Split Decision: Space Cowboys Take Game One, Drop Game Two In Salt Lake

After getting snowed out on Thursday, the Sugar Land Space Cowboys (12-8) split their doubleheader with the Salt Lake Bees (8-12) on Saturday night, winning Game 1 2-1 before falling 8-3 in Game 2.

Game 1

In the opening game of the doubleheader, Sugar Land found themselves locked in a tight, scoreless battle through the first three innings.

Sugar Land finally broke through in the fourth. With two outs, Carlos Pérez sparked the rally with a single and Cavan Biggio followed with a double to put two runners in scoring position. Jax Biggers, coming off his first home run of the season on Friday night, delivered again, ripping a double to give the Space Cowboys a 2-0 lead.

Salt Lake answered in the sixth, capitalizing on a bunt by Yolmer Sánchez and a wild pitch that moved him into scoring position. Denzer Guzman lined a double to center field to bring home the Bees’ lone run, trimming the deficit to 2-1.

That would be all the offense Salt Lake could muster, as LHP Josh Hendrickson turned in a dominant performance in his first start of the season. Hendrickson was in complete control, tossing five innings of one-hit, shutout baseball while walking none and struck out five in a row in route to six total strikeouts to earn his first win of the year.

RHP Alimber Santa (S, 1) was called upon in the seventh and retired the side in order, striking out a pair to earn his first save of the season.

Game 2

Sugar Land struck first with immediate impact, as James Nelson led off the game with a home run to deep center field, carrying over his hot bat from Friday night.

Salt Lake responded quickly in the bottom of the first, capitalizing on early traffic on the bases. A single from Nelson Rada and a hit-by-pitch of Christian Moore set the stage for a three-run inning, highlighted by RBI hits from Donovan Walton and Chris Taylor, along with a run-scoring groundout from Denzer Guzman to give the Bees a 3-1 lead.

The Bees added to their advantage in the fourth inning, using a double from Nick Madrigal and a sacrifice fly from Rada to push the lead to 4-1.

Sugar Land began to chip away in the sixth, as patience at the plate and aggressive baserunning helped generate offense. After putting two runners on, Nelson delivered an RBI single and a wild pitch brought home another run to cut the deficit to 4-3.

However, Salt Lake responded decisively in the bottom half of the inning. The Bees drew five walks and added four more runs, with Taylor delivering the key blow on a two-run double to extend the lead to 8-3. Sugar Land was unable to answer late, as the Bees closed out the win to earn a split of the doubleheader.

NOTABLE:

• LHP Josh Hendrickson dominated in his first outing with Sugar Land, retiring all but one batter through his first four innings and striking out five straight at one point. He finished with five shutout frames, allowing just one hit while racking up six strikeouts in a commanding performance in which he threw 40 out of 58 pitches for strikes.
• James Nelson is 7-for-19 in this series with three doubles, one home run, four RBI and 13 total bases.
• Collin Price is on an eight game on-base streak dating back to April 5. He is one of three Space Cowboys with a four game or more on-base streak, leading Biggio who has four, and Pérez who has a seven-game on-base streak.
• RHP Alimber Santa extended his hitless streak to six-straight appearances. Over 6.0 innings, he has walked just one and struck out nine without allowing a run.

Sugar Land looks to end the series on a high note and secure a split on Sunday afternoon. RHP Brandon Bielak is set to throw for Sugar Land against RHP George Klassen for a 3:05 pm CT first pitch.. The game 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.