SEOUL, South Korea (Interstat) — Raul Alcántara delivered a masterful pitching performance Wednesday night, guiding the Kiwoom Heroes to a 3-0 victory over the NC Dinos at Gocheok Sky Dome. The right-hander’s eight shutout innings stifled a Dinos offense that managed eight hits but repeatedly failed in clutch situations.

The game’s decisive sequence unfolded in the bottom of the sixth inning, breaking a tense pitcher’s duel. Kiwoom, leading 1-0, loaded the bases with no outs against NC relievers on a walk to Choi Jae-young, a walk to Park Joo-hong and another walk to An Chi-hong. Facing Choi Joo-hwan, Dinos pitcher Lim Jung-ho issued a fourth consecutive walk, forcing in a run to make it 2-0.

With the bases still loaded and no outs, Im Ji-yeol hit a sharp grounder to third. The Dinos turned a critical 5-4-3 double play, but Park Joo-hong alertly raced home from third on the play, sliding in safely to extend the Heroes’ lead to 3-0. The twin killing limited the damage but ultimately provided Kiwoom with a crucial insurance run, capitalizing on the relievers’ control issues.

That rally was more than enough support for Alcántara. The Heroes’ ace scattered seven hits over his eight innings, striking out five and walking none. He worked out of jams in the second, third and fifth innings, stranding five NC runners in scoring position. His most impressive escape came in the fifth after back-to-back, two-out singles by An Joong-yeol and Kim Ju-won put runners on the corners. Alcántara responded by striking out Choi Jeong-won on three pitches to end the threat.

Alcántara’s dominance marked a sharp turnaround from his recent outings, where he had taken losses against the Kia Tigers and Lotte Giants while allowing three earned runs in each start. He improved his season record to 2-2.

NC starter Shin Min-hyeok was nearly as effective early on but was saddled with the loss, falling to 0-2. He held the Heroes to one hit over five innings—a double by Im Ji-yeol in the fifth—but that hit proved costly. Im Ji-yeol advanced to third on a groundout and scored the game’s first run on Kim Gun-hee’s sacrifice fly to right field.

The Dinos’ offense, which had erupted for nine runs in its previous game Sunday, was silenced despite multiple opportunities. Kim Ju-won and Lee Woo-sung each had two hits for NC, but the team went 0 for 7 with runners in scoring position and grounded into three double plays.

Kiwoom added its final run in the seventh when Park Joo-hong singled home Ju Seong-won, who had reached on an error. Yuto Kanakubo closed out the game in the ninth, allowing a hit but securing his second save of the season.

The victory gave Kiwoom (7-14) consecutive wins for the first time this season after a 2-1 triumph over NC on Tuesday. The Heroes had entered the series having lost 10 of their previous 12 games. The Dinos (8-12) have now lost four of their last five and were shut out for the third time this season.

The result defied pregame projections. Interstat’s game simulator had predicted a 2-1 NC victory, and its ELO rating system gave the Dinos a 60.8 percent probability to win. The combined three runs fell well under an over/under line of 8.5, though Kiwoom covered a +1.5 spread.

The two teams conclude their three-game series Thursday at Gocheok Sky Dome before embarking on extended road trips. NC travels to Daejeon to face the Hanwha Eagles for a three-game set starting Friday, while Kiwoom remains home to host the Samsung Lions for a four-game weekend series.