Last night marked the second installation of MLB The Show’s Players Tournament. Monday night’s action saw 13 Major League players go head to head, displaying their skills in a series of 3 inning games. With each player required to use their respective teams, one would’ve thought Tommy Kahnle had a sizable advantage over the likes of the Orioles or Kansas City Royals, however that proved not to be the case.
You can rewatch last night’s action here.
Kahnle, a veteran of the Madden franchise, seemed to still be coming to grips with MLB The Show and its drastically different interface. Facing off against experienced players who regularly stream the game like Blake Snell and Brett Phillips didn’t bode well for the Yankees reliever. Frantic pre-game adjustments to settings and a general sense of uncertainty were grave indications of what was to come.
A common theme that arose during Kahnle’s four matchups was pitching, or the lack thereof. Early struggles locating with Gerrit Cole on the mound in his first matchup became a recurring theme throughout. Game 1 in particular was marked by his opponent putting up a 6 spot in the second inning, a major blow early on in his league run. Although Kahnle managed to jump out to early leads and regularly got men on base, pitching seemed to be his fatal flaw.
Tommy ended up going 0 for 4, unable to strike a balance between pitching and offense:
Game 1 vs Dwight Smith Jr. (Baltimore Orioles): 6-5 (L)
Game 2 vs Blake Snell (Tampa Bay Rays): 5-1 (L)
Game 3 vs Brett Philips (Kansas City Royals): 2-1 (L)
Game 4 vs Ian Happ (Chicago Cubs): 4-1 (L)
What was possibly the worst case scenario for Kahnle ultimately came to fruition last night. Without a win to his name, he now sits at the bottom of the leaderboard in the company of Boston’s Eduardo Rodriguez and Padres Ryne Stanek.
Capping off the stream Kahnle jokingly told viewers “I’m gonna need some COD (Call Of Duty) with Britt after this. I need some murdering.” With Tommy set to take the stage again Wednesday night, and the regular season spanning another 14 days, one can only imagine it’ll be a long and grueling season for the “Bulldog”!
