Verlander Makes Rehab Start As Sugar Land Drops Series Finale

In front of a near sold-out crowd at Constellation Field in excitement for Houston Astros RHP Justin Verlander’s first start of the 2024 season, the Sugar Land Space Cowboys (5-4) drop the series finale against the Las Vegas Aviators (2-6) 10-6.

Verlander took the mound for the Space Cowboys for his first rehab assignment after dealing with right shoulder inflammation. Despite a clean first inning that included two strikeouts, Verlander gave up a series of multi-base hits that gave the lead to the Aviators in the second and third innings. He pitched 3.0+ innings, giving up seven hits, seven runs (six earned) with one walk and six strikeouts.

How about one looking? 😮‍💨 pic.twitter.com/GOvfLiHMcK

— Sugar Land Space Cowboys (@SLSpaceCowboys) April 7, 2024

It was not until the bottom of the fifth inning when the Space Cowboys narrowed their gap with Aviators. With the bases loaded, Shay Whitcomb whacked a double to the left field wall, scoring two. The newest member of the team, Cooper Hummel, then drove in one on his first hit as a Space Cowboy. Next man up César Salazar singled on a line drive to left field, bringing in Whitcomb, leaving the score 7-5 after five innings.

RHP Forrest Whitley made his season debut in relief during the top of the sixth inning after missing the first week with an injury to his right middle finger. He gave up a home run to Aviators Max Muncy but able to limit the damage to just the one run while striking out one in a single inning of work.

The Space Cowboys cut the lead to 8-6 when Jesús Bastidas roped a double to left field, scoring Pedro León, who had a 2-for-4 day with a walk and two runs scored.

The Aviators tacked onto their lead in the ninth when Sugar Land’s Ryan Gusto loaded the bases for Brett Harris, who singled into right field to score two more. Las Vegas hung on to their lead to win 10-6.

Sugar Land hits the road for a six-game series against the Albuquerque Isotopes starting on Tuesday night at Rio Grande Credit Union Field. RHP Blair Henley is set to start for a 7:35 pm CT first pitch. Albuquerque’s starter is TBA. 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.