Shun returned to the mound for the bottom of the sixth inning, and unlike the previous inning where he dispatched the three batters with few pitches, Kasuga's lower batting order was determined to wear out Shun's arm, even if they couldn't get a hit.
Shun needed eight pitches to retire Kasuga's seventh batter with a fly ball to center field. After that, it took him six more pitches to strike out the eighth batter. Finally, with two outs, Shun faced another left-handed batter.
Kasuga's ninth batter found himself cornered in the count after only two pitches, forcing him to try and hit Shun's third pitch in the duel, a horizontal slider that crossed through the strike zone.
WOOSH
DING
PAH
"Out! 3 outs, changeover!" - The umpire announced as Kasuga's ninth batter's fly ball landed in Kenta's glove.
