Pena rebounds in a big way for Mavericks

Coming off one of his worst outings of the year, Rangers right-hander Richelson Pena turned in one of his best on Thursday.

"He was focused. He had a gameplan and he knew what he wanted to do," said Class A Advanced High Desert interim pitching coach Brian Shouse. "At times when he struggles, I think he loses that focus and he gets a little off with his mechanics -- he maybe lets the umps get to him, or whatever it might be, distractions, basically. He didn't let any of that get to him tonight."

Pena took a no-hitter into the sixth inning and finished with seven frames of two-hit ball, fanning three without issuing a walk, in the Mavericks' 5-0 shutout of the Storm at Lake Elsinore. The gem made him 7-6 with a 4.60 ERA over 16 California League games -- 15 starts -- and snapped a six-game losing streak for High Desert.

"It went very well. He threw 94 pitches, seven innings, and he was in control of the game pretty much from the get-go," said Shouse. "He kept the hitters off balance with his offspeed stuff, his secondary pitches. I thought it was a well-pitched game."

Last time the 21-year-old righty took the hill, Rancho Cucamonga got to him for eight runs -- seven earned -- on six hits and two walks over 1 2/3 innings. That was the first day Shouse -- who has been working in the Texas system for four years -- subbed in for High Desert pitching coach Steve Mintz, who's on hiatus. The veteran of parts of 10 big league seasons was impressed with Pena's about-face.

"That shows you he was ready, he was prepared," Shouse said. "He did exactly what he needed to, and that should be reassuring to him. I'm sure that felt good. He knew the last game is in the history books, and it's time to move forward. He was outstanding tonight."

The 6-foot-1, 170-pound native of the Dominican Republic wasn't fazed by three errors in the field, nor by losing his no-hitter on a one-out infield single by Donavan Tate in the sixth. No. 24 Padres prospect Auston Bousfield followed with a base knock up the middle, but Pena remained locked in.

"He kept attacking, kept making his pitches. He kept the shutout going through the sixth inning, when it could have gotten a little ugly," Shouse said. "I thought he did a good job keeping composure throughout."

Pena, who's in his first full season but fifth as a pro, worked a 1-2-3 seventh. Shouse admitted he and Mavericks manager Spike Owen were somewhat tempted to see how he handled the eighth.

"Tempted, but not enough," Shouse said. "You know, he threw a 25-pitch inning in the sixth, so pretty much whatever he did in the seventh, that was going to be it. He did a great job."

Jose Valdespina worked around two hits over two innings to wrap up the shutout.

Lewis Brinson, the Rangers' No. 6 prospect, went 2-for-4 with a double, a walk, two runs scored and a stolen base. He's reached base in 29 consecutive Cal League games. Seth Spivey added a two-run triple.

Tate finished 2-for-3 for Lake Elsinore.