Jake Meyers delivered the go-ahead two-run double in the seventh inning as the Sugar Land Space Cowboys (21-8, 53-50) outlasted the Salt Lake Bees (10-19, 49-54) 7-5 on Wednesday night at Constellation Field.
Both offenses wasted no time getting on the board. Salt Lake matched its run total from Tuesday's series opener with two runs in the top of the first before Sugar Land captured the lead in the bottom half of the inning. Cavan Biggio and Joey Loperfido each worked walks ahead of Shay Whitcomb, who crushed his second home run of the series, a three-run blast that put the Space Cowboys in front 3-2.
The lead was short-lived as the Bees answered in the second. Two singles and a walk loaded the bases before Christian Moore lifted a sacrifice fly to center, evening the score at 3-3.
Salt Lake moved back in front an inning later when Niko Kavadas launched a solo home run to right-center, making it 4-3. RHP Trey McLoughlin kept Sugar Land within striking distance, tossing 1.2 scoreless innings in relief while striking out two.
The Space Cowboys recaptured the lead in the fourth. Tommy Sacco Jr. tied the game with a solo home run before Garret Guillemette was hit by a pitch and swiped second base. Pascanel Ferreras followed with an RBI single to give Sugar Land a 5-4 advantage.
The Bees evened the score once again in the sixth as Omar Martinez connected on his 10th home run of the season, knotting the game at five.
Sugar Land took the lead for good in the seventh. Whitcomb worked a walk before Raynel Delgado singled to put two runners aboard. Meyers then ripped a two-run double into the gap, scoring both runners and giving the Space Cowboys a 7-5 lead.
The bullpen made the advantage stand. RHP Alimber Santa tossed a perfect eighth inning with two strikeouts before RHP Roddery Muñoz used 16 pitches to strike out two and retire the side in the ninth.
NOTABLE:
- Shay Whitcomb went 2-for-3 with a home run, three RBI and a walk to extend his on-base streak to 11 games. Whitcomb has now homered in consecutive games and has totaled seven RBI through the first two games of the series against Salt Lake, the most in the Pacific Coast League during this week’s action. His home run left the bat at 105.0 mph, marking the hardest-hit ball of the game.
- Sugar Land swiped five bases on Wednesday night, their most steals in a game since they stole six bases on May 16 at Tacoma. It’s their third-highest stolen base total this season after they stole seven base on April 26 vs. Round Rock.
- With their victory, the Space Cowboys are now 16-4 at Constellation Field in the second half of the season, the most home wins in Minor League Baseball in the second half.
- RHP Trey McLoughlin made his third consecutive scoreless appearance on Wednesday, tossing 1.2 innings while allowing just one hit and striking out two. Over his last three outings, McLoughlin has surrendered just one hit across 4.1 scoreless innings with two walks and three strikeouts.
- RHP Kai-Wei Teng made his season debut for the Space Cowboys on Wednesday, allowing one run on two hits while striking out one over 1.0 inning of work.
- INF Raynel Delgado went 1-for-3 with a walk and a run scored on Wednesday night, extending his hitting streak to five games.
- Pascanel Ferreras went 2-for-5 with an RBI on Wednesday night, collecting his first hits since returning from the injured list.
- Tommy Sacco Jr. went 2-for-3 with a home run and a walk on Wednesday night, marking his second home run of the season and his sixth multi-hit game.
The Sugar Land Space Cowboys will look to win their third-straight game on Thursday night as they continue their six-game series against the Salt Lake Bees. RHP Jason Alexander is scheduled to start for Sugar Land, while LHP Sam Aldegheri is slated to start for Salt Lake. First pitch is scheduled 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.