âGotta look alive!â
Dave looked bewildered. âDonât worry about them,â Derek told him. âLetâs get these next two outs, huh?â
Dave nodded and got his head back into the game. Lucky thing too, because the next batter hit a sharp ground ball to him. Dave caught it cleanly and threw to second to get the runner for the second out.
Meanwhile, the man whoâd been on third base scored the Tigersâ first run, to cut the Red Soxâs lead in half.
The next hitter watched three pitches go by for balls. Then, knowing the pitch would be right down the middle, he smacked it into the outfield, where it fell between Miles and Cubby for a double and the Tigersâ second run.
The Tigers werenât through yet either. The next hitter managed a clean single, and the runner scored from second base to make it 3â2.
The batter after him grounded to second, ending the inning, finally , but the Red Sox had lost their lead, and Derek wasnât feeling so confident anymore.
After a scoreless second, Derek led off the third inning. This time he promised himself he wouldnât swing at the first pitch, no matter what. His first at bat had been over before it had even begun, and he wasnât about to let that happen again.
Sure enough, he let the first pitch go by, and groaned when he saw how easy it would have been to hit! The nextpitch wasnât nearly as good, but Derek took a swing at it anywayâand missed .
Now the count was 0â2, and he had to swing at any pitch that was close to a strike, or risk being called out. The pitch came in outside, but close enough that Derek had to swing.
He made contact, but it wasnât solid contact. His weak pop-up was caught by the first baseman for the out, and Derek shook his head in frustration as he headed back to the bench again.
On the way he glanced up into the bleachers and saw his family trying to cheer him up. Derek raised both arms toward his dad, as if to say, What am I doing wrong?
His dad made a motion with both his hands palm down, as if to say, Calm down .
Derek nodded. It was good advice. The game was far from over, and this was no time to get down on himself.
In the bottom of the fourth, with the score still 3â2, Jeff gave up a leadoff triple. He struck out the next two batters, keeping the runner at third. But the next batter singled the run in, to make it 4â2, Tigers.
Jeff struck out the next guy to end the inning, but now the Red Soxâs job was twice as hard. They had to come back from two runs down instead of one, with only two innings left to play.
Jason led off the top of the fifth. Derek and the rest of the team were all standing now, clapping and yellingencouragementâand Jason gave them something to cheer about with a line drive double to right field.
Derek came to the plate, trying to calm himself down. His heart was racing, and he could feel the cold sweat on his neck.
It was hard to be calm, because he knew he could drive in a run with a single. In fact, he couldnât help thinking, a homer would tie the game.
Heâd studied the Tigersâ pitcher his first two times at bat, and even though Derek had made outs, he felt like he could get to the pitcher this time.
But before the guy even threw a pitch to Derek, the Tigers coach came out and made a pitching change!
As the new pitcher warmed up, Derek studied him from the on-deck circle. The new guy didnât throw too fast, at least.
Derek came to the plate ready to swing, but the first pitch was low. He tried to stop himself, but it was too late.
âStrike one!â the umpire called.
Next, Derek swung at a pitch over the plate, but the ball had a little break on it, and he fouled it off for strike two.
The third pitch was a changeup. It came in high and slow. Derek wound up, his eyes widening, and he swung so hard, he nearly came right out of his shoes!
âStrike three!â yelled the
Dave looked bewildered. âDonât worry about them,â Derek told him. âLetâs get these next two outs, huh?â
Dave nodded and got his head back into the game. Lucky thing too, because the next batter hit a sharp ground ball to him. Dave caught it cleanly and threw to second to get the runner for the second out.
Meanwhile, the man whoâd been on third base scored the Tigersâ first run, to cut the Red Soxâs lead in half.
The next hitter watched three pitches go by for balls. Then, knowing the pitch would be right down the middle, he smacked it into the outfield, where it fell between Miles and Cubby for a double and the Tigersâ second run.
The Tigers werenât through yet either. The next hitter managed a clean single, and the runner scored from second base to make it 3â2.
The batter after him grounded to second, ending the inning, finally , but the Red Sox had lost their lead, and Derek wasnât feeling so confident anymore.
After a scoreless second, Derek led off the third inning. This time he promised himself he wouldnât swing at the first pitch, no matter what. His first at bat had been over before it had even begun, and he wasnât about to let that happen again.
Sure enough, he let the first pitch go by, and groaned when he saw how easy it would have been to hit! The nextpitch wasnât nearly as good, but Derek took a swing at it anywayâand missed .
Now the count was 0â2, and he had to swing at any pitch that was close to a strike, or risk being called out. The pitch came in outside, but close enough that Derek had to swing.
He made contact, but it wasnât solid contact. His weak pop-up was caught by the first baseman for the out, and Derek shook his head in frustration as he headed back to the bench again.
On the way he glanced up into the bleachers and saw his family trying to cheer him up. Derek raised both arms toward his dad, as if to say, What am I doing wrong?
His dad made a motion with both his hands palm down, as if to say, Calm down .
Derek nodded. It was good advice. The game was far from over, and this was no time to get down on himself.
In the bottom of the fourth, with the score still 3â2, Jeff gave up a leadoff triple. He struck out the next two batters, keeping the runner at third. But the next batter singled the run in, to make it 4â2, Tigers.
Jeff struck out the next guy to end the inning, but now the Red Soxâs job was twice as hard. They had to come back from two runs down instead of one, with only two innings left to play.
Jason led off the top of the fifth. Derek and the rest of the team were all standing now, clapping and yellingencouragementâand Jason gave them something to cheer about with a line drive double to right field.
Derek came to the plate, trying to calm himself down. His heart was racing, and he could feel the cold sweat on his neck.
It was hard to be calm, because he knew he could drive in a run with a single. In fact, he couldnât help thinking, a homer would tie the game.
Heâd studied the Tigersâ pitcher his first two times at bat, and even though Derek had made outs, he felt like he could get to the pitcher this time.
But before the guy even threw a pitch to Derek, the Tigers coach came out and made a pitching change!
As the new pitcher warmed up, Derek studied him from the on-deck circle. The new guy didnât throw too fast, at least.
Derek came to the plate ready to swing, but the first pitch was low. He tried to stop himself, but it was too late.
âStrike one!â the umpire called.
Next, Derek swung at a pitch over the plate, but the ball had a little break on it, and he fouled it off for strike two.
The third pitch was a changeup. It came in high and slow. Derek wound up, his eyes widening, and he swung so hard, he nearly came right out of his shoes!
âStrike three!â yelled the
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