Buwoong! Shutting Down the 7th

Buwoong!

The No. 5 hitter, Kim Tae-gun, drew a walk to get on base, but with two outs and runners on first and second in scoring position, Lee Sang-yeol whiffed on a two-seam fastball for the third strike, ending the top of the 7th.

"Ah, Park Hee-seo did such a great job out ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠there. That two-run double he gave up to Hoy is gonna sting. The two-seamer dove low and inside perfectly, but he pulled it all the way to the fence."

"Hoy's batting stance is super extreme open, right? And yet he pulled that well-elevated pitch to the fence. He's a damn good hitter. For the Wyverns, though, that's their worst-case scenario. That's how I'd put it."

In the top of the 7th, the Eagles' lineup showed some focus and scraped together one run. Tae-woong let out a small sigh of relief.

Ace: Feeling a bit nervous on the inside, huh?

Seo Tae-woong: If they'd scored one more, but hey, this is something.

Tae-woong headed to the mound to close out what might be his final inning of the day. For the team's victory.

Ace: And don't forget 'for your own victory' too, you materialistic punk.

Seo Tae-woong: Shut up for once. It sounds cooler that way.

Tae-woong aimed to face a minimum of three batters, max four, to finish the inning and hand off two innings to the bullpen.

The leadoff hitter for the inning, Lee Ji-won, had been solid on both sides of the ball. 'But Yang Ui-jin's just too overwhelming for him to really challenge.' Still, from his debut season right up to now, he'd hit in the low .200s against lefties.

'And he's weak against changeups that drop away outside.'

He'd struck out on changeups in both previous at-bats. 'You can't fix a weakness that's stuck around for over ten years in less than an hour.'

The answer was clear. Tae-woong didn't hesitate on the first pitch.

Shwoong! Buwoong! Pop!

A sharp changeup based on Pitching Balance and tunneling fooled him just like before, whiffing on what looked like a fastball trajectory. Second pitch: a four-seam fastball outside!

Shwoong! Pop!

It was bait just off the zone. Enough to turn on the bat, but he flinched and held off. Third pitch: changeup again.

Shwoong! Crack!

This time, it went into the second baseman's glove instead of the catcher's mitt. With his big frame, the catcher was a bit slower than average on wheels. Jung Geon-woo fielded it easily and tossed it leisurely to first baseman Kim Tae-gun.

"Just grab two more clean and get outta here."

Ace: Look at you, getting cocky. Full of yourself, huh.

Crack!

"Kim Kwang-min fouls off the third pitch changeup! Second baseman Jung Geon-woo fields it and gets the out!"

Seo Tae-woong wrapped up through seven innings with 10 strikeouts and scoreless ball to boot.

"That last changeup to Kim Kwang-min makes it 94 pitches. He threw over 100 in nine innings on Tuesday, so the Eagles will probably pull him after this inning. Lee Tae-young's warming up in the pen, right?"

"Seo Tae-woong got his first win in his debut against the Tigers' Yang Hyun-jung on March 25th, and if he takes this one, that's six straight. Plus, with how he's consistently eating innings, he could form a complete-game duo with the ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠Eagles' ace, Cy Young Simpson. To see games like that, we need a dome stadium~. That's what I think."

"Seo Tae-woong! Seo Tae-woong! Seo Tae-woong! Seo Tae-woong!"

As Tae-woong came off the mound after the 7th, he tipped his cap and bowed politely to the Eagles fans in the visitor's third-base stands chanting his name at the top of their lungs.

Clap clap clap clap clap clap clap.

The crowd roared back with thunderous applause for the rising ace. He'd kept a quick tempo every inning, pitching aggressively, which shortened the defensive time and saved energy for the fielders mentally and physically. His teammates loved him so much they'd have him start every day if they could. They welcomed him back to the dugout warmly.

Manager Han Young-deok and coach Song Jun-woo grinned as they bumped fists with him, ruffling his hair like he was their favorite kid.

Tae-woong passed through the dugout to the locker room, changed out of his sweat-soaked undershirt, and finished icing. With time left, he headed back to the dugout to cheer on his teammates sincerely.

'My job's done. Now it's just trust the team and wait.'

And the teammates gave their all for the young rookie's win and the team's. The Wyverns pulled their closer Seo Jin-young, so the bats couldn't add on, but their hitters were shut down too.

