León's Walk-Off Single Caps Space Cowboys Comeback
Trailing 4-0 going to the bottom of the eighth, the Sugar Land Space Cowboys (13-20) rallied to force extra innings and won 5-4 on a walk-off single in the 10th against the El Paso Chihuahuas (15-19) on Tuesday night at Constellation Field. Grae Kessinger started the rally with a one-out
Trailing 4-0 going to the bottom of the eighth, the Sugar Land Space Cowboys (13-20) rallied to force extra innings and won 5-4 on a walk-off single in the 10th against the El Paso Chihuahuas (15-19) on Tuesday night at Constellation Field.
Grae Kessinger started the rally with a one-out walk in the eighth. Korey Lee then doubled off the left-field wall, just missing a home run, driving in Kessinger to make it 4-1. It was one of two hits on the evening for Lee, who is now on a season-best 11-game hitting streak.
In the top of the ninth inning, RHP Matt Ruppenthal recorded the first two outs but got into a bases-loaded jam. The righty struck out Jose Iglesias to keep the Space Cowboys within striking distance heading to the bottom of the ninth inning.
Reigning Pacific Coast League Player of the Week Justin Dirden singled to kick off the bottom of the ninth and Joe Perez followed with a two-run homer to left, his third of the year, pulling the Space Cowboys within a run at 4-3. Dixon Machado walked in the ensuing at bat against RHP Eric Hanhold (BS,2) and moved to third on a single to right by Bligh Madris. Hanhold struck out the next batter, but on an 0-2 pitch, the ball got passed catcher Pedro Severino and Machado raced in to tie the game and send it to extras.
JOE PEREZ, Y'ALL 🚀 pic.twitter.com/orpcPcGWIA
— Sugar Land Space Cowboys (@SLSpaceCowboys) May 10, 2023
RHP Cesar Gomez (W, 1-0) worked a 1-2-3 top of the tenth, holding the bonus runner at second with a lineout and two strikeouts, needing just 14 pitches to get three outs. With one out in the bottom of the tenth, Pedro León lined a ball the opposite way to right, driving in Lee to win the contest for Sugar Land, their first walk-off win of the year.
THAT'S 👏 HOW 👏 YOU 👏 MAKE 👏 A 👏 COMEBACK 👏 pic.twitter.com/99u4hTGSqm
— Sugar Land Space Cowboys (@SLSpaceCowboys) May 10, 2023
El Paso got on the scoreboard in the top of the second inning against RHP Ronel Blanco on a single, a walk, a sacrifice bunt and a sacrifice fly from Matthew Batton, making it 1-0 Chihuahuas. A two-RBI double by Batton added to the El Paso lead in the sixth and an additional run scored on a bases-loaded walk in the seventh.
In a quick turnaround, the Space Cowboys matchup with the Chihuahuas again on Wednesday morning at 11:05 am. RHP Angel Macuare is set to take the hill for Sugar Land against El Paso RHP Anderson Espinoza. 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.