novelraw Chapter 684 27: Fishing
Chapter 684 27: Fishing
Using a broken bat, a somewhat lucky method, to deal with Mike Trout, Lin Guanglai felt the pressure on him suddenly decrease substantially.
Even though the batter following Trout is a legend in Major League Baseball, one of the strongest hitters of the 21st century — Albert Pujols, the pressure he brought to Lin Guanglai was less than that of Trout.
Although Pujols can still contribute 20-30 homers per season, he is already 37 years old, his physical abilities have significantly declined, and he ultimately cannot compare to the peak Trout: Since Lin Guanglai's duel with him at the end of 2014, Pujols has been troubled repeatedly by right foot injuries, making it hard to maintain a completely healthy state.
For this reason, Lin Guanglai just spent a little thought and used his signature forked cutter ball to solve the match, securing the third out of the inning.
From the result, Lin Guanglai's performance in the bottom of the inning was perfect, sending the Angels' strong leading lineup three up, three down;
But he was not very satisfied with his play, mainly because Lin Guanglai didn't think he truly defeated Trout — if it weren't for the accidental broken bat, he might have had to engage with Trout in more rounds, and take more risks when pitching.
As he stepped down from the pitcher's mound, Lin Guanglai glanced towards the home team's player area on the first base side and silently vowed: In this game, he would defeat Trout in a direct matchup, fair and square!
Frankly speaking, the Angels' strength isn't very strong, evident from their upper management's limited financial investment:
Aside from Pujols and Trout, whose salaries exceed 20 million USD, no one else on the roster has an annual salary reaching 10 million USD, with total investment barely half of the Yankees.
With such stingy spending, it's already the result of the whole team's players performing beyond expectations that the Angels managed to maintain a win rate around 50%, more cannot be demanded.
The New York Yankees suffering a three-game losing streak from the Angels in the previous series was mainly due to their own issues.
In this game, with Lin Guanglai, the reassuring starting ace returning, the Yankees' hitters also showcased their "Bronx Bombers" prowess to the home team fans at Angel Stadium.
After scoring 2 runs in the first half of the inning, the Yankees' hitters went all out again in the second inning, hitting consecutive bases, slashing 4 runs in a single inning, rapidly expanding the score to 6-0; the lineup in the third inning similarly exerted force, connecting with consecutive base hits bringing in another 2 points.
During this process, Lin Guanglai's performance was equally strong, replicating the powerful suppression in the first inning through the next two and a half innings, sending Angels' 4th to 9th batters six up, six down, not letting any opposing batter reach base over three half-innings.
After the initial stage of the game, the New York Yankees had expanded their lead advantage to 8-0 — considering the ace on the pitcher's mound is Lin Guanglai today, no matter how you look at it, an 8-run lead is a score sufficient to easily secure the game.
"Lin's condition is very good today, except for taking a bit more effort with Trout, the other Angels' hitters don't pose any threat to him." Larry Rothschild looked at the data in his hands, nodding repeatedly satisfied, "Looks like we can let him rest early?"
Beside him, Joe Girardi pondered for a while before temporarily denying the home pitching coach's idea: "Better not substitute too early — don't forget how we lost the first game of the series with the Angels, I don't want to lose the victory on hand again."
"Furthermore…" Girardi glanced at the tablet recording the pitching data, "Hasn't Lin been hitless so far? Even if we substitute him later, the player himself might feel a bit unhappy in such a scenario, right?"
Larry Rothschild didn't immediately catch on, took a good while to realize: "Joe, if I understand correctly, you mean… you think Lin can pitch a no-hitter?"
Girardi didn't refute, just smiled slightly: "Why not? Larry, you also mentioned Lin is in great shape today, and our lineup gave him enough support — the following game will only be easier for him to pitch, with Lin's skill, a no-hitter is not impossible."
"I do not deny that Trout and Pujols are indeed strong, but even the great Ty Cobb, had a career batting average of at most .366 — no matter how strong a hitter will be struck out, it's an eternal truth, and I believe Lin can do it, that's all."
Rothschild imagined the picture, still shaking his head to deny, "Pitching a no-hitter against a team with historical hitters like Trout and Pujols is still too sensational, isn't it? I still find it hard…"
As the Yankees coaching staff discussed, the game on the field continued in full swing: In the fourth inning, with a pitching change, the Angels finally defended against a surge, preventing the Yankees from expanding the game's score; after a brief intermission, Lin Guanglai once again ascended the mound, preparing to face the strong top lineup of the Los Angeles Angels.