaining the season points lead for the third time this season. Kershaw passes previous leader, Twins pitcher Ervin Santana (4.7 points), who drops to third place.

Kershaw also now has 188.7 career Box-Toppers points, fourth among all players since Box-Toppers tracking began in 1995, trailing third-place player Curt Schilling (194.1). Kershaw is the active leader in career Box-Toppers points, ahead of Yankees pitcher CC Sabathia (187.0).

Streaks—Two players extended their streaksearning Box-Toppers points for 10 or more consecutive seasons after earning Player of the Game honors Wednesday:

• Blue Jays pitcher Francisco Liriano (5.1IP 4H 0R BB 6K W in the 3-0 win over the Red Sox) has now earned Box-Toppers points for 10 straight seasons. Liriano earned his first Box-Toppers points in 2005 with the Twins, but his consecutive seasons streak earning points began in 2008 with the Twins. He has 104.2 career Box-Toppers points, 65th-most among all players since 1995, when Box-Toppers tracking began. With his point Wednesday, he passes Jamie Moyer (104.0) on the “all-time” list and now trails 64th-ranked player Carlos Beltran of the Astros (104.9). Liriano’s best season was 2013 with the Pirates when he had 16.7 Box-Toppers points, sixth among NL pitchers.
• Orioles pitcher Ubaldo Jimenez (7.2IP 2H 0R 4BB 3K W in the 2-0 win over the Reds) has now earned Box-Toppers points for 11 straight seasons and has 80.5 career points, 12th among active AL pitchers. His best year was 2013, when he had 14.5 Box-Toppers points with the Indians, ninth among AL pitchers.

Debut—Rays closing pitcher Austin Pruitt made his Box-Toppers debut Wednesday, the first time in his career he earned Player of the Game honors.

Pruitt (3.1IP H 0R 0BB 5K W in the 8-7 win over the Tigers) made his Major League debut April 2 and was playing in his seventh career game. He is the 3,773rd player to debut in Box-Toppers since record keeping began in 1995.

Scoring—Vargas earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day and Chacin earns 1.7 points for being NL Player of the Day. Harper and Haniger each earn 1.5 points for being their league’s Batter of the Day. All of Wednesday’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.

Top player from each game

Listed from highest to lowest Box-Toppers game score 

4/19	Score	Game	Player of the Game	AB	R	H	BI		IP	H	R	ER	BB	K
MLB	12.0	KC 2, SF 0	Jason Vargas (W,3-0)	-	-	-	-		7.0	4	0	0	0	9
NL	9.0	SD 1, ARI 0	Jhoulys Chacin (W,2-2)	-	-	-	-		8.0	3	0	0	1	5
BAT	8.0	WSH 14, ATL 4	Bryce Harper, RF	4	3	4	5		-	-	-	-	-	-
	7.1	TB 8, DET 7	Austin Pruitt (W,1-0)	-	-	-	-		3.1	1	0	0	0	5
	7.0	LAD 4, COL 2	Clayton Kershaw (W,3-1)	-	-	-	-		7.0	5	2	2	1	10
	6.1	TOR 3, BOS 0	Francisco Liriano (W,1-1)	-	-	-	-		5.1	4	0	0	1	6
	6.0	NYM 5, PHI 4	Jay Bruce, RF	4	2	3	5		-	-	-	-	-	-
BAT	6.0	SEA 10, MIA 5	Mitch Haniger, RF	4	3	3	4		-	-	-	-	-	-
	4.2	BAL 2, CIN 0	Ubaldo Jimenez (W,1-0)	-	-	-	-		7.2	2	0	0	4	3
	4.0	HOU 5, LAA 1	Josh Reddick, RF-LF	4	3	3	2		-	-	-	-	-	-
	3.0	STL 2, PIT 1	Dexter Fowler, CF	4	2	3	2		-	-	-	-	-	-
	3.0	CHC 7, MIL 4	Addison Russell, SS	4	1	2	4		-	-	-	-	-	-
	3.0	OAK 9, TEX 1	Khris Davis, LF	3	2	2	2		-	-	-	-	-	-
	3.0	NYY 9, CHW 1	Starlin Castro, 2B	2	1	1	3		-	-	-	-	-	-

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.

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 (’17). Also shown are each players’ Box-Toppers point total for this season and last (’16-17), the period 2012-2017 (’12-17) and each players’ career point total. Also shown is how their 2017 Box-Toppers point total compares with their 2016 total (+/-).  

Player of the Game	Pos	Team	’17	’16-17	’12-17	Career	+/-
Kershaw, Clayton 2494	pi sp	lad nl	5.0	29.4	129.1	188.7	-19.4
Vargas, Jason 2055	pi sp	kc al	5.0	6.0	31.4	52.2	4.0
Chacin, Jhoulys 2711	pi mr sp	sd nl	3.7	9.4	16.1	31.5	-2.0
Harper, Bryce 3011	rf	dc nl	3.0	6.0	30.4	30.4	0.0
Davis, Khris 3242	lf	oak al	2.5	9.2	19.2	19.2	-4.2
Haniger, MItch 3772	rf	sea al	2.5	2.5	2.5	2.5	2.5
Bruce, Jay 2453	rf	nym nl	2.0	10.5	27.7	60.8	-6.5
Castro, Starlin 2767	2b	nyy al	2.0	9.0	17.5	27.5	-5.0
Reddick, Josh 2936	rf lf	hou al	2.0	5.5	25.4	26.4	-1.5
Liriano, Francisco 2104	pi sp	tor al	1.0	9.0	58.7	104.2	-7.0
Jimenez, Ubaldo 2349	pi sp	bal al	1.0	5.7	37.6	80.5	-3.7
Russell, Addison 3559	ss	chi nl	1.0	4.5	7.0	7.0	-2.5
Fowler, Dexter 2698	cf	stl nl	1.0	2.5	16.5	19.0	-0.5
Pruitt, Austin 3773	pi cp	tb al	1.0	1.0	1.0	1.0	1.0

What are those numbers after players' names?

Orioles' Ubaldo Jimenez tops players for Thursday, Sept. 29; Giants' Cueto rises to 8th in Box-Toppers rankings

Orioles pitcher Ubaldo Jimenez is Thursday’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 Sept. 29:  

	Player	Pos	Team	BTP
1	Scherzer, Max 2588	pi sp	dc nl	25.7
2	Kershaw, Clayton 2494	pi sp	lad nl	24.4
3	Fernandez, Jose 3147	pi sp	died*	22.4
4	Lester, Jon 2173	pi sp	chi nl	22.1
5	Kluber, Corey 3200	pi sp	cle al	21.2
6	Hamels, Cole 2135	pi sp	tex al	17.8
7	Syndergaard, Noah 3472	pi sp	nym nl	16.7
8	Cueto, Johnny 2400	pi sp	sf nl	16.4
9	Arrieta, Jake 2738	pi sp	chi nl	15.7
10	Strasburg, Stephen 2736	pi sp	dc nl	15.1

What are those numbers after players' names?
* Jose Fernandez died in a boating accident Sept. 25. His team was the Miami Marlins.

Also Thursday, Giants pitcher Johnny Cueto rises to eighth place in Box-Toppers season player rankings after earning Player of the Game honors.

Player of the Day—Jimenez pitched 6 2/3 scoreless innings, allowing one hit, three walks and striking out five, in the 4-0 win over the Blue Jays.

National League Player of the Day—Dodgers pitcher Julio Urias pitched three scoreless innings, allowing one hit, two walks and striking out five, in the 9-4 win over the Padres. Urias did not earn the win, picking up a no-decision, because he exited the game in a scoreless tie and did not pitch the requisite five innings to earn the win.

American League Batter of the Day—Byron Buxton of the Twins tripled, doubled and went 2-for-3, scoring twice and driving in two runs, in the 7-6 win over the Royals.

National League Batter of the Day—There is no NL Batter of the Day for Thursday because no NL batter earned Player of the Game honors.

Rankings—Giants pitcher Johnny Cueto rises to eighth place in Box-Toppers season player rankings after earning Player of the Game honors Thursday.

Cueto (7IP 9H 2R BB 11K W in the 7-2 win over the Rockies) earns 1.0 Box-Toppers point, giving him 16.4 for the season. He ranks fifth among NL pitchers.

Notable—Yankees pitcher CC Sabathia extends his career Box-Toppers points lead among active players after earning Player of the Game honors Thursday.

Sabathia (7.1IP 4H R 2BB 8K W in the 5-1 win over the Red Sox) earns 1.0 Box-Toppers point, giving him 185.0 career points, most among active players, just ahead of Dodgers pitcher Clayton Kershaw (183.7). Sabathia ranks fifth among all players in Box-Toppers points since 1995, when Box-Toppers tracking began. He trails fourth-ranked player Alex Rodriguez (187.0). (See the updated top 20 list of player career points rankings on the homepage.) Sabathia has 6.0 Box-Toppers points on the season, now his best season since 2012 with the Yankees when he had 15.1 points.

Also notable—Pirates pitcher Ivan Nova earned Player of the Game honors Thursday in Major League Baseball’s first tie game in more than a decade.

Nova (5.1IP 4H R 0BB 5K ND in the 1-1, six-inning tie versus the Cubs) earned Player of the Game because he had the highest Box-Toppers game score (+4.1) of any player on either team. The highest-ranked Cubs player was starting pitcher Rob Zastryzny (3.2IP 2H R 2BB 4K ND, Box-Toppers game score +2.2).

Rain forced the game’s delay and it was eventually suspended and declared a tie—with player statistics counting—since the outcome would not affect either team in the standings. It is the first tie since June 30, 2005, when the Astros and Reds tied, 2-2. Player of the Game that day was shortstop Felipe Lopez of the Reds.

Weekly reports—Friday’s usual Box-Toppers team rankings and player rankings reports will be delayed until Monday, after the final games of the season are played.

Scoring—Jimenez earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day and Urias earns 1.7 points for being NL Player of the Day. Buxton earns 1.5 points for being AL 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.

Top player from each game

Listed from highest to lowest Box-Toppers game score

9/29	Score	Game	Player of Game	AB	R	H	BI		IP	H	R	ER	BB	K
MLB	7.2	BAL 4, TOR 0	Ubaldo Jimenez (W,8-12)	-	-	-	-		6.2	1	0	0	3	5
	7.1	NYY 5, BOS 1	CC Sabathia (W,9-12)	-	-	-	-		7.1	4	1	1	2	8
	5.1	`SEA 3, OAK 2	Ariel Miranda	-	-	-	-		5.1	4	1	1	0	6
NL	5.0	`LAD 9, SD 4	Julio Urias	-	-	-	-		3.0	1	0	0	2	5
	4.1	`PIT 1, CHC 1 (6)*	Ivan Nova (Pirates)	-	-	-	-		5.1	4	1	1	0	5
	4.0	SF 7, COL 2	Johnny Cueto (W,18-5)	-	-	-	-		7.0	9	2	2	1	11
BAT	3.0	MIN 7, KC 6	Byron Buxton, CF	3	2	2	2		-	-	-	-	-	-
	3.0	`ATL 5, PHI 2	Josh Collmenter	-	-	-	-		7.0	6	1	1	0	4
	2.0	`WSH 5, ARI 3	Joe Ross	-	-	-	-		4.0	3	1	1	2	5
	2.0	TB 5, CHW 3	Alex Colome (S,36)	-	-	-	-		1.0	1	0	0	0	2
	1.0	`STL 4, CIN 3	Alex Reyes	-	-	-	-		6.0	7	1	1	2	6
		`Denotes that the pitcher had a no-decision in the game and did not pick up a win or a save.
		* Game ends in official tie with statistics counting toward players' totals.

