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Six Home Runs Clobbered In Sugar Land's 16-7 Win

Léon and Whitcomb Combined for Four Home Runs and 10 RBIs
May 15, 2024

There was no shortage of offense Tuesday night for the Sugar Land Space Cowboys (26-14) as they scored three in the first and never looked back, defeating the Albuquerque Isotopes (12-28) 16-7 at Isotopes Park. Jesús Bastidas got things rolling immediately off RHP Peyton Battenfield (L, 1-1) with a lead-off

There was no shortage of offense Tuesday night for the Sugar Land Space Cowboys (26-14) as they scored three in the first and never looked back, defeating the Albuquerque Isotopes (12-28) 16-7 at Isotopes Park.

Jesús Bastidas got things rolling immediately off RHP Peyton Battenfield (L, 1-1) with a lead-off home run to straightaway center to put the Space Cowboys on the board, his first long ball since April 28th. Four batters later, with Will Wagner on first from a base knock, César Salazar continued his hot streak and launched a home run of his own to put Sugar Land ahead 3-0 in the first.

The Isotopes scored on an RBI groundout in the bottom of the frame, but Bastidas got it right back for the Space Cowboys by sending a ball to the deep outfield with the bases loaded, giving Shay Whitcomb plenty of time to tag up and run home from third base.

An RBI double from Albuquerque’s Hunter Stovall cut the Space Cowboys lead to 4-2, but the next half inning, Whitcomb lasered a ball at 102.5 miles-per-hour over the left-field fence to give Sugar Land a 6-2 advantage. Even with a solo home run in the bottom half of the third from the Isotopes’ Sam Hillard, it would not slow Sugar Land down. In the top of the fourth Pedro Léon slammed a three-run monster homer to left, giving Sugar Land a 9-3 lead. León followed it up in the sixth with another three-run blast, his fifth multi-homer game of his career, giving him a six-RBI night to tie a career high. Whitcomb followed suit and knocked another two-run shot of his own shortly after León’s second in the sixth to extend Sugar Land’s lead to 14-3. It was Whitcomb’s eighth career multi-homer effort and his third with Sugar Land.

The Space Cowboys would get two more between the eighth and ninth innings on RBIs from Salazar and Cooper Hummel, while the Isotopes scored four across the seventh and eighth. LHP Bryan King ended Albuquerque’s threat by striking out Drew Romo to send it to the ninth. RHP Miguel Díaz shut down the Isotopes in order in the ninth on six pitches to give the Space Cowboys the win, along with Sugar Land Manager Mickey Storey’s 400th managerial career win.

Sugar Land starter RHP Blair Henley pitched 4.0 innings of three-run ball, surrendering one home run while striking out three. RHP Alex Speas (W, 3-0) made his Space Cowboys debut and shut down all three batters he faced, earning the win, while RHP Cole McDonald pitched a scoreless inning as well.

The Space Cowboys play game two against the Albuquerque Isotopes Wednesday night. RHP Misael Tamarez (3-2, 6.75) is set to take the mound opposite RHP Karl Kauffmann (1-5, 11.32) for a 7:35 pm CT first pitch. The game can be heard on ESPN 92.5 FM or online here and seen on MiLB.TV, MLB.TV or Bally Live.

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.