Hit the Bad Luck Away

Tang's knee carried Pain 68 and Fatigue 73, but before entering the box he looked at each of his three runners. He saw no numbers. He saw teammates. On the first pitch, he showed a full swing. The third baseman took half a step back. On the second, Tang squared to bunt. A bunt with two outs and the bases loaded was nearly madness. The ball crawled along the first-base line. The pitcher charged and grabbed it barehanded. The runner scored as Tang hurled his aching knee toward first. “Safe!” One to one. The Thunder dugout surged to the rail. Tang lay beside the bag, laughing. “Can ninety-nine focus defend that?” Gu's smile disappeared.