Patriots sweep Goats behind big bats and Wesneski strikeouts

Bridgewater, New Jersey - The Somerset Patriots (68-44) swept Saturday’s doubleheader over the Hartford Yard Goats (37-74) at TD Bank Ballpark. The Patriots came from behind for a 7-6 win in game one, and earned a 5-1 win in game two.

GAME ONE BOX SCORE | GAME TWO BOX SCORE | BUY TICKETS HERE

Game one featured seven combined home runs and 10 lead changes.

Hartford took an early lead with an unearned run in the first inning, but Somerset answered with a two-run home run from Oswaldo Cabrera (21) in the bottom of the first to take a 2-1 lead.

The Yard Goats regained a 4-2 lead with a run in the second and a pair of solo home runs from Michael Toglia (4) and Max George (8) in the third. The Patriots once again responded and tied the game the next half inning on an Oswald Peraza RBI double and a Cabrera sacrifice fly.

Jesus Bastidas gave the Patriots a 5-4 lead with a sac fly in the fourth.

Hartford answered with two more solo home runs from George (9) and Jose Gomez (3) in the top of the sixth to regain a 6-5 lead.

Once again, however, the Patriots were quick to respond. Back-to-back solo home runs from Chad Bell (4) and Bastidas (3) in the bottom of the sixth put Somerset back ahead 7-6 and provided the final score.

BACK-TO-BACK JACKS! 💣💣@chadlybell12 and Jesus Bastidas put us back in front! pic.twitter.com/EnTdmEUosQ

— Somerset Patriots (@SOMPatriots) September 11, 2021

Barrett Loseke (W, 1-1) allowed two runs over two innings of relief and earned the win. David Hall yielded seven runs on nine hits over 5.1 innings and took the loss.

The Yard Goats were first to strike once again in game two on a Sean Bouchard (13) solo home run in the top of the second. But that was ultimately the only baserunner Hartford mustered in a game dominated by Patriots starting pitcher Hayden Wesneski (W, 7-4).

Wesneski struck out a career-high 14 batters and worked his second seven-inning complete game of the season in a masterful performance. The Patriots’ right-hander retired the final 17 batters that he faced, including strikeouts of 11 of the last 12 Yard Goats batters. Additionally, Wesneski enjoyed a stretch of seven-straight strikeouts from the fourth through the first out of the sixth inning.

That’s now 1️⃣4️⃣ in a row retired by @HWEZ02, including one stretch of seven-straight strikeouts! pic.twitter.com/Ngf6Y5k6Bw

— Somerset Patriots (@SOMPatriots) September 12, 2021

The 14 strikeouts marked the third time this season a Patriots hit that total. Glenn Otto, now with the Texas Rangers organization, did it twice.

Offensively, the Patriots rode a Peraza two-run home run (10) in the third, Mickey Gasper RBI triple in the fourth, and Cabrera two-run shot (22) in the fifth to the 5-1 win.

Cabrera finished the doubleheader 3-for-6 with two home runs, five RBI and a stolen base.

Hartford starter Michael Baird (L, 1-2) suffered the game two loss after he allowed three runs across four innings of work.

With the two wins, the Patriots are now 1.0 games up on the Bowie Baysox and 3.5 games up on the Portland Sea Dogs for the final playoff spot in the Double-A Northeast League with seven games to play in the regular season.

The Patriots and Yard Goats conclude their six-game series with a Sunday afternoon. First pitch at TD Bank Ballpark is scheduled for 1:05 p.m.

About the Somerset Patriots

The Somerset Patriots are the New York Yankees Double-A Affiliate and develop today’s top minor league talent into the pinstriped superstars of tomorrow for MLB’s winningest team. The Patriots compete in the Double-A Northeast League and play their home games at TD Bank Ballpark in Bridgewater, NJ, where fans of all ages and levels of baseball fandom get to enjoy the unique experience that is minor league baseball.

To learn more, visit: _www.somersetpatriots.com_.