Pitcher’S End, Batter’S Start [EN]: Chapter 274

Despite giving up a solo home run in the first inning, Aidan Styles pitched remarkably well. He only allowed two runs through the fifth, surprisingly holding the Braves’ lineup at bay without collapsing as quickly as expected.

However, the unfortunate truth was that both runs came from a single player, and it was about to happen again; he was about to get hit hard by the same guy again.

[It’s flying again! A towering shot! It goes over the fence! Jungwoo Lee, a two-run home run!]

[Oh, dear. Aidan Styles, it seems like he shrinks in front of Lee!]

“Haha, fuck.”

The solo home run in the first inning, the RBI double in the third, and now the two-run home run in the fifth that just sailed past him.

All the runs he’d given up this game had come from just one person. He handled the other batters well, but in the end, Jungwoo Lee was the problem, just as expected.

Watching him circle the bases after hitting another home run and seeing the ball that had once again cleared the fence, Aidan Styles let out a hollow laugh.

Perhaps because he realized early on that this was an impossible matchup, he wasn’t even angry anymore.

He just felt sorry for himself, and a short curse escaped his lips.

“Aidan.”

“I’ll just do the next inning. I can handle the other batters well enough.”

“Alright, let’s do that. And don’t worry too much. It’s my fault for calling the wrong pitches. It’s my responsibility.”

“No, it’s just… it’s not that.”

The catcher who came up to him tried to comfort him, taking all the blame on himself, but Aidan shook his head, already knowing that this was an uncontrollable situation where no one could be blamed.

After giving up another home run and finishing the fifth inning, he pitched a three-up, three-down sixth inning without allowing any additional runs, but the game was already too far gone to turn around.

[4-0. The score difference is somewhat significant, but the Dodgers have a strong lineup, so they can still catch up, right?]

[Yes, the Braves’ hitting is considered the best in the league, but the Dodgers also have plenty of firepower, so you never know.]

As the Braves continued to lead, the commentators tried to create excitement by talking about possibilities. The Dodgers fans watching the game desperately hoped that those formal words would come true, but it wasn’t easy.

“Wooooooo!”

“That’s what an ace is!”

“Take a good look! This is what a real ace looks like! He’s not like that Small Ball kid on your team! They’re not even the same species!”

Mason Looper easily shut down the Dodgers’ counterattack, to the point where fans were even bringing up eugenics [the pseudoscientific belief in improving the genetic quality of a human population]. The Dodgers batters were simply helpless against him as he pitched with all his might.

Even Arthur Hunter went hitless, which was partly due to Mason’s pitching, but Jungwoo Lee also contributed by relentlessly catching the balls.

[Top of the 7th, Arthur Hunter steps up to the plate for his third at-bat as the leadoff hitter of the inning.]

[He’s having a somewhat disappointing game today, going 0-for-3 with no hits and no walks, right?]

[He was the hero of the Division Series just a few days ago, but he’s not doing so well today. But he’s definitely a player with potential, so he could do something at any time—he hits it!]

“Lee!”

As if completely draining the soul of a perfectly good pitcher wasn’t enough for him, Jungwoo ran without stopping at his teammates’ shouts.

Arthur Hunter, a slugger who only aims for extra-base hits, swung big as usual, but perhaps he changed his mindset after continuing to hit ground balls. This time, he technically made clean contact with the ball.

The slightly rolled ball skimmed the ground and shot like a bullet between third and shortstop, but even though it was a good enough course, no one thought it would be a hit.

Because Jungwoo Lee was running.

‘Gotta scoop it and immediately—what the hell—’

But the ball bounced towards third base as if he had tripped on a rock while trying to scoop it up. Jungwoo was filled with curses, but his body moved immediately.

The lowered upper body sprang up like a spring, and Jungwoo forcibly extended his right arm, catching the bouncing ball with his bare hand. At the same time as catching it, he turned his gaze to first base.

A huge figure was running madly towards first base, and the muscles surrounding his body seemed to be injecting power, as his speed was quite fast.

‘Gotta go right away.’

Stepping forward and slightly rotating his body towards first base, Jungwoo immediately got into position. The arm that had been extended to catch the ball bent slightly, and he was roughly in position.

It looked as if a pitcher was winding up.

“Out!”

Out. As the out was declared right in front of the base, making his hard run meaningless, Arthur Hunter finally exhaled.

His eyes were bloodshot from running so hard, but he was more disappointed than exhausted.

“This is crazy. He caught that?”

He had briefly put aside his pride and tried to be a runner himself, hitting the ball simply. Even with the luck of an irregular bounce, he ended up catching the ball that he thought was definitely going to be a hit.

A sigh escaped him, and Arthur Hunter shook his head, briefly stroking his prickly hair and clicking his tongue. It seemed like he had to admit it now. The fact that he had lost the first game.

####

[The Dodgers ultimately fail to score a single run, suffering a 7-0 shutout loss in Game 1.]

