Baseball: A Two-Way Player-Chapter 603 - 149: Perfect Game, Perfect Match (Part 2)

Meanwhile, the roar from the stands at Yahoo Dome was rising like waves, as if the colossal force was about to lift the roof off; SoftBank's fans sang Lin Guanglai's cheer song in unison, and the thunderous rumble exerted tremendous pressure on the Seibu Lions' batters.

Kuriyama Takashi, Mejia, Nakamura Gouya, Asamura Eitou, Yamazaki Hotaka... These powerful hitters were all defeated one by one in front of Lin Guanglai, even leaving the field in the same fashion: a strikeout. Facing Lin Guanglai, who seemed divinely assisted tonight, Seibu's batters found themselves at a loss, as the only choices left seemed to be "swing and miss strikeout" and "watched strikeout."

During this process, Lin Guanglai's stats continued to climb, and by the time the top of the ninth inning began, his pitching performance for this game had reached—

"17 strikeouts in a single game, eight innings of no-hitter, no walks..." The commentator's voice trembled slightly upon seeing the stats sheet, "and a brand new historical record of 11 consecutive strikeouts!"

"Lin Guanglai, since he entered the world of professional baseball, this new generation phenomenon seems to constantly challenge the norms of baseball—Dual Swordsmanship was considered impossible, yet he accomplished it; achieving consecutive four-time, five-time championships was deemed impossible, yet he did it too! And now, is this genius about to once again inscribe his name into the annals of Nippon Professional Baseball history?"

Not only the commentators felt this way, but the fans in the stadium and viewers in front of their TVs shared the same excitement. Even fans of rival teams silently began to follow the match—whether you like or hate Lin Guanglai, you have to admit that he is currently the strongest in Japan, and among the best in the world; likewise, no true baseball enthusiast can resist the temptation to witness a no-hitter with their own eyes.

Under the watchful eyes full of anticipation, Lin Guanglai put down his water, picked up his pitcher's glove, and once again walked to the mound.

Even though he had pitched for eight complete innings, his arm did not feel as fatigued as expected: not only because of the notable improvement in his physical condition, his high strikeout efficiency also helped him conserve many pitches—latest statistics showed that until now in the game, not a single batter from Seibu Lions endured more than 5 pitches against Lin Guanglai, which proves how exceptional his form is.

Just as Lin Guanglai prepared to face Tanaka Ginjiro, batting seventh, at third base, Seibu Lions' manager Watanabe Hisashi signaled for a pinch hitter; meanwhile, a short-statured figure stood up from the bench.

Seeing that familiar face, Lin Guanglai unusually revealed a slight smile: the person coming up was the former champion team, Osaka Tsubaki's starting catcher, and now Seibu Lions' number two catcher and top pinch hitter, Mori Yuuya.

Due to the starting catcher role continuously being occupied by the experienced Tanaka Ginjiro, Mori Yuuya, after being promoted to the first team last season, mostly appeared as a designated hitter, delivering a batting average of .287, 17 home runs, and 68 RBIs in his first full season, thus earning the coaching staff's approval.

The main reason he was benched today was his poor hitting performance during the preseason; but under current conditions, he indeed is the most trustworthy choice among substitutes for Watanabe Hisashi.

From a technical perspective, Mori Yuuya is considered a rare powerful hitting catcher in Japan: his attacking strategy is aggressive, often swinging at the first pitch; he possesses an extraordinary talent for making contact with the ball and has a bold swing. His signature batting posture, which involves lowering his body and using high leg lifts to time his hits, allows him to transfer power to the ball without any loss.

However, perhaps restricted by age and experience, Mori Yuuya has a significant problem, which is his obsession with hitting long; almost every swing targets driving the ball to the outfield. This offensive strategy results in a high strikeout rate and numerous records of fly balls being caught.

Facing the newly replaced batter, Lin Guanglai didn't rush to attack; instead, he glanced at Takeshima Shinya, exchanged thoughts with a mutual understanding, and began probing the edges, aiming to determine the umpire's tendencies first.

First pitch, high-speed straight in the strike zone, 158 km/h. For a batter like Mori Yuuya with a relatively short stature, hitting such a ball would be difficult, as the swing compresses the body's power stance, leading most players to let it pass.

Yet Mori Yuuya didn't: the young, talented catcher showed a strong desire to attack, even though Lin Guanglai's pitch indeed compressed him, he firmly swung the bat towards the ball.

The baseball landed just in front of him in the infield, slowly rolling out of bounds—according to baseball rules, "in the infield, check stopping point, outfield, check landing point," this ball was ultimately counted as a foul, calling Mori Yuuya back from his excited run towards first base.

This mindset of swinging despite discomfort took SoftBank's pitcher and catcher by surprise, if luck hadn't been on their side, the dream of a perfect game might have been shattered; therefore, after the pitch resumed, Lin Guanglai decided not to probe any further, opting instead to go head-to-head with the opponent based on sheer strength.

Although Mori Yuuya is talented, his talent hasn't fully materialized like Lin Guanglai—again with 4 pitches, the substitute batter Mori Yuuya still fell under the influence of his forkball slider.

The eighth batter, Sakata Ryo, was having a particularly poor day with his hitting, not only failing to deliver a single hit throughout the match, but seldom getting opportunities to hit the ball foul. If there were a better substitute, Watanabe Hisashi would have probably replaced him already. 𝒻𝘳ℯℯ𝑤ℯ𝒷𝘯ℴ𝓋ℯ𝘭.𝑐ℴ𝑚

And now, facing Lin Guanglai, who had gone berserk, his fate was equally preordained: Lin Guanglai easily and smoothly delivered 2 straight pitches, 1 slider, gaining three strikes and striking out the opponent.

Only one more to go!!!

The Yahoo Dome was boiling with excitement, as SoftBank players in the dugout and spectators in the stands stood up, ready to witness the birth of the 16th perfect game in history. Of course, the moment closest to victory is also the most dangerous, so no one dared to bet that Lin Guanglai would definitely achieve it—as examples of a 8.2 innings no-hitter being overturned have indeed happened!

Seibu's ninth batter was the shortstop, Tosaki Shuta, who performed poorly in this game; now, he was facing a chance to redeem himself: victory might be beyond reach, but hitting just one base hit would prevent his team and teammates from becoming mere historical footnotes.

However, in the face of absolute skill, any resistance is merely a struggle of a trapped beast: in a certain sense, Tosaki Shuta indeed achieved something—he became the first player today to force Lin Guanglai to use 6 pitches.

But when looking at the final result—

"Swing and a miss strikeout! Lin Guanglai!! He did it!!!"

"Nippon Professional Baseball, 16th perfect game in history, accomplished!!!"

"Let's see how many records he broke in this game—youngest in history to achieve a perfect game, first perfect game of the 21st century, broke Nippon Professional Baseball record with 20 strikeouts in a single game, and 14 consecutive strikeouts…"

"This man is born to break records—he truly is an extraterrestrial!!!"