Baseball: A Two-Way Player

Chapter 706 36: Wild Card Sudden Death_2

With this mindset, Brian Dozier stepped into the batter's box again, ready to engage in a fierce battle with Lin Guanglai.

However—

"Strike, batter out!" Moments later, the once high-spirited Brian Dozier walked back to the dugout with his head down, looking dispirited.

Amid the thunderous cheers of Yankee fans threatening to break the sky, Dozier glanced back at Lin Guanglai on the pitcher's mound, only to see him without a trace of unnecessary emotion, as if striking him out was just a routine matter.

The Twins' second batter was a bona fide superstar: Joe Mauer, the 2009 AL MVP, five-time Silver Slugger, and three-time Gold Glove winner. He was regarded as "the strongest catcher in history" for his top-notch offense and defense; since 2014, Mauer had transitioned to first base due to age and injuries, fully leveraging his exceptional batting skills.

Born in Minnesota and having played his career only with the Twins, Mauer enjoyed immense popularity there, preparing for future induction into the Hall of Fame—if today's game was held at the Twins' home, just his appearance would be enough to instill fear in every visiting player.

Since the regular season entered August, Mauer delivered exceptional results with a .341 batting average and 71 hits over two months, ranking second among all players in the 30 Major League teams, showing his outstanding form.

But even such an in-form Joe Mauer instinctively yielded the inner corner when faced with Lin Guanglai:

From the broadcast camera behind the mound, it was clear that Mauer, entering the batter's box, didn't stand close to the inner corner like most regular batters; instead, he stood at the farthest edge of the left batter's box, nearly yielding the entire inner corner.

Looking at the open space in the outer half of the strike zone left by Joe Mauer, Lin Guanglai hesitated not one bit in sending the ball to the high outer corner—since the opponent dared to give up that space, they must face the consequence of being ruled out by an outer pitch.

"Strike!" The fastball Lin Guanglai threw towards Mauer's high outer corner pinpointed the upper right of the strike zone's nine-zone grid, with Mauer's stance too far from the outer corner, leaving him no choice but to let it go.

Then he repeated the tactic, continuously attacking the 3, 6, and 9 outer zones of Joe Mauer's strike zone, easily securing the second out from this once strongest catcher.

After easily handling the first two power batters of the Minnesota Twins, Lin Guanglai took only seven pitches, marking a smooth start to the game.

Jorge Polanco, the Twins' current third batter, had a regular season batting average of .256, OPS of .723, with 13 home runs and 74 RBIs; he was a competent third batter but just that.

Especially with Twins' lineup core Miguel Sano season-ending due to a tibia fracture, Polanco couldn't fully compensate for the lost firepower, resulting in an inevitable decline in the team's central lineup's potency.

Even though Polanco put in a great effort, fighting Lin Guanglai into a full count, he ultimately succumbed to Lin Guanglai's fork-sinker ball, leading the league in swing-and-miss rate.

"Oh-oh-oh-oh-oh——!!!" Almost the instant Polanco struck out, nearly fifty thousand Yankee Stadium fans erupted in massive cheers, applauding Lin Guanglai earnestly; on the right field stands, the "Linvincible" banner was showcased again.

As the top powerhouse in world baseball, Yankees, despite producing numerous Hall of Famers and accolade collectors, had few starters with full suppression power like Lin Guanglai—the last Yankee to win a Cy Young Award was Roger Clemens in 2001, and before him, it dates back to 1978.

Since Sabathia's decline due to age and injuries, Yankees fans hadn't seen such an explosively suppressive pitcher in a long time, and Lin Guanglai was still so young, how could they not genuinely adore him? Especially in these single-elimination playoffs, the fans knew all too well the advantage a super pitcher provides their team.

Lightly bumping fists with his teammates as they stepped off the field, Lin Guanglai quickly donned his batting gear upon returning to the first base side dugout: for today's game, he was still the third batter.

For the Twins' ace, Ervin Santana, today's starter, Yankee Stadium was evidently not his blessed ground: in his career's six appearances here, Santana hadn't secured a single win; a record of 0-5, 6.43 ERA, and .865 opponent OPS showed he couldn't adapt to pitching here.

But the Twins had no other choice: Santana was their most presentable ace pitcher, apart from believing he could overcome any mental block, there seemed no other solution.

After a brief pre-game toss, the game headed into the bottom of the first inning. The Yankees' leadoff man was still Brett Gardner, who this season achieved a .264 batting average, .778 OPS, and career-high 21 home runs, besides also having 23 stolen bases.

At the beginning, Ervin Santana was evidently a slow starter, with several pitches failing to find the strike zone, not to mention each time he threw a bad ball, Yankee fans erupted in cheers, adding even more pressure on him.

In a full count situation with 3 balls and 2 strikes, Santana sent a 96-mile straight ball aiming low inside strike zone but directly into the ground, allowing Gardner to select a walk to first base.

Then, amid the loudest noise since the game started, the second batter Aaron Judge sparred with Santana for six pitches, successfully scooping an outer pitch to center field for a hit, not only getting himself to first base but also advancing Gardner to third.

The home crowd's noise grew even louder because the next batter up was Lin Guanglai, who had just delivered a three-up-three-down inning.

"Let's go Yankees——Let's go Yankees——!!!" This rhythmic cheer resounded from the stands, with runners in scoring positions, home fans eagerly hoped Lin Guanglai could break the game's balance with a hit.

Santana's first pitch was unusually aggressive, even with poor control, he still used a near-body fastball to intimidate Lin Guanglai; Lin Guanglai promptly dodged, letting it hit the plate.

Undeniably a bad ball, 1 ball, 0 strike.

The second pitch, in the outer sixth grid of the strike zone, Lin Guanglai, seeing it in his vision slated to land in the zone, swung without hesitation—resulting somewhat regrettably, the ball flew foul towards the third-base side stands.

With the count at 1 ball, 1 strike, Gardner and Judge on bases, along with nearly fifty thousand home fans, exerted enormous pressure on Santana and the Twins' defenders.

On the pitcher's mound, Ervin Santana pursed his lips, nodding slightly to his catcher; after fluent pitching mechanics, he sent a pitch towards Lin Guanglai's low outer corner—

In Santana and the Twins catcher's initial plan, that ball's target was the ninth grid corner; however, the resultant effect placed the pitch higher by two ball positions, meaning it was a 96-mile straight ball at Lin Guanglai's outer low sweet spot.

Facing the ball, Lin Guanglai's batting action was crisp and decisive, like a hot knife through butter without hindrance; and the fastball he nailed soared high, racing towards the Bronx's right field.

Amid the jubilant cheers and ecstatic dance of the right field stands fans, the ball flew out of the park, landing on the stands.

Yankee Stadium plunged into complete madness.