Chapter 577 – 569. Ace vs Ace. (3)

‘Are you slowly starting to get used to it?’

The leadoff hitter gets on base for the first time today. I was controlling the ball as close to the borderline as possible, but now it was the top of the 7th inning. The number of pitches was slowly exceeding 80, and the balls were moving inside the borderline. Now is the time to change the pitching pattern. Seonghyun took a deep breath and adjusted his pace.

In times like these, if you try to control the ball more perfectly, you tend to miss pitches and end up with long hits. Seonghyeon knew that fact very well. Now is the time when you need a stronger ball than the one that hits the borderline.

And Seonghyun was a pitcher who knew how to throw the ball he wanted when he wanted. Even more so if the condition is good like today.

Since the pitcher was not a machine, it was difficult for him to throw the best pitch in every game, but Seong-hyeon, who was given a month-long break before the fall baseball season, was in excellent condition.

“Jitterbug! Strike!”

The speed of the first pitch thrown by the lead hitter as soon as he got on base was 150.3 km/h. It was a ball with an ambiguous speed that could be considered a fastball, but that was enough for now.

[150.3 km/h! Seonghyun records the highest velocity today! The highest speed of the fastball recorded just before was 145.7 km/h, but it suddenly became 5 km/h faster. Brite lowered her head.]

[This is the scary thing about Seonghyun. He said he was in control until now. If the speed suddenly increases to 5 km/h like this, the batter cannot help but feel dumbfounded. It is perhaps natural that Brite was unable to get the timing right and missed the swing.]

Because Seonghyun’s speed wasn’t just 150 km/h.

A pitcher who had been throwing balls in the low 140s from the beginning of the game and dealing with outs with only timing and control suddenly throws balls in the 150s? From the batter’s perspective, it couldn’t help but feel like a completely new pitcher had arrived.

‘I think he’ll be able to throw about 20 more pitches at this pace going forward… It must be difficult to complete the shutout. Well, because there’s Suho behind me.’

Moreover, the pitcher standing behind him is Shin Su-ho, who is currently considered the best closer in the league. He lasts two innings, the 7th and 8th, on 20 pitches? For Seonghyeon, it was easier than eating cold oatmeal.

[Ball hitting the outside. The strike count goes up as Britte watches. Two strikes.]

[It was a ball Brite didn’t expect at all, right? He just stares at the ball. I think they thought they would play cautiously because there was plenty of room in the ball count, and they were on first base with no outs, but it looks like Seonghyun and Lee Yonggi’s battery read that and came in aggressively.]

A fastball thrown into the strike zone twice in a row. Breaking balls like changeups, sliders, and curveballs began to flicker in Britte’s mind. Seonghyeon’s third ball was greeted with slightly late timing.

Perfect!

Brite’s bat, which had slightly slow timing, could not handle Seonghyeon’s fast ball.

[Second baseman Lee Won-hyung! Grab the ball! I decided it was too late for second base! To first base! Out! Seonghyun easily catches one out!]

[You were late in responding to the ball near your body, right? Three fastballs in a row. It was a ball that most batters could not predict, right?]

[Now at bat, Yang Je-hyung is number 5.]

Considering the feet of second base runner Park Cheol-young, a point could be awarded even with a short hit. Even in such a situation, Seonghyeon was naturally not nervous. Even though it was a fall baseball stage, Seonghyun won 98 games in the major league and was a pitcher who experienced numerous international stages as well as the major league postseason.

‘Yang Je-hyung… Since this is a guy with a sudden attack, go as far outward as possible. Since his feet are slow, I don’t mind giving him a walk if I have to.’

‘Okay. Then outward?’

With just a few hand signals, Seonghyeon and Lee Yonggi became acquainted and began to compete for a long time against Yang Jehyung.

[Walk. Seonghyun’s second walk today.]

As Seonghyun intended, a situation of 1 out, 1st and 2nd bases was created. And the batter who came in was first baseman Kang Yun-seok. He was a typical first base threat type player.

… Seonghyeon just likes it.

“Ball.”

The first pitch is a high fastball.

“Ball.”

The second ball is a slider that falls from the body.

And the third ball…

Perfect!

Seonghyun’s circle changeup was a nightmare for right-handed hitters. A circle changeup that comes out of the same form as a fastball, flies at the same speed, and falls to the outside of the right-handed hitter.

Of course, Kang Yun-seok was conscious of the ball, but if he had been able to hit it properly, Seong-hyun would not have recorded 98 wins in the major league.

[Ah! This hit is toward the shortstop! Second base! Out! First base! Out! Seonghyeon pulls off a double play in a crisis with 1 out and 1st and 2nd bases! After all, it is Seonghyeon!]

[It was completely intentional, right? He must have been conscious of the change-up, but as long as he hesitates, he can’t hit Seonghyun’s ball.]

