Cubs Minor League News: AFL Edition |
The Mesa Solar Sox have been officially eliminated from the AFL Playoffs. Their season will end following their game on Thursday. That means they have two games remaining to finish strong and get back to .500 for the year.
That all started at Sloan Park on Wednesday as the Solar Sox hosted the Glendale Desert Dogs for their final night game of the season. After watching the Solar Sox pitching staff for what seems like two weeks, it was a rare pitcher's duel on Wednesday as the Solar Sox held off the Desert Dogs 2-1. Right-hander Grant Kipp made his final start of the season, and he ended his season in style. After going through some rough outings, Kipp picked a great time to have his best start of the fall league as he gave the Solar Sox four innings of one-run, four-hit ball and lowered his ERA to 5.60 for the season. Kipp walked none and struck out three as he flashed the overpowering stuff he has shown plenty of times this fall. He was the only Cubs farmhand to see time on the mound, which raises the question of whether he was the last Cub to throw a pitch this fall. While Kipp was the lone Cubs farmhand on the mound, three of the Cubs' four hitting prospects were in the lineup, as Moises Ballesteros was the only one in that group getting the night off. With him out of the lineup, all eyes were back on Jonathon Long and how he would respond to a hitless night on Tuesday. Long responded in a big way as he went 2-4 in the game with a double and a triple as his average moved closer to the .340 mark at .338. Out of all the prospects that have seen time in Arizona this fall, Long has turned the most heads and has had a better showing than his teammate Ballesteros. Joining Long in the lineup were Ben Cowles and David Avitia, as both of them were looking to get back on track. When it comes to Avitia, he has only had a handful of at-bats as he was added to this roster less than two weeks ago and was making just his fourth appearance of the season. After going 4-5 in his first game, Avitia has failed to register a hit in the games since, but that all changed in this one as he went 1-3 with a strikeout. That hit also drove in the game's first run, as Avitia's second-inning RBI single put the Solar Sox in front 1-0. Avitia now has three RBIs on the season. Cowles was hoping for the same fate, as his season had been nothing short of a disappointment. Sure, picking up a hit in what could be his final game of the season was a positive, but with a .213 average for the season, Cowles struggled from day one. However, he played much better defense than many expected him to, and that will be one of the few takeaways to build on next season. Mesa will close out its season Thursday afternoon when it hosts the Peoria Javelinas.
