Grand Inning Propels Space Cowboys To 7-1 Victory Over Chihuahuas
A grand slam in the seventh inning catapulted the Sugar Land Space Cowboys (57-88, 24-46) to a 7-1 win over the El Paso Chihuahuas (61-84, 29-41) on Tuesday night to begin the final series of the season at Constellation Field. El Paso was able to strike first with a run
A grand slam in the seventh inning catapulted the Sugar Land Space Cowboys (57-88, 24-46) to a 7-1 win over the El Paso Chihuahuas (61-84, 29-41) on Tuesday night to begin the final series of the season at Constellation Field.
El Paso was able to strike first with a run in the top of the second on a single, stolen base and RBI double. RHP Rhett Kouba got out of the frame without any further damage and got an outfield assist from Joey Loperfido in the top of the third to throw out a runner at home, keeping it a 1-0 deficit.
After singling in his first Triple-A at bat, Will Wagner doubled to left to lead off the last of the fourth. Pedro León walked and the tandem advanced 90 feet thanks to a wild pitch from RHP Anderson Espinoza (L, 7-9) before Shay Whitcomb brought in the tying run on an RBI groundout. A fielding error from Chihuahuas’ third baseman Lucas Dunn allowed León to score from third, putting Sugar Land in front 2-1.
RHP Ryne Stanek (W, 1-0) came on in the top of the fifth, and after giving up a lead-off single induced a fielder’s choice for the first out. Daniel Johnson stole second against Stanek but was thrown out by Loperfido when attempting to tag up on a flyout to right, the second of three total outfield assists by Loperfido.
The Space Cowboys put the game out of reach in the seventh. León singled and stole second, his 20th steal of the year, and Whitcomb walked to put two men on and end the night for Espinoza. Bligh Madris roped a single to right, scoring León to extend the Sugar Land lead to 3-1. Loperfido smacked an opposite-field single to bring up Rylan Bannon, who launched an opposite-field grand slam, busting the contest open.
In the top of the eighth, RHP Spencer Arrighetti (H, 1) came back out for a third inning of work but was struck in his upper body by a comebacker and departed the game under his own power. RHP Austin Hansen and RHP Jake Cousins combined to throw 1.2 scoreless innings to close out the Space Cowboys win.
Leading the series 1-0, Sugar Land continues their six-game set with El Paso on Wednesday night. RHP Brandon Bielak is scheduled to start for the Space Cowboys while the Chihuahuas will go with LHP Jay Groome for a 6:35 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.