Yard Goats Drop Homestand Finale
Hartford, CT- The Somerset Patriots scored five runs in the ninth inning to come from behind and defeat the Hartford Yard Goats 9-6 in front of 6,369 fans on Sunday afternoon at Dunkin’ Park. The Yard Goats had a 4-0 lead in the sixth inning and a 6-4 lead in the ninth inning before the Patriots rallied to win the series. Dyan Jorge cranked a two-run homer and Jared Thomas and Skyler Messinger each had two hits for Hartford. Yard Goats starter Konner Eaton allowed just two hits over the first five innings, completed six innings, surrendered two runs on three hits, and left with a 4-2 lead. The Yard Goats start a six-game road trip on Tuesday in New Hampshire and return to Dunkin’ Park for the final homestand of the regular season on September 1st against the Reading Fightin Phils.
The Yard Goats scored the first run of the game in the first inning with a two-out rally against Somerset starter Sean Paul Linan. Jared Thomas singled, stole second base, and scored on a hit by Jack O’Dowd to make it 1-0.
The Yard Goats added three runs in the fourth inning to make it 4-0. Dyan Jorge cranked a two-run homer, his first of the season, into the left field seats, giving Hartford a 3-0 lead. Later in the inning, Zach Kokoska scored on a wild pitch to make it 4-0.
Konner Eaton, retired the first five batters of the game before working out of bases-loaded jams in both the second and third innings. The lefty turned aside the Patriots in order in the fifth but then surrendered a two-out, two-run home run to Manny Palencia in the sixth inning, making it a 4-2 game.
Somerset made it 4-3 on Jace Avina’s RBI single in the seventh inning against reliever Fidel Ulloa and then tied the game in the eighth inning on a throwing error.
The Yard Goats took a 6-4 lead with a pair of runs in the bottom of the eighth inning on a squeeze play and infield grounder.
However, the Patriots scored five runs in the ninth to take a 9-6 lead off reliever Victor Juarez. The inning began with back-to-back doubles and a walk to load the bases. Jace Avina then walked with the bases loaded to make it 6-5, and DJ Gladney’s sacrifice fly tied the game at 6-6. Later in the inning, Manny Palencia’s RBI single scored Avina, giving Somerset a 7-6 lead. The Patriots added two more runs on an error and hit batsman.
The Yard Goats open a six-game road trip on Tuesday night (6:03 PM) in New Hampshire. The game will be broadcast on the free Audacy App, iHeartRadio app, Yard Goats website and streamed on MiLB.TV.