Tommy Kahnle blew a great opportunity to launch himself and the New York Yankees into the playoffs of the “MLB The Show” players league.
Tommy Kahnle has returned to his round one status in the “MLB The Show” players league.
With a golden opportunity to put himself in playoff contention, Kahnle dropped two of three games Monday night. After extending his winning streak to eight games, Kahnle completely forgot how to pitch. Fernando Tatis Jr. absolutely dismantled him in the final game to put an exclamation point on a brutal night for the New York Yankees reliever.
Game One
Game one was the only thing that went right for Kahnle all night. He pitched with pinpoint accuracy for all three innings. James Paxton tossed two innings of scoreless ball before turning it over to Zack Britton for the save.
Kahnle kicked off the offense with a solo shot by Aaron Judge in the first inning. In the second, Kahnle put the nail in the coffin with a two-run Luke Voit homer. He was in control the entire game and ended up with an easy win.
Game Two
In game two, the cracks started to show for Kahnle. Luis Severino made his league debut. Kahnle struggled to throw strikes with Severino but still managed to survive two innings without allowing a run.
In the third inning, Josh Hader put three runs on the board. Kahnle failed to produce anything on offense to fight back. His winning streak ended at eight and the game served as a preview for the butt-kicking of the season.
Game Three
Game three was ugly. Playing against Tatis Jr., Kahnle absolutely lost it. Kahnle was sent down one, two, three in the first inning. In the bottom half of the inning, he couldn’t find the strike zone at all. When he finally did throw a strike, Tatis Jr. launched a grand slam to take an early 4-0 lead.
Kahnle nearly mounted a comeback in the second inning. Unfortunately, solo shots by Giancarlo Stanton and Aaron Hicks weren’t nearly enough.
In the bottom of the inning, Tatis Jr. took a commanding lead. Kahnle apparently forgot how to play the game completely. He forgot to warm up a pitcher going into the second. So he threw Jonathan Holder completely cold. He couldn’t buy a strike.
And again, when he finally did find the strike zone, Tatis Jr. hammered it. Judge whiffed on a line drive with the bases loaded. Kahnle threw to the wrong base on a steal attempt. And Tatis Jr. went into the third inning with an 11-2 lead.
Kahnle ended up losing the game 11-4 and now has a record of 8-7. It’ll be an uphill battle to get to reach the league’s playoff tournament at this point. Halfway through the season, Kahnle is just barely over .500. Only the top eight teams will make the postseason and from what he’s shown, Kahnle can’t run with the top talent in the league.
