(TNS) — There’s a hot ticket next weekend at PNC Park.

It’s not the Pirates (who are in the basement of the NL Central). That weekend, they are on the road for a series at Fenway Park in Boston.

While they’re away, it’s time to go bananas on the North Shore and welcome the hottest show in sports to town: Banana Ball.

The Savannah Bananas take on the Texas Tailgaters in a two-game series at 7 p.m. Aug. 29 and 30.

Both games are sold out. Tickets are selling for between $200 and $3,000 on Stubhub.

The Bananas market a slicker brand of baseball that puts the fans first.

This kind of baseball might seem foreign to Pirates fans accustomed to frustrating losses, games blown by the bullpen or sheer stupidity that spurs swearing instead of cheering.

Here are five things to know about Banana Ball, which appears to be winning over fans across the country.

The Rules

Yes, there are rules, but they’re less about pine tar and where it appears on bats, and more about fun, and there are 11 of them:

1. The team that scored the most runs is awarded a point for each inning. (Think match play in golf.)

2. Two-hour time limit. Parents, take note if the kids are going alone: They should be home by 11 after both PNC Park games.

3. No stepping out of the batter’s box. If a batter does it, it’s a strike.

4. No bunting. Bananas get squished when they’re squeezed. A player who tries a bunt is ejected.

5. First base can be stolen. Imagine how 1980s speedsters Vince Coleman, Tim Raines or Rickey Henderson would have fared with this rule in place.

6. No walks allowed. Here’s the rule as written: “If a pitcher throws ball four, it becomes a sprint. The hitter will take off running while every defensive player on the field must touch the ball before it becomes live. The hitter can advance to as many bases as they want. The ball does not have to touch the catcher or pitcher.”

7. No meetings on the mound. If it needs to be said, let everyone hear it or use sign language.

8. If a fan catches a ball, it’s an out. Call it the Bartman Rule.

9. Ties end in a showdown. Here’s the rule:

“If the game is tied at the end of the two-hour time limit, the game will go into a Showdown Tiebreaker. In each Showdown, the hitter must score. If they score, it’s worth one point. If they get out, it’s worth no points and it’s called a Showdown Shutdown.

“ROUND 1: Pitcher, catcher, and one fielder vs one hitter

“ROUND 2: Pitcher and catcher vs one hitter.

“ROUND 3: Pitcher, catcher, and one fielder vs one hitter with bases loaded.

“In this Final Showdown, every run counts as a point. If no team has won after three Showdowns, they will continue with the bases loaded and one fielder until one team has won.

“If at any point a home run is hit over the outfield wall, it’s a walk-off win and the game is over.”

10. Challenges. Here are the rules:

In Banana Ball, each team is allowed to challenge one ruling on the field. The coach of each team will have a challenge prop/item that they must throw/shoot on the field before the next pitch for the play to be challenged.

The play will be reviewed by the broadcast and the call will be replayed to the Umpire Field Chief to make the call. If a team wins the challenge and the call is overruled, the team will retain a challenge for later in the game. If the call is upheld or the challenge is inconclusive, they will lose their opportunity to challenge for the rest of the game.

Three Categories of Challenges:

—Fair/foul ball calls

—Force/tag play calls

—Catch plays in the outfield or infield

The Fan Challenge Rule:

In addition to each team’s challenge, the fans will have one opportunity to challenge a ruling during the game.

Prior to the game, the fans will choose one fan to represent them. The fan representative will have the opportunity to challenge one play a night.

If the fan representative chooses to challenge, the fan will shoot off confetti and hold up the “Fan Challenge” sign to make it official.

11. The Golden Batter Rule. When the game is on the line, a team’s best hitter can be used.

The owner

Jesse Cole is the founder of Fans First Entertainment and owner of the Savannah Bananas. He wears a yellow tux and has a sense of humor. If he’s at the PNC Park games, history may be made because he cares about fans’ experiences.

“People go to our games to feel good. At every game there’s dancing, singing, emotion, laughter, tears. It’s like a movie script,” Cole told his alama mater, Wofford University, for a 2019 profile.

More than bananas

The games also feature appearances by the Banana Nanas, a senior citizen dance team, the Man-Nana’s, a dad-bod cheerleading squad; and the Banana Splitz, a youth dance team.

The team also employs what it bills as the world’s only dancing umpire in Vincent Chapman. (Ron Luciano is smiling in baseball heaven.)

The Aug. 29-30 games at PNC Park will be a homecoming for two of the Bananas. Shortstop Ryan Cox is from Hopewell and previously played for the Washington (Pa.) Wild Things of the Frontier League. Extra hitter Alex Ziegler is from Butler and previously played for California University of Pa.

The other teams

Other teams include The Party Animals and The Firefighters, in addition to the Texas Tailgaters playing here. The players include former pros Jonny Gomes, Bill Lee and Josh Reddick.

A good cause

Bananas Foster is more than a sweet treat — it is the nonprofit arm of the enterprise, advocating for and supporting foster families.