We’re only halfway through the minor league baseball season, but the Hartford Yard Goats have already clinched a playoff spot.If you’re wondering how that’s mathematically possible, it’s because the Yard Goats (37-30) clinched the Eastern League’s Northeast Division title for the first half of the season, after a 3-1 win over the Harrisburg Senators on Saturday.The Eastern League has been using a split-season format since 2019, meaning the best team in each of its two divisions (Northeast and Southwest) in the first half of the season automatically earns a playoff berth. The best team from the second half in each division also earns a playoff spot, and if the same team has the best record in both halves of the season, the playoff spot simply goes to the team with the next-best record over the full season.
DID THAT 🥳 pic.twitter.com/yb1nQgdosL
— Hartford Yard Goats (@GoYardGoats) June 23, 2024Hartford’s first-half title means Dunkin’ Park will host playoff baseball for the first time since the Yard Goats moved to the capital from New Britain.Connor Van Scoyoc put together a performance worthy of a division title-clinching game on Saturday, going 6.2 innings and allowing just one run on three hits, striking out six. He retired 18 consecutive batters from the first to the seventh innings.
SPECIAL PLAYERS. SPECIAL PLAYS. SPECIAL PLAYOFFS. pic.twitter.com/Kq9SuUgax4
— Hartford Yard Goats (@GoYardGoats) June 23, 2024Relievers Jaden Hill and Seth Halvorsen closed out the 3-1 win. Outfielder Yanquiel Fernandez provided an offensive spark for the Yard Goats with a solo home run, and Ryan Ritter had the go-ahead RBI single in the fifth inning.The Eastern League playoffs will take place in September.
