Chapter 755 – Episode 742. Mini Korea-Japan War. (2)

‘Sseu-eup, why is the game so strange?’

The game started with the first run scored in the first inning with a home run.

The game, which was expected to go smoothly like any other game, with the opponent destroying the mound, turned out to be an unexpectedly tight pitching battle. By the end of the fifth inning, I was 2-for-3, a pretty good score, but the score was still 1-0.

Except for me and Vientos, not a single player in our batting lineup was able to get on base, and Imanaga was showing good health on the mound.

‘Is this another down cycle? ‘I’m going to be damned that Cole didn’t score again.’

“Strike! Out!”

And with Volpi striking out, Imanaga left the mound after the bottom of the sixth inning.

“Under… “Do you do this on purpose every time I throw?”

I heard Cole muttering softly as he was leaving the dugout, but I tried to ignore the words and walked toward second base.

And in the top of the 7th inning, it ended with Cole, who was still in good shape, clearing out the White Sox’s batters with a clean three-way strike, and at the end of the 7th inning, a new pitcher was finally on the mound for the White Sox.

Considering our team’s batting lineup was blocked by Imanaga, this is good news!

… I thought so, but

“Out!”

“Out!”

“Out!”

It was blocked by Beroa, who came up after Imanaga.

“Call. 87 gande 8 times. Are you going up?”

“I will take responsibility until the end.”

“Yeah, that’s Ace. Go, Kol.”

And the pitcher who took the mound in the top of the 8th inning still called.

‘After… Still, since we scored 1 point, the call will block it. Hmm… The next inning starts from number 9, so if I get on base again and score 1 point with my foot…’

I lost focus for a moment when the top of the 8th inning started,

Perfect!

A fast batted ball flew towards me.

‘… ‘Ugh!’

I somehow threw my body towards it and blocked the hit with my glove, but because it was a very fast hit, the ball bounced off my glove once, and I quickly picked it up and threw it toward first base.

“Safe!”

As the thrown ball floated high, the runner survived on first base.

“Ha…”

“… “I’m sorry.”

“… Are you okay? “Don’t worry.”

When I handed the apple to Cole, who sighed when he saw me, he waved his hand as if he was okay, but I could clearly see that he was boiling over on his face.

‘… Fuck, I’m screwed. I should have focused.’

… And even though I have been a professional for a little over 4 years, I knew from experience that when something like this happens, something bad is bound to happen.

“Run! Run!”

“Safe!”

As soon as the next batter entered the batter’s box, Cole’s breaking ball was missed, and the situation was immediately on second base with no outs.

“Strike! Out!”

Fortunately, Cole struck out the batter, and just when I thought the inning would go smoothly,

Perfect!

The ball hit by Skog, the White Sox’s ninth batter, passed by Volpi and the runner on second base ran toward home.

“Safe!”

And the result is safe.

‘Ah… ‘Fuck you.’

Since Cole had passed 100 pitches, Manager Mattingly tried to visit the mound, but Cole motioned towards the manager.

Perfect!

Another hit resulted in a situation with 1 out and 1st and 2nd bases. Now we can no longer postpone replacement.

“Time! “I will change it.”

In the end, the pitching coach walked toward the mound, and Buddy, the bullpen member with the best performance on the team, went up to the mound.

“Fuck!”

… It was a bonus that the angry Cole threw his glove from the dugout and the curse words he spat could be heard here.

‘Fuck. Please let it end like this. I’ll give you at least 1 point… !’

After greeting him with such earnest prayers, I hit the ground running.

Perfect!

‘Fuck!’

And as always, prayers did not work well. With an infield single, one out and the bases loaded.

Perfect!

“Safe!”

After that, it was a comeback with an outfield fly. Although Buddy put the remaining batters out, the score was already overturned.

“I’m sorry.”

“After… Are you okay? Young players can make mistakes. “At least hit well and come back.”

“… Yes.”

