Toward Fifth Place (3)
Pickoff to first!
Damn—!
The moment Hajun edged a little farther toward second, the pickoff throw came screaming in. He dove for the bag with the same desperate urgency as a runner trying to steal home from third, sliding hard.
"Safe!"
A sharp pickoff throw! But he's safe!
That was close.
"Boooooooo!"
Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang!
The Daejeon Hawks fans' jeers were met with roaring cheers from the Seoul Grizzlies faithful — the home crowd at Jamsil tonight.
I need to get my head on straight.
This was a game where scoring first and seizing the momentum truly mattered. Without realizing it, he had pushed past his usual line. Hajun had always been confident in his speed and baserunning instincts, but he knew full well that impatience could turn into poison.
Oh Yeongju gets the first-pitch strike. Here comes the second!
Whap—!
"Strike!"
A swing and a miss on the high heat! Oh Yeongju racks up two strikes in the blink of an eye!
The scoreboard flashed 158 km/h. Anyone watching could tell he was throwing with everything he had. A pitcher of his reputation across the league was coming at them with stuff even nastier than usual. It was the kind of moment that could crush a team's spirit —
He's going!
— but the ones who still did their job in moments like these were the ones who achieved something.
"Strike!"
A curveball with a breathtaking drop. Jays's bat carved empty air.
Jays swings through the breaking ball for the strikeout! But Lee Hajun has stolen second!
Looks like he read the curveball timing perfectly.
Even though the curve caught the zone, Jays couldn't put wood on it. Hajun, however, had manufactured a runner in scoring position with one out — handing the other team the same result as if the number-two hitter had laid down a productive grounder.
Clap! Clap! Clap! Clap! Clap!
Clap! Clap! Clap! Clap! Clap!
One side had just struck out a batter and recorded an out. The other had just watched a runner steal second on a perfectly timed jump. Rather than argue over who held the advantage, both sets of fans simply applauded — the pitcher and the baserunner alike.
Now stepping in, the number-three hitter — Park Jinhyeok!
Park's career average against Oh Yeongju isn't low, and his bat has been hot lately.
"Forget the runner. Focus on the hitter, all right?"
Catcher Kim Gangcheol climbed the mound to settle his pitcher down. Even after inducing a weak grounder and notching a three-pitch strikeout, they were still looking at a scoring-position situation with one out. In a game this important, he judged that a still-young pitcher might get a little rattled.
True to form for a veteran catcher — Kim Gangcheol heads out to the mound to encourage his pitcher.
Oh Yeongju's stuff is outstanding today. Rather than fretting over the runner, he needs to think about burying hitters with his own pitches.
A mid-twenties national-team cornerstone against Park Jinhyeok — Oh Yeongju versus the Hawks' slugger. The broadcast cameras closed in on both men's faces. A calm exchange of signs. Then the pitch.
He's going!
Lee Hajun is running again!
Whap—!
"Strike!"
This bastard—?
A high fastball on the inner half clipped the ABS zone with surgical precision, and the catcher threw down to third from a comfortable stance. But the timing had caught them completely off guard.
At third—!
"Safe!"
When a fast runner broke on a fast jump, a catcher's arm strength barely mattered.
Lee Hajun steals third! Following his twenty-fifth stolen base, he now notches number twenty-six!
Even if he ran, I thought he'd wait a little longer to watch — ah, this guy is genuinely terrifying.
"Lee Hajun! Lee Hajun! Lee Hajun!"
The atmosphere had shifted. The pitcher and catcher made no effort to hide their fluster. In a sport as static as baseball, a play this audacious didn't end at simply taking an extra base.
Crack—!
Nicely punched the other way — right field!
Grizzlies fans felt their hearts lurch. Hawks fans erupted the instant the ball left the bat.
"Out!"
Jo Jinhyeok makes the catch!
But as long as a ball didn't leave the yard, the result was never certain until it played out.
Jo Jinhyeok to the plate!
The Grizzlies' right fielder Jo Jinhyeok didn't exactly have a cannon for an arm. Hajun trotted home standing up.
Lee Hajun scores! Park Jinhyeok's sacrifice fly plates the first run — the Daejeon Hawks take the lead!
Ah, that run was manufactured entirely by Lee Hajun's legs.
Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang!
"For a Daejeon victory!"
Through Hajun's consecutive steals, a single infield hit had been converted into a run, and the Daejeon Hawks fans belted out their fight song with full-throated swagger. Cleanup hitter Kim Dongseong then grounded out to end the inning, and while the Grizzlies faithful introduced their own lineup, the Hawks still carried the expectation of winning tonight's game.
Whap—!
"Strike three!"
Inside fastball! Swinging strikeout!
The scoreboard lit up with a 160 km/h heater. Hawks starter Lee Jaein proved with pure velocity why he was a can't-miss talent. And then—
Crack—!
He pulled it — over the right fielder's head! Toward the right-field wall!
The Hawks fans, still riding high after Jaein had retired the second hitter Hong Gyeongmin, froze solid.
"Wooooooooah!"
The Grizzlies' home crowd roared with absolute certainty.
It's gone — a solo home run! Steven's massive blast lands in the very top tier of Jamsil Stadium!
What incredible power from this guy.
That's Steven's fortieth home run of the season, right here! The game is tied.
The foreign slugger who had been torching the league all season — Steven's home run.
Unbelievable.
Hajun could only stare blankly at the flight of the ball. Third baseman Park Jinhyeok and second baseman Ji Gyeongjun wore the same expression. Jamsil was supposed to be a cavernous park — so how did that white guy make it look so effortless? He might as well just go to the majors already.