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	+/-
Cueto, Johnny 2400	pi sp	sf nl	16.4	29.2	80.4	99.8	3.6
Colome, Alex 3189	pi cp	tb al	9.0	14.0	17.7	17.7	4.0
Nova, Ivan 2796	pi sp	pit nl	8.0	9.0	30.1	31.1	7.0
Sabathia, C.C. 1492	pi sp	nyy al	6.0	11.7	46.5	185.0	0.3
Urias, Julio 3652	pi sp	lad nl	5.7	5.7	5.7	5.7	5.7
Jimenez, Ubaldo 2349	pi sp	bal al	4.7	13.4	41.6	79.5	-4.0
Buxton, Byron 3604	cf	min al	4.7	5.7	5.7	5.7	3.7
Reyes, Alex 3706	pi sp mr	stl nl	3.7	3.7	3.7	3.7	3.7
Ross, Robbie Jr. 2999	pi cp mr sp	bos al	3.0	3.0	12.7	12.7	3.0
Miranda, Ariel 3738	pi sp	sea al	2.0	2.0	2.0	2.0	2.0
Collmenter, Josh 2863	pi sp	atl nl	1.0	4.0	34.0	34.0	-2.0

What are those numbers after players' names?

Rockies' Chad Bettis tops players for Monday, Sept. 5; Orioles' Jimenez tops AL players

Rockies pitcher Chad Bettis is Monday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day.

Bettis pitched a complete-game, two-hit shutout, striking out seven and walking none, in the 6-0 win over the Giants.

Top 10 players

Here are the top 10 players in Box-Toppers points (BTP) for the 2016 season as of Sept. 5:  

	Player	Pos	Team	BTP
1	Scherzer, Max 2588	pi sp	dc nl	22.7
2	Kershaw, Clayton 2494	pi sp	lad nl	20.0
3	Fernandez, Jose 3147	pi sp	fla nl	18.4
4	Kluber, Corey 3200	pi sp	cle al	18.2
5	Lester, Jon 2173	pi sp	chi nl	17.1
6	Hamels, Cole 2135	pi sp	tex al	16.8
7	Cueto, Johnny 2400	pi sp	sf nl	14.4
8	Strasburg, Stephen 2736	pi sp	dc nl	14.1
9	Syndergaard, Noah 3472	pi sp	nym nl	14.0
10	Arrieta, Jake 2738	pi sp	chi nl	13.7

What are those numbers after players' names?

American League Player of the Day—Orioles pitcher Ubaldo Jimenez pitched a complete game, allowing three runs, two hits, one walk and striking out six, in the 7-3 win over the Rays.

American League Batter of the Day—Eric Hosmer of the Royals hit a three-run homer and went 2-for-3, scoring twice and driving in four runs, in the 11-5 win over the Twins.

National League Batter of the Day—Chris Coghlan of the Cubs hit the go-ahead, seventh-inning pinch-hit single and went 2-for-2, scoring once and driving in three runs, in the 7-2 win over the Brewers.

Notable—Tigers pitcher Justin Verlander has the most season Box-Toppers points among the 15 who earned Player of the Game honors Monday.

Verlander (7IP 8H 2R BB 11K ND in the 5-3, 11-inning win over the White Sox) earns 1.0 Box-Toppers point, giving him 11.0 for the season. He ranks 27th among all players and 10th among AL pitchers.

Verander also now has 135.6 career Box-Toppers points, 29th-most since Box-Toppers tracking began in 1995. He trails 28th-ranked player, Cubs pitcher Jon Lester (138.2).

Also notable—For the sixth time this season, a pitcher has earned Box-Toppers Player of the Game honors for batting and Adam Wainwright of the Cardinals, who did it Monday, has now done it twice in 2016.

Wainwright (2B 2-3 R 3BI in the 12-6 win over the Pirates) was also Player of the Game for batting May 2. It is the fourth time in his career Wainwright has earned Player of the Game honors for batting. He also did it July 24, 2012 and Sept. 18, 2013.

Wainwright also picked up the win in the game (5IP 7H 4R BB 5K W). His Box-Toppers game score for pitching was −6.0. His Box-Toppers game score for batting was +3.0, best of all Cardinals players Monday.

Wainwright earns 1.0 Box-Toppers point for being Player of the Game, giving him 111.0 career points. He rises to 53rd place among all players since 1995, when Box-Toppers tracking began, passing Tom Glavine (110.6) on the “all-time” list and now trails 52nd-ranked player Adrian Beltre of the Rangers (111.3). Wainwright has 9.2 Box-Toppers points on the season, 20th among NL pitchers.

Debut—Trea Turner of the Nationals made his Box-Toppers debut Monday with his first career Player of the Game honor.

Turner (HR 2B 3-4 R 3BI in the 6-4 win over the Braves) made his Major League debut Aug. 21, 2015, and was playing in his 75th career game. He is the 3,730th player to debut in Box-Toppers since record keeping began in 1995.

Scoring—Bettis earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day and Jimenez earns 1.7 points for being AL Player of the Day. Hosmer and Coghlan each earn 1.5 points for being their league’s Batter of the Day. All of Monday’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

9/5	Score	Game	Player of Game	AB	R	H	BI		IP	H	R	ER	BB	K
MLB	14.0	COL 6, SF 0	Chad Bettis (W,12-7)	-	-	-	-		9.0	2	0	0	0	7
	12.0	SD 2, BOS 1	Edwin Jackson (W,4-5)	-	-	-	-		7.0	4	0	0	2	11
	8.1	LAD 10, ARI 2	Kenta Maeda (W,14-8)	-	-	-	-		6.1	3	1	1	1	8
AL	6.0	BAL 7, TB 3	Ubaldo Jimenez (W,6-11)	-	-	-	-		9.0	2	3	3	1	6
BAT	5.0	KC 11, MIN 5	Eric Hosmer, 1B	3	2	2	4		-	-	-	-	-	-
	5.0	`DET 5, CHW 3 (11)	Justin Verlander	-	-	-	-		7.0	8	2	2	1	11
	4.0	SEA 14, TEX 6	Franklin Gutierrez, RF	4	1	3	4		-	-	-	-	-	-
BAT	4.0	CHC 7, MIL 2	Chris Coghlan, PH-RF	2	1	2	3		-	-	-	-	-	-
	3.0	NYY 5, TOR 3	Jacoby Ellsbury, CF	4	1	3	3		-	-	-	-	-	-
	3.0	WSH 6, ATL 4	Trea Turner, 2B	4	1	3	3		-	-	-	-	-	-
	3.0	NYM 5, CIN 0	Matt Reynolds, SS	4	2	3	2		-	-	-	-	-	-
	3.0	STL 12, PIT 6	Adam Wainwright, P	3	1	2	3		-	-	-	-	-	-
	3.0	LAA 10, OAK 7	Andrew Bailey (S,2)	-	-	-	-		1.0	0	0	0	0	2
	2.0	PHI 6, MIA 2	Peter Bourjos, RF	4	2	3	1		-	-	-	-	-	-
	2.0	HOU 6, CLE 2	Alex Bregman, 3B	4	2	2	2		-	-	-	-	-	-
		`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	+/-
Verlander, Justin 2112	pi sp	det al	11.0	17.4	80.6	135.6	4.6
Wainwright, Adam 2150	pi sp	stl nl	9.2	12.2	60.3	111.0	6.2
Maeda, Kenta 3609	pi sp	lad nl	8.0	8.0	8.0	8.0	8.0
Hosmer, Eric 2886	1b	kc al	7.5	16.5	30.0	30.0	-1.5
Bettis, Chad 3481	pi sp	col nl	5.7	11.1	11.1	11.1	0.3
Gutierrez, Franklin 2242	rf	sea al	3.5	4.5	8.5	23.5	2.5
Jackson, Edwin 1812	pi sp	sd nl	3.0	3.0	22.0	43.8	3.0
Jimenez, Ubaldo 2349	pi sp	bal al	2.7	11.4	39.6	77.5	-6.0
Coghlan, Chris 2610	3b rf ph	chi nl	2.5	3.5	10.0	16.5	1.5
Bregman, Alex 3721	3b	hou al	2.0	2.0	2.0	2.0	2.0
Reynolds, Matt 3650	ss ph	nym nl	2.0	2.0	2.0	2.0	2.0
Ellsbury, Jacoby 2365	cf	nyy al	1.0	4.0	23.0	30.0	-2.0
Bourjos, Peter 2790	rf	phi nl	1.0	2.0	12.5	13.5	0.0
Bailey, Andrew 2549	pi cp	ana al	1.0	1.0	5.0	18.0	1.0
Turner, Trea 3730	2b	dc nl	1.0	1.0	1.0	1.0	1.0

What are those numbers after players' names?

Cubs' Anthony Rizzo tops players for Thursday, April 7; White Sox' Latos tops AL players

Anthony Rizzo of the Cubs is Thursday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day.

Rizzo hit a three-run homer, tripled and went 3-for-4, scoring three times and driving in six runs, in the 14-6 win over the Diamondbacks.

Top 10 players

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

	Player	Pos	Team	BTP
1	Kershaw, Clayton 2494	pi sp	lad nl	2.0
2	Liriano, Francisco 2104	pi sp	pit nl	2.0
3	Syndergaard, Noah 3472	pi sp	nym nl	2.0
4	Rizzo, Anthony 3063	1b	chi nl	2.0
5	Nicasio, Juan 2888	pi sp	pit nl	2.0
6	Hamels, Cole 2135	pi sp	tex al	1.7
7	Odorizzi, Jake 3291	pi sp	tb al	1.7
8	Volquez, Edinson 2220	pi sp	kc al	1.7
9	Souza, Steven Jr. 3461	rf	tb al	1.7
10	Latos, Mat 2644	pi sp	chi al	1.7

What are those numbers after players' names?

Rizzo receives 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day and is now in fourth place in Box-Toppers season player rankings. He had 8.5 points in 2015, ranked ninth among National League batters.

American League Player of the Day—White Sox pitcher Mat Latos pitched six scoreless innings, allowing one hit and striking out two, in the 6-1 win over the Athletics.

American League Batter of the Day—Mark Teixeira of the Yankees hit a three-run homer and went 2-for-4, scoring twice, in the 8-5 win over the Astros.

Teixeira has now earned Box-Toppers points in 14 consecutive seasons. He earned his first points in 2003 with the Rangers and has 98.8 career Box-Toppers points, which ranks 70th among all players since 1995 when Box-Toppers tracking began and 27th among all batters. He ranks seventh among active batters. Teixeira’s best season was 2009 with the Yankees when he had 11.5 points, ranked sixth among AL batters. He had 7.5 points in 2015 with the Yankees, 17th among AL batters.

National League Batter of the Day—There is no separate NL Batter of the Day for Thursday because the overall Player of the Day was an NL batter, Anthony Rizzo.

Streak—Orioles pitcher Ubaldo Jimenez has now earned Box-Toppers points in 10 straight seasons after earning Player of the Game honors Thursday. Jimenez (7IP 8H 2R 9K W in the 4-2 win over the Twins) earned his first Box-Toppers points with the Rockies in 2007 and has 75.8 career points, ranked 10th among active AL pitchers. His best season was 2013 with the Indians when he had 14.5 Box-Toppers points, ninth among AL pitchers. He had 8.7 points in 2015 with the Orioles, ranked 25th among AL pitchers.

Scoring—Rizzo earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day, Latos earns 1.7 points for being AL Player of the Day and Teixeira earns 1.5 points for being AL 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.

