Cubs Minor League News: Moreno impressive, but Solar Sox offense fizzles in loss |
Dustin Riese
· · 1 day ago
MESA - Another night and another rough offensive showing for the Mesa Solar Sox, as the runs have been suddenly hard to come by. One night after falling on the road, the Solar Sox returned to Sloan Park with the hopes of coming away with a victory against the Peoria Javelinas.
Things have gotten off to an interesting start in the Arizona Fall League this season, as the ball was flying out of the yard earlier in the season, but has suddenly stopped, as the runs haven't come as easily over the past few nights. This was one of those games where the Solar Sox did their best on the pitching side, only to fall to Peoria 6-2. Despite what the score indicated, this game was much closer than the final line would suggest, as five of the Javelinas' six runs came in two big innings, with a three-run eighth inning putting the game away. That came after Peoria opened up an early 3-0 lead as they led start to finish and never looked back. Trailing 1-0 in the fourth, Matthew Peters entered the game for his second outing of the Fall and was one of three Cubs prospects to appear in this one. In his first outing, Peters went just 1/3 of an inning, needing four pitches to work out of a jam. Things weren't as easy for him in this one as he was tagged for two earned runs in just 2/3 of an inning, as he ultimately allowed the winning run to score. Command was a massive issue for Peters in this outing, as he walked three and struck out one, which is something he will have to clean up if he wants to continue getting work on the mound. Koen Moreno, on the other hand, has been impressive, and his excellent start to the season continued with another strong multi-inning effort. After going four scoreless innings in his first time out, Moreno was at it again and was the main reason why things were so close most of the night. Not only did he give the bullpen a break with three innings of two-hit ball, but he did that by walking two and striking out four. Moreno also didn't allow a run in his outing, as he has now gone seven innings without allowing a run this Fall and has emerged as the best pitching prospect from the Cubs system in Arizona. While those were the only Cubs pitchers to see action on the night, they also had one position player get some time, and oddly enough, it wasn't either Owen Ayers or Cole Mathis. Instead, long-time organizational shortstop Ed Howard was back in the lineup, making his first start in what feels like a week. Similar to his Minor League journey, where health was an issue, Howard is just hoping for an opportunity to get consistent playing time, as that is the only way for him to improve as a player. He is starting to see that now, but after going 0-3 with a walk to keep his average at .000 for the season, Howard will have to start hitting quickly, or he will lose any playing time expected to come his way.
