Chapter 494 – Episode 486. Cycling. (3)

“Strike!”

Since the ball didn’t even touch the bat, it was natural that I couldn’t feel anything in my hand.

‘Hey, you fucking idiot. I lost more than I thought. Mr. Rossby, what about the next ball?’

‘It’s a fastball this time too.’

‘Okay.’

Hmm… It’s a fastball this time too… First, the outside was clear. Even if one is a ground home run, it is impossible for a pitcher who has hit two home runs to hit it into his body… ? There wasn’t one?

‘For a moment. All balls that hit home runs are outside, so what about now?’

At that time, I felt like an electric current was flowing through my head and I felt like I was going to throw it towards my body. All the balls hit by me so far have been outside. So, wouldn’t it be thrown toward the body this time? Of course, not inside the zone, but towards the body…

As I was gathering my thoughts, the guy started pitching again. And just as I expected, the fastball goes towards the body! However, because I had already anticipated it, my hand reacted to the trajectory earlier than expected.

Ta – Aak!

This time too, it felt like I didn’t hit anything. But unlike before, it was an empty feeling because it hit the sweet spot of the bat. And without even looking, the batted ball quickly disappears over the left wall. A batted ball that goes over the fence, beyond the green zone, and literally disappears.

‘Is it long left?’

In literature, the ball had to be hit at least 145 meters outside the box, but even just looking at it, it seemed like the ball flew at least 150 meters.

“Wow, I guess I got it right.”

“Should we stop appreciating batted balls and go to first base?”

“Yes. “I’ll go.”

The score is now 6:3. If I provoked UG any further, an empty ball might fly out, so I quickly ran to first base.

‘Wow, wait. So this is already the 3rd home run today? Does it feel good?’

Already three consecutive home runs in just three at-bats. Did I prepare without having sex yesterday and did it work? As expected, the heavens seemed to recognize my efforts.

‘In this world, people who work hard are rewarded.’

“Meng Hao!”

“Brother! I said I would make you a winning pitcher, right? “Try just one more inning.”

“Thank you, really!”

And I was proud to see Park Jun-hyung also happy.

‘There must have been an option to win when signing a free agent contract, right? I’ll have to get some delicious drinks later.’

-Pitcher replacement, pitcher replacement…

And the announcer’s voice echoes throughout the stadium. In UG, it seemed like Seok-Kyun Lee was sent down after hitting a home run. That means essentially giving up on the game. It was the right decision as it was a 3-point lead.

After that, unfortunately, the back hitters were unable to attack UG’s new bullpen and did not score any additional points, but the game was close anyway.

The bottom of the 5th inning started in such a good mood.

-Goo Jin-mo! Goo Jin-mo! Gu Jin-mo!

‘Senior Jinmo is definitely in good condition. Well, not as much as me.’

Although Park Jun-hyung hit a solo home run from Koo Jin-mo and chased down one run, the bottom of the 5th inning ended with Park ending the inning. 4 runs allowed in 5 innings. It wasn’t a great performance for a starting pitcher, but it was good enough for me to win.

“Bro, I got beat up so much today, I guess I can do it 6 times?”

“Oh, the coach said he would raise it to the 6th inning.”

Moreover, because he got a lot of hits, Park Jun-hyung’s pitch count management was neat. Since he was on a winning streak, the bullpen was heavily depleted, so it was good for the starting pitcher to eat up as many innings as possible, so this was commendable.

‘Good. I think we should score more points today, so the bullpen pitchers can get some rest.’

There are many reasons why a team with a long winning streak ends up losing consecutively after the streak ends, but the biggest reason is bullpen exhaustion. How well the winning teams were managed during the winning streak was the factor that prevented them from falling into a losing streak even after the winning streak ended.

Fortunately, our team had many big innings and big wins during the streak, so we didn’t use up that much of the bullpen, but as we were aiming for a new record for the most consecutive wins in an opening, it was best to add more runs and give the pitchers a rest. .

And the other players probably knew what I was thinking, too, as they added 1 point in the top of the 6th inning to make it 7:3.

‘Tsk, if Hyunseong hadn’t hit a double play, he could have come to bat. Ha, if only Hyunseong improves his batting skills, I think the batting lineup will be stronger than last year.’

However, it was a little disappointing that Kim Hyun-seong, who played as the 7th batter today, hit a double play with one out and runners on first base. If you were to evaluate Hyunseong, a middle school junior, he was a big guy and had the potential to hit 20 home runs in Jamsil if he hit well, but it was a bit disappointing that he hadn’t hit a home run yet, perhaps because it was his first season as a starting player.

