Chapter 581 – Episode 573. Must Win! (1)

In the top of the second inning, he got the first run off with a solo home run, but Seonghyun was shocked by the home run and didn’t get hit or anything like that.

Well, it was only natural. Seonghyun wasn’t the type of pitcher who was shaken by hitting a home run, and hitting a home run was something as natural as the sun rising once a day, so it wasn’t something to be that shocked.

“Strike! Out!”

Our offense ended in the bottom of the second inning when 7th batter Hyunseong struck out. The volcanic attack has come once again.

‘No way, Crongs won’t get upset just because he gave up a point, right?’

He has been a great player in fall baseball since he joined the team, but I was worried that he might be excited about the idea of ​​playing against Sung-hyun, a 98-win major league pitcher, as he was aiming for the major leagues, but fortunately, that didn’t seem to be the case.

No, rather, am I showing my best self today?

“Strike! Out!”

The guy was striking out the volcanic hitters as if he were a fish out of water.

‘Good. Let’s just keep going like this.’

Perfect!

In addition, not only the strikeouts were good, but the pitching was also good. The ball hit the bat and rolled in front of me, and I caught the ball comfortably and threw it to first base, getting two outs.

Perfect!

The inning ended like that when the third batter was also thrown out on a weak outfield fly. Perfect pitching until the top of the third inning.

‘If I do this, it will be easier today, right?’

… I thought for a moment. The crisis came quickly. In the top of the 4th inning, Hwasa’s number 1 hitter, Kim Joo-yeop, reached base with a walk, leaving the team with no outs on first base. Kim Joo-yeop, as if he already knew the timing, succeeded in stealing second base on a two-ball, one-strike count.

“Whoa… “I almost got caught.”

“Senior Joo-yeop, are you declaring war on a speed war?”

“What is a declaration of war? Mangho, run moderately. In moderation.”

And with no outs on second base, Wonhyeong Lee succeeded in hitting a sacrifice bunt, and the situation was immediately on third base with one out. Hyunseong comes to the mound in this critical situation for the first time in this game. And since I, the team’s spiritual leader, could not be left out in such a situation, I also took my steps to the mound.

“Sorry, Crongs. My apologies? What? Throw. Mistake.”

“[Hey, Ji. What is this guy saying?]”

Moreover, in addition to serving as a mental supporter, interpreting was also possible to some extent.

“[He said he was sorry that his apology was trash.]”

“[I know. Your apology sounded like garbage. Kim.]”

“Bro, what is he saying?”

“Because his pitching motion was more like garbage. “Don’t worry about it.”

“Still, I know. If you watch Joo-yeop running, don’t you think he can read the timing perfectly? Anyway, let’s take it easy and give it 1 point. Okay? Because the batters are going to score points anyway.”

“[That’s a long story. Please translate. Ji.]”

“[You want to make sure we block them without giving them even one point? Crongs says you can do it.]”

“[Hehe, I’m sure I can do that. It’s not difficult to strike out low-level hitters.]”

“Brother, are you sure you understand? “Is my smile suspicious?”

“Bitch, don’t you trust your English skills?”

“No, I believe it, but…”

“Bitch, just play in the infield. “Because my brother will stop everything.”

Anyway, the next batter, Choi Si-woo, is a left-handed batter. In addition, as he was a home run hitter, he was a hitter with a high pull rate, and his exit speed was also quite fast, so if he hit a ground ball, he was confident that he would win the game at home. After the short visit to the mound, the game resumed.

The coach was sending signs telling us to play forward defense. If it had been the regular season, it would have been enough to give at least one point, but this game is a Korean series where everything is at stake in each game. Hyunseong said he wanted to take it easy, but it seemed like the director, like me, didn’t want to give even a single point.

‘It was a good thing I told Crongs not to give him even one point.’

Hyunseong’s hands are busy, and the selected ball is an outside sinker. He was a pull-hitting type of hitter anyway, so he didn’t care about pushing, and we were in a defensive position on the right.

“Ball.”

