Baseball: A Two-Way Player

Chapter 701 34: Saying Goodbye to the Streak (Part 2)

Considering the physical issues he faces right now, Lin Guanglai must disrupt Kluber's pitching rhythm through aggressive offense, preventing him from pitching comfortably and thus pressuring him into forced errors.

"Now coming up to the plate for the Yankees is their third batter, Lin..." The announcer's voice came from the TV, "As a unique Dual Swordsmanship player, Lin has hit 33 home runs as a batter this season, making him the Yankees' second core after Aaron Judge... In his previous three at-bats in this game, he was struck out once, hit a sacrifice fly to central field once, and walked with four balls once, without striking a hit, essentially suppressed by Kluber..."

"Now, with runners in scoring position, what kind of performance can this young batter deliver? The characteristics of Yankee Stadium mean that as long as Lin, a left-handed batter, sends the ball to right field, it will at least bring 1 run back for the home team..."

At Yankee Stadium, the stands are eerily silent, nearly all Yankees fans stood up from their seats, motionlessly gazing at the ongoing showdown on the field, with an atmosphere of tension filling the air. In distant Boston, the Red Sox had already crushed the Royals with a total score of 13 to 6, widening the win gap between them and the Yankees once again. Therefore, this game against the Indians becomes increasingly important for the Yankees.

In the catcher's seat, Indians' catcher Roberto Perez signals with his right hand, giving the instruction; atop the pitcher's mound, Corey Kluber comprehends, adjusts briefly, and then the baseball flies from his fingertips, forcefully pushing towards home plate.

"Crack!!!" The dramatic collision sound of ball and bat reverberates, accompanied by the thunderous cheers and screams at Yankee Stadium; Kluber's heart seized, pivoted swiftly, lifted his head, and looked in the direction the ball flew.

Moments later, amidst the disappointed cries of over 50,000 home fans, Kluber exhaled a heavy breath, slightly relieved.

"Foul ball." The unquestionable voice of the chief umpire's ruling comes from behind, looking at the ball that scraped past the right field foul pole, Lin Guanglai shakes his head regretfully.

Once both pitcher and batter adjusted their states again, the game resumed; facing Kluber's second pitch, Lin Guanglai relentlessly swung his bat once more.

"Crack—!" Kluber's slow slider was caught by Lin Guanglai once again, flying out towards the third base side in the opposite direction; on the Indians side, Ramirez, stationed at third base, sprinted towards the ball's landing point, attempting to catch the ball before it touched down.

Ramirez, who was 0 for 3, striking out three times in today's game, had truly had enough; he hoped to end this half-inning quickly, not wanting to see Lin Guanglai's face for even a moment longer.

Unfortunately, he was a bit too slow, the baseball landed on the stands before he made it; and all that greeted Ramirez were the mocking faces of the home fans.

This at-bat, Lin Guanglai displayed extraordinary aggression, coming out swinging at both of Kluber's breaking balls, nearly propelling the ball into the right-field stands; although currently at a 0-2 absolute disadvantage in the count, the Yankees crowd at home grew ever more energetic—with Lin Guanglai's sustained seasonal performance proving that when the game is deadlocked and opportunities arise, he is always the most trustworthy person on this Yankees team.

"Ball."

"Ball."

"Ball."

Each time the chief umpire ruled "ball," the noise from the stands at Yankee Stadium increased: holding a 0-2 absolute advantage, Corey Kluber, this Cy Young-caliber pitcher, unexpectedly threw three consecutive balls, handing the edge back.

"Corey seems to be losing some form, should we switch him? If necessary, we can send Tyler Olson in." Said Indians' pitching coach Mickey Callaway.

As the main person in charge of the Indians' pitching arrangements, Callaway wanted to bring in their ace relief lefty Tyler Olson, who held a 23-game scoreless streak prior, using the left-handed advantage to target Lin Guanglai.

Frankner thought for a moment, ultimately shaking his head to reject the decision: "Corey is our ace, taking him out at such a time would imply we don't trust him to solve the problem? This might cause issues in the locker room. Plus, Tyler's form has been excellent, putting him in now and getting rocked would be a double loss."

Glancing at Lin Guanglai standing outside the batter's box continuously swinging his bat, Frankner muttered to himself: "Our winning streak is long enough, continuing it only adds pressure to the players without much other meaning—it's just a regular season game without much impact, best not to make unnecessary moves, as that might make the team unravel."

On the pitcher's mound, having just finished speaking with his pitchermate, Roberto Perez vigorously pats Kluber on the back, encouraging his partner in this manner; yet, when he turns towards home plate, the first thing he sees is Lin Guanglai's fiery gaze.

Roberto Perez is not someone who harbors racial bias, nor does he have any grudge with Lin Guanglai inside or outside the game, but somehow, he genuinely finds this gaze annoying, just like the Yankees.

Returning to squat in the catcher's seat, Perez signals to Kluber once more: this time they decide to surprise the opponent by using a fastball, something Kluber excels in but rarely employs, to contest against Lin Guanglai.

When Kluber initiated his pitching motion on the mound, Roberto Perez inadvertently shifted his position one or two steps towards the inner angle of Lin Guanglai, positioning his glove where designated.

The ball flew from Kluber's fingertips, straight toward the batter's inner angle—stealing a glimpse at the motionless Lin Guanglai, Roberto Perez thought his plan succeeded brilliantly, a smirk unconsciously appearing.

Yet, in the next second, he couldn't smile anymore—

"Crack—!!!" The Indians' pitch and catch combination's strategy was completely seen through by Lin Guanglai, who had been prepared for the fastball, and he struck firmly onto the flying ball.

Hit speed: perfect! Launch angle: perfect! Power conversion: still perfect!

Feeling the familiar sensation at the base of his palm, Lin Guanglai doesn't even need to look up to know the result of this hit—completing his swing, he casually tosses the bat to the vacant ground beside him, the bat spinning like a flying wheel towards the empty space by first base.

With confident strides, sure that the hit was undoubtedly a home run, Lin Guanglai leisurely starts his base run; while the ball he hit flew extraordinarily far, not only easily surpassing the distance from home plate to right field, but also flying up onto the second tier stands at Yankee Stadium.

"Hit speed: 120 miles! Flight distance: 477 feet! Lin Guanglai, this unique Dual Swordsmanship player, hits his career's most ferocious punch on the head of his number one Cy Young rival!"

"This is a 3-run blast, breaking the deadlock! The Yankees, with Lin's 34th home run of the season, have taken the lead at home; although there are still two full innings left in the game, what I want to say is..."

"We can bid farewell to the Indians' 22-win streak—Lin's perfect performance on both sides of batting and pitching tells us there won't be a 23rd win!"