Sugar Land Falls In Season Finale
A big fourth inning was the difference in a 10-3 defeat for the Sugar Land Space Cowboys (61-89, 28-47) against the El Paso Chihuahuas (62-88, 30-45) in the final game of the 2023 season. El Paso jumped out to a lead in the top of the first inning. Daniel Johnson
A big fourth inning was the difference in a 10-3 defeat for the Sugar Land Space Cowboys (61-89, 28-47) against the El Paso Chihuahuas (62-88, 30-45) in the final game of the 2023 season.
El Paso jumped out to a lead in the top of the first inning. Daniel Johnson doubled to start the contest, and after a walk to Connor Hollis, Yorman Rodriguez singled with one out to bring in a run. A fielding error allowed another run to score, and El Paso had a 2-0 lead before Sugar Land came to hit.
A solo home run by Evan Mendoza off RHP Jimmy Endersby (L, 4-6) widened the El Paso lead to 3-0 after two frames. Sugar Land would get a run back in the bottom of the third inning when César Salazar drew a walk from RHP Anderson Espinoza (W, 7-9), Bligh Madris singled and Will Wagner singled the other way, his second hit of the day and fifth multi-hit effort in six games with Sugar Land, driving in a run to make it 3-1.
The Chihuahuas sent nine men to the plate in the top of the fourth, scoring six runs on five hits and an error, moving their lead to 9-1.
Joey Loperfido started the bottom of the sixth with a single to left and Rylan Bannon followed with an opposite-field homer to right, his 18th of the year, bringing the score to 9-3. However, the Space Cowboys were held to just two base runners over the next three frames.
In the top of the ninth inning, El Paso added on a run thanks to a pair of hits and a double play, pushing their lead back to 10-3. Salazar walked to lead off the bottom of the ninth and Madris singled to put two men on, but a pair of strikeouts and a fielder’s choice ended the contest.
*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).