Oh Seung-hwan of the St. Louis Cardinals tossed a perfect inning in relief in his sixth spring training appearance in Florida on Monday.
Oh retired the side in order in the top of the ninth inning against the Boston Red Sox at Roger Dean Stadium in Jupiter, Florida. The South Korean right-hander took over from Jordan Walden with the Cards trailing 4-1. He struck out Jordan Betts looking, and got Dan Butler to line out to left field. Oh then sat down Henry Ramos on a groundout to second.
Oh needed just eight pitches to get out of the inning. He has allowed one earned run on three hits in 6 2/3 innings for a 1.35 ERA. The all-time saves leader in South Korea signed with the Cardinals last month and is expected to serve in the setup role for All-Star closer Trevor Rosenthal.
Elsewhere in spring training, Seattle Mariners first baseman Lee Dae-ho left the team for a few days to be with his wife, who is expecting a child in Washington.
The Mariners have Tuesday off, and the South Korean is expected to rejoin the club Wednesday night against the Oakland Athletics.
Lee, the 2015 Japan Series MVP with the Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks, is battling with Jesus Montero for a backup first baseman job behind Adam Lind. Lee is batting .267/.353/.433 with a home run and four RBIs in 14 games. (Yonhap)