Top player from each game

Listed from highest to lowest Box-Toppers game score

4/7	Score	Team	Player	AB	R	H	BI	BB	K		IP	H	R	ER	BB	K
MLB	8.0	Cubs	Anthony Rizzo, 1B	4	3	3	6	1	1		-	-	-	-	-	-
	6.0	Reds	Jay Bruce, RF	4	2	3	5	0	0		-	-	-	-	-	-
AL	6.0	White Sox	Mat Latos (W,1-0)	-	-	-	-	-	-		6.0	1	0	0	1	2
	5.0	Orioles	Ubaldo Jimenez (W,1-0)	-	-	-	-	-	-		7.0	8	2	1	0	9
	4.0	Giants	Joe Panik, 2B	5	3	3	3	0	0		-	-	-	-	-	-
BAT	3.0	Yankees	Mark Teixeira, 1B	4	2	2	3	0	2		-	-	-	-	-	-
	3.0	Marlins	David Phelps (W,1-0)	-	-	-	-	-	-		4.0	2	0	0	2	3
	2.0	`Angels	Hector Santiago	-	-	-	-	-	-		6.0	4	3	2	2	7
		`Denotes that the pitcher had a no-decision in the game and did not pick up a win or a save.

Nationals' Strasburg tops players for Saturday, Aug. 8; Blue Jays' Price rises to 2nd in Box-Toppers player rankings

Nationals pitcher Stephen Strasburg is Saturday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day.

Also Saturday, Blue Jays pitcher David Price rose to second place in Box-Toppers season player rankings and now leads AL pitchers in Box-Toppers points.

Player of the Day—Strasburg struck out 12 over seven innings, allowing one run and three hits, in the 6-1 win over the Rockies.

Top 10 players

Here are the top 10 players in Box-Toppers points (BTP) for the 2015 season as of Aug. 8.  

	Player	Pos	Team	BTP
1	deGrom, Jacob 3343	pi sp	nym nl	17.4
2	Price, David 2593	pi sp	tor al	16.1
3	Scherzer, Max 2588	pi sp	dc nl	16.0
4	Gray, Sonny 3259	pi sp	oak al	15.8
5	Hernandez, Felix 2064	pi sp	sea al	15.4
6	Kershaw, Clayton 2494	pi sp	lad nl	15.0
7	Sale, Chris 2806	pi sp	chi al	14.4
8	Harvey, Matt 3075	pi sp	nym nl	14.4
9	Greinke, Zack 1871	pi sp	lad nl	14.0
10	Keuchel, Dallas 3050	pi sp	hou al	13.7

What are those numbers after players' names?

American League Player of the Day—Orioles pitcher Ubaldo Jimenez pitched eight scoreless innings, allowing two hits and striking out six, in the 5-0 win over the Angels.

American League Batter of the Day—Abraham Almonte of the Indians homered, hit two doubles and went 4-for-5, scoring three times and driving in two runs, in the 17-4 win over the Twins.

This was Almonte’s Box-Toppers debut, the first time in his career he earned Player of the Game honors. He made his Major League debut Aug. 30, 2013, and was playing in his 116th career game. He is the 3,554th player to debut in Box-Toppers since record keeping began in 1995.

National League Batter of the Day—Francisco Liriano of the Pirates hit a three-run homer in the 6-5 win over the Dodgers. Liriano is the seventh pitcher this season to earn Player of the Game honors for batting. He earns 1.5 Box-Toppers points for being NL Batter of the Day, giving him 10.9 for the season and becomes the 23rd player this season with 10 or more Box-Toppers points. He ranks 17th among all players and ninth among NL pitchers.

Rankings—Blue Jays pitcher David Price rises to second place in Box-Toppers season player rankings after earning Player of the Game honors Saturday.

Price (7IP 3H 0R 7K W in the 6-0 win over the Yankees) earns 1.0 Box-Toppers point, giving him 16.1 for the season. He trails overall leader, Mets pitcher Jacob deGrom (17.4 Box-Toppers points). Price takes the Box-Toppers points lead among AL pitchers, passing Sonny Gray of the Athletics (15.8), who only took the AL pitching lead Friday.

Scoring—Strasburg earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day and Jimenez earns 1.7 Box-Toppers points for being AL Player of the Day. Almonte and Liriano 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.

Top player from each game

Listed from highest to lowest Box-Toppers game score

8/8	Score	Team	Player	AB	R	H	BI	BB	K		IP	H	R	ER	BB	K
MLB	14.0	Nationals	Stephen Strasburg (W,6-5)	-	-	-	-	-	-		7.0	3	1	1	0	12
AL	11.0	Orioles	Ubaldo Jimenez (W,9-7)	-	-	-	-	-	-		8.0	2	0	0	1	6
	8.0	Blue Jays	David Price (W,11-4)	-	-	-	-	-	-		7.0	3	0	0	3	7
	6.0	Cardinals	Jaime Garcia (W,4-4)	-	-	-	-	-	-		7.0	2	0	0	4	5
BAT	4.0	Indians	Abraham Almonte, CF	5	3	4	2	0	0		-	-	-	-	-	-
BAT	4.0	Pirates	Francisco Liriano, P	1	1	1	3	0	0		-	-	-	-	-	-
	4.0	Rangers	Shawn Tolleson (W,4-2)	-	-	-	-	-	-		2.0	1	0	0	2	5
	4.0	Royals	Greg Holland (S,25)	-	-	-	-	-	-		1.0	0	0	0	0	3
	3.0	Cubs	Kris Bryant, 3B	3	2	1	3	1	1		-	-	-	-	-	-
	3.0	Phillies	Ken Giles (S,5)	-	-	-	-	-	-		1.0	0	0	0	0	2
	2.0	Braves	Andrelton Simmons, SS	2	1	1	2	1	0		-	-	-	-	-	-
	2.0	Tigers	Bruce Rondon (S,1)	-	-	-	-	-	-		1.0	0	0	0	1	2
	2.0	Reds	Aroldis Chapman (S,24)	-	-	-	-	-	-		1.0	1	0	0	0	2
	1.0	Rays	Grady Sizemore, LF	4	1	2	2	0	1		-	-	-	-	-	-
	1.0	Athletics	Coco Crisp, LF	0	1	0	0	1	0		-	-	-	-	-	-

Orioles' Jimenez tops players for Sunday, June 28; Dodgers' Greinke rises to 23rd in Box-Toppers 'all-time' rankings

Orioles pitcher Ubaldo Jimenez is Sunday’s Box-Toppers Player of the Day.

Also Sunday, Dodgers pitcher Zack Greinke rose to 23rd place in Box-Toppers points among all players since 1995 after earning Player of the Game honors. Plus, Cardinals pitcher Carlos Martinez rose to seventh place in Box-Toppers season player rankings.

Top 10 players

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

	Player	Pos	Team	BTP
1	Scherzer, Max 2588	pi sp	dc nl	14.0
2	Hernandez, Felix 2064	pi sp	sea al	13.4
3	Archer, Chris 3194	pi sp	tb al	12.0
4	Cole, Gerrit 3232	pi sp	pit nl	12.0
5	deGrom, Jacob 3343	pi sp	nym nl	11.4
6	Price, David 2593	pi sp	det al	11.1
7	Martinez, Carlos 3371	pi sp	stl nl	10.7
8	Sale, Chris 2806	pi sp	chi al	10.4
9	Keuchel, Dallas 3050	pi sp	hou al	9.7
10	Harvey, Matt 3075	pi sp	nym nl	9.7

What are those numbers after players' names?

Player of the Day—Jimenez pitched eight scoreless innings, allowing four hits and striking out seven, in the 4-0 win over the Indians.

National League Player of the Day—Braves pitcher Alex Wood pitched 7 1/3 scoreless innings, allowing five hits and striking out eight, in the 2-1 win over the Pirates.

National League Batter of the Day—Mets pitcher Steven Matz doubled and went 3-for-3, driving in four runs, in the 7-2 win over the Reds. Matz is the fourth pitcher this year to earn Player of the Game honors for batting (it was done eight times in 2014).

This was also Matz’ Box-Toppers debut, the first time in his career he earned Player of the Game honors. It was also his Major League debut. He is the 3,516th player to debut in Box-Toppers since record keeping began in 1995.

American League Batter of the Day—Salvador Perez of the Royals homered and went 1-for-4, scoring twice and driving in three runs, in the 5-3 win over the Athletics.

Notable—Dodgers pitcher Zack Greinke rose to 23rd place in Box-Toppers points among all players since 1995 (when Box-Toppers record keeping began) after earning Player of the Game honors Sunday.

Greinke (7.2IP 4H 0R 6K W in the 2-0 win over the Marlins) earns 1.0 Box-Toppers point, giving him 133.7 for his career. With his point Sunday, he passes three players on Box-Toppers “all-time” player rankings list: Miguel Cabrera (132.9), Jason Giambi (133.4) and David Ortiz (133.4). He trails 22nd-ranked player Bartolo Colon (136.4). Greinke ranks 17th among all pitchers since 1995.

Greinke also has 8.0 Box-Toppers points on the season, ranked 14th among all players, eighth among NL pitchers.

Rankings—Cardinals pitcher Carlos Martinez rose to seventh place in Box-Toppers season player rankings after earning Player of the Game honors Sunday. Martinez (6IP 2H R 6K W in the 4-1 win over the Cubs) earns 1.0 Box-Toppers point, giving him 10.7 for the season. He ranks fourth among NL pitchers. He is the eighth player this season with 10.0 or more Box-Toppers points.

Also, three pitchers with more than 10.0 Box-Toppers points this season started Sunday but did not earn Player of the Game honors:

• Mariners pitcher Felix Hernandez (ranked second with 13.4 Box-Toppers points) did not earn Player of the Game honors in his team’s 3-2, 10-inning loss to the Angels. Hernandez (6IP H 0R 8K ND) had a Box-Toppers game score of 10. Player of the Game was Angels pitcher Hector Santiago (7IP 3H R 6 ND) who had a lower Box-Toppers game score of 6, but had the highest game score of any player on the Angels, the winning team.
• Rays pitcher Chris Archer (ranked third with 12.0 Box-Toppers points) did not earn Player of the Game honors in his team’s 5-3 loss to the Red Sox. Archer (6IP 5H 5R 10K L) had a Box-Toppers game score of 0. Player of the Game was Red Sox pitcher Justin Masterson (5IP 5H R 6K W) who had a Box-Toppers game score of 5.
• Tigers pitcher David Price (ranked sixth with 11.1 Box-Toppers points) did not earn Player of the Game honors in his team’s 5-4 win over the White Sox. Price (6IP 6H 4R 5K ND) had a Box-Toppers game score of −3. Player of the Game was Tigers closing pitcher Joakim Soria (1IP 0H 0R K W) who had a Box-Toppers game score of 2.

Debut—In addition to Matz, two other players made their Box-Toppers debut Sunday, the first time in their career they earned Player of the Game honors:

• Jake Lamb of the Diamondbacks (HR 2-4 2R 2BI in the 6-4 win over the Padres) made his Major League debut Aug. 7, 2014, and was playing in his 64th career game. He is the 3,517th player to debut in Box-Toppers since record keeping began in 1995.
• Mets pitcher Logan Verrett (2IP H 0R K ND in the 2-1 win over the Reds) made his Major League debut April 8 and was playing in his eighth career game. He is the 3,518th player to debut in Box-Toppers since record keeping began in 1995.

Scoring—Jimenez earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day and Wood earns 1.7 Box-Toppers points for being NL Player of the Day. Matz and Perez each earn 1.5 Box-Toppers 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.

