Gritty Game Goes Against Space Cowboys 2-1

It was a tight game throughout but the Sugar Land Space Cowboys (54-83, 21-41) came up a run short in a 2-1 defeat to the Oklahoma City Dodgers (83-52, 33-29) on Saturday night at Constellation Field.

Out of the gate, RHP Brandon Bielak (L, 1-3) struck out two in the first and K’d another pair in the second, getting a strikeout-throw out double play to end the frame. The righty gave up his only run of the night in the third on a walk, a double and a sacrifice fly, but stranded a runner at second with a pair of lineout to finish off three innings of work.

Sugar Land had a pair of scoring chances in the first three frames, getting two one-out walks in the second and a single by David Hensley to lead-off the third. LHP John Rooney (W, 2-1) came in with Hensley at first and balked to move the Space Cowboys first baseman to second before a groundout put Hensley at third with two outs, but he was left stranded on another groundout to keep Sugar Land scoreless.

David Dahl hit a solo home run in the fourth to push Oklahoma City to a 2-0 lead. RHP Misael Tamarez took over for Sugar Land in the fifth and fired a scoreless fifth and sixth before retiring the side in order in the seventh and eighth.

The Space Cowboys generated their best scoring chance in the bottom of the eighth. Bligh Madris walked before Pedro León and Shay Whitcomb strung together back-to-back singles, loading up the bases for Dixon Machado. RHP Jimmy Nelson (H, 7) got Machado to ground into a double play, scoring a run and moving León to third as the tying run. A bouncer up the middle was fielded cleanly by Dodgers’ second baseman Jorbit Vivas, who threw out Rylan Bannon at first, ending the Space Cowboys eighth.

In the top of the ninth, Tamarez struck out Yonny Hernandez and gave up a single to Tucker Barnhart but struck out Steven Duggar for the second out in the frame. Drew Avans earned a walk and Michael Busch reached on a fielding error, ending Tamarez’ night with the bases loaded. RHP Joe Record stranded all three runners, ensuring a scoreless night for Tamarez, who threw 4.2 innings and struck out six while giving up just two hits.

RHP Jake Reed (S,1) walked Andrew Knapp to begin the ninth inning. However, León was called for a pitch clock violation for a strikeout, and Reed got a double play to secure the one-run victory for the Dodgers.

With just seven home games remaining in 2023, the Space Cowboys conclude their series with the Dodgers on Sunday afternoon. RHP Shawn Dubin is scheduled to take the mound for Sugar Land while Oklahoma City is set to throw LHP Mike Montgomery for a 2:05 pm CT first pitch at Constellation Field. 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.