Chapter 514 – Episode 506. Pure Child. (1)
-Wow!!!!
-Will! Will! Williams~! Oooh~! Oooh~!
“Baby, now you’re finally paying for food.”
After my solo home run, no matter how much Tinier’s control was stable, he may have been a little shaken after the home run, so the ball was driven by Tinie, and the score scored in the top of the first inning with a double to Ki Ki-joo, the next hitter, and a timely hit by Williams with an RBI. 2 points. With Seongtae and Suho getting out, the first inning ended with only 2 runs scored, but scoring the first run was encouraging.
“Junhyung hyung! Since it’s 2 points, let’s take it easy. Even if you give up points, I will make it up to you today.”
“Okay. Thank you for your words. But didn’t you say that to Yoon yesterday too?”
“Me? “I don’t remember?”
I think he said something like that. It may not seem like it. Seeing me like that, Junhyung smiled and walked onto the field. Fortunately, his expression looked bright, perhaps because he gave up 2 points.
“Out!”
“Oh, did you catch this? Nice!”
“Out!”
“Suho hyung! Thank you!”
“Out!”
“Seongtae! It was good!”
And just like that, the first episode ended with Junhyung blocking the volcano’s attack with a three-way retreat. After all, what makes the best pitcher is reliable scoring support, right? Since there was a score, he pitched confidently and aggressively, and as the tempo was fast, the fielders also concentrated, creating a virtuous cycle in which Junhyeong helped his brother.
“Good! Please give me some points for the second inning too!”
Junhyung, who blocked the first inning with a three-way strike, must have been in a good mood and shouted loudly to encourage the batters. However, Tinie’s performance in the last two games was not as good as Furuku’s, and although he gave up a walk, he ended the inning without allowing any runs.
‘If this happens, I will be the leadoff hitter in the third inning? Tsk. I want to go in while there are runners, but today will be difficult, right?’
It was a little disappointing to have to go in without any runners, but now is the time to focus.
Ta – Aak!
However, as soon as he loses focus, Lee Yong-gi’s batted ball flies through the sky and goes over the fence.
-Wow!!!!
-Lee Yong-gi! Lee Yonggi! Use it!
Lee Yong-gi, who was running the bases, pointed to the dugout with his finger, and Tinie, who was at the tip of that finger, smiled. It was hard to see because it was dark, but I was sure he was smiling because his teeth were shining brightly.
‘Ha, you mean you don’t get there easily?’
Volcano’s counterattack started with a home run by leadoff hitter Lee Yong-gi. Hwasan chased down the chin, creating an opportunity with one out and runners on first and second base,
“Hey!”
“Out!”
“First base!”
“Out!”
Junhyung ended the second inning by creating a double play against the 8th batter, 6-4-3 (shortstop-2nd baseman-1st baseman).
“Meng Hao, you know that 1 point is uneasy, right? I’m in good condition today. “I’ll try to block 2 points.”
“Please leave it to me.”
That’s how Junhyung went to bat after receiving a special order from his older brother.
“You say you won’t let me sleep? “Do you think we’ll win today too?”
As soon as he goes to bat, he hits a home run and hears Yonggi’s triumphant voice.
“You haven’t forgotten that you’re still losing, right?”
“Let’s see how long you can laugh.”
‘The first pitch is a fastball.’
‘Okay. I guess I lost my senses after being hit like that earlier.’
They say they caught control, but control is control. Tinier’s pitch was not difficult to distinguish because there was a large difference between a ball and a strike.
‘If you come inside, hit me.’
The first ball that Tinie waited for, determined to hit it once it was in the zone,
“Strike!”
“Ah, pook. Fuck.”
“Porok-eun. “It’s a skill.”
“How do I control and throw here? Even Maddox can’t do that.”
Amazing strike to the low corner outside the zone. It was difficult to hit a good ball like this, so I waited for the ball to come into the zone, but I couldn’t swing the bat. But it wasn’t that there was no income.
‘First pitch strike? If you do this, you mean you will compete with me.’
If I get on base, it’s almost like 1 point is guaranteed. It seemed like the idea was to just compete head-on and induce widespread attacks.
