Behind 7.2 Scoreless Innings From Bullpen, Space Cowboys Snap Skid With 5-1 Win

Biggio and Dezenzo Both Homer In Victory

By Sugar Land Space Cowboys

August 30, 2026

On a night where they turned to the bullpen in the second inning, the Sugar Land Space Cowboys (35-21, 67-63) got 7.2 shutout innings from their relief corps to snap a six-game losing streak with a 5-1 win over the Las Vegas Aviators (34-25, 75-54) on Saturday night at Las

After a scoreless top half, the Aviators scratched a run across in the bottom of the first. RHP Jackson Nezuh surrendered a leadoff walk before Cole Conn doubled in a run to give Vegas a 1-0 edge. Nezuh then loaded the bases with two additional walks but struck out the next three straight batters to maintain a one-run deficit for the Space Cowboys.

Las Vegas threatened again in the bottom of the second with a one-out single and a walk, ending Nezuh’s night. RHP Alimber Santa (W, 5-5) entered from the bullpen and struck out both batters he faced, stranding the runners and keeping the Aviators’ advantage at one.

The Space Cowboys captured the lead in the top of the third. Zach Cole worked a leadoff walk before César Salazar singled to put two runners on. Lucas Spence then successfully bunted for a base hit to load the bases for Trenton Brooks, who lifted a deep fly ball to right field for a sacrifice fly, bringing home Cole to even the game. Pascanel Ferreras singled to left field in the ensuing at bat, scoring Salazar and giving Sugar Land a 2-1 lead.

Ferreras puts the Space Cowboys on top!💪#Ascend pic.twitter.com/glS9kIjhd2
— Sugar Land Space Cowboys (@SLSpaceCowboys) August 30, 2026

Santa returned for the bottom of the third inning and sidestepped a two-out double to throw a scoreless stanza. RHP Alex Santos II (H, 1) took over in relief in the fourth and immediately struck out the side as part of a perfect inning of work.

RHP Christian Roa (H, 3) took over in the last of the fifth and spun a 1-2-3 inning, striking out a pair. The Space Cowboys added on a run in the top of the sixth thanks to a leadoff walk to Cole, his second free pass of the night, and a two-out RBI double from Brooks. Roa then fired a second scoreless inning of relief in the home half of the inning, striking out two more batters and stranding two runners that had reached on a single and a walk.

In the top of the seventh, Zach Dezenzo launched a solo home run to right, his third of the season, with two outs in the frame, pushing the Space Cowboys margin to 4-1. LHP Bryan King (H, 1) continued the bullpen’s scoreless trend despite an error with two outs, spinning a scoreless bottom of the seventh. RHP Miguel Ullola (H, 8) then struck out one in a 1-2-3 bottom of the eighth inning.

A Cavan Biggio solo home run in the top of the ninth took the game out of a save situation for RHP Roddery Muñoz, who had a batter reach on a wild pitch after a strikeout, but used a strikeout looking of Johnathan Rodríguez to close out Sugar Land’s 5-1 win.

Biggio with a big fly to add on in the ninth! #Ascend pic.twitter.com/kxmkuqlxHq
— Sugar Land Space Cowboys (@SLSpaceCowboys) August 30, 2026

NOTABLE:

Sugar Land pitchers combined to strikeout 16 batters on Saturday night, tied for the most strikeouts in a single game by Space Cowboys’ hurlers this year. They had previously punched out 16 on August 2 vs. Salt Lake and on April 3 at Jacksonville.
RHP Alex Santos needed just 13 pitches, 11 strikes, to strikeout the side in a perfect bottom of the fourth inning. Since joining Sugar Land on August 23, the former second-round pick has allowed two unearned runs across 4.1 innings, giving up only one hit with three walks and six strikeouts. His final strikeout on Saturday night came against OF Denzel Clarke, who is on a Major League rehab assignment with Las Vegas.
RHP Christian Roa threw 2.0 shutout innings on Saturday night. Since re-signing with the Houston Astros on a minor league deal on July 5, Roa has made 14 scoreless appearances of his 18 total outings. His 2.0 innings pitched tied his minor-league season high (done three other times and last on August 18 vs. Oklahoma City) and his four strikeouts also tied a season best after he struck out four on June 3 with Iowa.
RHP Miguel Ullola turned in a scoreless eighth inning on Saturday night to pick up his eighth hold of the year. Since moving to the bullpen on May 30, Ullola has made 24 scoreless outings of his 27 appearances with the Space Cowboys and has only permitted an earned run in two of his 27 relief outings in Triple A.
Pascanel Ferreras went 2-for-4 with an RBI on Saturday night, extending his hitting streak to four games. Ferreras has recorded a multi-hit performance in three consecutive games and now has 21 multi-hit efforts this season. Despite making his Space Cowboys debut on June 2, Ferreras’ 21 multi-hit games are the second-most among active Sugar Land players, trailing only Cavan Biggio’s 23.
The victory on Saturday night snapped the Space Cowboys' six-game losing streak, their longest losing streak of the season. They had not lost six consecutive games since August 5-10, 2025.

The Space Cowboys wrap up their six-game set against the Aviators on Sunday night. RHP Bryce Mayer will take the mound for Sugar Land while Las Vegas is scheduled to throw LHP Dallas Keuchel for an 8:05 pm CT first pitch. The game can be seen on the Bally Sports Live app and MiLB.TV and can be heard online anywhere at SLSpaceCowboys.com/Listen.

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, winning their first Triple-A title in 2024 by clinching both the Pacific Coast League Championship and Triple-A National Championship. 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). Season ticket plans for the 2027 season are available now and can be purchased at slspacecowboys.com/tickets.