Offense Quiet in 4-1 Loss To River Cats

A night after their thrilling five-run comeback victory, the Sugar Land Space Cowboys (64-36, 15-10) had a quiet night at the plate against the Sacramento River Cats (54-47, 10-16) as they fell 4-1 on Saturday night at Constellation Field.

LHP Eric Lauer (L, 2-3) got the first four outs before allowing a double to Ryan McKenna in the second. A tapper down the first-base line off the bat of Brett Auerbach stayed just fair, allowing Auerbach to reach first and McKenna to advance to third. McKenna scored on a groundout from Jakson Reetz, putting the River Cats up 1-0 after two innings. Sacramento tacked on another run in the fourth with an RBI single to left field, but left fielder Cooper Hummel gunned down Trenton Brooks trying to take third to end the frame.

Sugar Land could not piece much together against River Cats starter RHP Trevor McDonald (W, 1-0) who was making his first Triple-A start of his career. McDonald shut down the Space Cowboys, not allowing a hit until the bottom of the fourth with two outs. The righty’s night ended after hitting Jesús Bastidas with a pitch and giving up a single to Shay Whitcomb and Sacramento turned to RHP Evan Gates (H, 1) to escape the jam with one out. Bastidas was picked off second base, saving the River Cats a run when Gates later gave up an RBI single to Will Wagner, making it a 2-1 game.

✂️ their lead in half. #SetTheCourse pic.twitter.com/z0ILCV1FhI

— Sugar Land Space Cowboys (@SLSpaceCowboys) July 28, 2024

RHP Ray Gaither took over the seventh, and after getting two outs, issued a walk to Marco Luciano to bring up Jerar Encarnacion. Encarnacion pounded a 2-1 cutter over the right-field fence, extending Sacramento’s lead to 4-1. Much like last night, the Space Cowboys put two on in the bottom of the ninth with two outs, but could not replicate the same outcome, as RHP Tyler Myrick (S, 3) got the final out to secure Sacramento’s 4-1 win.

The Space Cowboys look to clinch the series win on Sunday night. Sugar Land’s RHP AJ Blubaugh (7-2, 4.18) will get a second go against the River Cats and Sacramento will send out RHP Landen Roupp (0-1, 4.96) for a 6:35 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.