Grand Again! Dirden's Go-Ahead Slam Completes Space Cowboys Comeback

Trailing by six runs as they went to the seventh, the Sugar Land Space Cowboys (11-19) used a seven-run frame to roar back and beat the Albuquerque Isotopes (13-18) 9-8 on Friday night at Isotopes Park.

The rally started when Dixon Machado walked and raced in to score on a double off the center-field wall by Luke Berryhill. Bligh Madris then walked and both runners tagged up on a foul out by Michael Brantley, bringing up Joe Perez, who singled to right field to drive home Berryhill and make it an 8-4 game. RHP Blair Calvo (L, 0-1; BS,1) entered for Albuquerque and walked JJ Matijevic, and a Grae Kessinger single scored another run, bringing up Justin Dirden. The center fielder connected on a 1-1 pitch from Calvo, driving it 443 feet to center field for a go-ahead grand slam, his second grand slam in as many days, vaulting the Space Cowboys ahead 9-8.

🚨JUSTIN DIRDEN SECOND DAY GRAND SLAM!!!! 🚨

AND THIS ONE IF FOR THE LEAD!!!

YES WE ARE SCREAMING! #ReadyToRide pic.twitter.com/4cyFtUGbIA

— Sugar Land Space Cowboys (@SLSpaceCowboys) May 6, 2023

RHP Franny Cobos (W, 1-0), who had thrown the fifth and sixth inning in his Triple-A debut for Sugar Land, came back out for the bottom of the seventh, but allowed a single and a walk, ending his evening. RHP Cesar Gomez (H,1) replaced him and promptly got a double play on the first pitch he threw and a ground out on the next offering, recording three outs on just two pitches to strand the tying run at third.

Gomez would pitch a scoreless eighth as well, working around a lead-off double and a one-out walk to strand the tying run once again. The Space Cowboys called upon Gomez in the ninth, and despite striking out two, a pair of singles put the tying run on second and the winning run at first for Albuquerque. RHP Joe Record (S,2) was summoned from the bullpen for a second consecutive game and needed just three pitches to get a flyout to right, sealing the comeback victory for Sugar Land.

The Isotopes took a 2-0 lead in the first on a two-out double from Elehuris Montero. A pair of solo home runs in the bottom of the second doubled the Albuquerque advantage, but RHP Austin Hansen finished his evening by retiring seven of the final nine hitters he faced.

The Space Cowboys cut into the deficit in the top of the fifth inning. Machado and Berryhill each walked, extending their on-base streaks to nine and 12 games respectively, and Madris doubled to right to plate Machado, making it 4-1 at the time. A sacrifice fly by Brantley added another run, but Pedro León was called out on an automatic third strike to end the rally and was ejected for arguing the call. The Isotopes would add on one in the fifth and three in the sixth to gain their 8-2 lead. The six-run comeback is the largest come-from-behind victory of the year for the Space Cowboys.

Leading the series 3-1, Sugar Land continues their six-game set against the Isotopes on Saturday night. RHP Jayden Murray (2-3, 5.70) is set to toe the slab for the Space Cowboys against Albuquerque LHP Ty Blach (NR) for a 7:35 pm CT first pitch at Isotopes Park. The game can be heard on ESPN 92.5 FM or online here.

*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.