Bats Come Alive As Space Cowboys Win Fourth Straight Over Isotopes

Production from every part of the order helped the Sugar Land Space Cowboys (28-34) pick up a 9-3 win over the Albuquerque Isotopes (24-38) on Saturday night at Isotopes Park.

RHP Bryan Garcia pitched out a jam to keep the game scoreless in the first. The righty allowed a single and a walk to the first two hitters he faced, and a wild pitch put two men in scoring position with no outs. A lineout from Jorge Alfaro gave Garcia the first out but an ensuing walk loaded the bases. Garcia responded by striking out the next two hitters, leaving the bases full and maintaining the scoreless tie.

Sugar Land’s offense picked up their starter in the top of the second. David Hensley doubled off the center field wall and two hitters later Joe Perez earned a walk from LHP Ben Braymer (L, 1-1). Shay Whitcomb followed with a three-run homer to left, his third of the year, to put the Space Cowboys up 3-0.

Garcia pitched three more scoreless frames, going 4.0 innings on the night. The Space Cowboys would tack on three more in the top of the fifth when they loaded the bases on hits by Korey Lee and Quincy Hamilton and a walk to Pedro León, ending the night for Braymer. LHP Josh Rogers walked Hensley to force in a run and a sacrifice fly from Justin Dirden plated another to make it 5-0 Sugar Land. Perez finished the rally with a single up the middle, giving the Space Cowboys a 6-0 lead.

RHP Jimmy Endersby (W, 3-4) entered in the fifth inning for Sugar Land, and after a two-run homer to Alfaro, didn’t allow another run over two innings of work, surrendering just three hits. A trio of lefties, Parker Mushinski, Austin Davis and Blake Taylor each tossed an inning to finish out the contest for the Space Cowboys.

In the top of the seventh, JJ Matijevic laced an opposite field home run, his seventh of the year, widening the Sugar Land lead to 7-2. León mustered an infield single with two outs, stole second and scored on a single to right by Hensley, making it 8-2. Hamilton provided the final run of the night for the Space Cowboys, cranking a solo home run to right, his fourth with Sugar Land and third consecutive game with a home run to start his Triple-A career.

With the series already secured, Sugar Land concludes their six-game set with the Isotopes on Sunday evening. RHP Shawn Dubin (0-2, 8.18) is scheduled to toe the slab for Sugar Land against Albuquerque RHP Noah Davis (0-0, 5.03) 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.

*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.