Chapter 537 – Episode 529. Ace Killer. (4)
-Will! Will! Williams! Oooh~! Oooh~! Oh, oh oh oh~!
A three-way march that lasted from the 4th to the 5th. When leadoff hitter Williams hits a single that ends the streak, the cheering of the away fans can be heard more clearly. Unlike yesterday, when scores poured in from the beginning of the game, today’s game felt bigger because it was a fierce pitching battle?
There is only one wish contained in the voices of fans. I’m giving away points here. And I was fully prepared to listen to the wishes of those fans. What I recorded today was one walk and one fly to left field that went near the fence.
After dealing with him twice, I was confident that I had a perfect sense of timing. All that’s left is to blast his ball over the fence.
‘Because the ball I hit near the fence earlier was a slider… Should we aim for a fastball this time?’
Although he was retired by a fly to left field in the previous at-bat, the quality of the batted ball was terrible, so it was clear that the pitcher was aware of that. In that case, there is only one ball that he can challenge me with. Just a fastball.
‘It’s a slider.’
‘Okay.’
And as expected, he chose a slider from the first pitch. Usually, the first pitch is a ball that dazzles the batter’s eyes, and it was even more so against me. So, the only chance of this slider coming into the zone is if the slider doesn’t bend properly.
I thought only about that and waited for his first pitch,
“Ball.”
His slider deflected properly and fell low to his body.
“Umm…”
And the catcher’s low groan is heard. In my previous at-bat, I hit a slider and sent it close to the fence, but in this at-bat, I seemed to be worried when I saw that I didn’t even move the slider.
‘If you’re quick-witted, you’ll be able to tell that I’m aiming for a fastball. Well, that doesn’t change anything.’
‘This time it’s a fastball.’
‘Then, shall we try acting a little?’
‘Hehe, the gorilla guy can use his brain.’
I tried to aim for a fastball before seeing the ball, but at-bats don’t always go as planned. Looking at the catcher’s reaction, I got the feeling that if he swung and missed a fastball a few times, he would throw a slider into the zone.
And then the pitcher’s pitch started. I could feel the trajectory of the ball he threw heading outside the zone, but I swung the bat without hesitation.
“Strike!”
“Ugh.”
After hearing the referee’s strike decision, he pretends to be displeased with something and spits.
‘Fastball.’
‘Okay.’
However, if it was too blatant, even the dumbest catcher could notice it, so this time I decided to skip it if it went outside the zone and waited.
“Ball.”
The pitcher’s fastball hit the high zone and was declared a ball. With this, two balls, one strike. After that, I missed the swing and threw the ball away, and before I knew it, the ball count reached a full count of three balls to strikes.
‘It’s highly unlikely that the guy who has been holding off no runs so far would want to send a runner into scoring position… Hmm, I think I’m thinking of inducing a swing and miss by throwing it in or near the zone… Then it must be a slider near the zone, right?’
After hitting his slider in the previous at-bat, I was confident that I could hit it close to the fence if it was close to the zone, so I waited a few seconds with confidence.
‘It’s a curve.’
‘Yes? Curve?’
But contrary to what I thought, the ball he chose this time was a curve.
‘Charlotte you bastards. Let’s do some analysis.’
In this situation, there is only one reason why I chose the curveball, which is a pitch that is almost like prey to me. He must have analyzed the scene where he missed the change-up in the last game against Hancheol. At that time, I hit a changeup that I had not played in a long time and was caught by the outfielder.
‘Maybe you’re thinking that I won’t be able to get the timing right for a pitch I haven’t faced in a long time this time, right? Then it looks like you prepared before the game. This will be the last at-bat between me and that guy, and seeing as he’s throwing a curveball right now.’
But they were mistaken about something. The changeup Na Seung-yoon threw at that time had good command, and the position where he would throw it this time was almost determined because the count was full.
Low zone to bring out swings and misses. But as close to the zone as possible because I might miss the ball. That was the destination of the ball he threw.
Besides, I honestly hit the curveball better than the changeup.
Ta – Aak!
‘Like this!’
The guy’s curve started from his shoulder and dropped to his knee, and as I slowly stared at the trajectory, I bent his knee slightly and scooped up his ball. A home run without even looking at the result.
-Wow!!!!
-Ji Maeng-ho! Ji Maengho! Ji Maengho!
“Kabi. “If it wasn’t for the full count, I would have been fooled?”
Perfect for tee bagging for back hitters. The catcher’s expression is rotting.
‘I think I’m a little mentally shaken, but if I stay like this, this game will be easy.’
*
-AT Thunders! A valuable second win in the Sajik expedition! Hold on to Charlotte who has a long way to go!
… In the top of the 6th inning, when the score was still at 0:0, it was Ji Maeng-ho again who broke the balance of the game. Ji Maeng-ho…
┗ㅅㅂ Ban Ji Maeng-ho, you’re such a dick, really
┗┗When on earth is that bastard Major? ㅅㅂ
┗┗ㅋㅋㅋ But it won’t work if you go to a major, that bastard’s academy tool.ㅋㅋ
┗┗How much more do both academy tools have to prove in international competitions?
