A bizarre win for streaking Patriots by Jonas Terrado
(Photo - Jayzee Teofisto)Patriots 1, Uni-Bikers 0
A scoreless tie, a pitcher’s duel and a bizarre ending - three rare scenarios seen in one Baseball Philippines Series 4 game.
And in that same game, the Forward Taguig Patriots survived these usual occurrences, defeating the Dumaguete Uni-Bikers, 1-0, to remain as one of the top teams of the current circuit.
Ferdinand Recto was supposed to be a victim of a blown play, but it turned out to be a blessing in disguise as he was able to score the winning run amidst an error from Dumaguete catcher Edmer del Socorro, as the Patriots wildly celebrate.
It was the Patriots fourth consecutive triumph to climb into second place in the team standings with a 4-1 record, a game-and-a-half back of the league-leading Cebu Dolphins (5-1).
“Our timing and discipline helped us win this game,” said Taguig playing coach Ricky Jimenez in Filipino. “Since I have been hired as coach, the boys have been
Ernesto Binarao edged out fellow lefty Darwin dela Calzada in a classic battle of two RP team pitchers.
Binarao hurled his second complete game of the tournament, recording a season-high seven strikeouts and yielded just three hits.
On the other hand, dela Calzada had eight shutout innings, fanning four and allowing four hits in a no-relief effort.
Both players are ineligible to play their next game due to a rule that prohibits a pitcher to play after throwing for more than six innings the previous game.
Through the first eight innings, both teams never put a runner in scoring position while playing a mistake-free defense.
But Taguig broke the ice in the ninth when Recto began with a double to left-field while Jimenez was given an intentional walk. In the next at-bat, Jeff Hardillo hit a single to left that loaded the bases.
From there, Rizel Santos missed an attempted squeeze play, as a running Recto was suddenly trapped in a rundown. However, he was able to touch home plate safely when del Socorro‘s bobbled the ball during a supposed tag.
The Uni-Bikers suffered their second straight defeat and fell to fifth place in the team standings with a 2-4 record.
Forward Taguig finally grabbed its first victory against Dumaguete after seven matches all-time. The Patriots also lost to the Uni-Bikers in the Series 2 first-round playoffs and also in the Series 3 quarterfinals despite holding a twice-to-beat incentive.