LHP Josh Hendrickson made his fourth quality start of the season while matching a career-high 7.0 innings, but the Sugar Land Space Cowboys (39-29, 71-71) fell to the Oklahoma City Comets (44-24, 85-57) 3-2 on Saturday night at Chickasaw Bricktown Ballpark.
Hendrickson retired the first eight batters he faced before Oklahoma City opened the scoring with a double and an RBI single. Alek Thomas then hit a two-run home run to right field, extending the Comets’ lead to 3-0 through the first three innings.
The Space Cowboys struck for two runs of their own in the top of the fifth inning. Raynel Delgado worked a one-out walk before Trevor Austin was hit by a pitch. Lucas Spence then earned a base on balls to load the bases for Pascanel Ferreras, who followed with a two-run single to cut the deficit to 3-2.
After surrendering three runs in the bottom of the third, Hendrickson settled in by throwing four consecutive scoreless innings, working around just two baserunners. Hendrickson scattered five hits while allowing three runs with no walks and seven strikeouts.
RHP Christian Roa came on in relief in the eighth inning and worked around the bases loaded, striking out the side to keep Sugar Land within one run heading into the top of the ninth.
Joey Loperfido singled to lead off the ninth inning before Collin Price grounded into a force out, with Loperfido retired at second. Cole then grounded out to advance Price to second before a passed ball moved him to third. A final groundout ended the game, stranding the tying run at third.
NOTABLE:
- LHP Josh Hendrickson recorded his fourth quality start of the season Saturday night, tying RHP Jason Alexander for the most quality starts on the Space Cowboys’ roster this season. Hendrickson worked 7.0 innings, allowing five hits and three runs while issuing no walks and striking out seven. His seven innings matched his longest outing in affiliated baseball, equaling his June 12 start against Sacramento, when he allowed four hits and three runs while striking out five.
- Pascanel Ferreras went 1-for-4 with two RBI on Saturday night, extending his on-base streak to 10 games. Over his last 10 games, Ferreras is 14-for-41 (.341) with three doubles, two home runs, four RBI, three walks and seven runs scored.
- Lucas Spence drew a walk Saturday night, extending his on-base streak to 11 games, the longest active streak on the Sugar Land roster. Over his last 11 games, Spence is 10-for-34 with two doubles, five home runs, 10 RBI, eight walks and nine runs scored.
- Zach Cole went 1-for-4 with a double Saturday night. Cole has hit safely in 10 of his last 13 contests and has also recorded an extra-base hit in eight of his last 13 games. Over that span, he is 14-for-50 with five doubles, four home runs, 10 RBI, five walks and nine runs scored.
- RHP Christian Roa made his fourth consecutive scoreless appearance on Saturday evening working around the bases loaded to strike out the side in the eighth. Since re-signing with the Astors on a minor league deal, he has not allowed a run in 17 out of his 21 appearances.
The Space Cowboys wrap up their final road trip on Sunday afternoon. Sugar Land is set to turn to RHP Ryan Weiss while the Comets will throw LHP Cole Irvin. First pitch is scheduled for 2:05 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 2027 season are available now and can be purchased at slspacecowboys.com/tickets.