River Bandits' Straw bangs out five hits

Once Myles Straw got started on Friday night, nothing could stop him.

"I always use the first at-bat for advantage," he said. "If you get a hit in your first at-bat, you can make it a good day. One led to another, and then another."

The Astros outfield prospect went a career-best 5-for-5 with a double, two RBIs, a stolen base, a run scored and an outfield in Class A Quad Cities' 5-3 come-from-behind victory at Kane County.

"You can never feel bad about that," Straw said. "It was a good night and a good comeback."

The 21-year-old outfielder led off the game with a line single up the middle off Cougars starter Emilio Vargas and promptly stole second. He used his speed again in the third when he beat out a dribbler down the third base line for another single. Facing Vargas a final time in the fifth, Straw smoked a double to left and scored on an error. 

"By the time of the third or the fourth at-bat, you're just locked in," he said. "I was just having fun. I wasn't at all worried about the next hit -- it just happened. I saw the ball really well."

Straw, who's batting .333, singled leading off the eighth and welcomed reliever Julio Perez to the game, but he was stranded at third as the River Bandits headed to the ninth, down, 2-1. 

They had gained a 3-2 advantage by the time Straw came to bat again against Drew Muran. The right-handed hitter extended the lead by two runs with an opposite-field fly ball, although he was thrown out by Grant Heyman as he tried for a double. 

"I was really pumped. I got called out at second, but at the time, I was pretty pumped," Straw said. "They had good arms in the eighth and ninth inning. Those guys were really good, so it was great to get on top of them."

In the bottom half, Straw -- playing center -- turned the tables by throwing out a runner at second. Joe Munoz lined a ball past diving right fielder Pat Porter to score Trevor Mitsui, but Straw picked it up and unleashed a dart to second base.

"I was there behind [Porter]," he said. "I just turned around and took my time with the throw and we got him. It wasn't too close."

That play amounted to the fourth outfield assist of the season for Straw, but it was very nearly his fifth. He almost nabbed Zach Nehrir scoring the Cougars' first run in the third inning.

"That was a close play," Straw said. "I thought had him, but I can never tell. It looked like the throw beat him, but maybe he got around the tag. I've always prided myself in my defense, since I was 8 or 9 years old. Your defense can be there every day. Everyone goes into slumps at the plate, but you can bring your defense every day."

Matt Bower struck out 11 for Quad Cities while holding the Cougars to two runs on five hits over six innings. Justin Ferrell (4-4) got the win after yielding a run on two hits with two strikeouts in three innings.