Like many had speculated, no one was able to get a single run on the board in the first 6 innings of the game, it was as if the balls were alive, each one having a mind of its own. Apart from the first hit that Ken gave up in the beginning, no one else had come close.
Unfortunately for Detroit, they hadn't even got a single hit. At this pace, Ryan was on pace for a perfect game. If he were to achieve this in the World Series, it would be a monumental achievement.
Of course the Ligers had no intention of letting this happen.
It was the bottom of the 7th with the score still tied at 0-0. Ken sat in the dugout, taking every opportunity to conserve his strength for what was about to come. Even if he was thrown into extra innings, he would be ready.
The problem was, would he be allowed to continue pitching? Or would he be pulled off before the start of the 8th inning?
Ken glanced towards his Grandfather Coach Williams and silently evaluated him. His expression was solemn, but there was an unwillingness to lose in his body language, something that brought a smile to Ken's face.
'He'll keep me on next inning right?' Ken hoped in his heart.
PAH
"Strikeout!"
"3 outs, changeover."
Hearing the call from the plate umpire, Ken shot to his feet and grabbed his glove. His heartbeat increased as he ascended the stairs onto the field and he purposefully did not look at the coach on the way past, hoping to sneak by him.
"Ken."
Ken froze in place, slowly turning to face his grandfather.
'Don't tell me…' he cried inwardly.
Coach Williams walked over to him and inquired, "How is your shoulder?"
"It's good… Great even." Ken replied a little unnaturally.
"Okay good. I want to keep you in for the final 2 innings of regulation, hopefully we can prevent this game from heading into extra innings." Mark said, his gaze softening.
Ken's heart soared, "Don't worry Grandpa, I'll keep them at bay, we just need to get some runs on the board."
"Alright, I trust you." Mark replied, patting Ken on the shoulder gently, "Don't push yourself too hard, we still have many games left in the series."
"I've got this." Ken stated, flashing him a grin before jogging onto the field.
Mark watched him run onto the field and felt a little nostalgic. Back then he had watched his grandsons emerge on the world stage and only 7 years later they were in the World Series, the highest peak of baseball.
"I'll tell you if his pitches start slipping Grandpa." Daichi saw the complicated expression on Mark's face and spoke up on his way past, patting him on the arm.
"I'll leave it to you then." Mark said, giving a relived smile.
With the two brothers at the helm, he didn't need to worry.
Or so he thought.
WHOOOOOSH
WHACK!
The first pitch thrown was sent right back towards Ken who was in the middle of his follow through. Since he always put so much strength into his pitching motion, he was always the most vulnerable during his follow through.
THUD
Ken purposefully shifted his weight, losing his balance and falling onto the dirt below him in order to dodge the line drive. The ball struck the mound, shooting up into the air and barely missing his face.
Ken felt his heart rate skyrocket thanks to the near miss.
Thanks to Ken's body being in the way, Jaime Schoop at second base could not react in time to the ball. It flew right past him, running along the ground out to center field.
Unfortunately, this resulted in Miami's 5th batter easily making it to first base at the top of the 8th inning.
Ken collected himself from the ground, dusting off the dirt which was now caked on his white pants. It took some time for his frantic heartbeat to calm down from almost getting socked in the face by a line drive.
Daichi had already called time out and jogged over to the mound to check on him.
"Are you okay brother?"
"I'm good, just glad I didn't get hit." Ken said, returning to his spot on the mound. "Let's be more aggressive, I've only got these 2 innings left before Grandpa takes me off."
Seeing that his brother was okay, Daichi let out a sigh of relief. "Alright, just follow my lead."
"Always do." Ken quipped.
"Batting 6th for Miami, Charlie Leblanc." The bored voice of the announcer spoke up once more after Daichi returned. But he did not stay for long.
WHOOOOOSH
PAH
"There it is, a super fastball from Ken at the top of the zone. This is the 12th pitch he's thrown over 105mph in this game, it's not surprising that Miami have yet to score."
"I must say, the game has been exactly like we said it was going to be. To think that both of these pitchers have been able to keep the other team scoreless for this long is a testament to their skill level."
"You say that, but how long can they keep this up? Ken has already pitched around 80 balls this match and Ryan is around the same. Will the coach's take them out of the game soon? Or could this match see extra innings?"
"Your guess is as good as mine. I'm sure these two want nothing more than to hog the mound the whole game.
WHOOOOSH
PAH
"Strikeout!"
A two-seam fastball thundered into Daichi's outstretched glove, sending the Miami batter back to the dugout quickly. After only facing 3 balls, he was forced to return empty handed.
Just as he entered his wind-up for the next batter, Ken heard footsteps.
'Crap!'
The runner at first sprinted forward, pinning his ears back as he went to steal 2nd base. However, he didn't account for the speed of Ken's pitch and Daichi's amazing arm.