Original subtitles

Money Tree

How heavy is this bat?

This is heavier than the common heavy bats.

Money Tree

Raichi-kun's been swinging this bat every day?

I didn't have money to send him to little or senior league,

and his junior high school didn't have a baseball team.

The only thing I could give him without a job

was that bat and the strongest pitchers in his imagination.

There's no limit to imagination.

What he got out of that was the ultimate image training.

A 160 km/h fastball.

A slider that breaks right in front of you.

A cutter.

A knuckleball that falls like a leaf.

He's been swinging every day without rest

against the monstrous pitchers he imagined in his head.

His hunger isn't like your average little boy.

He'll make money.

Unlike me, he'll make millions with just a single bat.

We will now begin the quarterfinal

between Seido High School and Yakushi High School.

If we can hold him down this inning,

we can take the upper hand.

You understand that, Furuya?

The only other pitcher who's worth your time in West Tokyo...

...is Mei Narumiya from Inashiro.

That's probably it.

Furuya.

Destroy...

...him!

Play ball!

Reliable Teammates

Yakushi Seido

He took down Ichidai Third High's ace, Manaka, fair and square.

How will Furuya fare against him?

They brought Raichi Todoroki-kun to the front?

Furuya-kun, be careful in the beginning.

Furuya, the people behind you are tougher than they look!

Let's go.

Yes! Yes! Yes!

That's the pitch!

That's what we're here to see!

Furuya's here to fight today!

Though that was a ball.

The ball just went "graaah."

It was so much more awesome than I imagined!

He didn't get scared.

You're throwing well, Furuya!

Keep it up!

Let's go with this next.

I don't care if it's a ball. Throw it low.

Ball.

It dropped.

Wow! Wow! Wow!

Damn.

This is difficult.

He's not swinging.

I thought he'd be more aggressive,

but he's not swinging.

Yeah.

They decided to use him as the leadoff man,

so I doubt they're taking the Akikawa strategy.

Raichi, hit it hard!

We don't need a walk!

Hey, you ate my banana, didn't you?

Get on base, Raichi!

If you don't, I put you in the front for nothing!

2 balls, no strikes.

Even if it puts us at 3-0, I want another high fastball here.

Swing your arm down hard.

Let's push him away by force.

Wait a minute!

You're kidding, right?

Straight to the right-center fence!

Straight to the fence?

Damn, so close!

It was almost a homer!

Run, Raichi! Run!

I got a double!

You didn't need to slide there!

You should've gone for third base!

Idiot!

He swung the bat from above,

so he can fight against the pitch's power.

That little...

Like this?

More like this?

I can't stand watching this anymore!

Pipe down.

Move aside!

Furuya!

I gave up a hit.

Don't worry about it!

Let's focus on the next one!

Put away your aura.

Akiba!

You know what to go for?

Furuya.

Let's relax a little bit.

The game's just begun.

A splitter?

Nice one, Furuya!

Let's stay calm!

That's good.

Just take out the batters after him.

Akiba's a pretty good actor, it seems.

Wouldn't you say, Sanada?

Coach, they can hear you.

Yeah, we don't care about his splitters.

We're going after...

...the pitcher's best pitch.

Swing from above...

...about two ball-heights higher.

It's gonna land on the line!

Run for it, Raichi!

Nice batting, Aki!

Ow! My hands.

How did Raichi hit it so far?

Home!

Yeah!

He made it home!

First run!

Nice batting, Akiba!

They're hitting Furuya-kun's fastball.

Yakushi High got the first run.

Damn.

They're going after the high fastballs.

His fastball slows down when he throws from the stretch.

Our top batters won't have trouble hitting those pitches.

That's why I put Raichi to the front.

If Todoroki-kun gets on base,

Furuya-kun has to throw from the stretch.

So this is why they used him as the leadoff man.

Don't stop the flow here, Mishima!

Don't say my name like that!

Hit 'em, boys!

Hit 'em all!

If you don't score, you can't win!

Furuya's fastball got hit twice in a row.

And the hits are actually flying forward.

Should we assume their batters

Kiryu Seido

are as good as Osaka Kiryu?

No.

He's not exhausted from a training camp this time.

Furuya's condition isn't bad at all.

You've got to relax.

Don't ignore him, idiot!

They've sure done it.

They're going after the high fastballs.

Well, his high and low balls are a strike zone apart, so it's not that hard.

But...

We really have to acknowledge it now.

This team...

...is strong.

Yakushi Seido

I can't just watch anymore!

Please let me go, Muscle-senpai!

Just keep it cool.

They're not the type to just take a beating.

Furuya definitely isn't,

but especially that guy.

I'll make plays centered around the splitter,

but your fastball is still our best weapon.

Stop getting mad over every hit, man.

I'm not.

Yeah, you are.

If you're about to snap, look behind you.

