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Whitcomb And Hummel Blast Space Cowboys To 7-4 Win Over Round Rock

Suero Collects 23rd Save For Sugar Land
(Eddie Kelly)
By Garrett Greene/Space Cowboys
August 4, 2024

A five-run fifth inning vaulted the Sugar Land Space Cowboys (68-38, 19-12) to a 7-4 victory over the Round Rock Express (52-53, 15-16) on Saturday night at Dell Diamond, securing the Space Cowboys 13th series victory of the season. Round Rock struck first in the bottom of the first inning.

A five-run fifth inning vaulted the Sugar Land Space Cowboys (68-38, 19-12) to a 7-4 victory over the Round Rock Express (52-53, 15-16) on Saturday night at Dell Diamond, securing the Space Cowboys 13th series victory of the season.

Round Rock struck first in the bottom of the first inning. After RHP AJ Blubaugh struck out the first two hitters he faced, a walk and back-to-back singles drove in a run, but Blubaugh got a lineout to strand two heading to the second.

In the top of the third, Jesús Bastidas was hit by a pitch with one out and Quincy Hamilton earned a free pass, bringing up Zach Dezenzo. The third baseman got 3-0 against RHP Adrian Sampson (L, 8-7) before working the count full and lacing a double to the left-field gap, driving in both runners to give Sugar Land a 2-1 advantage. The two-bagger extended Dezenzo’s hitting streak to six games as he has reached safely in all 10 games at Triple-A.

Blubaugh settled into a groove after the first inning, retiring nine straight batters and 10 of 11 from the end of the first through the fourth. The Space Cowboys provided some extra run support for their starter in the top of the fifth inning as Shay Whitcomb launched a towering homer to left field to lead off the frame, his 23rd of the year and third in the series, to push Sugar Land to a 3-1 advantage. Hamilton followed with a single and Dezenzo reached on a fielding error, bringing up Jacob Melton, who ripped a single into center to score Hamilton. With no outs in the inning, Cooper Hummel stepped up and cranked a three-run homer to left field, pushing the Space Cowboys to a 7-1 lead.

Round Rock replied with two runs in the bottom of the fifth inning on two singles, a walk and an RBI groundout. Blubaugh was left in to face Blaine Crim but walked him with two outs, ending Blubaugh’s night after 4.2 innings. RHP Logan VanWey (W, 7-1) came in to face Sam Huff and struck him out on four pitches, maintaining the Space Cowboys lead at 7-3.

After a scoreless top of the sixth for Sugar Land, VanWey returned for the bottom of the frame and had two runners reach on singles but recorded back-to-back strikeouts for the first two outs in the frame. Justin Foscue earned a free pass, but VanWey left the bases loaded with his fourth strikeout of the night, hurling 1.1 shutout innings.

The Space Cowboys had one more scoring chance in the game, loading the bases up on walks to Melton, César Salazar and Jacob Amaya in the seventh but a flyout to right ended the Sugar Land threat. RHP Ray Gaither spun a scoreless seventh, getting a double play after a single to face the minimum. Recently optioned RHP Seth Martinez came on for the eighth and walked the leadoff man Dustin Harris in front of Matt Whatley, who reached on a slow bouncer up the third-base line for an infield single. Two more walks brought in a run, but like Gaither, Martinez induced a doubled play when Jonathan Ornelas rolled over on a sweeper to end the frame. RHP Wander Suero (S, 23) walked the first man he faced in the ninth before collecting three lazy flyouts to lock down his Minor League leading 23rd save and close out the Space Cowboys win.

With the series already in hand, the Space Cowboys conclude their six-game set with Round Rock on Sunday night. After throwing 6.2 shutout frames in the opener on Tuesday, RHP Ryan Gusto (5-2, 4.18) is slated to start for Sugar Land opposite Round Rock RHP Tim Brennan (0-2, 4.43) for a 6:35 pm first pitch at Dell Diamond. 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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