Advance (3)
The game against the Pistols wasn't exactly a walk in the park.
Thwack!
"Foul!"
Thwack!
"Foul!"
They'd been burned by me so many times before that they were grinding their teeth, laser-focused on running up my pitch count.
But that didn't make them a real challenge for me. It was just a bit tricky, at worst.
Holding the bat short and prioritizing pitch count meant they'd basically given up on scoring off me.
Crack!!
"Strike three!"
No matter how hard the Pistols tried to drag out at-bats, they couldn't get me off the mound early.
Thwack!!
Meanwhile, our red-hot lineup kept ripping extra-base hits left and right.
Beep! Beep! Beep!
The line: 7 innings, zero runs. I notched another win, and the Titans rolled to their sixth straight victory.
"Heh... I was off today."
"Didn't you go 7 innings, one run last game?"
"You think you and I are the same?"
"Uh... yeah. Thanks."
Travis Turner, with his backhanded compliment of a compliment.
"Why didn't you throw any curves? You'd have crushed it even harder."
"I told you, curves aren't my thing."
"Curves are the best pitch for fireballers like us. You need to use 'em more!"
"You used to hate curves yourself..."
I left the guy—who'd somehow become a curveball evangelist—behind.
"No... Yuha, come on, take it easy. Three straight Ks is too much. Ease up on the splitter already..."
"How could I, hyung? You even took me deep once."
"Shouldn't have swung for that homer..."
I exchanged a few words with Oh Seungjin sunbaenim as he approached the Titans dugout. We'd bonded at the All-Star Game, so it wasn't awkward.
The vibe here's electric...
The Titans dugout was buzzing with good energy. I had a feeling the streak might keep going.
My hunch was spot on.
Bzzz!!
"Swinging strike three!"
James Gilbert's gem—7 innings, 2 runs—paired with Jeon Galhun's three-RBI double cleared the bases for win number seven.
Crack!!
"Strike three!"
Not quite his debut, but Travis Turner's solid 6 innings, 2 runs wrapped up his second start nicely.
Thwack!!
Jeong Hanseong's game-winning hit sealed win number eight.
By now, all of KBO fandom's attention was locked on the Titans.
The Titans were on the cusp of a 9-game win streak not seen in 17 years. And beyond that...
Hype about potentially breaking the 32-year-old record streak started flooding the communities. Sure, "hype leads to choke" was a thing, but it couldn't dampen fan excitement.
We were riding high, but the Titans' schedule was no cakewalk.
"Three in Suwon, three in Daejeon, now three in Seoul? What's KBO thinking?"
We were smack in the middle of a brutal nine-game road trip.
"Eh, at least it's not like the old days where away distance screwed over small-market teams."
"True, the Eastern League teams are mostly clustered in Gyeongsang Province, luckily..."
Some players stayed positive.
"This is real! KBO's penalizing bad teams on purpose!"
"Oh, the conspiracy theory I've heard a hundred times. Don't you get tired?"
"Ugh... frustrating."
"What's frustrating? If that's true, we benefit next year."
"...Huh, yeah."
Others griped.
"This is fun."
I watched it all with amusement. The complainers and the chill ones split cleanly along lines.
The gripers were the vets with families. The relaxed ones? Young single guys.
Is marriage that bad?
Some married vets even seemed to like the long road trips. Even Park Cheongwon sunbaenim—the love-struck guy infamous for getting hurt over it—cracked a faint smile. Shocking.
"Isn't that why you get married?"
Who knows. I'd been single pre-regression.
I said it was for Mia, but...
Looking back, I was just scared. I hadn't liked the person MLB had turned me into.
Worried Mia might be disappointed, if I could even raise kids right—stupid stuff.
Playing ball in Korea post-regression had cleared my head. Hell, I even wanted to marry early now.
"..."
I shared that thought with Park Cheongwon sunbaenim, and he clammed up oddly. Then...
"Well, Yuha, marrying young is fine. Great even... but think it over slowly."
Vague as hell.
"Not that I regret mine! Anyway! You're young—you've got time!"
He looked kinda desperate.
"..."
"Aw, too bad. Was gonna tell your wife."
"Baek Jihun!"
There was that one time I'd watched a Guardians-Titans series and been stunned. Infamous rivalry and all.
Luckily, no incidents when I started on the mound...
And today—the first game of a weekday series, with a 9-game streak (first in 17 years) on the line.
"Whoa... this ain't easy."
The thought crossed my mind again.
Thwack!!
A routine grounder took a weird hop, sneaking past the Guardians shortstop's glove.
Pat-pat!!
"Safe!"
Baek Jihun sunbaenim scored from third.
Whoosh!!
The shortstop scooped it late and fired to first.
"Argh!"
The throw sailed over the first baseman's head. By the time they chased it down, the batter was on second.
"Haa..."
National ace Sim Chando let out a deep sigh.
But the game wasn't all Titans.
Thwack!!
The ball soared high.
"...Huh?"
No sun in the dome, but Kim Taeyong sunbaenim lost it.
"...Haha."
Baek Jeongsu sunbaenim gave a dry laugh.
This hits close to home...
With my start slated for the series finale, unease crept in.
But in that weird opener, the Titans got the last laugh.
Thwack!!
Kang Gihoo's go-ahead two-run homer in the top of the 9th.
Thwack!!
"Uratcha!"
The Titans claimed their ninth straight win.
Wednesday.
Jeon Galhun sunbaenim—who'd been killing it since the trade in a Titans uniform—felt minor ankle pain.
"...Not major, but he won't play through tomorrow."
Bad news.
"Jang Munwoo. You're starting at 2B for the remaining two Guardians games."
"Yes, sir!"
An opportunity for someone.
And in game two of the weekday series, Jang Munwoo straight-up owned it.
Thwack!!
"Huh?"
He botched an easy grounder, giving up the first run.
Thwack!!
Then at the plate, he treated Jamsil Dome like a bandbox, casually going yard.
His heaven-and-hell swings sent pitcher Kwak Jaewoong sunbaenim on a rollercoaster every inning.
The final stop?
Thwack!!
Heaven, thankfully.
Thursday. Final game of the weekday series.
Bottom of the first.
Thwack!!
A routine grounder.
"Whoa!"
2B Jang Munwoo flubbed it.
"Safe!"
Leadoff hitter reached.
My hunches have been spot-on lately...
This one too.