Afterward, I returned to the dugout and handed Cole an apple, and he patted me on the shoulder and encouraged me. I was a little scared because he was so angry, but maybe it was a good thing?

‘Hmph, if it were me, I would have turned the bamboo sticks.’

‘… Mr. Rossby was a batter. ‘Why is Mr. Rossby spinning bamboo sticks?’

‘Hmph, if the pitcher gets a strikeout, he doesn’t have to make an error, but the pitcher who blames the fielder for no reason needs to be dealt with first.’

‘… Ah. ‘Not the player who made an error, but the pitcher?’

‘Yes.’

‘… ‘It wasn’t my fault, was it?’

‘You looked at me when I made a mistake earlier. How dare a pitcher criticize a .400 hitter?’

‘…’

The bottom of the 8th inning, leaving behind Mr. Rossby, who was spouting such absurd words.

“Leave it alone, show it and come.”

“… Okay.”

Verdugo came out as a pinch hitter in place of Ohhapi,

“Strike! Out!”

Verdugo calmly struck out three pitches and headed to the dugout.

‘Aw, you fucking can’t play. So, it’s just a bench. If that bastard whined about being left out of the lineup one more time, he would fall behind me. Really.’

I went to bat, cursing Verdugo in my mind,

‘It’s a fastball. It looks like the body.’

‘… Yes.’

Ta – Aak!

I turned the bat mercilessly at the fastball that looked like a dead throw that came in from the first pitch.

-Wow!!!!

-Ji! Ji! Ji! Ji! Ji! Ji!

And the result was a home run. I should have been happy when I hit a home run, but I wasn’t happy at all at the thought of a comeback if Verdugo had just gotten on base…

‘Fuck you, you’re a fucking bastard, but you can’t get on base…’

Still, since the score was still tied, I high-fived my teammates and then walked up to Cole and apologized again.

“… “For now, I erased the defeat.”

When I said that the defeat was erased, Cole silently handed me his fist, and after touching my fist with his, I sat down on his bench.

“Out.”

“Strike! Out!”

And the bottom of the 8th inning ends with Judge and Soto being quietly out.

‘Fuck. There’s no one else but me, really.’

It’s a bit hard for me to say this as I made a mistake and lost the game, but this is a truly disgusting batting lineup. Even though we’ve been on a 7-game winning streak, it’s hard to despair at the batter’s batting skills that are so cold.

-Waaaaa!!!!!!!

-Let’s go! White Sox!

-White Sox! White Sox!

Buddy, who had been fighting over and over during the 7-game winning streak, eventually gave up 2 points, and the game began to come to an end.

‘Ha, it’s really fucked up.’

Camacho, who followed up with a birdie, finished the remaining inning, but there was no way the batters’ hitting ability could suddenly be revived after just one inning, and the game ended when Kelnick, whose hitting ability was penetrating the ground, hit a double play.

“Let’s win tomorrow!”

Fortunately, after winning 7 games in a row, there were no swear words when I greeted the fans after the game,

‘Under…, I couldn’t concentrate at that time. If it hadn’t been for a mistake, Cole could have shut out and won.’

I couldn’t help but feel depressed because I felt like I lost because of my mistake.

*

-White Sox prevent Yankees from winning 8 games in a row!

… The White Sox, who continued their opportunity with Imanaga’s excellent pitching of 6 innings, allowing 1 run, scored 2 runs in the 8th inning, taking advantage of Ji Maeng-ho’s error, and 2 runs in the 9th inning against Buddy, who was tired from the continuous pitching, and won 7 consecutive games. We achieved a 4:2 victory over the Yankees.

… Meanwhile, Ji Maeng-ho played well, scoring all the team’s points with 3 hits in 4 at-bats, 2 home runs, and 2 RBIs…

┗Wow, the 7-game winning streak is cut off like this haha

┗Out of 7 games, there are only 4 games where double-digit scores were scored, so how can the batting sensation cool down so quickly? Is this correct?

┗┗I guess this is also the dignity of Shota Shin haha. It’s just that Shota Shin’s performance was ruined.