Top player from each game

Listed from highest to lowest Box-Toppers game score

6/28	Score	Team	Player	AB	R	H	BI	BB	K		IP	H	R	ER	BB	K
MLB	11.0	Orioles	Ubaldo Jimenez (W, 7-3)	-	-	-	-	-	-		8.0	4	0	0	0	7
NL	10.1	Braves	Alex Wood (W, 5-5)	-	-	-	-	-	-		7.1	5	0	0	0	8
	10.0	Astros	Collin McHugh (W, 9-3)	-	-	-	-	-	-		8.0	2	1	1	2	8
	9.0	Orioles	Chris Tillman (W, 6-7)	-	-	-	-	-	-		7.0	4	0	0	0	6
	8.2	Dodgers	Zack Greinke (W, 6-2)	-	-	-	-	-	-		7.2	4	0	0	1	6
	7.0	Nationals	Stephen Strasburg (W, 5-5)	-	-	-	-	-	-		7.0	4	2	2	1	9
	6.0	`Angels	Hector Santiago	-	-	-	-	-	-		7.0	3	1	1	2	6
	5.2	Blue Jays	Drew Hutchison (W, 8-1)	-	-	-	-	-	-		5.2	4	1	0	3	8
	5.0	Cardinals	Carlos Martinez (W, 9-3)	-	-	-	-	-	-		6.0	2	1	1	3	6
	5.0	Red Sox	Justin Masterson (W, 3-2)	-	-	-	-	-	-		5.0	5	1	0	0	6
	4.2	Giants	Madison Bumgarner (W, 8-4)	-	-	-	-	-	-		7.2	5	2	2	2	8
BAT	4.0	Mets	Steven Matz P	3	0	3	4	0	0		-	-	-	-	-	-
	2.0	Dbacks	Jake Lamb 3B	4	2	2	2	0	1		-	-	-	-	-	-
BAT	2.0	Royals	Salvador Perez C	4	2	1	3	0	0		-	-	-	-	-	-
	2.0	Brewers	Ryan Braun RF	2	1	1	2	2	0		-	-	-	-	-	-
	2.0	`Mets	Logan Verrett	-	-	-	-	-	-		2.0	1	0	0	0	1
	2.0	Tigers	Joakim Soria (W, 3-0)	-	-	-	-	-	-		1.0	0	0	0	0	1
	1.0	Phillies	Odubel Herrera CF	5	2	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.

Pirates' Gerrit Cole tops players for Wednesday, April 29, rises to 2nd in Box-Toppers player rankings

Pirates pitcher Gerrit Cole is Wednesday’s Player of the Day and rises to second place in Box-Toppers player rankings.

Cole struck out eight over six innings, allowing one run, in the 8-1 win over the Cubs. He earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day, giving him 6.0 for the season.

While Cole has the same number of Box-Toppers points as overall leader Mariners pitcher Felix Hernandez, Cole is in second place in player rankings because he had fewer points in 2014—Hernandez had 20.8, Cole had 5.7.

Top 10 players

Here are the top 10 players in Box-Toppers points (BTP) for the 2015 season as of April 29.  

	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	Stanton, Giancarlo 2737	rf	fla nl	4.5
6	Cueto, Johnny 2400	pi sp	cin nl	4.4
7	Kazmir, Scott 1947	pi sp	oak al	3.7
8	Cabrera, Miguel 1776	1b	det al	3.7
9	Harvey, Matt 3075	pi sp	nym nl	3.7
10	DeSclafani, Anthony 3441	pi sp	cin nl	3.7

What are those numbers after players' names?

American League Player of the Day—Astros pitcher Dallas Keuchel allowed one run over eight innings in the 7-2 win over the Padres. Keuchel rose to fourth place in Box-Toppers player rankings. He earned 1.7 Box-Toppers points for being AL Player of the Day, giving him 4.7 for the season.

Keuchel had a Box-Toppers game score Wednesday of 7.0, tied with three other AL players—Orioles pitcher Ubaldo Jimenez, Red Sox pitcher Rick Porcello and Rays pitcher Drew Smyly. But Keuchel beat Smyly in a tiebreaker because he earned the win in his game, while Smyly had a no-decision. And Keuchel beat Jimenez and Porcello in a tiebreaker because he had more innings pitched—he had eight, while the other two both had seven.

National League League Batter of the Day—Ryan Braun of the Brewers hit two home runs, including a grand slam, and went 3-for-5, in the 8-3 win over the Reds.

American League Batter of the Day—Roberto Perez of the Indians homered, doubled and went 3-for-3 with three runs and two RBIs, in the 7-5 win over the Royals.

Rankings—Miguel Cabrera of the Tigers rose to eighth place in Box-Toppers player rankings after earning Player of the Game honors Wednesday (2HR 2B 3-5 2R 4BI in the 10-7 win over the Twins). Cabrera earned 1.0 Box-Toppers point, giving him 3.7 for the season. He leads all American League batters.

Cabrera now has 131.9 career Box-Toppers points and moves up to 25th among all players since 1995, when Box-Toppers record keeping began. With Wednesday’s point, Cabrera passes Giants pitcher Jake Peavy (131.8 Box-Toppers points). Cabrera now trails Jason Giambi and David Ortiz (who both have 133.4)

Cabrera ranks ninth among all batters since 1995 and is the fourth-ranked active batter, behind Alex Rodriguez (181.8), Albert Pujols (167.3) and David Ortiz (133.4).

Scoring—Cole earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day and Keuchel earns 1.7 Box-Toppers points for being AL Player of the Day. Braun and Perez each earn 1.5 Box-Toppers points for being their league’s Batter of the Day. All of Wednesday’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

4/29	Score	Team	Player	AB	R	H	BI	BB	K		IP	H	R	ER	BB	K
MLB	9.0	Pirates	Gerrit Cole (W, 4-0)	-	-	-	-	-	-		6.0	3	1	0	1	8
	8.0	Dbacks	Josh Collmenter (W, 2-3)	-	-	-	-	-	-		8.0	5	1	0	0	6
AL	7.0	Astros	Dallas Keuchel (W, 3-0)	-	-	-	-	-	-		8.0	3	1	1	0	4
	7.0	Orioles	Ubaldo Jimenez (W, 2-1)	-	-	-	-	-	-		7.0	3	2	0	1	6
	7.0	Red Sox	Rick Porcello (W, 2-2)	-	-	-	-	-	-		7.0	2	1	1	2	6
	7.0	`Rays	Drew Smyly	-	-	-	-	-	-		6.0	4	2	2	1	10
BAT	5.0	Brewers	Ryan Braun RF	5	2	3	5	0	0		-	-	-	-	-	-
BAT	5.0	Indians	Roberto Perez C	3	3	3	2	1	0		-	-	-	-	-	-
	4.0	Tigers	Miguel Cabrera 1B	5	2	3	4	0	1		-	-	-	-	-	-
	4.0	Angels	Mike Trout CF	3	2	2	3	1	1		-	-	-	-	-	-
	4.0	Marlins	Sam Dyson (W, 1-0)	-	-	-	-	-	-		2.0	0	0	0	0	2
	3.0	Nationals	Danny Espinosa 3B	5	2	4	2	0	1		-	-	-	-	-	-
	2.1	`Mariners	Danny Farquhar (H, 4)	-	-	-	-	-	-		1.1	0	0	0	0	1
	2.0	`Cardinals	Jordan Walden (H, 8)	-	-	-	-	-	-		1.0	0	0	0	0	1
	1.0	Dodgers	Scott Van Slyke LF	2	1	1	1	1	0		-	-	-	-	-	-
		`Denotes that the pitcher had a no-decision in the game and did not pick up a win or a save.

Orioles' Ubaldo Jimenez (7IP 0R H 8K) tops players for Saturday, April 11

Orioles pitcher Ubaldo Jimenez is Saturday’s Player of the Day. 

Jimenez pitched seven scoreless innings, allowing one hit and striking out eight, in the 7-1 win over the Blue Jays.

National League Player of the Day—Brewers pitcher Jimmy Nelson pitched seven scoreless innings, allowing two hits and striking out nine, in the 6-0 win over the Pirates.

Top 10 players

Here are the top 10 players in Box-Toppers points (BTP) for the 2015 season as of April 11.  

	Player	Pos	Team	BTP
1	Hernandez, Felix 2064	pi sp	sea al	2.0
2	Wainwright, Adam 2150	pi sp	stl nl	2.0
3	Kazmir, Scott 1947	pi sp	oak al	2.0
4	Wilson, C.J. 2074	pi sp	ana al	2.0
5	Bauer, Trevor 3065	pi sp	cle al	2.0
6	Pomeranz, Drew 3061	pi sp	oak al	2.0
7	Jimenez, Ubaldo 2349	pi sp	bal al	2.0
8	Cueto, Johnny 2400	pi sp	cin nl	1.7
9	Harang, Aaron 1599	pi sp	phi nl	1.7
10	Peralta, David 3370	lf	ari nl	1.7

What are those numbers after players' names?

American League Batter of the Day—Ian Kinsler of the Tigers went 4-for-5, scored three times and drove in two runs, in the 9-6 win over the Indians.

National League Batter of the Day—Dexter Fowler of the Cubs hit two triples, scoring twice and driving in two runs, in the 9-5 win over the Rockies.

Debut—Diamondbacks pitcher Archie Bradley made his Box-Toppers debut Saturday, the first time in his career he earned Player of the Game honors. It was also his Major League debut. Bradley (6IP H 0R 6K in the 6-0 win over the Dodgers) is the 3,438th player to debut in Box-Toppers since record keeping began in 1995.

Kershaw—Dodgers pitcher Clayton Kershaw, last year’s overall leader in Box-Toppers points with 31.5, has yet to earn his first Box-Toppers points of the season after two starts. Only once last season did Kershaw have two straight starts when he failed to win Player of the Game honors and earn Box-Toppers points (May 11 and May 17). Saturday he gave up 10 hits and six runs (five earned) over 6 1/3 innings, striking out five, and picking up the loss in the 6-0 loss to the Diamondbacks.

Scoring—Jimenez earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day and Nelson earns 1.7 Box-Toppers points for being NL Player of the Day. Kinsler and Fowler 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.

Top player from each game

Listed from highest to lowest Box-Toppers game score

411	Score	Team	Player	AB	R	H	BI	BB	K		IP	H	R	ER	BB	K
MLB	13.0	Orioles	Ubaldo Jimenez (W, 1-0)	-	-	-	-	-	-		7.0	1	0	0	1	8
NL	12.0	Brewers	Jimmy Nelson (W, 1-0)	-	-	-	-	-	-		7.0	2	0	0	2	9
	10.0	Rays	Chris Archer (W, 1-1)	-	-	-	-	-	-		7.0	1	0	0	1	5
	8.0	Padres	James Shields (W, 1-0)	-	-	-	-	-	-		7.0	3	1	1	1	7
	7.0	Dbacks	Archie Bradley (W, 1-0)	-	-	-	-	-	-		6.0	1	0	0	4	6
	6.0	`Phillies	Cole Hamels	-	-	-	-	-	-		7.0	2	1	1	2	5
BAT	4.0	Tigers	Ian Kinsler 2B	5	3	4	2	0	1		-	-	-	-	-	-
	4.0	White Sox	David Robertson (S, 1)	-	-	-	-	-	-		1.0	0	0	0	0	3
	3.2	Cardinals	Trevor Rosenthal (S, 2)	-	-	-	-	-	-		1.2	0	0	0	0	2
BAT	3.0	Cubs	Dexter Fowler CF	3	2	2	2	2	0		-	-	-	-	-	-
	2.0	Mariners	Nelson Cruz RF	5	1	3	3	0	1		-	-	-	-	-	-
	2.0	Royals	Greg Holland (S, 3)	-	-	-	-	-	-		1.0	0	0	0	0	1
	1.0	Yankees	Chris Young CF	4	1	1	3	0	0		-	-	-	-	-	-
	1.0	Braves	Julio Teheran (W, 2-0)	-	-	-	-	-	-		6.0	2	3	1	4	5
	0.0	Rangers	Rougned Odor 2B	3	1	1	1	1	1		-	-	-	-	-	-
		`Denotes that the pitcher had a no-decision in the game and did not pick up a win or a save.

