One Outs 14

One Outs, Volume 2, Chapter 14 (pp. 123~143)


<123>
=The stadium is in a chorus of boos!
=Seething at Yoshida's error, Tokuchi has thrown him off the field!!
OHHHHH

Chapter 14: Provocation

=As a rookie... No, as a professional
=This is highly unbecoming of any ballplayer!!


<124>
=More runs are gonna score today
=Tokuchi will owe us money by the end of the day if he keeps this up

=Yoshida really did his job today
=What do you mean...?

=He took advantage of the lost game to purposely make an error
=To spite Tokuchi

=Lost game...?
=It's still not...
=It's already over

=Take this statistic
=Last season, there were 31 games where the Lycaons fell behind by 6 runs or more... And the number of those games they ended up winning were...

=Zero

=That's the reality//Zero ability to make a comeback

=What Tokuchi said on TV was exactly right
=They've got no sense of urgency. Spending so much time in the gutter's made them accustomed to losing


<125>
=But today is truly a great day
=Take a look

=Eagles fans and Lycaons fans...
=All rooting against Tokuchi

=Heh-heh
=But... The manager won't allow this to continue

=Tokuchi will be substituted//And Yoshida will return to the field
=No//Tokuchi won't be subbed out

=Or rather...

=He can't sub Tokuchi out

=Yoshida remains standing in foul territory
=Now what are the Lycaons going to do
=Yoshida isn't at fault, so the best course of action would be to take Tokuchi out and have Yoshida return to his position


<126>
=No//The manager isn't making a move!!
=Does he plan on continuing the game a player short?

=I-Is this really...?
=Can't help it! It's not Yoshida's fault so we can't take him out!

=We just have to wait for Tokuchi to calm himself down!!

=This just in
=Let's see... Lycaons reliever Sugawara broke a nail in the bullpen and cannot throw...
SWUP

=Which means?
=Oh—I see

=They used up too many pitchers in the first inning
=So Tokuchi is the only pitcher available for the remainder of the game


<127>
=Incredible!! The Lycaons bench
=Cannot remove this outrageous rookie from the mound!!
OHHHHH

=That guy knew it...
=He got rid of Yoshida knowing that he was the only pitcher left

=I feel sorry for Yoshida
=Can he return?
=Very unlikely

=I don't know what happened between those two
=But Tokuchi seems intent on removing Yoshida from the playing field

=His teammates have gathered at the mound to talk
=Calm down Tokuchi
=Yeah! It's your fault
=Go apologize to Yoshida-san

=All this, coming from the pathetic losers that got themselves down by 11 runs
=Urgh...

=Unless


<128>
=This really is the best you can do
=Whaaat!?

=Oh?
=Am I wrong?
=Damn right you're wrong—!!

=Hmm—So this score is a fluke
=Meaning... You guys can do much better than this?
=I sure as hell think so

=You?
=I-I think so... Too...

=That's right
=I completely agree

=We don't need 9 players to whup these fuckin' Eagles
=That's why I got rid of Yoshida


<129>
=Try sayin' that again!
=Oh, you heard us?

=Then I'll repeat myself
="We only need 8 players to beat you guys"//That's how everyone on our team feels
H-Hey...//You're startin' to exaggerate quite a bit—

=Pissed? Then try scorin' another run from here on out


<130>
=N-N-N-N-N-Now Tokuchi has provoked the Eagles dugout—!!
=He's really going to continue with just 8 players—!!
OHHH

=The game continues with an 8-man formation
=The first and second baseman have shifted over to the right

GRIP

BWIP


<131>
=He hits it—
=Towards the third base line!!
GRUCK

=He's got it—
DASH
WHAP

=Runner holds!!

=But...

=The throw is late, the first baseman wasn't covering the bag—!
=Shit!!
BWUSH


<132>
=Safe—
OHHHHH

=Not in time! That'll be scored as an infield hit—!!
=They're really feeling the effects of being a man down—!!
OHHHHHHH

And

The next batter...

ZWUSH

=Safe—


<133>
=Bases loaded!!
=The bases are loaded, still with no-outs!!
=The situation is getting even worse for the Lycaons!!
OHHHHHH

=Heh-heh-heh

Imagine if they get a homer here
Tokuchi will owe us 200 million!!


<134>
=Look at yourselves!!
=Forget about the score, this inning's gonna keep goin' forever!!
DAH-HAH-HAH-HAH

=You losers are all talk!

=Yeah
=All talk
[arrow]Doesn't care

[x6]HUFF
[x2]OHHHH

Damn it
Don't wanna give up any more runs...
Gotta find a way...

Gotta find a way to get through this...

Hey—So third baseman's still in the same place, huh

Are they scared of an extra base hit down the line or just hoping to snag some foul flies
Either way...

=There's still a huge gap between third and short!!


<135>
=Tokuchi's got his back to the wall...
OHHHH

=He throws!!

Hanging pitch!!

CRACK
=Hits it—!

=Straight through the gap betwee...
=Yeah—!


<136>
=...No! He's got it!!
BWAAP

=Runner!!


<137>
=Runner caught going—
BWAP

=Third baseman touches the bag and goes after the runner—!!
D-DASH

SLAP

=O...
=Out...


<138>
=Triple play!!
=By a single player!
OHHH

=The third baseman, Imai
=Has gotten three outs all by himself—

=No way...//How did he catch up to that ball?
=He was in the same position as always

So... It was a feint
He shifted positions right when the pitcher started his windup—


<139>
OHHHH

GATHUCK

Oh well... There's still a long way to go
He'll get hit soon enough

True
Tokuchi continued to struggle with only 8 players on the field

Runners reached base

Every single inning

However

The defense held tight

And the team that lost 11 runs in the first inning


<140>
Has now racked up 5 scoreless innings—

OHHHH

PHEW—
Finally the 6th

[x4]HUFF—

=HUFF HUFF
=We're...
=Doin' pretty well
Was fielding always this tiring?
[x3]HUFF

=But man, your triple play was awesome
=Yeah...

=It just came to me
=Tricking the batter and all

=It just went way better than I expected...
[x2]HUFF


<141>
=Those formation drills we do in practice don't do shit here, so we gotta use our heads
=Your diving catch was awesome, too

=I just tried as hard as I could
=And it's worked out so far

=You know...
=I've never felt this way about fielding before

=Yeah
=Me too
=We can't let up any more runs after what Toua said

=That's how it should always feel

=If there's no sense of urgency
=There's no hope for victory


<142>
So...
All of that...

The 8-man defense

Provoking the other team

You did all that just to heighten our sense of urgency...?

=Look
OHHHH

=All that booing...
=It's turned into cheering

=11 runs, huh


<143>
=Let's turn this thing around

=Right!