I've Got Confidence... And a Trump Card in Reserve
Tae-woong's confidence in facing Romell stemmed from the ace up his sleeve he still held.
I still have one more trick skill, Wari Gari, left.
He had held back on using the Wari Gari skill during Tuesday's matchup against the Daesung Bears, saving it specifically for today's game against the SA Wyverns.
Yet even after cycling through their lineup once, and now facing them for the second or third time, the batters didn't feel all that tough.
Looking back now, maybe I didn't need to hold back... If I'd used it against the Bears, I might've turned that complete game victory into a shutout. The rewards for a complete game win are already insane—what would a shutout give? Can't even imagine.
Of course, regretting it now wouldn't change the past.
Tae-woong snapped out of his momentary distraction the instant the batter finished settling in, refocusing on the mound.
All he had to do now was muddy the batter's judgment with his changeup.
He's probably thinking fifty-fifty: four-seam fastball or changeup.
This time, unlike the previous two pitches, he decided to throw in a wrinkle.
Tae-woong's long middle and index fingers gripped more than half the ball.
Whoosh!
Thwack!
"STRIKE!"
A breaking ball with big drop dives into the outer half. Romell watches it drop from afar. It threads the zone for a strike call! Ball count 0-1! Seo Tae-woong takes the lead!
A 101 km/h curve with sharp break. The velocity gap from the four-seam fastball or changeup Romell was expecting made it tough to handle if he wasn't sitting on it.
One won't be enough. So let's hit him with another pitch he hasn't seen yet!
Tae-woong's index and middle fingers formed a 'V', gently pressing the seam.
Not much velocity, but if it's a movement he's never seen, he won't square it up.
Whoosh!
The ball flew toward the body of right-handed batter Romell.
Thud!
Romell, who handled even 150 km/h heat with ease, swung without hesitation—but the ball tailed just off the plate, clipping the bottom of his bat.
Crack!
The ball rolled straight at shortstop Ha Joo-seok.
Confirming the direction, Romell hung his head in admission of his impatience and sprinted to first.
Second pitch inside! It clips the bottom of Romell's bat. The ball goes to shortstop Ha Joo-seok! To second! Then straight to first! A 6-4-3 double play! Romell's double play wipes out the runner from first with no outs, shifting to two outs.
That inside pitch was a 130 km/h two-seam fastball. Not elite velocity or movement, but catching the batter off-guard made it unreadable.
Now it was cleanup hitter Kim Dong-young's turn. Like the other eight, he hadn't found a rhythm against Tae-woong's stuff.
This time, Tae-woong rejected the catcher's changeup sign once. Then the second sign. Only on the third did he get a good one.
He's the one most confident against curves. Wonder how he'll react to something taking the same path.
First pitch: a high fastball diving way outside.
Whoosh!
Thud!
The bat whiffed empty.
Thwack!
Catcher Choi Ji-hoon caught it practically standing up.
133 km/h high heat drags the bat out! Seo Tae-woong grabs a favorable count right away on the first pitch.
A big-drop curve with command forces the hitter to recognize high fastballs, since they trace similar trajectories. Likewise, a surprise high fastball at the right height makes curves recognizable.
Tae-woong recalled Ace's chatter from pregame warmups outside the stadium, as he eased into rhythm. And he put it right to work against Kim Dong-young.
Whoosh!
Thump!
"Ball!"
Second pitch: a dropping curve outside that he barely held off on.
Whoosh!
This one dived inside.
Crack!
He barely made contact with the dropper, but the timing was off. A pop fly drifting foul past first base line. First baseman Kim Tae-gun sprinted at full speed and nearly snagged it, but it slipped outside his glove into the Wyverns kid's mitt.
Regrettable, but now it was two strikes—a pitcher's count. With no margin for error, the batter had to swing at anything near the zone. Even a foul to fish for a mistake.
And the moment Tae-woong had been waiting for arrived.
Fruit's ripe—time to pluck it.
After seeing only high fastballs and big-drop curves, how would Kim Dong-young read a low-outside stabber? Four-seam? Changeup?
Whatever it is, if the bat comes, it won't be squared. Late reaction wrecks the swing, and he can't lift that low sinker.
