Baseball: A Two-Way Player-Chapter 393 - 42: Under the Gaze of Family

"Asamura Eitou! He hits the ball out! It looks high but not far—"

"Yanagida Yuuki! He catches the ball securely in his glove, that’s the third out SoftBank Team needed this half inning! No problem at all!"

"Although Akiyama Shingo hit a double at the beginning of this inning, Lin Guanglai still continues his good form from last month: two strikeouts, one pop fly, the whole process was quite relaxed and easy-going, Seibu Team’s lineup has no way against him!"

"Now, with the top of the seventh inning over, the SoftBank Team leads the visiting Seibu Lions 5-0—they’re just two half-innings away from reclaiming the Pacific League throne!!!"

"Wah-la-la-la-la——"

As Lin Guanglai walked down from the pitcher’s mound, tens of thousands of SoftBank fans at Yahoo Dome stood up from their seats, their applause rippling like waves, spreading from the nearest home plate stands along the two baselines and finally converging again under the outfield’s Eagle’s Vision.

The applause of over 40,000 people converged into a thunderous roar, echoing under the dome of Yahoo Dome—meanwhile, as the focal point of the cameras and the center of everyone’s attention, Lin Guanglai also raised his hand, responding to the home crowd’s accolades.

Applauding while looking around the dome, Lin’s father felt a surge of emotion at the thought that such applause was for his son.

The reason the home audience made such a big scene was, besides their genuine love for Lin Guanglai, also due to SoftBank Team’s previous rotation rules whereby seven innings was Lin Guanglai’s maximum playing time regardless of his stellar performance, after which relief pitchers would come on—this arrangement took his physical condition into consideration and was SoftBank’s most successful formula this season.

But today’s game was a bit special.

As the team’s manager, Akiyama Koji had noticed Lin Guanglai’s outstanding form lately; he’s become the team’s de facto ace pitcher this season with so many games played—with this level of performance, Akiyama Koji was thinking of pushing him a bit further.

He also knew that Lin Guanglai’s family was in attendance today; although they hadn’t said anything, Lin Guanglai’s pre-game behavior showed he wanted to perform for his family; SoftBank still had a solid 5-run lead, so maybe it wouldn’t hurt to let him continue pitching?

"Yuuji, Taiyuan, what do you think of Guanglai’s condition today?" With a rough idea in mind, Akiyama Koji turned, seeking advice from his two partners.

Takayama Yuuji, responsible for actual pitcher management, checked the latest technical stats in his hand and replied:

"Guanglai’s condition is as excellent as before today, 7 innings with 6 strikeouts, 5 hits without giving up a run, that performance is undeniably solid."

"Most importantly, his pitch count is quite well-managed today, having thrown less than 100 pitches in 7 innings, he clearly took the team’s advice, favoring creating groundouts and flyouts, which reduced pitch consumption significantly."

Listening to Takayama Yuuji’s analysis, Guo Taiyuan nodded and added, "I think today’s game is an opportunity, maybe we could test Seibu and see if his stamina can hold for a complete game? You know how tough our starting pitcher issues have been this season; if Guanglai can grow faster, we’ll have more operation room later on..."

Listening to the suggestions of the two pitching coaches, Akiyama Koji nodded slightly, pondered for a moment, and then made his final decision:

"Alright, let’s have Guanglai pitch through this game—as long as the lead isn’t cut to the danger zone, let’s allow him to complete it!"

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"Hey, the seven innings are already over, why hasn’t Guanglai been replaced?" This question wasn’t just from Lin’s father; other fans in the stands also started murmuring about this.

It wasn’t until Lin Guanglai started pitching again on the mound that they realized—apparently, Lin Guanglai was going for a complete game today.

Understanding this, during the pitching break, even larger and more enthusiastic applause broke out again in Yahoo Dome.

However, by this time, Lin Guanglai wasn’t in the mood to interact with the audience anymore; once told by the manager to go for a complete game today, he focused all his attention on the Seibu Lions’ batters in front of him:

The first batter, Kataoka Jidai, was relatively easy to deal with. He liked to swing up, weaker against high balls, so Lin Guanglai dispatched him with a slightly thoughtful high fastball over 155 km/h.

For Lin Guanglai, the real challenge was just beginning.

The Seibu Team had been top of the Pacific League partly due to their substantial pitching reserves and their formidable top lineup:

Especially from the second batter Akiyama Shingo to the sixth batter Asamura Eitou, this segment of five batters could be said to be the strongest lineup in the entire Pacific League—Lin Guanglai had allowed five hits in this game, all from this segment of Seibu batters.

Logically speaking, after pitching a full 7 innings, as physical strength declines heading into the final stages of the game, Seibu’s batters should have an increasing advantage, but that wasn’t the case.

Borrowing a line from a classic movie, under the watchful eyes of his family, Lin Guanglai today transformed into the "Family Knight"—tonight, he is invincible!

Second batter, the base-hit focused Akiyama Shingo, with average power, Lin Guanglai used the most forceful method to deal with him, overpowering with a straight fastball, striking him out with ease;

Third batter, the March-April Pacific League Player of the Month Kuriyama Takashi, prefers to wait for close pitches, strong contact skills—facing this hard-to-strike-out tactical hitter, Lin Guanglai exhibited patience, deceived him into hitting a ground ball with finesse, with a teammate securing him out before first base.

The fourth and fifth batters, Spili and Geman, are long-time opponents for Lin Guanglai, familiar with their characteristics, Lin Guanglai actively and aggressively attacked, using psychological tactics to precisely target them.

With five consecutive Seibu batters retired, Lin Guanglai’s form was maxed out—if there were a system monitoring his status, it would surely read "Perfect Condition."

"Asamura Eitou, he already had a hit off Lin Guanglai this game... although a hit now wouldn’t drastically change the 0-6 score, judging by Seibu players’ expressions, they clearly hope to keep the game going... Full count with 3 balls and 2 strikes, let’s see how Lin Guanglai handles this next..."

On the mound, Lin Guanglai lifted his front leg, executing a fluid pitching motion, the ball leaving his hand.

"Changeup! Asamura Eitou wasn’t expecting that at all!"

"No problem at all!!!"

"Under the gaze of his family, Lin Guanglai achieves his career’s first complete game shutout victory!!!"