Hanson surprises himself, flirts with no-no

Things did not go as Ray Hanson expected them to Sunday, which was a good thing for the right-hander.

The Angels prospect fired seven hitless innings in Class A Advanced Inland Empire's 4-1 win over visiting Rancho Cucamonga. He surrendered his lone hit and one run in the eighth, which also included one of his three walks. Oh, he also racked up a career-high 11 strikeouts.

"This is definitely one of the better games that I've ever pitched," Hanson said. "And I was kind of surprised by it because in the bullpen I couldn't find the strike zone to save my life."

The 24-year-old issued a walk in each of the first two innings before retiring 17 Quakes in a row. He struck out the side in the sixth while fanning two in the third, fourth, fifth and seventh.

"As soon as a hitter stands in the box, it's almost like I get to another gear and basically just compete," Hanson said. "Today just kind of felt a little more special. I felt like I had a little bit more punchouts. I mean, I definitely didn't feel like I'd have 11. I was thinking like maybe five or six."

The California native began the eighth by walking Pratt Maynard, who scored when Steven Proscia broke up the no-hit bid with a double down the left-field line. Hanson's day came to an end after he got Adam Law to fly out to right.

A possible date with history might have gotten to Hanson in his final frame.

"I tried not to think about it, but it's hard when you're sitting in the dugout and the scoreboard's right in front of you," he said. "You're just trying to see who's up, what's the score, that kind of thing, and there just happens to be a big zero right there. I feel like I tried to take it to another level in the eighth inning instead of just trying to stick with my stuff."

Hanson native threw 71 of 109 pitches for strikes while inducing two groundouts and six flyouts. He ended up facing four batters over the minimum.

"I felt like I had control of all my pitches," he said. "My one goal is to get ahead and stay ahead with these guys and pretty much just kind of mix everything up. I had control of my curveball, my slider, my split, my change and my fastball, which helps out a lot."

Proscia's RBI double ended a string of 21 scoreless innings for the hurler, who tossed a nine-inning shutout against High Desert in his last outing on Tuesday. In that game, he gave up five hits and two walks while fanning two.

Hanson was drafted out of Cypress College by the Giants in 2010 but decided to play at the University of Central Florida, where he spent two years. After splitting last season between two independent leagues, he started 2014 with River City of the Frontier League before the Angels purchased his contract on June 22.

Through nine starts with Inland Empire, he's 3-3 with a 3.11 ERA that would rank second in the California League if he had enough innings to qualify. The situation could hardly be better for Hanson, who grew up less than a half-hour from Angel Stadium in Long Beach. His parents attend every outing, including Sunday's gem.

"It's been amazing," he said. "I think it's going great. I couldn't expect it to go any better than how it has."

Rancho Cucamonga starter Tom Windle (10-7) -- the Dodgers' No. 7 prospect -- was charged with four runs on six hits and two walks across 6 2/3 innings. He struck out three and gave up a homer to Dennis Raben.