Brice Matthews Homers in Close Friday Night Defeat

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PCL Sugar Land Space Cowboys

Brice Matthews Homers in Close Friday Night Defeat

April 26, 2025 - Pacific Coast League (PCL)
Sugar Land Space Cowboys News Release


TACOMA, WA - Brice Matthews drove in a run in the first and second innings, but the Tacoma Rainiers (11-14) kept the Sugar Land Space Cowboys (11-14) off the board the rest of the game as Sugar Land fell 3-2 on Friday night at Cheney Stadium.

Matthews mashed a 406-foot solo blast in the first inning on the fourth pitch of the game, his second of the season, as the Space Cowboys took an early 1-0 lead. However, the Rainiers knotted the game up at one in the bottom half on a two-out RBI double from Tyler Locklear.

César Salazar and Jésus Bastidas each drew a walk to start the second inning with nobody out. Zack Short walked after a sacrifice bunt from Tommy Sacco Jr., loading the bases for Matthews. The second baseman lifted a sacrifice fly into right field and Salazar slid under the tag at home, giving the Space Cowboys a 2-1 lead.

Although RHP Miguel Ullola (L, 0-2) spun back-to-back strikeouts to end the second, Tacoma plated two in the frame, as the Space Cowboys fell behind, 3-2.

RHP Rhett Kouba entered with one out in the fourth and induced an inning-ending double play with runners on the corners to strand the Rainiers.

After Kouba sat down Tacoma in order in the fifth, RHP Kaleb Ort made his seventh appearance on Major League rehab in the sixth. The righty worked around two walks with an inning-ending strikeout on a 97.2 mph heater for a called third strike at the knees.

Bastidas took a one-out walk in the seventh, snapping a streak of 14 straight Space Cowboys retired. Sacco then socked a single into center and Short walked to load up the bases with one out, but LHP Matt Cronin (H,1) induced a double play to end Sugar Land's scoring chance.

Sugar Land threatened in the eighth as Collin Price reached on an error and Kenedy Corona sent a base knock back up the middle with two outs, but the Space Cowboys could not bring in the tying run from second.

RHP Nick Robertson tossed two consecutive scoreless frames in the seventh and eighth to keep the deficit at one heading into the ninth, but the Space Cowboys went down in order, losing 3-2 on Friday night.

NOTABLE:

- Kaleb Ort fired a 97.4 mph fastball in the sixth inning, his second-fastest pitch of 2025. Ort sat 96.4 mph on his heater and fired 10 of 13 fastballs for strikes.

- Brice Matthews' home run in the first inning came off his bat at 107.7 mph, his hardest hit tracked ball of his career, topping his previous high of 107.5 mph on April 9, 2025 against the Albuquerque Isotopes. Matthews' two-RBI night was his first multi-RBI game since September 24, 2024 against the Reno Aces in the Triple-A playoffs.

- With two walks, Zack Short has reached base in eight consecutive games and nine of his last ten contests. Short once again leads the Pacific Coast League in walks with 21.

- Shay Whitcomb doubled in the first inning on Friday, his 13th extra-base hit of the season. Whitcomb came into Friday tied for eighth in extra-base hits in the Pacific Coast League and tied for ninth in doubles.

- Miguel Ullola fired a season-high 3.1 innings and 74 pitches on Friday as he continues to build himself up to begin the year.

With the series tied at two, Sugar Land plays game five of their six-game set with the Tacoma Rainiers on Saturday at 8:05 pm CT. LHP Colton Gordon man's the mound opposite RHP Logan Evans. The game can be seen live on the Bally Sports Live App or MLB.TV and can be heard anywhere at SLSpaceCowboys.com. Season Memberships for the 2025 Space Cowboy season, including Full and Partial Season membership plans, can be purchased online.

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