Early Barrage Lifts Space Cowboys To 10-5 Win Over Tacoma
An offensive onslaught in the early innings propelled the Sugar Land Space Cowboys (52-80, 19-38) to a 10-5 victory in their series finale against the Tacoma Rainiers (71-61, 34-23) on Sunday afternoon at Cheney Stadium. RHP Misael Tamarez (W, 1-9) got the start against the Rainiers, and after falling behind
An offensive onslaught in the early innings propelled the Sugar Land Space Cowboys (52-80, 19-38) to a 10-5 victory in their series finale against the Tacoma Rainiers (71-61, 34-23) on Sunday afternoon at Cheney Stadium.
RHP Misael Tamarez (W, 1-9) got the start against the Rainiers, and after falling behind in the count to Ryan Bliss in the bottom of the first gave up a lead-off home run. The righty allowed a single to Jarred Kelenic but got a flyout and a double play to shorten his first inning. He then gave up a pair of base runners on a walk and a hit by pitch in the second but struck out the side to hurl a scoreless frame.
In the top of the third, Luke Berryhill tied the game with a solo home run to left, his eighth of the year. Marty Costes then ripped a double inside the right-field line, stole third and scored on a double by Corey Julks, putting Sugar Land ahead 2-1. Shay Whitcomb doubled the Sugar Land lead with a two-run homer to left, his 20th of the year with Sugar Land, 32nd of the year and second in as many days.
Tacoma pulled a run back in the bottom of the third on a second home run of the day by Bliss, but Tamarez struck out two more and allowed just a walk in the fifth to complete five innings, giving up just two runs while striking out five.
The Space Cowboys offense put the contest out of reach in the top of the fourth. Andrew Knapp knocked a double to the gap against LHP Kyle Hart (L, 4-4) and Berryhill drove him in with a single to right. Costes pulled a single to left and David Hensley delivered a haymaker with a three-run homer to left, pushing the lead to 8-2.
The Rainiers plated a pair of runs in the bottom of the sixth, but RHP Jimmy Endersby (H, 1) entered with runners on first and second and just one and induced an inning-ending double play. Sugar Land added on two more runs in the top of the seventh when Julks walked, Pedro León doubled and Dixon Machado brought in both runners with a two-RBI single.
Following an off day on Monday, the Space Cowboys return to Constellation Field for a six-game series against the Oklahoma City Dodgers on Tuesday night. LHP Colton Gordon is scheduled to get the start for the Space Cowboys while the Dodgers are set to send LHP Mike Montgomery to the hill for a 6:35 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.