With Three Steals, Schiavone Joins 30-30 Club In Space Cowboys Defeat

Astros’ Minor League Player of the Year Becomes First Minor League Catcher Since 1981 to Reach 30 Homers, 30 Steals

4:08 AM UTC

A night after he hit his first home run at Triple A, Space Cowboys C Jason Schiavone joined rarified air as he stole his 30th base to achieve a 30/30 campaign, however, the Sugar Land Space Cowboys (40-31, 72-73) were shutout in a 5-0 defeat against the Las Vegas Aviators (41-30, 85-59) on Wednesday night at Constellation Field.

RHP Brandon McPherson (L, 3-5) took the hill for Sugar Land and fired 4.0 scoreless innings to begin his night, working around an error in the first and a walk and a single in the second before sitting down seven-straight batters. Meanwhile, Brice Matthews scored a 107.4 mph single in the first inning and stole second but was left stranded as RHP Kade Morris (W, 9-5) got a strikeout and a groundout to end the frame.

Sugar Land would threaten against the righty in the fourth when Schiavone walked with two outs and stole second on the first pitch to CJ Alexander, giving Schiavone 30 stolen bases across three levels in 2026. Alexander then earned a free pass, but a flyout left two on for Sugar Land.

Las Vegas took the lead for good in the fifth. Bryan Lavastida doubled before back-to-back walks loaded the bases for Cole Conn, who McPherson struck out looking for the second out of the inning. RHP Trey McLoughlin entered out of the bullpen and got a ground ball from Darell Hernaiz, but a throwing error allowed two runs to score and extended the inning. Brayan Buelvas followed with a two-RBI double that pushed Las Vegas to a 4-0 advantage heading to the bottom of the fifth.

Sugar Land would muster one more scoring chance in the last of the seventh when Schiavone led off the inning with a walk. He promptly stole second and then executed a double steal with Zach Dezenzo to put men and second and third with one out, but a flyout and a groundout stranded both runners. A Lucas Spence walk in the eighth inning was the only other base runner for the Space Cowboys as the final five men were retired in order to close out the game.

NOTABLE:

  • With his steal in the fourth inning, Jason Schiavone reached 30 stolen bases this year to go along with his 32 home runs between Asheville, Corpus and Sugar Land. He became the second player in Minor League Baseball to achieve a 30/30 season this year, joining Carson Roccaforte of the Royals’ organization. Schiavone is also the first catcher since Willie Royster of the Charlotte O’s in 1981 to register a 30/30 season in the minor leagues. He is one of just the 10th player since 2005 to have a 30/30 season in the Minors and the third Astros’ minor leaguer, joining OF Kyle Tucker (2019 – 34 HR, 30 SB) and OF George Springer (2013 – 37 HR, 45 SB).
  • Schiavone stole three bases on Wednesday night, tying the Space Cowboys’ single-game record for stolen bases. He is the third player to hit the mark this season, joining Shay Whitcomb (June 23 vs. El Paso) and James Nelson (May 16 at Tacoma).
  • RHP Jackson Nezuh spun 2.0 scoreless innings for the Space Cowboys out of the bullpen, his fourth consecutive scoreless outing. Since moving to the bullpen on September 3, Nezuh has combined to go 7.1 scoreless innings, allowing just three hits and three walks with nine strikeouts and two ground ball double plays.
  • The Space Cowboys were held to just one hit on Wednesday night. It is just the second time in franchise history that Sugar Land has been held to one hit offensively with the other coming on July 30, 2021 vs. El Paso.

Sugar Land continues their final homestand of the season on Thursday night. Astros Minor League Pitcher of the Year RHP Bryce Mayer is scheduled to make his final start of the year opposite RHP Matt Sauer for Las Vegas for a 7:05 pm CT first pitch at Constellation Field. 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.