A four-run eighth inning lifted the Sugar Land Space Cowboys (15-5, 47-47) to an 8-3 victory over the El Paso Chihuahuas (6-13, 41-53), securing the series win on Saturday night at Southwest University Park.
El Paso struck first in the bottom of the first. Mason McCoy doubled before advancing to third on a sacrifice fly and scoring on a wild pitch to give the Chihuahuas an early 1-0 lead.
Sugar Land evened the game in the top of the third when Cavan Biggio launched his 14th home run of the season on the first pitch of the inning, evening the score at 1-1.
The Chihuahuas reclaimed the lead in the bottom half of the third. A single, two walks and a Sugar Land fielding error allowed El Paso to plate a run and move back in front, 2-1.
The Space Cowboys tied the game again in the fifth. César Salazar and Biggio drew back-to-back walks to begin the inning before Joey Loperfido worked a walk to load the bases. Shay Whitcomb then lifted a sacrifice fly to left field, scoring Salazar and knotting the game at 2-2.
El Paso moved back in front with a run in the bottom of the fifth to regain a 3-2 advantage, but the lead was short-lived. Trenton Brooks worked a leadoff walk before Salazar belted his second home run of the season, a two-run shot that gave the Space Cowboys a 4-3 lead in the top of the sixth.
Sugar Land broke the game open in the eighth. Edwin Díaz and Tommy Sacco Jr. each drew walks before Salazar reached on a fielder's choice to load the bases. Biggio then worked a bases-loaded walk to force home a run, and Garret Guillemette followed with a three-run double to center, extending the lead to 8-3.
The Space Cowboys bullpen kept El Paso off the scoreboard over the final four innings. RHP Michael Knorr earned his second win of the season only allowing one hit while striking out two over 1.2 scoreless innings. RHP Logan VanWey recorded his ninth hold of the season with a scoreless seventh, RHP Alimber Santa fired a perfect eighth with one strikeout and RHP Cody Bolton tossed a scoreless ninth.
NOTABLE:
- RHP Jackson Nezuh made his Triple-A debut on Saturday night. Nezuh tossed 4.1 innings, allowing three hits, three runs, two earned runs and struck out one. He threw 76 pitches, 40 for strikes and topped out at 95.0 mph.
- César Salazar went 1-for-3 with a home run, two RBI, a walk and three runs scored on Saturday night. Salazar extended his on-base streak to 18 games, while his home run left the bat at 96.9 mph and traveled 401 feet.
- Cavan Biggio went 2-for-3 with a home run, two RBI, two walks and two runs scored on Saturday night. His home run was his 14th of the season, tying him for seventh in the Pacific Coast League. The two walks brought his season total to 66, which is tied for first in the Pacific Coast League.
- RHP Logan VanWey tossed a scoreless inning to earn his ninth hold of the season, tying him for the Pacific Coast League lead in holds.
- RHP Michael Knorr threw 1.2 scoreless innings, allowing one hit and striking out two. Knorr recorded the second-hardest pitch of the game, topping out at 97.8 mph and earned his second win of the season.
- Trenton Brooks went 1-for-4 with a walk and a run scored, extending his on-base streak to nine games. During that span, Brooks is 9-for-30 with two doubles, three RBI, seven walks, two stolen bases and seven runs scored.
- Garret Guillemette went 1-for-4 with a double and three RBI, marking his first multi-RBI game with the Space Cowboys.
The Space Cowboys will look to complete the sweep of the El Paso Chihuahuas on Sunday night in the series finale. Sugar Land will send RHP Ethan Pecko to the mound, while El Paso’s starting pitcher is still to be determined. First pitch from Southwest University Park is scheduled 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 2026 season are available now and can be purchased at slspacecowboys.com/tickets.