"Mr. Zero → Until his first professional win." Lotte rookie Park Jungmin, look at your humility! "Please follow my luck. ERA 0 will break someday"

*This content was translated by AI.

Lotte Giants right-hander bullpen pitcher Park Jung-min (23) won his first professional victory following a six-game scoreless streak in the first division. In response, Park Jung-min said that he was somewhat lucky, and rather, the recent good pitching of starting pitchers helped him control his condition.

Park Jung-min took the mound as the third pitcher in the bottom of the eighth inning, trailing 0-1 in an away game against the Kiwoom Heroes in the "2026 Shinhan SOL KBO League" at Gocheok Sky Dome, and pitched one strikeout and no runs in one ⅔. Although the team fell behind 0-1, it became the first winning pitcher in six games since its debut in the first division thanks to the team's lineup, which scored two points in the top of the 10th inning after recovering one point in the top of the ninth inning. The number of pitches was 20.

Park Jung-min, a former member of Jangchung High School and Hanil Jangshin University, has a formidable record from the beginning of this season after wearing a Lotte uniform as the 14th overall in the second round of the 2026 rookie draft. Since his professional debut against the Samsung Lions on March 28, he has not lost a run in as many as six consecutive games since he earned a save with no runs in ⅔ innings. He won his first hold against the NC Dinos on the 1st and even his first win against Kiwoom on the 11th.

Park Jung-min, who met after the game, expressed his calm thoughts on the number of pitches and multi-inning digestion, which were longer than expected. "It was a tie situation, so I was expecting it to go to multi-innings to some extent.The pitching coach also told me in advance, so I wasn't particularly burdened or nervous. I only tried to throw as I prepared," he said.

Regarding the part of his scoreless streak in 15 ⅔ innings, Park Jung-min said, "There are still too few samples," but added, "There was also a crisis, thanks to a lot of luck. One day, the record will be broken, but I want to continue as long as possible. However, he gave a mature answer, saying, "I can't maintain zero earned run until the end of the season, so I don't dwell on the record and try to do my best in every game."

Park Jung-min also did not forget to thank his teachers for leading today's glory. He said, "Coach Lee Sun-woo helped me a lot when I was at Korea-Japan Jangshin University, but after winning my first victory today, I remember it even more. I sincerely thank you," he said, recalling his gift in college.

"Even when I came to the professional league, I was able to lead to good results thanks to the careful guidance and trust of Kim Sang-jin and Lee Jae-yul, including manager Kim Tae-hyung," he said, expressing deep trust and appreciation for the Lotte coaching staff.

The help of teammates was also great in the background of Park Jung-min's recent best condition. Park Jung-min, who took the mound for the first time in a long time since the match against SSG on the 5th, said, "For sure, starting pitchers are responsible for long innings, so it's very helpful for the bullpen to have time to rest. I think I'm getting better results because I'm able to recover enough and get on the mound," he said, giving credit to his teammates.

Finally, Park Jung-min left the ballpark saying, "I will continue to prepare and try to be a player who is constantly helpful to the team." The season is still long and there are many mountains to overcome, but Lotte's bullpen is expected to become stronger with the appearance of "Mr. Zero" Park Jung-min.

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*This content was translated by AI.