‘Well, it’s not bad. Mr. Rossby. What about the next ball?’
‘It’s a slider.’
Slider here. His slider, which I checked in my first at-bat, is a good pitch to hit as it matches my swing trajectory. It was a pitch that gave me confidence that I could scoop it up and go over the fence even if it came into the zone or dropped low.
‘Okay, let’s go right away.’
“Jitterbug! Strike!”
However, contrary to my thoughts, the slider came in so low that it was almost a one-bound, and I ended up swinging and missing.
‘As expected, courage hyung. ‘I don’t throw the ball the way I think, right?’
Now it’s a no ball to strike situation. It was a slightly dangerous situation.
‘It’s a slider again.’
‘Again?’
My mind becomes complicated. It was a slider again. Since it was two strikes, there was a high chance of missing this time. However, the catcher sitting wearing the catcher’s mask is Lee Yong-gi. Here, it could have been put into the zone. But what if you aim for that and move it out of the zone? What if you aim for the station of the station and put it into the zone?
‘Er, I don’t know. Let’s just take a look and see.’
What I can trust here is my physical strength and visual acuity. There was a higher chance of getting a bad hit than if you aimed and hit, but it was natural that you would regret it if you just watched the pitch and got struck out on three pitches.
Tinie’s 3rd pitch that we’ve been waiting for.
“Ball.”
‘Wow, fuck. I endured it well.’
This time, the ball falls out of the zone as expected. Although I flinched from the outward trajectory from the beginning, I was able to endure it until the end without putting out the bat. And I don’t know why, but the sign of the battery getting longer is exchanged.
‘What’s not right?’
‘It’s a fastball.’
‘It’s finally coming.’
After much deliberation, the pitch chosen by Hwasan’s battery was a fastball.
His fastball has good velocity, but it is a so-called stick fastball with no tailing at all. Like the first pitch, unless you were lucky enough to hit it in the corner of the zone, it was easy to tell whether it was in the zone or out of the zone.
First, since there were a lot of outside sliders, there was a high possibility that he would quickly come in and try to beat me with his strength. Therefore, I adjust my hitting timing to the fast ball near my body and wait for his ball. And the guy’s fourth ball was thrown.
‘It has arrived!’
As I expected, the ball flew towards me, and I turned the bat without delay.
Ta – Aak!
-Wow!!!
A batted ball that doesn’t even need to be played. While appreciating the hit, I said something to Lee Yong-gi, who had been scolding me since yesterday.
“Brother, isn’t it time for you to retire as a catcher? After throwing all the time to the outside, to the body? “Is it too easy?”
“Fuck. If it was a bastard who could stick it in his body, I would… Under… Just turn it off quickly.”
“I’m going to eat well.”
Listening to Lee Yong-gi’s words, it didn’t seem like he was asking for a body ball, but it had nothing to do with me. The only story that has anything to do with me is that he defeated the Volcanoes, who had gained momentum by following the score in the previous inning, with this home run.
-Wow!!!
-Ji Maeng-ho! Ji Maengho!
So I headed to the dugout, receiving cheers from the crowd.
*
[This batted ball! All beasts stop! It passed! It passed! Ji Maeng-ho’s consecutive home runs! This home run marks our 30th home run of the season! Score 3:1! This is Ji Maeng-ho!]
[Whenever the ball hits the body, it’s a ball that asks Ji Maeng-ho to hit a home run, right? Wow, 30 home runs in 50 games this season. The pace is really great, isn’t it? It is a blessing for baseball fans to see Ji Maeng-ho play in person.]
[It’s really cool to see Ji Maeng-ho appreciating the batted ball.]
[Haha, if he did that in the major leagues, he would have been hit by a blank ball right away, but this is Korea and Tinie is a player with such good character that he worries about the batter even after being hit by a batted ball, so that wouldn’t happen. Haha. As it happens, the player who hit that ball was Ji Maeng-ho.
[After returning from that injury, Tinie’s performance improved, right? Perhaps Tinier will also congratulate this home run. He is a very personable player. Now, it’s Gyeonggi Joo’s turn at bat. First pitch ball.]
