Space Cowboys End Two-Week Road Trip With Fifth Straight Win
To close out a two-week road trip in which they played 13 games in 13 days, the Sugar Land Space Cowboys (29-34) picked up their fifth straight victory in a 7-6 win over the Albuquerque Isotopes (24-39) on Sunday night at Isotopes Park. Albuquerque took a lead in the bottom
To close out a two-week road trip in which they played 13 games in 13 days, the Sugar Land Space Cowboys (29-34) picked up their fifth straight victory in a 7-6 win over the Albuquerque Isotopes (24-39) on Sunday night at Isotopes Park.
Albuquerque took a lead in the bottom of the first inning on a double by Cole Tucker and a single from Jorge Alfaro. The Space Cowboys responded in kind with two in the top of the second on back-to-back hits by Pedro León and Korey Lee before JJ Matijevic doubled to right, scoring León to tie the game at 1-1. A sacrifice fly by Joe Perez gave Sugar Land the lead at 2-1.
In the top of the second, David Hensley worked a lead-off walk from RHP Noah Davis (L, 0-1) and Bligh Madris lifted a two-run homer to left, his ninth of the year, pushing the Space Cowboys to a 4-1 lead. A two-run homer in the bottom of the third from Michael Toglia brought the Isotopes back within one run at 4-3.
Once again, Sugar Land’s offense added on runs in the top of the fourth. Perez singled, Shay Whitcomb was hit by a pitch and Luke Berryhill delivered a base knock, loading the sacks for Hensley, who walked to force in another run. A sacrifice fly from Madris finished the scoring for Sugar Land, swelling the Space Cowboys margin to 6-3.
A flair hit in the sixth gave the Space Cowboys the run that decided the contest. Berryhill roped a single to right and after a pair of strikeouts, Quincy Hamilton walked to move Berryhill into scoring position. León lofted a fly ball to shallow right just out of the range of second base man Hunter Stovall, allowing Berryhill to score to make it 7-3 Sugar Land.
LHP Nick Allgeyer (W, 2-1) entered in the fifth and pitched a pair of scoreless frames before allowing a run in the seventh on back-to-back doubles. In the bottom of the eighth, the lefty gave up two unearned runs after a throwing error with one out, a sacrifice fly and a double, but Allgeyer left the tying and go-ahead run on base, completing four innings.
For the third time in the series, RHP Joe Record (S, 9) was brought in for the ninth inning. He got a groundout and strikeout before a walk put the tying run on base, but Record struck out Aaron Schunk to lock down the save and stretch his streak to 13 straight outings without allowing an earned run.
Sugar Land now returns to Constellation Field on Tuesday night to begin a six-game series with the Sacramento Rivercats. RHP Misael Tamarez (0-1, 5.47) is scheduled to start the opener for a 7:05 pm first pitch. The game can be heard on ESPN 92.5 FM or online here and seen on MiLB.TV.
*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.