┗Ji Maeng-ho, is this bastard a bastard? I made a mistake in a game where a Japanese pitcher appeared, and the game was ruined.

┗┗Hmm… I didn’t give him a win, but his opponent’s record was 2 out of 3 at-bats, but didn’t he win? Furthermore, I also hit a home run.

┗┗ㅋㅋ Then what happens? The team lost. LOL

┗┗The team is fierce haha

┗Angukno, do you really like Japan that much? I enjoyed seeing you do your best to erase the loss of a Japanese pitcher…

*

: You bastard Lee Wan-yong, what are you going to do about losing the game because of you? It’s a shame that a bastard like you is Korean, you idiot. The sidebar pitched, and he had to lose that game? The country is like this because of bastards like you.

“What a fucking bastard… No, this guy looks like a Korean kid. Why are you so upset? “If anyone sees me, they’ll think I’m an honorary citizen of New York.”

As soon as the game ended, I checked my phone, and I was still annoyed because I thought I lost the game because of my mistake, but then I saw a DM from some idiot.

I’ve heard all sorts of insults while playing baseball, but I really couldn’t stand being called a traitor. WBC once, Olympics once, Asian Games twice. What a traitor to me, who won a total of four international competitions and led the women’s volleyball team to victory in the Asian Games… !

I couldn’t stand this kind of insult, so I immediately made a video call to him. But of course, he never received the video call, and a message saying missed video call appeared in the DM window.

I’m sure I’ve seen it since it says ‘Read’…

@MHooooo.4: You idiot who can’t even talk to your face haha. If you have something to say, say it to your face, you fucking idiot. If you make a call, you don’t even get it haha

I swore in DM, but my anger didn’t go away. It was my first time being criticized as a traitor, so I was angrier than I thought.

‘Huh, let’s hold on, fuck.’

That’s how we arrived at the house.

“Why do you look so angry?”

“No, someone is calling me a traitor, damn it. Ha, how much have I done for the country…”

“Oh my, did you do that? Our fierce tiger, come here. My sister will give it to you. Eat this and relieve your anger.”

“Oppa, my mom too…”

I regained my composure while receiving care from Hyuna and Jia, but as the morning dawned, and it was time to go to work, I was annoyed because I remembered again that their winning streak was broken because of me and that they had called me, a proud patriot, a traitor. They came in droves.

‘Ha, fuck. What kind of idiot…’

Still, because I was a professional, I controlled my emotions as much as I could and continued training. For some reason, not many players came near me today.

After training and strength analysis, it was time to announce the lineup.

“First batter, second baseman Ji. “No. 2 hitter left fielder Judge, No. 3 hitter right fielder Soto.”

As usual, the time has come for me, Judge, and Soto’s names to be called, and for the number 4 hitter to be called.

“No. 4, designated hitter Stanton.”

And, at the same time that Director Mattingly calls Stanton’s name, someone stands up and screams.

“What? Are you saying Jean is going out today too? No, I guess it wasn’t my turn to be the starter today, right?”

The main character was Verdugo, who failed to get on base yesterday and turned my home run into a tie-breaking home run instead of a comeback home run.

‘Fuck, if only that kid had gotten on base yesterday, Miller could have come right out and won…’

When I see you screaming, does it remind you of yesterday and make you angry? I was already in a bad mood, but this guy made me feel even worse.

“Hey, Alex. “We’re still calling the lineup.”

Director Mattingly was also surprised by Verdugo’s appearance, so he raised the glasses he was wearing and glared at Verdugo.

“Fuck! Donnie! Not this! I am a player who is good enough to be in the lineup! Mad! “Say something!”

But Verdugo became furious, swearing and swearing,

‘I was annoyed because I lost because of you yesterday, but I got caught, you bastard. I warned you last time, but you didn’t listen, right?’

As a Confucian boy who knew that respecting elders was a virtue, I could no longer tolerate his self-indulgence.

“This bastard swears at the director!”