Sugar Land Rally In Ninth Falls Just Short In Close Loss To Express
The Sugar Land Space Cowboys (47-69, 14-27) took an early lead and got a dominant outing from their starter but dropped their Wednesday night game 4-3 to the Round Rock Express (68-47, 24-17) at Constellation Field. A trio of patient at bats helped the Space Cowboys take a lead in
The Sugar Land Space Cowboys (47-69, 14-27) took an early lead and got a dominant outing from their starter but dropped their Wednesday night game 4-3 to the Round Rock Express (68-47, 24-17) at Constellation Field.
A trio of patient at bats helped the Space Cowboys take a lead in the first inning. Rylan Bannon, Corey Julks and Joey Loperfido all worked walks in the first three plate appearances. RHP Robert Dugger struck out the next hitter, but Shay Whitcomb ripped a double to the left-field wall, driving in all three runners to open a 3-0 Sugar Land lead.
RHP Spencer Arrighetti shut down the Express lineup, giving up just a walk in the first inning and a lead-off double in the third inning before striking out the side. Arrighetti hurled five shutout innings on the evening, using a double play after a walk in the fifth to face just two over the minimum, surrendering just one hit while striking out six.
Sugar Land had an additional scoring opportunity in the bottom of the fifth when Julks led off with a double and Loperfido walked, but RHP Kyle Cody (W, 3-4) came on for Round Rock and got a strikeout and a double play to strand the runners.
In the top of the seventh, LHP Nick Allgeyer (L, 4-4) returned for his third full inning of work and walked the first batter before striking out Elier Hernandez looking. However, a single and a three-run homer by Dio Arias tied the game at 3-3. The Express would take the lead in the top of the eighth on three hits, moving in front 4-3.
The Space Cowboys had one last rally in the bottom of the ninth. With two outs, Justin Dirden worked a walk and César Salazar ripped a single to right, moving the tying run to third for Bannon. RHP Yerry Rodriguez (S,3) came on for the Express to face Bannon, who hit a sharp ground ball to deep short that was corralled for the final out.
Sugar Land continues their six-game series against the Express on Thursday night. RHP Misael Tamarez is scheduled to start for the Space Cowboys while Round Rock is slated to send RHP Owen White to the hill for a 7:05 pm 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.