With two home runs, Barrera leads Harrisburg past Yard Goats to end road trip

Alan Trejo had two of Hartford’s six hits in Wednesday night’s loss to Harrisburg.

HARRISBURG, Pa., April 10 – Perhaps some home cooking and a night in a familiar bed will help the Hartford Yard Goats.

Hartford ended their first road trip of the season with a 5-1 Eastern League loss to the Harrisburg Senators on Wednesday afternoon. The Yard Goats went 1-6 on the season-opening trip through Richmond and Harrisburg.

The Yard Goats are hoping to begin turning this ship around on Thursday night when Hartford opens their third season at Dunkin Donuts Stadium with a game against the New Hampshire Fisher Cats at 7:05 p.m. RHP Brandon Gold will get the start for the Goats.

Harrisburg pitcher Wil Crowe and teammate Tres Barrera did most of the damage as Crowe fired six scoreless innings, surrendering just one hit, and Barrera provided the offense by driving in all five runs.

Barrera went 4-for-4 with two home runs, a double and a single, leading the Senators to a three-game sweep.  Hartford scored a run in the eighth inning on Bret Boswell’s pinch-hit single to make it a one-run game, but the rally fell short.

Senators starting pitcher Wil Crowe retired the first 17 Yard Goats batters and was perfect through 5.2 innings before Hartford’s Arvicent Perez reached on an infield single with two outs in the sixth inning.  The No. 5 prospect for the Washington Nationals, Crowe hurled six scoreless innings with five strikeouts and earned his second win of the season.

Harrisburg took a 2-0 lead on Barrera’s two-run home run in the fourth inning off Yard Goats starting pitcher Jack Wynkoop.  After Chuck Taylor walked, Barrera cracked a homer into the right field bullpen to put the Senators in front 2-0.  It was his first of two home runs in the game, and the Senators Eastern League-leading 10th team home run of the year.

The Yard Goats, the Double A affiliate of the Colorado Rockies, rallied for a run in the eighth inning off reliever Taylor Guilbeau.  Brian Serven led off with a single and later scored on an RBI hit pinch-hit by Bret Bosell making it a one-run game.  Trailing 2-1 with runners at first and third base, the lefty reliever got Manny Melendez to ground out to end the inning.

The Senators added to their 2-1 lead with another home run by Barrera in the eighth inning.  Hartford reliever Ben Bowden walked the first two batters of the inning.  The Harrisburg catcher followed with a three-run homer into the left field seats to make it a 5-1 game.