We are a couple of weeks into the eighth inning program for MLB The Show and San Diego Studios has dropped some boosters to help gain XP towards completing the program. There is a player program as well as a new showdown and collection for postseason cards.
Let’s take a look at the new cards as well as the best ways to complete the showdowns.
Whit Merrifield
A new player program for second baseman Whit Merrifield of the Kansas City Royals. This moment’s card is built after Merrifield’s 31 game hitting streak that he recorded during the 2018-2019 season. One of the first things that stands out about this card is his defensive positioning. Merrifield has second base primary, with all three outfield spots and first base as his secondaries.
His hitting stats are decent, he has 125 contact and 61 power against righties, with 108 contact and 80 power against lefties. Merrifield is not going to hit a ton of home runs, however, he does have 84 speed and great contact so could be a gap-to-gap extra-base hit card. Overall, this is a nice card for a Royals theme team, as they have not had many cards throughout the game.
8th Inning Showdown
If you are still unsure how showdown works, the easiest way to explain it would be your lineup starts like Battle Royale but has a chance to be Diamond Dynasty. After you draft your players, you will complete challenges that allow you to add runs towards the final boss, while also adding better players to add to your lineup. In the normal showdown, the final boss will change which does not allow you to set a lineup for one-sided pitching. The eighth inning program, however, is a little different as it tells you exactly what card will be the final boss, and that is Chris Sale.
With that knowledge, when you approach the draft, you will want to favor hitters that hit left-handed pitching well. Because there are several smaller challenges you have to complete, it is always a good idea to find a few lefties that can hit both left and right handed pitching. In this showdown, there is only one mini-boss and one final boss. Once you complete the showdown, you automatically get 45,000 XP towards completing the eighth inning program.
Overall
The White Merrifield is not a card that will be seen in any competitive lineups in the near future. The best part about this card is the fact that if you complete the program, you can go into the eighth inning program and collect him for 45,000 XP.
The NLCS games are finishing up this week, so there are going to be new cards here very quickly. In the last program, San Diego Studios gave us eight new cards for the Division Series games. Expect roughly the same number at some point this weekend or early next week.
Hopefully, you’re close to getting the eighth inning program completed. Use these two options to get a quick 90,000 XP towards getting it completed. Happy Grinding!
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