Despite RHP Brandon McPherson tying his season high with seven strikeouts, the Sugar Land Space Cowboys (27-36) fell to the El Paso Chihuahuas (27-36) 11-5 on Sunday night at Southwest University Park.
McPherson kept El Paso in check through the first four innings, allowing just five hits for two runs. El Paso struck first in the bottom of the second inning, using a sacrifice fly to take a 1-0 lead. The Chihuahuas added another run in the fourth on a second sacrifice fly, extending their advantage to 2-0.
Sugar Land broke through in the top of the fifth. Zach Cole worked a leadoff walk before Carlos Pérez and Pascanel Ferreras followed with back-to-back singles, with Ferreras driving in the Space Cowboys first run of the night. Cavan Biggio then lined a two-run double, scoring Pérez and Ferreras to give Sugar Land a 3-2 lead.
In the bottom of the sixth, the Chihuahuas reclaimed the lead by stringing together a single, double, home run, and sacrifice fly to plate three runs.
Ferreras cut into the deficit in the seventh, leading off the inning with his second home run of the series to make it a one run game. El Paso plated three runs in the bottom half of the inning to push its lead to 8-4.
Sugar Land added another run in the eighth when Zach Dezenzo doubled to begin the inning and later scored on an RBI single from Cole. The Chihuahuas added three more runs in the bottom of the frame, and the Space Cowboys were unable to mount a comeback in the series finale.
NOTABLE:
- Zach Cole went 2-for-3 with an RBI, a run scored, and a walk, and accounted for two of the three hardest hit balls of the game at 112.7 mph and 110.4 mph, both singles.
- RHP Brandon McPherson tossed 4.0 innings, allowing two runs on five hits while striking out seven. The outing tied his season high in strikeouts across all levels. McPherson’s other seven strikeout outing came on April 3 while he was with Corpus Christi against Frisco.
- Carlos Pérez went 1-for-4 with an RBI. During the series against El Paso, he hit 9-for-26 (.346) with two doubles, two home runs, seven RBI, and two walks.
- Cavan Biggio went 2-for-4 with a double and two RBI, extending his on-base streak to 10 games.
- Pascanel Ferreras went 2-for-3 with a home run, two RBI, two runs scored and a walk on Sunday night. Over the series, Ferreras went 9-for-17 (.529) with a double, two home runs, five RBI, three walks, two stolen bases, and seven runs scored while striking out just three times.
After an off day Monday, the Space Cowboys return to Sugar Land to open a six-game series against the Sacramento River Cats. Neither team has announced a starting pitcher for Tuesday, with first pitch set for 7:05 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.