Joey Gallo took Blake Snell deep in 'MLB The Show 20,' same as he did in a real game

Tom Gatto

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Joey Gallo took Blake Snell deep in 'MLB The Show 20,' same as he did in a real game image

There was a big moment of video game realism when Joey Gallo faced Blake Snell on Friday. 

Gallo, the Rangers slugger, was matched up against Snell, the Rays left-hander, on the first night of the "MLB The Show 20" Players League. In the first inning, Snell left a pitch out over the plate and Gallo, as himself, did what he does best in real life: hit it a long way.

Pretty good work by someone who says he plays mostly "Call of Duty." Maybe it was because of his recent indoor batting drills.  

MORE: "Call of Duty" League schedule, how to watch

It turns out the homer was art imitating life.

The alert crew at Cespedes BBQ — aka the weekend hosts of "ChangeUp" on DAZN — remembered that Gallo hit a monster shot off Snell at Tropicana Field last June 30.

Same part of the yard, even.

Gallo went on to defeat Snell in their three-inning game 11-2 and sweep his four games on the night to take the early lead in the AL West standings. Snell and other MLB gamers were left wondering whether Gallo was a ringer, despite what Gallo said.

MORE: How to watch 'MLB The Show 20' Players League

"I guess I’m better than I thought I was," he told MLB.com. "I didn’t think I was that good."

He was really good — suspiciously good, to some — on Opening Night.

Tom Gatto

Tom Gatto Photo

Tom Gatto joined The Sporting News as a senior editor in 2000 after 12 years at The Herald-News in Passaic, N.J., where he served in a variety of roles including sports editor, and a brief spell at APBNews.com in New York, where he worked as a syndication editor. He is a 1986 graduate of the University of South Carolina.