Braves’ Wagner throws perfect inning
March 9, 2010
LAKE BUENA VISTA, Fla. (AP)—This time last year, Billy Wagner(notes) was facinglittle leaguers in Virginia and recovering from elbow surgery.
The former All-Star closer, signed by the Braves in the offseason, retiredall three batters he faced Tuesday night in Atlanta’s 7-4 loss to thePhiladelphia Phillies and said he felt comfortable for the first time thisspring.
The left-hander was knocked around in his first appearance last week.
“I worked hard to get back,” Wagner said. “I was having a blast pitchingto Little Leaguers. I didn’t even think about coming back until the LittleLeague season was over. They told me I was done, so I wanted to prove that Iwasn’t.”
Wagner vowed to return to the New York Mets and he did in August, pitchingin two games before he was dealt to the Boston Red Sox. He closed out the seasonin Boston and went the free agent route to Atlanta.
Wagner came into the spring with a new attitude. He decided to drop theintensity a few notches.
“This year I just want to relax and have fun,” Wagner said. “They alreadytold me I was done. I never even thought about coming back because I was havingso much fun with the Little League kids. We went 11-1.”
While he was working on his rehab at the nearby University of Virginia, hegot the itch to pitch back again. He knew he wouldn’t be in New York long andbalked at the trade to Boston where he served as a setup man down the stretch.He wanted to be a closer and the Braves were looking.
“This is a good fit,” Wagner said. “I can still pitch and once I getcomfortable out there again in my normal role, I have something left.”
“Wags is looking great,” Braves manager Billy Cox said. “He’s off to agreat start and we’re excited about him.”
Roy Halladay(notes) pitched three shutout innings and struck out five in his secondspring appearance. Halladay was making his second start in a Phillies uniformsince being acquired from the Toronto Blue Jays during the offseason.
Halladay went 17-10 with a 2.79 ERA last season. He said the results didn’tmatter and that he’s just looking do build his stamina for the season. He’spitched five innings this spring without allowing a run.
“I’m just working on my stamina this spring,” Halladay said. “All I amthinking about is throwing strikes. The rest will come.”
Jayson Werth(notes) homered off Braves starter Kenshin Kawakami(notes) in the secondinning and was 2-for-3 on the night.
Kawakami allowed three earned runs in thee innings for the Braves, butPhiladelphia blew the game open, scoring five runs in the sixth off of JoseOrtegano.
NOTES: Braves free agent pickup Troy Glaus(notes) was 3-for-3, upping his springaverage to .750. He’s had hits in his last eight at-bats … Braves opening daystarter Derek Lowe(notes) will start on Tuesday against the New York Mets, followed byTakashi Saito(notes), Kris Medlen(notes), Kyle Cofield, Mariano Gomez, and Jonny Venters.Jonathon Niese(notes) will start for the Mets.
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