In Austin Texas, a figure was pacing back and forth in front of the TV, his hand running through his brown messy hair. It looked like he was about to break down from stress.
"Honey… Come and take a seat please." A feminine voice coaxed.
"Sit down!? How the hell can you sit down right now? That damn idiot gave up 3 runs when Ken worked his ass off to get them ahead." The man replied, clearly upset.
The woman let out a sigh, "Steve… Just take a seat please."
Hearing Tara's defeated tone, Steve realized that he might be overreacting a little. He sighed himself before taking a seat on the couch, though he let out a harrumph while doing so.
"It's just frustrating. I've never seen Ken so gassed on the mound, he must have been giving it his all out there." Steve stated, a worried expression creeping onto his face.
Tara placed a hand on his leg, patting him gently. "They're still ahead, there's no reason to get upset just yet." She assured him.
Steve grumbled in response before leaning forward and opening a pizza box. A half-eaten pepperoni pizza was revealed, of which he took a slice and stuffed his face.
Tara was about to remind him not to eat too much pizza, but she quickly swallowed the words. Agitating Steve right after calming him down was a recipe for disaster.
'I'll just make him work it all off later.' She thought with a smile.
Unaware of the grueling physical regimen that Tara had planned for him, Steve took large bites of his slice, his eyes focused on Jake Foley who was taking the mound in the top of the 8th.
"Even if that guy is trash, Daichi should be good enough to prevent them from scoring." Steve said in between chews.
"Oh? I thought you didn't like Ken's brother." Tara said, happy that her boyfriend wasn't sulking any longer.
"Who told you that? We're just competitive as rivals. I'll admit that he is a good player, but that doesn't mean he's better." Steve replied matter-of-factly.
"Well technically he's better than you since he's in the league…" Tara muttered under her breath.
Thankfully, Steve didn't hear her words since he was too busy watching the game.
Back on the field, Jake was now facing the tail end of the batting order. With Daichi's assistance, he was able to swiftly dispatch the first two batters. The first was an easy outfield fly and the next was a grounder to first.
Daichi seemed to have switched to a pitch to contact strategy, utilizing the fielders. Not only did it reduce Jake's pitch count, it was also the most prudent option in the moment.
Jake did not have the same power and speed as Ken, nor did he have the tricky pitches like Ryan. He would be classed as a mid tier relief pitcher, a type of player that many teams had on their roster.
So by pitching to contact, it gave the Ligers a greater chance of reducing Miami's scoring ability. Of course this was under the assumption that their fielders played well enough.
During the pause between changing over, Daichi had already spoken to the coach about this change in play style. Mark had agreed right away, deferring to Daichi in this situation.
Not all coach's could have this level of trust in their players, but Mark wasn't just any coach, and Daichi wasn't just any catcher.
It truly was a moment of trust that brought the team together.
WHOOOOOSH
WHACK
The ball was struck cleanly by James Groshans, the DH for the Blue Marlins. It flew into deep right field, narrowly missing the outstretched glove of Kris Carpenter and hitting the ground.
By the time Kris managed to track the ball down, James had already rounded first base and was on his way to second.
Despite the swift throw from the outfield, James was able to reach second before the ball, successfully securing a double.
"Safe!"
Of course while pitching to contact was certainly a viable strategy, it was more likely that the opposing team would score hits. But the Ligers didn't have much else they could do in this situation.
Ken had recovered from the penalty he received thanks to Limit Break, but since he'd been substituted, there was no way for him to pitch again this game.
If Mark had placed him in the outfield like they used to do back when he played for Columbia in college, then he could have stepped back onto the mound at any stage.
But then not only would they lose their starting outfielder, Ken himself wasn't sure if he could play up to standard in the outfield. At least not right away.
It had been around a year and a half since he played in the outfield, and even then it was only in right field.
So Ken was forced to sit and watch as his team tried to retain their lead. He would be given another chance with the bat this inning, but other than that his hands were tied.
The hit had ensured that Miami's 4th batter would get a chance to hit again next inning. This wasn't the best outcome, particularly when the Ligers were only up by a single run.
"Batting 1st for the Blue Marlin's, 2nd base, John Berti."
The top of the batting order arrived once more, their 4th at-bat this game at the tail end of the top of the 8th. With 2 outs and a runner on base, they needed to get an out and put some pressure on the opponent.
WHOOOOOSH
CLICK
"Foul."
The first pitch against John was sent along the ground into the foul zone, almost striking one of the security guards.
PAH
"Strike."
"Count is 0-2."
John Berti looked visibly frustrated at the call, but he managed to keep his composure. He stepped back into the batters box after adjusting himself and faced Jake on the mound, his expression serious.
WHOOOOOOSH
CLICK
PAH
The bat grazed the seams of the ball before rifling into Daichi's outstretched glove.
"Strikeout!"
"3 outs, changeover."
The top of the 8th inning ended with the score still 4-3 in favor of the Ligers.