Early Offense Lifts Space Cowboys Past Isotopes In Series Opener

Delgado, Alexander Extend RBI Streak As Sugar Land Wins Seventh-Straight

By Raymond Brown/Sugar Land Space Cowboys

August 4, 2026

On the first game of their two-week road trip, the Sugar Land Space Cowboys (26-8, 58-50) got 5.2 innings of one-run ball from their starter as they opened their six-game series against the Albuquerque Isotopes (16-18, 55-54) with a 4-3 victory on Tuesday night at Isotopes Park. Sugar Land wasted

Sugar Land wasted no time taking the lead in the first inning. Cavan Biggio led off the game with a single before Raynel Delgado ripped an RBI to right field, scoring Biggio for the game's first run. Joey Loperfido followed with an RBI single on a soft line drive to left, giving the Space Cowboys an early 2-0 advantage.

Delgado gets the scoring started! #Ascend pic.twitter.com/ZjywkkPr3w
— Sugar Land Space Cowboys (@SLSpaceCowboys) August 5, 2026

Albuquerque cut into the deficit in the bottom of the third when a pair of hits led to an RBI single, trimming the deficit to 2-1. LHP Josh Hendrickson settled in from there, allowing just one run on five hits over 5.2 innings while striking out five.

The Space Cowboys added to their lead in the fourth as Trenton Brooks launched a solo home run, his third of the season, extending the advantage to 3-1.

Brooks sends it over the wall👋 #Ascend pic.twitter.com/21ysqmaKPA
— Sugar Land Space Cowboys (@SLSpaceCowboys) August 5, 2026

Sugar Land tacked on another insurance run in the sixth. Loperfido reached on a single and stole second before Shay Whitcomb connected on a base hit to put runners on the corners. CJ Alexander followed with an RBI single to left, pushing the lead to 4-1 and extending his RBI streak.

Hendrickson recorded the first two outs of the sixth inning but came one out shy of his fourth quality start of the year, departing with the bases loaded and two outs in the inning**. RHP Michael Knorr** took over in relief and induced a foul out behind home to strand the bases loaded before spinning a 1-2-3 seventh. The Isotopes were able to draw within a run in the eighth when Vimael Machin connected on a two-run home run, cutting Sugar Land's lead to one.

RHP Roddery Muñoz was called on for the ninth and retired the side in order, recording two groundouts and a flyout to secure the 4-3 victory and extend the Space Cowboys' winning streak to seven games.

NOTABLE:

Sugar Land has has won seven-straight games, the longest active winning streak in the Pacific Coast League and the club's longest winning streak of the season, surpassing its previous six-game streak from March 28 - April 3. It is the Space Cowboys' longest winning streak since winning 12 straight from May 7-21, 2025.
LHP Josh Hendrickson has completed at least 5.0 innings in each of his last six starts dating back to June 25 against El Paso. Over that span, Hendrickson owns a 1.91 ERA, allowing 32 hits and seven runs with four walks and 26 strikeouts. He has also recorded five strikeouts in each of his last three starts.
Shay Whitcomb went 1-for-4 in Tuesday's series opener and has now reached base safely in 16 consecutive games while extending his hitting streak to seven games. During the streak, Whitcomb is batting .387 (24-for-62) with three doubles, one triple, two home runs, 15 RBI, three walks, four stolen bases and nine runs scored while striking out just 10 times.
Raynel Delgado went 1-for-5 with a double, an RBI and a run scored on Tuesday night, extending his RBI streak to three games. Delgado has now hit safely in nine of his last 10 games and has multi-hit efforts in five of his last eight appearances.
CJ Alexander finished 1-for-3 with an RBI, extending his RBI streak to three games. Since returning from the injured list on July 30, Alexander is batting .364 (4-for-11) with a double, a home run, five RBI, one walk and two runs scored.
Joey Loperfido has recorded multi-hit performances in three of his last five games. During that stretch, Loperfido is batting .474 (9-for-19) with four doubles, three RBI, two walks, two stolen bases and nine runs scored while striking out just three times.
RHP Miguel Ullola had his nine-game hitless streak snapped on Tuesday night, allowing his first hit with Sugar Land since June 24 vs. El Paso. He also allowed his first earned run with the Space Cowboys in his last 15 outings, dating back to June 7 at El Paso.

After taking the series opener, the Sugar Land Space Cowboys will look to win their eighth-straight game on Wednesday night. RHP Brandon McPherson is scheduled to start for Sugar Land, while the Isotopes are expected to counter with RHP Jack Mahoney. First pitch is set for 7:35 pm CT. 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 2026 season are available now and can be purchased at slspacecowboys.com/tickets.