On the pitcher's mound, Kei Igawa clearly understood this principle as well, and his pitches were equally cautious: after grabbing a good count with the first outside fastball, the next two tricky sliders were both chosen by Matsuda Naohiro, bringing the count to 2 balls and 1 strike.
For the crucial fourth pitch, Kei Igawa sent the ball high towards Matsuda Naohiro's inside corner, aiming to induce a pop fly; Matsuda Naohiro's reaction was just as quick, the bat decisively swept out, sending the baseball in the direction of third base—a ground ball neither too fast nor too slow!
Almost simultaneously with hitting the ball, Matsuda Naohiro threw down his bat and sprinted towards first base like a starting cheetah; Orix's third baseman Geman reacted just as swiftly, rushing forward to scoop up the ball and hurriedly threw it to first base.
