Dennis Leads Yard Goats to Victory in Trenton

July 18, 2019
Final: Hartford Yard Goats 9, Trenton Thunder 1  
WP: Matt Dennis (1-1)
LP: Rony Garcia (2-8)
SV: none
T: 2:49
ATT: 5,628

Dennis Leads Yard Goats to Victory in Trenton
Trenton, NJ- Yard Goats starting pitcher Matt Dennis hurled seven solid innings and the offense scored nine runs on 13 hits, and defeated the Trenton Thunder by the score of 9-1 on Thursday night at Arm & Hammer Park in Trenton, New Jersey. Hartford was without a hit and trailed 1-0 in the fourth inning before rallying to score four runs in the first game of a two-city seven-game road trip. Alan Trejo tied the game with an RBI double and Arvicent Perez put the Yard Goats ahead for good with a run scoring single. Nelson Molina contributed with a 2 RBI single. Dennis retired 11 consecutive batters, including the side in order in the fourth, fifth and sixth innings to record his first Eastern League win. The Yard Goats are 6-2 against the Thunder this season.
Nelson Molina had three hits and two RBI in his first game back with the Yard Goats after being at Triple-A. Luis Castro, who was just promoted from Class-A Lancaster today, had two hits and drove in two runs. Arvicent Perez also had a pair of hits and 2 RBI and Manny Melendez added two hits in the victory.
Trenton took a 1-0 lead, two batters into the home first inning, as Kyle Holder tripled home Hoy Jun Park. Dennis only permitted just two singles over the next five innings of work. Thunder starter Rony Garcia retired the first six Yard Goats before a leadoff walk in the third inning.
Hartford did not have a hit until Vance Vizcaino ripped a sharp single to right field with one out in the fourth. Then with two outs the Yard Goats rallied for four runs. Alan Trejo cracked a double down the left field line, scoring Vizcaino and tying the game at 1-1. After Luis Castro walked, Arvicent Perez singled to centerfield, scoring Trejo for a 2-1 Hartford lead. Nelson Molina capped the rally with an infield single on a diving stop by Brandon Wagner, scoring both Castro and Perez to make it 4-1.
The Yard Goats added two more runs in the seventh on an error and then RBI hit by Luis Castro and it was 6-1. Hartford scored another three runs in the ninth off reliever Andrew Ballatti to lead 9-1. Tate Scioneaux retired all six batters faced in the final two innings of relief.          
The Yard Goats continue their seven game road trip on Friday night in Trenton, New Jersey against the Thunder with a contest at 7:00PM. The game will be broadcast on AM 1410 WPOP and 100.9 FM and streamed on newsradio.1410.com and MiLB.com. The Yard Goats return to Dunkin' Donuts Park in Hartford for their next homestand on Thursday, July 25^th and host the Akron RubberDucks at 7:05 PM.