Machado Homers, Drives In A Pair In Space Cowboys Loss
For the fourth time in five games, the Sugar Land Space Cowboys (51-80, 18-38) hung close to the Tacoma Rainiers (71-60, 34-22) but came up short in a 5-3 defeat on Saturday night at Cheney Stadium. Tacoma struck for a run in the bottom of the first inning on a
For the fourth time in five games, the Sugar Land Space Cowboys (51-80, 18-38) hung close to the Tacoma Rainiers (71-60, 34-22) but came up short in a 5-3 defeat on Saturday night at Cheney Stadium.
Tacoma struck for a run in the bottom of the first inning on a walk to Ryan Bliss and a double to left by Jake Scheiner, putting the Rainiers ahead 1-0. RHP Spencer Arrighetti (L, 1-4) retired the side in order in the bottom of the second, striking out a pair.
Sugar Land got a run from the bottom of the order in the top of the third when Dixon Machado launched a lead-off home run, his sixth home run of the season, tying the score at 1-1. Joey Loperfido worked a walk with two outs against RHP Darren McCaughan but was left stranded on a strikeout.
The Rainiers added on two more runs between the third and fourth on an RBI single by Jarred Kelenic and a solo home run from Taylor Trammell, opening up a 3-1 lead. Sugar Land threatened to tie the game in the top of the fifth when Rylan Bannon doubled to open the frame and Machado walked, putting the tying run on base with no outs. After a strikeout and a lineout, Loperfido walked to load up the bases, but LHP Blake Weiman (W, 4-4) struck out the first batter he faced to strand the bases loaded.
In the top of the sixth, Shay Whitcomb launched a solo home run to left, Whitcomb’s 19th with Sugar Land and 31st overall of the season, pulling the Space Cowboys within three. Bannon smoked a two-out double inside of first and came in to score on a single by Machado, but the Rainiers recorded the final out of the inning at first, maintaining a 5-3 edge over Sugar Land.
The Space Cowboys put the tying run on base in the top of the seventh inning. Bligh Madris and Corey Julks walked to begin the frame, but a strikeout and a groundout put two outs on the board. César Salazar was hit by a pitch to load up the bases, however RHP Stephen Kolak entered for Tacoma and struck out the next hitter to once again leave the bases full for Sugar Land.
The final scoring chance of the night for the Space Cowboys came in the top of the eighth inning. JJ Matijevic and Bannon each walked with one out, but after a lineout to center, RHP Riley O’Brien (S, 12) came on to attempt the four-out save for Tacoma and struck out the first batter he faced to send the game to the bottom of the eighth. O’Brien returned for the ninth and retired the Space Cowboys in order to close out the game.
Sugar Land concludes their series against the Rainiers on Sunday afternoon. RHP Misael Tamarez is scheduled to start for the Space Cowboys while Tacoma is set to throw LHP Kyle Hart for a 3:35 pm CT first pitch. 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.