Perfect Agent [EN]: Chapter 190

The Real Start is Now (2)

Seo Seong-min’s batted ball flew towards right fielder Oh Seok-hoon.

The ball, flying at high speed, unfortunately didn’t travel as far as hoped, and its speed decreased significantly.

Oh Seok-hoon moved backward and caught the ball.

“Out!”

The moment the first base umpire raised his fist to signal the out,

Donald Watson, who had already returned to second base and was preparing to tag up [touch the base again after the catch], started running to third base.

“He’s running! He’s running!”

The Buffaloes players, as well as the Jaguars coach at third base, seemed flustered, as if they hadn’t anticipated this situation.

Then, Oh Seok-hoon threw the ball directly to third base, bypassing the cutoff man [a player positioned to intercept and relay the throw].

-Oh? Watson is running to third base! I think the hit is a little shallow for a tag up, don’t you?

-Moreover, Oh Seok-hoon’s throwing arm is quite strong. Who will win this showdown?

The ball thrown by Oh Seok-hoon, Donald Watson, and the eyes of all the spectators were focused on third base.

The ball leaving Oh Seok-hoon’s hand was accurately heading towards Park Seong-ju’s glove.

Watson slid towards third base,

And as soon as third baseman Park Seong-ju caught the incoming ball, he tagged Watson, who was sliding in, and confidently raised the glove with the ball in it.

It happened almost simultaneously, making it difficult to discern from the spectators’ point of view.

Silence briefly filled the stadium.

The umpire, looking at both the base and Watson, raised his fist.

“Out!”

As soon as he heard the umpire’s call, Park Seong-ju shook his glove at Oh Seok-hoon, expressing his joy.

A smile also appeared on Oh Seok-hoon’s face.

-It’s an out! Watson’s attempt to catch them off guard was a good gamble, but the hit was a little too short.

-Above all, Oh Seok-hoon’s throw was perfect. Park Seong-ju was able to tag him automatically the moment he caught it.

-If he had been safe, they could have created a favorable situation with one out and a runner on third base. It’s a bit disappointing for the Jaguars.

Watson showed his disappointment and returned to the dugout.

Unfortunately, the Jaguars’ attack ended without a score.

After that, the batters tried their best to break the 0-0 tie by challenging the opposing pitcher.

Buffaloes’ Oh Seok-hoon and Park Seong-ju, as well as Jaguars’ Donald Watson and Seo Seong-min.

They continued their persistent battle, but failed to score until the end of the third inning.

Especially,

Thwack!

Whoosh-

Thwack!

“Strike out!”

Michael Scott showed no signs of faltering while facing the Buffaloes’ powerful batting lineup.

“Woooaaah-”

“Scott! Scott! Scott!”

Scott, returning to the dugout, repeatedly raised and lowered both hands towards the Jaguars fans, energizing the crowd.

-Michael Scott is pitching flawlessly through the third inning!

-Is that why? The fielders’ concentration seems even sharper than usual. Both teams have zero errors.

-It’s a really exciting match between the two teams vying for the top spot.

Thus, they entered the fourth inning with a tight 0-0 score.

Donald Watson stepped up to the plate again.

-Watson hit a clean double in his last at-bat.

-Even though there are no runners on base, the pitcher needs to be careful. Watson’s on-base percentage and Seo Seong-min’s RBI [Runs Batted In] production are a potent combination.

The opposing pitcher, perhaps because he had given up a long hit in the previous at-bat, continued to pitch cautiously.

Thwack!

“Ball!”

Thwack!

“Ball!”

Whoosh-

“Strike!”

Watson reacted to the pitcher’s attempts to bait him with a sharp swing, continuing the battle.

Two balls and one strike.

The pitcher carefully threw again.

And,

Crack!

-Again! Again! Watson gets another great hit!

-It split right between the center fielder and the right fielder! It looks like it’s going to roll all the way to the outfield fence!

Watson started running with all his might.

Before even reaching first base, he turned towards second base.

Then, he glanced at the movements of the fielders and rounded the bag as if he was going for third base.

Meanwhile, Oh Seok-hoon caught the ball.

-Is Watson finally challenging for third base?

-It’s the second showdown with Oh Seok-hoon. Who will win this time?

Oh Seok-hoon, who caught the ball, threw it directly to third baseman Park Seong-ju without going through the cutoff man this time as well.

Watson confirmed the third base coach’s sliding signal and slid into the base.

Park Seong-ju, who caught the incoming ball, tried to tag Watson,

“Safe!”

The umpire confidently stretched out both hands to the sides.

Confirming this, Watson pumped his fist at the Jaguars fans and roared.

“Woooaaah-”

The Jaguars fans, who had jumped to their feet, waved their cheering sticks and cheered.

-I guess he was really upset about being called out earlier. Watson finally makes it to third with a triple!

-Oh Seok-hoon’s throw was slightly off to the side this time.

-A double in the first at-bat and a triple right after. He’s having a long hit party today!

Oh Seok-hoon, who was in the outfield, shook his head as if he was disappointed that his throw was slightly off and he couldn’t get the out.

Now, Seo Seong-min, the sixth batter, stepped up to the plate.

-Runner on third with one out. The Jaguars have a really great scoring opportunity.

-And Seo Seong-min, who is now at the plate, has a batting average of .280, which is good, but more importantly, his batting average with runners in scoring position is even better at .325. That means he’s clutch and mentally tough.

