July 31--REPORTING FROM HOUSTON -- O brother, where art thou? In the opposing dugout in Minute Maid Park on Thursday night.
The Angels recalled reliever Cory Rasmus from triple-A Salt Lake on Thursday, creating the possibility of a rematch between the right-hander and his brother, Colby Rasmus, who is starting in right field and batting sixth for the Houston Astros on Thursday night.
Colby, then with the Toronto Blue Jays, got the best of Cory, then with the Atlanta Braves, in the first and only meeting between the two, hitting a double off his younger brother at the Rogers Centre on May 27, 2013. It was Cory's second big-league appearance.
"I wasn't too happy about it, but it wasn't a terrible pitch and he put a good swing on it, so I was happy for him," Cory Rasmus said. "Was it weird? Nah. It was pretty exciting. It was fun. You grow up just trying to get to the big leagues, and you finally get there and you face your brother? That was pretty cool."
Rasmus was a valuable swing man for the Angels in 2014, going 3-2 with a 2.57 earned-run average in 30 games, six of them starts, but he underwent abdominal surgery in spring training and missed the first 2 1/2 months of the season.
Rasmus also overcame a minor elbow issue before compiling a 2.35 ERA in 10 appearances for Salt Lake. Manager Mike Scioscia said he will be used in long relief for now, but with rookie right-hander Trevor Gott looking a little shaky in his seventh-inning role, Rasmus could eventually take on more of a late-inning role.
"Right now, in the short term, it's definitely for length," Scioscia said of the roster move. "But Cory has the type of arm where he has a chance to help you, too, for holding leads in a shorter role. We'll see where our needs are and how it plays out. He's throwing the ball really well."
Rasmus hopes to re-create the feeling and confidence he had in Anaheim last season, but that might be tougher with only two months left in the season.
"I've been feeling really good, but you get up here, you have a few more people in the seats, and you try to do a little too much sometimes," Rasmus said. "Last year I got into a really comfortable position where I could control everything and work on my strengths. The biggest thing is controlling your emotions. The better you can do that, the better you can execute your pitches and get outs."
