Will Wagner looks right at home in the big leagues.
Wagner was inserted into the Toronto Blue Jays‘ lineup at second base, batting sixth for his major league debut Monday against the Los Angeles Angels.
The son of former left-handed pitcher Billy Wagner, a seven-time All-Star and a member of the Houston Astros Hall of Fame, the younger Wagner was called up to the Blue Jays from Triple-A Buffalo, while infielder Luis De Los Santos was optioned.
Billy Wagner was quick to offer his son advice for the big day.
“He just said to relax and be present and have fun with everything,” Will Wagner said. “It’s just a game and have fun.”
He clearly took his father’s advice to heart.
Wagner lined the first pitch he saw, a second-inning fastball from Angels right-hander Davis Daniel, into the right-centre field gap for a double. In his second plate appearance, he hit an RBI single.
In his third at-bat, he stayed perfect with another single to the right side. With his third hit, Wagner became just the fourth player in Blue Jays history to record three hits in his first MLB game. Danny Ainge (1979), Pat Borders (1988) and JP Arenceibia (2010) were the other three to do so.
Wagner was acquired by the Blue Jays on July 29 in a three-player package that sent left-hander Yusei Kikuchi to Houston. The move came on Wagner’s 26th birthday.
— With filed from the Associated Press
