Walk-off win for Dodgers in return of SBL Masters League

The 2024 Saipan Baseball League Masters League Dodgers team channeled the winning ways of the 2024 MLB World Series champion Dodgers, opening their season with a thrilling 8-7 walk-off win over the defending champion Pirates last Wednesday at Francisco “Tan Ko” Palacios Baseball Field.

It was a finals rematch thriller that almost rivaled last season’s best-of-three championship series, but with a different outcome as the Dodgers won this battle.

The Dodgers had the bases juiced at the bottom of the seventh inning with nobody out, tied at 7-apiece. Tim Wesley stepped up to the plate and knocked in the winning run as he hit a soft ground ball to Pirates second baseman Bal Maratita who fumbled it—which finalized the game at 8-7.

The Pirates held on to a lead early on but lost it to a rallying and more explosive Dodgers team.

It was 2-0 in favor of the Pirates after the top of the second, when the Dodgers bats came alive and rounded the bases four times to reverse the favor in theirs, 5-2. The Pirates had a pitching change in the middle of the inning as they brought in Peter “Dung” Tenorio to stop the bleeding. He managed to collect the third out to mercifully end the inning and give his team a fighting chance.

The Pirates, however, failed to score in the third, but the Dodgers found their way back home from a well-timed sprint by Ed Manibusan for a commanding 6-2 lead.

In the fourth, the Pirates’ Eric Palacios pushed in a run to get within three again, 3-6. The Dodgers were then held at bay in the fourth and fifth inning, but the Pirates could not capitalize as they failed to produce as well.

The Dodgers’ leadoff batter James Benavente then scored their seventh run at the bottom of the sixth to regain a four-run lead, 7-3.

When it seemed like the Pirates would walk the plank, they refused to wave the Jolly Roger in defeat as at the top of the seventh, they found their rhythm once more and tried to do some damage control by tacking on four runs to tie it all up, 7-7.

However, Tenorio’s inability to locate the strike zone and the team’s defense were the harbingers of defeat, as they gave up the winning run in walk-off fashion.

Games are played every Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday at 6:30pm. The postseason is slated for Feb. 10, 11, 17, and 18, with the best-of-three championship series on Feb. 24, 26, and 28 if needed.