Chapter 539 – Episode 531. Last of the First Half.

[Yoon Seong-tae’s batted ball! Far! Far! Far! Left fence! Let’s go! Seongtae Yoon’s two-run home run that ties the game! Yoon Seong-tae of great strength! AT of great power! Turn a 5-run game over in one inning! The score is tied 5:5!]

[Wow, this really brings this game back to square one. A home run like this against Lee Jun-ho. It’s really amazing.]

[And Jinhyuk Park is warming up in AT’s bullpen right now, right?]

[Yes. From the moment Ji Maeng-ho came to bat, he started to warm up, and it seems like coach Lee Soo-hyun had anticipated this situation. I guess this type of pitching management really puts trust in the hitters, right?]

[… AT’s long big inning ended with Kim Hyun-seong’s strikeout. The game now goes to the top of the 7th inning.]

AT’s big inning ended and Hyunseong’s attack continued in the top of the 7th inning. The player on AT’s mound was, of course, Park Jin-hyuk, who had been warming up since Ji Maeng-ho’s at-bat. Even when Maengho joined, Park Jinhyuk was in the last position of the team and was responsible for protecting the team’s victory.

And Park Jin-hyuk was a pitcher with the speed and command appropriate for such a closing position. However, if there is only one drawback, would it be that the mentality is not suitable for finishing? When Park Jin-hyuk debuted, the finishing position was a place of great pressure for Park Jin-hyuk, who had expectations of being selected in the first round and had an unfinished position, and in the very last situation, he was unable to withstand the situation where the team’s victory was entirely in his hands. It was.

Moreover, with the team looking to win the championship for the first time in over 30 years, appearing in the Korean Series was a difficult burden for Park Jin-hyuk to bear.

Therefore, the closing pitcher of last year’s winning team had no choice but to spend time in the second team due to mental problems without even being able to play in the first half.

But, this season. Park Jin-hyuk was recording incredible results regardless of whether he was a surefire winner or a set-up man. He has the expectation that batters can turn the score over at any time even if he gives up a tie or a comeback, and AT’s bullpen that can stop him even if he starts a fire is enough to give Park Jin-hyuk a sense of stability.

… And there was also a slight influence of the increased zone.

[Looking Strike Out! Park Jin-hyuk’s ball lands in an amazing location! One out!]

[Park Jin-hyuk’s pitch is good. Baseball is a sport where usually, if you follow the score and then give up a score in the inning, the atmosphere becomes strange again, and it is really important to block the leadoff hitter to avoid giving up a score, but Jinhyuk Park got a good out count.]

In other words, a pitcher whose mental weakness is weak means that as long as he is mentally good, he delivers the best pitch. There was no hesitation about Park Jin-hyuk’s pitch, which put the lead hitter out.

[Kim Sangjun! You hit the ball! However, a ground ball is made in front of the pitcher. Park Jin-hyuk caught it with ease and reached first base. Two outs.]

[The count of two outs quickly went up, but I still have faith in Hyunseong. The first batter, Yang Ji-hyuk, came to bat. The vanguard who is playing a significant role in Hyunseong’s competition for 2nd and 3rd place this season is none other than Jihyuk Yang.]

[Yes. Yang Ji-hyuk is considered the best player in the league, and he has already proven his punching power by hitting 6 home runs this season, right?]

[6 in the first half alone. With this much momentum, you think he can hit his first double-digit home run in his debut, right? Although they use Mad Cats Park as their home, it is truly amazing that the number one hitter hits double-digit home runs. Moreover, Yang Ji-hyuk’s main weapon is quick feet. It’s very threatening when you go out on the ground…]

[Yang Ji-hyuk’s batted ball! Strong straight hit! Ji Meng-hao was standing in the right place! Ji Maeng-ho catches a strong batted ball without moving a single step! 5:5 There is still no distance between the two teams.]

The only way for a team that has caught up with a large score gap to gain momentum again is to break the momentum of the chasing team by scoring in the very next inning after allowing a run. However, Park Jin-hyuk, who came up right away, blocked the flow, and Hyun-seong’s attack in the top of the 7th inning ended like that.

