Baseball: A Two-Way Player-Chapter 616 - 156: Creating a Legend

As the game reaches this stage, Kuriyama Hideki can no longer sit still.

Before this game started, he considered all sorts of possibilities. He thought it might be a tough match, even going into overtime wasn't out of the question. He even thought just securing a draw would be enough.

But what he didn't expect was that Lin Guanglai would make no mistakes at all from start to finish and give the Hokkaido Nippon-Ham Fighters no chance whatsoever—apart from a walk given to Nakata Shou, Lin Guanglai hasn't allowed any Ham Fighters player to reach base. In other words, if this performance continues until the end, it would be a no-hit game inscribed into the annals of history.

Achieving a no-hit game as the final stepping stone to reaching the divine realm of a 0 ERA would be such a legendary scene. At this point, except for the Ham Fighters fans hoping for their team's victory, everyone else's attention has shifted to Lin Guanglai.

The top of the seventh inning begins, and although the score is still unchanged at 1:0, the atmosphere among the home team fans at Yahoo Dome is becoming increasingly intense. Cheerful chants, support shouts, and applause blend together beautifully, creating a subtle coordination. The colorful supportive items in the fans' hands have formed a yellow wave, making it hard for anyone to look away.

Perhaps influenced by the overly enthusiastic atmosphere or reaching a physical window in the game, Lin Guanglai uncharacteristically allows a four-ball walk to the first batter of this half-inning, Kondo Kensuke, letting him advance to first base; then, Ohtani Shohai sacrifices a good ball count to help his teammate steal second base.

No outs, runner in scoring position. With the total score just one run behind, this is the opportunity the Ham Fighters have been waiting for!

Standing up from the player's area, Kuriyama Hideki moves to the frontmost spot in the open area and signals with signs to Kondo Kensuke on base and Ohtani Shohei in the batter's box, indicating a run-and-hit play—even if not achieving a base hit, they must strive to advance to third base, creating better conditions for the fourth batter, Nakata Shou.

His actions are very clear, or rather, he didn't intend to conceal his intentions at all. Naturally, Lin Guanglai on the pitching mound also notices what's happening, but he seems not to care about the Ham Fighters' plans, focusing all his attention on the batter.

This is the confidence of a top pitcher, allowing him to focus entirely on the batter in front of him, regardless of the situation with base runners. Having runners on base doesn't affect him; ultimately, it's merely about dealing with one additional batter.

Moreover, he already holds an advantageous ball count.

After communicating with Takeshima Shinya, SoftBank's pitcher-catcher duo decides to seize the moment and go for another good ball count; in the next second, a fastball exceeding 160km/h heads towards Ohtani Shohei at a high-middle position in the strike zone.

Having received the run-and-hit signal, Ohtani Shohei has no other choice but to swing at the incoming pitch; however, Lin Guanglai's fastball is faster than he imagined, as the bat reaches halfway, the ball is already behind him.

Realizing the situation, Ohtani Shohei decisively switches his hitting style, relying on his strong core power and making contact with the ball just before it enters the catcher's glove, sending it towards the direction of the pitching mound.

"Just send it to first base!" With advice from his teammates behind him, Lin Guanglai, who initially considered going for a double play, doesn't hesitate. He bends down, cleanly collects the ball into his glove, and swiftly throws it to first base, with no suspense, getting Ohtani Shohei out.

With this at-bat just finished, the rare duel between Japan's—and the world's—only two dual-swordsmanship players seems to end with Lin Guanglai's complete victory:

Not only did he hit a solo home run off Ohtani Shohei, gaining a precious lead for his team, but as a pitcher, he also held the opponent to a pitiful 0-for-3 record—apart from helping Kondo Kensuke advance to third base just now, Ohtani Shohei achieved nothing in his other at-bats.

With Kondo Kensuke standing on third base, the offensive pressure fully shifts to the Ham Fighters' fourth batter, Nakata Shou: This 27-year-old star is in his prime and is the most crucial part of the Ham Fighters' lineup. This season, he has recorded 25 home runs and 110 RBIs, being the RBI king of the Pacific League.

However, this RBI king does have some issues: his batting average barely hovers around .250, with a high strikeout rate, and his performance in critical moments is often criticized by experts—especially when the Ham Fighters are behind, Nakata Shou's batting average in scoring situations barely exceeds .200, proving he's not someone who can rescue the team from dire straits.