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Space Cowboys sting Bees in Salt Lake City
By Landan Kuhlmann LKUHLMANN@FORTBENDSTAR.COM
It’s been a slightly rough go of things for the Sugar Land Space Cowboys in recent days, but they’re hoping last week’s hot finish is the start of better things to come.
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Last week, the Space Cowboys took four out of six games from the Salt Lake City Bees to right the ship after losing five of six games to the first place Oklahoma City Dodgers in the previous series. With the series win, the Space Cowboys improved to 22-28 on the season, and currently sit in fourth place in the Pacific Coast League’s (PCL) East division entering play this week.
The Space Cowboys’ offense was on a bit of a roll last week, averaging 5.8 runs per game during the series win and scoring at least five runs in four of the series’ six games with a high of 11 runs during a May 26 victory.
Catching prospect Korey Lee – the Astros’ No. 5 prospect according to MLB Pipeline –led the offensive charge for the Space Cowboys last week, going 8 for 22 with three doubles and three RBIs over the course of the week while consistently setting the table for the rest of the lineup. Infielder Joe Perez – the Astros’ No. 14 overall prospect – also had a strong week by going 7 for 15 with two doubles and three RBI’s, while shortstop Dixon Machado went 6 for 15 with a home run and five RBIs. The offense was also helped by those consistently setting the table at the top, with David Hensley reaching safely in 10 of 21 plate appearances and Grae Kessinger reaching 10 times in 25 plate appearances to go along with a home run and four RBIs.
Sugar Land was also buoyed by a pair of strong standout pitching performances last week. Ronel Blanco earned the win by pitching 5.1 shutout innings with nine strikeouts and just two hits allowed in an 11-2 victory on May 26, while Nick Allgeyer allowed just one run in six innings with six strikeouts during the Space Cowboys’ 4-3 win on May 25.
Matt Ruppenthal had a pair of scoreless outings in relief last week, as did Enoli Paredes. Austin Hansen picked up a victory in relief on May 23, then had seven strikeouts in 3.1 innings to earn a save on May 28. The Space Cowboys had Memorial Day off on Monday, and were slated to begin a six-game road set against the Round Rock Express on Tuesday.
