Whitcomb Connects For 29th Home Run As Space Cowboys Lose Series Finale
For a sixth straight game, the Sugar Land Space Cowboys (47-73, 14-31) plated three runs but fell in the series finale 4-3 to the Round Rock Express (72-47, 28-17) on Sunday night at Constellation Field. RHP Ronel Blanco (L, 4-3) struck out the first two hitters he faced in the
For a sixth straight game, the Sugar Land Space Cowboys (47-73, 14-31) plated three runs but fell in the series finale 4-3 to the Round Rock Express (72-47, 28-17) on Sunday night at Constellation Field.
RHP Ronel Blanco (L, 4-3) struck out the first two hitters he faced in the first and got a great defensive catch at the wall from Justin Dirden to throw a 1-2-3 first inning.
Sugar Land supported their starter by taking an early lead in the bottom of the first. Marty Costes was hit by a pitch to begin the inning and Pedro León tripled to the right-field gap to drive in a run. Bligh Madris followed with a sacrifice fly to make it 2-0 Sugar Land, and a Shay Whitcomb solo home run to right extended the lead to 3-0. It was the 17th home run with the Space Cowboys for Whitcomb and his 29th of the year, tied for the third most home runs in Minor League Baseball.
Round Rock would score single tallies in the second, third and fifth to level the score at 3-3. The Space Cowboys put together a rally in the bottom of the fifth when León walked and Madris singled off RHP Kyle Cody (W, 4-4), putting the go-ahead run in scoring position with no outs. A flyout held the runners and a groundout to second advanced both into scoring position, bringing up Luke Berryhill, who worked a walk to load the bases. However, Cody struck out the next hitter, leaving the bases full.
Sam Huff hit a go-ahead home run for the Express to lead-off the sixth, moving Round Rock in front 4-3. A combination of RHP Jimmy Endersby, RHP Austin Hansen and RHP Joe Record threw 3.2 scoreless innings of relief, keeping the Space Cowboys within a run.
In the bottom of the eighth, César Salazar walked and Dixon Machado stroked a single to left, giving Sugar Land the tying and go-ahead runs on base with no outs. LHP Jake Latz (H, 7) got the next two outs before León stepped up. The Space Cowboys second baseman drilled a 395-foot drive to deep left-center field that was caught at the top of the wall, robbing Sugar Land of a go-ahead hit. RHP Alex Speas (S, 2) walked Madris to begin the bottom of the ninth but sat down the next three in order to secure the save for Round Rock.
Following an off day on Monday, the Space Cowboys continue their 12-game home stand with a six-game series against the Reno Aces, beginning on Tuesday night. RHP Spencer Arrighetti is slated to start the opener with a 7:05 pm CT first pitch at Constellation Field. 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.