Assuming a batting stance, Lin Guanglai stared straight at Yu Darvish, with nothing but confidence in his eyes; no other emotions tainted his expression.
On the pitcher's mound, Darvish also gazed deeply at Lin Guanglai: As the most threatening and dominant hitter in the post-season, with double-digit ho runs to his na, Lin Guanglai had beco the batter no pitcher wished to face; his re presence was enough to exert imnse pressure.
The Dodgers had spent considerable effort figuring out how to curb Lin Guanglai's montum: Like the first pitch of this at-bat, Darvish and Austin Barnes attempted to exploit Lin Guanglai's strong desire to swing, trying to make him hit a grounder or pop fly with a Breaking ball.
Against a Breaking ball pitcher with a gentle touch, able to pinpoint any location, Lin Guanglai might have been fooled; but facing Darvish, his strategy from the start was clear — he intended to force the opponent to duel with him in the strike zone!
Before Darvish threw the second pitch, Lin Guanglai took a mont to observe the Dodgers' outfield lineup: Clearly, due to their apprehension about Yankee Stadium's Right Fielder and Lin Guanglai, the Dodgers' overall outfield arrangent had noticeably shifted right.
"Since that's the case, I'll be hitting this pitch from a different angle..." As the ball approached, Lin Guanglai instantly made his decision and swung the bat towards where the white ball was flying.
"Thunk—!" The sharp crack echoed through the stadium sky, amidst the deafening cheers of the ho crowd as the baseball soared straight towards the deep Left Fielder where the Dodgers were defensively weak, catching the Dodgers' outfield group off guard.
In that direction, Left Fielder Chike Hernandez was striving to chase the ball down, but before he could reach and attempt to catch it, the baseball landed first and leisurely rolled deeper into the outfield.
The Dodgers' outfielders scrambled to handle the ball as infielders Gardner and Lin Guanglai advanced towards the bases with direction from first and third base.
There's no denying, Lin Guanglai's hit was masterful; although it didn't clear the stands, it inadvertently achieved an effect no less impactful than a ho run.
By the ti Chris Taylor, guarding Central Field, got hold of the grounder that was almost at the ho run wall, Lin Guanglai had already dashed past second base and was continuing towards third base;
Just when people thought he would stop at third, Lin Guanglai seed oblivious to everything behind him, striding purposefully towards ho plate.
Outfielder Chris Taylor reacted instantly, unleashing a Laser Shoulder throw, aiming at the team's catcher to try and tag out Lin Guanglai at ho; but he evidently overestimated his throw's accuracy and underestimated Lin Guanglai's speed.
By the ti Dodgers' catcher Austin Barnes received the outfield relay throw, it was already too late to turn and tag Lin Guanglai, who was only a step away from ho plate. Lin Guanglai imdiately lowered his body, extended his arm, reaching the ho plate before the glove could touch him, adding another score for the team.
"Whoa whoa whoa— It's Lin again! His speed is incredible, nearly flying along the ground!"
The comntators in the booth expressed their amazent first, "Darvish just threw a rather good pitch, but the Dodgers' questionable defensive shift inadvertently contributed to this inside-the-park ho run..."
"Any way you look at it, the Yankees are in the lead once again — listen to the noise from the field, the Bronx has turned into a sea of joy!"
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