"Forget it. We'll score again."
First baseman and captain Kim Dongseong said it to Lee Jaein on the mound. Sure enough, when Jaein took off his cap, the tension on his face was plain to see.
This won't be easy.
Hajun had a gut feeling that tonight's game was going to be a hard one.
"Hit!"
"Strikeout!"
"Hit!"
"Strikeout!"
Bottom of the second. Already the two cheering sections were locked in a fierce war of nerves. A double from the sixth hitter Yu Sihyeok. A failed bunt turned groundout from the seventh hitter Lee Seungmin. A walk to the eighth hitter Park Sihyeon. A well-struck ball from the ninth hitter Jo Jinhyeok that went straight at the right fielder. Neither fan base could keep their emotions steady through the bottom of the second.
Leadoff man Jeong Woojin was looking to take the lead.
Crack—!
"Foul!"
Two-and-two count, another foul ball — Jeong Woojin keeps battling.
He won't go down easy. But Lee Jaein has to keep challenging him.
Like the Grizzlies' starter Oh Yeongju, Jaein worked primarily off a high-velocity fastball and a curve. But the quality of his curve didn't even reach half of Yeongju's. With the opposing hitters continually putting the bat on his fastball, Jaein was sweating through a grinding battle. His command was a little off today, too. The catcher's mitt pointed dead center.
Whap—!
"Strike three!"
A fastball right down the middle! A 159 km/h heater to escape the jam — Lee Jaein!
"Wooooooooah!"
The revived Hawks fans roared with everything they had. On a sweltering day, when a frustrating pitching performance threatened to drain the life out of everyone, a clean strikeout to end the half-inning was always like a cold drink on a hot afternoon.
"Hit — Jo Inbeom!"
Top of the third. With one out, the Hawks fans wanted their ninth hitter on base — so the man waiting on deck could shine even brighter.
Tap!
Surprise bunt!
The moment Jo Inbeom saw the first-pitch fastball, he decided a clean hit from this at-bat was unlikely.
Hong Gyeongtae can't make the throw — base hit!
The irritated expression on the Grizzlies' third baseman said everything about the result.
And now stepping in…
"Number one, Lee Hajun — hit! Lee Hajun!"
"Everybody on your feet!"
Even the Hawks fans who had been sitting rose as one. With a runner on first and one out, they expected the man at the plate to rattle the other team once again.
I lost that last exchange.
Even if it had been an infield hit, even if the result had worked out well, the truth was that Yeongju had stolen the timing from him.
Lee Hajun already has a hit this game — what will he do this time?
Oh Yeongju's stuff has been excellent today, but facing Lee Hajun with a runner on is no small burden.
As if determined not to lose the momentum, the pitcher tried to attack quickly.
Whap—!
"Ball!"
An inside strike attempt. A 158 km/h heater. Hajun's bat never moved.
Curve? Fastball?
Hajun figured that if he tried to sit on both, he wouldn't be able to swing properly at either.
Whap—!
"Strike!"
Hmm…
A dropping curveball!
No matter how many times you see it, that break is absolutely ridiculous.
I get that you throw it well, but…
Casually dumping a curve like that into the strike zone — wasn't that crossing a line? Hajun issued a silent warning in his mind.
Go ahead. Throw it one more time.
He called time, then stepped back into the box.
Here comes the crucial third pitch.
Just as expected, Oh Yeongju went right into his delivery without delay.
Crack—!
A curveball entering the zone. Hajun's bat whipped through like lightning.
A well-struck ball drops in front of the center fielder for a hit!
Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang!
"Wooooooooah!"
A line drive sailing up the middle, too high for any pitcher's outstretched hand to snag. The Grizzlies' center fielder Jeong Woojin judged that a play at the plate was impossible.
The runner from second is already home! He scores! Lee Hajun's RBI single puts the Hawks back in front!
Was he sitting on the curve?
Standing on first, Hajun calmly peeled off his gear. But inside, the competitive fire was burning.
I'm not the same as before.
The Hajun who once couldn't even touch Oh Yeongju's curveball had just squared it up clean. An unnatural change. And the teams that still had no idea about it had plenty more punishment coming.
"Lee Hajun! Lee Hajun! Lee Hajun!"
Throwing a strike to this guy takes real courage. Lee Hajun showing exactly why he's the hottest man in the game!
What incredible bat control — taking a properly dropped curve and driving it up the middle…
Whap—!
"Strike three!"
Whap—!
"Strike three!"
Swinging strikeout! Park Jinhyeok goes down on three pitches!
Did giving up that hit to Lee Hajun wake Oh Yeongju up?
158 km/h. 159 km/h. After the curve, two straight fastballs, and Park Jinhyeok's bat did nothing but spin through empty air.
Whap—!
"Ball!"
Ball! Runners on first and second!
"Ahh."
A collective groan rose from the Hawks' stands. Even though Lee Jaein's stuff wasn't bad today, something about his command kept slipping just enough to produce walks. Nobody out, runners on first and second. At the plate stood Kim Gangcheol — one of the era's premier offensive catchers. For the Hawks, it was a crisis that could surrender the lead in a hurry.
Crack—!
He swung at the first pitch!
Kim Gangcheol had perfectly timed a fastball, producing a line drive as he took off for first. The runner on second was already leaning hard toward third.
Wait—?
What the runner on second saw was the shortstop launching himself upward like a leopard.