RHP Bryce Mayer’s first quality start in Triple -A and three scoreless innings from the bullpen helped the Sugar Land Space Cowboys (31-13, 63-55) defeat the Round Rock Express (24-20, 55-64) 3-1 on Saturday night at Dell Diamond to secure the series win.
The Space Cowboys plated the first run in the top of the second. Trenton Brooks led off the inning by launching his fourth home run of the season deep to right field, giving Sugar Land an early 1-0 lead.
Mayer kept the Express off the board through the first five innings, allowing just four baserunners. Round Rock tied the game in the bottom of the sixth when Keyber Rodriguez led off the inning with a solo home run, but Mayer quickly settled back in. The right-hander struck out the next batter he faced before inducing a groundout and flyout to end the inning and finish 6.0 quality innings, striking out two in the process.
The Space Cowboys regained the lead in the top of the seventh. Brooks and Jake Meyers knocked back-to-back two-out singles before Lucas Spence worked a walk to load the bases. A wild pitch by Michael Otañez allowed Brooks to score, putting Sugar Land back in front 2-1.
Sugar Land added an insurance run in the eighth. Raynel Delgado worked a two-out walk before CJ Alexander doubled him home, giving the Space Cowboys a 3-1 advantage.
RHP Michael Knorr, RHP Logan VanWey and RHP Roddery Muñoz combined to keep Round Rock off the board over the final three innings. Knorr allowed just one baserunner in the seventh, VanWey tossed a perfect eighth while striking out one and Muñoz struck out the first two batters he faced before generating a groundout to secure the victory.
NOTABLE:
- RHP Bryce Mayer tossed 6.0 innings, allowing just four hits and one run while walking one and striking out two. On Saturday night, Mayer recorded his first quality start at the Triple A level in just his second Triple-A outing. It marked his third quality start of the season, with his other two coming with Corpus Christi on July 25 vs. Amarillo and August 1 at Frisco.
- The Space Cowboys pitching staff has allowed just one run over its last 24.0 innings dating back to August 13.
- RHP Roddery Muñoz recorded his ninth save of the season, moving him into third place in the Pacific Coast League in saves, trailing only TJ Shook of Albuquerque (11) and Michael Fulmer of Salt Lake (10).
- CJ Alexander went 1-for-3 with a double and an RBI on Saturday night. Alexander has recorded four doubles this week against Round Rock, the most in the Pacific Coast League over that span.
- RHP Logan VanWey recorded his 12th hold of the season on Saturday night, which ranks first in Triple -A and second among all minor league pitchers. VanWey trails only Carlos Rey of Amarillo, who has recorded 13 holds this season.
- Trenton Brooks went 2-for-4 with a home run and two runs scored. Brooks has now recorded a multi-hit performance in two of his four games this week against the Express. He is 5-for-10 with a double, a home run, three RBI, three walks and five runs scored against Round Rock this week.
After securing the series win, the Space Cowboys conclude their season series with the Express on Sunday afternoon. RHP Ethan Pecko will take the mound for Sugar Land, while Round Rock will counter with RHP Trey Supak. First pitch at Dell Diamond is set for 1:05 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.