Chapter 316 – Episode 314. One Step to Victory. (4)
‘Fuck, you’re so persistent.’
That was the opinion I made after watching the batted ball go over the fence. Jang Yoon, who seemed anxious from the start of the game, eventually hit a home run, reducing the score to 1 point again. With this, the score is 6:5.
“Change pitcher!”
Eventually, the manager comes to the mound with the ball. Jang Yoon’s reasonable judgment is that this is it. Still, the replacement was made quickly because the next pitcher was preparing from the beginning of the game.
“Whoa…”
The pitcher was Park Jun-hyung, who was warming up. After appearing as a starter in Game 4, he was a pitcher who was capable of pitching for one or two innings, even though it was only his third day on the mound.
“Infielders, gather together. Even though Yuni is down, keep in mind that he is still winning. “Let’s focus as much as possible on each and every defense and return to Jamsil.”
“Yes!”
The bottom of the 4th inning resumed after a short meeting in the infield. Park Jun-hyung’s first pitch went properly into the strike zone.
‘Junhyung, your condition seems to be okay?’
It was quite meaningful that the starting pitcher came to the bullpen and threw a strike from the first pitch. And as I expected, Park Jun-hyung finished the bottom of the fourth inning by finishing off the remaining batters.
“Hyung, is the ball good today?”
“Because I’m concentrating.”
However, contrary to the good-looking performance, Park Jun-hyung’s voice was trembling. Born in Seoul, former AT Thunders child member, franchise selection. And it was a desperate situation with a 1 point difference. I could tell the burden that Park Jun-hyung was feeling right now without even asking. No, it wasn’t just Park Jun-hyung. After returning from the inning, the dugout was strangely quiet.
It was definitely a noisy dugout until I hit the home run, but the more we gave up chasing points, the more the players became more and more stiff. As the championship got closer, the pressure was weighing on the players.
“What, why is the atmosphere in the dugout like this? Anyone who sees me will think I’m losing. If you can’t hear my voice at bat, we’ll have a meeting today. Do you understand?”
In such an atmosphere, the weather forecaster makes a joke and heads to the plate.
“Fighting for the weather!”
“Sangju-hyung, please blow one!”
Although the players responded well to those words, in my eyes, it seemed like they were forcing the tension up.
‘As expected, a big blow is needed to turn this situation around.’
As always, the thing that turns the mood around is a big blow. After scoring in the top of the third inning, an additional point was needed to change the feeling of being chased. I steeled myself, took the bat, and headed to the waiting box.
Perfect!
But unfortunately, the runner in front of me did not fall. The weather warning hit becomes a ground ball to second base and is out. And the pitcher who was on the mound to face the left-handed batter comes down. The new pitcher is Seo Dong-ho, who is UG’s starter and is pitching as a swingman in the Korean Series.
When Webb went down in Game 5, he seemed to have pitched a pretty long inning, and it looked like he was out today as well.
‘It’s a slider.’
‘Slider from the first pitch?’
Are you planning to compete outside? I think it would be scary to stick a body slider on me…
“Ball.”
As expected, the first pitch was a ball that deviated significantly.
‘Two-seam.’
‘Okay.’
The standard technique is to show one outside and stab the two-seam to the inside. Since Baek Kyung-ho was replaced, it was a little obvious that he was probably mixing balls in UG’s dugout. After the guy did the windup, he threw the ball,
Ta – Aak!
I just pulled the two-seamer hard toward his body. A foul that flies into the stands near third base with a fairly loud hitting sound. The timing was faster than I thought.
‘It seems like it’s a little less than the original restraint?’
I glanced at the electronic display board. The speed recorded on the electronic display board was 143 km/h. Considering that his average velocity is in the upper 140s, it certainly seemed like there was an aftereffect from being on the mound the day before yesterday.
‘Baby, you’re lucky. If it were normal, I would have disappeared straight towards the fence.’
I was planning to test how long that luck would last, but unfortunately there were no more opportunities. After seeing the foul hit, the guy probably thought it was a joke and started pulling the ball outward.
“Base on balls!”
I had no choice but to arrive at first base on foot.
‘But it’s just one purchase. First, let’s make just one point. Because I need 1 point to turn the mood around. Mr. Rossby?’
‘It’s a fastball.’
‘Okay. First, wait for one ball…’
Perfect!
While I was thinking about running to second base, the sound of the ball exploded. I reflexively ran to second base as the batted ball rolled toward the infield, but the shortstop had already tossed the ball to the second baseman, and the baseball passed over me as I ran.
“Out!”
Choi Jin-cheol’s double play on the first pitch occurred.
“Useup…”
“Under… Fuck, this isn’t right.”
“… Senior, just wait a moment.”
“Sorry. “It came so easy to hit.”
The worsening of the team’s position was actually bad news. It was a perfect hit because Seo Dong-ho’s ball was good to hit. Since I saw Seo Dong-ho’s pitching spirit in person, I understood Choi Jin-cheol’s feelings to a certain extent.
‘Lucky bastard. Tsk, but it’s a little difficult like this…’
As expected from the Korean Series, the UG guys are pursuing tenaciously, and the dugout is stagnant.
‘If I had known it would be like this, I would have just guessed the game. I won’t miss it next time.’
*
[Yoon Young-joo’s batting ball flies high! Park Jun-hyung finishes the difficult 6th episode! The score is 6:5!]
After Jang Yoon’s early dismissal, Park Jun-hyung came down from the mound after pitching without a run until the 6th inning. However, that did not change the thin ice-like atmosphere where AT was being chased.
