Chapter 18
Chapter 18
When Rex reached the dugout and roared, it sounded like something straight out of a nature documentary.
That explosive energy instantly heated up the entire dugout.
And because of that, I started wanting more.
I didn’t want to come down.
Until the game ended today, I didn’t want to leave the mound.
But we had already made up two runs.
At any moment, it wouldn’t be strange for them to bring in the bullpen aces.
Maybe that’s why, without realizing it, I was lingering around the pitching coach and the manager.
Then, as two outs were recorded, the pitching coach finally called me.
"Siu, what are you doing? You should start warming up."
"...Yes!"
I was going back onto the mound.
I never knew such a simple fact could feel this good.
Phew, don’t get carried away.
Whether today’s game is the opening game or Game 7 of the Korean Series, I need to stay calm.
It wasn’t easy, but when I saw the batter stepping in, I felt a bit more at ease.
The Friends’ second batter, Baek Hogi sunbae.
Whenever we met on the mound, he would always look at me with ease and hit my pitches as if he had been waiting for them.
But the Baek Hogi standing in the batter’s box now had none of that composure.
Still, it didn’t feel unfamiliar.
In his rookie season, he used to wear that same expression when stepping into the box.
Come to think of it, it wasn’t just Baek Hogi.
Most of the Friends batters I faced today were like that.
And just like then, the result was the same.
"Strike!"
It was a knuckleball that came in a bit high, but the ABS called it.
An extremely frustrating situation, but Baek Hogi spat once and stepped back in.
Well, it wasn’t like this was the first time that had happened today.
Even if he acted fine, he was probably boiling inside.
It wasn’t even his fault, yet the count turned against him just because of bad luck.
That feeling—I knew it better than anyone.
And what kind of reaction would come next.
"Thud!"
"Strike!"
As expected, the bat came out, trying to make contact somehow, but returned empty.
He swung and missed at a ball that nearly touched the ground.
Right after that, I checked the sign and placed three fingers on the ball.
Baek Hogi probably expected it too.
If I were going to throw that pitch, this would be the timing.
But if he could hit it just by expecting it, he would’ve hit my pitches already.
"Thud!"
"Strikeout!"
The first out was recorded.
The next batter was easier.
The foreign hitter from the Friends who hit a home run off Max Dalton in the first inning.
Maybe thinking of that moment, he took an aggressive swing right from the first pitch, lifting it high—
Into the infield.
"Out!"
"Watch the ball before you swing!"
As the heart of the lineup quickly piled up two outs, the voices from the Friends fans started to rise.
But those words were meaningless.
First pitch again.
"Crack!"
The ball hit off a hard knuckleball rolled weakly toward me, and I calmly threw it to first.
Three pitches, first pitch, first pitch.
It only took five pitches to finish the bottom of the seventh.
My pitch count was just 80 now.
Even if they told me to throw 80 more, my body felt good enough to do it.
Back in the dugout, I sat near the manager and pitching coach again.
This time, the reaction came immediately.
"Siu, we get it, so go sit somewhere comfortable."
"Yes. Sorry."
"No, Coach Kim. Did you just make our Siu say sorry? I didn’t think you were that kind of person."
"C-Coach?"
Everyone nearby was shocked by the manager’s sudden words.
So was I.
The manager said something like that?
"What are you all looking at! Is the game already over? The pitcher’s changed, so go score! If we don’t win today, you’re walking back to the hotel, got it!?"
"Yes!"
Some people say,
the biggest difference between a strong team and a weak team is the ability to squeeze out a run when you need just one.
In that sense, the Marines were the weak team, and the Friends were the strong team.
Now both teams had two offensive chances left.
Their goals were the same.
"The pitcher changed, so tie it up somehow! We’ll think about the rest after!"
"Alright, just one more run. It’s the first game, let’s ease Hyungyu’s burden."
The Marines wanted the tie.
The Friends wanted insurance runs.
The Marines were up first.
The leadoff batter was the 8th hitter, Song Minseok.
He had replaced Kim Mingi as catcher in the first inning and was 0 for 2 so far.
Compared to other catchers, his hitting ability wasn’t particularly outstanding.
But his strengths were clear.
Once he set a goal, he pursued it obsessively, and he was faster than most catchers.
"Crack!"
It wasn’t a well-hit ball by any means.
Song Minseok practically threw his bat away and sprinted toward first.
"Safe! Safe!"
Even before fully stepping on first base, he strongly insisted and looked desperately at the umpire.
Please.
"Safe!"
"Aaaaaah! Siu! I did something!"
For the second consecutive inning, the leadoff batter got on base.
"The tying run for the Marines is on first!"
"Now the question is what the Marines bench will do. Will they send in a pinch runner?"
Top of the eighth, one run ties the game.
Song Minseok was fast for a catcher, but naturally slower than a pinch runner.
But no pinch runner came out.
"This means Park Siu could take the mound in the eighth as well."
"The manager’s trust in Park Siu is incredible."
"He’s earned it. His pitches today have been perfect. Oh, the batter is preparing to bunt."
At the plate was the 9th batter, 0 for 2 today.
It was a natural choice, and though a bit risky, they successfully advanced Song Minseok to second.
One out, runner on second.
Their first scoring opportunity of the day.
"Crack!"
Had Rex Graves’ hit broken the offense open?
A sharp grounder quickly passed through the infield, and Song Minseok rounded third before stopping abruptly.
Now a sacrifice fly or a decent ground ball would tie the game.
One out, runners on first and third.
And Choi Seonggyu, the Friends’ setup man with 27 holds last season, couldn’t handle the pressure.
"Ball!"
A walk loaded the bases.
