Chapter 583 – Episode 575. Click. (1)

Ta-ah!

Although it was hit slightly from behind, the ball hit the exact center of Ji Maeng-ho’s bat and flew toward the right wall.

-Wow!!!

And the enthusiastic cheers of the home fans, who were convinced that it was a home run after seeing the direction of the flying ball, fill Jamsil Stadium.

-Ji Maeng-ho! Ji Maengho! Ji Maengho!

A batted ball that doesn’t come back and shouts that get louder. The number ‘1’ written on the electronic sign changes to ‘2’ as soon as Ji Maeng-ho hits home.

[The ball pushed by Ji Maeng-ho! Fence! Fence! Fence! Let’s go! Ji Maeng-ho creates a tie! Score 2:2! The game returns to square one!]

– HahaMoon Ki-taek was so damn stupid that I made 2 points, but Manghoshin got 1 point with one click haha

┗ㄹㅇ Haha, I just made all the scores today haha

Moon Ki-taek did his best to score the lead, but all that came back was Ji Maeng-ho’s home run. However, there was no one who could criticize Seonghyeon. Today, Seonghyun was out-counting all batters except Ji Maeng-ho.

But even Seonghyeon was slowly losing strength.

[Choi Jin-cheol’s batted ball! To the deepest part of Jamsil! Ah… ! Catch it! Kim Joo-yeop! It flew all the way to the deepest part of Jamsil, but with the score tied at 2:2, the game went into the top of the 8th inning.]

If it had not been Jamsil, it was a hit that could have gone over at any stadium, and although it was caught as an out, it was a hit that could have gone over even Jamsil’s central fence if Seonghyeon’s ball had been driven a little more.

In other words, if Seonghyeon’s control was as usual, it meant that the ball would not have gone near the fence. What this means is that Seonghyun, who is showing off his perfect ball control, is getting a lot of attention…

“Get ready for Suho.”

It also meant that Seonghyun’s pitching for today was here. AT’s batting lineup is one in which five players, excluding Ji Maeng-ho, have recorded double-digit home runs. It was such a batting lineup that it wouldn’t be surprising if Seonghyun, whose ball control wasn’t perfect, hit a home run at any time.

“Starting with Suho?”

“Okay. Suho covers the 8th and 9th episodes, and the extension goes to Minjun. Well, it would be nice if I could finish it before then.”

The most powerful bullpen pitcher, closer Shin Soo-ho, is brought in one inning earlier than usual and the pitcher is expected to score points in some way, which is a natural pitching strategy in fall baseball. Because coach Moon Ki-taek has already experienced several fall baseball games, he made a quick decision.

[Jinhyuk Park appears on the mound for the AT Thunders.]

And the AT Thunders’ bench also made the standard move of replacing the pitcher. Crongs’ performance today was 2 runs in 7 innings. Cronks’ pitching seemed to be the same, but manager Lee Soo-hyun was not a manager who couldn’t read the flow, so much so that a pitcher who returned to the dugout in a fuss after giving up two runs in the previous inning was sent into the 8th inning of Game 1 of the Korean Series.

[Jinhyuk Park appeared in 69 games this season and recorded an ERA of 2.51 and 21 holds in 68.1 innings.]

The pitcher chosen by coach Lee Soo-hyun is Park Jin-hyuk.

It was a pitcher replacement that took into account Kim Yun-ho’s experience as the team’s closer before he took charge of AT’s finish, his experience in the Korean Series as the 2023 closer, and his experience in blocking the opponent’s batting line in the most important situation this season.

[… Out! … Oh, Kim Joo-yeop gets on base with a walk. … Wonhyeong Lee’s fake bunt and slash! This batted ball! 6! 4! 3! The AT Thunders create a picturesque double play!]

[Wow, the Keystone combination almost moved as one body. It was a perfect double play, right? Just now, he played a buster while pretending to put the runner in scoring position even if it meant two outs, and Seongtae Yoon’s reflexes were good.]

And as if living up to the manager’s expectations, Park Jin-hyuk succeeded in holding off Hwasan’s batting lineup without allowing any runs in the top of the 8th inning.

[Now Shin Soo-ho, the finisher, will take over Mound of the Volcano.]

[You mean to block Shin Su-ho’s score by giving him a quick timing?]

[… Shin Su-ho blocks Yoon Seong-tae, Kim Hyun-seong, and Baek Jeong-jin with a three-way attack!]

Of course, Shin Su-ho, the closest of Volcanoes, was also the best closing pitcher in the league this season and was enough to block AT’s batting lineup as coach Moon Ki-taek expected.

[In the top of the 9th inning, closing pitcher Kim Yun-ho comes on AT’s mound.]

[It’s also a standard pitcher replacement, right? If there is an extension, it seems likely that 2 innings will be played.]

[And the opponent is the Hwasan Falcons’ cleanup trio. … This batting ball is big! Ah… ! The right fielder catches it! Baek Jeong-jin catches a batted ball for a double! What a fantastic sliding catch! … Lee Yong-gi’s batted ball penetrates the infield. 1 out, 1st base!]

[As expected, Lee Yong-gi is featured. If this happens, Choi Si-woo’s at-bat will be really disappointing.]