In the top of the 7th inning, Lee Seok-gyun, who was the starter in Game 4, came on the mound for UG and finished off the left-handed batters with a three-way strike, and in the bottom of the 7th, Kang Se-ho, the team’s sure-to-win team, came on the mound for AT.
[AT’s Se-Ho Kang is now on the mound.]
[Kang Se-ho has been on the mound in 10 of AT’s 14 games since the semi-playoffs. It’s probably quite difficult, but I still get on the mound.]
[In the regular season, you don’t usually pitch in situations like this, right?]
[That’s right. But now it’s the Korean series. It is also a game where the final championship is at stake. Before the coach pointed him out, Kang Se-ho must have made up his mind.]
The final game where the championship was at stake. And the situation is one point difference. It was clear that no pitcher would refuse to go up to the mound in that situation. Kang Se-ho was one of those pitchers.
However,
Ta – Aak!
[Choi Jae-hyeon hits the ball into the wall! Fence! Let’s go a little further! This ties the score at 6:6! UG Overlord balances the game again! UG Overlord’s Korean series is not over yet! The game is now! From now on! Let’s start again!]
It was inevitable that I would run out of stamina at the end.
-Ha, Seho got hit in the end…
-Ah… Just go with Park Jun-hyung…
-Still, I don’t want to criticize Kang Se-ho. Because I’ve worked so hard so far.
Game 7 of the Korean Series. The score was tied with one home run, but not many AT fans criticized Kang Se-ho, the pitcher who allowed the home run. This was because AT fans also knew how much Kang Se-ho had devoted himself to his team. Fortunately for the fans cheering for AT, the 7th inning ended with Kang Se-ho safely catching the remaining out counts, but the points already given could not be undone.
-How many at-bats do you have left?
Looks like one at-bat will come in. First, he is the leadoff hitter in the top of the 8th inning.
-Please, please, please,
-I’m Ji-maeng Honde, I’m grateful for your support, but I quit Byeolgram because of you guys. Damn. And I will find and kill the bastard who sent me a picture of his dick. Thank you always for your support and I will work harder in the future. Please look forward to the second half of the year. [6916 total comments]
ㄴFerocious god, please do it one more time
ㄴI believe in fierce tiger
I know it’s shameless, but please give me just one more at-bat.
In a situation where the score was tied, the only person fans could trust was Ji Maeng-ho, who always saved the team from danger throughout the season and during the postseason.
[In the top of the 8th inning, the leadoff batter is Ji Maeng-ho. On the mound is UG’s closer Kim Woo-jun. Director Moon Ki-taek makes another splash.]
[Can we stop Ji Maeng-ho? Because winning the 2023 season depends on that one thing, right? Director Moon Ki-taek throws the strongest card among the remaining cards.]
Kim Woo-jun was considered to be one level below Go Young-hwan, but Kim Woo-jun was also a top finisher in Korea, making more than 30 saves every season.
[Kim Woo-jun’s ball was hit! Ji Maeng-ho’s hitting is big! It’s big! Right field, center field! The center fielder catches it!]
“Oh, shit! Is this caught?!”
When the ball he thought was properly pushed was caught by the center fielder’s glove at the end of the fence, Ji Maeng-ho broke the bat in two, but nothing changed. If he had gone for a walk or a hit, he could have gotten on base, but he came into his at-bat with the mindset that he had to figure it out on his own.
-I’m Ji-maeng Honde, I’m grateful for your support, but I quit Byeolgram because of you guys. Damn. And I will find and kill the bastard who sent me a picture of his dick. Thank you always for your support and I will work harder in the future. Please look forward to the second half of the year. [7036 total comments]
Oh, you fucking can’t do that?
Damn destruction haha
ㄴI made a fool of myself and it’s so fucking good haha
ㄴTheir level of wolkeulkkkk you ever got any hate for kim woojun right?
“That’s it!”
And while watching Ji Maeng-ho’s out, Moon Ki-taek let out a scream without realizing that his pitcher replacement was just right. Afterward, Choi Jin-cheol hit a hit and a runner was on base with one out, but Kim Woo-joo came off the mound, ending the first inning given to him without allowing any runs.
‘Now if only I could score…’
Moon Ki-taek saw a pitcher throwing a ball in the bullpen on the screen, happily imagining his way to victory.
[Is Austin Webb preparing for UG’s bullpen?]
[He appeared as a starter in Game 5, but it looks like he was judged early and had to wait in the bullpen.]
The reason why Moon Ki-taek boldly had the closing pitcher pitch in the 8th inning. It was because of the presence of Austin Webb, who was overshadowed by Ji Maeng-ho but showed MVP-level performance. Unlike most mercenaries, Webb volunteered to pitch at the end of Game 7, and Moon Ki-taek gladly accepted.
Game 7 was going to the end, and like AT where the bullpen was collapsing, it was natural that UG’s bullpen would gradually become physically stressed. Moreover, with Benjamin collapsing today, the bullpen was greatly depleted, so Austin Webb’s request to pitch was an offer that could not be refused.
‘Please, let’s just give one point. Then, AT’s batting lineup starts from number 8.’
And like a miracle, the UG Overlords’ home stadium accepted Moon Ki-taek’s request.
[Kim Jeong-wan’s batted ball is to the left! Left! Left! Over the fence! It flies! Solo home run! This player was replaced due to Baek Kyung-ho’s injury! Creates a score that throws off balance! The main character is Kim Jeong-wan!]
[This is the beauty of baseball! The substituted player scores the decisive score! I went over the fence slightly, and the AT Thunders players must be angry at Munhak Stadium!]