Cubs Minor League News: Ballesteros and Long combine for seven RBIs |
SURPRISE - Another day and another day of action-packed Arizona Fall League action has come and gone. Today, the Mesa Solar Sox hit the road to take on the Surprise Saguaros in hopes of running their season record to 4-2. Whether it be the offensive barrage that the Solar Sox can possess or the mix of strong pitching across the board, it was all Solar Sox in this one 10-3.
Most of their damage came late as the Solar Sox scored nine of their ten runs from the seventh inning on. This was one of those rare instances where the game was dominated by Cubs prospects both at the plate and on the mound. Starting with the pitching side of things, fans saw Luis Rujano get his first action of the Fall as he entered in relief in the third inning. Rujano not only went to toss three innings to secure the win but also three flawless innings, as he didn't allow a hit and struck out five. Rujano did walk a hitter, and had he not walked that hitter, you would be looking at a perfect outing from the young hurler. Shane Marshall took the ball to finish the ninth as the second pitcher of the day for the Cubs. For the second game in a row, Marshall wasn't perfect, as he did allow one run on two hits, but with his two strikeouts, he was much sharper this time and did a great job limiting the damage across the board. While it was nice to see the pitching set the tone, this was all about the Solar Sox offense, particularly Jonathon Long and Moises Ballesteros, as the young duo combined four hits and seven RBIs to lead the way. Ironically, all of their damage came in the game's later stages as both hitters got off to a slow start. Leave it to Ballesteros to change all that as he connected for his first homer of the Fall in the fourth inning, which put the Solar Sox in front 1-0. It was a lead the Solar Sox would take hold of until the seventh before adding on in a big way. Ben Cowles was also in the lineup for the Solar Sox, and with his leadoff single to begin the seventh, Cowles managed to pick up his first hit and is hitting .056 for the season. That single was just the start of what was a four-run seventh inning, as Long picked up a bases-loaded walk to make things 3-0, with Ballesteros cashing in with a single to push the lead to 5-0. Jake Cunningham managed to make this a 5-2 game with his two-run shot in the seventh, but with five additional runs in the eighth, it was all Solar Sox as they never trailed in this one. The Solar Sox loaded the bases three batters into the eighth, setting up a two-run single from Long to push the lead to 7-2. Ballesteros would tack on a sacrifice fly later in the inning to push the lead to 8-2 before the Solar Sox tacked on two more runs to build a 10-2 lead. Surprise did manage to grab one more run off Marshall in the ninth, off a Douglas Hodo triple, to make things 10-3 before falling by that score. Mesa will now enjoy the day off on Monday before getting back to action on Tuesday.
