SEOUL, South Korea (Interstat) — Raul Alcántara delivered a dominant performance on the mound, and the Kiwoom Heroes’ offense erupted for three runs in the third inning to power past the LG Twins 5-2 on Friday evening at Gocheok Sky Dome.

A crowd of 14,150 watched as the Heroes, rebounding from an 11-1 road loss a day earlier, evened their season record at 2-4. The Twins, coming off a narrow 2-1 victory, also fell to 2-4 on the young Korea Baseball Organization season.

The most important sequence of the game unfolded in the bottom of the third inning, transforming a scoreless contest. Facing LG starter Yonny Chirinos, Park Han-gyeol ignited the rally with a single to right-center. Aaron Brooks followed with a double, putting runners on second and third. Lee Joo-hyung then sliced a single to right field, scoring Park for the game’s first run. After a strikeout, Choi Joo-hwan grounded out to second, allowing Brooks to cross the plate. Lee Joo-hyung, who had stolen second, then scored on an infield single by Park Chan-hyeok, capping the three-run outburst that gave Kiwoom a lead it would not relinquish.

Alcántara, the winning pitcher, was the cornerstone of the victory. The right-hander stifled the Twins’ lineup over 6 1/3 strong innings, allowing one earned run on six hits while striking out seven. His performance provided a stark contrast to his season debut on March 28, when he took a loss after surrendering three earned runs to the Hanwha Eagles. He improved to 1-0.

Chirinos, the losing pitcher for LG, struggled with command and traffic on the bases. He was charged with four earned runs on nine hits over five innings of work, walking one and striking out six. His record fell to 0-2.

The Twins chipped away at the deficit in the fourth when Austin Dean launched a solo home run to left field off Alcántara. Dean was the offensive bright spot for LG, finishing the night 3 for 5 with a home run, a double and both of his team’s RBIs.

Kiwoom responded in the fifth. Aaron Brooks led off with a double down the right-field line and later scored on a fielder’s choice by Choi Joo-hwan, extending the lead to 4-1. Brooks was a perfect 4 for 4 at the plate with two doubles, an RBI and two runs scored.

LG mounted its most serious threat in the seventh. With Alcántara still on the mound, Hong Chang-ki doubled and advanced to third on an infield single by Shin Min-jae. Dean then delivered an RBI single to center, scoring Hong and chasing Alcántara from the game. Reliever Kim Seong-jin entered and induced a groundout from Moon Bo-gyeong to end the inning with the tying run at the plate, preserving a 4-2 lead.

The Heroes added an insurance run in the sixth against the LG bullpen. Kim Gun-hee doubled and scored on a two-out single by the red-hot Aaron Brooks, making it 5-2.

From there, the Kiwoom bullpen sealed the victory. Park Yun-sung recorded an out in the seventh, Kim Seong-jin worked a scoreless inning, and closer Kim Jae-woong pitched a perfect ninth, striking out one, to earn his first save of the season.

LG out-hit Kiwoom 10-11 but went 1 for 8 with runners in scoring position and left nine men on base. The Twins’ bullpen, featuring scoreless outings from Baek Seung-hyeon and Bae Jae-june, kept the game within reach, but the offense could not overcome the early hole.

The result defied pregame projections. Interstat’s game simulator had predicted a 5-2 victory for the LG Twins, and its ELO system gave LG a 71.8 percent probability to win. The Twins had also been installed as a pregame favorite with a spread of +1.5.

Both teams will continue their three-game series at Gocheok Sky Dome on Saturday. The Twins will look to level the series, while the Heroes aim to build momentum before embarking on a road trip next week.