Yard Goats Clinch First-Half Division Title, Postseason Berth

Published on June 19, 2026 under Eastern League (EL)
Hartford Yard Goats News Release

Reading, PA - The Yard Goats clinched the First-Half Northeast Division Title and Postseason berth on Friday night as the Portland Sea Dogs defeated the Somerset Patriots in Portland, Maine. The Yard Goats won six of seven games and were 38-27 with a 2.5 game lead entering Friday. Reading defeated Hartford for the first time in four games with a 4-2 win on Friday night. Yard Goats outfielder Conner Capel smashed his sixth home run over the past three games (13 RBI) with a two-run shot in the seventh inning. Braylen Wimmer extended his hit-streak to 15 consecutive games with a single in the seventh inning. The Yard Goats will host at least one playoff game in the Eastern League Divisional Best-of-Three Series in September at Dunkin' Park.

The Fightin Phils scored the first run in the first inning as Bryan Rincon led off with a home run against Yard Goats starter Jake Brooks, giving Reading a 1-0 lead. The Fightins added run in the third inning on Raylin Heredia's two-out RBI single making it 2-0.

Reading took a 4-0 lead with a pair of runs in the fourth inning. Alex Binelas, Erick Brito and Luke Ritter each had singles to load the bases. The Fightins scored two runs on infield grounder by Riley Tirotta and Jordan Dissin.

The Yard Goats got on the board in the seventh inning as Conner Capel crushed a two-run home run to make it a 4-2 game against Reading starter Luke Russo. It was Capel's sixth home run and 13th RBI over the past three games. The Yard Goats threatened in the final two innings and had two runners on base when the game ended.

The Yard Goats continue their final series of the first half on Saturday night (6:45 PM) at FirstEnergy Stadium in Reading, PA. Connor Staine will start for the Yard Goats and Adam Siminaris will start for the Fightins. The game will be broadcast on the free Audacy App, iHeartRadio app, Yard Goats website and streamed on MiLB.TV.

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