[In the top of the 7th inning, it seemed like there was a crisis as the leadoff hitter got on base, but Seonghyun caught two out counts with a double play, ending the inning. The game now goes to the bottom of the 7th inning!]

“Good! Well done!”

“Senior! Good pitching! Good pitching!”

The atmosphere of Hwasan, which prevented the crisis of having a runner in scoring position with the leadoff hitter on base, was the best atmosphere in today’s game.

And the crisis of the Hwasan Falcons is, to put it another way, an opportunity for the Shinra Triggers. In a way, it was natural that Silla’s mood would sink after missing the best opportunity in today’s game. Moreover, baseball is a sport of flow.

Due to Seonghyeon’s double play, the flow began to shift towards Hwasan.

‘I have to stop it here…’

Wonho, who came to the mound in the bottom of the 7th inning to help his team win, also knew that the atmosphere was slightly tilted toward Hwasan. Here, he also knew that he had to end the inning with a clean three-way throw to bring the trend back to its original state.

However, the situation was not that good.

Seong-Hyun, who watched the game for a long time by controlling his pace by throwing pitches in the low to mid-140s from the start of the game, and Won-ho Kim, who threw balls in the mid-150s from the beginning of the game and faced the Hwasan hitters with all his might.

Seonghyun, who was a veteran, played the game by adjusting his speed and pace as usual, even though it was a fall baseball stage, and Kim Won-ho, who went on the mound with the mindset of unconditionally winning, threw his all out under more pressure than usual, so Kim Won-ho’s physical strength was higher than that of Seonghyun. It was natural for Lee to fall first.

Also at bat is Choi Si-woo, who ranks second in home runs. Unlike when I first faced Choi Si-woo, now I feel the pressure of filling up the batter’s box.

‘Whoa… Don’t look at the batter, just focus on your ball. Anyway, he’s not a fierce tiger.’

However, compared to the pressure Meng Hao felt, it was a new blood blow. Just imagining that Maeng Ho was now at bat made Choi Si-Woo’s presence feel lighter. The first pitch thrown after such mind control.

[Kim Won-ho’s first pitch. Cheek. 151 km/h recorded.]

[Kim Won-ho’s velocity has dropped slightly, right? The highest speed today was 157 km/h, but it definitely feels lower than at the beginning of the game.]

He threw the best ball he could currently throw, but the result was 151 km/h. Wonho’s expression slightly frowned as he looked back at the electronic display board. Even though it was faint, I could feel a smile spreading on Choi Si-woo’s face as he turned his head toward home plate.

Although it was only for a moment, the smile that passed Choi Si-woo’s mouth told Wonho one thing.

‘… Are you aiming for a home run?’

The unique feeling shown by a batter aiming for a home run… There seemed to be a glimmer of hope. If you were a batter aiming to get on base, it might have been more difficult, but if you were a batter aiming for a home run…

‘… Unless it’s a fierce tiger!’

As long as he wasn’t a hitter like Ji Maeng-ho, he was confident that he could catch it. Just when Wonho’s confidence was about to be slightly eroded due to his poor restraint, Wonho’s mind raced as he saw a glimmer of hope.

‘First, no slider because there is a risk of being cornered. Then all that’s left is a splitter or two-seam… I used the splitter too much as the final ball today. Then, the two-seam curves outward…’

After deciding how to finish Choi Si-woo, Wonho began the build-up to throw the deciding ball.

The second ball is a high fastball, the favorite of batters aiming for a home run. But about two balls higher than the zone. It was okay to swing and get a strike, and it was the kind of ball that didn’t matter if it ended up being a ball.

Because throwing the ball now was a ball that had meaning in itself. After showing the batsman a high ball, all he had to do was plant the idea of ​​throwing a falling ball.

“Ball.”

And Choi Si-woo was not such a poor hitter, so he picked out the ball thrown by Won-ho.

Now the situation is two balls, no strikes. The ball count was unfavorable, but I wasn’t nervous or anything. Because he was leading the count the way he wanted, he was facing a batter who was more vicious than he is now at the plate!

‘I’ll go for a slider next ball.’

The third ball chosen against Choi Si-woo was a slider. If you used it as a deciding ball, there was a risk of being cornered, but if you throw it roughly to get a count like now…

Perfect!

Choi Si-woo’s bat swung like a thunderbolt, and the batted ball quickly flew out into the stands near first base. If the timing had been even slightly off, the batted ball could have hit the fence directly. But it was meaningless because it was a foul.

[Now it is a two-ball, one-strike situation.]

[This is the best count for the batter to aim for the ball, right? No pitcher would want to give a three-ball here.]

