"As expected, another intentional walk."
At the center of the Kyocera Dome field, Lin Guanglai tossed his bat to the sidelines, dismantled his batting gear, and strode toward first base. Handing his equipment to an approaching teammate, he began to loiter around first base.
In this crucial battle, ever since Lin Guanglai hit a home run in his first at-bat, Orix has been employing a frenzied intentional walk strategy against him. Regardless of the situation, whenever Lin Guanglai comes up to bat, he's greeted with an intentional walk, denying him any chance for a direct confrontation.
Judging by the current state of the game, this strategy has proven quite effective. After eight innings, the score between SoftBank and Orix remains deadlocked at the initial 2-2, with no further advancements.
Without the opportunity for direct confrontation, Lin Guanglai feels somewhat stifled. However, he knows this is the kind of treatment a strong batter often faces in professional baseball.
