By Yoon Chul
Staff Reporter
Korea's closers from the World Baseball Classic (WBC) have been shining in their respective leagues recently.
Park Chan-ho of the Philadelphia Phillies has pitched in three consecutive games without giving up a run, while Lim Chang-yong of the Yakult Swallows in Nippon Professional Baseball recently earned his 18th save of the season and has yet to give up a single run.
Park, who pitched 10 scoreless innings and earned three saves in the first WBC in 2006, pitched 2/3 of an inning against the Boston Red Sox in his last appearance Friday.
The 35-year-old, who joined the Phillies rotation in April, had been sent to the bullpen after compiling a record of 1-1 with a 7.29 ERA in seven starts.
Park has since been decent in his new role, except for one appearance against the San Diego Padres where he allowed four runs on four hits and two walks on June 3.
During his last three games, he's been a reliable option for Phillies coach Charlie Manual, throwing 5 2/3 scoreless innings with five strikeouts.
Meanwhile, Lim's performance this season has been nothing short of remarkable. The 32-year-old Korean hadn't had a save opportunity for a while, but preserved wins for the Swallows on Thursday, Saturday and Sunday. He now trails Central League leader Katsuhiro Nagakawa of the Hiroshima Toyo Carp by one.
Lim, dubbed ``Mister Zero,'' has thrown 25 2/3 scoreless innings in 26 games.
Lim, who guarded the Swallows' 3-1 victory over the Orix Buffaloes, Saturday, added another one Sunday against the same team.
As the Swallows trailed the Buffaloes by four with the bases loaded in the ninth inning with two outs, the Swallows manager Shigeru Takada called up their guardian, Lim. The South Korean faced Buffaloes' catcher Takeshi Hidaka and got him to ground out to the second baseman with a breaking ball, thus winning the game.
Japanese baseball fans have acknowledged his amazing run ― Lim has received 68,895 votes, the top among closers in All-Star voting as of Friday.
``I've been very lucky to sustain this run,'' Lim said. ``Last year, I collapsed at the end of the season. However, this year may be different. I have confidence,'' he added.
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