'Hometown' Daegu felt comfortable as Park Jun-hyun threw 158 km/h, delivering a perfect seven-inning performance to demonstrate his power against AG! What about the elite team from Taiwan?

*This content was translated by AI.

Park Jun-hyun (19), the right-handed pitcher selected first overall in the 2026 Rookie Draft and known as Kiwoom Heroes' "monster rookie," fully proved his true worth in his first career start on the mound in his hometown of Daegu. Although the team's loss dimmed the victory, he delivered a powerful display of strength that erased the regret of being excluded from the Asian Games roster.

On the 17th, Park Jun-hyun started against the Samsung Lions in an away game at Daegu Samsung Lions Park in the "2026 Shinhan SOL KBO League." He delivered a perfect performance over seven innings, allowing four hits, issuing two walks, and recording six strikeouts without surrendering a run. His pitch count was only 85, and his season ERA dropped significantly from 3.51 to 2.90.

This away trip to Daegu held special significance for Park Jun-hyun. As the son of Park Seok-min (41, currently Samsung Lions' minor league coach), a legendary infielder in KBO League history, he spent most of his childhood in Daegu while nurturing his dream of becoming a baseball player. His roots remained firmly in Daegu until he left for Cheonan Bukil High School to pursue baseball studies. Although his father Park Seok-min moved from Samsung to NC Dinos ahead of the 2016 season, making it no longer his home stadium, it remains a relatively familiar place for him.

Coincidentally, the opponent was Samsung, the team that had given him his debut start victory (five innings, scoreless) at Gocheok on April 26. After failing to secure six consecutive wins following his first career and season victory, and even experiencing a temporary removal from the first-division roster, Park Jun-hyun declared his resurrection in front of hometown fans while wearing the number "18," which symbolizes his father and is currently his own jersey number.

Park Jun-hyun showcased efficient and perfect game management skills on this day. He precisely broke his previous record of most innings pitched, which was set on May 17 against the Changwon NC Dinos (six innings, one run, 99 pitches), exactly one month later. He also managed his pitch count well, a previously noted weakness, and further evolved by lowering his somewhat high WHIP (walks plus hits per inning pitched) from 1.59 to 1.46 with this outstanding performance.

The game flow was also overwhelming. Although he allowed one hit in the first inning, Park Jun-hyun finished the frame without conceding a run, ending the inning with three batters after linking up with Park Seung-gyu's failed stolen base attempt. In the third inning, he faced a crisis with one out and runners on first and second but induced a double play from Kim Sung-yoon, preventing any runs. From the fourth to the sixth inning, he completely shut down Samsung, continuing a streak of three-up, three-down innings.

In fact, the biggest crisis of the day came in the bottom of the seventh inning. He struck out leadoff batter Koo Ja-wook with a swinging strikeout but then walked Lewin Diaz and allowed a left-field single to Park Seung-gyu, putting him in a crisis with one out and runners on first and second. However, Park Jun-hyun struck out Byun Byung-woo with a 154 km/h fastball on the fourth pitch, inducing a ground ball to the shortstop for a double play and preventing any runs.

Notably, Park Jun-hyun's fastest pitch on this day reached an impressive 158 km/h. Even in the crisis situation of the seventh inning, he displayed endurance by throwing a powerful 156 km/h fastball without tiring.

However, Kiwoom suffered a 0-1 loss after giving up a walk-off triple to Koo Ja-wook in the bottom of the ninth, pushing Park Jun-hyun's second win of the season to a later date. Nevertheless, he proved his ability to handle innings as a starting pitcher perfectly, finding solace even in defeat.

When Park Jun-hyun's name was excluded from the final roster for the Asian Games announced on the 11th, voices of regret poured out among baseball fans. With Taiwan's military service period extended from four months to one year, there are even reports that Taiwan is preparing to mobilize a large number of elite players for the Asian Games to be held in September. This is why there are evaluations that it is somewhat regrettable for Park Jun-hyun, who possesses powerful pitching ability that will be effective on the international stage, to be left out.

Park Jun-hyun did not become discouraged but instead displayed his strength with a powerful demonstration on the hometown mound, showing his continued vitality. Leaving a strong impression that even if Taiwan's elite lineup comes, his pitching ability would be sufficient to handle them, the "monster rookie" announced his potential to become a true ace.

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*This content was translated by AI.