┗┗It is true that it is a Yang academy tool. Because in front of the fierce god of defense, we are all commoners haha
*
Jamsil came back after a long two-game series against Charlotte. Contrary to forecasts of rain, the weather on Tuesday was sunny. The team that will play the last game of the first half of the year against our team is Hyeonseong Madcats, who finished their three-game series against Silla in Gocheok.
Our starting rotation was a rotation that included Park Jun-hyung, Lim Jun-hoo, and Bellingham, and Hyun-seong’s rotation started with the 5th starter, Park Jae-hoon, and continued with mercenary pitcher Arte and the league’s top left-handed pitcher, Choi Jung-hoon.
The starting matchup felt like 5 vs 5, but personally, I don’t think it’s a good idea. If Hyunseong had rested well and sent out the team’s one-two punch, the pitchers would have been more likely to come out and deal with him, but it was a bit disappointing because it was clear that if the 5th starter, Park Jae-hoon, came out, they would have intentionally missed me.
The first match against Hyunsung started with such disappointment. As expected, Jaehoon Park started filtering me out with intentional phrases. The team won, but the game ended with me recording three intentional walks and no hits in one at-bat.
And then the second game of the series started. Arte, like a mercenary pitcher, actively challenged me.
“Out!”
‘Oh, fuck. The sinker angle is good.’
The result of the first at-bat against Arte was a center fielder’s fly that went to the furthest point of Jamsil. The angle and control of the sinker were definitely much better than those I had faced several times before. The power analysis team said that because he is from South America, he is strong in the summer, and it was exactly as they said. His sinker, which was close to 150 km/h, which I had not seen before when I played against him, sharply penetrated every corner of the zone.
I guess it makes sense that Hyunsung, who was in the bottom half of the rankings last year, is fighting for third place.
“Meng Hao, how was it?”
“I think you’re in good shape today? The sinker is a bit sharp.”
“Okay? “Is it so bad that I can’t play it?”
“No, not to that extent. “I am.”
Although I came away with a hit in my first at-bat, I wasn’t particularly worried. I wasn’t able to get the timing right, thinking about the previous confrontation, but since I saw enough of his pitches during this at-bat, I thought I would be able to deal with it from the next at-bat.
The problem is…, Today’s selection is Lim Jun-hoo. Although he did not give up any points, the quality of his hitting from the beginning of the first inning was unusual.
And as time goes by, Junhu seems to be getting more and more tired.
‘Well, the first half of the year is coming to an end, but for Lim Jun-hoo, he’s held up well. Anyway, it was a game that was thrown away if it was Junhu versus mercenaries.’
Looking at the speed displayed on the electronic display, the speed was 3 to 4 km/h lower than usual, and the ball was now being thrown in the low 140s.
And my anxious thoughts were not wrong. As soon as he got worried, Junhu started to get hit incredibly hard, and the score gap widened to 4:0 after 4 innings, and the game started to lean towards Hyeonseong from the beginning.
-Pitcher replacement, Won Jae-hyun. Won Jae-hyeon.
Junhu came down from the mound, and the player who came on the mound after Junhu was Won Jae-hyun, our team’s losing team.
In preparation for tomorrow’s match between Joong-Hoon Choi and Bellingham, the coach seemed to be trying not to overdo this with the score difference. Fortunately, Won Jae-hyeon finished the remaining inning without allowing a run, but the score difference was already 4 points. And the atmosphere in the stadium was wider than the score difference.
The second at-bat came in the bottom of the fourth inning in such loose circumstances. I tried to hit a home run to see if I could turn the game around, but Arte’s control faltered, and he got on base with a walk, and senior Jincheol immediately hit a quick ball toward the shortstop, ending the inning with a double play.
‘Tsk, today’s game isn’t going well… It seems like I could turn things around if I had just one chance…’
*
[Now, in the bottom of the 6th inning, AT’s attack begins. Arte is still showing a very good ball, right?]
[Yes. Perhaps because it is from Dominica, it is quite resistant to hot weather. Moreover, for a player like Arte, 5 points is a very big score. In the top of the 6th inning, Hyunseong’s batters helped the ace by adding 1 more run.]
[At the bottom of the 6th inning, AT’s leadoff hitter is 9th hitter Baek Jeong-jin. Will he be able to turn around a 5-point deficit? . … Ah, a ball that fits your body. Arte raises his hand and offers an apple.]
[It looks like the ball fell out of your hand, right? Baek Jeong-jin also gestures that he is okay and walks to first base. He wasn’t in a situation to throw an empty ball at all, right?]
The flow of the game made me wonder if the AT Thunders would be dragged helplessly and lose.
In such a trend, with Arte’s first throw in today’s game, the opportunity that Meng Hao had been waiting for began to materialize.