Travelers' McGowin dazzles in no-hit bid

Thanks to the local weather channel, Kyle McGowin's mother Stacy was unable to witness her son's near no-hitter in person Monday.

"I'm from New York, so she was going to fly down, but the weather wasn't looking so good this whole week," the Angels' No. 16 prospect said. "I felt like [the game] was going to get rained out, so I told her not to come. I'm sure she's a little mad about that."

McGowin held the first 19 batters hitless and went the distance in Double-A Arkansas' 3-0 shutout of Frisco in the second game of a doubleheader at Dr Pepper Ballpark. He allowed one hit and a walk while fanning nine over seven innings.

The right-hander worked his way through the RoughRiders lineup twice, with a second-inning walk to Zach Cone as the only blemish. As zeros began to line the scoreboard, he willed himself not to let the empty hit column get into his head.

"I was trying not to think about the no-hitter, but it was obviously in my mind," McGowin said. "Just in the back. No one brought it up to me or anything. I just kept sitting in the corner like I always do."

McGowin had retired Frisco's Ryan Cordell twice by leading with his slider, but opted to switch to the fastball to start the right fielder's at-bat in the seventh.

"[Catcher Wade Wass and I] figured we'd start him off with a fastball in and see how he reacted," McGowin said. "He swung at the first pitch, fouled it off. So I figured I'd go back in, thought he would be sitting slider, but he was all over the fastball."

Cordell grounded the ball through the left side to end the no-hit bid. As McGowin watched the ball roll into the outfield, the Savannah State University product let out a laugh.

"I mean, no matter what it was a great outing," McGowin said. "I was happy with what I had done. He put a swing on a good pitch and he beat me on that one."

The 6-foot-3 hurler erased Cordell immediately by getting second-ranked Texas prospect Lewis Brinson to ground into a double play. He induced Joe Jackson to ground out to second to finish off the shutout.

Ironically, the lone hit saved McGowin and his teammates from facing a conundrum they had discussed in the locker room. Given that the no-hitter would have lasted only seven innings due to the doubleheader, they were unsure whether to celebrate if the 2013 fifth-rounder pulled off the feat.

"Obviously it would be cool to celebrate, but personally I was thinking in my mind, 'Do I celebrate or do I just let them celebrate and then I just go with the flow?'" McGowin laughed. "So I think I was just going to go with the flow, but deep down, I'd be pretty happy."

As for his mother, watching online back in New York?

"My mom was probably ecstatic," he said.

No. 29 Los Angeles prospect Alex Yarbough went 2-for-2 with a double and an RBI and walked twice for Arkansas.

Frisco's Jose Leclerc (0-2), the Rangers' No. 25 prospect, gave up three runs on four hits and three walks and struck out five over four frames.

The RoughRiders took the opener of the twinbill, 5-2.