Yard Goats Hit Three Homers in Series Finale Win against Sea Dogs

Yard Goats Hit Three Homers in Series Finale Win against Sea Dogs

Final: Hartford 7, Portland 6

WP: Nick Bush (3-2)

LP: Brandon Walter (1-2)

SV: PJ Poulin (1)

T- 2:33

A- 6,850

The Hartford Yard Goats took an early 7-0 lead thanks to home runs by Brenton Doyle, Kyle Datres and Aaron Schunk and held on to beat the Portland Sea Dogs 7-6 in front of a third straight sellout crowd at Dunkin' Donuts Park on Sunday afternoon. Doyle reached base four times and Yard Goats starter Nick Bush spun five scoreless innings. Hartford won four of six against Portland, winning its third consecutive series. The Yard Goats finished their homestand 8-4 and have won 10 of their last 14 games.

Hartford rallied with two outs in the bottom of the second inning to grab an early two-run lead off Portland starter Brandon Walter. Brenton Doyle walked and Daniel Cope reached on an error. Aaron Schunk lined a double in the left center gap scoring both Doyle and Cope, putting the Yard Goats on top 2-0. In the fourth, Doyle blasted a solo shot to add another to Hartford's lead, his fourth home run of the season.

The Yard Goats doubled their lead in the bottom of the sixth inning. Kyle Datres put Hartford up 4-0 on his second homer of the season, a solo blast that landed in the right field seats. Doyle put more pressure on the Sea Dogs by reaching base a third straight time on a single and stealing second. Schunk followed up with an absolute moonshot to left field, a two-run blast giving Hartford a 6-0 lead. The home run was Schunk's fourth of the season and he finished the game with four RBI's.

Yard Goats starter Nick Bush was dominant against the Sea Dogs for the second time this series. Bush followed up his five inning two-run performance on Tuesday night with five scoreless innings on Sunday afternoon, allowing three hits while retiring the last six batters he faced.

Hartford's bullpen held Portland in check through eight innings. Michael Baird, Riley Pint, Stephen Jones each pitched a scoreless inning. In the ninth, the Sea Dogs scored three runs on a bases-clearing double by David Hamilton. RBI singles by Nick Sogard and Pedro Castellanos cut the Yard Goats lead to 7-6. PJ Poulin was able to put out the fire, striking out Kole Cottam to seal the win for Hartford.

The Yard Goats head to Bowie to play a six-game series with the Orioles affiliate, the Bowie Baysox starting Tuesday at 6:05. RHP Noah Davis will start for the Yard Goats. The game will be broadcast on Newsradio 1410 WPOP. The Yard Goats return to Dunkin' Donuts Park on Tuesday, May 31 at 7:05 against the Phillies affiliate, the Reading Fightin Phils.