Cubs Minor League News: Solar Sox fall short to Saguaros

Jerry Lai - USA Today Sports

Dustin Riese · Senior Writer · 3 hours ago

SURPRISE - Tuesday was a pleasant change of pace for the Mesa Solar Sox, who not only battled back to grab a lead but also did what they had to do to hold on to that lead. It resulted in a 4-3 win, their second victory of the Arizona Fall League, as they continue to seek consistency early in the season.

Wednesday saw the Solar Sox back on the road as they traveled to Surprise to take on the Saguaros. Behind a pair of big innings, including a three-run third inning to break the game open 4-0, it was the Saguaros coasting to an easy win as they took care of the Solar Sox 6-2.

For Mesa to be at their best, at least offensively, they will need more consistent production from top to bottom in their lineup. Owen Ayers is the one guy in their lineup who not only has been consistent but has also gotten off to a fast start, as evidenced by his Player of the Week honors last week.

Already with one homer this week, Ayers cooled off a bit in this one, going 0-3 at the plate with a walk as his average fell to .333 for the season. Coming off the season he had in the Minors, many people were surprised to see him added to the Arizona Fall League roster. However, less than two weeks into the season, he has already established himself as one of the better players in the entire league.

Cole Mathis has been the other consistent member of the Cubs' prospect group as he has continued to build off what was a strong start to his professional career with Myrtle Beach this season.

However, one night after hitting a game-winning RBI on a sacrifice fly, Mathis was given the night off, as that has been the trend for the start of the season.

With Ed Howard also on the bench, and none of the other Cubs prospects seeing time on the mound, it was a relatively quiet night for the Cubs prospects, as Ayers was the only organizational Player from the Cubs system to see time on the field.