Tyler Hill Slams Yard Goats to 9th Consecutive Win and Six-Game Sweep

WP- Trent Fennell (2-1)

LP-Joan Martinez (0-2)

T-2:33

A-7,368

Portland, Maine- Tyler Hill cranked a go-ahead grand slam home run in the seventh inning leading the Yard Goats to a 6-3 victory, and first ever six-game sweep, against the Portland Sea Dogs on Sunday afternoon at Hadlock Field in Portland, Maine. The Yard Goats first hit came in the fifth inning, a solo home run by Aaron Schunk off former San Diego Padres pitcher Brett Kennedy. The victory improved the first-place Yard Goats to a franchise best 38-19 record, and Hartford tied a club record with nine consecutive victories. The nine-game win streak in the longest active win streak in all of Minor League Baseball. In addition, the Yard Goats are a franchise-high 19 games above .500. Only 12 games (2 series) remain in the first half of the season as the Yard Goats try to reach the playoffs for the first time in franchise history. The Yard Goats lead the Eastern League Northeast Division by 2.5 games, and return to Dunkin’ Donuts Park on Tuesday to host Akron for a six-game series.

The Sea Dogs scored a pair of runs in the first inning off Hartford starter Michael Baird. David Hamilton led off with a single, stole second base and scored on a double by Ceddanne Rafaela, giving Portland a 1-0 lead. Pedro Castellanos followed with an RBI double, scoring Rafaela to make it 2-0. Baird retired the next 14 batters over the next five innings.

Portland starter Brett Kennedy did not allow a single hit over the first four innings and sat down 13 of the first 14 batters faced. However, Aaron Schunk belted a solo home run to left centerfield with one out in the fifth inning to make it a 2-1 game. Hartford threatened to tie the game with a walk and single but did not score.

The Yard Goats made their move in the seventh inning and loaded the bases on three walks against reliever Joan Martinez. DH Tyler Hill then smashed a grand slam homer into the Maine Monster netting above the 37-foot wall, giving Hartford a 5-2 lead. It was his first homer and the Yard Goats third grand slam this season. The Yard Goats added a run in the eighth inning on Schunk’s RBI double to make it 6-2.

The Sea Dogs loaded the bases in the eighth inning, but reliever Stephen Jones got a strikeout, and Ezequiel Tovar made a great catch on a line drive to end the inning. The Sea Dogs got a run in the ninth inning but PJ Poulin retired Castellanos to end the game.

The Yard Goats will host the Akron Rubberducks for a six-game homestand starting on Tuesday night at 7:05 PM.

The broadcast can be heard on AM 1410 WPOP and FM 100.9 and on the iheart radio app. The Yard Goats return to Dunkin’ Donuts Park on Tuesday, June 14th against the Akron RubberDucks.