Chapter 436 – Episode 428. 1st Place Match. (1)
As expected, baseball was not easy. After the double header that day, there were only two more home runs in nine games.
In Sunday’s game, he tried too hard to hit a home run, and the game ended with a no-hitter, and in the next game, before JT, he didn’t even get a chance to hit unless the score increased due to continued walks in check. It seems that hitting four home runs in one day had a big impact.
The good news though was that the team was doing well. Although the difference in wins against Hwasan was only 0.5 games.
The thing that bothers me a little is that there are still most games against Hwasan?
There are five remaining games against Hwasan. After playing three games in this series, the schedule against the Volcanoes ends with two games near the end of the season. The opponent’s record so far is 5 wins, 5 losses, and 1 draw. This series was really important because it was a close match.
To be honest, I also felt burdened by dragging this battle for first place to the end.
‘Mr. Rossby. Please help me again starting today.’
‘Tch…’
‘If you sign a contract, you have to work. How long will I just rest?’
‘But aren’t you faithfully fulfilling your contract these days?’
‘No, the schedule is tight. How can you do that? I’m having a hard time too.’
As Rossby said, the schedule was so intense that I wasn’t even able to have sex. I was tired because the schedule lasted up to 8 games, including a Monday game and a double header. These days, I’ve been having a hard time, so I barely steal any bases, and after the game, I’m so tired that I just lie down at Jo Eun’s house, get a massage, get a massage, or just enjoy being on top of the ladies.
‘But you really enjoyed it yesterday.’
Fortunately, yesterday was my first day off in a while, so I enjoyed it a bit.
‘Anyway, I understand.’
Rossby seemed to readily give permission as well. Lately, I’ve been constantly encouraging him to try it on his own, but he’s been walking a lot in recent games, so he’s probably decided that meaningful growth is difficult, right?
Today’s starting pitcher for Hwasan is Minjun Kim. He was a pretty difficult player, having surpassed the 10-win mark in the early 3-point range. Of course, I wasn’t a player who couldn’t hit.
What was important was how Hwasan performed in this game. Will you really filter me? Or will we compete? We were competitive in the last series, but the key was how we would compete in this series.
It was safe to say that this game was essentially a preview of the Korean Series, so there was a high possibility that the stance for this game would go all the way to the Korean Series. Otherwise, there was a possibility that I would use it coolly and change my stance in this game.
‘It looks like we’ll win, but…’
The first game I went into with such little expectations.
“Strike!”
Minjun Kim threw a strike outward from the first pitch.
“Oh, we’re competing.”
“Then shall we avoid it?”
“No, no. I like it.”
He deliberately showed his gratitude for the match and encouraged him to hit the second ball in the strike zone,
“Ball.”
Lee Yong-gi was not fooled by my acting and chose a low slider.
‘What about the next ball?’
‘It’s a slider this time too.’
It was a slider this time too… Are you thinking of putting it in the zone? ? As I checked last time, it would be nice to have a special Kusera, but unfortunately, I feel like I don’t see anything like that. It was difficult to distinguish Kim Min-jun’s form because he used a fastball and a slider to pitch. Even Kim Soo-ho went so far as to say that Kim Min-jun is a clean pitcher with no pressure.
Anyway, since it was a slider, I set the timing slightly late and waited for the guy’s ball. And I swung the bat at a ball that seemed to be entering the zone.
Ta – Aak!
-Wow!! … Ah.
The fans who were loudly applauding the batted ball flying into the outfield let out a sigh, and cheers rang out from third base. A batted ball caught in front of the warning track…
‘Under…’
Since I haven’t been able to hit properly these days, I guess my hitting sense has decreased. Even Jamsil can’t pass this ball. I swallowed my regret and walked to the dugout.
“Brother, don’t worry. Because I’m in a shitty mood today.”
“What are you saying, you bastard?”
“Ugh, there’s no need to say anything nice.”
Today’s starting pitcher, Junhu, approached me and tried to talk to me, but I coldly pushed him away. Because he was a guy who would get excited and throw the game even if he got a little boost. And I honestly couldn’t believe it when he said he was in good condition. He blocked the first inning with a three-way throw, but it was Lim Jun-hu’s pattern to suddenly collapse.
“Junhoo, don’t act like a fool, just act like you normally do. Just like usual.”
“Hyung, just act like you always do. Okay? Just two home runs.”
That’s so fucking ridiculous. Normally, he would have squeezed the honey chestnuts, but he was selected today. It was such a shame that I couldn’t do that. Now that I think about it, it seems like they’re only making fun of the selection day…
“Bro, when are you going to the club? We decided to go together then.”
For some reason, even though I was a starter, I was the first to speak up. In the end, I think the purpose was this. Under…, The bastard who was the starter couldn’t come to his senses and was obsessed with women, so he still couldn’t win 10 games.
“Bitch, come to your senses. “You only have to play one game a week, but I play eight games a week. How do I go about it?”
“… “Liar.”
“Don’t act cute, before you hit me.”
“… When did I act cute? “It’s absurd.”
“Shut up and focus. “If you play Qualsplay today, I’ll go with you.”
“… Is it true?”
“When have you seen your brother lie?”
“Before…”
Just as Junhu was about to mutter something, we heard a hitting sound and our eyes turned towards it. Inside the ground, Kim Soo-ho’s batted ball was flying high in the Jamsil sky.
However, as expected, the walls of Jamsil were high. The center fielder, who ran towards the fence, caught Su-ho Kim’s batted ball in front of the warning track again.
“Ah, I caught that one.”
