Brice Matthews Hits for the Cycle as Sugar Land Secures Series Win
The Sugar Land Space Cowboys (20-18) erupted for 12 unanswered runs, including a five-run seventh to secure the series win over the Salt Lake Bees (15-21) 14-7 on Saturday evening at The Ballpark at America First Square. The Space Cowboys clobbered 17 hits on the night including five batters with
The Sugar Land Space Cowboys (20-18) erupted for 12 unanswered runs, including a five-run seventh to secure the series win over the Salt Lake Bees (15-21) 14-7 on Saturday evening at The Ballpark at America First Square. The Space Cowboys clobbered 17 hits on the night including five batters with a multi-hit game and five hitters with a multi-RBI game.
Brice Matthews completed the cycle in the eighth inning with a two-run homer that went 427-feet to left center as the designated hitter recorded the second cycle in Space Cowboys history and the first of his professional career. Matthews doubled in the first, singled in the fifth and tripled in the seventh.
BRICE MATTHEWS FOR THE CYCLE!!!!!!!!!!! pic.twitter.com/1YOSvas68e
— Sugar Land Space Cowboys (@SLSpaceCowboys) May 11, 2025
An inning later, Joe Hudson hammered his second three-run home run of the game, his first multi-homer contest since August 29, 2023 with the Gwinnett Strippers and the first six-RBI game of his career.
JOE HUDSON HAMMERS HIS SECOND THREE-RUN HOMER OF THE GAME AND ADMIN IS RUNNING OUT OF CAPS AND SUPERLITAVES FOR TONIGHT'S GAME pic.twitter.com/7mMCN9JQOy
— Sugar Land Space Cowboys (@SLSpaceCowboys) May 11, 2025
In the first, Shay Whitcomb legged out an infield single with one out before Matthews’ hustle double put two runners in scoring position for Jesús Bastidas. Bastidas’ productive groundout plated Whitcomb as the Space Cowboys took an early 1-0 lead. Guillorme doubled the Space Cowboys’ advantage with a 12-pitch at-bat that resulted in a scorched single off Yolmer Sánchez’s glove to score Matthews.
Salt Lake tied the game in the bottom half as Niko Kavadas hit a two-out, two-run home run before the Bees took a 5-2 lead with a three-run second.
After a scoreless third for both sides, RHP Rhett Kouba (W, 1-0) took over for RHP Aaron Brown in the fourth and tossed a scoreless frame by inducing a double play and a pop out to Hudson.
Matthews kept the fifth alive with a two-out single before Bastidas took a walk on an eight-pitch at-bat, passing the baton to Guillorme who fisted an RBI base knock up the middle, his third hit of the night, as Sugar Land pulled within two. Luis Castro dropped a single at the feet of Korey Holland in left, the third Space Cowboy hit with two outs, scoring Bastidas as the Sugar Land made it a 5-4 game.
With one out in the seventh, Matthews lasered a fly ball off the wall in left, sprinting around the bases for a stand-up triple before Bastidas tied the game at five with an RBI single. Guillorme recorded his fourth base hit of the game, placing runners on the corners for Luis Castro who picked up the fourth-straight Space Cowboy hit with an RBI single, giving Sugar Land the 6-5 lead. Hudson put an exclamation mark on the five-run seventh with a three-run blast to left on a 3-2 offering as the Space Cowboys flipped the game on its head and stretched their lead to 9-5.
JOE HUDSON PUTS AN EXCLAMATION MARK ON THE SEVENTH! pic.twitter.com/jXhmaaNv17
— Sugar Land Space Cowboys (@SLSpaceCowboys) May 11, 2025
Salt Lake loaded the bases with one out in the home half after taking three walks, but RHP Nick Robertson set the final two batters of the innings down on strikes to preserve the 9-5 advantage.
NOTABLE:
Shay Whitcomb singled three times on Saturday, extending his on-base streak to 14 games, going 18-for-57 (.315) with six doubles, three home runs, four RBI and four walks in that span.
Jesús Bastidas picked up an RBI in the first and seventh, his fourth-straight game with an RBI. In his last 13 games, Bastidas is 15-for-44(.341) with four doubles, three homers, 11 RBI, eight walks and 15 runs scored.
Luis Guillorme singled on his first four at-bats, his first four-hit game since June 30, 2019 with the Syracuse Mets.
Luis Castro is on a four-game hitting streak after getting called up to Sugar Land this week. In the series against Salt Lake he is 8-for-16 (.500) with three doubles, five RBI, one walk and four runs scored.
Sugar Land set a new season-high in runs with 14, breaking their previous high of eight, and hits with 17, smashing their previous high of 12 knocks.
Tonight was Joe Hudson’s fifth multi-homer game of his career and first with the Space Cowboys.
The series finale of the Sugar Land Space Cowboys’ series against the Salt Lake Bees commences on Sunday at 1:05 pm CT. RHP AJ Blubaugh is set to start opposite RHP Caden Dana for the second time this series. The game can be seen live on the Bally Sports Live App or MLB.TV and can be heard anywhere at SLSpaceCowboys.com. Season Memberships for the 2025 Space Cowboy season, including Full and Partial Season membership plans, can be purchased online here.
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 are the reigning Pacific Coast League Champions and Triple-A National Champions. They began playing 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 for 2025 by visiting slspacecowboys.com/tickets.