Bannon Comes A Single Shy of the Cycle In Space Cowboys 4-3 Loss
A pair of runs in the seventh inning were the difference on Friday night as the Sugar Land Space Cowboys (45-61, 12-19) fell 4-3 to the Tacoma Rainiers (54-52, 17-14) at Constellation Field. The Rainiers got out to a lead in the first on a pair of doubles off RHP
A pair of runs in the seventh inning were the difference on Friday night as the Sugar Land Space Cowboys (45-61, 12-19) fell 4-3 to the Tacoma Rainiers (54-52, 17-14) at Constellation Field.
The Rainiers got out to a lead in the first on a pair of doubles off RHP Jairo Solis. The Space Cowboys’ righty struck out the next two hitters to end the threat and allowed just three more hits over 5.2 innings, his second longest outing of the season.
Sugar Land’s offense tied the contest in the bottom of the first when Rylan Bannon tripled to being the inning and scored on a single to right by Jon Singleton. Bannon then connected for a solo home run to left in the third, his 14th of the season and fourth of the series, giving Sugar Land a 2-1 lead.
In the bottom of the fourth, Pedro León doubled to open the stanza but was picked off at second base. Bligh Madris walked and moved to second on a wild pitch, and JJ Matijevic walked to put two men on base. Marty Costes drove in an insurance run with a single to right, pushing Sugar Land to a 3-1 lead.
Tacoma pulled within a run in the fifth on a double, a fielder’s choice and a sacrifice fly. Solis surrendered a double to begin the sixth but struck out Taylor Trammel and induced a flyout to left for the second out. A walk ended the evening for Solis, but LHP Matt Gage (L, 1-1; H, 1) struck out Adam Engel to leave the bases loaded and maintain a one-run lead for the Space Cowboys. The Rainiers tied the game in the top of the seventh on a bases-loaded hit by pitch and scored the go-ahead run on a single, going in front 4-3.
Bannon collected his third hit of the night with two outs in the seventh, doubling to right field. Singleton was then intentionally walked by RHP Stephen Kolak (H, 4) and a pop out in foul ground left the tying run stranded at second. Costes worked a walk with one out in the ninth, and Bannon got one more crack with two outs, but flied out to right field, ending the ballgame.
With the series even at 2-2, the Space Cowboys continue their six-game set with Tacoma on Saturday night. RHP Misael Tamarez is slated to toe the slab for Sugar Land while the Rainiers are scheduled to throw RHP Marcus Walden for a 7:05 pm 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.