Page 97 of Home Run

“You couldn’t pay me to get in that water.” Matty shivered dramatically.

After that, it was game over, more or less. Jupiter followed Lux with similar results, Tanner made it to second base, Saint Velasquez—the right field—made it to third, bringing Tanner home safely, and it went on like that. Sawyer James—the second baseman—rounded out the game with an inside-the-park home run, bringing the final score to Lions 7, Nats 4.

We were likely the only house on the street cheering, and there was no way our neighbors couldn’t hear the ruckus being made. Even Brinkley joined in with a round of howls and barks.

Radley pulled me into a hug, taking care not to squash me too hard, because just like that, the Lions were one step closer to the Commissioner’s Trophy.

And I was heading home to the National League East’s MVP.

TWENTY-ONE

TANNER

“Sloppy misses.There were a lot of sloppy misses?—”

“I wish he’d stop sayingsloppy?—”

“Shhh.”

“What did I say to you?”

“Too much to remember?—”

“Shhh.”

“You came into this series too cocky. You were cocky, and you got knocked out. Nothing”—Coach slashed his hand through the air—“I repeat,nothinghappened that should have happened. When you needed to stay on base, you ran. You needed to run, you stayed on base. There wasn’t enough reading the plays. Sloppyand amateur. All of it. I’m tempted to bring up the Jungle Kings and have them play in your place?—”

The hissing in my ear started up again. “I haven’t seen Coach this pissed since Scout and I got together?—”

“Parker,shut up. I’m not getting caught talking, he’s already mad at me.”

But Coach was on a roll, too mad to notice anything through his red mist of anger.

“The Jungle Kings will play a hell of a lot better than you did tonight. You’re looking too far ahead instead of staying in the game. That’s how we’ll end up losing because you’re not paying attention. You don’t get paid to think about the next game, you’re paid to play the one you’re in.” Coach punched each word out with a jab of his finger. “Because you never know when it’ll be your last.”

Thankfully we’d sat right at the back of the auditorium today. If you hadn’t guessed, the first game of the championship series against the Giants did not go well.

I couldn’t tell you exactly where we went wrong, but it was an unmitigated disaster from start to finish. I don’t think anyone had come out unscathed.

Sawyer James spent every bottom inning icing his ankle after he rolled it racing after a ball he’d miscaught. He wasn’t the only one, it was like the balls today had been greased up because we nearly all fumbled them.

Jupiter’s bat snapped in half after a particularly hard hit, which bounced back and smacked the umpire, causing the game to halt while a medic patched up the heavily bleeding cut on his arm. It was distracting enough that Jupiter only made it to first base.

Lux hit a bunt, which went wrong, and the Giants third base caught it in the air, something which admittedly wasn’t our fault, but Coach didn’t see it that way.

And then there was me.

“Wives, girlfriends, family—anyone of any importance to you watching the game—are being moved to the bleachers. I don’t want to see another wink, a wave, a smile. Noblowing goddamn kisses.Nothing! You run around the bases and you go straight into the dugout. If you can’t stay focused, then I’m removing all distractions. If I see it again, consider yourself benched.”

A low grumble of objection ran through the auditorium, a couple of the guys turned around to see where I was sitting. I slunk a little further in my seat behind Saint Velasquez, who usually doubled as a wall.

It wasn’t my fault.

Last night Millie had sat two rows behind the dugout. What was I supposed to do, ignore her? I didn’t know the cameraman was following me. I blew her a kiss, big deal.

Unfortunately, I hadn’t realized I’d slowed down quite as much as I had before reaching home plate, but I truthfully thought Boomer’s ball had gone far enough into the field to get me back safely. It hadn’t, and I got caught out.

Luckily Coach had already been raging about a bad call from the umpire while Parker was at bat, but I knew it would only be a matter of time before I was on the receiving end of his wrath.

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