"Batting 8th for the Seattle Waves, Jaime Winker."
As the announcer called for the next batter, Ken was standing on the mound and rolling the rosin bag in his hand. Fatigue was starting to creep in slowly, gripping him ever so slightly.
'Just two more…' Ken mused in his heart.
The last time he'd thrown a perfect game was in his first year of College. But he remembered very little of the game itself since he was in somewhat of a trance.
Yet this time, it felt like he was in complete control.
The first lead came from Daichi, a two-seam to the inside. Without questioning it, Ken entered his wind up and sent the ball right where he wanted it.
WHOOOOSH
WHACK
The ball went flying into the foul zone, almost hitting the players in the Ligers dugout.
"Foul."
Ken's eyes followed the ball briefly before he took a deep breath. Who said that the lower-end batters would be easy? Once one made it to the Majors, even the 7-9th batters were capable of getting hits.
But Ken had worked far too hard to come up short now. He only needed to hold on for a little longer before it was all said and done.
WHOOOOSH
PAH
Inside again, this time a cutter. The variable speed and breaking action of the ball threw the batter off, causing him to miss by a large margin.
"Strike."
"Count is 0-2."
Ken received the ball back from Daichi but his eyes never left his brother. As if the two were synchronized, the latter crouched down and asked for a fastball down low.
Without a word, Ken nodded and loaded up.
WHOOOOOSH
PAH!
A 106mph fastball smacked into the outstretched glove, giving a resounding slap that echoed through the ballpark.
"Strikeout!"
The crowd roared in response to the strikeout, showing their support. Ken's family were filled with excitement as the final moments leading up to the end of the match took place.
Even Steve who was already 6 beers into the night was watching with his eyes peeled. Despite being a bit of a mischief maker, he understood that now was not the time to mess around.
Ken felt his muscles twitch in protest as he caught the ball thrown back to him from Daichi. While his stamina grade was EX+ he had recently found out that using his signature skills so frequently was draining it quicker.
This in addition to the mental pressure of playing in a post season match caused it to trickle away even faster.
"Batting 9th for Seattle, Justice Crawford." The announcer called, yet his voice lacked the usual bored tone he reserved for the visiting team. Instead, the guy couldn't hide his excitement.
The fans within Comerica Park were witnessing something that had only been done once before in the history of the game. A perfect game during the post season.
Ken only needed 1 more out and his name would be etched in history once more.
If he hadn't already been granted the rookie of the year award after this, then his performance tonight should have sealed the deal.
Not only did Ken throw a shutout in his debut match, he also broke the record for the most amount of strikeouts in a game. Not to mention the record for the fastest pitch.
Throwing a perfect game here would be a giant feather in his cap, ending a dominant first season. It was such an amazing feat that even the Seattle Waves fans in attendance were rooting for him.
"MVP"
"MVP"
"MVP"
The MVP chant began in one part of the crowd and quickly spread throughout the ballpark. Their words echoed within the stadium until nothing else could be heard.
On top of the mound, Ken felt the cheers fall upon him like rain. Yet instead of making him feel cold, it was warming him from the inside.
Ken grinned, feeling his spirits rise.
"At least they're not chanting unicorn anymore," He mumbled.
Behind the plate, Daichi's eyes never left the 9th batter as he stepped into the batters box. He had studied nearly every player on the Seattle roster in preparation for this match.
Ken was trusting him to make the correct leads and help guide him towards a perfect game. Not only did he study the Seattle players, he also did the same for Toronto, since he wasn't sure who would win the series.
Though they were on the last batter of the game, Daichi did not relax. All it took was one mistake for the perfect game to be turned into nothing.
'Justice is averaging 0.243 this season with an on base percentage of 0.339. Most of his hits have come from outside, but if we attack inside too much he'll choke up on the bat.' Daichi mused inwardly.
He thought for a few moments before calling for a cutter inside. As long as he planned these next few leads properly, they would be home free.
He saw Ken nod and begin his wind up.
Daichi got into position and waited unblinkingly. Ken's pitches were so fast that if he even blinked, it would be difficult to follow the ball's trajectory, especially after the guy had improved his breaking balls tremendously.
The ball left Ken's fingertips and soared through the air like a fastball. It wasn't until the last moment that the ball broke dramatically towards the inside.
WHOOOOOSH
WHACK!
'WHAT!?'
Daichi leapt to his feet and watched the ball hit the ground and speed towards 3rd base with pace. Nate Maton was standing off the base, frozen in shock for a moment as he witnessed the proceedings.
For a moment, the whole stadium held their breath.
Time seemed to slow down as Nate finally reacted, leaping into the path of the ball with all of his might, his glove outstretched.
But unexpectedly, the ball hit the 3rd base, causing it to pop up off the ground, completely avoiding the outstretched glove of the 3rd baseman.