Short Summary[]
With the count at 0-2, Bugaboos batter Kinouchi thinks of a strategy to overcome Tokuchi’s next pitch so Johnson can steal home.
Long Summary[]
Johnson is on third base and the count against Kinouchi is 0-2. Tokuchi declares this is a ‘one-pitch game,’ which is his speciality. His confidence makes Kinouchi nervous. He calls a timeout so he can think.
He can’t bunt as he already has two strikes and a foul will put him out, ending the inning. Tokuchi will expect him to hit instead of bunt, but what sort of pitch will it be? Kinouchi concludes that Tokuchi will throw outside and high as it will be hardest for the batter to hit a grounder, which would allow Johnson to steal home.
Kinouchi laughs to himself; it would work on an ordinary batter, but Kinouchi’s different. He’s spent all season working on his bunting skills and will bunt regardless of the count, having worked out exactly where Tokuchi will aim. He returns to the batter’s box. Johnson takes his usual lead. Tokuchi lifts his foot and he runs. Kinouchi shifts to a bunting stance knowing this is his win.
Tokuchi pitches straight down the middle. Kinouchi awkwardly manoeuvres his bat down away from the outside-high zone he’d been expecting and just connects with the ball. It bounces off and lands straight in Tokuchi’s glove. Tokuchi throws it to third, getting Johnson out. It’s a double play.
Kinouchi hadn’t even considered a pitch down the middle. Tokuchi laughs at him and says he could see exactly what he was thinking, that’d he outwit him with a bunt. He says Kinouchi’s intent is written all over his face and claims by the time he stepped on the mound, the ‘winning pitch’ had already been thrown. At the point Kinouchi started overthinking, the battle was over. Kinouchi thinks Tokuchi is a genuine demon.
Characters[]
- Tokuchi Toua
- Johnson
- Kinouchi