Baseball: A Two-Way Player

Chapter 674 22: Twin Stars Shining (Part 2)

Unlike Lin Guanglai, who swung the bat on the first pitch, Aaron Judge exhibited considerable patience in the batter's box, entangling himself with Charlie Morton.

After all, unlike Lin Guanglai, he didn't have teammates on base applying pressure, and Morton, a pitcher known for inducing ground balls, was the type Judge wasn't particularly fond of facing.

The two engaged in a back-and-forth battle, neither giving way. Charlie Morton, whose pitch count was already high, saw it rise further during this exchange—by the time the count reached full at 3-2, Morton had thrown 97 pitches, nearing the 100-pitch threshold.

The Astros' coaching staff still showed no signs, but the speed and intensity of the bullpen's warm-up activities increased significantly.

In this situation, both the pitcher and the batter were under immense pressure, as the outcome of a single pitch could affect the game's result. Overall, Charlie Morton seemed to have the tougher situation, as his stamina was almost depleted, facing the league's best hitter.

Although he played for the Yankees for three years, the Astros' catcher Brian McCann wasn't particularly familiar with Aaron Judge, who had just been promoted at the end of last season:

In his impression, this tall young man was powerful but also prone to strikeouts due to overconfidence in his strength. Therefore, he believed choosing a breaking ball would be a good option.

From behind home plate, McCann contemplated and decided on the final pitch sign: at this critical moment, both he and Charlie Morton chose to trust the pitch Morton excelled at—curveball!

With a textbook three-quarters delivery, a slow curveball traveling at about 130 km/h was released from Charlie Morton's hands, heading straight for home plate.

Although many pitchers, including historic figures like Kershaw, favored the curveball as their primary breaking ball or out pitch over the years, its usage began to decline sharply last year.

There are many reasons for this phenomenon, but two main ones stand out:

First, crafting a curveball that meets Major League standards is extremely time-consuming, from grip to stride, release angle, timing, the angle between the shoulder and elbow, the deft force applied between the wrist and fingers, the forward force, and momentum—all affecting the pitch's outcome;

Additionally, with the Major League increasingly emphasizing offense, slow curveballs are easily targeted by the growingly aggressive hitters. While other faster-breaking balls might still suppress hitters even if misplaced, a curveball caught by a top-tier Major League hitter is almost a home run equivalent.

Unfortunately, the ball Charlie Morton threw was exactly like that.

Aaron Judge almost immediately recognized the curveball's uniqueness and swung powerfully, sending Morton's pitch out of the park for the second time this half-inning.

"Here it comes, Aaron Judge too! In the bottom of the fifth, the Yankees sounded their comeback horn, and Aaron Judge capitalized on Charlie Morton's control error, sending this curveball that failed to fully dip into center field—9 to 4, the Yankees are just 5 runs behind! From this moment, the suspense truly returns to this game!"

At this point, the Astros' manager A.J. Hinch couldn't sit still any longer and signaled for a pitching change: at this moment, not changing pitchers to suppress the Yankees' rising offense risked a complete turnaround by the opponent.

Hinch's adjustment was effective: after bringing in reliever Michael Feliz, the Astros secured the 2 outs they needed from the Yankees' lower-order batters without conceding more runs.

Although they couldn't immediately tie the score, Lin Guanglai's and Aaron Judge's consecutive home runs reignited the passion for the game among Yankees players and home fans, with a fiery battle spirit rekindling in everyone's eyes and the singing in the stands growing louder.

In the sixth inning, neither team's batters made a significant impact, ending the middle innings with three up, three down; the score remained 9-4, a 5-run gap, as the late innings arrived.

Seeing the chance for a comeback, Yankees manager Girardi began managing the bullpen: he brought in a new middle reliever to complete the game with a bullpen relay.

In the top of the seventh, newly substituted left-handed pitcher Chasen Shreve excelled, walking one before retiring three straight batters, helping the team secure another inning.

And just before the bottom of the seventh began, a familiar tune to every American echoed through Yankee Stadium, marking the most resounding singing since today's game began:

"Take me out to the ball game, Take me out with the crowd!"

"Buy me some peanuts and Cracker Jack, I don't care if I never get back!"

"Let me root, root, root for the Yankees, If they don't win, it's a shame."

"For it's one, two, three strikes, you're out. At the old ball game!"

This song, "Take Me Out to the Ball Game," is a universally known classic in America, sung throughout the baseball world since its birth in 1908—today, at every MLB game during the seventh-inning stretch, home team fans sing it to support their team.

Over the years, many teams have pulled off astounding comebacks in the final three innings after the home fans sang this song, thus making it a symbol of good luck—the Yankees fans were likely singing so passionately for this reason.

Whether or not such a superstition exists, as the bottom of the seventh began, the Yankees' offensive momentum surged again:

Acting in the second spot this half-inning, Gary Sanchez, with a 2-1 count, seized a fastball thrown by Astros reliever Feliz at the lower-middle strike zone, fully exerted himself, sending the ball deep into left field, delivering a double down the third baseline to herald another Yankees offensive.

Then, it was Lin Guanglai again.

"This season's Yankees are indeed exceptional in long ball performance—before today's game against the Astros, they had hit a total of 52 home runs, second only to the Rangers' 53 in the entire Major League, and with Lin Guanglai's and Aaron Judge's recent homers, the Yankees officially surpassed them—the 'Bronx Bombers' truly live up to their name... here comes the pitch!!"

While the commentator was discussing the stats, Feliz threw towards home plate: unexpectedly, Lin Guanglai swung at the first pitch again, and judging by the solid crack off the bat, he nailed it once more!

The sudden turn of events caught the commentator off guard, who had to urgently divert from the educational talk and switch to live play-by-play.

"Again swinging on the first pitch, Lin Guanglai, with an incredibly powerful pull-hitting! The ball is flying high and fast—Redick is still chasing it, Redick is chasing... he can't catch it! He can't catch it! The ball's gone again!"

Under the watchful eyes of over 50,000 fans in the Bronx, the baseball soared into the stands for the 7th time this game, igniting Yankee Stadium once more.

"A two-run shot... the Yankees, the Yankees are just 3 runs behind!!!"