Yard Goats walk-off Sea Dogs 4-3 in season-high 12 innings

Final: Hartford 4, Portland 3 (12)

WP: Will Ethridge (1-0)

LP: Theo Denlinger (1-3)

S: None

Hartford, CT– In the first low-scoring affair between these two sides this series, the Hartford Yard Goats (19-16) edged the Portland Sea Dogs (23-13) 4-3 at Dunkin’ Park. A bunt single by Julio Carreras in the 12th inning led to a throwing error by the Portland reliever which propelled the home side to its second straight win over the first-place Sea Dogs. The triumph pulls the Goats within 3.5 games of Portland at the top of the Eastern League. Hartford greeted its two-millionth fan at the ballpark on Thursday night.

Yard Goats catcher Drew Romo blasted a solo home run in the sixth inning to give the Yard Goats a 1-0 lead. Sea Dogs pitcher Grant Gambrell retired the first 15 batters, including seven strikeouts, before Romo’s leadoff home run.

In his third start in Connecticut's capital in the 2023 campaign, the University of Miami product Chris McMahon fired five scoreless innings and recorded five strikeouts. Between the first and fourth inning, McMahon retired nine straight batters. In relief of McMahon, the left-hander Austin Kitchen tossed 2.1 scoreless innings, allowing just one hit while punching out three.

With the scoreboard reading zeros on both sides heading into the bottom of the sixth, Goats’ catcher Romo laced the first pitch he saw that inning from Portland’s right-hander Grant Gambrell into the right field seats. It was Romo’s second home run in his last four contests. Two batters later, the second baseman Bret Boswell connected on his first triple since July of last season. The Rockwall, Texas native has now collected a hit in five out of his last six games.

The Sea Dogs evened the score in the top of the ninth by way of Niko Kavadas’ home run over the left-field wall. With the chance to seal a second straight win over a first-place team in the bottom of the ninth inning, Hunter Goodman got things started with a single. The following batter, Grant Lavigne ripped a double over the head of Portland’s center fielder Ceddane Rafaela, sending Goodman to third. Both runners were left stranded on the basepaths, forcing the contest into extra innings.

With both sides matching each other on the scoreboard in the 10th and 11th innings, the scoreline read 3-3 heading into the 12th inning. Will Ethridge came into the game for the Goats in the 12th, tossing a scoreless frame with the help of a precise throw by Kyle Datres to gun down Corey Rosier who attempted to tag up from second base on a fly ball. Datres began the bottom of the 12th inning at second base. A bunt single by shortstop Carreras and a throwing error from the Portland reliever Theo Denlinger scored Goats’ right-fielder to seal the 4-3 victory for the home team.

The Yard Goats host the Boston Red Sox affiliate, the Portland Dogs at Dunkin’ Park on Friday (7:10 PM) in the fourth contest of this six-game series on Tourettes Awareness Night. California native Nick Garcia will start for the Yard Goats. The game can be heard on AM 1410 WPOP, FM 100.9, and the iheart radio app.