Yard Goats fall short as Sea Dogs tie series

Final: Portland 5, Hartford 2

WP: Nick Garcia (0-2)

LP: Rio Gomez (2-1)

S: None

Hartford, CT– After winning the last two games at home, the Hartford Yard Goats (19-17) dropped game four of this six-game series 5-2 to the Portland Sea Dogs (24-13) on Friday night at Dunkin’ Park. Portland’s pitching was the catalyst for snapping its two-game losing streak. The Sea Dogs’ left-hander Gio Gomez tossed 4.0 hitless innings and struck out four or more batters for the second time this season. A three-hit sixth inning by first-place Portland featuring a double by catcher Nathan Hickey tied the series at two apiece. Centerfield Bladimir Restituyo had three hits in the game, making it his 13th multi-hit contest of 2023.

On the mound for the Goats, the bullpen dazzled. Jacob Kostyshock, Michael Petersen, and Mitch Kilkenny combined for four scoreless innings, allowing just two hits while striking out four hitters. Kilkenny dealt a hitless eighth and ninth inning as the Hartford bullpen retired the final eight Sea Dogs batters. The Houston, Texas native’s three strikeouts ties his season-high from May 12 in Binghamton.

Portland found the scoreboard first as Niko Kavadas scored on a sacrifice fly to center field by Chase Meidroth off of Hartford starter Nick Garcia. An inning later, the Goats matched the Sea Dogs, using a lead-off triple by Niko Decolati and an RBI single by Restituyo to knot the game at one apiece. The outfielder now has 44 hits in 2023, good for second-most in the Eastern League.

In the top half of the fifth inning, the Sea Dogs added two by way of a throwing error and an RBI groundout by Portland second baseman Nick Yorke. The away side extended their lead to four runs in the top half of the next inning highlighted by a Corey Rosier RBI single which scored the third baseman Meidroth.

In the bottom of the ninth inning with the Goats seeking to make it three straight over Portland, Hunter Goodman increased his lead at the top of the Eastern League in total RBI. Goodman’s RBI double drove in Restituyo to decrease the Sea Dogs’ advantage to just three.

The Yard Goats host the Boston Red Sox affiliate, the Portland Dogs at Dunkin’ Park on Saturday (6:10 PM) in the fifth contest of this six-game series with Fireworks after the game. Case Williams will start for the Yard Goats while right-hander Brian Van Belle will take the mound for the Sea Dogs. The game can be heard on AM 1410 WPOP, FM 100.9, and the iheart radio app.