Toward Fifth Place (6)
Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang!
"Lee Hajun!"
Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang!
"Lee Hajun!"
For now…
Hajun calmly watched as the second batter, Jays, stepped into the box. Every game mattered, but today the first run was especially critical. Analysis showed that Raul was a pitcher who allowed runs at a high rate in the first inning. Put another way, if you failed to rattle him early, he settled into his own rhythm afterward. Fail to score in the first, and there was a real chance of getting dragged along for the rest of the night.
If I can get to third without an out, things get a lot easier.
Raul was a pure power pitcher. The Hawks' middle of the order, by nature, tended to strike out a lot. Hajun began thinking more aggressively.
"Safe!"
"Booooooooooo! Pitch to him!"
"You throw it!"
Jamsil Baseball Stadium was packed to the rafters. Hawks fans, acting as if they owned the place, tried to seize the momentum with a wall of noise and boos. The Grizzlies' home crowd answered right back. Even under that roaring pressure, the players on the field stayed locked in. With nobody out and a runner on second, pitcher, batter, and baserunner all had their nerves stretched tight.
Crack—!
A fastball right down the middle on the inner half. Jays swung the bat like a lightning strike. The visiting Hawks fans rose as one, every eye fixed on the right-field side of Jamsil.
"Please, please."
The home fans, meanwhile, covered their mouths and could only hope their ballpark would do them the favor of distinguishing friend from foe.
Is it really going to be this easy?
From second base Hajun drifted a few steps toward third, tracking the flight of the ball. Then he quietly retreated and set his foot back on the bag.
Sighs rippled through the visiting sections while the home crowd exhaled in relief.
"All right, folks, that was close! But let's give Jays a big hand for a great swing!"
Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang!
A cheerleader's job was always to keep the energy pointed in a positive direction. This time he actually had something solid to work with. Jays swallowed his disappointment and headed back; third batter Park Jinhyeok strode to the plate in his place.
Jamsil really is huge.
Given Jays's raw power, that swing hadn't been perfectly squared up. Even so, it had looked like a home run until it was caught. True to form for a park that swallowed world-class power.
The Grizzlies' infield crept in. If they could escape a leadoff double without surrendering a run, the momentum would swing hard their way.
Crack—!
"Foul!"
"Tch."
Park Jinhyeok's irritated expression was caught perfectly by the camera.
Raul's high-speed slider had drifted right down the middle, yet Park Jinhyeok failed to punish it. Watching from third, Hajun grimaced in shared frustration.
On the mound Raul delivered with a flourish.
Thwack—!
"Strike three!"
A slider that painted the outer edge like a work of art. With two strikes, a right-handed hitter had no choice but to chase. This is getting ugly. The fastball that had just painted the inner half, followed by the slider that broke away—two perfect pitches for carving up righties. Raul's command was locking in.
"Cleanup hitter Kim Dongseong! Home run! Kim Dongseong! Crush it!"
"Strikeout! Strikeout! Strikeout!"
Raul versus Kim Dongseong. Even on the face of a veteran who had seen every kind of battle, a faint tension showed.
"…"
Hajun edged a little closer toward home. Home steal? Is it possible? The moment Raul stretched his interval just a fraction longer—right before he might call time—there might be a window.
While Hajun was eyeing home, Raul delivered faster than expected.
Crack—!
Snap—!
Huh?
A high-velocity pitch on the hands. A shattered bat. Third-base runner Lee Hajun whipped his head around to track both the ball and the shortstop.
"Waaaaaaaaaah!"
Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang!
Hajun, who had been half-considering a daring dash home, simply strolled in with the dignity of a man on a leisurely walk. The third-base stands felt as if they were welcoming him personally.
"Nice one, Hajun."
"You're something else."
Hajun settled into the dugout still hearing his teammates' admiring reactions to the at-bat he had just produced as a runner.
Crack—!
Lee Hajun had squared up Raul's fastball jammed on the outer edge. Unlike the first-inning drive that had sailed into the outfield, this one was a weak grounder with no life on it.
Hajun's foot hitting the bag and first baseman Yu Sihyeok's glove closing around the ball looked simultaneous.
"Out!"
"Ah!"
Hajun flung both arms wide, pleading for the safe call, but the first-base umpire ignored him and signaled out.
Hajun still hadn't returned to the dugout when the scoreboard lit up with the words "Video Review."
"Safe! Safe! Safe!"
"Out! Out! Out!"
Even before the replay appeared, both sets of fans were already shouting their preferred outcome. Once the footage rolled, a murmur swept through the stands.
"Looks safe to me?"
"That's safe."
Hajun and the first-base coach said it at the same time. Of course, the other side was probably saying the exact opposite with equal conviction.
The umpires used every second of the allotted review time. Then the decision came. Contrary to the hopes of the fans who had raised both arms, the home-plate umpire lifted only one.
Tch.
Hajun headed for the dugout under the first-base coach's consoling words. It felt unfair. Calling it an out was basically just upholding the original call. If the first-base umpire had initially ruled safe, the result would have flipped the other way. Frustrating as it was, the one small comfort was that starter Yu Seungjin still hadn't allowed a run.
Thwack—!
"Strike three!"
In the twilight of his career, Yu Seungjin was living up to the label of one of the greatest pitchers Korean baseball had ever produced, showing pure grit. As if answering that fighting spirit—
Crack—!
