Cole's Blast Not Enough In Saturday Night Defeat

Zach Cole cracked his third homer in four games as part of a multi-hit contest, but the Sugar Land Space Cowboys (25-28, 64-64) dropped their first game this series against the Albuquerque Isotopes (22-34, 53-77) 8-3 on Saturday night at Constellation Field.

CAN ANYONE STOP ZACH COLE???? pic.twitter.com/O6rOtNcTJ9

— Sugar Land Space Cowboys (@SLSpaceCowboys) August 31, 2025

LHP Colton Gordon (L, 4-2) tossed a 1-2-3 top half of the first with two strikeouts to retire the side before hurling a scoreless top half of the second.

Sugar Land opened the scoring in the bottom of the second. After Shay Whitcomb launched a double off the left-field wall, Cole clobbered his third home run in his last four games, depositing a two-run home run to right as the Space Cowboys went ahead, 2-0.

Brice Matthews belted a lead-off triple in the home half of the third and Jake Meyers walked, putting runners on the corners with nobody out. With two gone in the frame, Jon Singleton walked to load the bases, but a groundout left the runners on.

Albuquerque cut Sugar Land’s lead in half with a run scored in the top of the third and took a 4-2 lead with three runs in the top of the fourth. The Space Cowboys answered in the bottom of the frame as Collin Price singled, stole second and scored on an error to make it a 4-3 game.

The Isotopes scored three runs in the fifth on a three-RBI double from Owen Miller as Albuquerque pushed out in front, 7-3. RHP Cody Bolton made his first appearance with Sugar Land in the sixth and settled the game down for the Space Cowboys with a clean inning.

Albuquerque scored a run in the top of the eighth to extend their advantage, 8-3. In the ninth, Sugar Land threatened as Cole led off with double, but the next three Space Cowboy batters were retired leading to an 8-3 defeat.

NOTABLE:

• With a 1-for-4 night with a double and a run scored, Shay Whitcomb is currently on a 13-game on-base streak with three doubles, two homers, seven RBI and eight walks.

• Zach Cole went 2-for-4 on Saturday with a double, a homer, two RBI, and a run scored. In five Triple-A games, Cole has gone 7-for-15 with a double, three homers, five RBI and five runs scored.

• Cody Bolton made his first appearance as a Space Cowboys on Saturday as he tossed 3.0 innings of relief, allowing one run on five hits with no walks and three strikeouts. Bolton’s 3.0 innings tied his longest outing of the season.

• Brice Matthews recorded his seventh triple of the year on Saturday and his first since August 15 against the Salt Lake Bees. Matthews entered today’s game tied for fifth in the PCL in triples.

• Jake Meyers went 0-for-2 with two walks on Saturday while batting second and playing designated hitter as he continued his Major League rehab. Meyers’ two walks were his first multi-walk game on Major League rehab.

Sugar Land’s series finale versus the Isotopes starts on Sunday at 6:35 pm CT. RHP Ethan Pecko toes the rubber opposite RHP Gabriel Hughes. The game can be seen live on the Bally Sports Live App or MLB.TV and can be heard anywhere at SLSpaceCowboys.com.

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 are the reigning Pacific Coast League Champions and Triple-A National Champions. They began playing as the Astros’ Triple-A affiliate in 2021 and began playing under the Space Cowboys brand in 2022. 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). Fans can purchase full-season and partial-season plans for 2025 by visiting slspacecowboys.com/tickets.