A five-run fourth inning ignited the Sugar Land Space Cowboys (37-23, 69-65), who used an offensive explosion to defeat the Reno Aces (28-31, 60-74), 11-4, on Thursday night at Constellation Field.
Sugar Land plated the opening run in the bottom of the second. With two outs, Raynel Delgado singled to put a runner on base before CĂ©sar Salazar followed with a twilight-aided RBI double, scoring Delgado and giving the Space Cowboys a 1-0 lead.
Reno used two triples, a single and a fielding error in the top of the third to take a two-run lead before the Space Cowboys batted around and regained the advantage in the bottom half of the inning.
Lucas Spence worked a walk to begin the inning before Zach Cole smashed a home run deep to center field. Pascanel Ferreras followed with a single before Cavan Biggio worked a walk to put two runners on base. Joey Loperfido then singled to load the bases before a bases-loaded walk to Zach Dezenzo scored the third run of the inning for Sugar Land. Salazar followed with a two-run RBI single to center field, capping the five-run inning and giving the Space Cowboys a 6-3 lead.
After surrendering a three-run third inning, RHP Jason Alexander retired eight of the final 10 batters he faced to earn his fourth win of the season. Alexander tossed 5.0 innings, allowing five hits and three runs, two earned, while walking one and striking out seven.
Sugar Land built on its momentum in the bottom of the fourth. Biggio worked a walk before stealing second to put a runner in scoring position. Loperfido then followed with an RBI single up the middle, scoring Biggio and extending the Space Cowboys’ lead to 7-3.
RHP Jackson Nezuh made his second appearance out of the bullpen on Thursday night, working around two base runners to toss a scoreless sixth inning. RHP Alimber Santa took over in the seventh for the Space Cowboys and worked around a bases-loaded jam, striking out the final batter he faced to preserve the scoreless inning.
Sugar Land broke the game open in the bottom of the seventh. Delgado was hit by a pitch before Salazar drew a walk. Price was then hit by a pitch to load the bases for the Space Cowboys. A throwing error on a pickoff attempt allowed Delgado to score and all runners to advance, plating the first run of the inning. Spence then worked a walk before two wild pitches allowed two more runs to score. Cole capped the four-run inning with an RBI single to give the Space Cowboys an 11-3 lead.
RHP Roddery Muñoz struck out the first two batters he faced in the eighth inning before allowing a single. Muñoz responded by inducing a groundout to end the inning, keeping Reno off the board.
 RHP Julio Rodriguez appeared in the top of the ninth for Sugar Land and walked three, allowing a run to score while striking out the side to secure the Space Cowboys’ win.
 NOTABLE:
- César Salazar went 3-for-4 with a double, three RBI, a walk and a run scored on Thursday night. This marked Salazar’s second three-hit game of the season, with his first coming on July 17 at El Paso. Thursday night also marked Salazar’s second three-RBI game of the season, with his first coming on July 11 against Albuquerque.
- Zach Cole went 2-for-5 with a home run and three RBI on Thursday night. The home run was Cole’s fifth of the season with Sugar Land and left the bat at 107.0 mph, the second-hardest hit ball of the game. His three RBI matched his season high across all levels, matching his three-RBI performance with Houston on May 8 at Cincinnati.
- Joey Loperfido went 2-for-5 with an RBI and a run scored on Thursday night, his first multi-hit game at Constellation Field since July 30 against Salt Lake, when he went 2-for-3 with a double, an RBI, a walk and two runs scored.
- Cavan Biggio went 1-for-3 with a double, two walks and two runs scored on Thursday night. Biggio has now drawn a walk in 11 of his last 13 games and currently is tied for the lead in the Pacific Coast League in walks with 98.
- RHP Jackson Nezuh made his second appearance out of the bullpen on Thursday night, tossing a scoreless inning while allowing just one hit and recording one walk and one strikeout.
The Space Cowboys look to even their series against Reno on Friday night. RHP Brandon McPherson is set to toe the slab opposite Aces LHP Kohl Drake for a 7:05 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 2027 season are available now and can be purchased at slspacecowboys.com/tickets.