What the hell is that?

Well, lessee. AHD4 says:

To reach the highest point or degree; climax:

for culminate. I'm not familiar with the game in question but if the despised Yankees had managed to get a couple of cheap runs in the top of the 10th and it was two outs with runners on 1st and 3rd when Zeile came up to bat, that would seem pretty climactic to me.