Yard Goats 6, Fisher Cats 3
- Updated: July 25, 2025
MANCHESTER – The New Hampshire Fisher Cats (8-15, 37-55) lost to the Hartford Yard Goats (14-10, 50-43) at Delta Dental Stadium on Thursday night, 6-3.
Making his fourth Double-A start, lefty Kendry Rojas fanned seven batters over 4-1/3 innings of work as New Hampshire was out-hit 14-4 and went 2-for-10 with runners in scoring position.
Rojas (L, 0-2) allowed five runs on nine hits with seven punchouts and no walks. Through four starts with New Hampshire, Rojas has struck out 30 batters and walked two across 18-2/3 innings of work. Right-hander Nate Garkow handled the final two outs in the top of the fifth inning and went on to strand the bases loaded in the sixth inning. Garkow finished with no runs on one hit with two walks and four strikeouts in 1-2/3 innings of relief. Reliever Conor Larkin tossed a scoreless top of the seventh inning with a pair of strikeouts before Geison Urbaez pitched the final two frames. Urbaez surrendered one run on four hits in two frames of relief.
Top takeaways:
- RHP Kendry Rojas fans seven batters in fourth Fisher Cats start
- RHP Nate Garkow strikes out four in 1-2/3 relief innings
- OF Victor Arias extends on-base streak to six games with a walk
- OF Gabriel Martinez knocks a run-scoring double
Hartford starter Connor Staine (W, 2-6) notched his first win since April 17 after giving up three runs on three hits with one walk and two strikeouts over five innings. Lefty Sam Weatherly pitched a scoreless top of the sixth inning with a pair of strikeouts before righty Bryce McGowan fanned two batters and allowed one hit in 1-2/3 innings of work. Welinton Herrera (S, 7) completed a four-out save and picked up one strikeout.
The Yard Goats took an early lead in the top of the first inning by stringing together five straight one-out hits. After first baseman Charlie Condon knocked a double, designated hitter Benny Montgomery cashed Condon in with a single to make it 1-0. Catcher Bryant Betancourt and second baseman Braylen Wimmer notched run-scoring hits to give Hartford a 3-0 advantage.
The Fisher Cats bounced back with a three-run frame of their own in the bottom of the second inning. Second baseman Eddinson Paulino reached on a walk and left fielder Je’Von Ward poked a single to set up right fielder Gabriel Martinez’s two-run double cut Hartford’s lead to 3-2. Shortstop Alex De Jesus then plated Martinez from second on a single to right field to knot the score, 3-3.
Hartford scored three unanswered runs after that as left fielder Jared Thomas and right fielder Zach Kokoska belted solo homers to make it 5-3. Catcher Bryant Betancourt scored Thomas on a double in the top of the ninth inning to finalize the scoring at 6-3.
Despite bringing the tying run to the plate in the bottom of the ninth inning, New Hampshire could not convert as the Fisher Cats drop their second game of the series, 6-3.
The Fisher Cats and Yard Goats continue their six-game series with a 6:35 p.m. first pitch on Friday night. Right-hander Juaron Watts-Brown (1-2, 3.83 ERA) gets the ball for his 11th start with New Hampshire, and Hartford’s McCade Brown (3-1, 3.48 ERA) is on the hill for the Yard Goats.
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