By the time the top of the 9th inning arrived, the Ligers were up by 8 runs. Unless something catastrophic happened, their victory was assured.
As Ken walked up the stairs from the dugout for the final time that night, all eyes fell upon him. It was as if the weight of the entire arena was on his shoulders right now, watching him carefully.
Mark did not say a word to him, merely nodding. It was clear that whatever needed to be said had already been said. The rest of the game would be up to Ken.
Either he continued his prolific debut, or he let it all crumble.
Of course Ken was well aware of this fact, and by no means would he ruin all the hard work he and Daichi had done this game. He sent his grandfather a grin and confidently walked up to the mound.
His arrival brought cheers from the crowd.
"Batting 7th for the White Socks, Jacob Burger."
As the next batter appeared in the batters box, the sound of the crowd died down and a hush came over the ballpark. It was almost like they didn't want to distract Ken.
Ken smiled, feeling rather touched. But since these were the last of the batting lineup, he had supreme confidence that he'd be able to get them out, even if it was their 3rd at-bat.
WHOOOOSH
PAH
"Strike."
PAH
"Strike."
Two fastballs blitzed past the batter, slamming into Daichi's glove. While they weren't his fastest pitches of the night, they weren't something to scoff at either.
The next pitch came, a nasty changeup that was over 15mph slower than his fastball. Jacob stood no chance, his bat swinging wildly before the ball even came into range.
PAH
"Strikeout!"
The crowd erupted in cheers, their roar echoing over the ballpark. Music began to play, hyping them up even more.
"There you have it Bill. With his 20th strikeout, Ken is now tied with Kerry Wood, Randy Johnson and Curt Schilling for the most ever strikeouts in a Major League game."
"We all know that Kerry Wood achieved this in his debut game in 1998, but I never thought I'd see it happen again. This performance has truly been remarkable."
"Now now Bill, let's not jump to conclusions yet. There are still two more at-bats left, Ken has the chance to break the record right now."
Back on the field, the atmosphere was buzzing.
Ken knew that he was no longer in contention for a perfect game, so he set his sights on the next best thing. A shutout.
However, even he did not know how close to making history he was.
The next batter arrived as Ken was rolling the rosin bag around in his right hand.
He was feeling some physical and mental fatigue at the moment despite having the overpowered fatigue management skill. While Ken had played 9 innings many times before, this time couldn't compare.
With every pitch he threw, Ken needed his full concentration. Just a single slip up could result in the ball being hit into the crowd and his shutout eluding him.
He turned to Daichi behind the plate and accepted the lead, wiping the sweat from his brow. Ken took a deep breath and entered his wind up, sending out his slider.
WHOOOOSH
WHACK
Ken's body flinched at the sound and his eyes tracked the ball. It flew along the ground, right past him.
Because he was in the middle of his follow through, Ken couldn't get to it in time. The only thing he could do was look back and pray that the 2nd baseman was there to stop it.
To his delight, Jaime had stepped off second base and easily scooped up the ball with his glove and sent an accurate throw to Samson at first.
"Out!"
Ken let out a sigh of relief. However, his eyebrow raised when he didn't hear the crowd react in the way he thought they would. Instead of cheering he could hear some disappointment.
'That's weird…' He thought.
Shaking it off, he returned to the mound and got into position, waiting for the 9th batter.
"Batting 9th, Catcher for the White Sox, Rick McGuire."
'Just 1 more out…' Ken thought, staving off his exhaustion.
His eyes scanned the crowd, locating his wife and in-laws. It was a bit too far away to see their features, but knowing they were present was enough.
Ken closed his eyes and let out a deep breath. His eyes snapped open in the next moment, filled with determination.
WHOOOOOSH
PAH
"Strike."
Ken raised his glove and received the throw back from Daichi before returning to his spot. His mind was honed and ready.
'Just two more pitches.'
WHOOOOSH
PAH
"Strike."
The crowd was still acting weird, as if they were waiting for something, but Ken paid no attention. He had never been so focused before in his life. There was only one more strike to go before he achieved the shutout he was chasing.
It wasn't lost on him that Ryan Smith had also thrown a shutout on his debut. He could still remember what he felt upon reading the article.
The guy gave up 3 hits and a walk, which meant if Ken were to strike out the next batter, his debut would be better.
'One more strike… I need this.'
He looked to Daichi and smiled seeing the lead.
A fastball inside, what better pitch to put a stamp on the match?
Silence sat over the ballpark as Ken wound up for his pitch. It was as if the whole place held their breath in unison, waiting for the final throw of the game.
As the ball left his fingertips, it moved like a serpent, snaking through the air as it flew towards Daichi's open glove.
WHOOOOOSH
CLICK
PAH
"Strikeout!"
"Game, set, Ligers."
"ORYAHHHHHHHHHH!"
Ken clenched his fists and raised his head, letting out a roar of triumph. The entire crowd erupted, going crazy.
Daichi threw aside his mask and sprinted towards the mound before wrapping his arms around his brother and lifting him.
"You did it!" He shouted with glee.
Ken grinned widely before pulling Daichi in for a hug. "We did it, little bro."