Five-Run Inning Powers Sugar Land In Fifth Consecutive Win
After securing the early lead in the second and extending it with a five-run inning in the sixth, the red-hot Sugar Land Space Cowboys (40-22) held on to defeat the Salt Lake Bees (25-36) 8-5 at Smith’s Ballpark on Saturday night. David Hensley struck first in the second inning, launching
After securing the early lead in the second and extending it with a five-run inning in the sixth, the red-hot Sugar Land Space Cowboys (40-22) held on to defeat the Salt Lake Bees (25-36) 8-5 at Smith’s Ballpark on Saturday night.
David Hensley struck first in the second inning, launching a fastball from RHP Davis Daniel (L, 3-4) over the right-center field fence to put the Space Cowboys up at 1-0. The bomb from Hensley broke Sugar Land’s franchise record for the most consecutive games with a home run at 18. It was not long before Salt Lake matched it with a long ball of their own from Drew Ellis, the first home run Sugar Land has allowed this series.
After a two-out double from Grae Kessinger in the third, Cooper Hummel brought him home on a single to break the 1-1 tie. In the fourth, César Salazar extended the lead with a solo jack of his own just over the fence in right field.
The Space Cowboys broke out in the next frame, when back-to-back singles put runners on the corner for Salazar, who knocked in Shay Whitcomb with a base-hit to center. Dixon Machado loaded up the bases with a single, and Quincy Hamilton lined a double down the right-field line to drive in two. A wild pitch from LHP Adam Kolarek gave Machado a chance to race home, and Kessinger capped off the five-run inning with an RBI single to put the Space Cowboys up 8-1.
Salt Lake showed some fight in the seventh inning, drawing two walks with no outs against RHP Misael Tamarez. A wild pitch from Tamarez allowed both runners to advance two bases, as Jack López slid into home to give the Bees a run. The next pitch, D’Shawn Knowles homered to give Salt Lake two back and cut the Space Cowboys lead in half.
Taking an 8-4 lead to the ninth, RHP Wander Suero came in to close out Sugar Land’s 40th win of the season. Suero got the first two outs with ease before giving up a double and an RBI single to Jordyn Adams to bring Salt Lake within three. The threat was short-lived, however, as Suero got Elliot Soto swinging to give the Space Cowboys their fifth-straight win, tying a season high.
RHP AJ Blubaugh (W, 4-2) earned the win in tonight’s contest, hurling 5.0 innings while giving up just one run on five hits. Solid relief performances from LHP Parker Mushinski and RHP Luis Contreras kept the Bees at bay, with Mushinski striking out three of the four batters he encountered and Contreras facing the minimum in his inning pitched.
Sugar Land looks to sweep the series against the Salt Lake Bees on Sunday afternoon. LHP Colton Gordon (3-0, 4.35) will take the ball for the Space Cowboys for a 2:35 pm CT first pitch opposite RHP Brett Kerry (2-2, 5.21) of Salt Lake. 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.