[It looks a little shaken, right? I saw something like this in the top of the first inning when Ji Maeng-ho hit a home run.]
[… Straight walk. Tinie gets the lead on base. … Williams’ batted ball! Trapped in the infield! Second baseman! Shortstop! First baseman! Hwasan’s infield defense completes the 4-6-3 double play!]
[The reason why Hwasan became a strong team is because of their defensive ability, right? It is said that since coach Moon Ki-taek took office this season, he has really emphasized defense.]
[Yoon Seong-tae strikes out! Inning over! Tinie conceded 1 point but does not concede any more points.]
Ji Maeng-ho’s home run breaks the atmosphere heated up by Lee Yong-gi’s solo home run. Perhaps thanks to that home run, the game went by uneventfully. In the bottom of the 3rd inning, Park Jun-hyung finished off the Hwasan’s 9th, 1st, and 2nd batters with a three-way throw, and AT was also unable to target Tinie, and the attack ended in the top of the 4th inning.
And in the bottom of the fourth inning. Hwasa’s third batter Choi Si-woo hit a single and got on base, but could not score, and AT’s attack began again in the top of the 5th inning.
[The tempo of today’s game is really fast, right?]
[I think it’s because both Tinie and Junhyung Park are pitching aggressively. Excluding the home run, the score was only 1 point.]
[Jitterbug! Tinie catches Jeong Hwi-cheol with three pitches and a strikeout. He continues to pitch aggressively. Now, Baek Jeong-jin is at bat. … Baek Jeong-jin hit the infield! Exit! Now it’s 1 out and 1 base! And at bat, the second batter, Ji Maeng-ho! This is the batter who is hitting consecutive home runs today!]
[Hey, Ji Maeng-ho’s concentration increases in situations where there are runners, right? I think this match will probably be the match of the day.]
*
‘Fastball.’
‘No, this guy only throws fastballs, but he hits two home runs and then throws another fastball? I recognize the real gang.’
Third at-bat against Tinie. The first pitch chosen by the Hwasan battery was a fastball. In previous at-bats, I hit a home run while throwing a fastball, but I decided to wait for the first pitch because I thought it wouldn’t come back into the zone, and then the first pitch was thrown.
“Huh?!”
Tinie’s ball misses wide and misses Lee Yong-gi’s mitt. It was a situation where the runner on first base could easily go to second base, but there was a chance that the runner would skip me if he got to second base, so I quickly raised my hand to block Baek Jeong-jin from advancing.
“Wow, why don’t you send this ball to second base? It’s poisonous, it’s poisonous.”
“If you go to second base, you’ll just skip it.”
“Well, that’s natural.”
“But I guess the pitcher was very scared? “I can’t put it in the zone.”
“That’s right.”
Was it the aftermath of consecutive home runs? Considering that Tinie’s first pitch missed badly, he seemed very scared. Looking at Lee Yong-gi’s tone, it seems like he was asking for John.
‘What about the next ball?’
‘Fastball.’
‘Oh. Fastball again this time?’
The reason for throwing a fastball this time was obvious. Perhaps the idea is to put one in the zone for fear of losing the sense of control that was so difficult to find. So, if you aim for this ball, there is a high chance of hitting a good ball.
‘Now, let’s hit a home run in three consecutive at-bats… !’
If you hit a home run now that there are runners on base, you can definitely set the tone for the game. I waited for the guy to pitch, ready to put out the bat. … And,
‘Body side!’
The guy’s ball, which was thrown toward my body, went deeper than I thought. The moment he realized the situation, he felt intense pain in his left shoulder.
“Ahh! Fuck!”
“Meng Hao, are you okay?!”
Yonggi immediately asked questions to check on my condition, but he was unable to answer due to the pain he felt in his shoulder. And along with the pain, one question swirled through his mind…
‘Shit! ‘Did you throw this on purpose?’
‘Of course. Bastard! Anyway, about the humanity of bastards. You throw a bean ball right after you hit a home run. Hehe. It’s been a while since I saw a fun scene of beating up a bastard.’