Baseball: A Two-Way Player-Chapter 456 - 81: This World Can’t Wait to Hear the Stories of the Young

"Mr. Ma, just pitch however you want in this inning—follow your instincts! No matter what kind of ball you throw, I’ll definitely catch it!"

"That’s right, Mr. Ma, you’re the strongest pitcher in all of Japan. No matter how you pitch, we’ll make sure to defend it on the infield and not let a single ball slip through!"

After Hoshino Senichi expressed his support for Tanaka Masahiro, the other players of the Rakuten Team also took advantage of the pause to approach the pitcher’s mound and express their support as teammates.

The Rakuten Team made it from perennial underdogs to this point, and the emotions and bonds between each player are definitely the most important aspect; especially in crucial moments like now, the team must fully support their ace.

Feeling the deep trust and reliance from his teammates, Tanaka Masahiro nodded heavily and sincerely assured them, "Rest assured, everyone, this time I won’t let the opponent score again!"

Once the Rakuten defensive players returned to their positions, the umpire announced the game would resume—on first, second, and third bases, SoftBank’s three runners were itching to go, just waiting for Lin Guanglai to swing and for the baseball to drop so they could advance.

However, compared to this, Tanaka Masahiro was more focused on Lin Guanglai in the batter’s box; in fact, even with SoftBank having loaded the bases, the pressure from those three runners combined was nothing compared to the pressure from Lin Guanglai alone.

In the first two at-bats, Tanaka’s goal was to "prevent Lin Guanglai from hitting"; but now, with the change in circumstances and the shift in offense and defense, as the trailing pitcher, he had to adjust his strategy.

The experiences of being hit in the previous innings weren’t in vain, as they at least proved one thing to Tanaka Masahiro: Lin Guanglai’s batting was truly sharp today—whether it was inside or outside pitches, fastballs or breaking balls, none seemed difficult for him today.

However, given the opponent’s aggressive desire to swing, this equally meant that as a pitcher, he could turn this against him by setting traps—based on this idea, Tanaka Masahiro began his third direct confrontation with Lin Guanglai.

If the previous at-bats carried the burden of a 24-0 undefeated streak for Tanaka, now, after being overwhelmed twice by Lin Guanglai, he has nearly come to terms with reality:

As the current number one pitcher in Nihon Professional Baseball, being pushed to such a situation by a rookie in such an important match, Tanaka Masahiro knew he had essentially lost completely;

He was no longer considering the idea of "undefeated"; what mattered more now was the result of this match: Tanaka Masahiro believed that as long as he could strike out Lin Guanglai, his teammates would definitely seize the opportunity for a comeback.

His task is to protect the team’s last hope!

Tanaka Masahiro closed his glove, and the next moment, the baseball was thrown out: the target of this pitch was high inside for Lin Guanglai, seemingly not aimed at the strike zone at all; in addition, although it was a fastball, its speed was unimpressive, not typical of Tanaka Masahiro’s level, making it completely unlikely for Lin Guanglai to swing at such a far-off ball.

The baseball was allowed to pass, flying into Shima Keihiro’s raised glove; without any doubt, the umpire called it a ball.

Having easily gained an advantage in the count, Lin Guanglai didn’t let his guard down but instead gazed seriously towards the pitcher’s mound, puzzled by the pitch Tanaka Masahiro had thrown, wondering if it was an intentional hit-by-pitch with the bases loaded.

After thinking for a while without figuring it out, Lin Guanglai decided to stop pondering and refocused his attention back on the game, preparing to face Tanaka Masahiro’s second pitch.

This time, the baseball came towards a completely opposite position from the last pitch: an outside low cutter, slicing horizontally from outside the strike zone into it during flight. After quickly processing the situation, Lin Guanglai decided to let this pitch go.

Almost as soon as the baseball flew into the catcher’s glove, the umpire signaled it was a strike; Lin Guanglai, having anticipated this, was not particularly disappointed and continued preparing for the next pitch.

His initial thought for this pitch was to swing, but after briefly weighing the pros and cons, his mind forced him to suppress the follow-through movement:

For Lin Guanglai, a left-handed batter, Tanaka Masahiro’s cutter would veer towards the end of his bat. Under these circumstances, failing to hit the sweet spot and instead hitting the ball with the tip would likely result in a grounder or a pop fly, which would be the worst outcome in a bases-loaded situation for his team.

For this reason, Lin Guanglai ultimately allowed the pitch to pass, even at the cost of one strike in the count.

From the content revealed by these two pitches, Tanaka Masahiro has shifted from the previous innings’ strategy of relying on pitch power to succeed, instead slightly reducing speed to ensure precise entry points for the baseball, trying to confuse Lin and the umpire with pitches landing ambiguously on the corners of the strike zone.