Chien-Ming Wang goes back to his sinker and lifts th - 棒球

※ 引述《wonders320 (一飛沖天)》之銘言：
: Chien-Ming Wang goes back to his sinker and lifts the Nationals to 3-1
: victory over Cubs

小王重拾伸卡，率領國民隊以3:1擊敗小熊隊

: CHICAGO — When Chien-Ming Wang returned to a major league pitching mound, his
: right shoulder diminished even after two years of sweat and toil, he no longer
: trusted what had made him one of the best in the world. He lost conviction in
: his unrelenting style, in throwing the pitch — and only that pitch — that
: thudded off bats like medicine balls. His battered shoulder changed him, and
: he responded with more change.

芝加哥電：
當小王回到大聯盟投手丘上時，雖然經過兩年的辛苦復健，但他的右肩仍然稍嫌無力。
小王似乎不相信那顆曾幫助他成為世界頂尖投手之一的伸卡球。
小王似乎對自己過去那種毫不留情讓打者出局的風格失去了信念，
所以當棒子打到他投出的球時，發出的聲音，就像是打中練習球一般。
不過，小王逐漸強壯的肩膀，改變了他的想法，而小王也有了更大的轉變。

: Tuesday night at Wrigley Field, Wang ditched his attempt at reinvention and
: crafted perhaps the most promising game of this Washington Nationals season.
: In a 3-1 victory over the Chicago Cubs, Wang carried a no-hitter into the sixth
: inning, allowing only an infield single in his six scoreless innings. In his
: third start since returning from a torn capsule in his right shoulder and the
: massive surgery it required, Wang earned his first major league win since June
: 28, 2009.

星期二晚上，在Wrigley Field球場上，小王試圖重振旗鼓，
用心投出了可能是他今年在國民隊最讓人充滿期待的一場球。
在這場以3:1擊敗小熊隊的球賽中，小王前五局都沒讓對手擊出任何一支安打。
直到第六局，才讓小熊隊打出一支內野的滾地安打，但小王仍保持六局無失分的表現。
在經歷過右肩受傷與複雜的手術後，小王終於拿下自2009年6月28日以來的第一場大聯盟勝投。


: “For me, it means a lot, because it’s been two years,” Wang said through
: an interpreter. “It’s not a short time.”

小王透過翻譯說：「對我而言，這場球意義重大，因為我已經等了兩年，那已經夠久了。」

: Wang’s performance hinged on him finding what made him so dominant in his best
: seasons. He largely abandoned, to great effect, any pitch other than his sinker
: , the pitch he threw insistently at his peak, the weapon made him one of the
: best pitchers in baseball. Wang threw 66 of out of 81 pitches. The results were
: familiar — he recorded 11 groundball outs, Cubs batters drilling sinkers into
: the dirt in front of home plate.

小王的表現也讓他自己找到過去之所以能在球季中有主宰能力的原因。
小王在比賽中捨棄了其他球種，全力發揮他的伸卡球。
因為這正是過去他在王牌時期所慣用的球種，同時也是讓他成為棒壇最佳投手之一的武器。
在小王投出的81球中，有66顆都是伸卡球。
而我們也看到過去熟悉的結果：面對小王的伸卡球，小熊隊的打者紛紛擊出本壘版前（內野的）吃土的滾地球，
最後小王一共造成11次滾地球出局。

: “I was right when I told you I expected him to be better,” Manager Davey
: Johnson said. “I even watched him warming up, his ball really had some good
: sink. That’s him.”

強森說：「當我對你說我期待他表現更好時，我就知道我是對的。
我甚至還看著他暖身呢，他的球真的掉得很厲害，那就是小王呀！」

: Pitching coach Steve McCatty implored Wang this week to throw more sinkers. The
: sinker had lost velocity and bite through his shoulder operation and recovery,
: and Wang pitched as though he believed one pitch could no longer sustain him.
: He sprinkled in more sliders and change-ups. But what remained of Wang’s
: sinker, McCatty insisted, was still a pitch capable of making major league
: hitters hit groundballs.

