Cubs Minor League News: Ed Howard, Owen Ayers spark Solar Sox in tight win |
Dustin Riese
· · 1 day ago
MESA - Don't look now, but the Mesa Solar Sox are starting to come into their own as they have moved back to the .500 mark for the first time this season. That comes on the heels of a great week, during which this team went 4-2, including back-to-back one-run wins to close out the week.
In their latest game against the Salt River Rafters at Sloan Park, it was the Mesa Solar Sox relying on their offense to set the tone early before having to hold off the Rafters late. Mesa scored all six of their runs in two innings, four of which came in the fourth inning to put them on top before taking the lead for good with two runs in the seventh inning to cap off another hard-fought 6-5 win. As expected, Cole Mathis was out of the lineup on Sunday as he has been stuck in the middle of his first prolonged slump of the season. You saw the Solar Sox sit Owen Ayers earlier in the week after he dealt with a mini-slump, and he responded with a two-run homer in his first game back. Even with Mathis out of the lineup, a pair of Cubs prospects still got some action, as it was the Ayers and Ed Howard show yet again. When it comes to Ayers, he may not be hitting the ball at the level he was a few days ago, but with one more hit in four trips, his average remains .358 for the season. Even when he isn't hitting, his ability to throw runners out on base makes him a dual threat in the field and one the Cubs are happy to have climbing through the ranks. Talk about a whirlwind of a week for Howard. Not only is he starting to get locked in offensively, but he also picked up his first RBI of the season on Saturday, resulting in a walk-off single that gave Mesa another win. Looking to build on that game on Sunday, Howard picked up another hit from the bottom of the lineup, as his average is now up to .243 for the season. Howard also added to his RBI total with a two-run single as the only hit, putting the Solar Sox in front 3-2 at that time. While those two may have been the only hitters from the Cubs system getting some work, the Cubs also saw three of their four hurlers take the mound, combining to give the Solar Sox four innings of work. For the most part, those four innings were solid innings all around, with Matthew Peters and JP Wheat giving the Solar Sox two no-hit innings of relief. You heard that right, the typically wild Wheat tossed a hitless inning of work, allowing less than two walks, but, as usual, he did allow a run, as he simply can't avoid giving up runs. Luis Martinez-Gomez, on the other hand, had a rare off night, which has been coming up far more frequently over his last few appearances. Sure, Martinez-Gomez struck out five across two innings, but with three walks allowed, his command wasn't where you typically see it. That alone led to him giving up two runs in his two innings, as his ERA is now 3.68 for the season, as the Solar Sox are quietly becoming one of the hottest teams in the Fall League.