ALCS Preview: Royals may have edge not because their pitching is strong, but because Orioles' pitching is weak

The Kansas City Royals may have an edge over the Baltimore Orioles in the American League Championship Series not because their pitching is so strong but because the Orioles pitching staff is comparatively weaker.

However, the Orioles have the overall higher Box-Toppers team ranking and have two outfielders on Box-Toppers end-of-season 2014 All-Star team. The best-of-seven game ALCS begins Friday in Baltimore.

Below are position-by-position match-ups of each player likely in the starting line-up for both teams, along with the highest-rated starting pitchers in Box-Toppers points, the top closing pitcher and an extra pitcher. Also listed are each player’s Box-Toppers points earned in 2014, along with their overall rank among all players.

The top pitcher for both teams, James Shields of the Royals, had 13.7 Box-Toppers points during the regular season, ranking 22nd among all players. The Orioles top pitcher is Bud Norris, with 10.7, ranked 51st among all players. Only three other teams in baseball had their top pitcher earn fewer Box-Toppers points than Norris:

• Padres, Ross Tyson, 9.7.

• Red Sox, Koji Uehara, 9.0.

• Rockies, Tyler Matzek, 4.7.

In fact, the Orioles are one of only two teams in baseball whose leader in Box-Toppers points was a batter—Adam Jones, with 11.5 points, ranked 40th among all players. (The other team was the Rockies—Troy Tulowitzki had 11.6 points.)

Matching up the four top starting pitchers from highest to lowest Box-Toppers points from both teams, the Royals have the edge each time (see the chart below). The Royals also have the edge in closers (Greg Holland with 7.0 over Zachary Britton with 6.0). The Royals also have the edge when matching up the next-highest rated pitcher (Jeremy Guthrie, 7.0 over Ubaldo Jimenez, 3.7). And one more thing, not included in the chart below—the Royals also have the AL’s top middle relief pitcher, Wade Davis, who has 7.0 Box-Toppers points.

The Orioles have the edge in overall Box-Toppers team rankings from 2014. They rank sixth among all teams with 113.4 Box-Toppers points, while the Royals are ranked 10th with 101.1 points—the Royals were the lowest ranked team that qualified for any of the four league division series. However, the Orioles will play the ALCS without suspended first baseman, Chris Davis, who earned 6.2 Box-Toppers points during the regular season.

The Orioles also have two players who will be on Box-Toppers end-of-season AL All-Star team. Adam Jones had the most Box-Toppers points among AL outfielders with 11.5. Nelson Cruz was second with 8.5. The Orioles also have the most notable batter (not included in the prospective starting line-up below) coming off the bench—Delmon Young with 5.5 Box-Toppers points.

However, looking at the prospective starting line-ups below, Royals batters have higher Box-Toppers point totals at five positions, while the Orioles are better in four. Also, adding up Box-Toppers points for the nine batters and six pitchers listed below, the Royals have the point total advantage—83.1 Box-Toppers points vs. 81.5.

Both teams were able to get a lot of bang for their buck this season, spending comparatively little and making it all the way to the ALCS. The Orioles had an opening day payroll of $107 million, ranking 15th among all teams. The Royals’ payroll of $92 million, ranked 19th.

ALCS Game 1, Royals at Orioles

The pitching matchup Friday:

Royals: James Shields, 13.7 Box-Toppers points, ranked 22nd among all players, 11th among AL pitchers.

Orioles: Chris Tillman, 6.0 Box-Toppers points, ranked 152nd among all players, 53rd among AL pitchers.

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.

AL Championship Series player comparisons

Likely starting players for the Royals and Orioles listed by position with their Box-Toppers point total (BTP) for the 2014 regular season and their overall player rank among all players

Pos	Royals	BTP	Rank		Orioles	BTP	Rank
1B	Eric Hosmer	2.5	368		Steve Pearce	7.0	121
2B	Omar Infante	4.0	243		Jonathan Schoop	2.5	395
SS	Alicides Escboar	5.0	190		J.J. Hardy	4.2	236
3B	Mike Moustakas	4.0	251		Ryan Flaherty	0	761
CA	Salvador Perez	4.7	210		Caleb Joseph	2.0	470
CF	Lorenzo Cain	2.0	421		Adam Jones	11.5	40
LF	Alex Gordon	3.0	203		Alejandro De Aza	1.0	537
RF	Norichika Aoki	2.0	443		Nick Markakis	3.0	320
DH	Billy Butler	2.5	365		Nelson Cruz	8.5	77
SP	James Shields	13.7	22		Bud Norris	10.7	51
SP	Danny Duffy	10.0	58		Miguel Gonzalez	8.7	70
SP	Yordano Ventura	8.7	75		Wei-Yin Chen	6.7	131
SP	Jason Vargas	7.0	107		Chris Tillman	6.0	152
CP	Greg Holland	7.0	106		Zachary Britton	6.0	161
PI	Jeremy Guthrie	7.0	113		Ubaldo Jimenez	3.7	270

Cubs' Jake Arrieta (7.2 IP 1H 0R 10K) tops players for Monday, June 30

Cubs pitcher Jake Arrieta is Monday’s Player of the Day. Arrieta, who took a no-hitter into the eighth inning, pitched 7 2/3 scoreless innings, giving up one hit and striking out 10 in the 2-0 win over the Red Sox.

Arrieta earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day, giving him 7.7 for the season. He is in 25th place in Box-Toppers player rankings and 11th among National League pitchers.

Orioles pitcher Ubaldo Jimenez is American League Player of the Day. Jimenez struck out seven over eight innings, allowing one run, in the 7-1 win over the Rangers.

Rajai Davis of the Tigers is AL Batter of the Day. Davis hit a walk-off grand slam and went 2-for-5 in the 5-4 win over the Athletics.

Ryan Zimmerman of the Nationals is NL Batter of the Day. Zimmerman went 3-for-4, scoring twice and driving in a run, in the 7-3 win over the Rockies.

Arrieta receives 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day. Jimenez receives 1.7 for AL Player of the Day. Davis and Zimmerman 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 Monday, 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

630	Score	Team	Player	AB	R	H	BI	BB	K		IP	H	R	ER	BB	K
MLB	15.2	Cubs	Jake Arrieta (W, 5-1)	-	-	-	-	-	-		7.2	1	0	0	1	10
	10.0	Dodgers	Dan Haren (W, 8-4)	-	-	-	-	-	-		7.0	1	0	0	1	5
AL	9.0	Orioles	Ubaldo Jimenez (W, 3-8)	-	-	-	-	-	-		8.0	4	1	0	1	7
	9.0	Padres	Jesse Hahn (W, 4-1)	-	-	-	-	-	-		5.0	3	0	0	2	9
	3.0	Rays	Brad Boxberger (W, 1-1)	-	-	-	-	-	-		2.0	0	0	0	0	1
BAT	2.0	Tigers	Rajai Davis LF	5	1	2	4	0	2		-	-	-	-	-	-
	2.0	Mariners	Robinson Cano 2B	5	2	2	3	0	1		-	-	-	-	-	-
BAT	2.0	Nationals	Ryan Zimmerman 3B	4	2	3	1	0	0		-	-	-	-	-	-
	2.0	Royals	Alcides Escobar SS	4	0	2	4	0	0		-	-	-	-	-	-
	2.0	Braves	Craig Kimbrel (S, 25)	-	-	-	-	-	-		1.0	0	0	0	0	1

Orioles' Jimenez tops players for Friday, May 2; Tulowitzki takes lead in Box-Toppers player rankings

Orioles pitcher Ubaldo Jimenez is Friday’s Player of the Day, while Troy Tulowitzki of the Rockies takes the lead in season Box-Toppers player rankings.

Jimenez pitched 7 1/3 scoreless innings, striking out 10 in the 3-0 win over the Twins.

Tulowitzki now has more Box-Toppers points than any other player this season after earning National League Batter of the Day honors Friday. Tulowitzki went 3-for-4 and drove in three runs in the 10-3 win over the Mets. He earns 1.5 Box-Toppers points for being NL Batter of the Day, giving him 7.4 for the season. He rises from third to first place in Box-Toppers season player rankings, passing previous leader Jose Fernandez of the Marlins (7.0). (See the updated top 10 list on the home page.)

Diamondbacks pitcher Bronson Arroyo is NL Player of the Day. Arroyo pitched seven scoreless innings and struck out six in the 2-0 win over the Padres.

Dustin Pedroia of the Red Sox is American League Batter of the Day. Pedroia hit a grand slam and went 2-for-3 in the 7-1 win over the Athletics.

Jimenez receives 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day. Arroyo receives 1.7 for NL Player of the Day. Pedroia and Tulowitzki each receive 1.5 for being top Batter of the Day in their league.

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

Box-Toppers tracks who most helps their team win the most games. Using standard box score statistics, Box-Toppers uses a simple formula to determine a Player of the Game for each Major League Baseball game played. That player is the person who contributed most to his team’s win. Players earn Box-Toppers points for being named Player of the Game and can earn bonus points for being Player of the Day or top player or batter in their league for the day.

Top player from each game

Listed from highest to lowest Box-Toppers game score

502	Score	Team	Player	AB	R	H	BI	BB	K		IP	H	R	ER	BB	K
MLB	13.1	Orioles	Ubaldo Jimenez (W, 1-4)	-	-	-	-	-	-		7.1	3	0	0	1	10
	10.0	Brewers	Wily Peralta (W, 4-1)	-	-	-	-	-	-		8.0	3	0	0	2	7
NL	9.0	Dbacks	Bronson Arroyo (W, 2-2)	-	-	-	-	-	-		7.0	3	0	0	1	6
	6.0	Marlins	Tom Koehler (W, 3-2)	-	-	-	-	-	-		7.0	3	0	0	2	4
BAT	5.0	Red Sox	Dustin Pedroia 2B	3	2	2	4	2	0		-	-	-	-	-	-
	5.0	Tigers	Rick Porcello (W, 4-1)	-	-	-	-	-	-		7.0	4	2	2	0	6
BAT	4.0	Rockies	Troy Tulowitzki SS	4	2	3	3	0	0		-	-	-	-	-	-
	4.0	Cubs	Anthony Rizzo 1B	3	2	2	3	1	0		-	-	-	-	-	-
	3.0	Indians	Michael Brantley LF	5	2	3	3	0	1		-	-	-	-	-	-
	3.0	Astros	Anthony Bass (W, 1-0)	-	-	-	-	-	-		2.0	0	0	0	0	1
	3.0	`Rays	David Price	-	-	-	-	-	-		7.0	8	2	2	0	8
	2.0	Rangers	Shin-Soo Choo LF	4	1	3	2	0	0		-	-	-	-	-	-
	2.0	Pirates	Neil Walker 2B	4	3	3	0	0	0		-	-	-	-	-	-
	1.0	Nationals	Tyler Moore LF, 1B	4	2	2	1	0	2		-	-	-	-	-	-
	0.0	Giants	Michael Morse LF	4	1	2	1	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 pitching leaders Clayton Kershaw, Max Scherzer win Cy Young Awards

Box-Toppers highest-ranked pitchers in each league for the season were selected Wednesday as 2013‘s Cy Young Award winners.

Dodgers pitcher Clayton Kershaw was chosen as National League Cy Young Award winner. He led all players in Box-Toppers points for the season with 21.7.