You've got reliable teammates behind you.

Don't worry about the runners.

Just focus on the batters.

Where's the "yes, sir"?

Don't get mad again!

Hey, say something!

Don't tense up, Furuya!

I'm ready to go anytime!

Just like the Akikawa game,

he's allowed the first run of the game.

Is Furuya-kun a slow starter?

He may have allowed a run again,

but it's nothing like the Akikawa game where he gave up a bunch of walks.

Furthermore, Yakushi doesn't bunt,

so they're going to try to shake things up with steals.

If he can't hold his ground here,

Seido might keep losing runs like Ichidai did.

Oh, no!

There it goes!

Foul!

That was a close one.

Hurry up and throw.

A fastball from the start?

They know what we're up to, don't they?

Most likely.

The catcher must have a lot of confidence.

He has a lot of power.

He also swings fast.

It makes sense that he was one of the cleanups in the Ichidai game.

A splitter.

Let's get a strike, Furuya.

A steal!

Damn, he's running now?

It's a breaking ball, and it's going low enough to bounce.

If I just catch it normally, I won't make it.

Too bad.

Out!

Are you serious?

That one bounced!

He wouldn't have made it if he had caught a slower breaking ball

from the seated position.

He quickly realized and switched to a position he could throw from quickly.

That's one out.

Furuya.

You've got one in front of you, too.

A reliable teammate.

startled

Nice play, Miyuki!

That was an insane catch, right there!

If you'd missed that one, it would've been a passed ball!

You've done it!

You've really done it!

Calm down, folks.

Man, you daredevil.

That was a big play.

Yeah.

Now, they can't steal so easily.

Man, that catcher's awesome.

Nabe, you should do that, too!

I can't!

Yakushi Seido

Steal!

That's revenge for Furuya!

Runner's home!

The game's tied now!

Jun-san!

Damn right!

We're not gonna lose a scoring battle!

You'd better be prepared!

You said it, Spitz-senpai!

Who's a spitz?

I didn't think we'd get only one run in the first inning.

Looks like you might have to play sooner than we planned, Sanada.

That's one scary swing.

I can smell a ton of money from him, too.

We're lucky it went straight into a glove.

Yeah.

The only other batter we have to watch out for is the catcher.

Kazuya Miyuki.

It's in!

Two-run homer!

Nice batting, Masuko-senpai!

He doesn't bat in the five-hole for nothing.

Masuko!

Masuko!

No honorific for me, Sawamura-chan?

He didn't swing wide that time.

Yeah.

If he swings like that, he'll even be able to hit breaking balls.

Since we're on a roll,

I guess I'll follow suit.

Oops, I did it again.

You suck!

What was that, Miyuki?

Why can't you hit when there's isn't a runner?

Yakushi Seido

Wow! What's with that pitch?

Is he seriously a first-year?

He is, indeed.

Though he acts like a third-year.

Bring it on!

I'll hit your fastball!

Though it doesn't look like he'll swing.

Is he giving separate instructions for less capable batters?

Akikawa showed us how to beat that pitcher,

so we're just gonna use that.

You're more cunning than you look.

What an annoying old man.

If that's the case...

The stretch?

Without a runner?

Slide step?

Strike!

A low fastball?

So he can throw low!

When did he learn to do that?

Are you even trying to warm up your shoulder?

Nice pitch!

They abandoned the speed and put more emphasis on control.

Fast and sound judgment, catcher.

But your judgment

might cost you against us.

You little...

You don't think I can hit that?

Don't be afraid of him hitting.

What you need in this slide step is courage.

The courage to trust your teammates.

I'm not that bad, first-year!

Furuya, cover first!

Furuya!

I have to catch.

Nice cover!

Nice cover, Furuya!

Tetsu-san, nice play!

Nice cover.

So you didn't forget.

Is this the first time you've done that in a real game?

That's right!

Let's kill them one by one!

I'll have to hand it to you on that one.

Nice play.

I'm gonna punch you!

You did it like in practice.

You reacted before I said it.

You're starting to get better.

You can only get experience from playing real games.

Being the starting pitcher for four games early in his first year

will be a big investment.

touched

Stop reminiscing about the moment!

Hurry up and pitch!

This is a requirement for a pitcher.

He still has many things he lacks as a pitcher.

Strike!

Okay.

Nice throw!

You're finally getting into the groove!

Man, they're owning us.

Not to mention he's still a first-year.

Looks like I'll have to break his heart.

When Raichi's second at-bat comes around.

I want meat...

We're in the lead against Yakushi,

but Raichi Todoroki comes at-bat once more.

Raichi, break that pitcher's heart.

Don't get too tense.

Go do your own pitching.

I don't want to give up a hit!

Not to him!

I want to blow them all away!

Next time on Ace of the Diamond: Potential.

Potential

Let's win the national title!