CHAPTER 10
KNUCKLE DOWN

Malcolm woke up early the day of the game. He kept testing his grip and throwing practice pitches into a net in the yard. By the time he got to the ballfield, he thought he was ready to unleash his knuckleball on the Goliaths.

But then he got a look at the crowd. It was packed! The Goliaths’ side of the field was filled with fans. Even the Lions’ side was crowded. Malcolm saw several friends from school in the crowd, and a lot of them didn’t even like baseball. He was going to be front and center.

“Are you ready to give them the ol’ knuckler?” Sanjay said.

“I guess so,” Malcolm said shakily.

The Lions were at bat first. Xavier led off the game with a hit, and then Walter struck out. With Matt batting next, Malcolm gave him one final piece of advice.

“Be patient,” he said. “Don’t swing at the first pitch.”

Matt strolled into the batter’s box. The Goliaths’ pitcher wound up and fired the ball. Matt flinched like he was going to swing, but he held back as the ball went low and outside. He turned to Malcolm, who gave him a thumbs-up.

Matt settled back into the batter’s box. The Goliaths’ pitcher looked in for the signal. He wound up and fired a fastball right down the middle. CRACK! Matt blasted it to left field for a run-scoring single.

By the bottom of the first inning, Malcolm took the mound with a 1–0 lead. Suddenly, he wasn’t so sure about throwing the knuckleball.

Maybe I’ll start with a fastball, he thought. He looked for Sanjay’s signs. His friend called for a knuckleball. Malcolm shook his head. Sanjay then put down the sign for a fastball. Malcolm nodded. He wound up and fired…

CRUNCH! The Goliaths’ leadoff hitter smacked it up the middle for a single.

Okay, they just got a little lucky, Malcolm thought.

Sanjay called for another knuckleball. Malcolm nodded away the sign again. He wanted to try another fastball. He wound up and fired.

CRACK! The next hitter crushed the ball to deep left field for a double, and the score was tied 1–1.

“Time!” Malcolm heard from behind him. Matt jogged over. “I thought you were going to throw the knuckleball?”

“I don’t know, Matt,” Malcolm said, rubbing the sweat off his brow. “What if it doesn’t work?”

“Trust the science, Malcolm,” Matt said. “That’s your thing, remember? I know you can do it.”

Malcolm gathered himself. He looked at Sanjay and nodded. He gripped the ball and threw the knuckler. It drifted and hit the batter! Now there were two runners on base and no outs.

Malcolm felt bad, but the ball had moved a bit. He decided to throw another knuckleball. This one danced and fluttered to the plate.

WHIFF! The Goliaths’ hitter took a huge swing and missed.

Malcolm continued to mix his fastball and his knuckleball. To his relief, he managed to get out of the inning without allowing any more runs.

“What are you throwing out there?” Coach Fitz asked when Malcolm ran to the dugout.

“My super-duper knuckleball,” Malcolm said. “Do you like it?”

Coach chuckled. “Whatever works.”

For the next few innings, Malcolm kept the Goliaths off-balance with his mix of knuckleballs and fastballs. They swung way too early on the knucklers and way too late when Malcolm sped up the pitches.

By the bottom of the ninth, the Lions were clinging to a 2–1 lead. Sanjay had driven in the go-ahead run with a sacrifice fly in the seventh inning. As Malcolm walked out to the mound, he could feel the pressure to pick up the victory.

The last half of the inning started out well. Malcolm struck out the leadoff hitter. But then the next Goliaths batter hit a hard double.

Malcolm felt a little anxious. As the crowd went wild, he wound up and threw a fastball. PING! The Goliaths hitter drove the ball foul down the third baseline.

Malcolm’s next knuckler bounced off the plate and away from Sanjay. The runner moved over to third.

Malcolm was worried about throwing the knuckleball. He was happy when Sanjay signaled for a fastball. He threw one right to the outside corner.

“STRIKE!” the umpire bellowed.

The count was one ball and two strikes. Malcolm leaned in, and Sanjay called for the knuckleball.

Malcolm let it fly. It was perfect—the best knuckler he’d thrown all day.

WHIFF! The batter swung and missed for the second out. But the ball ticked off the top of Sanjay’s glove and rolled away.

Seeing a chance to score the tying run, the runner at third took off down the line. As Malcolm sprinted to cover home plate, Sanjay recovered the ball. Then he flipped it to Malcolm, who slapped his glove down to tag the runner.

“OUT!!” yelled the umpire.

Just like that, the Lions won the game!

“Way to go!” Matt shouted as he ran in from third base. “The knuckleball worked!”

Malcolm beamed as Matt, Sanjay, and the rest of the team carried him off the field. Science, statistics, and a whole lot of teamwork had saved the day!