[This is a big blow. It means the team was completely overwhelmed. Jungwoo Lee and Mason Looper were a formidable wall.]

The loss in Game 1 itself wasn’t a big blow to the Dodgers. They had lost the first game in the Division Series as well, and they had lost Game 1 to the Braves last year too.

But the fact that they were shut out, failing to score a single run, was quite significant.

[ATL shuts out the Dodgers in Game 1 of the NLCS, winning the game!]

[Jungwoo Lee, 3-for-3 with 2 walks, 2 home runs, and 4 RBIs in 5 plate appearances. The best performance!]

[Mason Looper dominates the Dodgers with 7 scoreless innings and 13 strikeouts!]

At least it meant that when the Braves played with their full strength and put out their best players, the Dodgers team didn’t measure up.

The bitterness that came with that was considerable, but the disappointment in Aidan Styles, who had been thoroughly beaten like last year, was less than expected.

[‘Once again, he crumbled against Lee!’ Aidan Styles frustrated by the worst matchup.]

[6 innings, 4 runs allowed. A decent performance but a disappointing loss! Aidan Styles’ postseason nightmare continues!]

-Aidan… is he just not good against Lee?

-It can’t be helped. It’s practically like the pitcher has to face him with one arm tied behind his back. Plus, he’s a three-pitch pitcher, right? With two pitches forced, it’s even harder.

-Curveball pitchers need at least four pitches to compete with Lee. Anything less won’t work.

-We just have to think of it as a natural disaster. If you look at the game, he handled the other batters well, except for Lee, right?

As Aidan Styles thought, the fans didn’t criticize him, at least not for this game.

With one of his strongest pitches essentially neutralized, it was an impossible match from the start. Also, since Jungwoo Lee had a season that could be called the best ever, it was obvious that he would do well, so the shock was less than expected.

Furthermore, he had shown a good performance in the matchups other than Jungwoo Lee’s plate appearances, so they felt even more sorry for him.

Thus, while the Dodgers fans were somewhat discouraged by the disappointing loss in Game 1, the Braves’ atmosphere was naturally lively after a smooth victory.

Jungwoo Lee hit two home runs, Mason showed a high-quality pitching performance, and the team dominated their opponents. It was a game where everything the fans wanted was fulfilled by 200%, filling their satisfaction.

[Atlanta’s momentum continues in October! Braves, will they sweep even the Dodgers like this?]

[Jungwoo Lee, a multi-homerun with monstrous power! His amazing hitting continues even in the NLCS!]

[The Braves’ era is opening. How far will their legendary journey go?]

Naturally, the media was busy praising the Braves. Even though they had subtly wished for the Braves’ defeat before the game, hoping to encourage an underdog rebellion, they now changed their tune to an epic heroic narrative, showering them with embarrassing praise.

In particular, Jungwoo Lee, who had hit four home runs in this postseason alone and had also performed incredibly well in last year’s postseason, was chosen as the protagonist of such an epic.

[Jungwoo Lee, 10-for-13 with 7 walks and 4 home runs, 14 RBIs in 20 plate appearances in the Division & Championship Series so far. The reincarnation of ‘Mr. October’?]

Some people frowned at the praise, which even drew on nicknames like Mr. October, which was Reggie Jackson’s nickname in the past.

Of course, the Braves fans thought it was just a fair, very objective, and highly accurate assessment, and therefore a rather stale evaluation.

In fact, it wasn’t entirely wrong if you only looked at the stats.

-Good at hitting, good at fielding. Probably has a good personality, and is quite handsome. If he even does well in the postseason, what is Lee lacking?

-Maybe Lee is the god of baseball? He came down himself because baseball is boring these days.

-That might be true, but if I were a god, I wouldn’t do this well. It’s too obvious.

-Shhh! Everyone pretend you don’t know. If Lee finds out that we’ve noticed, he might go back up to the sky, so just keep smiling and clapping.

-Yeah, keep your mouth shut until we win about 10 World Series titles in the future.

-Are they handing out drugs to citizens in Atlanta these days? They seem even crazier than when I saw them before.

To be precise, it was more accurate to say that they were even more extreme internally, so they were not impressed by such embarrassing praise.

Within the fan community, Jungwoo Lee was openly treated as a god.

In fact, he had been treated as a god for a long time, but now it was becoming more and more of an established fact. Their suspicious gazes towards Jungwoo Lee became even more intense in the second game that unfolded.

####

“How are you feeling today? You were completely flying yesterday. You didn’t use up all your energy yesterday, did you? I have to pitch today, you know.”

Before the second game, Ian Field, who was scheduled to start, suddenly came to Jungwoo Lee and asked. His eyes were full of desire.

‘The fact that he got beat up in the Division Series must have stuck in his mind.’

