Perfect Agent [EN]: Chapter 286

The tension was palpable on Park Sung-ju’s face as he stood at the plate, bat in hand.

“Now at the plate, it’s South Korea’s cleanup hitter, Park Sung-ju.”

“It would be great if he could hit a home run in this important game.”

I swallowed hard, my eyes fixed on the field.

As Park Sung-ju got ready to bat, the Japanese pitcher began his windup.

-Whoosh-

-Strike!

“Park Sung-ju swung aggressively, but his bat trailed behind the ball.”

“That pitch was 158 km/h [approximately 98 mph]. It’s hard to time from the first pitch. He needs to simplify his swing even more.”

The second pitch came.

-Thwack!

-Ball!

“That was a sharp breaking ball, but Park Sung-ju laid off it well.”

“No need to rush. When facing an ace pitcher like this, you need to have a clear idea of the course you want and wait for it. You can’t get good results by chasing every pitch.”

A moment later, with the count at 1 ball and 1 strike, the third pitch came.

-Crack!

The ball hit by Park Sung-ju’s bat sped towards the right foul line.

It looked like it might curve just inside the line.

But the first baseman quickly reached out his glove in the direction of the ball.

-Out!

“Ah, that’s too bad. If his timing had been just a little better, it could have slipped through the gap between the first and second basemen.”

“His timing was a bit late because of the pitcher’s speed. But the good thing is that his swing was much simpler than before. We can look forward to his next at-bat.”

Park Sung-ju walked into the dugout with a disappointed look, passing Han Gyo-jin, the number 5 hitter.

“Another home run hitter is coming to the plate.”

“Han Gyo-jin hit a timely hit that tied the score in the last game against the United States. I hope he can hit another one today.”

After taking a ball, Han Gyo-jin swung aggressively, not avoiding the challenge.

-Tick!

-Tick!

-Tick!

1 ball and 2 strikes.

A moment later, the pitcher threw his fifth pitch.

The ball left the pitcher’s hand like a strike, then quickly dropped.

-Whoosh-

-Strike out!

“Wow, that 148 km/h [approximately 92 mph] splitter is just amazing no matter how many times you see it.”

“We need to make sure our hitters don’t swing at that pitch. It’s probably the most important thing for our hitters in today’s game.”

Now, So Young-jun was coming to the plate.

“This at-bat is for the number 6 hitter, So Young-jun. He’s been playing really well in this tournament, right?”

“He’s been playing great defense at shortstop and hitting really well. He’s probably the closest player to the tournament MVP.”

“And So Young-jun is strong against fastballs, so can we look forward to this at-bat?”

“Yes, we can expect a good hit.”

As So Young-jun got ready, the Japanese pitcher and catcher exchanged signs.

The first pitch they chose was, of course, a fastball.

So Young-jun swung aggressively from the first pitch.

-Crack!

The ball hit by So Young-jun’s bat made a crisp sound as it sped away.

The angle and speed of the ball were ideal.

But the only downside was the direction it was heading.

The ball was heading straight for the second baseman’s glove.

-Out!

So Young-jun, who had started to sprint to first base but stopped, looked up at the sky, unable to hide his disappointment.

“Ah, it’s going straight to the defender. That was a really well-hit ball.”

“But it’s positive that he hit the ball well. We can look forward to his next at-bat.”

With that, the top of the 2nd inning ended for South Korea.

Bottom of the 2nd inning.

Go Ji-hoon’s pitching continued.

-Thwack!

-Ball!

It was clearly a pitch that barely caught the strike zone, but the umpire’s hand didn’t move easily.

“The umpire seems to be calling the strike zone very tightly today. I think he could have called that a strike.”

“It must be frustrating for Go Ji-hoon. But it’s not something we can change. We just have to adapt.”

“This umpire’s tendency is bound to be disadvantageous to us, right?”

“It’s a really sensitive issue for a pitcher like Go Ji-hoon, who relies on precise control. Even just one or two unexpected calls in a crucial situation can shake him up on the mound.”

“I hope Go Ji-hoon can overcome this difficult situation.”

Go Ji-hoon, who had stepped off the pitcher’s mound to clear his head, took a deep breath and returned to the mound.

Then, he carefully threw a ball with all his might.

This pitch went so far outside that it was difficult for the catcher to catch.

-Ball!

“Go Ji-hoon almost never throws a pitch like that. He must have put too much power into it.”

“Even Go Ji-hoon can’t be completely unfazed in a situation like this.”

“How should we approach the game with this umpire’s style?”

“The opposing hitters are sure to see the strike zone as narrow. If we try to force corner work, we could end up throwing too many pitches and getting tired. We might need to trust the fielders behind us and choose to challenge them head-on.”

“Now it’s two balls and no strikes. The next hitter is also a tough one, so what kind of pitch he throws this time will have a big impact on the early game.”

It took Go Ji-hoon longer than ever to prepare to pitch.

After taking a few deep breaths, Go Ji-hoon threw the ball with all his might.

This time, it was a pitch that went into the strike zone to get a strike.

The Japanese hitter swung with all his might, as if he had been waiting for it.

-Clang!

You could feel the crispness in the sound of the ball hitting the bat.

The ball flew through the sky at a high speed.

“Ah… that looks like it was hit well?”

I watched the ball fly, hoping that my prediction was wrong.