And at the plate stood the batter the Friends most wanted to avoid.
"Wooooooo!"
"Ha! Seo! Jin! Ha! Seo! Jin!"
As Ha Seojin stepped in amid thunderous cheers, the Friends made their move.
"We see Han Hyungyu warming up in the bullpen!"
The closer, Han Hyungyu, was being brought in early.
They were determined to win this game no matter what.
But because he came in hurriedly, he wasn’t in perfect condition.
And on the most important first pitch, a fatal mistake happened.
"Oh, the catcher missed it! The ball is rolling away! The runner on third! The runner on third!"
The pitch went somewhere completely different from the sign, hit the mitt, and bounced away.
As the catcher scrambled, the ball wasn’t far—
And while he dove for it, the Marines’ catcher was already diving toward home.
Han Hyungyu quickly retrieved the ball and tried to tag Song Minseok—
"Safe!"
Tie game.
The one run that had been so hard to get was finally scored.
Covered in dirt, Song Minseok ran to the dugout, receiving intense celebration as he searched for Park Siu.
"Siu!"
Neither of them cared about dirt or sweat as they embraced.
And the Marines’ chance wasn’t over yet.
While attention was on Song Minseok, the runner on second advanced to third.
"Crack!"
Ha Seojin was the kind of hitter who could bring that runner home.
"The runner from third scores! With a sacrifice fly from Ha Seojin, the Marines take the lead in the top of the eighth!"
Now the Marines were no longer chasing.
They were being chased.
But their choice wasn’t the bullpen aces.
As the inning ended, the camera focused on the Marines dugout and captured Park Siu walking out with Song Minseok.
Some might question why they weren’t bringing in the bullpen, but to anyone watching this game, it was obvious.
After a pitcher had thrown seven scoreless innings, who would you replace him with?
As the manager trusted, Park Siu dismantled the Friends lineup with a mix of knuckleballs and hard knuckleballs.
"Fans might not understand what the Friends batters are experiencing. These are players who easily hit 150 km/h pitches, but right now, what they’re feeling is even faster than that."
"Strike! You mean like that pitch?"
"Yes. Players prepare based on the starting pitcher’s velocity. But suddenly Park Siu came in throwing 110 km/h knuckleballs. Just as they adjusted, he started throwing pitches 20 km/h faster. It’s impossible to overcome that gap quickly."
"And the ball moves unpredictably."
"That’s the biggest problem."
"Crack!"
"Out!"
A routine grounder. One out.
"Strikeout!"
His ninth strikeout of the game. Two outs.
And just as Park Siu went for the final out—
"Hey, what the hell are you doing!"
An accident finally happened in the Marines’ infield, which had been quiet all game.
The shortstop’s throw went off, and the first baseman’s foot came off the bag.
Safe.
An error let the runner live.
"Siu, I’m sorry."
"It’s okay."
Park Siu meant it.
Now I can feel it.
Fielding errors—something that always followed him.
At first, the fielders would apologize, but at some point, they had started blaming him instead.
Getting an apology now felt almost refreshing.
Meanwhile, for the Friends, even with two outs, a runner was on base.
A chance they couldn’t waste.
"They’re bringing in Min Byeongcheol as a pinch hitter!"
But Min Byeongcheol, facing a knuckleball for the first time, quickly fell behind with swinging strikes.
Just when it looked like he would end up like the others—
For the first time today, a mistake pitch came.
130 km/h.
Without spin, it was impossible to gauge speed.
But with spin, it was just a slow, flat pitch.
"Craaaack!"
"To left-center! It splits the gap! Min Byeongcheol with an RBI hit! The runner from first is speeding up!"
...Phew.
Park Siu watched the ball for a moment, then ran behind the catcher.
With two outs, the runner from first would definitely score, and the batter would reach at least second.
Winning this might be hard.
It was frustrating. So frustrating.
He had pitched so well, so why did a mistake come at this moment?
Just one more good pitch would’ve been enough.
Should he have come down earlier? Or was it the error?
Even if he didn’t want to think about it, the word misfortune came to mind.
But when Park Siu took position behind the catcher, there was commotion in the outfield.
Ha Seojin, chasing the ball, waved his hand.
The umpire quickly checked the ball’s position and shouted.
"Ground rule double! Batter to second, runner to third!"
"Oh, the ball got stuck in the fence! That’s unfortunate for the Friends!"
"Haa..."
Park Siu sat down for a moment.
He thought it was a guaranteed tie, but luck had come his way.
But the inning wasn’t over.
They avoided a run, but now the go-ahead runner was in scoring position.
Then Coach Kwak Gubeom came to the mound himself.
"Siu."
"Yes."
"You can do this."
"...Yes."
"Finish it and come down."
Park Siu couldn’t answer immediately and hesitated.
But soon, he nodded and shouted.
"Yes. I’ll finish it quickly."
After the manager returned, the pitching coach cautiously asked,
"Are you sure about not changing him?"
"Well. We probably should’ve."
"...What?"
A hit that should’ve tied the game had luckily stopped at second and third.
It was a chance to end things with only good memories for both Park Siu and the Marines.
But Kwak Gubeom was looking further ahead.
"If it were you, would you tell your ace to come down in this situation?"
"...Ace?"
Of course, this was the opening game, and the starting pitcher was technically the ace.
But Park Siu was the second pitcher.
"Just kidding."
He hadn’t meant it seriously.
But there were people who might think that way.
Like the fans cheering loudly as he walked off the mound.
"Starting pitcher! Park Siu! Strikeout! Park Siu!"
Park Siu had already been recognized as the ace by the fans.
"Just one more!"
"Stay calm! We’re almost there!"
And by his teammates as well.
"Strikeout!"