At first glance, it looks like the AT Thunders, who trailed by 5 runs in one inning, are following suit…

[At the bottom of the 7th inning, Lee Jun-ho is still standing on Hyun-seong’s mound.]

[Although Lee Jun-ho allowed a home run by Yoon Seong-tae to tie the game, there is no doubt that he is still the best reliever in the league, right? I think it will be a really exciting match.]

However, Hyunsung was not an easy team as it was ranked 3rd in the league. In particular, Hyeonseong’s winning team, which had been rebuilt after last year’s slump, was not easy.

[… Kim Soo-ho! Looking Strike Out! Lee Jun-ho creates a three-way inning! The score difference is still 5:5!]

He could have stumbled after being hit by a home run by Seong-Tae Yoon, but Jun-Ho Lee did not allow a single on-base hit to the next four batters after Seong-Tae Yoon and deleted AT’s inning. And, the good fight between the bullpens of both teams continued in the top of the 8th inning and into the bottom of the 8th inning.

[Williams’ batted ball! The left fielder runs forward and catches it! Two out! Now, with two outs, Ji Maeng-ho comes to the plate. … Ah, an intentional phrase appears.]

[Now that it’s almost over with just one hit, there’s no reason to fight against Ji Maeng-ho, right? Just catch the remaining out count.]

[… Ji Maeng-ho started the engine! Successfully steals his 39th base of the season! Now with 2 outs and 2nd base…, … Choi Jin-cheol’s batted ball! Catch the shortstop! All the way to first base! Out! Hyunseong Mad Cats prevent a crisis with 2 outs and 2nd base!]

In the bottom of the 8th inning, Ji Maeng-ho came to the plate, but there was no way he could compete with Ji Maeng-ho in a situation where it only took 1 run, and as if in a well-planned script, Ji Maeng-ho reached base on an intentional walk and succeeded in stealing second base. However, the inning ended with Choi Jin-cheol’s ground ball to shortstop.

[In the top of the 9th inning, closer Kim Yun-ho will be on the mound, right?]

[This is a standard judgment. The intention is to aim for the end of the 9th inning, right?]

[… Shortstop! Second baseman! And first baseman! Kim Yun-ho prevents a crisis with 1 out and 1st and 2nd bases with a double play! The game now goes to the bottom of the 9th inning! … Hyunseong also responds by immediately raising the closing pitcher. The pitcher on the mound is Shin Dong-hyun, Hyun-seong’s new closer. He has a 1.83 ERA and 12 saves in 39 innings this season.]

[Shin Dong-hyun is filling in for Ko Young-hwan’s vacancy well, right? Of course, he may not be able to completely fill the void left by Ko Young-hwan, but he started gaining experience at the end of last year and has become a pitcher worthy of being called a closer this season.]

[… Shin Dong-hyun’s three-way retreat! Regular innings, both teams’ offenses are over, now! The game heads to overtime!]

*

“Short!”

As the batting ball rises high, Seongtae slowly approaches, making a loud noise.

“Out.”

The second base umpire raises his fist at the same time that Seongtae catches the ball with his glove. At the beginning of the 10th episode, Hyunseong’s attack ends with a three-way retreat. A game that seemed like it would be easy with a big inning in the 6th inning was already in overtime with neither team scoring.

“Hyunseong will continue to promote Shin Donghyun, right?”

“I guess so, but…” . Because Yunho also went up in the top of the 10th inning.”

It was quite standard pitcher management for the closer to come on in the 9th inning and pitch 2 innings until the 10th inning, so the pitcher who will come in as the closer in the bottom of the 10th inning is Hyunseong’s closer, Shin Dong-hyun.

Shin Dong-hyun was quite a powerful pitcher as he beat Kwon Yul, a left-handed bullpen player for the national team, and Jun-ho Lee, a top right-handed bullpen player, to take the closing position in the Hyunsung Mad Cats, known as the bullpen kingdom. When his speed was good, his speed reached around 154 km/h, and he was also quite picky about being a side arm.

