Gordon Tosses Quality Start In Sugar Land's 6-2 Victory

Thanks to a couple of solo blasts and great defensive gems, the Sugar Land Space Cowboys (49-26) closed out the first half and secured their ninth series win against the El Paso Chihuahuas (31-44) by taking Sunday night’s contest 6-2 at Southwest University Park.

For the second time in as many days, Shay Whitcomb started the first inning with a home run off LHP Ryan Carpenter (L, 2-5) to give the Space Cowboys a quick 1-0 lead. His 17^th of the season, Whitcomb is now third in the Pacific Coast League in long balls. The next frame, Sugar Land worked the bases loaded with no outs on three-straight singles from Jacob Amaya, David Hensley, and Dixon Machado. Ryan Wrobleski then traded in two outs for a run on a twin killing to make it 2-0.

HE’S SO ON FIRE. pic.twitter.com/ALzAi77hhf

— Sugar Land Space Cowboys (@SLSpaceCowboys) June 24, 2024

LHP Colton Gordon (W, 4-0) retired the first six Chihuahuas he faced before putting two on with no outs in the third. The southpaw proceeded to get a strikeout and two groundouts to escape the jam. In the fourth, El Paso knotted it up on an RBI triple from Óscar Mercado and a single from Graham Pauley to drive him in.

Dixon Machado broke the tie with one swing of the bat in the fifth on a solo shot to left-center field. Later in the inning, Will Wagner tacked on another run with an RBI single to drive in Wrobleski from second base, giving the Space Cowboys a 4-2 advantage.

Tie game no more. 🙌 pic.twitter.com/MAgwua0gSm

— Sugar Land Space Cowboys (@SLSpaceCowboys) June 24, 2024

Recovering after the fourth, Gordon pitched two more scoreless innings, including inducing a fly ball to no-man’s land and Pedro León making a terrific diving grab to prevent another baserunner. Gordon, who earned his fourth-straight win, pitched his first quality start of the season, the only two runs he allowed coming in the fourth. RHP Forrest Whitley (H, 1), fresh from the injured list, relieved the lefty starter and gave up a lead-off walk before getting Chandler Seagle to ground a cutter down the third-base line. Machado made the tough play in foul territory and threw a dime to get the out at first.

DIXON MACHADO YOU ARE AN ANIMAL.

What a throw!@ESPNAssignDesk x #SCTop10 pic.twitter.com/j74WZIWImk

— Sugar Land Space Cowboys (@SLSpaceCowboys) June 24, 2024

Amaya and Hensley hit back-to-back singles to put two on for Wrobleski, who knocked a base hit the other way, bringing two more home in the eighth. The Space Cowboys threatened for more by loading the bases up in the ninth, but RHP Tommy Nance got a 4-6-3 double play to avoid a bigger hole for El Paso. RHP Wander Suero put a pair on base to start the ninth, but the Space Cowboys turned two on a groundball from Kevin Plawecki. Suero then got a flyout to strand the runner at third and end the game, sending the Space Cowboys to a 6-2 win.

The Space Cowboys return home to Constellation Field for a six-game set against the Tacoma Rainiers. Both starters are TBA for a 7:05 pm CT first pitch. 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.