Cubs Minor League News: Ed Howard walks it off as Solar Sox win wild thriller |
Dustin Riese
· · 7 hours ago
MESA - Apparently, all the Solar Sox need to do to get some wins is to start fast and let the offense take care of things. That was once again the case on Saturday as the Solar Sox scored four runs in the first three innings against the Glendale Desert Dogs, as their offense continues to go to work.
The only issue was watching the Desert Dogs score four times in the first inning and an additional two runs in the second, as Mesa found itself down 6-4 in the early innings. That was until Mesa erupted for five runs in the sixth inning to grab a 9-6 lead, only to have Glendale answer with three of their own to tie things up in the ninth. The Solar Sox would get the last laugh as they came through in the bottom of the ninth to secure the 10-9 walk-off win over the Desert Dogs. It's incredible what can happen when you are given a bit of a mental break, as Owen Ayers returned to the lineup after getting the day off on Friday. Ayers has been the Solar Sox's best hitter all season, but after struggling over his past three games, the coaching staff gave him the day off on Friday in an effort to let him clear his head to get him back on track. That appeared to be all he needed as Ayers picked up a pair of walks to go with a two-run homer in the first, his third homer of the season. It's that type of production that has earned him the possibility of earning Fall League MVP this season, as Ayers has been turning heads since the start of the season. Blistering baseballs 🔥 Not only was it nice to see Ayers get back on track, but Ed Howard has been flipping the script on his season as he has looked to be on a horrendous start to the year behind him. Although he doesn't have the production that the rest of the Cubs prospects have, Howard did pick up his first multi-hit game of the season, going 2-4 to push his average to .242. One of those hits drove in his first run of the season, and go figure, it was his RBI single in the bottom of the ninth that drove in the winning run to give the Solar Sox the win. Ed Howard calls game‼️ pic.twitter.com/8hi2p2tHfu Speaking of a player who may need the day off for a mental reset, Cole Mathis is going through his first rough patch of the Fall, and he has struggled in every facet of the game. After striking out three times in another hitless night, his average is creeping closer to dropping below the .300 mark and is now at .302 for the season. Mathis did manage to take a walk to reach base, but it was otherwise another tough night for the hitter. Those were the only three players from the Cubs system to see action on Saturday, as all of their pitchers were given another night off to rest their arms. Mesa will look to cap off its best week of the season with another win on Sunday, and should it do so, it will move to .500 for the first time this season.
Owen Ayer’s (CHC) answers back for the Solar Sox with a 2-run home run. pic.twitter.com/baAKL26jlv
