The Sugar Land Space Cowboys (27-35) were defeated by the El Paso Chihuahuas (26-36) 11-2 on Saturday night at Southwest University Park.
El Paso struck first in the bottom of the second inning, capitalizing on two doubles, a walk, a hit-by-pitch, and an error to score four runs and take an early 4-0 lead. The Chihuahuas then plated three more runs in the third to extend their advantage to 7-0.
El Paso added three additional runs over the next three innings, pushing the lead to 10-0 through six frames.
Sugar Land broke through in the top of the seventh. Pascanel Ferreras led off the inning with a single and moved to second on an El Paso error. James Nelson then lifted a fly ball to center field, allowing Ferreras to advance to third before Jack Winkler brought him home with a groundout.
The Space Cowboys added one more run in the eighth. Joey Loperfido opened the inning with a single and Shay Whitcomb followed with a walk. Carlos Pérez then lofted an RBI single to right field, scoring Loperfido. Sugar Land was unable to mount a comeback, suffering its first loss of the series against El Paso.
RHP J.P. France tossed one inning in relief, allowing one run on one hit while striking out two. RHP Roddery Muñoz fired another scoreless appearance out of the bullpen, surrendering just one hit and striking out two over his inning of work.
NOTABLE:
- Joey Loperfido went 2-for-5 with a run scored on Saturday night, marking his third straight multi-hit game.
- Carlos Pérez went 1-for-3 with an RBI and a walk. In the series against El Paso, Pérez is 8-for-22 with two doubles, two home runs, seven RBI, two walks, and five runs scored.
- Pascanel Ferreras went 2-for-4 with a run scored on Friday night, maintaining a .500 average at Triple A. In his first four games with the Space Cowboys, Ferreras is 7-for-14 with a double, a home run, three RBI, two walks, and five runs scored and has hit safely in all four games.
- Roddery Muñoz tossed a scoreless inning of relief on Saturday night and has now not allowed a run in his last five appearances.
Sugar Land will wrap up their six-game series on Sunday night against El Paso as RHP Brandon McPherson takes the mound for the Space Cowboys opposite RHP German Marquez for the Chihuahuas. First pitch from Southwest University Park is scheduled for 7:05 p.m. 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.