Seo, Park Are Sharp for South Korea, 2-0

Dodger right-hander Jae Seo pitched two-hit ball and Chan Ho Park worked three effective innings for a save to lead South Korea past Taiwan, 2-0, today in the opener of the inaugural World Baseball Classic.

The 16-nation tournament started at 11:30 a.m. local time and was played in front of a sparse crowd of 5,193 at the Tokyo Dome. Japan was scheduled to play its first game later today against China.

Seo started and struck out three in 3 2/3 innings. He threw 61 pitches -- under tournament rules, starting pitchers are limited to 65 pitches in the first round.

Park, a former Dodger who pitches for the San Diego Padres, gave up two hits in the ninth but got pinch-hitter Chih-Yao Chan to ground out to end the game.

Sung Heon Hong and Jong Beom Lee each drove in a run for South Korea on doubles in the fourth and fifth innings.