Chapter 19

Short Summary
The Lycaons feel hopeless about their match against the Mariners. The game starts and Tokuchi intentionally walks the first two batters.

Long Summary
Oikawa tells the Owner that Tokuchi isn’t stupid enough to agree to start all three games, but Saikawa reminds him Tokuchi has no choice under the new contract. The secretary notes that following Saikawa’s announcement, tickets for all three games sold out instantly.

On the day of the first match, the Lycaons examine the Mariners’ statistics from the dugout with low morale. They watch the Mariners impressive batting practice while Tokuchi lies on the floor, smoking. Brooklyn says to Takami that the Lycaons are no match for them and mocks Kojima for remaining out of the games for so long, calling him old. He takes a practice swing and hits the ball to the stands.

Ideguchi tries to show Tokuchi the Mariners’ stats, but Tokuchi rips them up. He tells the team there’s no point looking at past data because they’re playing the Mariners of today, not yesterday. He points out several mistakes he noticed the Mariners’ make during batting practice and the team realise he was actually paying attention and not just lying around. The team see they were behaving like they’d already lost.

When the game starts, the commentators speculate that the Lycaons are using Tokuchi as a sacrificial lamb as they know they’ll never beat the Mariners. Tokuchi intentionally walks the first two batters. This is an illogical move as the three clean-up hitters are next. One of the commentators understands that Tokuchi is trying to say he doesn’t fear the Mariners’ lineup. The Lycaons laugh at Tokuchi’s nerve, and Brooklyn gets angry.

Characters

 * Tokuchi Toua
 * Ideguchi
 * Kojima
 * Brooklyn
 * Tomas
 * Takami