“Joo-yeop! Don’t catch the ball like that! That bastard didn’t defend himself like that when he was with us…”
“But since the two batters hit the ball well in a row, it’s worth giving it a try today.”
Even though two batters were out in a row, it felt good as all the batted balls went near the fence.
Ta – Aak!
And the batted ball from the meteorological warning floated high and began to fly into the outfield. This time to right field. However, this time too, the right fielder caught the batted ball in front of the warning track. All the balls that would have been home runs in any other stadium were caught in front of the fence…
The good feeling subsides all at once.
‘Write, … ‘Today’s game won’t be easy, right?’
*
[Lim Jun-hoo’s great pitch! 3 innings without a single batter getting on base!]
[Actually, when I watched the starting matchup between Kim Min-jun and Lim Jun-hoo, I thought this game would be weighted towards Hwasan, but Lim Jun-hoo is pitching well and relieving the anxiety of AT fans.]
[Now, the game goes to the bottom of the third inning. … Lim Jun-hoo showed a great performance until the top of the third inning, but Kim Min-jun is also pitching well, right?]
[You’re right. The key point to watch in this game was how Kim Min-jun blocked AT’s hard hitting line, and he was doing well today. Although most of the batted balls are hits, not a single player is allowed on base while striking out.]
[Perhaps the fatigue from all this time is showing up, right? Since the overall game schedule is tight, the fielders will experience severe fatigue. I took a break from the game yesterday, but it’s not unusual for my batting skills to be lacking after taking a day off.]
[7th batter Baek Jeong-jin, … Swing strikeout! This is my fourth strikeout in this game. … Jeong Yun-cheol has to come out and clean it up with a ground ball! Number 9 hitter Jeong Hwi-cheol…, This batted ball! Infield! You can’t escape! Shortstop Kim Seung-sik’s fantastic lake ratio! Kim Min-jun ends this inning with a three-way strike! Now we go to the top of the 4th inning.]
The first place match held on the first day of October. Before the game began, many fans and experts expected a fierce batting match. Although Lim Jun-hoo was in the starting rotation, there were many expectations that he would have a hard time against Hwasan’s batting line, and Kim Min-jun was also a good pitcher, but the prevailing expectation was that he would not be able to block AT’s hard hitting line.
However, the game went in the opposite direction from what experts and fans originally expected. In the first game of the first place series, pitchers from both teams continued their perfect pitching, blocking nine batters.
[Lim Jun-hoo pitched 3 innings with 39 balls. Indeed, in this inning… Lim Jun-hoo pitches 4 consecutive innings of perfect pitching, striking out Choi Si-woo!]
[If Lim Jun-hoo performs like this, Coach Lee Soo-hyun can’t help but feel good about it. If you perform like this in the game against Hwasan, you might be able to become a starter in the fall baseball game, right?]
-Why is that bastard throwing so well all of a sudden?
┗ㅋㅋ I think he told me the pick to bet on a win.
┗┗ Even though Junhu, this young boy, was bitten by a flower snake, he did not fix the match.
┗It certainly seems like the batters in the league as a whole are in bad shape.
-No, how come you can’t even kill a flower snake? If he can’t beat Kkotbaem, doesn’t he actually have a starter he can beat? I think Kosi will be screwed
┗ㄹㅇ ㅅㅂ I thought I was doing well these days, but if I take a break from the game even for a day, I feel like shit.
┗These bastards just need to play 7 games a week
[Now the game is in the bottom of the 4th inning, and leadoff hitter Ji Maeng-ho enters the game.]
-Ah, I think I can rob Kim Min-jun, but I can’t get any hitsㅡ
┗On my days off, I go around picking up trash, but it seems like I throw away trash
-Still, I trust him because the next hitter is a fierce protector.
┗Hmm, Mang Ho-shin doesn’t seem to be in good condition these days…
┗Still, I hit two home runs last week. It doesn’t look good because he’s a fierce defender. He shoots better than the league average.
-Ah… I’m so nervous about that guy. Can’t I just skip it?
┗Then you can skip it in Kosi too? UG Can’t you see that the bastards kept filtering in Kosi and got fucked?
-I can’t stop Minjun from getting scratched haha
┗But why is that kid getting scratched all of a sudden? Wasn’t he originally a big game eunuch?
┗┗Where was the big game for this team? LOL
┗It’s a scratch, right? All batted balls go straight ahead?
┗┗If you block it, it will get scratched haha
It was a masterpiece pitching match that left both AT fans and Hwasan fans dumbfounded. There were fans who expected Ji Maeng-ho to scratch the excellent pitcher,
[Ji Maeng-ho’s batting ball flies high! High and far! This time in right field! Catch it! A fantastic diving catch to block Ji Maeng-ho! The team’s foreign hitter, Mac D, saves the team with defense this time!]
[Preventing the lead batter from getting on base is big. Especially if that player is Ji Maeng-ho!]
Kim Min-jun continued the pitching battle by hitting Ji Maeng-ho again. Although the next batter, Kim Soo-ho, got on base with a walk, Kim Min-jun continued to throw dangerous pitches and succeeded in blocking Gi-joo Ki and Williams.
“Are you okay! “I’ll stop everything today!”
Lim Jun-hoo, who smiles and encourages his seniors even in situations where the batters cannot help them score,
‘Ha, the fuck, that bastard isn’t really playing Qualcomm, is he? Still, I have to win…’
Looking at Lim Jun-hoo like that, should I spend golden time with a bastard like that? Ji Maeng-ho is worried.
[… Lim Jun-hoo gave up the first hit today! However, he allowed no runs in the top of the 5th inning!]
The game was progressing into a pitcher’s battle, regardless of Ji Maeng-ho’s concerns.