投手教練McCatty本週拜託小王多投點伸卡球。
小王的伸卡球因為肩部手術與復健，變得比較不會跑，也比較沒有威脅性。
小王當時好像不再相信單一球種，就足以讓他揚名大聯盟一樣。
所以小王只好多投滑球跟變化球。
但是McCatty相當堅持，他認為小王的伸卡球仍然絕對能夠讓大聯盟打者擊出滾地球。

: In Colorado this weekend, McCatty chatted with Rockies first baseman Jason
: Giambi, a teammate of Wang’s during his best years with the New York Yankees,
: and brought up Wang’s slider. “Was it good,” McCatty asked, “or was it a
: little fuzzy?”
當國民隊上個週末進駐科羅拉多時，McCatty和落磯隊一壘手大吉聊了一下。
大吉是以前小王在洋基隊當王牌時的隊友。
McCatty和大吉聊到了小王的滑球。McCatty問大吉：「小王的滑球夠猛嗎？還是只是過得去？」

: “A little fuzzy,” Giambi replied. “But I didn’t see it too much.” Because
: Wang threw so many sinkers.


大吉說：「他的滑球還ok，不過我沒看他投過幾次。」因為小王幾乎都是投伸卡球。

: Tuesday night, Wang threw almost all his sinkers between 89 and 92 mph,
: occasionally touching 93 on the radar gun. In 2006, the season he finished
: second in Cy Young voting, Wang often threw mid-90s sinkers, but he averaged
: 93 mph with the pitch. Between starts, Wang worked on throwing a better sinker,
: focusing on his release point and staying on top of the ball as he released it.
: “It almost feels the same,” Wang said. “The sinkerball was sinking.”

在星期二晚上，小王投出的伸卡球，速度幾乎都在89到92英里之間，測速槍上偶爾出現93英里的數據。
在2006年的球季結束後，小王是賽揚獎票選第二名的投手。
小王當時雖然經常投出95英里左右的伸卡球，不過整體來說，平均也有93英里。
在幾次先發之間，小王努力投出更好的伸卡球，專注找出最好的放球點，
讓自己在丟出球時，把球放在最高位置上。
小王說：「那種感覺就像過去一樣，我的伸卡球掉下去了。」

: After five innings, as the groundballs piled up, Wang still had not allowed a
: hit. Ian Desmond saved a potential single in the fifth, when Tyler Colvin shot
: a groundball through Wang’s legs and Desmond made one of several dazzling play
: s, a slick stop behind second base on a wicked hop.

五局結束後，滾地球已經堆積如山，但小王還沒有讓對方擊出安打。
Desmond在第五局的美技，破壞了一個可能的安打。
當時Colvin擊出的滾地球穿過小王的腳，而Desmond做出了讓人炫目的美技。
他在二壘後方，巧妙地跳起來接到了這顆球。

: The Nationals, though, still had not scored a run off Cubs starter Matt Garza,
: a problem fixed with a sudden, powerful spasm of offense. With one out, Michael
: Morse crushed a home run over the batter’s eye in center field, into the
: section of bleachers attached to the old-school scoreboard in center. It was
: Morse’s 20th homer of the year, and maybe his longest. The fans who buy
: tickets there do not bring their gloves to their park.

雖然國民隊當時也沒能從小熊隊先發Garza手中得到分數，但是情勢很快就有了變化。
一人出局之後，Morse擊出了中外野的陽春全壘打。
球就落在與中外野百年計分版相連的看台區上。
這是Morse今年第二十發全壘打，也可能是到目前他打出距離最遠的一發。
可惜的是，坐在那個位置的球迷並沒有帶手套來看球。


: “It’s up there with my top ones that felt good,” Morse said. “But as long
: as it goes over, I don’t care how far.”

Morse說：「那應該是我打的幾顆好球之一，不過只要球飛出去了，我就不在乎飛得多遠了。」

: Garza had dominated the Nationals — he struck out nine in six innings — but
: Morse’s homer seemingly lifted some kind of lid. Jayson Werth smashed a single
: down the third base line. Jonny Gomes, starting for the third straight game,
: followed with a home run of his own, a high drive that snuck into the first row
: in left field.

