Don't Hate the Player is the fifth episode of the second season, and the 15th episode overall, of the show, Rizzoli & Isles.
Plot[]
A coach of a baseball team is found dead amid a backdrop of ownership battles, secrecy, and addiction. Jane's brother Tommy is released from jail.
Recap[]
***This section contains SPOILERS. Read ahead at your own risk.*** Click here to skip to credits.
The episode opens with the Pilgrims winning another baseball game. The next day, a cleaning woman goes in to clean the bathrooms and find a man dead with the shower running. Meanwhile, Jane and Maura watch sports news and Maura notes that one of the baseball players "Manny Vega", is a hunk. Tommy, Jane’s brother, comes to Maura's house and she is happy to see him. Jane asks Maura how long Tommy is staying. She says that he is staying in the guest house because he needs a permanent address. Jane says that Tommy is a felon and that he doesn’t stay out of trouble long. Maura starts to think it is a bad idea. Tommy sees that Jane’s dog is licking her paws and says that it is not good. Maura gets a call about a fatal slip and fall at the Pilgrim stadium locker room. Tommy offers to take the dog to the vet, but Jane says that Tommy just needs to stay out of trouble.
Maura and Jane get to the stadium and Merck, a former Boston detective now working security for the team, comes up and says the body is in the shower. He says a member of the coaching staff fell in the shower and gives Jane two front row tickets. She sees the baseball players going through their pre-game rituals. Jesse Wade, a Rookie on the team, goes up to Jane and says that everyone has them. They see Manny Vega and another baseball player get into an argument and Jesse says the dead guy in the shower has everyone spooked. He gives her his number and tells her to call if she has any questions. Jane goes into where the body is and Maura sees there are discrepancies in what seemed to be an open and shut case. Jane tells Maura to follow her gut and she says that she doesn’t think that this was a slip and fall, but that it was a murder. Maura officially declares the death suspicious. Korsak comes in from the game and says he got the message. Ron McKenna is the dead man. They get a warrant to search, but not the stadium.
Jane goes up to Merck and shows him a warrant. The lawyers leave. Jane tells Frankie she wants the dumpsters left untouched to search for evidence. She asks him if he knew about Tommy. He says it is a surprise to him. Jane and Korsak talk with Phil Young, the owner of the team. He says that they just hired Ron for “special assignment”. When she asks what that was, the lawyers tell Jane that they can’t ask anymore questions of the staff. Phil realizes that his ex-wife, Gina, is outside and Jane says that Gina is not off-limits. They ask her about Ron McKenna. She tells them he was hired to be Manny Vega’s sober coach. They tell Frankie to hang around until they get a warrant to search the dumpsters. Inside the showers, they find the clothes Ron was wearing were brand new and that the bottom of his sneakers are wet. They realize that he was dragged to the showers. Next to Vega's locker, Korsak smells bleach. Later, in her examining room, Maura says the murder weapon was cylinder in shape. Jane says it was a bad because the lab finds blood on Vega's bat. Maura tells Jane to do her “gumshoe” thing. Barry comes in and says that Ron had had a record of drug use. Jane gets a message that Ron’s son is there. She tells Barry to check on the dumpsters.
Korsak and Jane talk to Jonathan McKenna and he says his dad had been sober for 5 years and owned an outreach center to help addicts. He says his dad had lost his chance to go professional due to drugs and says his father could relate to addicts as he had been one. Korsak and Jane see Capt. Cavanaugh shaking hands with Merck. He says they won’t allow Vega to be touched until after the playoffs. However, Cavanaugh says that he is not telling them to stop working. Korsak goes up to Vega in a parking lot and asks for an autograph. Jane pulls up and asks if Ron bust him for drinking and Vega says that she needs to get out of his face. Later at the station, they watch Phil tell talking about how the Boston P.D. are ridiculous and Jane says that she has Jesse’s number and Barry jokes and says that it is for a “Booty Call”. She tells Maura that she has to go to a fancy French restaurant. “ She and Maura exchange clothes. Jane gets a call from Tommy and tells him to calm down.
Jane meets Tommy at the veterinarian's office. He is yelling at the doctor. Tommy says the vet is charging too much. The vet says the dog is depressed and needs Prozak. Maura says that the dog does appear sad and withdrawn. Jane meets Jesse at the restaurant. He tells her she is beautiful in (Maura's) dress. Jane asks Jesse questions about Vega and if he could have killed Ron McKenna. He says that he doesn’t know. Jane asks why Vega is always drug-free and he says that Vega is the star. Jane gets back to Maura's home to find her television has been stolen. Jane and Frankie go up to Tommy at a bar and ask about the television. He says that he didn't do it but Jane and Frankie don’t believe him. They look at the television and see that Vega died in a car crash. Maura looks at Vega's body and observes he had kidney damage. Someone had been poisoning Vega over a 3-week period.
The detectives theorize there is a teammate involved. Jane tells Maura she has a hunch and Jane says that if the sports bottle in Vega’s car had no antifreeze, the bottle in his locker might. They come back and it is positive. Maura says that Ron McKenna actually died six (6) hours earlier than previously thought. Jane brings in Merck about altering the key card entry. Merck says that they might have him for obstruction and says he and his boss thought Vega had killed McKenna. They look at Vega’s contract which gave Vega 2% of the team. Korsak gets a text telling him Tommy wasn’t the one who stole Maura's television and other items and that they caught the real thieves. Jane gets a call from Frankie telling her that they found stuff in a dumpster. She uncovers a glove that is inside a bag. She takes it to Maura and asks her to get a print. In the meantime, Maura sends Jane to find Tommy and apologize. She finds Tommy has a job walking dogs. She tells him that she is sorry for not believing him.
Later, Jane and Korsak come in and Jane, after implying Phil and Gina had motives, and that Mark just does what he is told, declares Jesse the murderer. Jesse wanted what Vega had.
Later that night, Korsak, Jane, Angela, Frankie and Tommy are over at Maura's for dinner and Korsak notes the dog ("Joe Friday Rizzoli") is licking her paws because she is allergic to poultry which they have been feeding her. Jane mocks Maura by mimicking her voice when Maura told the vet the dog was sad and withdrawn.
Credits[]
Main Cast[]
- Angie Harmon as Detective Jane Rizzoli
- Sasha Alexander as Dr. Maura Isles
- Jordan Bridges as Officer Frankie Rizzoli, Jr.
- Lee Thompson Young as Detective Barry Frost
- with Bruce McGill as Detective Vince Korsak
- and Lorraine Bracco as Angela Rizzoli
Guest Cast[]
- Colin Egglesfield as Tommy Rizzoli
- Adrian Bellani as Manny Vega
- Kevin Chapman as Chief Merck
- Brian Goodman as Lieutenant Sean Cavanaugh
- Elaine Hendrix as Geena Young
- Taylor Kinney as Jesse Wade
- Cameron Monaghan as Jonathan McKenna
- David Starzyk as Phil Young
- Mel Fair as Baseball Pundit #1
- Jim O'Heir as Dr. Little
- Troy Winbush as Walt
- Tom Wright as Baseball Pundit #2
Co-Stars[]
- Marcus Brown as Clark Jacobs
- Ron McKenna
Quotes[]
Trivia[]
Promos[]