Whoosh!
Crack!
Fourth pitch! Kim Dong-young nicks the low-outside dropper. First baseman Kim Tae-gun fields and steps on the bag himself. Bottom of the sixth—Seo Tae-woong logs another scoreless frame!
Score remains 0-0 in a tense pitchers' duel! We'll return for the top of the seventh!
Eight pitches to finish it. First goal achieved. Now keep the bottom of the seventh under twelve.
That cocky pre-inning goal of twenty pitches over two innings suddenly felt within reach.
And now, top of the seventh—the Eagles' turn at bat.
The Wyverns stuck with Park Jung-bae after his scoreless top of the sixth, but it was the wrong call.
Leadoff hitter Lee Young-gyu worked a full count and earned a walk on the seventh pitch, a forkball dropping inside. Then Jung Gun-woo nubbed a second-pitch slider outside past second for a single, setting up no outs, runners at first and second.
The pitching coach visited the shaky mound but no hook. Next was righty Song Kang-min, followed by the Eagles' lefty leader, Gerard Hoy.
One more and he's out.
Tae-woong watched, reaffirming the value of a deep pitch mix. As a reliever, he didn't need it—but a solid changeup like Park's could've pushed through regardless of lefty or righty.
Crack!
While lost in thought, first-pitch forkball lived up to Song's "first-pitch hacker" rep.
What the hell... Another scoreless?
With no outs and runners on first and second, swinging first pitch was suicide. With Hoy, Kim Tae-gun, and Lee Sang-yeol behind him, a bunt for one out, runners to second and third—or at least a deep grounder or fly to advance Lee Young-gyu from second—would've been smarter.
And it wasn't even a hanger—it dropped well. Why swing at that...
The coaches kept poker faces for morale, but their clenched jaws betrayed some frustration. Tae-woong's second start this week had blanked six innings, and they'd botched the chance.
Song's double play flipped no outs, first-and-second into two outs, runner on third in a flash.
The pitching coach visited again, and Park Jung-bae was finally yanked after his mission.
Next up: lefty Park Hee-seo, once famed for mid-140s devilish two-seamers. He still leaned on two-seam fastballs and circle changeups, but age and injuries dulled his peak bite.
But he's the best lefty reliever they've got—that's Wyverns reality.
Gerard Hoy vs. Park Hee-seo, first meeting.
Sure, scoring in the eighth or ninth worked too. A win was a win.
But I'd rather notch the W myself.
Whoosh!
Thump!
"STRIKE!"
First pitch: his signature two-seam low and inside.
That one's in. Well, I've caught most at that height except two or three.
The low-zone hanger earned a strike from today's ump, generous by half a ball on the knees—fair game for hitters.
Facing Park's stuff cold, Hoy nodded a couple times like he'd dialed it in.
Whoosh!
Crack!
Outside two-seamer met bat, but fouled just off the line.
0-2. Hitter'll expect a low-inside lure now... I'd jam him inside.
Whoosh!
Third pitch went exactly as predicted.
Inside, as expected. Two-seamer?
But Gerard Hoy, peaking in his KBO rookie year, outdid the pitcher's arsenal.
Crack!
The ball rocketed right-center. Two outs anyway, so Lee Young-gyu on third tagged up halfway as it sailed to the outfield. Right fielder Han Dong-man bolted the predicted path, but fell two steps short. The liner scooted to the fence.
Lee Young-gyu confirmed the hit and jogged home easy. Hoy, busting it to first, saw the right fielder chase and took second.
Hoy hustles to second! Third!? No, right fielder throws to second—he holds. Hoy's RBI timely double! Top of the seventh! Hana Eagles break the 0-0 deadlock to lead 1-0! Score is now 1-0!
"Wooooaaah!"
Even on the road, the third-base stands were packed. Cheerleaders led a roaring chant for Hoy.
Tae-woong, loosening up along the third-base foul line, got hyped and joined in.
"Gerard Hoy! Hoy! Hoy! Hoy Hoy!"
"Gerard Hoy! Hoy! Hoy! Hoy Hoy!"
"Eagles' Gerard Hoy!"