A go-ahead double from Jeremy Peña lifted the Sugar Land Space Cowboys (9-4, 41-46) to a 6-5 victory over the Albuquerque Isotopes (6-7, 45-43) in a rain-shortened series opener on Tuesday night at Constellation Field.
After a scoreless first inning, Albuquerque got on the board in the top of the second. The Isotopes strung together three singles, a fielder's choice and an RBI groundout to score four runs and take an early 4-0 lead. Sugar Land cut into the deficit in the bottom half of the inning when Trenton Brooks singled before Jake Meyers launched a two-run home run in his first at-bat with the Space Cowboys this season, trimming the Isotopes margin to 4-2.
The Isotopes added to their lead in the fifth. Two hit batters and a walk loaded the bases before Jordan Beck lifted a sacrifice fly to left field, extending Albuquerque's advantage to 5-2.
Sugar Land used a three-run sixth inning to knot the game. César Salazar and Joey Loperfido both connected on singles before Shay Whitcomb lined an RBI single to bring home the first run of the inning. Brooks then worked a walk to load the bases and a walk to Meyers and a hit-by-pitch of Lucas Spence in the ensuing plate appearance forced home two more runs, tying the game at 5-5.
RHP Ronel Blanco kept the Isotopes off the board in his first rehab appearance with Sugar Land. The right-hander fired 2.0 perfect innings with two strikeouts, throwing 27 pitches, 18 for strikes, to keep the Space Cowboys within striking distance.
The Space Cowboys completed the comeback in the bottom of the seventh. Salazar led off the inning with a single before Peña ripped a go-ahead double, scoring Salazar to give Sugar Land its first lead of the night at 6-5. Sugar Land had two runners on with two outs in the inning before the game was called due to inclement weather, securing the victory.
NOTABLE:
- Jake Meyers connected on a home run in his first at-bat with Sugar Land this season. It marked his first home run with the Space Cowboys since September 26, 2022 at Round Rock. Myers home run left the bat at 99.7 mph which was good for the sixth hardest hit ball of the game.
- RHP Lance McCullers Jr. tossed 4.0 innings, allowing three hits and four runs, two earned, while walking three and striking out four. McCullers Jr. threw 77 pitches, 43 for strikes and topped out at 93.3 mph.
- César Salazar went 2-for-3 with two runs scored in the series opener, extending his on-base streak to 13 games. During the streak, Salazar is 12-for-35 with a double, a triple, six RBI, nine runs scored and has recorded a hit in nine of those 13 contests.
- RHP Ronel Blanco tossed 2.0 perfect innings and struck out two in his first Major League rehab appearance with the Space Cowboys this season while recovering from right elbow surgery. Blanco threw 27 pitches, 18 strikes and reached 94.4 mph in Tuesday night’s win.
- Jeremy Peña went 1-for-4 with a double and an RBI in his second career appearance with Sugar Land while on Major League rehab assignment as he returns from a left calf strain.
- Shay Whitcomb went 1-for-3 with an RBI, a walk and a run scored in the series opener on Tuesday night. Whitcomb extended his hitting streak to 12 games which is the second-longest active streak in the Pacific Coast League, trailing only Ben Gobbel's 13-game streak.
The Space Cowboys will look to take a two-game lead in their six-game series against the Isotopes on Wednesday night as LHP Josh Hendrickson will start for Sugar Land opposite RHP Jake Brooks for Albuquerque. 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.