Tigers pitcher Max Scherzer was chosen as American League Cy Young Award winner. He led all AL pitchers in Box-Toppers points with 18.1. He ranked fifth among all players.

Voting by the Baseball Writers Association of America for the Cy Young Award for top pitcher coincided, generally, with Box-Toppers Player Rankings. There were some anomalies and snubs.

Five pitchers who ranked in the top 10 among pitchers in their league were completely left off all ballots. Among those who received no votes for Cy Young:

• Patrick Corbin of the Diamondbacks. He had 17.4 Box-Toppers points and ranked fifth among all NL pitchers. Corbin briefly led all players in Box-Toppers rankings in July.
• Justin Masterson of the Indians. He had 16.4 Box-Toppers points and ranked third among all AL pitchers and 10th among all players. Masterson led all players in Box-Toppers points at five different times in the season, including being the overall leader for nearly a month from July 21 to Aug. 17. He led all AL pitchers in Box-Toppers points until Sept. 15, when he was finally passed by Scherzer. True, Masterson did not pitch much or pitch well down the stretch. His last Box-Toppers Player of the Game honor came on July 27. Still he was the player who most helped his team win 11 games—more than many pitchers who received votes—and should have been given some consideration among voters.
• Lance Lynn of the Cardinals. He had 16.1 Box-Toppers points and ranked seventh among all NL pitchers.
• Shelby Miller of the Cardinals. He had 15.4 Box-Toppers points and ranked ninth among all NL pitchers.
• Ubaldo Jimenez of the Indians. He had 14.5 Box-Toppers points and ranked ninth among all AL pitchers.

Closing pitchers were another anomaly. In Box-Toppers scoring, closing pitchers often rank lower in player rankings, as they are less likely than starters to be the player who most helps his team win the game—and thus earn Player of the Game honors and Box-Toppers points. So in the American League, Red Sox closer Koji Uehara ranked seventh among AL pitchers in voting but ranked 52nd in Box-Toppers points (with 6.0).

In the NL, Braves closer Craig Kimbrel finished fourth in voting and 17th in Box-Toppers points among NL pitchers (with 12.7).

Box-Toppers tracks who most helps their team win the most games. Top players from the winning team of each game are determined by a formula using standard box score statistics. The player on the winning team with the highest Box-Toppers game score is Player of the Game and receives 1.0 Box-Toppers point. The Player of the Game with the highest overall Box-Toppers game score for all the games played that day is Player of the Day and earns a total of 2.0 Box-Toppers points. The top player in the opposite league receives a total of 1.7 Box-Toppers points. If both the day’s top overall player and top player in the opposite league are pitchers, then the top American League and top National League batter of the day receive a total of 1.5 Box-Toppers points each.

Box-Toppers rankings of Cy Young Award candidates 

Here are the results of Cy Young Award voting in both leagues. Players are listed in order of their vote total. The far right columns show how many Box-Toppers points (BTP) they earned during the 2013 season and how each player ranked in Box-Toppers points among pitchers in their league.

Cy Young vote
AL
Player	Pos	Club	1st	2nd	3rd	4th	5th	Points	BTP	Rank*
Max Scherzer	pi sp	Tigers	28	1	1			203	18.1	1
Yu Darvish	pi sp	Rangers		19	3	1	6	93	16.0	7
Hisashi Iwakuma	pi sp	Mariners		6	12	6	1	73	16.1	6
Anibal Sanchez	pi sp	Tigers	1	1	3	9	8	46	17.1	2
Chris Sale	pi sp	White Sox	1		5	8	6	44	16.1	4
Bartolo Colon	pi sp	Athletics		2	3	1	6	25	13.1	10
Koji Uehara	pi cp	Red Sox		1	2			10	6.0	52
Felix Hernandez	pi sp	Mariners			1	1	1	6	14.8	8
Matt Moore	pi sp	Rays				2		4	16.1	5
Greg Holland	pi cp	Royals				1	2	4	11.0	17
James Shields	pi sp	Royals				1		2	9.7	23
Notable AL snubs
Justin Masterson	pi sp	Indians						0	16.4	3
Ubaldo Jimenez	pi sp	Indians						0	14.5	9
NL
Player	Pos	Club	1st	2nd	3rd	4th	5th	Points	BTP	Rank*
Clayton Kershaw	pi sp	Dodgers	29	1				207	21.7	1
Adam Wainwright	pi sp	Cardinals	1	15	4	1	5	86	20.2	2
Jose Fernandez	pi sp	Marlins		9	3	5	7	62	19.0	4
Craig Kimbrel	pi cp	Braves		4	1	8	4	39	12.7	17
Matt Harvey	pi sp	Mets		1	8	4	3	39	15.0	10
Cliff Lee	pi sp	Phillies			6	6	2	32	13.4	14
Jordan Zimmerman	pi sp	Nationals			6		3	21	14.7	11
Zack Greinke	pi sp	Dodgers			2	4	4	18	19.4	3
Madison Bumgarner	pi sp	Giants				1	1	3	15.7	8
Francisco Liriano	pi sp	Pirates				1	1	3	16.7	6
Notable NL snubs
Patrick Corbin	pi sp	Diamondbacks						0	17.4	5
Lance Lynn	pi sp	Cardinals						0	16.1	7
Shelby Miller	pi sp	Cardinals						0	15.4	9

* Rank among pitchers in the league (AL or NL) in Box-Toppers points for the 2013 season.

Source: Baseball Writers Association of America

Marlins' Henderson Alvarez, pitching no-hitter, tops players for Sunday, Sept. 29—season's final day

Marlins pitcher Henderson Alvarez, pitching a no-hitter, is Sunday's Player of the Day on the final day of the regular season.

Alvarez gave up no hits and no runs, walked one, hit one batter and struck out four in the 1-0 win over the Tigers. However, Alvarez had to wait until the bottom of the ninth for the Marlins to score their lone run to win the game. He was in the on-deck circle with the bases loaded and two outs when Giancarlo Stanton scored on a wild pitch.

Indians pitcher Ubaldo Jimenez is American League Player of the Day. Jimenez struck out 13 over 6 2/3 innings in the 5-1 win over the Twins, which sealed a wild card playoff spot for the Indians.  Jimenez earns 1.7 Box-Toppers points for being AL Player of the Day, giving him 14.5 for the season, putting him in 21st place in player rankings.

Gerald Laird of the Braves is National League Batter of the Day. Laird went 4-for-4 in the 12-5 win over the Phillies.

Salvador Perez of the Royals is AL Batter of the Day. Perez homered, drove in two runs and went 3-for-4 in the 4-1 win over the White Sox.

Notable: Rangers pitcher Yu Darvish rises to 15th place in Box-Toppers Player Rankings after earning Player of the Game honors Sunday. Darvish (5.2IP 8K ND in 6-2 win vs. Angels) earns 1.0 Box-Toppers point, giving him 16.0 for the season. 

Coming Monday: The Tampa Bay Rays visit the Texas Rangers to decide the AL's second wild card team. The game counts as a regular season game, so the Player of the Game will also be Player of the Day and earn 2.0 Box-Toppers points. However, in the meantime, Box-Toppers Final Reports (Well, Nearly Final Except For That One Last Game) on team and player standings will be tabulated and posted Monday.

Alvarez receives 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day. Jimenez receives 1.7 for AL Player of the Day. Laird and Perez each receive 1.5 for being top Batter of the Day in their league.

All of Sunday'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

929	Score	Team	BATTERS	AB	R	H	RBI	BB	SO	-	-	PITCHERS	IP	H	R	ER	BB	SO
MLB	12.0	Marlins		0	0	0	0	0	0			Henderson Alvarez (W, 5-6)	9.0	0	0	0	1	4
AL	11.2	Indians		0	0	0	0	0	0			Ubaldo Jimenez (W, 13-9)	6.2	5	1	1	1	13
	7.1	Cardinals		0	0	0	0	0	0			Joe Kelly (W, 10-5)	5.1	3	0	0	0	5
	7.0	Athletics		0	0	0	0	0	0			Sonny Gray (W, 5-3)	5.0	3	0	0	3	8
	7.0	`Yankees		0	0	0	0	0	0			David Huff	5.0	3	1	1	0	7
	5.0	Pirates		0	0	0	0	0	0			Brandon Cumpton (W, 2-1)	5.0	2	0	0	1	3
BAT	4.0	Braves	Gerald Laird C	4	4	4	0	1	0				0.0	0	0	0	0	0
	4.0	Rockies		0	0	0	0	0	0			Jeff Francis (W, 3-5)	5.0	3	1	1	2	6
	3.2	`Rangers		0	0	0	0	0	0			Yu Darvish	5.2	4	2	2	2	8
	3.0	Mets		0	0	0	0	0	0			Frank Francisco (S, 1)	1.0	0	0	0	0	2
	3.0	Diamondbacks		0	0	0	0	0	0			Brad Ziegler (S, 13)	1.0	0	0	0	0	2
BAT	2.0	Royals	Salvador Perez 1B	4	1	3	2	0	0				0.0	0	0	0	0	0
	2.0	Orioles	Ryan Flaherty 1B	3	1	2	2	0	0				0.0	0	0	0	0	0
	2.0	Giants	Brandon Belt 1B	3	1	2	2	1	0				0.0	0	0	0	0	0
	1.0	Rays	Delmon Young DH	3	1	2	1	1	0			0	0.0	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.

Red Sox' John Lackey (CG 2H) tops players for Thursday, Sept. 19

Red Sox pitcher John Lackey is Thursday's Player of the Day. Lackey, who gave up his first hit in the seventh inning, pitched a complete-game two-hitter, striking out eight, in the 3-1 win over the Orioles, clinching a playoff spot for Boston.

Pirates pitcher Gerrit Cole is National League Player of the Day. Cole struck out 12 over six innings in the 10-1 win over the Padres. 

Hanley Ramirez of the Dodgers is NL Batter of the Day. Ramirez homered twice, drove in four runs and went 4-for-5 in the 7-6 win over the Diamondbacks, as Los Angeles won the NL West title. 

Prince Fielder of the Tigers is American League Batter of the Day. Fielder went 3-for-4 in the 5-4 win over the Mariners.

Notables: Two other players who earned Player of the Game honors Thursday are among the top 25 in Box-Toppers player rankings for the season: 

• Giants pitcher Madison Bumgarner rises to 13th place. He earns 1.0 Box-Toppers point for being Player of the Game (7IP 1R 10K W in the 2-1 win vs. Mets), giving him 15.7 for the season.
• Indians pitcher Ubaldo Jimenez rises to 25th place. He earns 1.0 Box-Toppers point for being Player of the Game (7IP 1R 9K ND in 2-1 win vs. Astros), giving him 12.8 for the season.

Coming Friday: Two pitchers among the top 10 in Box-Toppers player rankings (see the list on the home page) are scheduled to start Friday:

• Tigers pitcher Max Scherzer starts against the White Sox. Scherzer has 17.1 Box-Toppers points, is in sixth place overall and leads all AL players.
• Pirates pitcher Francisco Liriano starts against the Reds. Liriano has 16.7 Box-Toppers points and is in ninth place overall.

Neither Scherzer nor Liriano is in position Friday to take the outright lead in Box-Toppers points (held by Cardinals pitcher Adam Wainwright with 19.2) since the most they could earn is 2.0 Box-Toppers points.

Lackey receives 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day. Cole receives 1.7 for NL Player of the Day. Ramirez and Fielder each receive 1.5 for being top Batter of the Day in their league.

