Even a 10-happy Carrie Ann Inaba couldn’t save this talented celebrity from elimination

Tough night to be baseball and ballroom fan; When it’s Game 4 of the World Series and your team is one W away from taking the championship, should the Viennese waltz really matter?

Hell yeah, it should! Thank God for more TVs and Freddie Freeman. And much credit to those ABC censors who kept us from seeing the Bruno bits in the silly opening sequence with Derek Hough.

Olympic rugby player Ilona Maher with partner Alan Bersten. The judges want to see more dancing from the exuberant athlete, so Bersten packed their tango with plenty of kicks and spins as they hoofed it to “Psycho Killer.” Something clicked for Maher; she was much more graceful this week. “I can really see that you are working very very hard, especially on the frame,” said judge Bruno Tonioli. “A lot of content, but you still need to refine the footwork … much better.” Score: 24 out of 30

NBA champion Dwight Howard with partner Daniella Karagach. Karagach gave his partner some tough love, saying he hasn’t made it through one performance without making a mistake. Yikes! Lucky for the master, Karagach’s sweet spot is choreographing memorable contemporary numbers with lots of breathtaking lifts. And once again she did not disappoint: the judges were overwhelmed by the dynamic duo. “Dance with that kind of intensity,” Inaba said. “Honestly, I wasn’t sure you’d ever go there. Tonight you left nothing behind!” Score: 28 out of 30

Jenn Tran (The Bachelor) with partner Sasha Farber: Season 32 celeb Alyson Hannigan visited the duo at rehearsal for no reason other than to suggest what it was like to act scared Buffy the Vampire Slayer. Thanks? The only problem was that there was nothing scary about their contemporary homage to sexy vampires. Damn good! “The Queen of the Damned! You really got your teeth into that performance,” Tonioli said. “You were actually in charge of the dance and you won that treasure.” Score: 28 out of 30

Super Bowl champion Danny Amendola with partner Witney Carson. Amendola has the right amount of masculinity for his Argentine tango – and he’s a master at throwing his partner – but his timing was off and he could use a little more passion. However, the judges saw something different. “It was so amazing,” Hough said. “You’re a great partner for Witney. I will say this, the connective tissue…your shoulders are getting a little hunched and tight.” Score: 28 out of 30

Olympic Stephen Nedoroscik with partner Rylee Arnold: The gymnast got to play a zombie-like figure walking on his hands in a contemporary number that more than made up for his bottom score from last week. “Everyone for me is performing really well tonight, but that was without a doubt the best!” Inaba said. Score: 28 out of 30

The Bachelor‘s Joey Graziadei with partner Jenna Johnson. The pro found that the best way to showcase Graziadei’s leading bonafides was to have him play puppet master to her lithe puppet. It worked! Their Argentine tango was, as Tonioli said, enchanting. “You’re the ultimate puppet master because you’re always in control, which is a compliment,” Hough said. “There were two moments where the lifts felt a little unstable, but my friend, you are amazing.” Score: 29 out of 30

Chandler Kinney (Pretty Little Liars: Original Sin) with partner Brandon Armstrong. Kinney wrapped up the evening’s partner portion with an impeccable Viennese waltz to the theme song for Pretty Little Liars. Damn, this lady is good (no matter what Inaba says). “The beauty and the sense of haunting,” Tonioli said. “The quality of movement … it was really exquisite.” Score: 29 out of 30

Dance off.

Kinney and Armstrong have immunity because of their previous scores. Couples meet each other while performing the same dance style.

Howard vs. Maher: Neither pair showed skill with their cha cha, but Maher had more energy. However, far be it from the judges to let that stop them from targeting the Olympian for elimination. “Both of you have come this far in this competition,” Inaba said. “I thought you had a strong start, Dwight. Ilona, ​​you were more technically sound than Dwight was.” Winner: Howard

Tran vs. Nedoroscik: The gymnast tried to boost Trans’s salsa with his gymnastic prowess, but there’s no way to beat the bachelor’s technical skills. “It’s a lot of fun,” Hough said. “For me, Jenn and Sasha, you guys went right into it, there was a lot of content.” Winner: Tran

Graziadei vs. Amendola: It’s a hottie-off! But honestly, didn’t you already predict the winner before they started their jump? Oh, that Johnson is a magnificent choreographer. “Battle of the Six Pack!” Tonioli said. “There was so much testosterone. You guys worked so hard and did so well. The energy was out of this world.” Winner: Graziadei

Man, talk about a broken record: another voting milestone was hit on Tuesday.

Bottom three celebs Kinney, Tran and Nedoroscik.

It’s Trans’s turn to go. Totally undeserved.

DWTS is free next week for the election. Vote, people!