Baseball: A Two-Way Player-Chapter 620 - 158: Offensive Showdown, Advancing Toward Japan’s Number One!
"Dear viewers of Nippon Professional Baseball, welcome to the decisive round of the 2016 Pacific League Climax Series! I am your commentator for today, Kaji Yagyu, and beside me is a guest that friends from Kyushu will surely recognize, the official catcher during Fukuoka Daiei Hawks' golden era and the only superstar in Asia to have served as a regular catcher in the Major League, Shiroyama Kenshi!"
As the official start time of the match approached, the studio at the Yahoo Dome, with TVQ Kyushu Broadcasting also began their work: To demonstrate the station's importance on today's game, they specifically invited the retired ace commentator Kaji Yagyu, and even asked Shiroyama Kenshi to serve as the guest.
However, this arrangement had a bit of a hidden agenda: The representative work of the former's commentary career was precisely the match where the Daiei Hawks defeated the Hanshin Tigers 4-3 in the 2003 Japan Series; the latter was also an eyewitness to that series.
In that series, the Daiei Hawks initially took a 2-0 lead but were chased by the Hanshin Tigers for three consecutive games, seemingly on the verge of total collapse; yet they performed a dramatic recovery subsequently, with the then 22-year-old rookie pitcher Wada Yu completing the game in the seventh match, eventually leading the team to regain Japan's Number One title after four years.
It was uncertain whether by pure coincidence or due to other reasons, but the series between SoftBank and the Fighters somehow echoed that series from over a decade ago:
In the first game, SoftBank, already starting with a one-game advantage thanks to their regular-season victory, sent Lin Guanglai to start. Besides hitting an eight-inning shutout and a two-run homer, he helped his team secure the victory, further enlarging the overall score to 2-0.
Just when many thought the SoftBank Team would naturally advance, the Fighters, on the edge of the cliff, erupted—
In the second game, facing a 0-1 crisis, the Fighters' number four, Nakata Shou, broke SoftBank's iron defense with a two-run homer at the top of the sixth inning, leading his team to a 5-1 victory in this match;
In the third game, the Fighters scored seven runs in the first two half-innings, prematurely turning what should have been an equally matched contest into a stomping match, and proceeded to tie the series in overall scores;
In the fourth game, with SoftBank scoring four runs in the bottom of the second inning, and their advantage sustained till the seventh, the Fighters' lineup erupted again, tying the score in two half-innings. After a grueling 11-inning battle, they surpassed the score to win 6-4, meanwhile achieving their series comeback against SoftBank.
While many SoftBank fans fell into despair, during the fifth game's duel, with Yanagida Yuuki and Lin Guanglai each hitting a home run, SoftBank took back a 5-2 victory, tying the series and leading into a thrilling Game 7.
Statistically, this was the first occurrence of a Game 7 stage in the Climax Series' decisive round since Chiba Lotte's miraculous third-place comeback to Japan's Number One in 2010.
The choice of Kaji Yagyu and Shiroyama Kenshi as commentators and guests by Kyushu's broadcaster today also carried a hope to bring fortune to their team.
On the Central League side, though the Hiroshima Toyo Carp already swept Yokohama BayStars 4-1, advancing to the Japan Series early, their team consisted mainly of young players, with few having participated in the Japan Series. Compared to the battle-experienced SoftBank Team, other than a stamina advantage, they were lagging in all other aspects, posing not much of a threat.
Judging by the current situation, the Nippon-Ham Fighters were the biggest threat to SoftBank's consecutive victory aspirations; as long as they overcame this opponent, the V3 dynasty's achievements were almost within reach.
At this stage of the game, both teams had exhausted their reserve of starting pitchers — with Lin Guanglai, Wada Yu, Chika Huangda from SoftBank already appearing in the earlier rounds; the Fighters' Ohtani Shohai, Arihara Kouta also had.
In this scenario, both teams' managers showcased contrasting understandings in choosing the starting pitcher for Game 7:
On the SoftBank side, manager Kodama Komei opted to place trust in the team's former ace Shetsu Shou, hoping his rich experience and calm demeanor would be pivotal now; while the Fighters' Kuriyama Hideki fully embraced his strategy of boldly promoting young players, entrusting this heavy responsibility to their newly selected corporate league pitcher, Katou Takayuki.
Such choices by both managers immediately turned the match into a slugfest from the start.
From the first half-inning, the Fighters engaged in an intense struggle against SoftBank, who had the home-field advantage, showcasing the young team's strong fighting spirit in both batting and baserunning, striving for every ball.
Especially facing the former ace Shetsu Shou, who only played seven regular-season games and clinched only two victories, with a high earned run average of 5.59 this season, they accurately identified SoftBank's starting pitcher's vulnerability, and launched precise strikes: In merely the first half-inning, the home-field SoftBank Team conceded two runs.
Faced with the trailing score, the SoftBank batters did not appear overly flustered: they had already set psychological expectations for the direction this game could take prior to its commencement.
