RHP Ethan Pecko struck out a season-high seven batters, but the Sugar Land Space Cowboys (19-8, 51-50) fell to the Nashville Sounds (13-14, 56-46), 8-1 in the interleague series finale on Sunday night at Constellation Field.
Nashville opened the scoring in the third. A double and a triple gave the Sounds a 1-0 lead before Luke Adams was hit by a pitch and Jeferson Quero followed with an RBI single to extend their advantage to 2-0.
Pecko settled in after the third and turned in his longest outing in his last five appearances. The right-hander allowed just two runs on five hits across 5.2 innings to keep the Space Cowboys within reach through six.
Sugar Land plated their sole run in the bottom of the fourth when Raynel Delgado launched his first home run with the Space Cowboys, a solo shot to right field, trimming the deficit to 2-1.
RHP Michael Knorr kept the Space Cowboys deficit to one run, striking out all three batters he faced while throwing the hardest pitch of the game.
The Sounds pulled away in the eighth, scoring six runs to build an 8-1 lead. RHP Sam Carlson tossed a perfect ninth inning while striking out two, but Sugar Land was unable to mount a comeback in the bottom half as Nashville secured the series finale.
NOTABLE:
- RHP Ethan Pecko turned in his longest outing since he fired six innings on June 24 vs. El Paso, tossing 5.2 innings while allowing two runs on five hits with no walks. Pecko threw 92 pitches, 66 for strikes, and set a Triple-A season high with seven strikeouts.
- Raynel Delgado connected for his first home run as a member of the Space Cowboys in Sunday's series finale. Delgado finished 2-for-3 with a home run and a walk collecting his first multi-hit game with Sugar Land and his third multi-hit performance in the Astros organization. His previous two came while with Houston on June 16 vs. Detroit and June 23 at Toronto.
- RHP Michael Knorr struck out all three batters he faced on Sunday, setting a new season-high with three strikeouts. Knorr needed just 19 pitches, 12 for strikes, and topped out at 98.4 mph, the hardest pitch thrown by either team.
- Marcus Brown laced a double in Sunday's series finale, recording the first Triple-A extra-base hit of his professional career.
- Shay Whitcomb worked a walk on Sunday night extending his on-base streak to nine games.
After an off day on Monday the Sugar Land Space Cowboys continue their two-week homestand when they begin a six-game set against the Salt Lake Bees on Tuesday night. Both teams have not yet announced a starter for the series opener with first pitch being 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.