Ep 14. The Three Strikes Job

The Three Strikes Job is the 14th episode of the second season of the American television series Leverage. The episode was directed by Marc Roskin and written by John Rogers.

The premise of this episode revolves around the Leverage team targeting a corrupt baseball team owner who is rigging games in his favor. The team decides to go after him by using his love for the game to expose his misdeeds.

As the episode starts, we see the team discussing their next target. Despite some initial reluctance, they finally decide to go after the owner of a minor league baseball team. The owner, Randy, is notorious for fixing games and has caused much harm to the players and fans alike.

To get close to Randy, the team decides to create a fake baseball team and approach him with the proposition of playing against his team in a three-game series. They plan to rig the games against Randy's team to gain his trust and make him put his money on the line.

The Leverage team assumes various roles in the new baseball team – Nathan as the coach, Sophie as the team's publicist, Parker as a tech expert, and Hardison as the team's analyst. They also hire some local players to fill out the roster. However, they soon realize that their plan has at least one major issue – their fake team is not good at playing baseball.

As they practice, it becomes increasingly clear that they are not going to make it through an entire game without being seen as frauds. Hence, the team comes up with a more cunning plan. They decide to play the ultimate underdogs and lose the first two games. This would make it more plausible when they come back and win the third game convincingly.

The first two games are a disaster, as expected. However, they manage to make it look believable that they are just amateur players. Meanwhile, the team also tries to gather evidence against Randy and his dirty operations. They learn that Randy is in cahoots with a syndicate who has invested heavily in his team.

The final game starts with the team's morale at an all-time low. However, they use everything they've got to play their hearts out, and despite the odds against them, they steadily pull ahead. Their hard work pays off, and they win the game, causing Randy to lose a considerable sum of money in the process.

With the victory, the team becomes heroes and attracts the attention of the press. The team uses this opportunity to expose Randy's corrupt practices to the public and the baseball commission. The episode ends with Randy being forced to sell the team, and the Leverage team having successfully completed another job.

In conclusion, The Three Strikes Job is an exciting episode of Leverage that showcases the team's ingenuity and creativity. It is a classic case of the underdogs outsmarting the bad guys and reminds us of the power of teamwork and perseverance. Fans of the show are sure to enjoy this episode and the clever twists and turns it takes.