episode_0436

Baseball, as expected, was not easy. Since the doubleheader day, I had only managed to add two more home runs in the following nine games.

In the Sunday game, I ended up with no hits as I was too focused on hitting home runs, and from the JT game onwards, we couldn’t even get a chance to bat due to continuous ball control unless the score widened. It seemed like hitting four home runs in one day had made quite an impact.

Nevertheless, the fortunate part was that the team was performing well. Although the lead against Volcano was just 0.5 games.

What slightly concerned me was that there were still many games left against Volcano, right?

There were five games left against Volcano. After playing three games in this series, the schedule against Volcano would end with two games towards the end of the season. The current head-to-head record was 5 wins, 5 losses, and 1 tie. Because it was neck and neck, this series was truly crucial.

Honestly, dragging out this fight for first place until the end felt burdensome.

“Mr. Rosby, please help me again starting today.”

“Tsk…”

“If you signed a contract, you have to work. How long are you going to keep resting?”

“But aren’t you also not fully complying with the contract these days?”

“No, the schedule is tight. How can you say that? I’m struggling too.”

Just as Rosby said, the schedule was so tight that I couldn’t even have sex. With Monday games and additional doubleheaders, playing up to eight games was exhausting. Lately, I was so tired that I barely attempted any steals, and after the games, I would lie down at Ms. Jo’s place, receiving a massage and indulging in female dominance to relieve my fatigue.

“Still, we had fun yesterday, didn’t we?”

At least yesterday, after a long time, I did manage to enjoy a bit.

“Anyway, I got it.”

Rosby seemed to agree willingly. Lately, he had been urging me to try it alone, but perhaps he found it challenging to see significant growth given the frequent walks in recent games?

Today, Volcano’s starting pitcher was Kim Minjun. A player who crossed the 10-win mark early in the 3-point range, he was quite a formidable opponent. He wasn’t someone you could easily beat.

The crucial point was how Volcano would perform in this game. Would they shut me down? Or engage in a battle. They fought in the last series; how would they approach this one?

This game could practically be considered a preview of the Korean Series, making it highly likely that the stance of this game could carry over to the Korean Series. Alternatively, this game could set a new tone if we performed well.

“It seems like we’re going to have a showdown…”

With some anticipation, we entered the first game.

“Strike!”

Kim Minjun started off with a strike on the outside corner.

“Oh, we’re getting into it.”

“Should I avoid it then?”

“No, no. I like it.”

Even though he deliberately gave me a chance, I induced him to throw a second ball inside the strike zone, but…

“Ball.”

Yong-gi didn’t fall for my act and chose a low slider.

“What about the next pitch?”

“It’s another slider this time.”

Another slider… Is he planning to put it in the zone again? I wished there was some special curveball like last time, but unfortunately, it didn’t seem like that was the case. It was hard to distinguish between Kim Minjun’s fastball and slider. Even Kim Suho said Kim Minjun was a straightforward pitcher without any tricks.

Anyway, since it was a slider, I waited a bit longer to time it right and swung at his incoming pitch.

Crack!

-Whoa!! …Ah.

As the ball flew towards the outfield, fans who were cheering loudly gasped, and cheers erupted from third base. A hit caught at the warning track…

“Ha….”

Recently, my hitting hasn’t been on point, so it seems like my sense of hitting is indeed lacking. Failing to get past this pitch, even at Jamsil. With a tinge of regret, I walked towards the dugout.

“Hyung, don’t worry. My condition is top-notch today.”

“What are you saying, you cocky bastard.”

“Sigh, no need for compliments.”

Today’s starting pitcher, Jun-hu, approached and tried to talk, but I coldly brushed him off. He was the type to get excited and throw well if you just lifted him a bit. And honestly, I didn’t quite believe his claim of being in good condition. While he did manage to escape the first inning without allowing any runs, it was Jun-hu’s pattern to suddenly collapse.

“Jun-hu, stop messing around and just do your usual thing. Just like always.”

“You should do your usual thing too, Hyung. Okay? Just two home runs.”

So damn cocky. If it were any other day, I would have teased him mercilessly, but today he’s the starter. It was a shame that I couldn’t do that. Come to think of it, he only acts cocky on days when he starts…

“Hyung, when are we going to the club? We said we’d go together then.”

It’s rare for a starter to speak first. In the end, that seemed to be his main goal. Sigh… still stuck on that girl, unable to reach 10 wins yet.

“Get yourself together, man. You play one game a week, while I play eight. How am I supposed to keep up?”

“…Liar.”

“Don’t act cute, or I’ll knock some sense into you.”

“When have I ever acted cute? Ridiculous.”

“Shut up and focus. If we win today, I’ll go with you.”

“…Really?”

“When have I ever lied to you?”

“Well, there was that time…”

As Jun-hu was about to say something, the sound of a hit caught our attention. Our gaze shifted towards the field where Kim Su-ho’s hit soared high into the sky over Jamsil.

But as expected, Jamsil’s wall was high. The center fielder ran towards the wall and caught Kim Su-ho’s hit right in front of the warning track.

“Oh, he caught that.”

“Ju-yeop! Don’t catch those kinds of hits! He didn’t play defense like that when he was with us…”

“But still, two consecutive good hits. It’s worth a shot today.”

Even though two batters were out in a row, the hits were all near the wall, giving a good feeling.

Thunk – Crack!

