Cubs Minor League News: AFL Edition |
For the first time in nearly a week, the Mesa Solar Sox were on the wrong end of a decision as they fell to the Salt River Rafters 9-5. This game saw the Solar Sox fall behind early, battle back to tie things up, and fall behind again, only to have the Rafters use a three-run eighth inning to take care of business.
In what has been a rarity this season, Moises Ballesteros was out of the lineup. He has been not only the Solar Sox's best hitter but also one of the best hitters across the entire Fall League. It is starting to become a question as to whether he will remain in the AFL for the remainder of the season or if the Cubs will have seen enough to cut his season short. Even with him out of the lineup, the Cubs organization still has two potent bats capable of doing damage, one of them being Jonathon Long. One of the breakout performers this season for the Cubs and their entire system, Long has continued to build off that thus far in the fall and has posted a .360 average thus far. That comes on the heels of a massive three-hit game on Thursday, as Long continues to see the ball extremely well and is starting to make a case for being considered in the Cubs' long-term plans. Long singled in his first at-bat of the game in the first inning, which helped lead to the game's first run on a wild pitch. He followed that up with a leadoff double in the top of the third before coming in to score on the Benjamin Cowles single to pull the Solar Sox within 3-2 at that point. Speaking of players on a hot streak, Cowles is the other Cubs position player getting some reps in the AFL this season, and after a slow start, he is starting to make the contact the Cubs have been hoping for as he added two more hits and that RBI single. Long capped off his three-hit day with a single in the sixth, with Cowles also adding his second and final hit in that inning. Both runners were stranded or erased on the bases, but the Solar Sox managed to pick up a run to tie things up 5-5. Trailing by a run in the eighth, both Long and Cowles had one last shot to play hero, only to come up empty with a pair of flyouts. While Cowles had more of a routine flyout to center, Long hit his ball right on the screws only to come up empty with a lineout as the Solar Sox couldn't deliver. That proved costly in the end as the Rafters tacked on three runs in the bottom of the eighth to break the game open as the Juan Guerrero double led to two runs while a wild pitch brought home the final run of the game in what was a 9-5 Solar Sox loss. Mesa will return to the diamond on Friday when they face off against the Glendale Desert Dogs. Grant Kipp and Luis Rujano are in line to make an appearance, as the Cubs may see more of their pitchers get some extended runs.