The first pitch is a ball. The guy was just watching the ball. I feel like I’ve clearly decided what kind of ball I’m going to hit… It’s clear that he won’t hit the ball unless he wants to.

‘Are you aiming for a high ball as expected?’

One out, third base, with one run behind. In this situation, there was only one ball for the batter to aim for. A high ball that can send the ball to the outfield even if a hit is made. Of course, if it were me, I would have just aimed for a good ball to hit a home run.

‘Is that why you wanted to compete with me for the position of best hitter? There is still a long way to go. There’s still a long way to go. Tsk.’

Of course, our team’s battery coach knew this, so he was told to throw as low as possible through Hyunseong.

“Strike!”

And a strike that hits the low zone. In an instant, the count became one ball, one strike.

‘Okay, now we can hit at any time, so let’s focus.’

The ball Crongs will throw this time is a slider. Crongs’ slider was also a slider with large vertical movement

There was a high possibility of a ground ball, so I threw away all distracting thoughts and focused. And Crongs’ ball was thrown…

Perfect!

‘It’s you!’

‘Fast… !’

The moment it hits, Mr. Rossby says it’s me, and my hand instinctively puts my glove towards the ball. However, because I hit too fast, the ball hit the tip of my glove and fell in front of me.

Fortunately, Choi Si-woo’s batted ball fell close to my body…

‘Where?’

‘Home!’

As he catches the ball, he leaves the judgment to Mr. Rossby, who quickly determines where the ball should be thrown. As he got into position to throw the ball, he quickly checked the location of the runner on third base out of the corner of his eye, and saw that Kim Joo-yeop, who had stopped because he thought it was a line drive, was rushing toward home. And as soon as I knew that, I hit the ball as hard as I could toward home.

Bang!

With the sound of the ball entering the mitt, Hyunseong’s body turns toward the runner. And at the same time, Kim Joo-yeop seems to be sliding toward home.

“…”

The ground, which was once noisy in an ambiguous situation as to who was first, becomes quiet. And the eyes of all the players, including me, turned to the referee. After waiting for a few seconds, the referee’s mouth, which had been closed, opened.

“… Out!”

-Wow!!!!

“Nice!”

“Fuck! This is it!”

“Meng Hao! Sorry, it was good.”

“Whew. “I almost got screwed because I missed it.”

If the judgment was even a little late due to the absence of Mr. Rossby, it would be time to give away 1 point. The score that was hard-earned with a real home run almost ended up being tied.

“Video! Video!”

Of course, Moon Ki-taek was heard requesting video review as if it were natural, but the result displayed on the electronic display board was obvious.

“Bro, I’m tired of catching, right?”

Hyeonseong is amazed when he sees himself on the electronic display board. To be honest, it was true that Hyunseong’s play was good because the throw was fast, and the situation was tight.

“Fuck geography. I can’t steal bases, I can’t hit. “You have to do that to be a catcher.”

However, since I was a senior who wanted my junior to do well, I gave him a little temperance to prevent him from falling into conceit and brought his raised shoulders back to normal.

“… Out!”

While he was talking to Hyunseong, the umpire must have heard the result from the referee center and declared an out, and the situation that was 1 out and 3rd base suddenly became 2 outs and 1st base.

“[As expected of Ji. It was good defense.]”

Crongs also handed me a glove, as if he was in a good mood after Hosbi came out of a crisis situation.

“[Kabi, if you caught it right, you could have doubled it.]”

I also expressed my slight disappointment by touching that guy’s glove with my own,

“[It’s okay, it’s okay. All you have to do is catch the next batter out.]”

The guy smiled and declared that he would block the next batter.

Perfect!

… However, perhaps because the tension had eased, Lee Yong-gi made an exquisite hit that passed over my height, and the situation was again 2 outs, 1st and 3rd base.

“Strike! Out!”

Still, the first crisis that came in the top of the fourth inning ended with no runs as Crongs, who had come to his senses, caught the next batter, Mac D.

