Reader Joe Lindell couldn't believe his eyes. After whacking a three-run home run against the Tampa Bay Rays in MLB 2K11, the CPU actually - possibly even deliberately - hit his next batter. Oh, it's on like (trademarked by Nintendo)!
The scene: Twins at Rays, top of the first. Joe's already playing small ball, so when Matt Tolbert leads off with a single, he tries to sacrifice Tolbert to second. Instead, Alexi Casilla bunts for a base hit without a throw. Then Jason Kubel blasts one for the early 3-0 lead.
Rays starter Jeremy Hellickson then delivers four pitches well out of the strike zone to Thome, hitting him with the last. "In my mind, this sets Thome off on a path toward revenge," Lindell wrote.
"The next three at-bats, Thome goes deep, off Hellickson to right, (Cesar) Ramos to right-center, and (Andy) Sonnanstine to deep center field, leading the Twins to a 7-3 lead after 8," Lindell writes. But he's not done.
Leading 8-3 in the top of the ninth, Lindell is determined to get Thome to the plate again. He works a walk, with Kubel, bringing up Thome for a shot at a four-home run game. After working the count to 2-2 in a five-pitch at-bat, Adam Russell left a bad mistake over the middle of the plate and Thome put it into orbit for his fourth dinger on the day.
The Twins needed all of it, as the Rays rallied for six runs in the bottom of the ninth against a realistically atrocious Minnesota bullpen. But they held on for the 10-9 victory. Here's the box score, in handy video form.
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Now the Kotaku Sports open thread commences with the sports TV highlights for today and tomorrow. All times are U.S. Eastern.
NHL Playoffs
Game Fives today: Tampa Bay at Pittsburgh, noon (Versus, CBC); Rangers at Washington, 3 p.m. (NBC, TSN); Montreal at Boston, 7 (Versus, CBC); Los Angeles at San Jose, 10:30 (Versus, TSN). Pittsburgh, Washington and San Jose can all close out their series with a win. The Habs and Bruins are tied at 2.
Tomorrow is a trio of Game Sixes; that means all series are 3-2. Buffalo looks to close out Philadelphia at home, 3 p.m. (NBC, TSN); Nashville likewise against Anaheim at 6 (TSN). Vancouver tries to finish off Chicago on the road, 7:30 (CBC, Versus).
NBA Playoffs
Today, Chicago looks to sweep Indiana, 2:30 p.m. (TNT); Portland hosts Dallas trailing 2-1 (TNT, 5 p.m.); The Spurs and Grizzlies are locked 1-1 in a compelling 1-vs-8 matchup that goes to Memphis (ESPN, 7:30). Oklahoma City goes to Denver leading 2-0 (ESPN, 10).
Tomorrow, the Heat and Celtics both figure to sweep the 76ers and Knicks at 1 and 3:30 p.m., respectively, both games on ABC. Atlanta, up 2-1 on Orlando, hosts the Magic at 7 (TNT) and the Lakers, leading New Orleans 2-1, have the 9:30 nightcap on TNT.
Baseball
Today's game of the week on Fox: Atlanta at San Francisco, Cincinnati at St. Louis or the White Sox at Detroit, 4 p.m. check local listings.
Tomorrow, Sox-Tigers are on WGN at 1; the Cubs host the beleaguered Dodgers at 2:15; and the Reds-Cardinals tilt is your Sunday night game of the week on ESPN, 8.
Remember, you may send Game of the Week nominations to owenATkotakuDOTcom, and flag it "Box Scores" in the subject header. Please include your commenter handle for proper credit.