Despite five strikeouts from RHP Hunter Brown in his first start on a Major League rehab assignment, the Sugar Land Space Cowboys (23-32) dropped game four of their six-game series against the Oklahoma City Comets (31-23) on Friday night at Constellation Field, falling 6-1.
Sugar Land struck first in the bottom of the opening inning. Zach Cole and Collin Price each singled before CJ Alexander worked a walk to load the bases. Kellen Strahm then hit into a fielder’s choice, bringing home a run and giving the Space Cowboys an early 1-0 lead.
Oklahoma City answered in the second when Ryan Fitzgerald connected on a solo home run, evening the score at 1-1. It was the only hit allowed by Brown over 3.0 strong innings in which he did not walk and batter and punched out five.
The game remained tied until the seventh inning when Fitzgerald launched his second solo homer of the night, putting the Comets in front 2-1. Oklahoma City broke the game open in the eighth. A triple, two home runs and a sacrifice fly fueled a four-run frame as the Comets extended their lead to 6-1.
The Space Cowboys also received solid work out of the bullpen with RHP Anthony Maldonado firing a scoreless inning, allowing no hits while striking out one.
NOTABLE:
- RHP Hunter Brown fired 44 pitches, 33 for strikes in his second Major League rehab outing. His fastball topped out at 99.3 mph and averaged 97.9 mph in his outing.
- Zach Cole went 3-for-4 with a double and a run scored on Friday night. He registered three of the five hardest hit balls of the night, a 112.0 mph double in the fifth, a 109.4 mph single in the first and a 105.1 mph single in the eighth.
- Collin Price went 1-for-4 on Friday night. In the month of May, Price is slashing 17-for-69 with four doubles, seven home runs, 15 RBI, and 13 walks.
- RHP Anthony Maldonado spun a scoreless inning, allowing no hits while striking out one. Maldonado has not surrendered a hit in any of his last five appearances.
- Sugar Land turned three ground-ball double plays on Friday night, bringing its season total to 45, tied for second-most in the Pacific Coast League with El Paso.
Sugar Land faces off against the Oklahoma City Comets in game five of their six-game series on Saturday night. RHP Ryan Weiss will take the mound for the Space Cowboys while the Comets will throw LHP Charlie Barnes for a 6:05 pm CT first pitch. 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.