‘Sseup, I’m starting with the 9th batter, so if you want to reach me, it takes one person, two people. At least two people need to get on base, right?’

I was a little anxious about having two players on base against the closer,

The pinch hitters, Gwanhyeong and Suho, seniors Sangju and Williams, head to the plate while applying spray to their bats. All four of them are left-handed hitters who are strong on the sidearm, so it seemed like two of them would be able to go out.

‘Yes, the total batting average of the four of them is in the low to mid .300 range, but two of them can get on base.’

The fact that Senior Kwan Hyeong, who was saved as a pinch hitter, was selected as the lead hitter means that the manager also felt that this was the place to win. Now all I could do was trust the hitters in front of me and wait.

“Out!”

However, senior Gwan Hyeong, who showed an ambitious swing, hit the ball and the right fielder caught it, resulting in one out. When a little distrust sprouts,

“Base on balls!”

Suho, the most unstable senior, got on base by getting a walk against Shin Dong-hyun. And he was immediately replaced by pinch runner Kim Jong-hoon. The manager was putting all his cards into this inning as if there was no next inning.

Now there are two batters left! Gigiju and Williams. If you combine the on-base percentages of the two batters, it’s around 80%… !

‘Please, just set the table… !’

Ta – Aak!

And as if answering my prayers, today’s slightly silent batted ball coolly split right-center. If you hit a ball like this… !

“Safe!”

The right fielder quickly made an excuse, but he was unable to catch Kim Jong-hoon, who started running the moment the sound of the ball was struck, and Kim Jong-hoon was able to safely reach third base. And Sangju senior goes all the way to second base.

“[Hey! Williams!]”

“[Yes?! Yes Did you call me?!]”

I pretended to hand the spray to Williams as he went to bat and spoke to him.

“[Don’t think about hitting a home run when 1st base is empty, make sure to hit a sacrifice hit, or fill 1st base. Okay? I am behind you.]”

“[Oh, I understand!]”

‘This eased the burden on Williams…’

This is perfect preparation. Although first base was empty, he was trustworthy enough to explain it to Williams. Besides, the situation was good.

It was clear that the guys were going to challenge Williams head-on to prevent the bases from being loaded as I was waiting with my eyes wide open in the waiting box, and it was natural that Williams knew that.

‘The question is, is he familiar with sidearms? . Please, don’t be a damn thing… Please!’

Bottom of the 10th inning, 1 out, 2nd and 3rd bases. And at the plate is Williams, a mercenary hitter. A tense confrontation between Shin Dong-hyun and Williams continues. Shin Dong-hyun nods his head as if he has decided on the pitch.

‘Maybe it’s a fastball here, right?’

‘Yes, it’s a fastball.’

When it comes to fastballs, Williams… ?

‘What is that bastard doing now?!’

After watching the game nervously for a while, the pitcher took a pitching stance, and Williams, looking extremely nervous, began to lay down the bat.

Tak!

The moment I heard the sound of a batted ball, I instinctively checked the third baseman’s location, and Hyunseong’s third baseman was running towards Williams’ bunt ball as if he had not expected it at all. And the pinch runner Kim Jong-hoon is running like hell in front of him!

“Safe!”

-Waaaaa!!!!!

“Fuck! It’s over!!”

“Williams what?! When did that bastard practice bunting?!”

“Ji Maeng-ho, what are you doing?” “It’s finished, but you’re not running?”

“Ah, yes…”

Shit, my plan was just for Williams to get a walk and me to finish… Just do it as usual, why do you suddenly bunt… My ending…

But the team won, so I ran toward Williams, hiding my shocked expression. And Williams spots me and runs towards me.

“[Ji! I made the sacrifice as I was told! Fortunately, I practiced it during my minor days, and it seems to have worked well!]”

“[… Okay, good job. Bitch.]”

I wanted to slap Williams for stealing my spotlight, but a win is a win anyway. Since there was a game tomorrow, I decided to forgive the guy who hit the winning shot today.

‘I’m so generous.’

And the next day, when the last game of the first half was scheduled to be held,

… The game was canceled due to sudden heavy rain, and that was the end of the last game of my first half of the year.