O’Dowd Homers in Yard Goats Loss

O’Dowd Homers in Yard Goats Loss
WP: Sam Carlson (1-0)LP: Jackson Cox (2-3)
Hartford, CT - Jack O’Dowd crushed his seventh home run of the season but the Hartford Yard Goats fell to the Reading Fightin Phils 10-5 on Thursday night. The Yard Goats trailed 3-2 after the fifth inning but the Fightin Phils scored six runs in the top of the sixth to take a 9-2 lead. Fightin Phils starter Gage Wood fired four innings, allowing just one run and striking out a career-high ten. Colorado Rockies third baseman Kyle Karros went 1-3 with an RBI-single on a major league rehab appearance.
Reading got on the board first by scoring two runs off Cox in the top of the second. Raylin Heredia started things off with a solo home run, his 22nd of the season, giving the Fightin Phils a 1-0 lead. Then, Caleb Ricketts hit an RBI-single that scored Aroon Escobar and extended Reading’s lead to 2-0.
The Fightin Phils added a run in the top of the fourth when Escobar hit an RBI-single that scored Carson DeMartini and made the score 3-0.
The Yard Goats got on the board by scoring a pair of runs in the bottom of the fifth. Colorado Rockies third baseman Kyle Karros gave Hartford their first run when he lined an RBI-single to left field, making the score 3-1. Dyan Joge gave the Yard Goats their second run when he hit into a fielder's choice that scored Andy Perez and made it a 3-2 ballgame.
The Fightin Phils broke the game open by scoring six runs in the top of the sixth. First, Austin Murr hit a two-run double, extending the Reading lead to 5-2. Bryson Ware scored on a balk from Yard Goats reliever Connor Staine, making the score 6-2. Then, Dante Nori hit an RBI-single, making it a 7-2 ballgame, before Heredia hit a two-run double that made the score 9-2.
Hartford cut into the Reading lead by scoring three runs in the bottom of the seventh. Dyan Jorge roped an RBI-single to center field, making it a 9-3 ballgame. Then, Jack O’Dowd cranked a three-run home run, his seventh of the season to make the score 9-5.
Reading added a run in the top of the ninth when Escobar hit an RBI-single, making it a 10-5 ballgame. The Yard Goats continue their six game series against the Reading Fightin Phils on Friday night at 7:10 pm. Join us at Dunkin’ Park for a postgame fireworks show and concert from 90’s Hip Hop legend Black Sheep, plus there’s a Goat Horn Bucket Hat giveaway for the first 1,000 fans! LHP Konner Eaton will be on the mound for the Yard Goats against RHP Luke Russo who gets the start for the Fightin Phils. The game will be televised on NESN+ and broadcast on the free Audacy app, iHeartRadio app and the Yard Goats website.