Baseball: A Two-Way Player

Chapter 734

"If I could choose, I really wouldn't want to play here. It's just too uncomfortable."

As the Yankees players walked back into Minute Maid Park, Luis Severino, who pitched a good game yesterday, looked at the flushed Texas fans in the stands and repeatedly shook his head, saying, "The rednecks are just too fervent. Every minute, every second of playing here is a huge test for my ears..."

As he spoke, Severino turned to look at Lin Guanglai behind him, his eyes earnest, "Lin, if possible, I hope this is our last time playing in Texas this year. Can you do it?"

The subtext behind Severino's words was his hope that Lin Guanglai, starting as the pitcher today, could win the game so that the Yankees could rewrite the series score to 2-0.

According to the league championship series' 2-3-2 home field format, if the Yankees could return to New York with a 2-0 win advantage, they would have a great chance to end the series at home, meaning they wouldn't have to return to Texas.

Just as Lin Guanglai was about to respond, Gary Sanchez, beside him, quickly answered Severino for him, "Sevy, what kind of question is that—Whenever Lin pitches, we're definitely not going to lose!"

At this point, Gary Sanchez didn't miss the chance to add a remark that pierced Severino's lungs, "You think Lin is like you? Sometimes you can't even control your pitching, throwing a low outer pitch into the middle of the strike zone..."

Watching the two suddenly start joking around, Lin Guanglai helplessly smiled and shook his head. But Gary Sanchez was right about one thing—he was absolutely not going to lose today's game!

Before the game started, the Astros specially apologized to Lin Guanglai for the incident during yesterday's game:

The instigator, Yuli Gurriel, led by Carlos Beltran, came to the Yankees' visitor area to apologize in person, claiming it was an unintentional mistake and that he held no prejudice against Lin Guanglai or the Asian community.

Although Lin Guanglai graciously accepted the apology in front of many people and the media, both sides tacitly understood this ritual was merely a show for the league's sake;

After all, with the other side coming to apologize, if Lin Guanglai continued to dwell on the matter, it would seem like he wasn't willing to let it go—as Asians in the United States still don't hold the same status as other minorities, which is an unfortunate truth.

But that doesn't mean Lin Guanglai intends to let the matter slide easily: like a TV show he once watched said, "If apologies were enough, why would we need the police?"—in reality, he simply plans to use his performance on the field to strike back at the Astros.

For today's game, MLB Chairman Rob Manfred is also present in the stadium, watching the game accompanied by Yankees executive Brian Cashman and Astros General Manager Jeff Luhnow.

His intention is straightforward: to ensure no further dramas occur between the teams during this Game 2.

The players might have achieved a superficial reconciliation, but for the home fans of the Astros, they are quite dissatisfied with the league's decision, holding a belly full of anger.

As a result, as Yankees players stepped onto the field and the broadcast began introductions, almost every player triggered a storm of boos at the moment their name was called;

Especially Lin Guanglai, batting first in the top half of the inning, as he entered the batter's box, he was met with a fierce verbal storm from Minute Maid Park.

Texas fans didn't hold back, bombarding him with extremely malicious words; and when these discordant sounds reached Manfred's ears, unsurprisingly, the face of the current MLB head turned ashen.

Lin Guanglai automatically blocked out those noises inside and outside the stadium, instead focusing entirely on the pitcher he was about to face—

Justin Verlander, the former "Tiger King" of the Detroit Tigers, regarded by many as the last representative of traditional power pitchers, destined to enter the Baseball Hall of Fame—since joining the Astros, he has gone 7-0 in starts, delivering 46 strikeouts with an ERA of only 1.48, suppressing the opponent's team batting average to just above .100.

Verlander mainly masters four pitches: a powerful four-seam fastball averaging 94-95 mph and reaching up to 102 mph, a mid-high speed slider around 85-88 mph, an approximately 80 mph 12-6 curveball, and a 85-88 mph changeup.

Each pitch in this arsenal could serve as a signature pitch for many upper-middle pitchers, yet for Verlander, they're standard weapons.

Furthermore, Justin Verlander is famous for his extraordinary ability to "adjust the speed" of his fastball during matches, allowing him to throw pitches over 97 mph even in later innings.

According to data, since 2008, Verlander has thrown over 100 mph fastballs in the eighth inning or later 44 times, 39 more times than the second-place pitcher!