BOSTON — Ahead of this week’s series between the Blue Jays and Red Sox, Billy Wagner told his son to make the most of the Fenway Park experience. Sign the inside of the Green Monster, he urged Will Wagner. Maybe you’ll even find my name in there.
Billy Wagner, the seven-time All-Star who played for the Red Sox in 2009, knows a thing or two about baseball’s oldest ballpark. By the end of Tuesday’s game, Will Wagner had made his mark on it, too.
In the afternoon, he joined a group of Blue Jays rookies who signed the inside of the iconic left field wall (no luck on finding Billy’s signature).
Then Tuesday evening, while facing left-hander Brennan Bernardino with the bases empty, Wagner worked a 2-1 count. When Bernardino left a sinker up in the zone, Wagner attacked, sending it deep to right field at Fenway Park. For a moment, right fielder Wilyer Abreu appeared to have a chance at a miraculous catch, but the ball soon landed beyond his reach.
“I actually didn’t think it was getting out,” Wagner said. “I thought he caught it. I thought I got robbed at first. And then I saw the umpire tell me it was a home run. So it was a cool moment. And it’s probably everyone’s dream to hit a home run at Fenway and for it to be my first home run is so special and so cool.”
Despite Wagner’s first career home run, the Blue Jays didn’t do enough other things well to win Tuesday, so they fell 6-3 to the Red Sox as their five-game winning streak came to an end. This time, the Blue Jays ran the bases poorly and didn’t hit or pitch especially well, falling to 65-69 on the season as a result.
Two Blue Jays baserunners were thrown out at home plate Tuesday, while Vladimir Guerrero Jr. was thrown out at second base. Yet the visitors couldn’t afford to give up that many outs on the bases on a night that only Wagner and Guerrero Jr. offered any extra-base power until Daulton Varsho took Kenley Jansen deep with one out to go in the ninth.
Afterwards, manager John Schneider said he didn’t fault third base coach Carlos Febles for some aggressive sends, citing the strong efforts of Boston’s outfielders and Febles’ familiarity with Fenway Park, where he coached for years.
“They played a really good defence,” Schneider said. “Carlos knows this place better than anybody, and he’s an unbelievable third base coach.”
Plus, this game was never going to be a pitcher’s duel. Yariel Rodriguez allowed a home run to the first batter he faced, Jarren Duran, and trailed 3-0 by the time the first inning ended. The right-hander would go on to allow six earned runs in five innings while striking out three on a day his season ERA climbed to 4.82.
Granted, some bumps are to be expected for Rodriguez, who’s completing his first big-league season. Yet this was a letdown relative to the stellar pitching the rest of the Blue Jays rotation has offered recently.
“We have a great group,” Rodriguez said through interpreter Hector Lebron. “Everybody’s doing their part. It’s a great group of guys that we have. I just need to get better. Keep locating pitches, keep throwing the ball a little bit better.”
At least there was Wagner, who doubled twice to go along with his first career home run. He was able to retrieve the baseball, which he intends to give to his parents.
The three-hit game gives Wagner a .326 average and .868 OPS through 13 games. Remarkably, he had texted his fiancee before the game, telling her he was especially nervous.
“I’m a nervous person,” Wagner said. “I’m always really nervous to play games. But, I mean, I guess just being at Fenway and I haven’t been swinging it the greatest (so) I wanted to make sure I can get back on track.”
She replied telling Wagner to believe in himself. A few hours later, he had put together his best game yet as a big-leaguer.
Earlier Tuesday afternoon, shortstop Bo Bichette (calf) rejoined the team with the expectation that he’ll ramp up his running before embarking on a rehab assignment and eventually returning to the big-league team. That’s a significant development considering his importance to the organization.
In the meantime, though, playing time has opened up for the likes of Wagner. And to his credit, he’s making the most of it.
“Honestly, I still haven’t processed it all yet,” Wagner said. “But it was really cool.”