Former Cal Poly outfielder Mitch Haniger, sidelined since April 29 with a high ankle sprain, has made six rehab starts so far as he moves closer to returning to the Seattle Mariners' lineup.
Mustangs in the Pros: Howard, Uelmen, Dollard Sharp on the Mound
7/29/2022 2:01:00 PM | Baseball
SAN LUIS OBISPO, Calif. -- Spencer Howard earned his third career Major League victory, Erich Uelmen tossed 2 1/3 scoreless innings in relief, Taylor Dollard collected his ninth win of the year and Mark Mathias and Nick Torres continued their hot hitting, highlighting the recent performances of former Cal Poly baseball players in the professional ranks.
Howard pitched five scoreless innings, scattering three hits with no walks and five strikeouts Thursday in the Texas Rangers' 2-0 triumph over the Los Angeles Angels. On his 26th birthday, Howard lowered his ERA to 5.93 and evened his record for the season at 2-2 by outduelling Shohei Ohtani, who struck out 11 in defeat.
"It's a good birthday," Howard said, smiling. "It felt good, though. I felt pretty under control. … I was more happy with the execution of the pitches than the results, because results come and go right? That's cliché as all get out, but it's true.
The Templeton High School graduate said he felt like his execution was the best it's been all season at the big league level as he tried to force himself to "move as slow as possible."
Manager Chris Woodward said he could tell from the very first at-bat -- when Howard got Ohtani to ground out to first baseman Nathaniel Lowe -- that the young starter was dialed in.
"I looked at [Doug Mathis and Brendan Sagara], our pitching coaches, and said something was different," Woodward told MLB.com. "He's been kind of building up to that. He's had really good conversations with the pitching guys, and you just see that he's carrying himself pretty well around the clubhouse. His bullpens have been really good, and finally we get to see it come out in a game. He just looked like he was in command out there.
"We've seen him good at times, but I just think that from pitch one, he had a command about the game," Woodward added. "He just looked like he was in control. He looked very comfortable on the mound. He just had a real calmness about him. The slider was getting down, he was throwing the breaking ball, the curveball, in the strike zone when he needed to, and the fastballs didn't miss much."
Lowe noted that it felt like a complete team win for Texas behind Howard on the mound.
"Spencer was great," said Lowe. "The stuff has always been there, so it's nice to see him put it together and get through that one and get some zeros. He's been doing what he can to get better and it's showing so we're really about that. … I think he gave us a birthday present."
Meanwhile, Uelmen, who made his Major League debut July 22, allowing one run and one hit with one walk and one strikeout in the ninth inning against Philadelphia, pitched at San Francisco on Thursday and did not allow a run or a hit, striking out two in the Cubs' 4-2 loss to the Giants.
Called up from Iowa just prior to the All-Star break, Uelmen is the 21st former Mustang player to don a Major League uniform and the 12th under current Cal Poly head coach Larry Lee.
Mathias is hitting .318 for the Triple-A Nashville Sounds with eight home runs and 30 RBIs in 50 games. He has played in six games for the Milwaukee Brewers this season with two hits, including a home run, and four RBIs.
Torres sports a robust .370 mark for the Vaqueros de la Laguna in the Mexican League with 13 doubles, 11 home runs and 47 RBIs in 64 games. He had a 12-game hitting streak snapped July 13 and has hit safely in 28 of his last 32 games.
Pitcher Andrew Alvarez has been promoted to Hi-A Wilmington after going 4-5 with a 4.53 ERA at Fredericksburg while Bobby Ay (0-1, 7.36 ERA) has been released by the Hillsboro Hops.
Outfielder Mitch Haniger, sidelined since April 29 with a high ankle sprain, has played six rehab games -- three each at Everett and Tacoma -- and going 6-for-19 with a pair of home runs and three RBIs. He said he "still needs a quantity of ABs" before returning to the Mariners' lineup.
Joey Wagman, who played for Team Israel in the 202One Olympics at Tokyo, has pitched for two teams in the Mexican League this season. He joined the Broncos de Reynosa three weeks ago after his release from Veracruz despite a 2-0 record and 3.47 ERA. In three mound appearances so far at Reynosa, Wagman has an 0-2 record and 10.95 ERA over 12 1/3 innings.
Follow the progress of all former Cal Poly baseball players in the professional ranks by clicking the link at the top of the page.
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