"Waaaaaaaaaah!"
Even in Jamsil, this one left no doubt.
A mistake from Raul, who had been carving up right-handers all night, and fifth batter Ji Gyeongjun made him pay without mercy. Then came the bottom of the fourth.
Crack—!
"Out!"
He had given up a timely hit, but he gritted his way through and held the lead through four innings.
Clap! Clap! Clap! Clap! Clap!
"Go!"
Thwack—!
"Strike!"
In the top of the sixth, Lee Hajun reached on a single and promptly stole second. The timing was so perfect that catcher Kim Gangcheol never even considered throwing.
Thwack—!
"Strike three!"
Three consecutive strikeouts. With the team's home-run and RBI leader Park Jinhyeok unable to generate any power, the Daejeon Hawks couldn't pull away.
Thwack—!
"Ball!"
Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang!
Even while trailing, the home crowd's energy surged. With one out and runners on first and second, second batter Hong Gyeongtae reached to load the bases.
"Hoo…"
Hawks starter Yu Seungjin was drenched in sweat. He had held on this far, but now, with his stuff fading in the bottom of the sixth, he had to face the Grizzlies' cleanup.
"Good work."
"Yes…"
Once upon a time this was a pitcher who completed games as routinely as eating a meal. Now he knew himself better than ever, and he knew exactly when it was time to step aside. In the bottom of the sixth the Hawks finally made the pitching change. The Grizzlies' lineup looked ready to repay Raul's strong outing. At the moment everyone judged to be the turning point, the left-hander who appeared was Daejeon Hawks' Jin Yeongil.
My time has come.
Yeongil climbed the mound with a confident grin.
Thwack—!
"Strike three!"
Jin Yeongil struck out the Grizzlies' best hitter, Steven. When the manager came out, he left the mound without a second thought.
Crack—!
Against the Hawks' next reliever, Kim Seungyeop, cleanup hitter Kim Gangcheol swung at the first pitch. It was a well-struck ball, though still inside the infield.
The trajectory wasn't quite perfect enough to punch through the Hawks' infield. Mindful of Kim Gangcheol's speed, Hajun took his time and made a clean throw.
"Out!"
Clap! Clap! Clap! Clap! Clap!
"Lee Hajun! Lee Hajun! Lee Hajun!"
The visiting fans chanted the shortstop's name after the spectacular play that had prevented a run.
Top of the eighth.
Top of the eighth, nobody out, runner on first. Grizzlies manager Lee Junhyeok brought in the ninth-inning man, Hong Jongyeon, without hesitation—in the eighth, and with zero outs already recorded.
"This is getting ridiculous."
"When I was a rookie this was everyday life."
Ji Gyeongjun answered Hajun's comment. Just moments earlier they had been talking about needing to score at least one run before Hong Jongyeon appeared. No one expected him this early.
Thwack—!
"Strike three!"
"Hoo…"
Hajun drew a deep breath and stepped into the box. Hong Jongyeon was making his third consecutive appearance, including the previous series. He clearly wasn't at full strength, but that was no reason to count on it.
First pitch. First pitch. First pitch.
A pitcher whose fastball usage sat above seventy percent. Hajun was hunting meat.
Even if he didn't square it up cleanly, there was no running from Hong Jongyeon's elite heater.
Just as he had practiced countless times against anyone, Hajun swung.
Crack—!
A fastball slightly below the middle of the zone. Hajun didn't miss it.
The ball shot past Hong Jongyeon's left leg like lightning and, with the pitcher unable to snare it, knifed cleanly through the middle of the infield.
Knowing he still had to pitch the ninth, Hong Jongyeon couldn't hide his tension after allowing the baserunner.
Thud!
Jays, now entitled to first base after being plunked, didn't simply become a runner. He stayed at the plate and glared at Hong Jongyeon. Catcher Kim Gangcheol rose to calm the batter while the young pitcher offered a quick apologetic gesture. It never escalated to a bench-clearing or ejection; Jays eventually walked slowly to first.
While the broadcasters scrambled to smooth things over, Park Jinhyeok, who had been quiet all day, stepped in. Hong Jongyeon had entered to clean up a first-and-nobody situation; somehow it had become two outs and the bases loaded before the ninth even arrived. And Jays's warning still lingered in his mind. He might possess the best fastball in the league, but he was still a twenty-one-year-old pitcher. The amount of sweat and the number of times he tipped his cap were climbing.
Everyone held their breath and watched the duel.
Crack—!
"Foul!"
Thwack—!
"Strike!"
Clap! Clap! Clap! Clap! Clap!
"Three-pitch strikeout!"
After the foul, a swing-and-miss on the heater. The home fans, sensing a little relief, started chanting for the strikeout. Against a hitter who couldn't touch the fastball, no other option was needed. Catcher Kim Gangcheol called for another heater without hesitation. Hong Jongyeon nodded and fired immediately.
Crack—!
From second base Hajun broke at once.
Every spectator in the park locked eyes on the first-base line.
"Waaaaaaaaaaaaaah!"
Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang!
The visiting fans screamed themselves hoarse. Home fans dropped their heads. Depending on which side of that thin white line the sharp grounder landed, the joy and despair of more than twenty thousand people split cleanly in two.
Third batter Park Jinhyeok's roar. Knowing the ironclad quality of the Hawks' bullpen, more than a few fans were already heading for the exits.