Indestructible Pirates escape Dodgers, 21-16

The undefeated Pirates have racked up their ninth straight win as they went head-to-head against the No. 2 Dodgers last Thursday at the Francisco “Tan Ko” Palacios Baseball Field.

Both teams put on quite a show as the game had the air of a postseason game—with two of the best teams in the 2023 Tan Holdings-SBL Masters League duking it out—and the Pirates came out on top once again, 21-16.

The game had it all—from home runs to perfect at-bats, injuries, and arguments—topped off with the Pirates’ unblemished record on the line.

The Pirates had the first laugh—and eventually the last, when they scored six runs in the first inning off of the Dodgers’ Jeff Cruz. The Dodgers answered back quickly though with a lead off solo homer by Bruce Norita in the second inning to get in the game. Two more runs scored and the Pirates’ lead was cut in half, 3-6.

Mark Toves of the Pirates started things off in the second when he got on base from a single and scored later in the inning. Then Pete Sablan got a free pass to first and was brought home by Audie Maratita. They went on to be shut down in the third as the Dodgers were playing catchup, and at the end of the third, the game was 9-5 still in favor of the Pirates.

Maratita went on a hot streak as he hit a double in the fourth, followed by another double by Jerome Delos Santos for four runs in that inning. The Dodgers did not want to be silent and scored five of their own for a close 12-10 Pirates lead.

The fifth and sixth inning seemed to decide the game with both teams’ bats continuing to be hotter than the cool January evening. The Dodgers kept pace with the Pirates as they held on for dear life to their shrinking lead.

Seven runs would score for the Pirates in the sixth to boost their lead to 19-10, but the Dodgers weren’t swayed and the top of their order scored five consecutive runs to make it 19-15.

The Pirates’ pitching staff held on though as J.J. Laniyo took them home to victory after allowing only one more Dodgers run to score in the seventh.

Maratita had a solid game of four hits in five at-bats, scoring two RBIs and three runs, and hitting one double. Lefty Eric Palacios was right there with him when he went four-for-four, scored three runs, and four RBIs.

The Dodgers had a productive lineup but just couldn’t cut it against the Pirates, with Norita going 4-for-4, scoring four runs, four RBIs, and one double on top of his home run. Glen Camacho, the league’s leading batter last Jan. 22, went 3-for-4, scored two runs, had four RBIs, and hit one double.

There’s only two more weeks of regular season play before the start of the playoffs on Feb. 13 and Feb. 14. The championship series is slated for Feb. 19, 21, and if needed, Feb. 23.