By Yoon Chul
Staff Reporter
Yakult Swallows guardian Lim Chang-yong clinched first place in the save race after grabbing his 13th of the season in Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB) on Saturday.
At the team's Meiji Jingu home stadium, Korean closer Lim went to the mound in the ninth inning and zippered all three Hanshin Tigers batters to secure a 4-1 triumph. The 32-year-old closer led the team's ascendancy, helping hold victories on three straight days.
The accelerated Lim nudged further ahead of his trailer ― Katsuhiro Nagakawa of the Hiroshima Toyo Carf ― in the save race.
Lim, dubbed `` Mister Zero,'' needed only seven pitches to give his side a rest.
Ninth inning leadoff Kevin Mench touched the Korean's slider, which aimed high and outside, and the ball grounded to the second baseman. Next batter Atoshi Fujimoto also went back to the dugout after hitting a groundball.
In the last bat, Kodai Sakurai stood against the unbreakable Swallows closer and swung at fresh air when the third pitch was made.
Lim, who startled Japanese baseball fans by pitching a 160-kilometer per hour (kph) fastball Friday, then left them astonished again when he threw at 160 kph with his last pitch. However, the official recording saw it come in at 157 kph, with the Meiji Jingu stadium normally registering faster speeds than others.
The 160 kph recording is the second fastest in NPB history behind that set by Marc Kroon of the Yomiuri Giants at 162 kph.
``Throwing more than 160 kph is hard for me, but as the weather is getting hot, it may be possible to throw the ball faster,'' Lim said.
While the Japanese press was startled by his fastball, they found the root of it in his flexibility, According to the Swallows trainer, his shoulder is as flexible as that of a swimmer.
Another reason is credited to Swallows manager Shigeru Takada. Lim has pitched only one inning per game, with the exception of just one when he pitched 1 1/3 innings.
With the pressure off, he was able back on track and recover speed. He has pitched 17 1/3 innings during 17 games, with an ERA of 0.