“I gave up one more point, so Jun-hyung, please only last until the 6th inning.”

“Yes. “I will try my best.”

Park Jun-hyung, who came to the mound in the bottom of the 6th inning with a 3-point lead, fortunately blocked the bottom of the 6th inning without allowing a run, playing the basic role of a starter, and came off the mound. There are 3 innings remaining. The score is 3 points. The bullpen, which had been unstable until last year, was showing pretty good pitching this season thanks to the expanded zone, so scoring 3 points was enough to be reliable. However, the problem was that Pil Seung-jo had to come out.

‘Well, I just have to hit a home run now.’

The leadoff batter in the top of the 7th inning was me. If only one more point was added here, there was no need for a closing pitcher. The pitcher on the mound was Jin Do-hyun, a member of UG’s pursuit team. Last year, the average ERA was around 4 points, but I heard before the game that this year there were still no runs.

‘If I hit a home run here, is it a home run in 4 consecutive at-bats?’

Was it because he was greedy about raising Mr. Zero’s ERA and hitting home runs in four consecutive at-bats?

Perfect!

‘Ah! Fuck!’

I swung the bat aggressively, but missed slightly, and the ball ended up flying high. And the left fielder slowly steps back and catches the falling ball. He passed first base and ran to second base, but the batted ball was falling in a high parabola.

“Out!”

But unfortunately, the left fielder did not miss an ordinary fly.

“… That sucks.”

“Meng Hao, how is your position?”

“It’s nothing special… Ah, maybe I scooped it up too much.”

“Well, a person can’t hit every at-bat. Don’t worry. “I will get 1 point.”

Choi Jin-cheol, who was on standby at bat, saw me coming back and encouraged me, but Choi Jin-cheol’s words were never kept. Jin Do-hyeon finished the inning with a three-way throw, blocking Ki Ki-ju and Choi Jin-cheol. In the 7th inning, neither team scored a point and the score difference was maintained at 7:4.

‘Well, it’s not bad that it ends like this… I’m a little worried because it’s a game tomorrow.’

Just when I was swallowing my regret over an ambiguous game, the top of the 8th inning began.

*

[In the top of the 8th inning, the AT Thunders’ attack begins with the 5th batter, Williams.]

[Williams is silent today, isn’t he?]

[Yes. Although he hasn’t played many games, Williams’ batting average, which was at .400 before this game, has now fallen below .400…, Ah! You hit it! Williams hits! AT Thunders succeed in getting the lead hitter on base!]

[Oh, from AT’s point of view, this hit is very good, right? There are two innings left, so if we score this inning, we can save on setup and finishing, right?]

[Batter number 6, Yoon Seong-tae. First pitch bunt attempt! The pitcher challenges second base! Out! Safe at first base!]

[Oh my gosh, bunts like this shouldn’t come out… You placed the bunt very ambiguously, right? We’re lucky we didn’t get a double out. Seongtae Yoon survived because his feet were fast.]

[Now the batter is Kim Hyun-seong… Ah, here comes pinch hitter Jeong Hwi-cheol. I was taking a break today, and here I take out this card.]

[Jung Hwi-cheol is a very good contact player and has quick feet, so there is almost no threat of a double play, right? He is probably expected to do a hit-and-run operation…]

[… Hit it! Run! The batted ball passes through 1st and 2nd base! Seongtae Yoon leaves at third base! Jeong Hwi-cheol stops at first base. AT Thunders have the opportunity to go on 1st and 3rd bases with 1 out!]

[UG Overrozen must be stopped here. There are two out counts left, and if you don’t catch the two out counts, Ji Maeng-ho, who hit three home runs today, will come back to bat.]

[UG’s infielders play forward defense. I can see the will to catch the out count. … You hit it! The second baseman hits a straight line! Runners return to base! Safe!]

[Woo Gwan-hyeong looked to be in good condition today, but the second baseman hits a straight hit here. He climbed a large mountain. The strategy worked.]

[Now the batter is number 1, Baek Jeong-jin. … Pick! Baek Jeong-jin gets an important walk here! Now at the plate is Ji Maeng-ho, who hit 3 home runs today!]

[I should have stopped it here… Does this seem to be the end of Jin Do-hyun? Replace the pitcher.]

