Chapter 679 – Episode 666. A Powerful Pitcher in the League. (3)

“Strike!”

“… “Are you in?”

“Okay.”

Wonho’s first pitch lands near his knee. The referee’s decision is a strike. I thought it was a little ambiguous, but Wonho was throwing well today, so it was called a strike. Well, I thought it was because it didn’t happen every day or two that the zone of a pitcher who was throwing well got slightly wider, or the zone of a hitter with a good pitching idea narrowed.

It was more important to focus on the game with Wonho right now than to bother the referee for no reason.

‘It’s a slider.’

‘Okay.’

The next ball Wonho chose was a slider. Since the ball was thrown low to the body toward the knee, there was a high possibility that the destination of this ball would be lower than the zone. … Only possibility.

However, looking at Wonho’s condition today, it is important not to rush to conclusions. Today’s Wonho was likely to throw two strikes in a row, so I decided to split the zone in half and hit when he hits the top, and skip when he hits the bottom, and wait for his pitch.

‘… Bottom!’

And the moment I threw it, I felt it heading slightly downward, and I held on to the bat.

“Ball.”

You can also see the results.

‘Okay, no matter how good your condition is, it’s scary to stick to it right away, right?’

As expected, it was clear that Wonho was conscious of me. In that case, there was a higher probability of going with two strikes as usual and then throwing a splitter as the deciding ball rather than trying to win the game quickly.

‘The splitter is good today, so let’s not bother dealing with the splitter.’

There was no reason to take the difficult route, so I decided to take advantage of that and win quickly and wait for Mr. Rossby’s next words.

‘Fastball.’

‘Okay.’

The third ball Wonho chose was a fastball. The first two balls were bottom balls, so there was a high probability that they would hit the top. If it was obvious, it was an obvious combination, but obvious meant classic, and classic meant that it worked well.

Also, considering Wonho’s key pitch, the splitter, there was a need to build up to the high zone from now on.

‘Baby, you’re caught. Come, I’ll give you a good blow.’

I waited for the guy’s ball, thinking about giving it a good shot, and just before I threw it, I made eye contact with Wonho. And the thrown ball…

‘… Huh?’

“Ball.”

But the thrown ball came higher than I expected. It was a ball that fell so big that it almost went above my head. It was a ball that was out of the zone enough for the catcher to get up from his seat, so the bat didn’t even flinch.

‘What… ?’

It was a ball, but honestly, I’m a little surprised. There was no reason to suddenly release the ball, but he threw it this high.

It was too high to be considered a throwaway ball to deceive the batter’s eyes, and it was too strange to think that he suddenly felt like throwing a throw in a one-and-one with the intention of throwing the ball.

“What? “Did you suddenly get scared?”

“… “Let’s focus on the game, right?”

“Are you concentrating? Isn’t he hurt somewhere?”

I asked the catcher a question to see if Wonho had suddenly thought of skipping me, but the catcher could hear in his voice that Wonho was a little embarrassed by suddenly throwing the ball high.

‘Then what is it? … ‘No way?’

Then there is only one possibility left. The only possibility was that he instinctively felt that I was going to hit him. It was too strange to have been planned.

Just as I predicted where Wonho would throw the ball, Wonho instinctively sensed in that brief moment that I was aiming for his ball.

‘Boy, this is fun.’

When I glance at Wonho again, I feel Wonho slightly averting his eyes, as if I guessed right.

‘It’s a splitter.’

‘Already?’

And the selected ball is a splitter.

‘Should I hit it? ‘Should I not?’

I saw Wonho’s splitter a few times in the dugout or waiting at bat, but I had never seen it in person when I came into the batter’s box, so I had some internal worries for a moment.

‘Let’s not just hit it.’

In the end, my decision was to wait. Throwing a splitter, which has already been the deciding pitch, meant trying to get a ground ball rather than getting a strikeout, and there was a high possibility that it would end up outside the zone.

“Ball.”

‘… Also. Wow, the ball is good. It will be dangerous if you come near the zone.’

‘It’s a splitter.’