‘Okay, I’m the third batter in this inning. ‘Let’s give a score.’

However, the phrase “Opportunity after crisis” Did not apply to Seonghyun. Seonghyun dealt Sangju senior and Williams with a double hit,

Perfect!

‘Fuck…’

Based on my blade-like borderline control, I succeeded in stopping my batted ball on the warning track. If he had been pushed to the center just a little bit, he could have jumped over the fence.

‘Well, we’re ahead by one point anyway.’

*

“Yonggi, I saw you two at-bats, what do you think? Do you think it has some effect?”

As the bottom of the fourth inning ended, manager Moon Ki-taek took off his catcher’s mask and approached Lee Yong-gi, who was resting.

Two at-bats against Ji Maeng-ho. The result was 1 hit and 1 home run in 2 at-bats. We almost gave up in the second half of the game and set a trap, but the results were not very good. In particular, the type of pitch that hit the home run was curved. It was definitely a worthy choice since he showed that he couldn’t hit a curveball or changeup for a month or two, but he passed that ball over as if he was showing off.

In this at-bat, he was treated as a hit, but it was an out count based solely on Seong-hyun’s ability, so it was a headache for manager Ki-taek Moon, who had to prepare for the entire series.

Can other pitchers stop Ji Maeng-ho like Seong-hyeon? That worry. Even if you are lucky enough to hold him to no hits, if there is no way to suppress him, it would not be strange at all for him to suddenly hit four home runs in one game.

“… Honestly, it doesn’t seem to be very effective.”

“… Is that so?”

“Yes… But, it could be because the pitcher is Seonghyun. When playing with senior Seonghyun, Mengho would know that senior Seonghyun takes the lead in mixing balls. “Wouldn’t it be possible to think that Seonghyun changed the ball mix in the Korean Series?”

“Hmm…”

Director Moon Ki-taek’s concerns deepen with Lee Yong-gi’s answer. Did he hit a home run because he was Seonghyun? Or did his strategy not work?

Numerous questions pass through director Moon Ki-taek’s mind. However, he couldn’t afford to pay too much attention to Ji Menghao. Anyway, dealing with the batter was left up to the battery.

What was more important than that was that in this situation where the team was trailing by one point, the opponent’s ace, Crongs, was in very good condition. Overwhelming pitching, as shown in the regular season. Even putting Ji Maeng-ho aside, we had to score points to win this game.

In the top of the 4th inning, he tried a strategy, but now that he thinks about it, it’s too bad that the opportunity to score 1 point was wasted as the opponent’s defense blocked him.

‘Now that I think about it, it was Ji Maeng-ho who caught that ball. I thought he was missing, but he only had good reflexes…’

If his glove technique had been a little more mature, it was a batted ball that could have resulted in a double play, but since he had reflexes that made no sense in putting his glove on that batted ball in the first place, his resentment toward Ji Maeng-ho deepens.

But if he only holds grudges, he cannot move forward.

“Yonggi, how is Hyeon-gi? “I think I’ll give it some points.”

“Hmm… From what I see, it feels like if it weren’t for Ji Maeng-ho, the rest of the batters could have been blocked without allowing any runs. “I feel perfect today.”

If Lee Yong-gi, who received the ball, said so, there was no need to worry about the pitcher’s condition. The number of points Seong-Hyun is likely to allow is at most one more home run from Ji Maeng-Ho and a maximum of two runs…

Then, 3 points were needed to win.

3 points. If it’s big, it’s a big score. If it’s small, it’s a small score.

Looking at Crongs’ condition today, it was clear that it would be a big score, but if the coach worked hard, it was definitely a score that could have been enough to score about 3 points. Moreover, if we use the facts confirmed at the beginning of the 4th episode…

“Coach Kim!”

“Yes, director!”

“Gather all the beasts together. From now on, I will tell you the changed relative law.”

In the middle of the game, going into the top of the 5th inning, Manager Moon Ki-taek’s spectacular baseball strategy to score points against the enemy team’s ace was about to begin.