Sugar Land Overcomes Early Deficit Before Falling In Series Finale

After winning five of their first six series in the second half of the season, the Sugar Land Space Cowboys (27-12, 59-54) were handed their first series loss of the second half by the Albuquerque Isotopes (20-19, 59-55) on Sunday, falling 8-5 at Isotopes Park.

Albuquerque struck first in the bottom of the first for a third consecutive game. The Isotopes plated three runs in the opening inning to jump out to an early 3-0 lead.

Their lead would be short-lived as the Space Cowboys rallied in the second. CJ Alexander led off the inning with his 19th home run of the season, cutting Albuquerque’s lead to 3-1. Trenton Brooks followed with a walk before scoring on an RBI double from Braden Shewmake. After Garret Guillemette singled to put runners on the corners, Raynel Delgado grounded into a force out, driving in another run and evening the game. Zach Dezenzo followed with his first triple of the season, plating another run and giving the Space Cowboys a 4-3 lead.

A 459-foot no-doubter from Alexander!💣 #Ascend pic.twitter.com/rx99ENEf2u

— Sugar Land Space Cowboys (@SLSpaceCowboys) August 9, 2026

After allowing three runs in the first, RHP Ethan Pecko kept Albuquerque off the scoreboard for the remainder of his outing. Pecko tossed 4.0 innings, allowing six hits while striking out three batters.

Cavan Biggio extended the Space Cowboys’ lead in the top of the fifth, starting off the inning with a home run to right field to give Sugar Land a 5-3 advantage.

A Biggio Bomb to open the fifth💣 #Ascend pic.twitter.com/GL1RNjhd93

— Sugar Land Space Cowboys (@SLSpaceCowboys) August 9, 2026

Albuquerque evened the game in the bottom of the fifth. Ryan Ritter doubled before Jose Cordova followed with an RBI single, cutting the Space Cowboys’ lead to 5-4. A walk and a passed ball put runners on the corners before Drew Avans lifted a sacrifice fly to tie the game at 5-5.

The Isotopes regained the lead in the bottom of the sixth, plating three runs to take an 8-5 advantage. RHP Alimber Santa entered in relief with one out in the inning and worked a pop out and a ground out to end the frame and strand the bases loaded.

RHP Michael Knorr and RHP Miguel Ullola provided scoreless relief in the seventh and eighth innings. Knorr struck out one in the seventh before Ullola punched out two in a scoreless eighth, keeping the Space Cowboys within striking distance.

Sugar Land mounted a late rally in the top of the ninth. Hemmanuel Rosario singled to lead off the inning before stealing second and advancing to third on a wild pitch. Lucas Spence then worked a walk to put runners on the corners, but a hard lineout and a strikeout ended the game as Albuquerque secured the 8-5 victory and the series win.

NOTABLE:

• CJ Alexander went 1-for-5 with a home run, extending his RBI streak to seven games, the second-longest RBI streak by a Space Cowboy this season behind Cavan Biggio’s eight-game streak from July 12-25. Alexander’s home run also extended his hitting streak to seven games. The homer traveled 459 feet and left the bat at 110.6 mph, marking the hardest-hit ball of the game.
• Raynel Delgado went 1-for-4 with an RBI and a run scored, extending his hitting streak to nine games, the longest active hitting streak on the Space Cowboys. Delgado recorded 12 hits during the six-game series against Albuquerque, the second-most in the Pacific Coast League this week behind Jonah Cox of Sacramento, who had 14 hits. Delgado also drove in 11 runs during the series, the most in the PCL this week.
• Braden Shewmake went 2-for-5 with a double, an RBI and a run scored in Sunday’s series finale, marking his first multi-hit game with Sugar Land and his first since April 17, when he was a member of the Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders against Syracuse.
• Trenton Brooks has recorded an RBI in back-to-back games for Sugar Land. Over his last two games, Brooks is 2-for-5 with an RBI, three walks and three runs scored. He has also reached base safely in 36 of his 43 games with the Space Cowboys.
• Cavan Biggio went 1-for-2 with a home run and three walks. Biggio has now homered in each series against the Isotopes this season. In 22 games against Albuquerque, Biggio is batting .269 (21-for-78) with three doubles, six home runs, 12 RBI, 25 walks and 19 runs scored.
• RHP Michael Knorr made his third scoreless appearance this week on Sunday, tossing 3.2 scoreless innings during the series, allowing just one hit and two walks while striking out two. Knorr has not allowed a run in seven of his last eight appearances dating back to July 10, going 2-0 with a 0.87 ERA in 10.1 innings in that span, giving up just one run on three hits with four walks and 14 strikeouts.

The Sugar Land Space Cowboys will continue their 12-game road trip following an off day Monday, beginning a six-game series against the Round Rock Express on Tuesday. The Space Cowboys have not yet announced a starter for Tuesday, while the Express will send RHP Trey Supak to the mound. First pitch at Dell Diamond is set for 6:45 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.