PORTLAND, Maine — The Hartford Yard Goats were carried by their starting pitcher for the third straight game and defeated the Portland Sea Dogs 8-1 in an Eastern League game on Sunday afternoon at Hadlock Field.
Kyle Freeland became the third straight Yard Goat starter to go seven innings in the series, striking out five and allowing only an unearned run in seven innings.
Portland struck for their lone run in the third inning thanks to an error from Pat Valaika that allowed Jose Vinicio to reach base. He later scored on Rainel Rosario’s sac fly.
Aaron Wilkerson limited Hartford (8-3) to two hits and no runs with five strikeouts through six innings as the Sea Dogs (4-7) maintained a 1-0 lead until the seventh. Wilkerson has allowed just five hits in 16⅔ innings this season and lowered his ERA to 0.56.
The Yard Goats took the lead in the seventh inning on a two-run home run by Ashley Graeter off of Simon Mercedes. They extended their lead in the eighth with three more off Mercedes, but two were unearned after an error by Tzu-Wei Lin.
Hartford scored three more unearned runs in the ninth. The teams combined to commit nine errors, five by Portland.
The Sea Dogs’ homestand continues tomorrow as they open a three-game series with the Trenton Thunder.