-You can’t discount the experience of a veteran.

-If it were last year, when facing Seo Seong-min in this situation, they could have brought in a left-handed pitcher and relied on breaking balls [curveballs, sliders, etc.] to get him out. But now they can’t do that, because Seo Seong-min has improved against lefties. Moreover, Seo Seong-min has hit many home runs batting right-handed. In the current situation, that could be even more dangerous.

-Then, what would be the best approach for the Buffaloes?

-Since the Jaguars can score just by getting the ball to the outfield, the Buffaloes need to keep the pitches low and prevent the ball from being hit deep.

The Buffaloes infielders all moved forward to put pressure on him.

It was a signal that they would do everything to prevent a run if a ground ball was hit.

Thwack!

“Ball!”

Thwack!

“Strike!”

-Both pitches were effectively placed low in the strike zone.

-Considering that the Buffaloes’ infield defense is solid, if they can induce a ground ball, they might be able to get an out without giving up a run.

Thwack!

“Ball!”

Seo Seong-min tried his best to lift the ball to the outfield no matter what.

Tick!

Tick!

He fouled off pitches that were strikes, waiting for the pitcher to make a mistake.

Eventually,

Tick!

The bat grazed the top of the ball, and the batted ball bounced off the ground and trickled between the shortstop and third baseman.

“Ah……”

Seo Seong-min couldn’t hide his disappointment and ran towards first base.

The Buffaloes shortstop was shouting that he would field it and was quickly approaching.

-Ah, it’s a ground ball. He needed to get it to the outfield. But, oh?

-Watson is running home!

Again, contrary to everyone’s expectations, Watson was charging fiercely, focused only on home base.

The surprised shortstop caught the ball and threw it with all his might towards the catcher.

Watson, who had almost reached home base before that, slid and dove once again.

Watson slightly twisted his body to avoid the catcher’s glove and succeeded in touching home base.

“Safe!”

The umpire stretched out both hands and shouted the call.

“Woooaaah-”

Watson, who jumped to his feet, elicited even greater cheers from the Jaguars fans with an even bigger celebration than before.

Seo Seong-min, who arrived at first base, also clapped his hands and expressed his joy.

-Safe! Watson scores with aggressive baserunning.

-It’s no exaggeration to say that this run was created by Watson’s hustle. From hitting a triple to aggressively dashing home. It was truly a perfect play.

The first run was finally posted on the scoreboard.

The Jaguars dugout was in a festive mood.

Michael Scott jumped up and down, delighted that the long-awaited first run had been scored.

On the other hand, the Buffaloes players’ faces were filled with disappointment.

The player who further fueled the Jaguars’ momentum, which had been ignited by Watson’s aggressive play, was Michael Scott.

Thwack!

“Strike out!”

Thwack!

“Strike out!”

Thwack!

“Strike out!”

Perhaps Watson’s run support gave Scott a lot of confidence, as he put on a strikeout clinic with his powerful pitching, stifling the Buffaloes’ batting lineup.

Until the fifth inning, the Buffaloes batters were unable to get on base or even manage a hit against Scott.

-Will the Buffaloes players be able to get a hit against Scott?

-Today, Scott is delivering a perfect pitching performance with impeccable ball speed, control, and even the support of his fielders.

The score of 1-0 remained unchanged until the fifth inning.

And the Jaguars’ offensive half of the sixth inning arrived.

Once again, it was fifth batter Donald Watson’s turn at bat.

As Watson was about to approach the plate, the Buffaloes pitching coach went up to the mound.

Then, he patted the pitcher’s shoulder and sent him back to the dugout.

-It was overshadowed because he was facing Michael Scott, but he pitched well, allowing only 1 run in 5.1 innings in today’s game.

-He’s already given up two extra-base hits to Watson. Since it’s a close game at 1-0, it seems like the Buffaloes are making a change at a slightly early point.

Watson carefully watched the new pitcher coming to the mound.

Then, he approached Seo Seong-min, who was waiting behind him, and asked something.

Watson nodded as he listened to Seo Seong-min’s advice.

After a while, as the pitcher’s warm-up pitches were finished, Watson stepped into the batter’s box.

“Play ball!”

As the umpire’s call rang out, the new pitcher exchanged signs with the catcher.

And confidently threw the first pitch,

Watson swung his bat with all his might, as if he had been waiting for it.

Crack!

-Oh! He swung aggressively at the first pitch!

-It’s going deep! Is it going over?

Watson slowly jogged towards first base as if he had already predicted the outcome.

The batted ball that was soaring through the air eventually cleared the left field fence.

-In the end, Donald Watson hits a home run!

-A double, a triple, and now a home run. Is Donald Watson having the game of his life today?

-He’s already gotten three hits, but now he only needs a single to complete the cycle [hitting a single, double, triple, and home run in the same game]!

-Since he’s already gotten the most difficult triple and home run, the probability of completing the cycle seems high, doesn’t it?

-We’ll have to see if we witness another great achievement in today’s game.

Watson, who touched all the bases and returned home, high-fived Seo Seong-min, who approached the plate, and celebrated.

Watson entered the dugout while basking in the fans’ thunderous cheers and received enthusiastic congratulations from his teammates.

The score is 2-0.

A game that’s close to being Watson’s one-man show is unfolding.