McGowan struck out four and allowed two earned runs on three hits and one walk over 3.2 innings Thursday for Double-A Reading after being reinstated from the development list.
McGowan didn't open the season as a member of Reading's roster, but that was likely just an organizational decision to manage the 24-year-old right-hander's workload. He missed the majority of the 2023 campaign while completing his recovery from April 2022 Tommy John surgery.