Space Cowboys Take Advantage Of Four Dodger Errors To Claim Opener

The Sugar Land Space Cowboys (34-42, 1-0) kicked off the second half of the Pacific Coast League season with a 4-3 victory over the Oklahoma City Dodgers (50-24, 0-1) on Wednesday night at Constellation Field.

RHP Spencer Arrighetti got the start for Sugar Land, his first appearance at Triple-A. The night started ominously for the righty, who walked Drew Avans, gave up a stolen base and then a single to left by Kole Calhoun drove in Avans to make it 1-0 Dodgers.

Sugar Land responded with a run in the bottom of the first aided by three Dodger errors. Shay Whitcomb laced a single to left and moved to second on a fielding error by Ryan Ward. A two-out walk to Jon Singleton extended the Space Cowboys frame and a throwing error by Bryson Brigman let Korey Lee reach and Whitcomb score in one play, pulling Sugar Land level at 1-1.

A solo home run by Devin Mann in the second put the Dodgers back ahead and a solo blast from Hunter Feduccia in the top of the fourth widened their advantage to 3-1. Arrighetti would finish his night by sitting down the last five straight batters, including a 1-2-3 fifth inning. All told, the righty gave up three runs on four hits with two walks and five strikeouts in his Triple-A debut.

In the home half of the fifth, Whitcomb singled to start the inning and Pedro León was hit by a pitch, placing the tying run at first. Singleton gapped a single to score Whitcomb and a sacrifice fly by JJ Matijevic brought the game level at 3-3.

After five frames from Arrighetti, RHP Kyle McGowin (W, 2-3) took over in the sixth and gave up his only two base runners, a walk and a two-out single, before striking out the side in a scoreless frame. McGowin would retire the final 10 batters he faced, hurling four scoreless innings of relief for Sugar Land.

The Space Cowboys took the lead for good in the bottom of the seventh. Singleton recorded a base knock to start the inning and moved to third on a one-out single by Matijevic. Rylan Bannon then hit a ball back to RHP Gus Varland (L, 2-1), who went to second base to attempt to start an inning-ending double play. Jahmai Jones got the tag on Matijevic but his throw to first sailed wide, letting Singleton score to put Sugar Land up 4-3.

Sugar Land and Oklahoma City continue their six-game series on Thursday night. RHP Misael Tamarez (0-2, 5.92) is set to start for the Space Cowboys while the Dodgers are scheduled to send RHP Justin Hagenman (3-0, 3.00) to the hill for a 7:05 pm 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.