Cubs Minor League News: Mathis launches 454-foot homer as Mesa blasts Peoria |
Dustin Riese
· · 3 hours ago
PEORIA - It's amazing what happens when you get a little bit of offense. Just look at the past two days for the Mesa Solar Sox, who have averaged better than nine runs per game the past two games. That included a 12-run outburst on Sunday, their highest offensive output of the season, as the bats have started to come to life at the perfect time.
The result has been a pair of wins, including a 12-6 drubbing of the Peoria Javelinas on the road on Sunday to close out a challenging week. Now with the day off on Monday, Mesa is hoping the newly found offensive firepower will continue as they need the offense to get through the rest of this season. As expected, the Cubs' big bobbers were in the lineup as Owen Ayers and Cole Mathis were back on the field after getting Saturday off. These two have been near the top of the Arizona Fall League in hitting, and when they are in the lineup, the Solar Sox have their best opportunity to win games, as both of them have been tearing the cover off the baseball. Ayers has started to cool off a bit at the plate, going 1-3 on Sunday with a pair of strikeouts as his average has now fallen to .360 for the season. His one hit did bring in a run as he drove in his eighth run of the season with an RBI double, as he continues to be near the top in that category. Ayers also took three walks at the plate, and that alone shows you how well he is seeing the ball right now. When it comes to Mathis, this was the one guy that most Cubs fans were excited to see, as he comes with arguably the most potential of any Cubs prospect in Arizona. With two hits in four trips to the plate, Mathis has pushed his average to .400 as the ball looks like a beach ball for him right now. He also took two walks to reach base four times, and good things will come when that happens. Along with the two hits came three RBIs as Mathis picked up his first RBI on a third-inning single before unloading for a two-run shot in the fifth that extended the Solar Sox lead to 9-4. The ball traveled 454 feet as he got every bit of that baseball. Cubs No. 17 prospect Cole Mathis goes 454 feet for his first homer this Fall! It extends the lead for the Solar Sox, 9-4 pic.twitter.com/zYbKsIolTo After sitting out for a month, Logan Poteet was back in the lineup for Mesa and slotted to bat ninth. Like his teammates, Poteet had a solid night at the plate, picking up two hits and a walk, as this was by far his most productive night at the plate. His big hit came in the third with an RBI double while also tacking on a bases-loaded walk in the eighth to bring home his second run of the night. While the Cubs' bats may have stolen the show on Sunday, one pitcher was getting another shot on the mound with Matthew Peters coming on for his third appearance of the season. After tossing just under two innings in his first two outings, Peters was stretched out more in this one as he gave the Solar Sox 2 2/3 innings of relief on the mound. Peters walked one and struck out none, allowing two runs on three hits as he has had an up-and-down season thus far. Still, he managed to pick up his second hold of the season as he continues to progress through the fall league.