The best count for a batter to target the ball. The pitch that Wonho chose in that count was the two-seamer he chose as the deciding pitch. The batter was currently aiming for a home run, and the pitcher had to throw the ball into the zone, so the probability of fooling the batter by pretending to enter the zone was highest with a two-seamer, a pitch with similar speed to a fastball.

And the fourth ball was thrown.

Perfect!

As Wonho expected, Choi Si-woo’s bat came out, and the batted ball was quickly shot toward the second baseman.

[Park Cheol-young! Catch it! Park Cheol-young, who caught this batted ball! Second baseman Park Cheol-young’s super catch!]

[I thought it was a completely missing ball, but the defensive position was good, and Park Cheol-young’s defense was also good. I climb a big mountain.]

If the timing had been right, he would have been allowed to get on base, but the difference in velocity between the two-seam and four-seam resulted in an out count. However, that did not make me feel at ease. Although we had overcome a big mountain, the next batter was Lee Yong-gi, who is considered to have the best BQ in the league.

‘Putting down Senior Courage by fighting? That’s hard. As expected here…’

The only thing that can catch Lee Yonggi is his overwhelming presence. If he was caught by a target, all his hard work so far would have been in vain, so Wonho once again tried to throw the best ball.

[… This batted ball is big! Fence! Fence! A batted ball caught in front of the warning track! Kim Won-ho overcomes with strength!]

And Lee Yong-gi’s outfield fly that came at the end of a 5-pitch game. If I had gone a little further, I would have gone over the fence, but I was able to overcome it thanks to my help.

‘Whoa… Okay, it’s still worth it.’

However, is it because Lee Yong-gi was caught off guard and caught off guard? Or is it because we climbed over two big mountains, Choi Si-woo and Lee Yong-gi?

Wonho’s heart relaxed slightly,

Ta – Aak!

The mercenary batsman of the volcano, MacD, did not miss the opportunity.

[This ball is hit high! Far! It flies! A fierce pitching battle! Mac D’s solo home run that breaks the balance of 0!]

A hit from a mercenary batsman who did not miss the moment when the tension eased. Fortunately, Wonho came to his senses with that one hit and finished the 7th episode, but it was Seonghyun who came up to the volcano mound in the 8th episode as well. Seonghyun’s out count again after just 3 balls…

‘Please, just one point. Just 1 point… Because I won’t let down my guard now. Just one more chance…’

The director approaches Wonho, who is praying while looking at the saint, and speaks to him.

“Wonho, what do you want to do for episode 8?”

“… “If you trust me, I will do it.”

“… If I don’t trust you now, who will I trust? It’s Wonho. “I believe.”

“Thank you. “Director.”

A manager who believes in him and batsmen who work hard to score points. Wonho continued to watch Seonghyun’s pitch, promising himself that if he had just one chance, he would not let his guard down like he did just now.

[… Inning over! Seonghyun puts one batter on base, but once again blocks the score with no runs!]

[Hey… The real Seonghyun’s pitching is… It’s amazing. All I can say is admiration.]

However, there was no god who would listen to Wonho’s prayers. Silla’s attack in the top of the 8th inning ended in vain,

[Kim Won-ho blocks the bottom of the 8th inning with a three-way throw!]

[Kim Won-ho is also amazing. Baseball fans are lucky to be watching a pitching battle like this.]

‘Please, give me a chance to block the bottom of the 9th inning…’

[Now on the mound is Hwasan’s finisher, Shin Su-ho. He is the best closer in the country with 43 saves this season. … Out! Inning over! After an intense pitching battle, the Hwasan Falcons take the first game 1-0!]

Wonho did not have a chance to block Hwasan’s attack in the bottom of the 9th inning.

[It was a really sparkling pitching match today, wasn’t it? The match between Seong Hyun, the past and present of Korean baseball, and Kim Won-ho, the present and future of Korean baseball, ended in Seong Hyun’s victory as he recorded 8 scoreless innings.]

The match between Seong Hyun and Kim Won-ho, which had been highly anticipated as a match between aces, ended with Seong Hyun pitching 8 scoreless innings.

‘If only I had caught Lee Yong-gi and not let my guard down…’

Tears of regret were flowing from the eyes of the young ace who took the mound in the first game with the team’s fate at stake.

… And at that time, the lounge of the AT Thunders’ 2nd team stadium.

“Kim Won-ho! What are you doing?! Fuck! “If I trust that guy again, he won’t be a human being.”

“Yes, Meng Hao. Thank you for the coffee. “Buy it before tomorrow’s training.”

“I eat what I always eat. A lot of whipping in the Java Chip Frappuccino. “You know?”

“I just take the most expensive one.”

“… “Can’t we unify with Americano?”

“Do you make a coffee bet or two?”

“I can’t memorize everything…”

“Uh, I’ll post it in the group chat. “Look at that and buy it.”

‘… Fuck.’

A stream of tears also flowed from the heart of a man who was cheering for his friend.