And a booming hit soared high again towards the outfield. This time towards right field. However, once again, the right fielder caught the hit right in front of the warning track. All these hits that would have been home runs in other stadiums were caught right in front of the wall…

The good feeling vanished in an instant.

‘Ugh… today’s game won’t be easy, will it?’

[Jun-hu’s pitching! He shuts down the opposing team for 3 innings without letting a single player reach base!]

[In fact, when watching Kim Min-jun and Jun-hu face off as starters, it seemed like the weight was leaning towards the volcano side for this game, but Jun-hu’s performance is easing the anxiety of AT fans.]

[Now, we’re heading into the bottom of the 3rd inning… Up until the top of the 3rd, Jun-hu showed a great performance, but Kim Min-jun is also pitching well, isn’t he?]

[That’s right. How Kim Min-jun handles AT’s strong hitters was also a key point of this game, and he’s doing well today. Most hits are turning into regular hits, but he’s mixing in strikeouts and not allowing anyone on base.]

[It seems like fatigue is starting to show, doesn’t it? With the tight schedule of games, players, especially fielders, are likely accumulating fatigue. Even though they rested yesterday, it’s not unusual for their hitting senses to be off after a day off.]

[7th batter, Baek Jeong-jin, …swing and a miss! This is the fourth strikeout of the game. …Jeong Yoon-cheol grounds out to the infield! 9th batter, Jung Hwi-cheol…, this hit! It doesn’t escape the infield! A fantastic catch by shortstop Kim Seung-sik! Ending this inning with three outs, Kim Min-jun! Now heading into the bottom of the 4th inning.]

On the first day of October, the decisive match for the top spot unfolded. Before the game began, many fans and experts anticipated a fierce offensive showdown. While Lim Jun-hu was rotating in the starting lineup, there were expectations that it would be challenging against Volcano’s batting lineup, and similarly, Kim Min-jun, although a good pitcher, was seen as facing a tough task against AT’s strong hitters.

However, contrary to the expectations of experts and fans for an intense offensive battle, the game took a different turn. The first game of the series to determine the top spot saw both teams’ pitchers consecutively retiring nine batters each, maintaining a perfect pitching record.

[Lim Jun-hu pitched three innings with 39 pitches. Will he continue this performance in this inning? …Striking out Choi Si-woo and completing his fourth consecutive perfect pitching inning, Lim Jun-hu!]

[With Lim Jun-hu showcasing such performance, Coach Lee Soo-hyun can only have pleasant dilemmas. If he performs like this against Volcano, he might even start in the autumn baseball games, right?]

-Why is that Flower Snake pitching so well all of a sudden?

┗Haha, seems like he got some tips to win.

┗┗Even if Jun-hu loses to Flower Snake, it’s not match-fixing.

┗Seems like overall the league’s batters are not in good form.

-But seriously, how can’t they hit Flower Snake? If you can’t beat Flower Snake, then practically there’s no starting pitcher who can handle it, right? Looks like we’re screwed if we go to the playoffs.

┗Yeah, seriously. Thought they were doing well lately, but if they act up after just one day off, it’s ridiculous.

┗These guys should play seven games a week.

[Now entering the bottom of the 4th inning, leadoff hitter Ji Maeng-ho steps up to bat.]

-Oh, Kim Min-jun seems like he could get scratched, but no hits are coming out—ugh.

┗Looks like he’s picking up trash on his days off, throwing away garbage or something—ugh.

-Still, since the next batter is Maeng-ho Shin, I believe in him.

┗Hmm, Maeng-ho Shin doesn’t seem to be in good condition these days…

┗But he hit two home runs last week. It’s just that Maeng-ho Shin doesn’t look good compared to the league average.

-Ah… that bastard Maeng-ho looks shaky, should we just pass on him?

┗Then should we pass on him at the playoffs too? Can’t stand watching UG bastards keep passing at the playoffs?

-The day Min-jun gets scratched is unstoppable, haha.

┗But why did he suddenly get scratched, haha? Wasn’t he supposed to be focused on big games?

┗┗Where were the big games for this team? Haha.

┗Getting scratched, right? When the ball goes straight ahead, that’s getting scratched, haha.

AT’s fans and Volcano’s fans witnessed a tense pitching duel. Some fans hoped Ji Maeng-ho would make a mark in this high-quality pitching battle, but,

[Ji Maeng-ho hits the ball high! Far and high! But this time, the right fielder! Catches it! A fantastic diving catch stopping Ji Maeng-ho! Foreign player MacD saves the team with a defensive play this time!]

[Preventing the leadoff hitter from getting on base is significant. Especially when that player is Ji Maeng-ho!]

Kim Min-jun continued the pitching duel by handling Ji Maeng-ho with another groundout. Subsequently, the next batter, Kim Soo-ho, managed to walk, but Kim Min-jun successfully navigated through precarious pitches, keeping Gisang-ju and Williams at bay.

“It’s okay! I’ll shut them down today!”

Despite the situation where the batters couldn’t provide run support, Lim Jun-hu encouraged his senior teammates with a smile, while thinking,

“Damn, that guy’s really putting on a show, isn’t he? But we still have to win….”

Observing Lim Jun-hu in such moments, Ji Maeng-ho pondered whether he should spend time with someone like him during

The game was progressing towards a pitcher’s duel, regardless of Ji Maeng-ho’s concerns.