[Lee Yong-gi is replaced by pinch runner Seon Dae-young. The batter was Gon Park, who came on as a pinch hitter in the top of the 7th inning in Mac D’s at-bat. … Seon Dae-young is running! And he hit! Run and hit! However, the batted ball is caught by second baseman Ji Maeng-ho and thrown out to first base! The Hwasan Falcons succeeded in sending a runner to second base with only two outs!]

[It was a run and hit, but Ji Maeng-ho kept his position, right? This time, director Lee Soo-hyun read director Moon Ki-taek’s number, right?]

[2 outs, 2nd base, Yoon Joong-il at bat. … Out! AT Thunders finish the top of the 9th inning with no runs! Now, we will see you with the final attack of the regular inning.]

The score for both teams was 2:2 until the top of the 9th inning. And in the leadoff batter’s at-bat, AT’s pinch-hitting card, Woo Gwan-hyeong, was put to the at-bat.

“Hyung Kwan, just show me what you practiced.”

“I understand.”

Before the Korean Series started, there was only one thing Woo Kwan-hyung practiced. It was a matter of timing the batting to Shin Su-ho’s fastball. After displaying Shin Su-ho’s pitching form on the screen, I practiced hitting a mid-150 ball with a speed similar to Shin Su-ho’s fastball throughout the preparation period for the Korean Series.

A practice I did solely to deal with Hwasan’s closing pitcher, Shin Su-ho. Manager Lee Soo-hyun had prepared a pinch-hitting card called Woo Gwan-hyung to snipe the opponent’s closing pitcher. That’s why I’ve been saving the pinch-hitting card of Woo Gwan-hyung until now, and the perfect meal has been prepared in front of Woo Gwan-hyung.

‘I only aim for fastballs.’

As Woo Kwan-hyung steps up to bat, there is only one thought in his head.

A pitcher who is coming to the Korean Series for the first time, and his opponent is an old veteran batter who shows a weakness to fast balls. In this situation, it was clear that the pitcher would throw the fastball he was most confident in, so Woo Kwan-hyung aimed for Shin Su-ho’s first pitch fastball,

Perfect!

As if to prove that the preparation so far was not in vain, Woo Gwan-hyeong’s batted ball flew through right-center field.

[Woo Kwan-hyung! Second base! Second base! Three leaves at second base! The heart of AT that makes the leadoff hitter hit a double! Woo Gwan-hyung! As expected, it’s Woo Kwan-hyung!]

[Hey, you made a bold move from the first pitch, right? If he had been in his prime, or even if he had been just a year younger, the batted ball would have gone over the fence, so it would be a real pity for Woo Kwan-hyung.]

[Woo Kwan-hyung will be replaced by pinch runner Kim Jong-hoon. Now at bat, number 1 hitter Kim Soo-ho. … Kim Soo-ho! I bunted reliably! Third base is late! Now 1 out, 3rd base! And at the plate, Ki Ki-joo, who recorded no hits in 3 at-bats today.]

With Woo Gwan-hyeong’s double, a situation like a disaster came to Hwasan.

[Hwasan’s defensive position is forward defense. Normally, there is a way to use a strategy to filter out players who are on the rise and aim for a double play, but that doesn’t seem to be the case.]

[Why is that? Commissioner?]

[Because the batters waiting behind the weather warning are Williams and Ji Maeng-ho. Williams is a batsman with enough batting skills to record a high batting average of .302.1 this season, and he has 15 stolen bases, so the probability of a double play is not very high. It seems like the decision is to induce the weatherman to hit a ground ball and aim for home from here.]

It’s a problem whether you filter it or not. The only things Hwasan fans can hope for here are striking out the pitcher or hitting home with an infield ground ball.

Perfect!

However, Ki Ki-joo was also not a low-level hitter who could not make at least an outfield fly with one out and third base on base.

[Weather warning! Tap lightly to make the ball float! Center fielder Kim Joo-yeop was caught! Home win! … But the runner was faster! 3:2! AT Thunders win Game 1 of the Korean Series thanks to a sacrifice fly to end the weather warning!]

Center fielder Kim Joo-yeop caught the ball and threw it toward home with all his might, but the result was safe. Game 1 of the Korean Series, which attracted attention due to the confrontation between Krongs and Seonghyun, ended in victory for the AT Thunders.

“Hello! Ji Maeng-ho! You were selected as Daily MVP for Game 1 today. How do you feel?”

And of course, the protagonist was Ji Maeng-ho, who single-handedly(?) Created the first goal and tied the game.

“I feel good because I won the first game. In fact, I thought Crongs, who allowed 2 runs in 7 innings, or Sangju senior, who hit a walk-off, would receive the award, but I am glad that the people who select the MVP know how to watch baseball.”

“Ahaha… Okay. Hmm… You hit two home runs against Seonghyeon today. Did you have any special strategy prepared against him? Except for Ji Maeng-ho, the other players had a hard time today as they could not get on base even once against Seong-hyeon.”

“Was it like that? Seniors, let’s work hard! And there is no such thing as a strategy. Well, even if there is, it’s hard to say it here. “I don’t know when Seonghyeon will appear again.”

“Ah… Okay. “Then, can I finally hear your resolution for the future?”

“Hmm… Today, Coach Moon Ki-taek was trying his best to score 1 point, which was nice to see. Well, anyway, it’s just one home run on my part. I hope he keeps trying and makes me more happy. “4:0 is boring, right?”