Solis Dominates In Quality Start As Space Cowboys Top Isotopes

An impressive outing from their starter and well-timed hitting helped the Sugar Land Space Cowboys (26-34) knock off the Albuquerque Isotopes (24-36) 6-3 on Thursday night at Isotopes Park.

The night started ominously for RHP Jairo Solis (W, 1-1) who gave up a single to Yonathan Daza to lead off the bottom of the first before Jimmy Herron hit a two-run homer to left, giving the Isotopes a 2-0 lead just two hitters into their order.

Solis responded in dominant fashion, retiring the next nine consecutive hitters and facing the minimum over his ensuing four innings of work. The lone jam of the night for the righty came in the fifth when he gave up a two-out single and hit a batter, but he induced a ground out to end the threat for Albuquerque. Solis returned for the sixth inning and struck out the side, ending his night in emphatic fashion.

All told, the 23-year-old hurled 6.0 innings and gave up just two runs on three hits with one walk and seven strikeouts. His 6.0 innings are the longest outing for Solis since he pitched 7.2 innings on July 21, 2017 while he was with the Gulf Coast League Astros. He generated 18 swings and misses, throwing 84 pitches, 59 for strikes.

The Space Cowboys offense gave their starter the lead in the top of the third. David Hensley single to begin the frame off RHP Jeff Criswell (L, 2-6) and César Salazar followed with a double inside of first, putting two men in scoring position. Shay Whitcomb roped a three-run homer to left, his second in three games with Sugar Land, vaulting the Space Cowboys ahead 3-2.

In the top of the fourth, JJ Matijevic walked with one out and Justin Dirden singled to right field. Hensley laced an opposite-field double to right, scoring both runners to widen the Space Cowboys lead to 5-2. A solo home run by Quincy Hamilton in the seventh gave Sugar Land their final run, the second consecutive game with a home run for Hamilton in his first two Triple-A games.

RHP Austin Hansen (S, 2) took over for Solis in the seventh and pitched a 1-2-3 frame. The righty gave up a run on a walk and a triple in the eighth but stranded the runner at third before tossing a scoreless ninth to finish off a three-inning save.

Sugar Land continues their series with the Isotopes on Friday night. RHP Kyle McGowin (1-1, 6.38) gets the start for the Space Cowboys starter while Albuquerque is set to send RHP Karl Kauffmann (2-4, 6.91) to the hill for a 7:35 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.