No Malice (5)
Crack!
[Full count! And it's a walk.]
[Ah, Manager Lee Ganghyeok really couldn't have seen this coming.]
Seoul Lakers closer Mu Junsik.
As the closer for a team chasing a championship, he was a pitcher with no disqualifying flaws whatsoever.
But there were days when his command simply wasn't there, and most Lakers fans were already certain that today was one of those days.
[Bringing in closer Mu Junsik in the eighth means Manager Lee Ganghyeok decided this was a game they absolutely could not afford to give away. And now it's turned into two outs, bases loaded.]
The go-ahead RBI single from trade acquisition Lee Hajun.
That alone was already enough to make holding back their fury difficult, and now the closer who had taken the mound after him was walking Jays and Park Jinhyeok back-to-back.
The hearts of Lakers fans who had still believed a comeback was possible were now thrashing between the stifling reality of two outs and bases loaded and the faint hope of a turnaround still waiting ahead.
[Daejeon Hawks cleanup hitter Kim Dongseong steps in.]
"Number four hitter! Kim Dongseong! Home run! Kim Dongseong! Send it flying!"
"Louder!"
Considering the Lakers' potent lineup, and considering their track record over the past few years as masters of the comeback alongside the Gwangju Kings, a one-run lead as thin as ice was nowhere near enough to put Hawks fans at ease.
Two outs, bases loaded.
On third, the speedy runner Lee Hajun.
Throwing a big-breaking off-speed pitch was a heavy burden.
But a closer had to deliver in the most desperate moments.
[Here comes the first pitch!]
Mu Junsik threw the ball as if he were ready to end the eighth with a lead change.
Crack!
[He pulled it!]
But today, Mu Junsik's command really was terrible.
Against a right-handed batter, starting with an outside slider was a reasonable choice—yet the ball simply refused to go where he wanted.
[A well-struck ball splits the left-center gap!]
The moment it left the pitcher's hand the location had been poor; the moment it met the bat, the location was perfect.
The ball rolled and rolled until it reached the wall, and whether the batter-runner stopped at first or third was of little interest to most fans on either side—except for the man himself and his personal supporters, who were thinking about the box score.
[A bases-clearing double that brings all three runners home! Kim Dongseong drives in the dagger that makes it a four-run game!]
[The Hawks' lineup is truly strong when it matters most.]
The Daejeon Hawks' traveling fans had already begun their celebration.
A one-run lead had felt precarious.
In the past, even a four-run lead would not have been enough to satisfy them.
But now, somehow, it felt different.
Winning streaks were common enough in baseball.
Even last-place teams had stretches when the momentum was with them.
Yet the tangible quality of play they were feeling now seemed to run on a different track from mere good fortune.
Crack!
[A well-hit ball finds Lee Hajun's glove! With another performance that lived up to expectations on both sides of the ball, the Daejeon Hawks secure the series with an 8–4 victory!]
[They're showing exactly why this team deserves attention in the second half.]
"Good work today."
Manager Park Taesik of the Hawks, a man usually stingy with praise, spoke the words.
The sunglasses hid his expression, but anyone familiar with his usual demeanor could tell he was quite pleased.
"Hajun, nice defense."
"Yes, hyung."
Hajun answered the Hawks' closer Go Minjae with quiet simplicity, as if it were nothing special—as if from now on, plays like that should simply be taken as a given.
"I'd like to say we did well enough, but unfortunately we don't have the luxury of looking back. We go again tomorrow!"
"Yes, sir!"
Veterans Kim Dongseong, Yu Seungjin, Hwang Jaewon and the others lifted the atmosphere.
They were still sitting in seventh place, and it felt like only yesterday they had been stuck with a winning percentage in the .300s—yet the Hawks were already eyeing tomorrow's game as if they were in the thick of a pennant race.
[Two teams meet—one that has come this far and now wants even more, and one that simply cannot allow that to happen. Welcome to Game 3 of the weekend series between the 2026 KBO Daejeon Hawks and the Seoul Lakers.]
The surging Daejeon Hawks.
The cornered Seoul Lakers.
Yet both sides, at least for today, believed victory was theirs.
[Today's starting pitchers: left-hander Yu Seungjin for the Daejeon Hawks, right-hander Enrique for the Seoul Lakers. How do you see it?]
[Yu Seungjin hasn't given up many runs against the Lakers in the past, while Enrique has dominated the heart of the Hawks' order. Both managers are playing cards they trust, but the scale still tips toward the Lakers.]
[Yes, Enrique is in the thick of the ERA title race, after all…]
[But a new variable has appeared. If the Hawks' leadoff hitter Lee Hajun and the newly arrived Jays—those two left-handed bats—can solve Enrique, then today's game is truly anyone's guess.]
Enrique, who threw his fastball not as a four-seamer but as a sinker.
A slider that paired beautifully with that sinker.
And a diving splitter that could not be left out of the conversation.
The pitcher right-handed hitters in the league least wanted to face.
To a Hawks lineup whose core—Park Jinhyeok, Kim Dongseong, Ji Gyeongjun—were all right-handed, he was nothing short of a natural predator.
"Leadoff hitter! Lee Hajun!"
"……"
And Lee Hajun stepped into the box carrying the duty of rendering all previous data useless.
[Lee Hajun, hero of back-to-back walk-off hits, looks to plant another sharp dagger in his former team today.]
[Even though the surge has lasted less than a month, the reason he's becoming a topic everywhere is simple—his swing is just too clean. There's real composure in the box.]
