Swanson Shines In Triple-A Debut But Space Cowboys Drop Close Call

Ferreras Doubles Twice To Pace Sugar Land Offense

By Raymond Brown/Sugar Land Space Cowboys

September 2, 2026

RHP Nic Swanson tossed 2.2 scoreless innings in his Triple-A debut, but the Sugar Land Space Cowboys (36-23, 68-65) fell 2-1 to the Reno Aces (28-30, 60-73) on Wednesday night at Constellation Field. After the game remained deadlocked through the first two innings, the Space Cowboys opened the scoring in

RHP Nic Swanson tossed 2.2 scoreless innings in his Triple-A debut, but the Sugar Land Space Cowboys (36-23, 68-65) fell 2-1 to the Reno Aces (28-30, 60-73) on Wednesday night at Constellation Field.

After the game remained deadlocked through the first two innings, the Space Cowboys opened the scoring in the bottom of the third. Lucas Spence led off the inning with a double to put a runner in scoring position before tagging up on a fly ball to center field. Spence then scored on an RBI groundout from Trenton Brooks, giving Sugar Land a 1-0 lead.

The Aces evened the score in the top of the fourth. A.J. Vukovich doubled to lead off the inning before an RBI single from Anderson Rojas brought him home, leveling the game at one run apiece. That would be the only run RHP Ryan Weiss allowed in his outing as he tossed 3.0 innings of relief, allowing four hits and one run while walking one and striking out five.

RHP Nic Swanson made his Triple-A debut in the fifth inning for the Space Cowboys and quickly settled in, facing the minimum over his first two innings of work. Swanson went on to allow just one hit while walking two and striking out three.

Swanson records his first Triple-A strikeout! #Ascend pic.twitter.com/hUterJ35fj
— Sugar Land Space Cowboys (@SLSpaceCowboys) September 3, 2026

Sugar Land threatened in the bottom of the fifth. Brooks reached on a fielding error before Pascanel Ferreras launched his second double of the game, putting two runners in scoring position. However, a strikeout ended the inning, stranding both runners.

Reno took the lead in the top of the eighth. After two singles put runners on the corners, Aramis Garcia laid down a sacrifice bunt down the first-base line, allowing the go-ahead run to score and giving the Aces a 2-1 lead.

RHP Michael Knorr tossed a perfect ninth inning while striking out one to keep Sugar Land within one run heading into the bottom half of the inning. With a chance to rally, Raynel Delgado grounded out to lead off the frame before back-to-back strikeouts ended the game, as the Space Cowboys dropped their second straight game.

NOTABLE:

LHP Bryan King made his first minor league start and second start of his professional career on Wednesday night. His first start in professional baseball came with Houston on August 12 at San Francisco.
RHP Ryan Weiss tossed 3.0 innings on Wednesday night, marking his first outing of at least three innings since August 12 at Round Rock, when he threw 3.1 scoreless innings. His five strikeouts also tied for his third-highest total of the season, matching his May 4 outing with Houston against the Dodgers.
Pascanel Ferreras went 2-for-4 with two doubles on Wednesday night. Since making his Space Cowboys debut on June 2, Ferreras has tallied 21 doubles, which leads all Sugar Land batters and ranks third in the Pacific Coast League over that span. Ferreras also recorded his 22nd multi-hit game of the season, the second-most among players on Sugar Land’s active roster, trailing only Cavan Biggio (23), and has now recorded a multi-hit game in five of his last six games.
RHP Nic Swanson allowed just one hit, walked two and struck out three while tossing 2.2 scoreless innings in his Triple-A debut with the Space Cowboys on Wednesday night.
RHP Michael Knorr tossed a scoreless ninth inning on Wednesday night. Knorr has not allowed a run in 14 of his last 17 appearances.

Sugar Land continues their six-game set with Aces on Thursday night. RHP Jason Alexander will get the ball for Sugar Land while LHP Mitch Bratt will take the mound for Reno, with first pitch set for 7:05 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 2027 season are available now and can be purchased at slspacecowboys.com/tickets.