Rico Garcia Shines for Yard Goats in 4-0 Win vs Former Yankee Luis Cessa in Trenton

August 20, 2018
Final: Hartford Yard Goats 4, Trenton Thunder 0    
WP: Rico Garcia (5-2)
LP: Luis Sessa (2-3)
SV: none
T: 2:25
ATT: 4,233

Rico Garcia Shines for Yard Goats in 4-0 Win vs Former Yankee Luis Cessa in Trenton    
Trenton, NJ- Yard Goats right hander Rico Garcia fired eight scoreless innings and tied a franchise record with 10 strikeouts as Hartford shutout the Trenton Thunder by the score of 4-0 on Monday night at Arm & Hammer Park in Trenton, New Jersey. It was the first game of a two game series.   New York Yankees pitcher Luis Cessa, who was recently optioned to Trenton, was reached for three runs in the third inning, including a two-run single by Dom Nuñez, and tagged with the loss. Cessa's last start came on Wednesday for the Yankees against the Tampa Bay Rays. The Yard Goats are now 4-3 on the road trip which concludes tomorrow night.       
The Yard Goats scored three runs against Trenton starter Luis Cessa in the third inning. Scott Burcham led off with a single, Nelson Molina doubled and Ryan Metzler walked to set up a bases loaded situation. With one out, Dom Nunez singled to right field scoring Burcham and Molina to give Hartford a 2-0 lead. Drew Weeks followed with an infield grounder scoring Metzler to make it a 3-0 game.
Meanwhile, Yard Goats starter Rico Garcia was stellar in eight scoreless innings. The native of Honolulu, Hawaii permitted just two singles and retired 11 consecutive batters from the third thought seventh innings and earned his third straight win. He has allowed two or fewer runs in seven of his last eight starts and lowered his ERA to 2.37. Matt Pierpont hurled a scoreless ninth to combine with Garcia on the shutout win.  
The Yard Goats added a run in the ninth inning on Scott Burcham's RBI single scoring Roberto Ramos.   
The Yard Goats conclude their eight game road trip on Tuesday night in Trenton, New Jersey against the New York Yankees affiliate, the Trenton Thunder. The game will be broadcast on AM 1410 WPOP and streamed on newsradio.1410.com and MiLB.com. The Yard Goats return to Dunkin' Donuts Park in Hartford for the final homestand of the season beginning on Wednesday night, August 22 (7:05 PM) against the NY Mets affiliate, the Binghamton Rumble Ponies.