Baseball: A Two-Way Player-Chapter 378 - 27: 1 Run Is Enough

"Good evening to all professional baseball fans, and welcome to the live broadcast of today’s match."

"Today’s game features the Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks and the Hokkaido Nippon-Ham Fighters—since the start of the new season, both teams that performed well last season haven’t had a great record: the former is 1 win and 5 losses, at the bottom of the Pacific League, while the latter is 2 wins and 4 losses, second to last."

"For both teams aiming to shake off their recent poor form, this showdown at the foot of the mountain of kings should be a great opportunity to get back on track. So, I imagine both SoftBank’s Manager Akiyama and the Fighters’ Manager Kuriyama are taking this game very seriously."

"It’s also worth mentioning that this match marks the first professional meeting between two prodigies from the 2012 draft, Lin Guanglai and Ohtani Shohai—Lin Guanglai will start as the pitcher today, while Ohtani Shohai will lead off as the eighth batter in right field. We hope these young talents will deliver an excellent performance for the fans."

"Next, let’s take a look at the stats for both teams..."

As Lin Guanglai walked through the player tunnel into the visitors’ section inside the Sapporo Dome, he curiously surveyed the stadium.

As the largest sports arena in Hokkaido, the unique feature of the Sapporo Dome is that it’s a "rotating stadium"—depending on whether it’s a baseball or soccer match, after laying the turf, the second-floor stands can rotate to meet the viewing needs of different events.

Though the game was still some time away from starting, many people had already filled the stands—on both sides of the home plate section, fans from the Ham Team’s support group were busy with pregame preparations; occasionally, faces wearing SoftBank team jerseys would pop up among them.

"Ahem—"

Manager Akiyama Koji coughed twice, signaling the players to look at him; Lin Guanglai then retracted his gaze and turned to listen to the manager’s pregame instructions.

"In recent games, the entire team has been having a tough time, which I’m sure everyone is very aware of."

"But before today’s game, I hope you can forget all those unpleasant experiences—starting with this game, we must try our best to win every match from here onwards!"

"Pitchers should relieve the pressure on the batting lineup, and the batting lineup should support the pitchers—don’t forget, we’re a team!"

"I hope to secure a victory in today’s game. Do you understand?"

"Yes, manager!!!"

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At 6:00 PM, the game between SoftBank and the Ham Team officially started—the visiting team SoftBank would bat first, while the home team Ham Team would bat second.

Compared to the match where Lin Guanglai started in the season opener, the starting lineup hasn’t changed much; the only difference this time is that Manager Akiyama Koji decided to use the international player Pena as Lin Guanglai’s designated hitter.

This decision came after discussions and communication with the player himself, as SoftBank First Team’s coaching group has devised a completely new rotation plan for Lin Guanglai—they temporarily call this plan the "Pseudo-Two Swords Style."

Considering Lin Guanglai’s current physical strength, the dual swordsmanship is too much of a burden on his body, and if he continues in this manner, he won’t be able to withstand the physical toll of continuous professional baseball matches.

To protect the player and manage wear and tear, for the rest of the season, Manager Akiyama Koji and the coaching group decided that Lin Guanglai would focus on either pitching or batting in one game.

When he’s pitching, he won’t play as a fielder in the day before and after the rotation; after each pitching session, he’ll have at least 1 or 2 days of rest before playing again as a fielder/DH;

And when he’s not pitching, he will either take charge of right field or serve as a full-time DH, playing the full game by default unless there are issues, until the next pitching rotation day arrives.

From Manager Akiyama Koji’s perspective, this "Pseudo-Two Swords Style" rotation plan is currently the optimal solution—developing a star-level baseball player requires steady progress, and in a rookie’s first season, it’s crucial to focus on improving physical fitness and adapting to the match rhythm.

Moreover, Lin Guanglai’s focus on one task per game might bring more surprises to this team in a slump—Manager Akiyama Koji thought to himself.

After the game started, on SoftBank’s side, the batting lineup quickly got into the game:

In the top of the first inning, Honda Yuichi drew a walk against the Ham Team’s starting pitcher Nakamura Masaru—a fantastic start for the Pacific League’s base-stealing king.

Seeing that their leadoff man successfully completed the task of getting on base, Manager Akiyama Koji signaled to the second batter Imamiya Kenta, indicating him to sacrifice bunt to advance the runner; Imamiya Kenta understood and executed accordingly, sacrificing himself to advance Honda Yuichi to second base in the scoring position.

Seeing the game develop like this, the players’ section of the Ham Team showed Kuriyama Hideki with an unhappy expression: Honda Yuichi, being a swift baserunner at second base, means SoftBank only needs a single to likely score.

And the scene unfolded exactly as he predicted: the third batter Nakagawa Seiichi hit an infield-overhead ball, seamlessly landing in that no-man’s land between the infield and central field;

The second base Honda Yuichi quickly sprinted and reached home base ahead of the outfielder’s return throw.

"Nakagawa Seiichi! The first run in the top of the first inning! SoftBank’s batting lineup is in great form today!" The commentator in the studio exclaimed.

At the same time, in the visitors’ section, the substitute SoftBank players were passionately celebrating their teammate’s score—this was their first lead in the game after 5 matches, and the SoftBank players, long suppressed, desperately needed an opportunity to vent!

"Senior, your speed and grasp of the starting timing are truly amazing!"

High-fiving Honda Yuichi, who had scored and returned to the players’ box, Lin Guanglai couldn’t help but praise his abilities.

Between the banter, the field’s situation took a sudden turn as the Ham Team completed a fine defensive play in response:

SoftBank’s fourth batter Lahai’er hit a foul fly ball toward first base, only for the Ham Team’s first baseman Inaba Atsunori to get there first for the catch; first base runner Nakagawa Seiichi couldn’t return to base in time, resulting in a double play—three outs, change of offense and defense.

As other teammates regretted missing the chance to expand their lead, Lin Guanglai stood up from his seat, preparing to pitch, turning to his seniors next to him:

"Don’t worry, seniors, a one-run lead is enough—no matter what, today’s game won’t be lost again!"