Tinoco looks sharp as Yard Goats go into All-Star break with a victory

Hartford’s Sam Hilliard had a two-run double in Sunday’s 4-1 Eastern League victory over Portland.

HARTFORD, July 8 – Yard Goats righthander Jesus Tinoco turned in six innings of near-perfect baseball and then the bullpen took over to lead the Hartford Yard Goats to a 4-1 Eastern League victory over the Portland Sea Dogs Sunday afternoon, before a capacity crowd of 6,850.

Tinoco, who is going to the Future’s All-Star game next week in Washington, retired the first 12 batters in the game and retired the side in order in five of the six innings he pitched. He allowed just one run on three hits. Tinoco (6-7) struck out seven and didn’t give up a walk.

Tinoco and shortstop Brandon Rodgers will be playing in the Future’s All-Star Game in Washington with 19 of the top 100 prospects in Minor League Baseball. Tinoco, a 6-foot-4 righthander from Venezuela, will pitch for the World Team while Rodgers will make his second straight appearance on Team USA.

Josh Ockimey, Portland’s leader in home runs, led off the fifth inning with a home run into the upper deck in right-center.  Four of the Ockimey’s 12 home runs have come against the Yard Goats this season.

Hartford’s Mitch Horacek, Logan Cozart and Matt Pierpont pitched three scoreless innings to close out the contest.  Pierpont, the league leader in saves with 24, and Horacek are heading to the Eastern League All-Star game in Trenton, N.J. this week, along with Rodgers and outfielders Yonathan Daza and Sam Hilliard. Pitcher Peter Lambert was also selected to represent the Yard Goats but he has been promoted to Colorado’s Triple A affiliate in Albuquerque.

While Tinoco was mowing down the Sea Dogs in the early going, the Yard Goats erupted for three runs in the third inning on an RBI-double by Mylz Jones and a two-run double by Sam Hilliard.  Dom Nunez added a sacrifice fly in the eighth inning for some insurance.  Six Hartford players each had one hit.

Ockimey and Austin Rei each had two hits for Portland (34-53).  Starting pitcher Mike Shawaryn (4-7) suffered the loss, permitting three runs on five hits over five innings.  He walked one and tied his season high in strike outs with eight.

It was the third straight weekend at home the Yard Goats have played to capacity crowds of 20,550 for a three-game series.  Entering the All-Star break, Hartford has drawn 273,339 for the season.   Hartford (43-44) won the last two games of the series, after dropping the first three against the Red Sox affiliate.

Following a break for the Eastern League All-Star game in Trenton, the Yard Goats will open a four-game series at Harrisburg, starting on Thursday night at 6:30.