Yard Goats Wade Through Trouble, Surging To Victory

Hartford, CT- Erupting for seven runs in the sixth inning, the Hartford Yard Goats went on to a 9-3 win over the first place Bowie Baysox Monday night, before 4,990 fans at Dunkin' Donuts Park. It was the second largest Monday home crowd of the season. The Yard Goats have now won four straight.  

Down, 3-2, entering the sixth inning, Hartford sent 10 men to the plate, scoring seven runs on six hits against two relievers. A line drive three-run homer by Jan Vázquez below the video board in left staked the Goats to a 5-3 lead against Garrett Cleavinger. Singles by Josh Fuentes and Anthony Phillips put runners at the corners for Max White, who executed a perfect squeeze bunt to make it 6-3. Omar Carrizales then ended an 0-for-14 slump with an opposite field three-run home run below the video board, increasing the Hartford advantage to 9-3.
The Yard Goats had overcome a 1-0 deficit to take a 2-1 lead in the fourth on a two-run single by Dillon Thomas. Bowie came back with two in the sixth off of starter Yency Almonte for a short lived advantage, setting the table for Hartford's explosive bottom of the sixth.
Fuentes, Weeks and Vazquez paced Hartford's 11-hit attack with two hits each. Vazquez and Carrizales each had three RBI, while Thomas added two RBI.
Almonte pitched 5.2 innings, allowing three runs on six hits. He walked two and struck out seven. Konnor Wade picked up his fourth win of the season, hurling 2.1 innings of scoreless relief. Edison Frias pitched the ninth, extending the Hartford bullpen's scoreless inning streak to 18.2 innings.
Game two of the series is Tuesday night at Dunkin' Donuts Park at 7:05 p.m. Righthander Chad Bettis, a member of the Colorado Rockies starting rotation, will make his second rehabilitation start for the Yard Goats. Righthander David Hess will pitch for the Orioles affiliate. The game can be heard on AM 1410 WPOP and on iHeart Radio.