All of Thursday'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

919	Score	Team	BATTERS	AB	R	H	RBI	BB	SO	-	-	PITCHERS	IP	H	R	ER	BB	SO
MLB	11.0	Red Sox	0	0	0	0	0	0	0			John Lackey (W, 10-12)	9.0	2	1	1	2	8
NL	9.0	Pirates	0	0	0	0	0	0	0			Gerrit Cole (W, 9-7)	6.0	4	1	1	3	12
	8.0	Giants	0	0	0	0	0	0	0			Madison Bumgarner (W, 13-9)	7.0	4	1	1	3	10
	8.0	`Indians	0	0	0	0	0	0	0			Ubaldo Jimenez	7.0	6	1	1	0	9
	7.0	Blue Jays	0	0	0	0	0	0	0			Todd Redmond (W, 4-2)	7.0	4	1	1	1	7
	6.0	Cubs	0	0	0	0	0	0	0			Jake Arrieta (W, 3-2)	7.0	3	1	1	1	5
BAT	5.0	Dodgers	Hanley Ramirez SS	5	2	4	4	0	0			0	0.0	0	0	0	0	0
	5.0	`Rockies	0	0	0	0	0	0	0			Wilton Lopez	2.0	0	0	0	0	3
	3.0	Nationals	Bryce Harper LF	4	1	3	3	0	0			0	0.0	0	0	0	0	0
BAT	2.0	Tigers	Prince Fielder 1B	4	2	3	1	0	0			0	0.0	0	0	0	0	0
	2.0	Athletics	Coco Crisp CF	4	2	2	2	1	0			0	0.0	0	0	0	0	0
	1.0	Rangers	Elvis Andrus SS	6	2	2	3	0	0			0	0.0	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.

Giants' Brandon Belt (6RBI) tops players for Saturday, Sept. 14; Rays' Moore rises to 10th in Box-Toppers player rankings

Brandon Belt of the Giants is Saturday's Player of the Day, while Rays pitcher Matt Moore rises to 10th place in Box-Toppers player rankings.

Belt homered, drove in six runs, scored four times and went 5-for-6 in the 19-3 win over the Dodgers.

Moore rose to 10th place in Box-Toppers player rankings for the season after earning Player of the Game honors Saturday (see the updated top 10 list on the home page). Moore (3IP 0R 5K ND in 7-0 win vs. Twins) earns 1.0 Box-Toppers point, giving him 16.1 for the season, only 0.3 points behind American League pitching leader Justin Masterson of the Indians (16.4).

Athletics pitcher Bartolo Colon is AL Player of the Day. Colon pitched eight scoreless innings, striking out seven, in the 1-0 win over the Rangers. Colon earns 1.7 Box-Toppers points for being AL Player of the Day, giving him 10.4 for the season, putting him in 44th place in Box-Toppers player rankings.

Moises Sierra of the Blue Jays is AL Batter of the Day. Sierra doubled and drove in two runs in the 4-3 win over the Orioles. 

Notables: Two other players who earned Player of the Game honors Saturday are among the top 40 in Box-Toppers player rankings for the season: 

• Indians pitcher Ubaldo Jimenez rises to 31st place. He earns 1.0 Box-Toppers point for being Player of the Game (8.1IP 1R 8K W in 8-1 win vs. White Sox), giving him 11.8 for the season.
• Red Sox pitcher Jon Lester rises to 32nd place. He earns 1.0 Box-Toppers point for being Player of the Game (8IP 1R 5K W in 5-1 win vs. Yankees), giving him 11.7 for the season. 

Belt receives 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day. Colon receives 1.7 for AL Player of the Day. Sierra receives 1.5 for being AL Batter of the Day.

All of Saturday'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

914	Score	Team	BATTERS	AB	R	H	RBI	BB	SO	-	-	PITCHERS	IP	H	R	ER	BB	SO
MLB	9.0	Giants	Brandon Belt 1B	6	4	5	6	0	0			0	0.0	0	0	0	0	0
	8.0	Marlins	0	0	0	0	0	0	0			Henderson Alvarez (W, 4-4)	7.0	4	0	0	0	5
AL	7.0	Athletics	0	0	0	0	0	0	0			Bartolo Colon (W, 16-6)	8.0	7	0	0	1	7
	7.0	Mariners	0	0	0	0	0	0	0			James Paxton (W, 2-0)	6.0	2	0	0	2	5
	6.1	Braves	0	0	0	0	0	0	0			Kris Medlen (W, 14-12)	7.1	4	0	0	2	5
	6.0	Red Sox	0	0	0	0	0	0	0			Jon Lester (W, 14-8)	8.0	3	1	1	2	5
	5.2	Royals	0	0	0	0	0	0	0			Ervin Santana (W, 9-9)	6.2	5	0	0	1	5
	5.1	Indians	0	0	0	0	0	0	0			Ubaldo Jimenez (W, 12-9)	8.1	8	1	1	1	8
	5.0	Reds	Shin-Soo Choo CF	3	3	2	3	1	0			0	0.0	0	0	0	0	0
	5.0	Mets	0	0	0	0	0	0	0			Daisuke Matsuzaka (W, 1-3)	7.0	2	1	1	1	3
	4.0	Pirates	0	0	0	0	0	0	0			Gerrit Cole (W, 8-7)	7.0	5	1	1	3	7
	4.0	`Rays	0	0	0	0	0	0	0			Matt Moore	3.0	1	0	0	3	5
	2.0	Diamondbacks	Aaron Hill 2B	5	1	3	3	0	1			0	0.0	0	0	0	0	0
BAT	2.0	Blue Jays	Moises Sierra RF	2	1	1	2	1	0			0	0.0	0	0	0	0	0
	1.0	Angels	Chris Iannetta C	4	1	2	2	0	0			0	0.0	0	0	0	0	0
	0.0	Phillies	Carlos Ruiz C	5	0	2	3	0	0			0	0.0	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.

Nats' Gonzalez tops players for Monday, Sept. 9, White Sox' Sale rises to 9th in Box-Toppers player rankings

Nationals pitcher Gio Gonzalez is Monday's Player of the Day, while White Sox pitcher Chris Sale rises to ninth place in Box-Toppers player rankings. 

Gonzalez pitched a complete game, one-hit shutout, striking out nine, in the 9-0 win over the Mets. He did not give up the hit until the seventh inning. Gonzalez rises to 21st place among players in Box-Toppers points. He receives 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day, giving him 12.7 for the season.

Sale, who rises to ninth place in Box-Toppers player rankings for the season (see the updated top 10 list on the home page), is American League Player of the Day. Sale gave up one run and struck out eight over eight innings in the 5-1 win over the Tigers. He earns 1.7 Box-Toppers points for being AL Player of the Day, giving him 16.1 for the season.

Jimmy Paredes of the Astros is AL Batter of the Day. Paredes went 1-for-3 and drove in two runs in the 6-4 win over the Mariners. This was Paredes' Box-Toppers debut, the first time he has earned Player of the Game honors. He is the 3,278th player to debut on Box-Toppers since record keeping began in 1995.

Angel Pagan of the Giants is National League Batter of the Day. Pagan went 3-for-5 in the 3-2, 10-inning win over the Rockies. 

Notables: Orioles pitcher Chris Tillman rises to 24th place in Box-Toppers player rankings for the season and Indians pitcher Ubaldo Jimenez rises to 34th after both earned Player of the Game honors Monday: 

• Tillman (7IP 9K W in 4-2 win vs. Yankees) earns 1.0 Box-Toppers point, giving him 12.7 for the season.
• Jimenez (7IP 0ER 10K W in 4-3 win vs. Royals) earns 1.0 Box-Toppers point, giving him 10.8 for the season. 

Gonzalez receives 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day. Sale receives 1.7 for AL Player of the Day. Paredes and Pagan 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.

Top player from each game

Listed from highest to lowest Box-Toppers game score

909	Score	Team	BATTERS	AB	R	H	RBI	BB	SO	-	-	PITCHERS	IP	H	R	ER	BB	SO
MLB	14.0	Nationals	0	0	0	0	0	0	0			Gio Gonzalez (W, 10-6)	9.0	1	0	0	2	8
	11.0	Pirates	0	0	0	0	0	0	0			Gerrit Cole (W, 7-7)	7.0	3	0	0	2	9
AL	9.0	White Sox	0	0	0	0	0	0	0			Chris Sale (W, 11-12)	8.0	4	1	1	1	8
	9.0	Indians	0	0	0	0	0	0	0			Ubaldo Jimenez (W, 11-9)	7.0	7	1	0	0	10
	8.0	Orioles	0	0	0	0	0	0	0			Chris Tillman (W, 16-5)	7.0	4	2	2	0	9
	8.0	Cubs	0	0	0	0	0	0	0			Travis Wood (W, 9-11)	7.0	6	0	0	0	7
	7.2	Dodgers	0	0	0	0	0	0	0			Ricky Nolasco (W, 13-9)	6.2	3	1	0	1	6
	3.0	Twins	0	0	0	0	0	0	0			Casey Fien (W, 4-2)	1.0	0	0	0	0	2
	3.0	Braves	0	0	0	0	0	0	0			Craig Kimbrel (S, 45)	1.0	0	0	0	0	2
BAT	1.0	Astros	Jimmy Paredes RF	3	1	1	2	0	1			0	0.0	0	0	0	0	0
BAT	0.0	Giants	Angel Pagan CF	5	2	3	0	0	0			0	0.0	0	0	0	0	0

Dodgers' Clayton Kershaw, top player for Friday, Aug. 17, takes Box-Toppers points lead among players

Note: Box-Toppers is playing catch-up after time away. These are Box-Toppers results for Saturday, Aug. 17:

Dodgers pitcher Clayton Kershaw, Saturday's Player of the Day, rises to the top spot in Box-Toppers player season standings.

Kershaw pitched eight scoreless innings, striking out eight, in the 5-0 win over the Phillies. Kershaw earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day, giving him 17.7 for the season. He rises to the top spot among players for the season, passing Indians pitcher Justin Masterson (16.4 points), who had been in first place since July 21. 

Ubaldo Jimenez of the Indians is American League Player of the Day. Jimenez struck out eight over 5 2/3 innings in the 7-1 win over the Athletics.

Martin Prado of the Diamondbacks is National League Batter of the Day. Prado homered, drove in three runs and went 4-for-5 in the 15-5 win over the Pirates. 

Alejandro De Aza of the White Sox is AL Batter of the Day. De Aza homered and scored three runs in the 8-5 win over the Twins. 

Kershaw receives 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day. Jimenez receives 1.7 for AL Player of the Day. Prado and De Aza 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.

Top player from each game

Listed from highest to lowest Box-Toppers game score

817	Score	Team	BATTERS	AB	R	H	RBI	BB	SO	-	-	PITCHERS	IP	H	R	ER	BB	SO
MLB	12.0	Dodgers	0	0	0	0	0	0	0			Clayton Kershaw (W, 12-7)	8.0	3	0	0	1	8
	8.0	`Nationals	0	0	0	0	0	0	0			Tanner Roark	4.0	1	0	0	1	6
BAT	6.0	Diamondbacks	Martin Prado LF, 3B	5	4	4	3	1	0			0	0.0	0	0	0	0	0
AL	5.2	Indians	0	0	0	0	0	0	0			Ubaldo Jimenez (W, 9-7)	5.2	1	1	1	5	8
	5.0	Cardinals	0	0	0	0	0	0	0			Joe Kelly (W, 4-3)	6.0	4	0	0	3	6
	5.0	Angels	0	0	0	0	0	0	0			Ernesto Frieri (W, 1-4)	2.0	1	0	0	0	4
	4.1	Brewers	0	0	0	0	0	0	0			Yovani Gallardo (W, 9-9)	6.1	3	0	0	2	3
BAT	3.0	White Sox	Alejandro De Aza CF, LF	4	3	2	2	0	0			0	0.0	0	0	0	0	0
	3.0	Blue Jays	Adam Lind DH	3	2	2	2	1	0			0	0.0	0	0	0	0	0
	3.0	Rangers	Craig Gentry PH, LF	2	1	1	3	0	0			0	0.0	0	0	0	0	0
	2.0	Padres	Will Venable CF	5	3	4	0	0	1			0	0.0	0	0	0	0	0
	2.0	Tigers	Prince Fielder 1B	4	2	2	2	0	1			0	0.0	0	0	0	0	0
	2.0	Orioles	Brian Roberts 2B	2	1	1	2	2	0			0	0.0	0	0	0	0	0
	2.0	Giants	0	0	0	0	0	0	0			Matt Cain (W, 8-8)	7.0	4	2	2	2	5
	1.0	Red Sox	David Ortiz DH	4	2	2	1	1	1			0	0.0	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.

