Sports Briefs

BASEBALL

Oh Seung-hwan carries the Cardinals to their fifth win

Oh Seung-hwan has helped the Saint Louis Cardinals clinch their fifth win of the season.

Oh went to the mound for the first time in eight days on Saturday against the San Francisco Giants at the AT&T Park in San Francisco at the bottom of the eighth inning while the Cards were trailing 1-2. Oh enjoyed a perfect session during his closing assignment on Saturday, giving out no runs for the two innings he pitched in.

Oh had complained about a slight pain in his thigh and had been absent from the mound since the game against the Milwaukee Brewers on Sept. 9, but the pain subsided and he stepped in while the team was losing. It didn’t take Oh long to end the eighth inning, making short work of three batters with just nine pitches.

After Oh concluded the eighth inning, the Cards’ offensive lineup started to simmer. Tommy Pham, a pinch runner, scored when Randal Grichuk hit a single during the middle of the inning and Jose Martinez scored the go-ahead run when Kolten Wong flied out on a sacrifice ball. Oh went to the plate to bat but struck out swinging.

With the Cards in the lead, Oh went to the mound once more in the ninth inning. After retiring the first two batters with ground-outs, Oh gave out two singles. But after a quick time out, Oh concluded the inning without yielding any runs as Conor Gillaspie of the Giants was popped out.

Oh’s earned run average for the season went down to 1.87 after the game while the Cards finally escaped their three-game slide after the 3-2 win.

By Choi Hyung-jo

GOLF

Choi Hye-in and Park Min-ji deliver masterful team play

RIVIERA MAYA, Mexico - Choi Hye-jin and Park Min-ji Park each shot 5-under 67 on Saturday to complete South Korea’s record-tying 21-stroke victory in the Women’s World Amateur Team Championships.

South Korea won the Espirito Santo Trophy for the fourth time, following victories in 1996, 2010 and 2012.

“The key is the team play,” captain Ko Sang-won said. “We have been interviewed over the last few days and the players have been so focused on team play. That makes everyone tight and makes for good results.”

The 17-year-old Choi won the team title at 14 under, beating Denmark’s Lyng Thomsen by two strokes and the 16-year-old Park by five shots.

“We really did our best and we performed really well,” said Choi, the low amateur in the U.S. Women’s Open. “I am very happy now.”

Switzerland was second at 8 under, and Ireland third at 7 under. The United States was sixth at 2 under.

The United States also won by 21 strokes in 1998. South Korea’s 29-under 547 total was a stroke off its tournament record of 546 set in 2010.

AP