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Melton Makes Triple-A Debut In Sugar Land's 11-9 Loss

Melton Goes 2-for-5 with a Double
By Amanda Perry/Space Cowboys
July 26, 2024

Although they managed to make a few small comebacks, the Sugar Land Space Cowboys (63-35, 14-9) could not scrape past the Sacramento River Cats (52-46, 9-15) and dropped their first game of the series, 11-9, on Thursday night at Constellation Field.

Although they managed to make a few small comebacks, the Sugar Land Space Cowboys (63-35, 14-9) could not scrape past the Sacramento River Cats (52-46, 9-15) and dropped their first game of the series, 11-9, on Thursday night at Constellation Field.

Houston Astros top prospect Jacob Melton took his first Triple-A at bat in the bottom of the second. On the third pitch he saw from RHP Carson Seymour, Melton roped a double 110.1 miles-per-hour off the bat and over the reach of left fielder Hunter Bishop, marking his first hit as a Space Cowboy. The next batter, Grae Kessinger, grounded a ball through the right side to drive in Melton and put Sugar Land on the board first. Omar Narváez then lined a ball deep to right field, getting it over the wall in right for a two-run homer to give Sugar Land a 3-0 lead.

In his first appearance since May 1st, RHP Rhett Kouba took the mound and struck out the first two batters he faced, part of a scoreless first inning. The righty encountered some trouble in the third when a double and a single put runners on the corners with two outs. Kouba got Trenton Brooks to a 2-2 count, but Brooks lined it past the infield to bring one home. Two pitches later, Jerar Encarnación put the River Cats ahead with one swing of the bat, a three-run shot to left-center, making it 4-3 Sacramento.

Kessinger knotted things back up in the bottom of the fourth with a solo shot to right-center, but the tie would not last for long. RHP Cesar Gomez (L, 0-1) came in relief in the fifth and surrendered four runs on two RBI singles, an RBI double and a wild pitch. RHP Ray Gaither was brought in and secured the final out of the frame on one pitch.

With the bases loaded in the bottom of the fifth and Kessinger at the plate once again, Seymour threw the ball away, allowing Zach Dezenzo to race home and score from third. After Kessinger drew a walk, the River Cats turned to RHP Tyler Myrick (W, 1-2) to get them out of the jam against Narváez, but another walk brought in a run for the Space Cowboys, who trailed 8-6 after five innings.

In the top of the seventh with RHP Dylan Coleman on the mound, back-to-back singles put runners on first and third with no outs for Sacramento. Matos made it 9-6 with a sacrifice fly to right field and an RBI single from Brooks restored Sacramento’s four-run lead. RHP Forrest Whitley came in with two on and two outs and gave up an RBI single to Encarnación but got out of the frame with a flyout to center.

A walk and two singles loaded up the bases for Sugar Land once again in the bottom of the seventh and Jacob Amaya drove in a run on a line drive to right field. RHP Clay Helvey (H, 2) relieved Myrick and gave a free base to Bastidas to make it an 11-8 Sugar Land deficit. Shay Whitcomb nearly slammed his fourth grand slam of the season, but the ball was caught just shy of the fence in left center, allowing Narváez to tag up and score, cutting it to a two-run lead for Sacramento again. However, Sugar Land would leave the bases loaded and head to the eighth trailing 11-9.

Down by two heading into the bottom of the ninth, RHP Spencer Bivens (H, 1) got the first two outs with ease before Pedro Leónfought back with a single to put one on base. With rain falling, Sacramento made a pitching change to LHP Kolton Ingram (S, 1).Ingram issued a four-pitch walk to Quincy Hamilton, bringing up Melton as the winning run, but Ingram got the strikeout to end the game and break Sugar Land’s five-game winning streak.

The Space Cowboys look to bounce back against the River Cats on Friday night. Sugar Land’s LHP Colton Gordon (5-0, 4.25) will take the mound opposite of Sacramento’s RHP Mason Black (3-5, 4.84) for a 7:05 pm CT first pitch. 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.

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