Baseball: A Two-Way Player-Chapter 451 - 78: Boom!

In the broadcast footage on the TV, Lin Guanglai's face beamed with a radiant smile. His eyes, captivating countless young women, glimmered with irrepressible excitement and thrill.

"Yes, I did it! I finally did it! Off the strongest pitcher in active play, in the most critical part of the first battle in this crucial matchup, I hit a home run off the Divine Son!"

"Oh my god! Who could have imagined such a scenario?" In the broadcasting studio, Takeshita Yohei, still responsible for the live commentary of this match, was stunned into silence by the recent turn of events on the field. "Before the game started, many experts predicted various outcomes, even considering a script where the SoftBank Team narrowly defeats the Divine Son through a tough battle. But no one expected Tanaka, undefeated this season, to break his streak in the second half of the first inning. It's incredibly surprising!"

"Hahahahaha, what did I say? What did I say? I knew if it was him, he would definitely do it!" If there was anyone in the studio more thrilled, it was undoubtedly Kohkubo Yuuki, who had been invited again as a guest. When he saw the baseball fly out beyond the home run wall at Miyagi Stadium, he jumped from his seat at the commentary desk in exhilaration.

On the other side of Takeshita Yohei, Nomura Katsuya shook his head solemnly. As a legendary catcher for Nippon Professional Baseball and a legendary supervisor for the Rakuten Team, it was evident that Nomura Katsuya was dissatisfied with Shima Keihiro's pitch-calling strategy.

"If we're only talking about the pitch, Tanaka threw it with no issue, at his usual standard. But I want to point out more about the catcher's pitch selection choices—Lin Guanglai is undoubtedly a wide-angle hitter. In the regular season, out of his 20 home runs, 5 were hit to left field, 7 to center field, and 8 to right field, and his responding to inside pitches is among the top in the Pacific League."

"Facing such a top hitter, it's irrational for the catcher to consistently direct the pitcher to risk attacking the batter's inside corner—especially when Rakuten had a count advantage before this pitch. At times like this, it's crucial to slow the pace, alternately pitching inside and outside, fastballs and breaking balls, to maintain control over the rhythm firmly in your hands!"

In this series between Rakuten and SoftBank, the television team invited Nomura Katsuya, who once served as Rakuten's supervisor from 2006 to 2009, as the Rakuten representative guest.

Based on his background, Nomura Katsuya is also a legend of SoftBank's predecessor, the Fukuoka Nankai Hawks, serving the Nankai team as a player and supervisor for a combined 32 years. But due to Rakuten Team's lack of depth since forming in 2006, Nomura Katsuya is the most fitting representative for the team—after all, the now-dominant Tanaka Masahiro was handpicked and nurtured by him; even the popular nickname "Divine Son" was given by Nomura Katsuya.

In the studio, Nomura Katsuya continued explaining his "ID Baseball" theory to the fans watching from home; meanwhile, the match on the field continued. 𝑓𝓇𝘦ℯ𝘸𝘦𝑏𝓃𝑜𝘷ℯ𝑙.𝑐𝑜𝓂

After being caught off guard by Lin Guanglai's sudden precise hit, the Pacific League's champions, surprisingly found themselves trailing by 2 points in their home field by the top of the second inning—something neither the coaching staff nor the players had anticipated.

Hoshino Senichi's previously relaxed demeanor and commanding presence had vanished; he, who had earlier been comfortably seated, savoring the game, now stood in the clear space outside the players' area, hands on his hips, watching the field expressionlessly.

"Senior Tanaka... was broken through in the second half inning... this can't be real...??" In the dugout, Nakamoto Ango wore a face of disbelief, seemingly unable to trust his own eyes.

As a teammate to Tanaka Masahiro, and both being pitchers, Nakamoto Ango had trained often with his senior and knew well the extent of his prowess.

"So this is what true genius looks like, what those commentators refer to as a 'once in a millennium superstar'?"

Even Tanaka Masahiro experienced a significant emotional shift after conceding the home run; however, unlike other pitchers who would lose control when affected, Tanaka Masahiro channeled all his fury onto the batters following Lin Guanglai:

Poor veteran catcher Hosokawa Kei, batting ninth, along with the reappearing Nakamura Akira, became the most immediate victims in facing the furious Tanaka Masahiro—they were each struck out with just 7 pitches in total.

"Manager Hoshino, the current situation isn't looking too optimistic..." On Rakuten's side of the player area, Ninamura Tetsu appeared anxious. "It seems like Mr. Ma's condition today isn't great. What do you say, should we...?"

Ninamura Tetsu couldn't finish his sentence as Hoshino Senichi interrupted him: "Ninamura-san, the match has just begun, hasn't it? There's no need to say things like this at this point—we have a full 8 innings to catch up."

"But..." Ninamura Tetsu tried to continue, but his words were cut off once more.

"No buts, Ninamura-san," Hoshino Senichi said emphatically. "The fact that we've gotten this far this season is largely thanks to Mr. Ma. Without his performance, we'd probably still be sleeping at home during this time, like in previous years."

"As the team manager, I choose to trust my own ace, no matter what. Is there a problem with that? Whether Mr. Ma wins or loses in this game, my decision remains unchanged—besides, Ninamura-san, you're worrying unnecessarily. Mr. Ma is not as fragile as you think."

"Trust me; he won't let us down!"

As Hoshino Senichi confidently assured, after the top half of the second inning concluded, the game entered a brief lull: neither Lin Guanglai nor Tanaka Masahiro gave the opposing batters the slightest chance.

In the bottom half of the second inning, Lin Guanglai faced two heavy hitters, Andruw Jones and Casey McKie, consecutively but left them with no opportunity, instead taking advantage of their eagerness to get on base to narrow the score, causing them to swing and miss repeatedly; even after a hit by Shintaro Masuda, he quickly adjusted, claiming the last out from Matsui Jatou in the seventh spot.

When Tanaka Masahiro took the mound again, the SoftBank team's batters fully sensed the change in his presence: in pitching, Tanaka Masahiro and Shima Kehiro's pitcher-catcher partnership became increasingly harmonious. They learned from previous mistakes, moderately slowing the pitching pace but could still instantly display ferocity when aggression was needed.

The SoftBank batters struggled to adapt to this change, with the leading and central hitters falling quickly before the opponents—in the wake of Lin Guanglai's 2-run homer, Tanaka Masahiro struck out 5 SoftBank batters consecutively; counting the ground outs and fly outs, that number reached 7.

Spurred by their ace, Miyagi Stadium, which had been slightly subdued by Lin Guanglai's blast, revitalized into a lively and bustling atmosphere once more; the red roaring waves in the stands surged anew.

And just then, as the game reached the top of the fifth inning, in the waiting zone beside the SoftBank Team's player area, Lin Guanglai, once again ready, took his bat and stepped into the batter's box.

The immense physical toll of the Dual Swordsmanship inevitably caused sweat to trickle down his temple, yet Lin Guanglai seemed oblivious to it.

At this moment, in his world, only the minuscule white dot on the mound remained.