Cubs Minor League News: AFL Edition |
Friday was not only another night of AFL Action for the Mesa Solar Sox and company, but this was also one of the busiest nights in terms of seeing the Cubs prospects on the field, as four of their prospects saw action. As expected, Moises Ballesteros and Jonathon Long were in the starting lineup as, both of them continue to get their at bats and produce, while Grant Kipp and Shane Marshall took their shots on the mound.
This wasn't a great day for the Solar Sox, especially early on, as they spotted the Glendale Desert Dogs four early runs before a five-run sixth inning broke the game open, with the Desert Dogs taking a 9-1 lead. Mesa did a great job battling back, including scoring five runs of their own in the eighth inning to pull within 9-7 before falling by that score. They are now sitting at 6-4 for the season. Kipp took the ball for the Solar Sox and continues to build off of a strong Minor League season. Sure, Kipp did allow two runs in three innings, allowing four hits, but with no walks and three strikeouts, he showed the command that the Cubs are hoping to see from all of their starters at this point in the season. A Niko Kavadas sacrifice backed Kipp fly in the first before allowing a pair of runs in the innings after to fall behind 2-1. Former Cubs farmhand Zyhir Hope provided one of those runs as his RBI single put the Desert Dogs in front 2-1, and they never looked back. While most of the Solar Sox pitchers did a great job holding their own, Marshall, on the other hand, had a rough day as he was charged with all five runs as part of that massive Desert Dogs inning. Marshall was very good during the Minor League season, but he has had a tough time finding his footing in the AFL thus far. He was charged with five earned runs on six hits in one inning, walking and striking out none. Those were the only two pitchers to see action for the Cubs, as the focus once again shifted to the offensive side, where Ballesteros and Long continued to produce. Despite only scoring one RBI in the game, they combined for three hits, with Ballesteros scoring two to raise his average to .419 and Long scoring an additional hit to keep his average at .333. Ballesteros's first hit was a single in the first, which helped move a runner to third before the Kavadas sacrifice fly made things 1-0. He would then add a second single in the sixth inning to close out his night as he continues to be one of the best pure hitters in the entire fall league. Long, on the other hand, has been more inconsistent than Ballesteros, but all that matters is that it tends to be hard contact when he makes contact. You saw that again in this one as his lone hit was an eighth-inning solo shot as part of the Solar Sox five-run inning to help make this a game before losing 9-7.
