Cubs Minor League News: Solar Sox earn doubleheader split |
Dustin Riese
· · 5 hours ago
MESA - Tuesday brought an extremely rare occurrence to the Arizona Fall League, as several rainouts from the previous week forced games to be made up. What better way to make up some of these games than by having a rare doubleheader on Tuesday, as the fans at Sloan Park were treated to some extra baseball.
Facing off against the Salt River Rafters, it was the Solar Sox earning the split, dropping game one 7-0 before responding in game two 6-3. That is all you can ask for in a doubleheader: to come away with one win, especially when this is a prospect-based league with many pitchers on limited workloads during the Fall. In the first game of the day, things were a struggle for Mesa as they managed just two hits in what wound up being an ugly 7-0 loss to the Rafters. Three of the Cubs' four hitting prospects were in the lineup, as Cole Mathis was the lone bat not in the lineup for game one. That meant that Owen Ayers, Logan Poteet, and Ed Howard would get some swings at the plate, although they hoped for better results. The trio combined to go 0-7 on the afternoon with five punchouts, as it was a rough overall game for most. Ayers did manage to reach base once by working a walk in what was otherwise a silent game one. That was it for the Cubs' prospects in game one, as they were hoping for better results in game two. Game two was a much different story for the Solar Sox, but it didn't come without some struggles. After pushing across two runs in the first to take a 2-1 lead, Mesa was held scoreless the next five-plus innings as they entered the seventh trailing 3-2. It was in that inning when the bats came to life at the perfect time, pushing across four massive runs to grab the lead as they doubled up the Rafters 6-3 in game two. As mentioned, Mathis had the game off in game one, which meant he was going to be in the lineup for game two. Despite not doing much damage, he did manage to grab the lone hit for the Cubs prospects, going 1-3 in the game with a strikeout. He is now hitting .389 for the Fall as he continues to deliver at the plate from one game to the next. Had any of the Cubs' arms had an opportunity to throw, there would be a whole lot more to talk about, but this wasn't one of their scheduled days to throw, as the Fall League is very particular about how and when they elect to use their arms. Expect to see them later this week, as Tuesday was all about the Cubs' hitting prospects in what was a busy, yet successful day overall.
