Exactly 758 seats were lacking. The Korea Professional Baseball (KBO) league's Lotte Giants attempted to break a historic record for the first time in its 44-year history but failed due to monsoon rain.

Lotte announced that 21,911 fans attended the game against the Samsung Lions on the 20th at Sajik Stadium in Busan. The capacity is 22,669 seats. They failed to sell out.

Thus, Lotte had been maintaining a streak of 22 consecutive sellouts since the game against Hanwha on April 24, but the failure to sell out today broke that streak.

Lotte is performing well, currently ranked third in the league. Thanks to the overall enthusiasm for the league, the Sajik Stadium has been filled with fans every day. The heat of the 'Gudo' has returned. This year, they are averaging 20,675 fans per game.

As the sellout streak continued, expectations grew that Hanwha would break the record for 24 consecutive sellouts set from April 13 against Kiwoom in Daejeon until June 5 against KT in Daejeon. Hanwha's record was also a KBO league record, and Lotte had the opportunity to write a new chapter in the league's 44-year history.

However, due to the influence of monsoon rain, the sellout was thwarted. There was no rain forecast for that day. But as the start time approached, dark clouds covered Sajik Stadium, and rain began to fall. Ultimately, monsoon rain struck Sajik Stadium, and it started to rain continuously.

Fans' sentiments inevitably changed. That day's matchup against Samsung was always part of the Classic Series. As the only team in the league since the inception that has not changed its name, the meaning was to continue that tradition. Both Daegu and Busan are just over an hour apart, so it was always filled with fans. The match between Samsung and Lotte held this year sold out without regard for Daegu and Busan (5 games in Daegu, 3 games in Sajik).

However, as the rain intensified, many reservations were canceled, and by the end of the 7th inning, all tickets were not sold. The team explained, "All seats were sold out, except for 220 seats reserved for the digitally vulnerable group during the three-game weekend series. Additionally, there were reservations that sold out for today's game, but due to the rain, over 1,500 were canceled by the cancellation deadline, and about 800 were sold at the venue." Ultimately, they fell short by 758 seats and failed to set a record for consecutive sellouts.

Earlier, Hanwha also aimed to continue its streak of 25 consecutive sellouts on June 10. However, with a capacity of 17,000, only 16,691 attendees showed up, falling short of sellout by just 309.

Meanwhile, despite the adverse weather leading to the failure to sell out, Lotte clinched a 3-1 victory over Samsung after a close contest. Starter Alex Gamboa pitched 6 innings, allowing 4 hits (1 home run), 4 walks, and struck out 8 while giving up 1 run. The offense took the lead with a two-RBI double by Jeung Bo-keun in the 2nd inning with 2 outs and runners on first and second.

Then, in the bottom of the 8th inning, Jung Hoon hit a clutch solo home run. After Gamboa, Jeong Hyeon-su, Jeong Cheol-won, and Kim Won-jung all displayed great resolve, maintaining the team's lead. By showing their mettle in the rain, Lotte secured their third consecutive victory and remained in third place.

Even at this point, having crossed the halfway mark of the regular season, Lotte is maintaining its third-place position. If their current performance continues, they may have another chance to challenge for a new record for consecutive sellouts. Although it was briefly dampened by the monsoon rain, the heat of the 'Gudo' is still burning brightly.

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