Q: Pizza

I know you’re not the guy to ask but I don’t know who is. the Nats have to win and score 7 or more runs to get the Papa John’s pizza discount. The Orioles have to win and score only 5 runs for the discount. The Cardinals only have to win – even 1-0 – for the discount. What’s this about?? A: Thomas Boswell

This has to win some kind of award.

Boswell didn’t have the answer, but Papa John’s spokesperson Pete Collins was happy to provide a simple explanation. According to Collins, team-specific promotions designed to drive sales are determined by several factors, including a local market’s “tolerance to discounting.” Past and projected team performance is also taken into account when deciding promotions, which partly explains why teams such as the Marlins, White Sox and Padres only need to score at least five runs — win or lose — to trigger the deal.

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“Texas, for example, plays half of their games in what has traditionally been a hitter’s ballpark; thus the seven-run trigger,” Collins wrote. “True to form, [the Rangers] scored the third-most runs in the majors last year. At the other end of the spectrum, the Marlins were one of our new teams last year, and they are expected to have a challenging season this year. Five runs was set as their trigger. They scored the second-fewest runs in baseball last year.”

Papa John’s introduced a Nationals-themed promotion in 2012 that gave fans half-priced orders the day after Washington won and scored at least five runs. After the Nationals won while scoring at least five runs 62 times en route to winning the NL East title that season, the trigger was changed to a win and at least seven runs. The Nationals triggered that discount 32, 29 and 35 times in the three seasons that followed, which is evidently in the ideal range for maximizing transaction growth.

This year, the Nationals have won and scored at least seven runs five times, the same number of times that the Braves have activated their discount by scoring at least six runs. The only participating team that has triggered its discount fewer times is the Astros, but that’s a bit misleading because Houston’s deal only applies on Tuesdays. Meanwhile, Philadelphia fans have been treated to half-price deals a league-high 22 times by virtue of the surprising Phillies winning 22 games. In somewhat-related discount news, the Nats have yet to activate all three of their promotional food offers (Papa John’s, McDonald’s nuggets for six runs and Chick-fil-A sandwich for a home save) on the same day this season.

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Papa John’s signed a multi-year deal in the offseason to become the “official pizza” of MLB. In addition to team-specific promotions, fans in all markets will receive 40 percent off any pizza at regular price the day after anyone hits a grand slam.

Here’s a breakdown of the Papa John’s discount promotions by team:

JUST WIN, BABY

Arizona

Colorado

Houston (Tuesdays only)

Milwaukee

Minnesota

Philadelphia

Pittsburgh

St. Louis

SCORE 4+ RUNS

Seattle

SCORE 5+ RUNS

Chicago (AL)

Cleveland

Miami

San Diego

SCORE 6+ RUNS

Atlanta

New York (AL)

Tampa Bay

SCORE 7+ RUNS

Texas

WIN and SCORE 5+ RUNS

Baltimore

Kansas City

Los Angeles (NL)

WIN and SCORE 7+ RUNS

Washington