Back-And-Forth Battle Goes Against Sugar Land
In a game that featured four lead changes, the Sugar Land Space Cowboys (55-88, 22-46) fell 8-4 to the Sacramento River Cats (65-77, 31-37) on Saturday night at Sutter Health Park. Sacramento took the lead in the first on a walk, a single and an RBI fielder’s choice, snapping LHP
In a game that featured four lead changes, the Sugar Land Space Cowboys (55-88, 22-46) fell 8-4 to the Sacramento River Cats (65-77, 31-37) on Saturday night at Sutter Health Park.
Sacramento took the lead in the first on a walk, a single and an RBI fielder’s choice, snapping LHP Colton Gordon’s scoreless streak at 13.2 innings. A solo home run by Armando Alvarez in the second widened the Sacramento lead to 2-0.
Sugar Land pulled level in the top of the third inning. César Salazar and Pedro León earned back-to-back walks and David Hensley lashed a double into right, scoring Salazar to bring the Space Cowboys within a run. Shay Whitcomb drove in León on a fielder’s choice, his 99th overall RBI of the season between Double-A and Triple-A, tying the contest at 2-2.
A solo home run by Donovan Walton in the bottom of the fourth inning put Sacramento back ahead by a run heading to the fifth. Corey Julks was hit by a pitch to lead off the top of the frame for Sugar Land and two batters later, Bligh Madris uncorked a go-ahead two-run homer to right, his 15th of the year, vaulting the Space Cowboys ahead 4-3.
In the bottom of the fifth, RHP Shawn Dubin (L, 1-5) issued a walk and hit the ensuing batter, setting up a sacrifice bunt and a two-RBI single that gave the River Cats the lead again. Dubin retired the next five hitters in order, striking out four straight, including a 1-2-3 sixth.
Julks singled with one out in the seventh and stole second base, putting the tying run in scoring position, but RHP Randy Rodriguez struck out a batter and induced a flyout to strand the runner on. Sacramento sent nine men to the dish in the bottom of the seventh, scoring three runs to widen their lead to 8-4. The Space Cowboys recorded a hit in the eighth and ninth but sent the minimum to the plate thanks to a double play and a caught stealing.
The Space Cowboys play their final road game of 2023 on Sunday afternoon against the River Cats. RHP Ronel Blanco is scheduled to start for Sugar Land while Sacramento is set to throw RHP Tristan Beck for a 3:05 pm CT first pitch. The game can be heard on ESPN 92.5 FM or online here and seen on MiLB.TV.
*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.