Hensley Saves Space Cowboys From A Shutout
The Tacoma Rainiers (44-33, 1-1) put up a crooked number in the third and never looked back as the Sugar Land Space Cowboys (50-27, 1-1) dropped Wednesday night’s contest 14-2 at Constellation Field. RHP Conner Greene (L, 5-2) pitched 2.0 scoreless innings before loading the bases full of Rainiers in
The Tacoma Rainiers (44-33, 1-1) put up a crooked number in the third and never looked back as the Sugar Land Space Cowboys (50-27, 1-1) dropped Wednesday night’s contest 14-2 at Constellation Field.
RHP Conner Greene (L, 5-2) pitched 2.0 scoreless innings before loading the bases full of Rainiers in the third with one out. Greene issued a walk to Cade Marlowe and a pair of two-RBI singles to Luis Urias and Tyler Locklear that put a five-spot on the board for Tacoma. RHP Misael Tamarez came in relief to right the ship and lost a six-pitch battle with Jason Vosler as he pulled a two-run homer to right field. The Rainiers added a few more on a second two-run shot and a fielding error that scored one, putting Tacoma up 10-0 after three.
After their 10-run third, the Rainiers tacked on a run the next frame on a solo home run from Locklear, and another in the fifth on a groundout that scored Leo Rivas.
There was traffic on the basepaths all throughout the night for the Space Cowboys, but the offense was unable to scrape anything across the plate. David Hensley put the first run on the board for Sugar Land with a solo bomb to left-center field off RHP Matt Bowman (W, 2-0), avoiding what would have been their first shutout of the season. Tacoma responded back with a sacrifice fly in the seventh and a bases-loaded walk in the ninth to make it 14-1.
AND WE ARE ON THE BOARD BABY LET'S GO pic.twitter.com/HSjU38E1tC
— Sugar Land Space Cowboys (@SLSpaceCowboys) June 27, 2024
The Space Cowboys made things interesting in the ninth, loading up the bases with no outs on two walks and a hit-by-pitch. Will Wagner sent a slider from LHP Kirby Snead to the wall in right field, but right fielder Vosler lined up under it and caught it, but not without Luke Berryhill scoring from third for the Space Cowboys’ second run of the night. Wagner’s sacrifice fly marks 10-straight games that the infielder has knocked in a run, beating the PCL-high for the longest of the season, while extending his Space Cowboys franchise record streak. Snead recovered to induce a double play to end the game and serve Sugar Land their first loss of the series.
The Space Cowboys play their third in a six-game set against the Tacoma Rainiers Thursday night. RHP AJ Blubaugh (5-2, 3.98) will take the mound in a 7:05 pm CT first pitch, against Tacoma’s LHP Jhonathan Diaz (8-1, 3.26). 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.