Garza也主宰了國民隊的打擊。在六局的投球中，Garza一共投出了九次三振。
然而，Morse的全壘打，似乎讓Garza的好投破功了。
Werth後來又擊出一支三壘方向的安打，跟在他後頭的Gomez，雖然已經連續第三場出賽，
但是卻擊出了一發飛得很高的全壘打，球狠很地落到左外野第一排的地方。

: Wang walked to the mound in the sixth armed with a 3-0 lead and a no-hitter.
: "I wasn’t thinking that much about it,” Wang said. “I just wanted to get the
: sinker going.”

小王在第六局繼續上場投球，當時國民隊正以3:0領先，而小王的無安打比賽也還繼續著。
小王說：「我沒想太多，我只是想繼續投我的伸卡球。」


: Tony Campana led off, pinch-hitting for Garza. He bunted one pitch foul, then
: whacked two others foul, building a 2-2 count. Another sinker, and another
: groundball, laced to the right side of the infield. Morse took a quick step to
: his right and dove. The ball deflected off his mitt and trickled behind him.
: Wang still sprinted to cover first, and second baseman Danny Espinosa scooped
: the ball off the dirt on the run. Espinosa buzzed a running throw to Wang,
: hitting him in stride just as he reached the base. If a hitter other than
: Campana had been running, Espinosa’s fabulous play would have preserved
: Wang’s no-hitter. Instead, Campana beat him by a step, and the Cubs had a
: "one’ in their hit column.

後來Campana代替Garza上場打擊，他先打了一個界外，然後又擊出兩個界外，球數來到兩好兩壞。
接著，來了一個伸卡球，同樣是被打成內野右方的滾地球。
Morse很快跑向右邊想要接球，但是球卻跑出他的手套，然後滾到後面去。
小王還是小跑步到一壘補位，二壘手Espinosa邊跑著揀球，邊把球拋向小王。
就在小王踩到壘包時，球似乎也剛好接到手套裡。
如果當時跑壘的不是Campana，Espinosa的美技或許還可以讓小王繼續維持無安打比賽。
可惜，Campana比球快了一步，小熊隊在計分版的安打欄上也因此得到數字「一」。

: Wang stranded Campana on second base with three consecutive outs. He threw a
: sinker with his final pitch, 93 mph, and Blake DeWitt hit a groundball to
: second base. Wang trudged back into the dugout and grabbed a bat, ready to hit,
: but Johnson wanted to protect his shoulder — he said afterward he would have
: pulled Wang even if he still had the no-hitter. He shook Wang’s hand and told
: him, “Good job.”


後來，小王解決了後面的三個打者，讓Campana停在二壘不動。
小王最後投出了一顆93英里的伸卡球，讓DeWitt擊出二壘方向的滾地球。
這局結束後，小王慢慢走回球員席，拿起一隻球棒準備打擊。
不過強森還是得保護小王的肩膀，所以他跟小王握手，跟小王說：「幹得好！」
強森後來說，就算當時仍然是無安打比賽，他也不會再讓小王上場。

: Since the Nationals signed Wang in February 2010, they had waited for a night
: like this. “Light years,” McCatty said, asked how far Wang had come.
: Afterward, about 75 Taiwanese fans lined up in the Wrigley Field concourse, so
: dense and large in number they created a surreal traffic jam as fans left the
: park. As he sat in the clubhouse, Wang could hear them chanting: “Chien-Ming
: Wang! Chien-Ming Wang!”

國民隊從2010年2月跟小王簽約之後，就一直等待著今天這種結果出現。
當McCatty被問到小王走了多久才重登投手丘時，他說：「好幾光年了吧！」
後來，有大概75個台灣球迷聚在Wrigley Field內的走道上。
人數之多，還在其他球迷離開球場時，就好像遇到交通阻塞一樣。
當小王走進球員休息室時，他還能聽到球迷大聲叫著：「小王！小王！」





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