MANKATO, Minn.–The Mankato MoonDogs Baseball Club, a member of the Northwoods League, is proud to announce that former pitcher, Neil Wagner, was recalled to pitch for the Oakland Athletics.

The 6-foot, Eden Prairie, Minn. native made his first MLB appearance with the A’s in September of 2011. In his debut, Wagner struck out the first batter he faced and only gave up one hit as he went on to pitch a scoreless eighth inning. The hard-throwing right-hander, with an average fastball velocity of 95.3 was featured in bleacherreport.com’s The 50 Hardest Throwers in Baseball.

According to the San Francisco Chronicle, "Wagner will be in something of a long relief role. Manager Bob Melvin said the A’s needed a reliever who was on the 40-man roster, and Wagner has been pitching better at Sacramento than he did during the spring.”

Before the recall on Tuesday, Wagner played four games this season with the Sacramento River Cats, Oakland’s Triple A affiliate. Despite seeing limited action, Wagner posted a 3.52 ERA while striking out eight batters in seven innings pitched.

During his time with the MoonDogs in the 2004 and 2005 seasons, Wagner groomed himself to be the top closer for the Northwoods League by recording 13 saves in his second year and boasting a 2.10 ERA.

The MoonDogs home opener is scheduled for Friday, June 1 at 7:05 p.m. against the St. Cloud Rox at Franklin Rogers Park. Season tickets are now on sale at the MoonDogs office located at 1221 Caledonia Street. For more information, visit our website www.mankatomoondogs.com or call the MoonDogs office at 507-625-7047.