*

‘I wasn’t even thinking about bases loaded, it’s a piece of shit.’

Actually, I wasn’t even expecting to get a chance to bat, but I can’t believe it came to me with the bases loaded. Because I worked hard yesterday, I felt like heaven was giving me a chance.

‘If you hit a home run here, it’s 4 home runs in one game…’

It wasn’t four home runs in a row, but four home runs in one game is a fairly rare record, so I’m a little greedy. However, his head was cool. Because I hit with a full shot earlier and a fly to the outfield came out. After he calmed down and went to bat, UG replaced the pitcher as if it were natural.

‘Please, Yoon Jung-hwan, come up.’

The pitcher I want is Yoon Jung-hwan. The ball was fast and tricky for him, but he was confident because he had practiced against it a lot yesterday and today. However, contrary to my expectations, the pitcher on the mound was not Yoon Jung-hwan, but Jang Dong-hyun.

Well, it was only natural. Because Yoon Joong-hwan is now the end of UG. Of course, he didn’t let down his guard. Jang Dong-Hyun was also one of UG’s best bullpen players. When I was a rookie, Jang Dong-hyun was the setup man I was looking at UG, where the bullpen was a strength. He is older now, and was playing the role of a sure-win player, but seeing him put up a sure-win team now, it seemed like he thought he could score 3 runs in the remaining two innings today.

‘But when I think about this bastard, Jung-hwan, I find it shameful. In fact, I raised him all the way to the end, but he never sent me a holiday gift. ‘Aren’t I a teacher?’

And then Jang Dong-hyun’s practice pitching began. Well, nothing has changed from before. He is also a veteran. Fastball is roughly mid to upper 140s. In addition, there is a slider that counts and a forkball that acts as a winning shot.

‘Okay. Check power.’

Bases loaded with 2 outs, the pitcher is veteran Jang Dong-hyun. He barely figured out how to proceed with the at-bat. Walking with bases loaded, and 2 outs is prohibited. If he had thought it was okay to give up a walk, he would have continued to drag Jin Do-hyun. So, there is no skipping with the bases loaded. He is determined to win no matter what. If the first pitch is thrown as a fastball, he will catch it, and if the first pitch is thrown as a slider, he will ignore it because it is a declaration that the game will be difficult.

‘It’s a slider.’

‘As expected, we don’t compete head on.’

I felt slightly relieved and waited for the guy to pitch, and then the pitch started. The guy’s arm swung, and the slider went out… ?

‘… Uh? ‘I was cornered?’

The guy’s slider, which I expected to go to the outside, seemed to be nervous, ended up in the middle as expected, and my instinct made me swing my hand faster than expected.

Perfect!

It didn’t hit the center of the bat, but it felt like it hit at the right time. The bat came out later than usual, but since it was a slider, the timing was exactly right.

“Run! Run!”

Since it was two outs, all the runners had already started running, and I ran to first base without even having time to appreciate the batted ball.

‘Are you going to pass? Should I pass over?’

The location of the batted ball is behind center field. Jaehyun Choi runs to the fence to catch the batted ball. However, Choi Jae-hyun’s movements soon stopped. However, the pause was not a movement caused by capturing the point of the falling ball. Rather, it was a movement that came about because the batted ball was given up.

-Wow!!!!

-Ji Maeng-ho! Ji Maengho! Ji Maengho!

‘Wow, 4 home runs in one fucking game! This is it! No, what kind of veteran is so nervous that he throws a slider to the middle? I’m fed up.’

Still, training without Rossby last year seemed to help. If I hadn’t done that, I would have let this good fight go to waste. Well, I did get a little help from the mayor. Maybe I wouldn’t have passed by Jamsil?

Anyway, 4 home runs in one game with this. The balls that hit home runs were pushed over, pulled over, over the center, and even home runs on the ground. I started to get a little excited because it was the first time I had such a perfect game since I became a pro.

“Ji Maeng-ho! Ji Maengho! Ji Maeng-ho!”

And my colleagues were equally excited. When I returned to the dugout after hitting the home run, all my teammates, who were so happy, came to my side and each started saying something.

“Wow, how many home runs are you hitting today? “You crazy bastard!”

“Wait a minute, isn’t this guy a cycling home run?”

“… A cycling home run?”

“Two runs in the first inning, solo in the second, and three runs in the fifth. And now a grand slam home run. “You hit all four, right?”

Cycling home run… ?

‘Fuck! If I had known, I would have missed the ceremony!’