WHOOOOOSH
PAH
Ryan swung hard, missing the ball by a country mile before it slammed into the catchers glove. Honestly, the miss was so exaggerated that many would possibly question their vision if they missed like that.
However, Ryan Greene was a professional player, one of the lead-off hitters for Detoit who had made it to the World Series. If he missed it so wildly, it could only mean that Ryan Smith had fooled him.
"Strike."
Having been fooled, Ryan Greene felt his face heat up slightly after the poor swing. What he thought had been a slider, was actually a curveball. It had sunk late and outside, almost like a slurve.
But it didn't stop there.
WHOOOOOSH
PAH
"Strike."
"Count it 0-2."
The next pitch was a rising fastball that sailed over his bat, causing him to frown once more. He felt stifled by the movement of the pitches, it was almost like the ball was purposefully evading the bat on its own.
Unfortunately for him, the third pitch had the same result.
PAH
"Strikeout!"
At first he was about to debate with the umpire about the strike, but then Ryan decided against it. Even if the strike was overturned, he didn't have much confidence hitting the ball with two strikes already accumulated.
With a sigh, he shook his head and turned, heading back towards the dugout.
"Don't even try and predict where the ball is going…" He said on the way past Adrian Baddoo who was next up to bat.
"I only ever swing on instinct anyway." Adrian said, flashing him a grin.
Of course this was a lie, but Ryan's mood seemed to improve after the joke. He wished his teammate luck and walked back to the rest of the team.
The disappointment was still evident on his features, which was why Ken decided to console the guy. He placed a hand upon his shoulder and smiled, "You'll have plenty of chances to hit him, so don't worry too much."
Ryan squeezed a smile, but inwardly he was doubting himself. Even if he was given another 10 at-bat's, he wasn't sure that he could get used to that guys pitching.
"Thanks man." He said instead, heading over to the bench.
Ken's eyes moved to Ryan on the mound who was just beginning his wind up. Unfortunately, his Deadeye Batter skill did not work unless he was in the batters box, meaning he was unable to see the color of the pitch.
Having not faced Ryan since acquiring the skill, Ken was still unsure whether his new skill would work on him. Since his grip was so unorthodox, would he be able to identify each pitch? Or would it become muddled?
WHOOOOSH
PAH
"Strike."
Another pitch, another strike. With the way Ryan was pitching today, everyone watching in both the arena and at home started to believe that today would be a repeat of game 1.
A pitchers duel.
PAH
"Strike."
"Count is 0-2."
Ken turned to Daichi who had already donned his helmet, gloves and protection. His eyes were focused on Ryan as if he were burning every minute detail of the man's pitches into his mind.
He smiled, letting out a silent chuckle.
'These guys are in for a wake up call.' Ken said in his heart, feeling amused.
Daichi seemed like a sharp sword, honed to perfection. He waited patiently, waiting for the chance to exit his sheathe and strike down the enemy.
WHOOOOOSH
WHACK
Ken's gaze snapped back to the field at the unexpected sound. But upon seeing the chaos on the field, his grin widened even further.
The cheering of the crowd was deafening as Adrian Baddoo hit a shot squarely into center field for an easy first base.
"Let's go!"
"Nice hit Adrian!"
The dugout celebrated the first hit of the game. Unlike the first game where they faced Ryan, they were able to get a hit in early. And for many who had been following Detroit this season, they knew that whenever they were up in the first inning, they were most likely to win.
Out of those said games, Detroit had won a whopping 82%, leading the league significantly.
Of course they had only had a single hit thus far, not actually having scored. But now that there was someone on base, Daichi would likely not be walked.
"Batting 3rd, our shortstop. Jose Baez!" The announcers voice called over the speakers.
On the mound, Ryan seemed a little annoyed that he'd given up a hit so early. Perhaps if this was him last year, something this small might have affected his game.
Thankfully, he was much more experienced and therefore less impacted by such things.
'It's just a single hit.' He told himself, raising his glove to catch the ball from Nigel.
Ryan glanced at first base briefly before turning back to his catcher who made a signal. He nodded and placed the ball in his glove, adjusting his grip.
Just before he was about to lift his leg, Ryan turned and threw the ball directly over to Gary on 1st base, trying to pick off the runner.
However, Adrian had reacted quickly, diving towards the bag and getting his hand onto the base just before getting tagged with the glove.
"Safe."
The ball was thrown back to Ryan on the mound who collected it with an impassive expression. The pick-off attempt was done to keep the runner honest and not overextend his lead.
He turned back to the catcher and waited for the first lead.
But instead of calling for a pitch, Nigel once again signaled for the pick-off.
Ryan nodded, bringing his hands together in preparation for his pitching action. Yet he turned swiftly, sending a throw directly to first base once again.
"Crap!"
The play on the field seemed to slow down as Adrian dove towards first base once more. But this time he was a little further from the base.
The glove collected the perfect throw before swinging down and hitting Adrian on the arm.
"Out!"