After Tae-woong's exit post-7th, setup man Lee Tae-young locked down the bottom of the 8th. In the fateful bottom of the 9th, league-best closer Jung A-ram came in and held the line for the final two innings, allowing just one run.

"Yawwwn."

Ace: Good morning, crapballer.

"Ugh, bad vibes first thing in the morning..."

After wrapping up the weekend series against the Wyverns at Incheon's Munhak Stadium, Tae-woong dragged himself out of bed past 11 a.m. upon arriving back in Daejeon.

Beep.

Ace: Whatcha looking at?

"Oh, gonna watch the Champs final. It was at like 4 a.m., crashed right after so I missed it."

First thing after getting up, Tae-woong flicked on the TV for the UEFA Champions League final rebroadcast.

"Wanted to pull an all-nighter, but that could've wrecked my groove right now. Sucks, but oh well."

He'd always loved ball sports—baseball, soccer, basketball, table tennis, volleyball—and soccer most of all.

"Can't play anymore, though. Someday after retirement, maybe join an early-morning soccer club."

Ace: If you're that desperate for soccer, retire today and go join one.

"Then who's paying the bills? You trying to starve me?"

Soccer's contact on the field meant high injury risk, so these days he had to settle for watching.

"Real vs. Liverpool... Brother had to win, right?"

A diehard Ronaldo fan, Tae-woong was rooting for Real Madrid's Champs triumph. Luckily, the sports channel was rebroadcasting it.

"Huh? That voice sounds familiar..."

The commentator's voice rang a bell.

"It's Christiano Ronaldo. As you can see, Ronaldo's shooting mechanism is pretty jacked up. Look here. He barely clipped it, but he smashed through Liverpool's solid shift defense. This guy's really good at soccer."

Ace: Wait, that old dude—we met him before the game, right? He was commentating your match. What's he doing there?

"Heo Gu-ra, the commentator. Dude's got stamina for his age. He called our game for sure."

Ace: Passionate guy. Can't be that fit at his age.

Different sport, but steal some of that attitude, crapballer.

"Hey, I live passionately too."

"I wouldn't say this lightly, but a keeper who lets a shot slip in that unfavorable situation is that rare. That's why infrastructure matters. If the grass was even a bit off, it'd be offside. That's why we need domes, domes!"

Ace: Why does every convo end up on infrastructure and domes? This ain't baseball, it's soccer.

"Beats me."

Halftime ended 0-0, but Real Madrid scored three in the second half to Liverpool's one, sealing it.

"Kinda bummed Brother didn't score in the final... but win's a win."

Business done, time for lunch and off to Hana Eagles Stadium for the day's schedule. Tae-woong stretched lightly on the yoga mat he'd bought last time.

"Man, whole body's sore as hell. Twice a week starts ain't easy."

No major pain, but minor muscle aches and fatigue from the bi-weekly starts piled up ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠everywhere.

"Light jog today. Fatigue ain't cleared; don't wanna pull a hammy pushing it."

He felt the urgent need to build stamina. 'More weights, no skipping runs...'

If bi-weekly wore him like this, he couldn't help in the late regular season, let alone playoffs.

Ace: You know to chase MLB, you gotta handle this schedule from Opening Day to the end like it's nothing, right?

"Dude, not even past the All-Star break yet—why bring up MLB? Yeah, I know, obviously..."

His face looked oddly pleased rebuking Ace's premature talk.

Ace: Why the face...?

"Huh? What about it?"

Ace: Like you bought a lotto ticket and you're dreaming what to do with the jackpot.

"Nah, illusion."

Ace: No, spot on...

"Can't trust a guy, huh?"

Ace: I trust everyone but you.

Cocoatalk!

The endless banter cut off with Tae-woong's smartphone chime. He checked it.

"Perfect timing, starving. Fridge empty, was gonna grab something. Gotta eat with Man-jae hyung."

Tae-woong fired back a reply.

Instant response from Jang Man-jae.

Tae-woong sent the address quick, washed up fast, and headed out. His head was full of authentic curry dreams.

"Shanti shanti curry curry, love it! Ah, Real rocks! Hot spicy curry's the best!"

Ace: You're obsessed.