The game continued at a similar pace with the Ligers seemingly having the White Socks by the throat. A relief pitcher stepped in for Chicago in the bottom of the 5th, stemming the bleeding for the visiting team.
Unfortunately for them, it was too little too late. The Ligers had jumped to a 6-0 advantage and Ken was still well on his way towards a shutout.
At the top of the 7th inning, Lewis Robert stepped into the batters box for his 3rd at-bat. Having been a pitcher for so long, Ken knew that this was the most dangerous time for a pitcher.
This would especially be the case against Major League players who were the best hitters in the world.
However, Ken was calm as he stood upon the mound. By now, he could feel his body was drenched in sweat and the first vestiges of fatigue were gnawing at his body.
It was rather surprising, for Ken's stamina had always been his best attribute. Yet for some reason, playing in front of 40,000 people at such a level seemed to be more draining than he had anticipated.
'I've come too far to back down now…' Ken thought, adjusting the rosin bag in his hand.
By now he'd thrown only 70 or so pitches, with most coming in the last two innings. True to their skill level, the White Socks batters were starting to get a hold of his pitches.
For now, they'd only been hitting fouls, but this had the capacity to change. All it would take was a single decent hit to send his ball into the stands and put an end to his marvelous debut.
Ken's gaze moved to his grandfather on the sideline. The man looked nervous, even though their team were up by 6 runs. The sight made him chuckle inwardly.
'They'll likely take me off the mound after this inning.' Ken mused.
If it was the old him, he might have been annoyed, but Ken knew he still had a lot of improvement to make. Since the 5th inning, every at-bat had felt like a battle. If it weren't for Daichi behind the plate, Ken had no doubt he would have given up some runs.
But this was okay. The season was a long one with over 160 games, he had plenty of time to get better, but only one chance for a debut when all eyes were on him.
Ken nodded as he saw the lead, a two seam fastball to the inside.
He turned to 3rd base briefly before raising his leg and kicking off the pitchers plate.
The ball flew from his fingertips, spinning through the air while it slowly broke towards the right handed batter.
WHOOOOOSH
WHACK
Lewis dug in his heels and swung, hitting the ball squarely, surprising even himself.
Ken's eyes darted to the ball in the air and felt his heart sink as he watched it fly into the outfield. For a brief moment, he thought that he was a goner. That was until Adrian Baddoo stopped in place and held his glove up for an easy catch in deep left field.
Ken let out a sigh of relief and wiped the sweat away from his brow. He was shocked that Lewis could hit his pitch so far after being jammed on the inside. It just showed how much strength and power Major League hitters had.
He returned to the mound and adjusted his cap.
'Two more outs and I'll be satisfied.' He thought.
In the crowd, Ai's eyes had never left Ken for most of the match. She clutched the hem of her dress, filled with a mixture of emotions. But for the most part, she was worried.
"He looks so tired…"
"He's fine, don't ya worry." Tetsu blurted out, giving his daughter a big thumbs up. "Just watch as yer husband does Japan proud."
"What's this got to do with Japan?" Ai grumbled, sending her father a glare.
Tetsu flinched but he decided to double down, "He's representin' Japan right now. If he does well, we can lift our heads with pride."
At this, Ai frowned, "Ken only played for the National team once, and they didn't let him pitch properly until the finals. Ever since then he hasn't even received an email, let alone a phone call."
"Are you okay sweetie?" Naomi said, placing her hand upon her daughter's. Tetsu on the other hand decided it was time to shut his mouth and focus on the game before he got his head bitten off.
Ai let out a sigh, "No, I'm stressed. I just want him to be safe…"
"You've watched him play so many times, why are you worried now? Ken's already shown he can play against the best." Naomi replied, trying to calm Ai.
"It's different now…" Ai said, her free hand subconsciously moving to her belly.
Naomi's eyes widened like saucers and her hand clenched upon Ai's, almost hurting her.
It was at this moment that Ai knew she had messed up. She turned to her mother and gripped her hand tightly before leaning in, "Please don't say anything… I still need to see the doctor tomorrow." She said in a hushed tone.
Naomi's eyes silently filled with tears and she nodded, doing her best to hide her joy.
"What are ya cryin' about? It's just a baseball game." Tetsu said, shaking his head in exasperation.
"You shut your damn mouth and watch the game." Naomi scolded him, wiping away at the tears pooling at the corner of her eyes.
Tetsu let out a huff and returned his attention to the game, grumbling under his breath. He had not expected to be ganged up on tonight, though he was essentially used to such a thing at this point.
Back on the mound, Ken faced the second batter and was already at a full count after throwing 8 pitches. Seeing that they were making contact a lot more often, something needed to change.