Lim responds to manager’s faith with ...perfect inning

BUSAN (Yonhap) ― Back from an unflattering stint in the minors, veteran closer Lim Chang-yong of the Samsung Lions responded to his manager’s continued show of faith with a perfect outing Tuesday night.

With his Lions leading the Lotte Giants on the road 5-3 here in Busan in their Korea Baseball Organization showdown, Lim took the mound in the bottom of the ninth and retired the side on just 11 pitches.

He struck out two batters for his 18th save of the season, putting him in second place in the KBO in the category.

His ERA, though, still is at an unsightly 5.20, a testament to the up-and-down season he’s had after returning from a short stay with the Chicago Cubs in 2013.

On July 11, a day after Lim blew his KBO-leading sixth save of the season, Lions’ manager Ryu Joong-il demoted the 38-year-old veteran to the team’s minor league affiliate.

The previous day, Lim came up to close out the game in the top of the ninth with the Lions leading the Giants 2-0. He allowed four earned runs on four hits, including a two-run home run by Jeon Jun-woo, while retiring just one batter, and the Lions ended up losing 5-2. Lim took the loss, and this was the third time in four July outings in which he had given up an earned run.