The closer he came to the plate, the louder the expectant voices of the Hawks fans who had come to the park seemed to grow.
Being human meant a tangle of emotions was inevitable.
He wanted to prove to the fans in white and black, the ones in the pinstriped uniforms who had never once applauded him, just how much he had changed.
And he wanted to show even more to the orange wave that had newly welcomed him.
Stay calm.
But what mattered was this at-bat right now.
Get on base somehow.
If possible, drive it.
That was all.
Crack!
"Strike!"
Hajun blinked once.
[Enrique takes strike one on the first pitch. That movement is still incredible no matter how many times you see it.]
152 km/h.
A sinker with that kind of velocity was a genuine rarity in Korean baseball.
Facing him in a real game like this really is…
Ever since Hajun had begun staying longer in the first team, the finest foreign pitcher to pass through the Seoul Lakers had, without question, been the man standing on the mound right now—Enrique.
Until just a few months ago, when Hajun had still wanted the Lakers to win, he had been the most trustworthy ace of all.
Having seized the initiative with a first-pitch strike, the pitcher went right back to work.
Crack!
A fastball coming in on the outer half.
[He swung!]
The timing felt right, yet the ball never left the infield, rolling harmlessly.
Lakers shortstop Park Jeonghwan fielded it without difficulty.
Wait—?
Park Jeonghwan had to hurry the throw.
[Park Jeonghwan fields it and throws to first… out!]
Everyone watching was briefly startled.
What had looked like an ordinary grounder had nearly become an infield hit.
[Enrique retires leadoff man Lee Hajun on a grounder. One out!]
[No matter how fast the runner is, that looked like a routine infield grounder—hahaha, he really is quick. But keeping Lee Hajun off base is huge for the Lakers battery.]
In the end, one out all the same.
Crack!
"Out!"
Pop!
"Strike three!"
[Frozen solid! Enrique freezes Park Jinhyeok looking for a called third strike and starts the first with a three-up, three-down inning!]
Pop! Pop! Pop! Pop!
"Enrique! Enrique!"
Two straight losses.
Yet the Seoul Lakers found relief in the overwhelming presence of their ace.
He had shut down the demonic Hawks one-two punch and reduced home-run hitter Park Jinhyeok to a helpless strikeout.
Now the counterattack could begin.
They believed in the lineup they cheered for.
Crack!
[He pulled it over the left fielder's head!]
The Lakers hitters answered that faith.
The duo of Im Hyeseong and Kim Seongjun, both sporting on-base percentages over .400, reached base.
Then the confident swing of number-three hitter James.
A glorious bat flip.
It was the formula they had seen countless times.
[Left fielder Jo Inbeom can only watch! James seizes the initiative with a three-run homer!]
Crack—
Lakers number-seven hitter, catcher Lee Jeongseok, met the ball with that massive swing of his.
"Ooooooooh…"
The stands roared, and the foul poles decided the fate of the ball in opposite directions.
Whoa…
Standing in the infield and staring out toward the distant outfield, Hajun broke into a cold sweat.
Depending on whether the ball had gone left or right of the foul pole, the Daejeon Hawks and Yu Seungjin had come within a breath of having their throats cut—yet they had survived.
Pop!
"Strike three!"
[Swinging strikeout! Lee Jeongseok's bat whiffs through the changeup and the long bottom of the first finally ends.]
[If that earlier ball had stayed fair it would have been five runs. It'll be interesting to see how that moment is remembered through the rest of the innings.]
Yu Seungjin grinding it out by any means necessary, and Enrique in pure dominant form.
The second inning ended the same way.
Then the top of the third began.
Enrique's sinker, boasting that incredible movement, came in on the hands.
A pitch that was simply cruel to right-handed hitters.
But he was not a god, so the ball did not always go exactly where he wanted.
The 151 km/h sinker drilled the body of Park Jisu, the seventh hitter and starting third baseman.
Pop!
"Strike three!"
[Outside slider! The batter's bat has no chance—two outs!]
Number-nine hitter Jo Inbeom went down without a fight, and Lee Hajun stepped out of the on-deck circle.
[Lee Hajun at the plate. Last time up he grounded out.]
[This matchup is huge. If Lee Hajun can get on and hand the chance to number-two hitter Jays, even Enrique becomes a lot more uncomfortable.]
The first time a pitcher and hitter meet, the pitcher holds an overwhelming advantage.
That was simply the nature of the sport.
But because baseball was played by humans, the pitcher also felt the weight of the question mark when facing a hitter for the first time.
[A critical at-bat. Enrique sets for the first pitch.]
Today catcher Lee Jeongseok put down the signs with confidence, and Enrique answered with clean, decisive pitches.
Thud!
[It gets away! The runner takes second!]
First pitch: a wild pitch.
Enrique gestured an apology to Lee Jeongseok, saying the ball had slipped from his hand.
Second pitch.
No need to overthink it.
Just get a strike.
Crack!
[A ball stroked the other way!]
A sinker thrown with full conviction on the outer edge.
He had been confident.
Yet it was caught cleanly by Hajun's impossibly smooth swing.
Pop! Pop! Pop! Pop! Pop!
A hit that quenched the thirst.
[A single drops in front of the left fielder! The runner from second rounds third and scores! Lee Hajun proves himself once again today!]
The first hit Enrique allowed all game became an RBI.
"……"
Hajun allowed himself a small smile right away.
It felt every bit as good as yesterday's go-ahead walk-off.
The absolute ace of the Seoul Lakers.
Now he was simply an opponent who had to be brought down.