The fifth episode of the second season of "Poker Face" kicks off with a scene set against the backdrop of a minor league baseball game in a quaint, picturesque small town. The local team, the Cheesemongers, takes the field at the Velvety Canned Cheese Park stadium, a venue run by Lucille, the proprietor of the family-owned Velvety Canned Cheese enterprise.
Enter Russ "Rocket" Waddell, a pitcher renowned for his blazing fastballs that once clocked in excess of 100 mph, but tonight his performance is a far cry from his former glory. As the Cheesemongers nurse their wounds from the game's defeat, Skip, the team manager, delivers the devastating news to Russ: he's being released from the team. Heartbroken, Russ drowns his sorrows in drinks alongside his teammates when a mysterious individual reveals that he's made a killing by wagering on the team's loss.
This revelation sparks an ingenious plan in Russ's mind—why not bet on their own defeat and rake in a fortune? With his persuasive charm, Russ manages to convince four of his fellow teammates to join his scheme. All they have to do is intentionally lose the next five games, and they could soon be millionaires. A swift montage ensues, illustrating how the Cheesemongers suffer consecutive losses in the following four contests.
However, as they gear up for the decisive fifth game, a twist arises. Skip introduces Felix, a newly promoted player, who will be taking the mound to open the game. Fearful of jeopardizing their plan, one of Russ's cohorts decides to sabotage Felix by spiking his pregame bubblegum with acid. Ironically, this ill-conceived act has the unintended consequence of supercharging Felix's performance. Despite one of Russ's teammates offering strategic advice to the opposing batter, they manage to strike out Felix. Ultimately, the game concludes in a loss for the Cheesemongers, and the team erupts in celebration. But Russ's triumph turns sour when he realizes they've left the tainted bubblegum in the locker room.
He returns to the scene with the intent of eradicating the incriminating evidence, only to find himself face to face with Felix. A novice blunder by one of Russ's teammates had led to the unauthorized usage of Felix's notebook for calculating their anticipated windfall. Felix, privy to their entire conspiracy, insists that Russ fork over every penny. Driven by a hallucinogenic revelation experienced during an acid trip, Felix aspires to use the money to journey to Belize in search of divine enlightenment. When Felix taunts Russ, the latter's temper flares, prompting him to hurl a baseball at Felix, which strikes the back of his head with a resounding thud. The nearby radar gun reveals that the pitch was a scorching fastball, clocking in at an astonishing 101 miles per hour. Russ's triumph is short-lived, however, as he realizes Felix has succumbed to his injury. To conceal his crime, Russ stages the scene to appear as though Felix was practicing with Rambo, the automated pitching machine, and met his untimely demise in a tragic accident.
The narrative then shifts to Charlie, who toils as an administrative assistant in an office where remote work is the norm, yet an in-person presence is mandated for insurance purposes. Amidst a heated altercation with a malfunctioning printer, a baseball sails through the window, smashing into Charlie's cranium. Charlie converses with Lucille, reassuring her that litigation is not in her intentions. Instead, fate rewards her with a new gig as a ball girl! As she watches a Cheesemongers game, she overhears whispers about Russ and his 'yips,' a condition that has stripped him of his ability to throw fastballs. Later that evening, Charlie mingles with Russ and learns of his dismissal.
The story skips ahead to the conclusion of the fifth game, where Charlie encounters Felix in the locker room and even partakes in one of his gummies. Noticing his elevated state, she urges him to stay hydrated. Soon, the drug's effects take hold of Charlie, transporting her into a surreal vision where Lucille's grandfather exhorts her to safeguard the ballpark and rescue the struggling team.
In the early hours of the morning, Felix was discovered lifeless, while Charlie awoke in the announcer's room, shrouded in mystery. Lucille, fearing legal repercussions, grew anxious as it seemed the machine had malfunctioned. Charlie enlightened Lucille and her retired policeman friend about the drugs, but their search yielded no trace of them in the gummies found beside Felix – an oversight attributed to Russ's sly substitution.
Charlie then sought the counsel of Skip, who concurred that Felix had been under the influence. A newsflash blaring from Skip’s office disclosed that someone had wagered successfully on the Cheesemongers' defeat, amassing a fortune of three million dollars.
Charlie ventured to meet the team, where she noticed a teammate's flashy new gold tooth caps and another's luxurious fur coat. Coupled with their deceitful tales, she connected the dots, realizing they had doped Felix and deliberately tanked the games.
She imparted her suspicions to the ex-cop friend, who received an autopsy report from his former colleague. To her astonishment, the report stated that the ball that claimed Felix's life was traveling at over 100 mph.
Charlie engaged Russ in conversation, even offering to buy him a drink after his final game the next day. However, his claim of having lost his fastball revealed itself as a fabrication. The following day, Charlie confronted Russ about his fastball, his evasiveness confirming her suspicion that Felix's insult had provoked Russ to retaliate with a lethal pitch.
Charlie revealed to Russ that a major league scout was in attendance for the game. As the match commenced, she rallied the crowd to cheer his name. Russ, spotting a man timing his pitch speed in the stands, presumed him to be the scout. Summoning his prowess, he unleashed a fastball! However, the man in the stands revealed a walkie-talkie – he was a policeman! In that moment, Russ inadvertently proved his capability to deliver a powerful pitch.