‘Again? Is this okay?’

The ball Wonho chose was again a splitter. Well, it was a good choice. No matter how good Wonho’s splitter was today, the ball that hit the batter best was an unfamiliar ball. However, if you throw it this much, you get used to it.

Perfect!

“Foul!”

When he placed the bat on the familiar trajectory, the batted ball deviated significantly toward the third base stands and a foul was declared. The situation was driven to two strikes. But at this point, I felt like I knew for sure.

‘It seems like something?’

I don’t know why, but he was a little scared after throwing the ball high. So, I’m throwing the best ball today.

‘… If this happens, I think the next ball will also be a splitter? ‘I’m going to throw you until you fool me, right?’

Throwing a splitter three times in a row? Maybe it would work twice, but there was no fool in the world who would be fooled by the same thing three times in a row. Of course, I wasn’t that stupid either.

‘Throw it again. I’ll really split the ball.’

‘It’s a splitter.’

‘This guy, I was really scared. Okay, OK.’

This was just a fluke, hoping that I would miss the bat, and Wonho’s stubbornness. As long as you check the trajectory of his splitter twice in a row at bat, the probability that his splitter will work is zero. Since I was already familiar with the trajectory, it didn’t really matter whether it was the ball or not.

Wonho takes a deep breath and prepares to throw the ball. As I see Wonho like that, I think back on the timing I learned earlier with my eyes and body. And Wonho’s arm swings like a whip.

‘… ‘Two three!’

I’ve already seen it twice, so it’s a familiar trajectory and familiar timing. And Wonho’s ball starts to bend downward.

Let’s bend our knees and swing the bat,

Ta – Aak!

Along with the cheerful sound, I felt a satisfying sensation in my hand. There was no need to look at the destination of the hit, so I raised my hand toward the audience,

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

I can hear the cheers of the crowd chanting my name.

‘Is there one point left now? Well, at this rate, I’ll catch up quickly.’

*

[Ji Maeng-ho’s home run follows! Score 2:1! AT Thunders are following closely.]

[Hey, how do you turn a ball like that into a home run? This is truly incredible strength and striking skill. Normally, if you hit it like that, it would end up being a fly ball… As expected, it is Ji Maeng-ho. I would like to say this.]

‘Fuck, it looks like you missed two balls, but you’re throwing them all the way over there?’

I thought I hit it perfectly, but when the home run hit, Wonho’s eyes were only looking at where Maengho’s batted ball landed.

‘… ‘Maybe I should have just filtered it clearly.’

And the deep regret that remains. The moment he was about to throw the third ball to Meng-ho, the regret that he should have trusted his intuition remained in Won-ho’s mind.

At that time, Meng Hao’s eyes were looking at him with a look in his eyes that showed that he already knew what ball he was going to throw, and he had a sinister look in his eyes that said he would hit a home run as soon as he entered the zone. Those eyes that made many KBA league pitchers tremble with fear…

However, in a situation where he had earned two points, he, the ace, could not avoid Meng Ho, so he played against him as much as possible with a splitter, but Meng Ho even passed the ball into the fence.

Should I have followed the original plan by going for two strikes and sparing the splitter as much as possible? But he felt like he couldn’t even get to the crystal sphere… Or should he have gone for a fastball or slider in a two-strike situation?

While Wonho was thinking about such things, the catcher came up to the mound and asked about his condition.

“Are you okay?”

The catcher asked if he was okay. Wonho answered that question by nodding his head as if it was no big deal.

“Yeah, well.”

Although he hit a home run, the opponent was Ji Meng-ho. Anyway, it was like a natural disaster. When dealing with a fierce tiger in that state, you always had to be prepared for a home run. So there was no reason not to be okay. And, in the first place, I didn’t come in with the intention of not giving even a single point against Meng Hao today.

… The coaches seemed to be looking forward to it though.

“Let’s just finish it quickly and go in. There’s one out left.”

And, actually, after hitting the home run, I felt like my heart, which had been pounding just moments before, had calmed down.

