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BOSTON — In the top of the sixth inning Tuesday night, Will Wagner did something his seven-time all-star father never did: hit a home run in the major leagues.
Facing left-hander Brennan Bernardino with the bases empty, Wagner worked a 2-1 count. When the left-handed 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.
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.
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.
At least there was Wagner, who doubled twice to go along with his first career home run. The three-hit game gives him a .326 average and .868 OPS through 13 games — more than respectable numbers for the son of longtime MLB closer Billy Wagner, who briefly pitched for the Red Sox during the second half of the 2009 season, posting a 1.98 ERA in 15 games.
Before the game, 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.
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