Baseball: A Two-Way Player

Chapter 685 27: Fishing for Hits (Part 2)

Lin Guanglai and Sanchez anticipated Meibin's strong contact skills, but his hitting power was slightly below average in the Major League. After a brief exchange, Lin Guanglai suppressed Meibin's grounder towards first and second base with a cutter pitch, easily eliminating him with just one ball.

Then, it was Trout again. As the divine trout stepped into the batter's box for the second time, the Angel fans, who had been disinterested due to the home team's significant disadvantage, once again erupted in cheers for their superstar.

Losing seemed inevitable, so the only hope left for Angel fans in this game was to see Trout hit a homer - judging by their previous match-up, it wasn't an impossible feat.

During their first confrontation, Lin Guanglai chose to attack the upper edge of Trout's strike zone with both balls. This strategy was derived from Yankees' data analysis, which showed that:

For Trout, the center and low positions of the strike zone, from area 4 to area 9 of the nine zones, are all his hitting sweet spots; when he's in good form, he hits almost everything accurately. The high ball is relatively his weakness, which Trout admitted in previous years.

However, based on the performance in this game, Trout's control over high balls in the strike zone was improving, particularly when he precisely hit Lin Guanglai's first high fastball on the outer corner, indicating his exceptional form.

During halftime in the player's area, Lin Guanglai reviewed his initial confrontation with Trout. It was then he realized he overlooked an important factor that could influence the balance of the pitching and hitting duel:

This game was Trout's first official match after a six-week hiatus due to a torn thumb ligament! In other words, the psychological impact of his recent recovery was also a point Lin Guanglai could exploit.

For a right-handed hitter like Trout, who focuses on long hits, the ligament tear would impair his ability to precisely control the bat, affecting his ability to stabilize the bat head—this directly impacts his control over lower positions in the strike zone!

Lin Guanglai and the Yankees team had been wary of Trout's powerful low ball hitting ability but subconsciously ignored his recent recovery: Indeed, the Angel's medical team would ensure Trout's complete recovery before reinstating him. However, often the physical recovery precedes the psychological healing, which takes longer.

After planning his strategy, Lin Guanglai took a deep breath, nodded to Gary Sanchez in the catcher's seat, and immediately threw the baseball towards home plate where Trout stood!

88 miles per hour, a fast forkball, entry point in the middle of the lower edge of Trout's strike zone. Trout did not respond directly, and the chief umpire didn't signal anything either.

Ball, count 1 ball, 0 strikes.

Receiving the returned ball again, Lin Guanglai rubbed the ball's surface several times with his palm, adjusted, and quickly threw the ball again—this time, a 100 miles per hour fastball aimed at Trout's strike zone inner corner.

"Swing and miss!" The commentator's voice erupted loudly, and the stands echoed with a loud gasp—the fastball seemed to fly into the strike zone at an eye-blurring speed, past Paul Skins seated directly behind home plate, Trout hit nothing but air.

Count, 1 ball, 1 strike.

The third ball, Lin Guanglai chose to use a cutter to attack the outer low position against Trout, but the baseball didn't fall into the strike zone after lateral movement. This kind of ball naturally couldn't fool Trout; he still didn't swing.

Ball, count 2 balls, 1 strike.

Seeing Lin Guanglai consistently working on his low position in the strike zone, as the league's top player Trout naturally knew what his opponent was thinking; standing outside the batter's box, he kept chewing gum and swung his bat incessantly—if Lin Guanglai dared to target the same area, Trout would surely make him regret!

The fourth ball soon came, but its location choice surprised everyone: leading the count against the league's best batter, Lin Guanglai's fourth ball unexpectedly attacked the red center of Trout's strike zone!

"A 102 miles per hour super-fastball, Trout…" Without blinking, the commentator fixated on the screen in front of him, "Swing and miss!!!" In the next moment, the tremendous sound exploded among the thousands of homes watching the broadcast.

Assessing the two strikes Lin Guanglai secured, both were sheer power confrontations. Joe Girardi was right, even the history's most proficient hitters have a career batting average slightly over .300; even Trout, as the current number one and a contender for the best in history, is not an invincible target!

Defeating Trout with two consecutive fastballs, Lin Guanglai felt his adrenaline surging, the flame in his heart blazing wildly—he decided to throw again, and once again, it was a fastball!!!

The baseball speed remained swift, spinning intensely, even exceeding the previous two throws;

Tracking the ball's trajectory, a top hitter like Trout would never choose complacency, his previously gathered strength poured into the pitch-black bat as his arm swung, unstoppably, towards the oncoming ball—

"Mike Trout… Swing and miss! In a 2 balls, 2 strikes situation, Lin suddenly threw a high fastball in the strike zone, reaching 101 miles per hour, unexpectedly catching Trout off-guard after a prolonged low stance confusion—striking out, batter out!"

"Oh-oh-oh-oh-oh-oh—!!!"

"Rumble-rumble-rumble-rumble-rumble—!!!"

Almost simultaneously with the outcome, cheers and warm applause erupted at Angel Stadium, even Angel fans supporting the home team joined in—for exciting confrontations between elite players transcend stances and identities, uniting everyone on the same front.

On the pitcher's mound, Lin Guanglai appeared exceptionally excited, raising his fist and shouting, evidently completely immersed in the flow; from the batter's box, Trout only glanced at the pitcher's mound with his deep eyes, then turned to walk back to the player's area.

After dealing with the greatest threat, Trout, Lin Guanglai thoroughly entered his zone, and the remaining Angel hitters couldn't even face him for one round, falling out one after another; meanwhile, Yankees' batting line seemed inspired by their pitcher's excellent form, continuing to expand the score gap.

Such one-sided slaughter was indeed somewhat brutal for many Angel fans present, so before the sixth inning ended and the final phase began, Angel Stadium already saw numerous home fans start to leave—not realizing they were about to miss something spectacular.

From the seats behind home plate, Paul Skins intensely stared at Lin Guanglai still pitching on the field; then he glanced at the outfield's electronic scoreboard, discovering something maddening:

Until now, the number of hits by the Angels and the number of walks by Lin Guanglai remained—

Zero.