Marlins' Jose Fernandez tops players for Sunday, July 28, rising to 15th in Box-Toppers player rankings

Note: Box-Toppers is playing catch-up after time away. These are Box-Toppers results for Sunday, July 28:

Marlins pitcher Jose Fernandez is Sunday's Player of the Day. Fernandez struck out 13 over eight innings in the 3-2 win over the Pirates.

Fernandez earns 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day, giving him 11.0 for the season. He rises to 15th place among all players. He is the 22nd player this season with 10.0 or more Box-Toppers points. 

Indians pitcher Ubaldo Jimenez is American League Player of the Day. Jimenez allowed no runs and two hits over eight innings in the 6-0 win over the Rangers. 

Denard Span of the Nationals is National League Batter of the Day. Span hit a two-run home run and went 4-for-4 in the 14-1 win over the Mets. 

Nick Franklin of the Mariners is AL Batter of the Day. Franklin hit two home runs, drove in four and went 3-for-4 in the 6-4 win over the Twins. 

Fernandez receives 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day. Jimenez receives 1.7 for AL Player of the Day. Span and Franklin each receive 1.5 for being top Batter of the Day in their league.

All of Sunday'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

728	Score	Team	BATTERS	AB	R	H	RBI	BB	SO	-	-	PITCHERS	IP	H	R	ER	BB	SO
MLB	12.0	Marlins	0	0	0	0	0	0	0			Jose Fernandez (W, 7-5)	8.0	5	2	2	0	13
	11.0	Padres	0	0	0	0	0	0	0			Tyson Ross (W, 2-4)	8.0	3	0	0	1	7
AL	9.0	Indians	0	0	0	0	0	0	0			Ubaldo Jimenez (W, 8-5)	8.0	2	0	0	3	6
	9.0	Red Sox	0	0	0	0	0	0	0			Jon Lester (W, 10-6)	7.0	4	0	0	2	8
	9.0	`Blue Jays	0	0	0	0	0	0	0			Todd Redmond	6.0	3	1	1	2	10
	7.2	`Dodgers	0	0	0	0	0	0	0			Chris Capuano	6.2	3	0	0	0	4
BAT	6.0	Nationals	Denard Span CF	4	3	4	3	0	0			0	0.0	0	0	0	0	0
BAT	5.0	Mariners	Nick Franklin 2B	4	2	3	4	0	1			0	0.0	0	0	0	0	0
	5.0	Cubs	0	0	0	0	0	0	0			Travis Wood (W, 7-7)	7.0	4	1	0	4	7
	4.0	Yankees	Alfonso Soriano LF	5	2	4	3	0	0			0	0.0	0	0	0	0	0
	4.0	`Royals	0	0	0	0	0	0	0			Luke Hochevar	2.0	0	0	0	0	2
	3.0	Athletics	Eric Sogard 2B	4	2	3	2	0	0			0	0.0	0	0	0	0	0
	2.0	Tigers	Jhonny Peralta SS	5	1	2	4	0	0			0	0.0	0	0	0	0	0
	2.0	Braves	Chris Johnson 3B	4	3	3	0	0	0			0	0.0	0	0	0	0	0
	2.0	Rockies	Michael Cuddyer RF	4	2	2	2	0	1			0	0.0	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.

Miguel Cabrera retakes Box-Toppers points lead; Marlins' Jose Fernandez is top player for Saturday, June 1

Miguel Cabrera of the Tigers retakes the Box-Toppers points lead, while Marlins pitcher Jose Fernandez is Saturday's Player of the Day.

Cabrera (grand slam) was Player of the Game ​in the 10-3 win over the Orioles. Cabrera earns 1.0 Box-Toppers point for being Player of the Game, giving him 10.7 for the season, putting him back atop the standings (see updated standings on the home page). While Indians pitcher Justin Masterson also has 10.7 points, Cabrera beats him a in tie-breaker because he has more combined points over the 2012-13 seasons.

Player of the Day Fernandez ​struck out eight over seven innings and gave up no runs in the 8-1 win over the Mets.

Indians pitcher Ubaldo Jimenez is American League Player of the Day. ​Jimenez gave up no runs and struck out seven over eight innings in the 5-0 win over the Rays.

Daniel Nava of the Red Sox is AL Batter of the Day. Nava homered and went 4-for-6 in the 11-1 win over the Yankees.​

Paul Goldschmidt of the Diamondbacks is NL Batter of the Day. Goldschmidt hit a grand slam and went 2-for-5 in the 12-4 win over the Cubs.​

Standings update: Cardinals pitcher Shelby Miller rises to sixth place in player standings (see updated standings on the home page) for the 2013 season. Miller (7IP 0R 7K) was Player of the Game in the 8-0 win over the Giants. Miller earns 1.0 Box-Toppers point Saturday, giving him 8.7 for the season.​

Fernandez receives 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being Player of the Day. Jimenez receives 1.7 for AL Player of the Day. Nava and Goldschmidt 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:

601	Score	Team	BATTERS	AB	R	H	RBI	BB	SO	-	-	PITCHERS	IP	H	R	ER	BB	SO
MLB	11.0	Marlins	0	0	0	0	0	0	0			Jose Fernandez (W, 3-3)	7.0	3	0	0	1	8
AL	10.0	Indians	0	0	0	0	0	0	0			Ubaldo Jimenez (W, 4-3)	8.0	4	0	0	1	7
	9.0	Cardinals	0	0	0	0	0	0	0			Adam Wainwright (W, 8-3)	9.0	8	1	1	0	10
	7.0	Cardinals	0	0	0	0	0	0	0			Shelby Miller (W, 6-3)	7.0	6	0	0	1	7
	6.1	`Braves	0	0	0	0	0	0	0			Tim Hudson	7.1	3	1	0	1	4
	6.0	`Athletics	0	0	0	0	0	0	0			Dan Straily	6.0	6	1	1	0	8
	5.0	Astros	0	0	0	0	0	0	0			Bud Norris (W, 5-4)	6.0	4	0	0	3	6
BAT	4.0	Red Sox	Daniel Nava LF	6	2	4	4	0	0			0	0.0	0	0	0	0	0
BAT	4.0	Diamondbacks	Paul Goldschmidt 1B	5	3	2	4	1	3			0	0.0	0	0	0	0	0
	4.0	`Royals	0	0	0	0	0	0	0			James Shields	7.0	5	1	1	1	5
	3.0	Reds	0	0	0	0	0	0	0			Mike Leake (W, 5-2)	6.0	7	0	0	1	5
	2.0	Rockies	Michael Cuddyer RF	4	2	2	2	1	0			0	0.0	0	0	0	0	0
	2.0	Tigers	Miguel Cabrera 3B	4	1	1	4	1	1			0	0.0	0	0	0	0	0
	1.0	Twins	Ryan Doumit C	5	1	3	2	0	0			0	0.0	0	0	0	0	0
	1.0	Padres	Everth Cabrera SS	4	0	3	2	0	0			0	0.0	0	0	0	0	0
	1.0	Brewers	Jonathan Lucroy C	4	2	2	1	0	1			0	0.0	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.

Wainwright tops players for Saturday, May 11; Darvish takes season lead in Box-Toppers points

On Saturday, Cardinals pitcher Adam Wainwright was Player of the Day and Rangers pitcher Yu Darvish took the season lead in Box-Toppers points.

Wainwright threw a two-hit shutout in the 3-0 win over the Rockies, giving up his first hit in the eighth inning.​ Wainwright earns 2.0 Box-Toppers for being Player of the Day and now has 6.0 for the season, moving him up to sixth place.

Ubaldo Jimenez of the Indians is American League Player of the Day. Jimenez struck out eight over six innings in the 7-6 win over Detroit.​

Jose Tabata of the Pirates is National League Batter of the Day. Tabata went 4-for-5 and was a triple short of the cycle in the 11-2 win over the Mets.​

Joe Mauer of the Twins is American League Batter of the Day. Mauer went 3-for-4 in the 8-5 win over the Orioles.​

Darvish was Player of the Game in the Rangers' 8-7 win over the Astros. Darvish gave up three hits and struck out eight over seven innings. He earned 1.0 Box-Toppers point for being top player in the game, giving him 8.0 points for the season, taking the lead from Miguel Cabrera of the Tigers, who has 7.2 points.​

Also Saturday, two pitchers were named Players of the Game for batting. Mat Latos of the Reds went 2-for-3 in the 13-7 win over the Brewers. And Edwin Jackson of the Cubs with 1-for-2 with 2 RBIs in the 8-2 win over the Nationals.​

Wainwright receives 2.0 Box-Toppers points for being named Player of the Day. Jimenez receives 1.7 for AL Player of the Day. Tabata and Mauer receive 1.5 each 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:

511	Score	Team	BATTERS	AB	R	H	RBI	BB	SO	-	-	PITCHERS	IP	H	R	ER	BB	SO
MLB	13.0	Cardinals	0	0	0	0	0	0	0			Adam Wainwright (W, 5-2)	9.0	2	0	0	1	7
	10.0	Giants	0	0	0	0	0	0	0			Madison Bumgarner (W, 4-1)	7.0	4	1	1	2	11
AL	8.0	Indians	0	0	0	0	0	0	0			Ubaldo Jimenez (W, 3-2)	6.0	3	1	1	1	8
	5.1	Rays	0	0	0	0	0	0	0			Cesar Ramos (W, 1-0)	2.0	0	0	0	0	3
BAT	5.0	Pirates	Jose Tabata RF, LF	5	3	4	3	0	0			0	0.0	0	0	0	0	0
	4.0	Yankees	0	0	0	0	0	0	0			Andy Pettitte (W, 4-2)	7.0	5	2	2	1	7
	3.0	Dodgers	Andre Ethier RF	4	3	4	0	0	0			0	0.0	0	0	0	0	0
BAT	3.0	Twins	Joe Mauer C	4	3	3	1	1	1			0	0.0	0	0	0	0	0
	3.0	Reds	Mat Latos P	3	2	2	2	0	1			0	0.0	0	0	0	0	0
	3.0	Rangers	0	0	0	0	0	0	0			Yu Darvish (W, 6-1)	7.0	3	3	3	3	8
	3.0	`Blue Jays	0	0	0	0	0	0	0			Mark Buehrle	7.0	5	1	1	2	5
	2.2	Phillies	0	0	0	0	0	0	0			Jonathan Papelbon (S, 6)	1.0	2	0	0	0	3
	2.0	Cubs	Edwin Jackson P	2	1	1	2	0	1			0	0.0	0	0	0	0	0
	1.0	Angels	Mike Trout CF	4	1	2	2	0	1			0	0.0	0	0	0	0	0
	1.0	Athletics	0	0	0	0	0	0	0			Grant Balfour (S, 6)	1.0	1	0	0	1	2

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