I hoped the ball would lose its power and fall in the middle,

But contrary to my expectations, the ball sailed over the fence.

-Home run!

Go Ji-hoon, who was watching this from the mound, couldn’t hide his disappointment.

-Wooooooo-

The Japanese fans erupted in cheers.

The Japanese player who hit the home run raised both hands high, expressing his joy to the fullest.

On the other hand, the South Korean players stood stiffly with hardened expressions.

The score changed to 0:1 the moment the Japanese hitter, who had rounded all the infield bases, stepped on home plate.

“South Korea has given up a home run here. Japan has taken the lead. But the good thing is that it’s still early in the game and it’s a solo home run.”

“That’s right. A 1-point lead is a score that can be overturned at any time. If we use this as an opportunity to concentrate more from now on, it can actually be a good thing.”

I clapped my hands and added a word.

“And we have the experience of making a dramatic comeback in the last game against the United States. I’m sure we can do it.”

But the battle with the next hitter was by no means easy.

-Thwack!

-Ball!

-Thwack!

-Ball!

The pitch that Go Ji-hoon threw with the utmost care was also called a ball.

Inevitably, he had no choice but to throw closer to the center of the strike zone.

-Crack!

-Out!

Fortunately, even though the ball was hit well, our players made good plays to lighten Go Ji-hoon’s burden,

-Tick!

-Out!

Go Ji-hoon was able to barely get an out count by creating a foul ball with a wobbly pitch.

The number of pitches Go Ji-hoon needed to get six out counts in 2 innings was a whopping 47.

The game continued with South Korea’s attack in the 3rd inning.

Because they had given up the first run, the hitters put on a focused performance to catch up as quickly as possible.

But the attack didn’t go as smoothly as they had hoped.

-Whoosh-

-Strike out!

-Thwack!

-Strike out!

Our hitters’ bats spun endlessly in the air against the 160 km/h [approximately 99 mph] fastball and the 148 km/h [approximately 92 mph] splitter that dropped sharply.

-Tick!

-Out!

Even if they managed to barely hit the ball, they couldn’t get a good hit.

As a result, they were unable to score even in the situation where the top of the 5th inning was over.

“I was expecting it to some extent. But he’s a harder pitcher to face than I thought. Our hitters aren’t able to use their power at all.”

“It’s no exaggeration to say that his movement and control are perfect. And he’s only thrown 65 pitches through the 5th inning.”

Even though I was expecting it, I couldn’t help but shake my head when I saw it right in front of me.

But the good thing was that Go Ji-hoon didn’t collapse and protected the mound.

Even though it was a tougher appearance than ever, Go Ji-hoon finished the bottom of the 5th inning himself, as befitting an ace pitcher.

He had already thrown 93 pitches, so he couldn’t pitch any longer.

-Go Ji-hoon! Go Ji-hoon! Go Ji-hoon!

The spectators sent warm cheers to Go Ji-hoon as he left the mound.

“Go Ji-hoon will finish today’s game with 5 innings and 1 run allowed.”

“It was a tough game because of the umpire’s strike zone. But he played his part as an ace pitcher and left the mound.”

“Thanks to Go Ji-hoon’s 5 innings, we’ll have much more leeway in managing our pitchers in the remaining innings.”

Before we knew it, we were in the bottom of the 6th inning.

The score was still 0:1, with Japan in the lead.

Now, a new pitcher was protecting the mound for South Korea.

He seemed to be blocking the inning without any problems, getting two out counts,

-Crack!

The Japanese hitters’ bats swung fiercely.

Moreover, they allowed a hit to the next hitter.

With 2 outs, there were runners on 1st and 3rd base.

Catcher Yang Hee-chan called a timeout and went to the mound to talk to the pitcher.

“We got two outs. But we’re in a crisis with consecutive hits.”

“Even though we still have three attacks left, the feeling of a one-point difference and a two-point difference is very different as we get closer to the end of the game. We need to prevent them from scoring here.”

“If we can get through this crisis, we can turn the atmosphere around, right?”

“Of course. It’s still a score difference that we can catch up with.”

The pitcher on the mound threw the ball more carefully than ever.

After a fierce battle of wits, they finally succeeded in inducing a foul ball.

-Tick!

“That’s it! It’s a ground ball!”

The ball bounced high off the ground and headed between shortstop So Young-jun and third baseman Park Sung-ju.

So Young-jun, who shouted that he would catch it, quickly moved to match the bounce of the ball and ran towards the ball.

Everyone was watching this situation comfortably,

“Huh?”

The ball, which seemed to be going into So Young-jun’s glove, slipped past and went behind him.

-Wooooooo-

The Japanese fans erupted in cheers.

Left fielder Na Jun-ho, who was watching from behind, rushed to catch the ball, but the opposing runners had already stepped on the next base.

The third base runner had already come home, and the first base runner was already on third base.

The hitter arrived at first base with ease.

“Ah, So Young-jun made a mistake here. This defense is especially disappointing because it’s So Young-jun.”

“I think he was too impatient. He could have gotten an out count if he had taken his time.”

Seeing So Young-jun sitting down and hanging his head, I felt a strong sense of pity.

“There’s still a lot of game left. There’s no reason to be discouraged yet.”

“That’s right. So Young-jun, it’s okay. Anyone can make a mistake. Forget about what happened and focus on the next play.”

I clapped my hands and cheered.

The score had changed to 0:2.