Astros Minors Report: Quad Cities River Bandits Win Five Straight

The Astros’ Quad Cities River Bandits offense found its groove and rattled off five straight victories last week.

A road trip to Burlington was exactly what the Quad Cities offense needed. The River Bandits scored 34 runs in a three-game set, sweeping the Burlington Bees 15-1, 12-2, and 7-2. They then extended the winning streak to five by winning the first two games against the Clinton LumberKings. Clinton then ended the streak by winning the final two matchups of the four-game set.

The River Bandits offensive explosion against Burlington was led by a plethora of home runs. Alex De Goti had two home runs in the first game. Randy Cesar had two home runs in the series including one grand slam. Marcos Almonte also had two homers in the series, and five other River Bandits hit long balls.

De Goti also went 6 for 12 on the series, including a 4/4 performance in game one.  Catcher Jake Rogers went 5 for 10 in the first two games before getting the series finale off.  Starting pitchers Jorge Alcala (1-0), Hector Perez (1-1) and Ryan Hartman (1-0) all earned victories.

The River Bandits then split the four-game series against Clinton. OF Stephen Wrenn and C Jake Rogers powered the offense by hitting their third and second home runs on the year, respectively. Starter Carson LaRue earned his first victory of the season and lowered his ERA to 1.20, allowing just one run in five innings of work.

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Spencer Johnson and Almonte both hit their third homers of the year to help boost Quad Cities to a 3-1 victory in game two.  Pitchers Brett Adcock and Edgardo Sandoval combined to hold Clinton to only one run on the night.

After dropping the last two games of the series, Quad Cities stands at 9-8.  Thus far SS Alex De Goti has been the best offensive player for the club.  He is hitting .322 with a .945 OPS.  Several pitchers have gotten off to great starts, but starters LaRue, Adcock, and Hartman all sport ERA’s under 2.00.

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Quad Cities opens up a three-game series at home tonight versus Peoria before heading out to Clinton for a four-game set with the LumberKings.

**Statistics courtesy of MiLB.com**