Vicente Lamb, Stars Reporter
July 21, 2055
The laconic Xin, for his part, stated in his post-game interview (through his interpreter) that he just hoped to reward Gonzáles's faith in him.
As the game's first batter to face Long Beach starter/opener Amayas Moelling, Xin shot the second pitch he saw, a 1-0 fastball, back up the middle for a single, the first big league hit of his career.
Xin would come up again in the top the third, the game still scoreless. There was one out and one man on (shortstop Quintin Trewartha, who reached on an error by first baseman Keith Kerfoot). Playing percentages, perhaps, Surfers manager Sixto Rosário pulled starter/opener Moelling in favor of lefty reliever/follower/sometime starter Hotha Buyoya to face left-handed hitter Xin. The Stars left fielder got into trouble early, falling behind 0-2 in the count. Exactly why Buyoya's 0-2 offering was anywhere near a hittable pitch is a matter for conjecture and second-guessing, but it objectively was a very hittable pitch for Xin, who drove the ball a distance of 399 feet for a two-run homer.
Xin would lead off the fifth inning, with the Stars clinging to a one-run lead. He again got the better of Buyoya, who hasn't been as good against lefties this season as you might expect, with a line-drive single into shallow right field. A Daniel Pepper single would move Xin over to second, but the Stars could not bring Xin home.
After reaching on a fielder's choice in the sixth, Xin would face Wayne Dorsey in the eighth with one man out and the Stars enjoying a four-run lead. He would draw a four-pitch walk. Tim Bartlett would also draw a walk, advancing Xin to second. Xin, who came to play some ball, would steal third on the first pitch to Pepper, and then reach home on a grounder to second. You might say that Xin was just the tonic that the Stars lineup needed to overcome the Surfers tonight.