Late Inning Magic Fuels Space Cowboys Over OKC
Facing a 2-1 deficit until the eighth, the Sugar Land Space Cowboys (42-22) rallied back for a five-run frame against the Oklahoma City Baseball Club (37-28) for a 6-2 victory at Constellation Field on Wednesday night. The Space Cowboys made their comeback in the eighth inning after being down one
Facing a 2-1 deficit until the eighth, the Sugar Land Space Cowboys (42-22) rallied back for a five-run frame against the Oklahoma City Baseball Club (37-28) for a 6-2 victory at Constellation Field on Wednesday night.
The Space Cowboys made their comeback in the eighth inning after being down one since the third. With LHP Matt Gage (L, 1-2) on the mound, Joey Loperfido beat out a chopper to the first baseman for a single and ended up on third after a stolen base and a wild pitch during Cooper Hummel’s at-bat. Hummel took advantage of the runner on third and knocked a double down the left-field line to score Loperfido easily and tie the game up at two. Pedro León worked a walk, and Shay Whitcomb came to the plate with one out. The third baseman worked a 2-1 count before slamming his 14th home run of the year over the fence in left field, giving the Space Cowboys the lead for the first time in the series. The homer extended Sugar Land’s consecutive homer streak to 21 games and gave Whitcomb sole possession of the Space Cowboys home run lead.
FAIR BALL AND TIE GAME! pic.twitter.com/nv1ae9TcKM
— Sugar Land Space Cowboys (@SLSpaceCowboys) June 13, 2024
GO AHEAD, SHAY! SHOW OFF pic.twitter.com/MkQoyb89KB
— Sugar Land Space Cowboys (@SLSpaceCowboys) June 13, 2024
Sugar Land would not stop there, as Quincy Hamilton drove in one more on a double hit sharply to right-center, putting the Space Cowboys up 6-2. LHP Bryan King entered for the ninth and gave up a pair of two-out base runners but closed it out to secure Sugar Land’s 22nd come-from-behind win of the year.
After a clean first inning from RHP Ryan Gusto, Oklahoma City struck for two runs in the second on a couple of RBI singles from Hunter Feduccia and Drew Avans. Gusto recovered to turn in a brilliant outing, retiring the final 10 men that he faced, giving up just two runs in five innings with five strikeouts.
With two runners on and two outs in the bottom of the third, Loperfido chopped a pitch from RHP Ben Casparius through the right-side gap to score Luke Berryhill from second base, cutting Sugar Land’s deficit to 2-1.
Out of the bullpen, LHP Parker Mushinski went 2.0 innings of one-hit ball, striking out three in his appearance, while RHP Logan VanWey (W, 6-1) pitched a perfect top of the eighth to set the stage for the comeback.
Sugar Land continues their six-game series versus the Oklahoma City Baseball Club on Thursday night. RHP Blair Henley (2-4, 5.14) will take the ball for the Space Cowboys against RHP Bobby Miller on Major League rehab for Oklahoma City for a 7:05 pm CT first pitch. 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.