Blubaugh Ties Longest Career Outing As Space Cowboys Blank Chihuahuas
Behind a second consecutive quality start, the Sugar Land Space Cowboys (48-25) hurled their third shutout of the season in a 3-0 win over the El Paso Chihuahuas (30-42) on Friday night at Southwest University Park. RHP AJ Blubaugh (W, 5-2) took the mound for Sugar Land and faced his
Behind a second consecutive quality start, the Sugar Land Space Cowboys (48-25) hurled their third shutout of the season in a 3-0 win over the El Paso Chihuahuas (30-42) on Friday night at Southwest University Park.
RHP AJ Blubaugh (W, 5-2) took the mound for Sugar Land and faced his only real trouble of the night in the first inning. Nate Mondou dropped single into right and Matthew Batten walked, putting two runners on with no outs. Blubaugh struck out Tirso Ornelas for the first out of the frame and induced a 4-6-3 double play to end the inning.
The Space Cowboys offense supplied their starter with a run in the second inning when Grae Kessinger launched a 425-foot solo homer to left off RHP Glenn Otto (L, 0-2), putting Sugar Land up 1-0. Jesús Bastidas then doubled with one out in the third and scored on a Will Wagner RBI knock to widen the gap to 2-0. The Space Cowboys drove in their final run of the game in the third when Jacob Amaya singled to right and moved to third on a single through the left side by Quincy Hamilton before Ryan Wrobleski legged out a fielder’s choice to score Amaya, giving Sugar Land a 3-0 lead.
Grae to the berm and we've got the lead! pic.twitter.com/LPpUqWO7IL
— Sugar Land Space Cowboys (@SLSpaceCowboys) June 22, 2024
Find us a hotter hitter than Will Wagner, we dare you 🔥 pic.twitter.com/A8C50q9Hhd
— Sugar Land Space Cowboys (@SLSpaceCowboys) June 22, 2024
Blubaugh took the lead and ran with it. The righty faced the minimum in the second, third, fourth and fifth inning, canceling out a double from Kevin Plawecki in the third with a double play on a nice snag at first by Kessinger. Blubaugh retired 16 of 18 batters after the walk in the first and faced two over the minimum through six scoreless frames. He came out for the seventh and coaxed a flyout from Ornelas before walking Cal Mitchell, ending Blubaugh’s evening. The Astros #7 prospect tied a career high with 6.1 innings pitched, giving up just three hits with two walks and five strikeouts on 90 pitches, 58 strikes.
With a runner on first in the seventh, RHP Misael Tamarez (H, 1) relieved Blubaugh and got an assist from Wrobleski, who threw out Mitchell on an attempted steal for the second out of the inning. Oscar Mercado tripled to the left-field gap, but Tamarez got a lineout to right to strand the runner at third.
RHP Kaleb Ort (H, 4) was called upon for the eighth inning and struck out the first batter he faced. Plawecki collected his third hit of the night on a single just off the glove of a diving Bastidas into center, putting him on base for Chandler Seagle. The El Paso catcher shot a ball over the head of David Hensley in right, but Hensley collected it at the wall and fired a strike to Amaya, who executed a perfect relay throw to the plate to cut down Plawecki and keep the shutout intact. RHP Wander Suero (S, 15) struck out the first hitter he faced, and after a single to right put a man on, got a double play to end the ballgame.
NOT TODAY! Jacob Amaya with a laser to cut down the runner at home plate and preserve the shutout 💪 pic.twitter.com/f0aA0CF7KG
— Sugar Land Space Cowboys (@SLSpaceCowboys) June 22, 2024
Leading the series 3-1, the Space Cowboys continue their six-game tilt with the Chihuahuas on Saturday night. LHP Eric Lauer (1-1, 6.30) is scheduled to start for Sugar Land against El Paso RHP Miguel Cienfuegos (1-2, 7.63) for a 7:35 pm CT first pitch at Southwest University Park. 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.