The Sugar Land bullpen tossed 5.2 scoreless innings, but the Space Cowboys (37-24, 69-66) fell 8-5 to the Reno Aces (29-31, 61-74) in game four of their six-game set on Friday night at Constellation Field.
After a leadoff home run in the first opened the scoring for the Aces, Reno continued to add to its lead in the second. Demetrio Crisantes singled on a line drive to center field before Santiago Espinal hit a two-run homer, giving Reno a 3-0 lead.
Sugar Land cut into the deficit in the bottom of the second. Zach Dezenzo worked a walk before Raynel Delgado singled to right field to put two runners on for the Space Cowboys. Collin Price then followed with an RBI single, scoring Dezenzo and cutting the gap to 3-1.
The Aces widened their advantage again in the top of the third. Two walks and a single loaded the bases for Reno before Gavin Conticello tripled to clear the bases, bringing home three runs. Espinal followed with his third RBI of the game, singling to extend the Reno lead to 7-1.
Despite facing a six-run deficit, Sugar Land’s offense started chipping away in the bottom of the third when Pascanel Ferreras hit a one-out home run to right field, cutting the Aces lead to five runs.
After Reno plated a run in the top of the fourth, Sugar Land responded with a run of its own in the bottom half of the inning. Dezenzo led off with a single to put a runner on base. After a strikeout and a groundout recorded the first two outs, Price and Trevor Austin worked back-to-back walks to load the bases. Zach Cole then singled to left field, scoring Dezenzo and making the score 8-3.
RHP Trey McLoughlin retired the side in order for the first time on the night in the fifth inning, striking out two before inducing a lineout to end the inning and secure the first scoreless inning by a Sugar Land pitcher.
The Space Cowboys loaded the bases for a second straight inning in the bottom of the fifth. Ferreras and Joey Loperfido each singled to put two runners on before Dezenzo worked his second walk of the game to load the bases. Delgado then connected on an RBI groundout, scoring Sugar Land’s fourth run of the game.
The Space Cowboys bullpen continued to deal through the middle innings. RHP Alex Santos II tossed a scoreless sixth, striking out one before working two flyouts to end the inning. RHP Logan VanWey then struck out the first two batters he faced before recording a lineout to end the inning, capping a perfect seventh. RHP Michael Knorr worked around two baserunners to toss a scoreless eighth before RHP Miguel Ullola recorded a popout and struck out two to close the top of the ninth, securing a scoreless outing for the bullpen.
Collin Price smashed a home run deep to left field to lead off the bottom of the ninth, bringing the Space Cowboys within three runs. Zach Cole then worked a one-out walk to keep the rally alive before Ferreras grounded into a fielder’s choice and a strikeout ended the game.
NOTABLE:
- Pascanel Ferreras went 3-for-5 with a home run and two runs scored on Friday night. Ferreras is now tied with Cavan Biggio for the most multi-hit games on the active roster this season with 23. Friday also was Ferreras’ third three-hit game of the season and his first since June 17 at Albuquerque.
- Collin Price went 2-for-3 with a home run, two RBI and a walk on Friday night. It marked the second time this season Price has recorded multiple RBI at Constellation Field, with his first coming on April 25 in Game two against Round Rock. His home run left the bat at 109.0 mph, the hardest hit ball of the game.
- RHP Alex Santos II tossed a scoreless sixth inning on Friday night. Since being promoted to Sugar Land on August 22, Santos has not allowed a run in four of his six appearances, tossing 7.2 innings while allowing two hits, three runs and one earned run, walking four and striking out 12.
- RHP Logan VanWey tossed a perfect seventh inning. VanWey has now not allowed a run in seven of his last nine outings.
- Zach Dezenzo went 1-for-2 with two walks and two runs scored on Friday night. It was the seventh time this season Dezenzo has drawn multiple walks in a game and the first time since August 26 at Las Vegas.
- With his scoreless inning on Friday night, RHP Michael Knorr has now not allowed a run in 15 of his last 18 appearances dating back to July 10. Over that span, Knorr has thrown 20.1 innings, allowing eight hits and three runs, two earned, while walking 10 and striking out 24.
The Space Cowboys continue their six-game set against Reno on Saturday night. RHP Bryce Mayer is set to start for Sugar Land opposite Aces LHP Tommy Henry for a 7:05 pm CT first pitch. 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 2027 season are available now and can be purchased at slspacecowboys.com/tickets.