The batter who has now come to bat is Choi Jin-cheol. He was definitely a scary hitter, but…,

“Strike! Out!”

[Kim Won-ho ends the inning with a strikeout! However, the top of the 4th inning ends with the AT Thunders trailing by 1 point.]

Is it because of the fight against Meng Hao just now? Rather, I was able to throw the ball with a lighter heart, and the result was a strikeout.

The game continued after that, but AT Thunders’ batters were unable to attack Wonho’s calmer balls and the inning went by.

‘Ha, Wonho, the ball has gotten better? I thought I would be shaken if I hit a home run, but… After all, we didn’t win the Triple Crown for nothing, right?’

And then the 6th episode started.

[… Kim Hwan-young’s batted ball! Direct hit on the fence! Runner on third base goes home! Runner on second base goes home! Kim Hwan-young hits a timely double with 2 RBIs on 2nd and 3rd bases with 2 outs! … Eun-chong Lee gets on base with a walk! Now the situation is 2 outs, 1st and 2nd bases! … Park Cheol-young’s batted ball! It’s right-center once again! Runner on second base! Home! Runner on first base goes home! Add 2 points again! Diaz breaks down here! Score 6:1!]

[Oh, the pitcher has been replaced. There is no choice but to change it here. But 5 points are too big.]

The game was uneasy from the start, but Diaz, who had been holding off until the 5th inning, eventually collapsed, and the game was completely lopsided in Silla’s favor.

[… Leadoff hitter wakes up with a double hit! Ki Ki-ju hits the first pitch and hits a double!]

[It looks like Kim Won-ho is slightly shaken because the attack took a long time?]

[Ji Maeng-ho reaches base on an intentional pitch.]

[There is no reason not to face Ji Maeng-ho when first base is empty.]

[… Out! … Strike! Out! … Out! Kim Won-ho ends the top of the 7th inning by cleanly eliminating three batters with no outs on first and second base!]

Although Wonho’s shoulders cooled down a bit, and he allowed a double to Ki Ki-ju during the extended attack, Wonho showed who the best pitcher in the league was and kept the inning scoreless, and the fans watching the game also I could tell for sure.

-Ha, today is over

-Tsk. There are now 2 innings left, but it looks like we won’t be able to overturn 5 runs.

That means today’s game is over.

[… Game over! Shilla Triggers wins the first game of the semi-playoffs! And at the center of it all was Kim Won-ho, who pitched 8 innings and allowed 1 run.]

[Ah, Kim Won-ho, it was perfect. Although he hit a home run against Ji Maeng-ho today, he showed an almost perfect performance by striking out 11.]

-As expected, Kim Won-ho throws well haha

┗ㄹㅇㅋㅋ If the batting lineup is good, what’s the point? Anyway, it only takes one ace to stop it.ㅋㅋ

-Quickly shut out and go to the playoffs!!!!

In the first game between the Shilla Triggers and the AT Thunders, which included league MVP candidates, Shilla won with the league’s best pitcher, Kim Won-ho, playing an active role.

“Under… “Why is that bastard Kim Won-ho acting like that today?”

“That’s right.”

“Well, anyway, Silla would have nothing without Kim Won-ho, right?”

“Yes, of course.”

However, that did not mean AT Thunders players gave up. Most of Silla’s pitchers were right-handed pitchers, similar to Kim Won-ho. This was especially true for the two newly recruited mercenaries this season.

In other words, it is no different from Kim Won-ho’s backward compatibility.

“We just need to win the remaining three games.”

“That’s right. “It’s just one game anyway.”

“Then thank you for your hard work today.”

In addition, the AT players, who achieved a milestone of three consecutive league wins, had a winning mentality that would not be shaken by just one loss.

[AT Thunders and Shilla Triggers, Shilla Triggers and AT Thunders semi-playoff second game. We will broadcast from Gocheok. I am a caster…]

Thus began the second round of the semi-playoffs between Shilla Triggers, who won one game thanks to Kim Won-ho’s performance, and AT Thunders, who are equipped with a winning mentality.