Sugar Land Turns First Triple Play In Franchise History In Saturday Night Loss
The Sugar Land Space Cowboys (21-11) dropped their Saturday night affair against the El Paso Chihuahuas (14-18) 6-4 at Southwest University Park. The Space Cowboys struck early in the top of the second after a Pedro León base hit and a Corey Julks double moved him over to third. Shay
The Sugar Land Space Cowboys (21-11) dropped their Saturday night affair against the El Paso Chihuahuas (14-18) 6-4 at Southwest University Park.
The Space Cowboys struck early in the top of the second after a Pedro León base hit and a Corey Julks double moved him over to third. Shay Whitcomb grounded out to shortstop Mason McCoy, giving León enough time to hustle home for the first run of the game. In the third, Sugar Land loaded up the bases and scored another run after León drew a walk. Luke Berryhill smacked his second home run of the season in the top of the fourth to give the Space Cowboys a 3-0 edge.
Luke Berryhill is on FIRE! 🔥 pic.twitter.com/HD8lV8ymwW
— Sugar Land Space Cowboys (@SLSpaceCowboys) May 5, 2024
The Chihuahuas tied it up in the fourth with a bases-loaded walk and a two-RBI single. When RHP Miguel Díaz (L, 1-2) relieved RHP AJ Blubaugh in the fifth, El Paso tacked on three more, two scoring on a double from Bryce Johnson and then another from a single by Tirso Ornelas, giving the Chihuahuas a 6-3 lead after five frames.
The Space Cowboys put runners on base in the sixth and seventh but didn’t strike for another run until Whitcomb came up to the plate with two outs in the eighth and knocked a 395-foot homer to left field, cutting the Space Cowboys deficit to two at 6-4. LHP Austin Davis (S, 3) threw a scoreless ninth for El Paso to lock down the save.
That's just out of this world! 🧑🚀
— Minor League Baseball (@MiLB) May 5, 2024
The @SLSpaceCowboys twirl the Minors' first triple play of 2024 with a tailor-made 5-4-3 gem. pic.twitter.com/9iYtNu5UBc
Blubaugh pitched 4.0 innings, giving up three earned runs on eight hits with three walks and three strikeouts. RHP Cole McDonald, in his first appearance since being reinstated from the injured list, pitched a scoreless inning. In the bottom of the eighth inning, RHP Dylan Coleman walked the first two batters he faced, putting two men on with no outs. Óscar Mercado struck a sharp one-hopper to third that Whitcomb collected and stepped on third before firing to Jackson Loftin at second, who then ripped a throw to David Hensley at first for a triple play. It was the first triple play in Space Cowboys’ franchise history and the first triple play in baseball this season.
The Space Cowboys play their final game of a 12-game road trip against the El Paso Chihuahuas Sunday afternoon. LHP Colton Gordon (0-0, 9.00) is set to take the mound for a 1:05 pm CT first pitch against El Paso’s LHP Jackson Wolf (0-3, 5.95). The game can be heard on ESPN 92.5 FM or online here and seen on MiLB.TV, MLB.TV or Bally Live.
ABOUT THE SUGAR LAND SPACE COWBOYS:
The Sugar Land Space Cowboys are the Triple-A affiliate of the Houston Astros and compete in the Pacific Coast League. They began play as the Astros Triple-A affiliate in 2021 and began playing under the Space Cowboys brand in 2022. The Space Cowboys play at Constellation Field, located at the corner of Hwy-6 and US-90 Alternate in Sugar Land, Texas. Follow the team on Twitter (@SLSpaceCowboys), Instagram (@slspacecowboys), Facebook (SLSpaceCowboys) and their official website (slspacecowboys.com). Fans can purchase full-season and partial-season plans, as well as single-game tickets, by visiting slspacecowboys.com/tickets.