Will Wagner obtained hits within the first three at-bats of his main league debut because the Toronto Blue Jays beat the Los Angeles Angels 4-2 on Monday night time.
The son of former left-handed pitcher Billy Wagner, a seven-time All-Star and a member of the Houston Astros Corridor of Fame, the youthful Wagner hit the primary pitch he noticed into right-center subject for a second-inning double.
“I used to be nervous on the on-deck circle, however as soon as I used to be strolling to the plate, I simply began to realize slightly bit extra confidence,” Wagner stated. “Simply go up there and know I am right here for a purpose and I used to be simply making an attempt to be aggressive.”
Wagner then singled with two outs within the third for his first profession RBI and a 2-0 lead.
In his third at-bat, Wagner rolled a single into proper subject within the fifth. All three hits to start his profession got here towards right-hander Davis Daniel, who gave up 4 runs and eight hits in 5 innings with two walks and 5 strikeouts.
“Simply rising up in huge league clubhouses, I type of know what to anticipate,” Wagner stated. “It was a nerve-wracking day for positive, however when you get that first at-bat out of the way in which it is all good.”
Wagner turned the fourth participant in Blue Jays historical past to have three hits in his main league debut. He lastly made his first out on a fly to middle within the seventh.
“It is fairly cool when you’ve gotten a debut like that,” Blue Jays supervisor John Schneider stated. “It type of provides guys some power.”
Billy Wagner was in attendance whereas on a whirlwind journey that first had him at Triple-A Buffalo over the weekend to observe his son play. After flying dwelling to Virginia on Sunday, he discovered of his son’s promotion and boarded a airplane for California.
The one hiccup Will Wagner had on the day was forgetting to go away tickets for his fiancée and his father.
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“My dad texted me and was like, ‘Hey, we nonetheless cannot get in,'” Will Wagner stated. “I used to be like, ‘Oh gosh, I’ve obtained to get them tickets.’ However we obtained all of it found out.”
The Blue Jays acquired the youthful Wagner within the July 29 commerce that despatched left-hander Yusei Kikuchi to the Astros, the place his father spent 9 seasons. He was referred to as as much as the Blue Jays from Triple-A Buffalo, whereas infielder Luis De Los Santos was optioned.
“Once I was at Houston, in huge league camp, we had [Alex] Bregman, [Jeremy] Peña and [Jose] Altuve and I might discuss to them every single day,” Will Wagner stated earlier than the sport. “And I used to be like, ‘These guys are going to be Corridor of Famers.’ Now I am right here and I’ve [Vladimir Guerrero Jr.] and Bo [Bichette] to speak to, too. And there’s a combine of fellows who’re youthful that I can slot in with, too. So I am excited.”
Wagner is primarily a second baseman with expertise at first and third base. Offensively, he is named a line-drive hitter with 25 dwelling runs in 290 minor league video games.
Schneider plans to make use of Wagner primarily at second base, with some alternatives to play third, and have him within the lineup usually for the rest of the season.
Data from The Related Press was used on this report.
