Blubaugh Ties Career High in Strikeouts During Sunday Series Finale
PCL Sugar Land Space Cowboys

Blubaugh Ties Career High in Strikeouts During Sunday Series Finale

June 30, 2025 - Pacific Coast League (PCL)
Sugar Land Space Cowboys News Release


EL PASO, TX - RHP AJ Blubaugh tied his career-high in strikeouts with nine, including five in the first two innings, but the Sugar Land Space Cowboys (1-5, 40-41) could not overcome an early deficit, falling 9-3 against the El Paso Chihuahuas (5-1, 43-38) on Sunday night at Southwest University Park. Highlights of tonight's game can be [?Folder icon] found here.

Sugar Land put runners on the corners with two outs in the top half of the first as Brice Matthews and Jon Singleton legged out back-to-back infield singles to keep the inning alive, but a strikeout left them stranded.

Although Blubaugh (L, 3-8) fanned two Chihuahuas in the bottom of the first, the Space Cowboys fell behind 2-0 as Nate Mondou hit a two-RBI single. Blubaugh responded by striking out the side in the second, running his ledger to five punchouts through two innings.

Matthews reached in the third on a fielder's choice and Singleton took a two-out walk, but a flyout marooned the runners.

Blubaugh rang up the first two batters he faced in the home half of the third, striking out six-consecutive hitters dating back to the first, but three-straight hits with two outs from El Paso gave the Chihuahuas a 4-0 lead after three.

Omar Narváez shot an opposite-field single into left to lead off the fourth and moved up 90 feet on a wild pitch, before Colin Barber roped a two-strike base knock to right as the Space Cowboys had runners on the corners with nobody out. In the ensuing at-bat, Narváez scored on a double play as Sugar Land made it a 4-1 game.

Jesús Bastidas led off the fifth with his team-leading 22nd double and Matthews was hit by a pitch as the Space Cowboys put multiple base runners on for the second-straight inning. With two outs, Collin Price lofted an RBI single to right that plated both runners, pulling Sugar Land within a run, 4-3.

Blubaugh fired his ninth strikeout in the home half of the fifth to tie a career high as part of a scoreless frame in his final inning of work.

The Chihuahuas opened the game up in the bottom of the sixth with a three-run home run from Clay Dungan as the Space Cowboys faced a 7-3 deficit entering the seventh.

El Paso plated a run in the seventh and eighth, while nine of the final 10 Sugar Land batters were retired as the Space Cowboys dropped their Sunday series-finale, 9-3.

NOTABLE:

- With a single on Sunday, Brice Matthews is 27-for-73 (.370) in his last 18 games with five doubles, three triples, three home runs, 15 RBI and 10 walks. Matthews' 18-game on-base streak is now the longest on-base streak from a Sugar Land hitter in 2025, breaking a tie with Luis Castro, who had a 17-game on-base streak earlier in the year. Matthews also extended his hitting streak to 11 games, tying the longest hitting streak from a Space Cowboy this season.

- AJ Blubaugh tied his career high in strikeouts on Sunday with nine, his first time hurling nine strikeouts since April 1, 2025 against the Durham Bulls. Blubaugh struck out five batters in the first two innings on Saturday for the first time since September 1, 2024 against the Salt Lake Bees. After Sunday's outing, Blubaugh ranks fourth in the PCL with 71 strikeouts.

- Collin Price picked up his 11th multi hit game of the season with a 2-for-4 night with an RBI on Sunday.

- Jesús Bastidas extended his on-base streak to eight games with a 1-for-5 game with a run scored on Sunday. Over his on-base streak, Bastidas is 12-for-36 (.333) with two doubles, a homer, eight RBI and six runs scored.

- In four games against El Paso this week, Colin Barber went 5-for-12 (.416) with two triples, a homer and three RBI. Barber is now batting .241, raising his batting average 55 points after his series against the Chihuahuas.

After their six-game series against El Paso, Sugar Land takes on the Round Rock Express for a three-game set at home next week. First pitch of game one is set for Tuesday at 7:05 pm CT. 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.

Check out the Sugar Land Space Cowboys Statistics



Pacific Coast League Stories from June 30, 2025


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