Will 'The Thrill' Wagner dazzles in debut as Blue Jays beat the host Halos

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If there’s a Will there’s a way and Will Wagner went well out of his way to make quite the first impression on Monday.

Using his big-league debut as the backdrop, Wagner looked like a seasoned veteran, unfazed by the spotlight and showing a remarkable ability to hit on a team desperate to identify hitters.

It’s not every night when Vladimir Guerrero Jr. isn’t on the marquee, but Monday was Wagner’s night. Called up from triple-A Buffalo earlier in the day, the 26-year-old infielder went 3-for-4 and drove in a run as the Jays began a six-game road swing with a 4-2 win over the Angels in Anaheim.

With the Bisons, Wagner went 10-for-25 with five walks and four strikeouts in seven games after being acquired as part of the haul from Houston for pitcher Yusei Kikuchi. He made five starts at second base and one at third for Buffalo.

In his Jays debut, he started at second base and hit sixth in the order. His first at-bat came leading off the second inning and he swung at the first pitch he saw from Davis Daniel, drilling it into right-centre field for a double. First pitch, one swing, first hit, milestone baseball retrieved, Wagner had officially arrived.

More moments would follow for Wagner. In his second at-bat, with a runner at second and two outs, he fell behind in the count, but showed solid mechanics in sending a pitch up the middle for an RBI single as the Jays led, 2-0.

The advantage doubled when Leo Jimenez unloaded on a fastball by sending it over the wall in left-centre for his first big-league home run as Wagner scored his first run.

Wagner’s third at-bat came with two out and a runner at first in the fifth inning. The kid went 3-for-3 when he slapped a ball into right field, becoming just the fourth player in club history to record three hits in his first game in the show.

His fourth at-bat arrived in the seventh with two out and runners at the corner.

This time, he was facing a left-hander. Still, Wagner, a lefty bat, made solid contact, but it resulted in a long out to centre.

Wagner’s dad, Billy Wagner, was a hard-throwing left-handed reliever known as ‘Billy the Kid’, who saved 225 games for the Astros, a franchise record.

Now his kid is in the big leagues, becoming the eighth player to make his MLB debut with the Blue Jays this season.

NEW STREAK

Having had his 22-game hit streak, which tied a career-high, snapped Sunday, Guerrero needed two at-bats to begin anew.

With one out in the third inning, Vlad Jr. recorded his 31st double of the season by sending a line drive into left field.

He came around to score when Spencer Horwitz hit a ground-rule double.

Hits were scarce in back-to-back weekend losses to Oakland, including a 1-0 shutout Saturday, to Oakland when the Jays went 10 hitless innings across two games. Through three innings Monday, the Jays had six hits, while scoring four runs.

Vladdy recorded his second hit of the night on a single in the seventh as the Jays increased their hit total to nine.

SIGN OF THE TIMES

A quick look at the Jays’ order and the emphasis on youth was hard to ignore.

With George Springer not in the starting lineup, the Jays had Ernie Clement hit leadoff.

The bottom of the order featured Jimenez in the seventh hole followed by Loperfido with Steward Berroa batting ninth.

Some of the regulars included Vlad Jr. hitting in his customary No. 3 hole.

In Monday’s series opener, Horwitz batted cleanup followed by Alejandro Kirk, who was behind home plate.

Daulton Varsho started in centre field and hit second much like he did in Sunday’s series finale against the A’s.

Jimenez has been solid at shortstop, while Toronto’s corner outfield had Loperfido in left and Berroa in right.

fzicarelli@postmedia.com