Space Cowboys dodge late laser show, hang on

Sugar Land, TX (8/3/23) – The Tacoma Rainiers (53-52, 16-14) dropped to 1-2 on this road trip, with a 4-3 loss to the Sugar Land Space Cowboys (45-60, 12-18) on the outskirts of Houston Thursday evening. The Rainiers are 19-23 this season against fellow American League West affiliates, and have followed a season-best six-game win streak with consecutive one-run losses.

Sugar Land struck first in the first inning, when Pedro Leon rapped an RBI single to left with two out, scoring Rylan Bannon who led off with a walk and a stolen base.

Tacoma tied it in the fifth after Cooper Hummel led off with a double to the gap in right, and moved to third base on a Tanner Kirwer single. Hummel scored on a sac fly lifted to left by Ryan Bliss, his first RBI with the Rainiers. Bliss, a second baseman, was the principal prospect in the July 31 Seattle-Arizona trade for RHP Paul Sewald. In the home fifth the Space Cowboys re-took the lead however, when J.J. Matijevic tripled to center and later scored on a Cesar Salazar single for a 2-1 advantage.

Rainiers RHP Adam Oller turned in 5.0 IP (91 pitches), both runs against him earned on three hits (3 BB). Oller struck out six, and has a 2.63 ERA with Tacoma through his first four starts and 24.0 IP with the club (25 K). Sugar Land right-hander Spencer Arrighetti also went five complete innings (4 H, ER, 2 BB, 5 K).

On the day RHP Ryder Ryan was added to the Mariners’ 40-man roster, he threw a perfect sixth inning with a strikeout.

Sugar Land salted away the game in the seventh with a two-out, bases empty rally. Bannon hit his 13^th homer to center, with Salazar on (double). It proved to be the game-winner, as the Space Cowboys withstood a late Rainiers power surge.

Sam Haggerty (8) and Brian O’Keefe (21) each hit solo shots in the ninth, but the rally ended there on the short end of a 4-3 final. For Haggerty, it was his seventh homer and 23^rd RBI in 26 games since July 1. O’Keefe has gone deep in five of seven games (hit safely in all), and is only three shy of his career-high home run mark (24 in 2021, between Double-A Arkansas and Tacoma). O’Keefe’s 47 homers as a Rainier place him alone in 17^th in franchise history.

This weeklong series, the first this season between the Rainiers and Space Cowboys, will continue on Friday at Constellation Field. RHP Darren McCaughan (Tacoma) and RHP Jairo Solis (Sugar Land) are the scheduled starting pitchers.

Rainiers broadcaster Mike Curto will have full coverage on TacomaRainiers.com. All 2023 Rainiers games, home and away, can also be heard for free on the MiLB First Pitch app. HD video broadcasts of every home game can be viewed with a MiLB.TV subscription.

About the Tacoma Rainiers

The Tacoma Rainiers are the Triple-A affiliate of the Seattle Mariners. The Rainiers are a member of the Pacific Coast League and have been a Mariners affiliate since establishing the Rainiers moniker in 1995.

The most up-to-date news and notes about the Tacoma Rainiers and Cheney Stadium can be found by following the Rainiers on Twitter (@RainiersLand), Instagram (@tacomarainiers) and liking the team on Facebook.