Cristian Javier shines in Sugar Land's series-clinching win over El Paso
Cristian Javier delivered six scoreless innings and Lucas Spence homered in the first as Sugar Land clinched the series with a 5-2 win over El Paso.
Cristian Javier threw six scoreless innings Saturday night as Sugar Land beat El Paso 5-2 and locked up the series at Constellation Field. It was Javier’s longest outing at any level this season, and his first time reaching 6.0 innings since Sept. 17, 2025, after a rehab absence that began with a Grade 2 shoulder strain on April 10.
The night turned fast in the first inning. Nick Allen reached on a throwing error, Shay Whitcomb drew a walk, and Lucas Spence turned the early traffic into damage by launching his first Triple-A home run over the right-field wall. Sugar Land had a 3-0 lead before El Paso could settle in.
He needed just 85 pitches, 52 for strikes, to finish the six shutout frames. Javier allowed three hits, struck out four and touched 93.7 mph. Earlier in the week, this was scheduled as his final minor-league rehab start before the Astros decide whether to activate him next weekend.
The Chicago Heights, Illinois, native finished 3-for-4 with a double, a homer and four RBIs, coming a triple shy of the cycle while extending his hitting streak to 18 games dating back to Corpus Christi. Since arriving in Sugar Land, he has gone 7-for-15 with three doubles, a home run, seven RBIs and two walks.
The Space Cowboys kept adding to the lead in the sixth when Whitcomb and Zach Dezenzo singled, Spence drove in another run with an RBI single and Pascanel Ferreras grounded into a double play that still brought home a run from third. Whitcomb reached base twice on walks and scored two runs, and he has hit .366 against the Chihuahuas this season with 14 RBIs and nine walks.
Sugar Land’s bullpen finished the job cleanly. Logan VanWey struck out the side in the seventh after a leadoff single, Roddery Muñoz worked a perfect eighth, and El Paso’s ninth-inning push produced only two runs before the rally ended on a strikeout. The win came before 4,373 fans and gave Sugar Land four of the first five games in the six-game set.
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