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Space Cowboys Secure 93rd Win In Final Game Of The Regular Season

Seven Runs in The Final Two Innings Fuels Sugar Land to Victory
By Amanda Perry/Space Cowboys
September 22, 2024

Down two headed into the eighth, the Sugar Land Space Cowboys (93-56, 44-30) scored seven runs in the final two innings to seal their last regular-season win with a score of 8-3 against the Sacramento River Cats (80-70, 36-39) on Sunday afternoon at Sutter Health Park. The win is their

Down two headed into the eighth, the Sugar Land Space Cowboys (93-56, 44-30) scored seven runs in the final two innings to seal their last regular-season win with a score of 8-3 against the Sacramento River Cats (80-70, 36-39) on Sunday afternoon at Sutter Health Park. The win is their 93rd of the season, marking the most victories in the Pacific Coast League since the 1981 Albuquerque Dukes, who finished their season with 94.

RHP Aaron Brown started the game with a 1-2-3 first inning but lost an eight-pitch at-bat to the lead-off batter in the second, giving up a solo shot to Andrew Knapp. However, it was the only hit the starter gave up in his 4.0 innings of work, his best outing as a Space Cowboy.

It was not long before Sugar Land knotted it up in the top of the third when Miguel Palma singled to start off the frame. The next pitch, Pedro León slammed a double of the wall in left center, sending Palma around the horn to score the tying run.

After scoreless appearances from RHP Ray Gaither and RHP Shawn Dubin, RHP Logan VanWey came in for the bottom of the seventh. The righty let the first two batters reach on a single and a walk. Hunter Bishop popped out on a bunt attempt for the first out, and Brett Auerbach drew a walk to load the bases for the River Cats. VanWey got the strikeout of Will Wilson to bring him to a total of 98 on the season. With two outs and a 2-2 count on Christian Koss, VanWey hit Koss with a fastball upstairs to force in the go-ahead run. RHP Forrest Whitley (W, 4-1) came in for the final out and worked a 3-2 count on Trenton Brooks before issuing a walk to bring in another run for Sacramento. Whitley eventually got Luis Matos to fly out, ending the inning.

Facing a two-run deficit headed into the top of the eighth, Jesús Bastidas made it a one-run game with a solo shot that sailed 405 feet out of the ballpark against RHP Evan Gates. Gates allowed back-to-back singles from León and Zach Dezenzo, and his day ended as LHP Raymond Burgos (L, 2-2) came in to try and get the River Cats out of a jam. During an at-bat with Cooper Hummel, León and Dezenzo attempted a double steal, but a great throw from the catcher Blake Sabol caught Dezenzo at second. Hummel eventually drew a five-pitch walk to put runners on the corners for Quincy Hamilton. Hamilton tapped a weak grounder to the left side, and the outfielder was out at first but allowed León to race home to score the tying run. The next batter, Tommy Sacco Jr., lined a double down the right-field line, and Hummel sprinted home for another run, breaking the tie at 4-3.

RHP Luis Contreras (H, 15) hurled a quick three-up-three-down bottom of the eighth, and the Space Cowboys offense went back to work in the top of the ninth. With one out, Palma doubled on a line drive in the right-center gap and advanced to third a few pitches later a wild throw from RHP Clay Helvey. Bastidas then drove in his second run in as many innings on a base hit to left field. León reached on a single to put runners on first and second for Dezenzo. Dezenzo bounced a slider a few feet in front of the catcher Sabol, whose throw flew way over the first baseman’s head to bring two more runs across the plate and send Dezenzo to second base. With the bases loaded after a pair of walks, Sacco Jr. came through again with a sacrifice fly to allow Dezenzo to tag up and score, making it 8-3 Sugar Land.

For the final time this regular season, RHP Wander Suero came in for the ninth inning and struck out the first two batters he faced. Wilson ripped a double on the first pitch of the at-bat to put a man in scoring position for Sacramento. Christian Koss then lined a cutter for a base hit to center, sending Wilson around third to try and score, but Jacob Melton launched a strike to the plate to gun down Wilson for the final out of the regular season, giving the Space Cowboys an 8-3 win.

The Space Cowboys return home to take on the Reno Aces in the first game of the Pacific Coast League Championship on Tuesday night at Constellation Field. Both teams’ starters are TBA 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.

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