While Mason Looper, who was close but also competed like a rival, was showing good pitching in the postseason,

Jungwoo Lee smiled at his enthusiastic appearance, perhaps because he was still bothered by the somewhat disappointing pitching he had shown in the second game of the NLDS [National League Division Series].

“I’m fine, don’t worry.”

“Just do it like yesterday, just like yesterday. Even if I give up 4 or 5 runs and shit the bed, I can still be the winning pitcher.”

Jungwoo Lee shook his head at Ian Field, who wanted so much, but he didn’t complain. It was possible enough, even if he was too greedy. For the team to win, no matter how many points he gave up.

‘Let’s do well today too.’

His eyes flashed fiercely like the day before, and in the game that soon began, he soared again as Ian Field had hoped.

[The Dodgers’ offense isn’t working out today either. To be more precise, he’s the problem again today.]

[It’s an iron curtain. A great wall that the batters can’t help but be aware of.]

First, on defense, he gave the batters despair as usual, and Derek was also in good condition, so it wasn’t easy to attack the opposite side. The game flowed similarly to the day before, gradually approaching the Braves’ victory. Along with the failing offense, the Dodgers fans couldn’t bear to open their eyes on defense either.

[Bottom of the 3rd, Jungwoo Lee comes to the plate with a runner on second and one out.]

[He reached base with an intentional walk in his last at-bat, right? We’ll have to see if the Dodgers will compete this time.]

‘Are they going to compete this time? The slider seems pretty good. The speed is about 85-6 miles, and the angle is so big that it almost straddles the outside zone. I’ll have to swing thinking I’m supporting it to the outside.’

Jungwoo Lee, who had retreated with a walk in his first at-bat, or rather, had been intentionally walked, stepped up to the plate hoping that the pitcher, who looked pretty good today, would face him this time.

Then the pitcher noticeably frowned as he greeted him, and since that was a common occurrence, Jungwoo Lee gave a slight nod. Knowing that it wouldn’t really work, he made the most innocent expression possible and filled the plate [stood ready in the batter’s box].

Then, whether it worked well, or whether he judged that walking him again this time, with a runner already on base and only one out, would cause an even bigger crisis, fortunately, the match began normally.

The pitcher, who had been contemplating for a long time, threw the first pitch.

“Ball.”

A slightly missing ball.

It was a fastball, but he seemed to have taken some power out of it, so the speed wasn’t very fast. The quality was also average. It seemed like he threw it to test the waters, so Jungwoo Lee didn’t try to read the pitcher from it, and the pitcher didn’t care about the increased ball count.

And then the second pitch.

‘Slider.’

Jungwoo Lee gripped his bat tightly at the changed look in the pitcher’s eyes.

Because it felt like the real thing was about to fly.

‘As expected, a slider, properly scratched [a slider with good spin].’

The pitcher’s ball was so sharp that you could tell even from the facing position. The angle was so great that it felt like you would get cut if you touched it.

But the effect is halved the moment the batter predicts the pitch, and if the batter’s senses are as sharp as the sharp angle.

‘Hmph-‘

Sometimes, powerful breaking balls are attacked without any power.

Bang- A sharp cracking sound like splitting wood rang out, and unlike Aidan Styles, the visiting fans, who had hoped that he wouldn’t be so bad this time since the matchup wasn’t so bad, closed their eyes again.

Because they couldn’t bear to watch with their eyes open.

They had poured in a lot of money to come on the road, so they had to watch the game steadily to get their money’s worth, but rather than regretting the money a little, they couldn’t bear to watch their beloved team, the Dodgers, being destroyed by that heinous guy.

[Jungwoo Leeeeeeeee! A two-run home run! The Braves take the lead in the game!]

“Ah…”

“Wow, he caught that perfectly.”

“Would I get about a thousand dollars if I put it up for auction?”

“A thousand dollars? It’s the postseason, and Lee hit it, so there would be a lot of people willing to buy it. It would be much more. Even if you sold it here, it would easily exceed a thousand dollars.”

The ball hit the armrest of the second-floor stands beyond the right field fence, and the man who was bravely wearing a Dodgers uniform in the middle of enemy territory reached out his hand in a daze and unknowingly caught the bouncing ball.

The surrounding home fans envied him, and they whispered about how much the home run ball was worth, but he couldn’t hear them. The moment he saw the Major League mark on the ball, he just felt a little complicated.

“Ha, fuck.”

Looking at the ball in his hand, he was also conveyed the realization that Aidan Styles had gained the day before. It wasn’t that Aidan Styles was getting beaten up by him because he was a bad matchup, a chicken, or weak in the postseason, but that the monstrous guy mercilessly beat up any pitcher.

And on the other hand, he was afraid.

“I think we’re screwed…”

He had recouped the cost of his road trip plane tickets and game tickets at once thanks to Jungwoo Lee’s home run ball, but he didn’t feel good about the unearned income. The thought that his beloved Dodgers might suffer a worse fate than those stupid Giants guys who had been eliminated so pathetically grew in his head.