Baseball: A Two-Way Player-Chapter 384 - 33: Sounding the Horn of Counterattack Amid Cheers

"Takeda Shouta! A disastrous first half of the first inning!! The SoftBank Team has had an atrocious start at their home ground!!!"

In the broadcast footage at Yahoo Dome, today’s starting pitcher, Takeda Shouta, who hasn’t even finished one half of an inning, is already drenched in sweat and looks under immense pressure.

This game at Yahoo Dome is the third in the three-game series between Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks and Orix Buffaloes — in the first two games, Orix grabbed victories with their powerful offense and tight defense, already winning this round of the series in advance; but for the home-playing SoftBank Team, aimed at improving team rankings and making a push for the A-class, even if the series result is no longer suspenseful, they still need to exert full effort for every win.

Who would’ve thought, just as the first half of this game began, SoftBank Team’s defense exploded:

Due to the main shortstop Imamiya Kenta resting this game, substitute player Akashi Kenji, an infielder utility man, took his place. Who would’ve thought that just after the game started, he overthrew to first base, turning an originally secure out into runners on base.

For a team’s starting pitcher, such mistakes from teammates can easily affect their mindset, especially for young pitchers; not every young player has the calm composure in any situation like Lin Guanglai.

At least from the subsequent scene, it’s clear that Takeda Shouta’s pitching was affected by this mistake:

Seizing the opportunity of the pitcher’s mental fluctuation, Orix’s second batter, Kawabata Shuji, hit a deep drive to right field, not only advancing his teammate to third base but also making it to second base himself.

With the third batter, Yoshimoto Kogyo, being walked with four balls, Orix secured an almost perfect start: bases loaded with no outs, and stepping up is their strongest cleanup hitter, Lee Dae-ho.

Standing over 190 cm tall and weighing well over 100 kg, Lee Dae-ho is an undeniable power hitter — at the beginning of last year, he left the Rode Giants team after 10 years and joined the Orix Buffaloes, achieving 24 homers and 91 RBIs in his debut season.

Despite his large and strong build, Lee Dae-ho is not just a power-focused cleanup hitter; his flexibility and batting skills are also quite outstanding, and his response to breaking balls is top-tier, especially skillful at pushing the ball towards right field — according to KBO stats, he once hit the ball over a distance of 150 meters in a game.

Takeda Shouta’s mindset was already unstable, his face flushed red, facing a batter of Lee Dae-ho’s caliber, it’s only natural for the opportunity to be seized by the opponent —

"Lee Dae-ho! The pride of South Korea! The Korean power slugger has delivered a heavy blow to SoftBank fans! His first career grand slam in Japan! He’s turned Yahoo Dome into a library!"

Amidst the cheers of the Korean live stream commentary, the massive Lee Dae-ho circled the bases, high-fiving his teammates back at home plate; while on the pitcher’s mound, Takeda Shouta was becoming increasingly tense.

Following the grand slam, Takeda Shouta threw another walk and a hit-by-pitch, once again loading the bases for Orix, and a sacrifice fly earned them another run — fortunately, Kawabata Shuji’s ground ball didn’t pose much threat, preventing Orix from widening the lead to an overwhelming score.

But even so, a score of 0 to 5 after the first inning is a nightmare start for the SoftBank Team, whose recent form remains inconsistent.

Despite such a dismal first inning performance, Akiyama Koji did not choose to replace Takeda Shouta: if they lose to Orix today, it would mean being clean swept in this series, but after all, it’s just a regular season game, it’s clearly not worth using the bullpen excessively for this game — hence, Akiyama Koji decided to let him continue pitching and would adjust as the situation unfolds.

Sitting in the player’s area, Lin Guanglai glanced at Takeda Shouta, who had just returned from the field, holding his forehead, sitting there silently, evidently still in a state of struggle.

"Don’t worry, Senior Takeda, just pitch according to your pace next; as the lineup member, we’ll definitely give you full support!"

Takeda Shouta raised his head, finding that the person speaking was Lin Guanglai.

Frankly, Takeda Shouta didn’t particularly like Lin Guanglai: though only two years older than Lin Guanglai, he also entered professional baseball as a highly regarded high school graduate, and the two were inherently competitive; the more Lin Guanglai became valued by the team, it somewhat meant fewer resources and opportunities for him — in a profession where opportunity is closely tied to salary, even an erstwhile prodigy like him finds it hard to accept being replaced by a younger talent.

Therefore, he only managed a forced smile in acknowledgment of the goodwill, without any words.

Of course, Lin Guanglai wasn’t particularly concerned whether he would get a response — he shifted his focus back to the field where SoftBank’s top-order hitters were engaging in offense.

Orix’s Italian pitcher Alessandro Maestri started outstandingly, striking out two, and with a flyout, easily dealt with SoftBank’s top three hitters.

In the top of the second inning, after regaining his pitching rhythm, Takeda Shouta, though allowing a hit from Lee Dae-ho, quickly took advantage of Orix’s slower baserunning for a double play to end that half inning.

In the bottom of the second inning, SoftBank fans who came to watch their home team’s performance could finally rejoice: after cleanup hitter Matsuda Naohiro was put out at first base, foreign player Lahai’er, serving as the fifth batter, finally showed up: facing Maestri, he closed the gap with a solo home run; following him, Yanagida Yuuki also maintained the attacking momentum, delivering a clutch hit the team needed.

"He’s coming, he’s coming! Player Lin is coming! Everyone, are you ready?"

Seeing Lin Guanglai’s tall figure walk toward home plate from the on-deck circle, Masao Otake on the stands hurriedly urged the members of the "Eagle Road Alliance" to prepare to play their instruments.

As Lin Guanglai entered the batter’s box and prepared, a loud song simultaneously resounded in his ears:

"On the field where dreams bloom~

The curtain of legends is being drawn open~

Pouring all effort, a strike here!

The arc soaring high, flying afar!

Guanglai! Guanglai! Guanglai!

The glowing victory! Shining for you!"