Comeback Thwarted As Rainiers Edge Space Cowboys
After falling behind early, the Sugar Land Space Cowboys (51-78, 18-36) pulled within a run of the Tacoma Rainiers (69-60, 32-22) on two separate occasions but fell just short in a 5-3 defeat on Thursday night at Cheney Stadium. The Rainiers jumped out to an early lead in the bottom
After falling behind early, the Sugar Land Space Cowboys (51-78, 18-36) pulled within a run of the Tacoma Rainiers (69-60, 32-22) on two separate occasions but fell just short in a 5-3 defeat on Thursday night at Cheney Stadium.
The Rainiers jumped out to an early lead in the bottom of the first inning on back-to-back singles by Jarred Kelenic and Zach DeLoach before Jake Scheiner hit a three-run homer, making it 3-0 Tacoma. RHP Ronel Blanco (L, 4-4) responded by retiring 9 of the next 12 hitters, striking out seven over 4.0 innings of work.
Sugar Land put at least one man on base in each of the first five frames but hit into three double plays induced by LHP Logan Allen (W, 5-0). The Space Cowboys finally broke onto the scoreboard in the top of the sixth inning when Pedro León singled to begin the frame and stole second, his 15th steal of the year. David Hensley worked a walk and César Salazar advanced the runners into scoring position with a groundout to first. After a strikeout, JJ Matijevic laced a single to left, driving in two runners to cut it to a one-run deficit. RHP Ryder Ryan (H,5) came in for the Rainiers and struck out the next hitter to strand Matijevic as the tying run.
Tacoma responded with a run in the bottom of the sixth on a walk, a double and an RBI ground out from Scheiner. RHP Joe Record came in with a man at third and two outs and proceeded to throw 1.2 scoreless frames, keeping the Space Cowboys within a pair.
In the top of the eighth, Hensley and Salazar both walked, and executed a double steal with Andrew Knapp batting. The Space Cowboys’ designated hitter grounded out to first, bringing in Hensley to once again make it a one-run game. RHP Stephen Kolak (H, 7) recorded the next two outs, stranding the tying run at third for Sugar Land. A solo home run in the bottom of the eighth gave the Rainiers a two-run edge, and RHP Riley O’Brien (S, 11) struck out the side in order in the ninth to secure the save for Tacoma.
Trailing 2-1 in the series, Sugar Land continues their set with the Rainiers on Friday night. RHP Brandon Bielak is scheduled to start opposite RHP Marcus Walden for a 9:05 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.