August 9, 1998: First-place Astros drub Phillies in Billy Wagner’s return to action

Houston Astros reliever Billy Wagner confidently strolled to the Bank One Ballpark mound in Phoenix in the ninth inning on July 15, 1998, seeking his 23rd save of the season. The National League Central Division-leading Astros held an 8-7 lead over the expansion Arizona Diamondbacks and were three outs from concluding their seven-game road trip with a win. Wagner, who had assumed Houston’s closer role a season earlier, was summoned to shut the door on the Diamondbacks and send the Astros home on a winning note.

Three batters in, the Astros’ plans were derailed when Kelly Stinnett’s line drive struck Wagner in the head just below the left ear. Wagner was taken to St. Joseph’s Medical Center in Phoenix to treat a lacerated ear canal and undergo neurological tests.1 “I was just praying that he was all right,” Houston manager Larry Dierker said, “and so was everyone else.”2

All tests indicated normal results, and Wagner was released from the hospital the next day. But

Arizona rallied to win the game 9-8 in 11 innings, and Wagner went on the disabled list.

The Astros proceeded to win 13 of their next 20 games, increasing their lead over the second-place Chicago Cubs. During that time, they pulled off a stunning blockbuster trade, acquiring star left-hander Randy Johnson from the Seattle Mariners.

Wagner returned from the disabled list on August 7 as the Astros were preparing to face the Philadelphia Phillies in a three-game weekend series in Houston. His services were not required in the first two games. On Friday Johnson pitched a complete game shutout in his second start with Houston, and on Saturday the Astros rallied for two runs in the ninth – capped by Richard Hidalgo’s walk-off bases-loaded hit-by-pitch – to win 7-6.

On Sunday, August 9, Houston was looking for the sweep and Dierker was determined to get Wagner into the game. “We all knew that we had to get Billy back out there,” he said.3

Shane Reynolds drew the starting assignment for the Astros. The 30-year-old right-hander stymied the Phillies’ lineup over the first three innings, surrendering only a first-inning single to Alex Arias.

Philadelphia was on a downturn, having lost nine of its last 10 games. The Phillies were third in the NL East Division, 21 games behind the Atlanta Braves. “We’re just in a total team funk right now,” said first baseman Rico Brogna.4 Phillies lefty Matt Beech – who had pitched for the University of Houston – had lost two games during that stretch to drop to 3-8 for the season.

Beech fell behind in the first when leadoff batter Craig Biggio reached second on second baseman Kevin Jordan’s error and Sean Berry singled to drive him home.

In the third, Houston increased its lead to 3-0. Derek Bell walked and advanced to second on a groundout. Moisés Alou followed with a home run over the left-field wall, his 30th of the season.

Philadelphia scored its first run in the top of the fourth. Reynolds walked Arias and Scott Rolen, then struck out Brogna and Jordan. Bobby Abreu – a former Astro batting .309 in his first full major-league season – singled, and Arias raced home with the run.

Beech was ousted from the game during a five-run fourth inning.

Brogna’s error on Biggio’s one-out grounder opened the door to the Astros rally. Berry singled, and Bell stroked a line-drive triple to center, scoring both runners. Beech walked Jeff Bagwell and, with Alou batting, tossed a wild pitch, allowing Bell to score and Bagwell to reach second. After Alou walked, second-year Phillies manager Terry Francona strolled to the mound, pulled Beech, and summoned reliever Ken Ryan.

Hidalgo’s single and Tony Eusebio’s sacrifice fly plated the final two runs of the inning. Beech’s final line score reflected eight runs surrendered – five earned – on six hits and five walks. “He’s going the wrong way,” Francona said. “I don’t know what to say. He missed his spots by a lot.”5

Reynolds held the Phillies scoreless in the fifth and sixth innings despite allowing three singles. Meanwhile, Wagner and his bullpen mates were teasing about his chances of getting into the game. “They kept telling me … ‘You’re not pitching today, Shane’s going for a complete game’ but I kept saying I had to pitch to get it over with,” Wagner said.6

Ryan surrendered the Astros’ ninth run in the fifth on back-to-back doubles by Reynolds and Biggio. Jerry Spradlin replaced Ryan in the sixth, tossed a scoreless frame, and the teams headed to the seventh with Houston on top 9-1.

Left fielder Jon Zuber blasted a home run over the right-field wall in the seventh inning, tallying the Phillies’ second run. Reynolds retired the next three batters on a strikeout and two infield grounders. In the eighth, he gave up a two-out single to Jordan before retiring pinch-hitter Kevin Sefcik on a pop fly.

When he walked off the mound in the eighth, Reynolds knew his day was done. “We needed Billy to come in and get an inning,” he said. “Larry (Dierker) told me in the seventh that Billy was going to pitch, no matter what.”7

The Phillies’ Spradlin tossed a scoreless seventh and Ricky Bottalico entered to pitch the eighth. Berry hit a leadoff single and, one out later, Bagwell doubled, putting runners on second and third. Alou pulled the first pitch he saw down the left-field line for a double, driving both runners home and extending the Astros’ lead to 11-2. Alou’s four-RBI day increased his season total to 101. “When you have guys get on base as much as this team, you can put up numbers like that,” Alou said.8

Wagner received a standing ovation as he took the mound in the ninth. Bobby Estalella – who had hit two homers and a double in the previous night’s game – struck out swinging for the first out. “(Wagner) was not holding it back at all. He was really letting it go,” said Estalella.9

Zuber doubled, but Ruben Amaro Jr. and Doug Glanville flied out to end the game.

Wagner was pleased to get back on the mound. “So much was made of this. I wanted to prove to the team that I could go back out there,” Wagner said.10 Dierker was also delighted with Wagner’s outing, saying, “He had a nice inning and he’ll be available tomorrow.”11

Wagner did pitch a day later against the Milwaukee Brewers. And almost a month after his first attempt, he recorded his 23rd save with a scoreless ninth inning.

Philadelphia’s loss continued the Phillies’ tailspin and dropped them four games below .500. “They just overwhelmed us,” said Francona.12 Philadelphia struggled the rest of the season and finished in third place in the National League East Division, 31 games behind Atlanta.

Houston, helped by newcomer Johnson and Wagner’s return to the bullpen, won 31 of its final 45 games to finish first in the NL Central Division with 102 wins – to that point, the most in the franchise’s 37-season history.13 But for the second year in a row, they were defeated in the NL Division Series, this time by the NL West Division champion San Diego Padres.14

Wagner finished 1998 with 30 saves, his first of nine seasons with 30 or more. He was selected for his first of seven All-Star teams in 1999. He retired in 2010, at age 38, with 422 career saves, the eighth-highest total entering the 2025 season.

Acknowledgments

This article was fact-checked by Victoria Monte and copy-edited by Len Levin.

Photo credit: Billy Wagner, Trading Card Database.

Sources

In addition to the sources cited in the Notes, the author consulted Baseball Reference.com and Retrosheet.org for information including the box score and play-by-play.

https://www.baseball-reference.com/boxes/HOU/HOU199808090.shtml

https://www.retrosheet.org/boxesetc/1998/B08090HOU1998.htm

Notes

1 Bob Baum (Associated Press), “Facial Smash Ruins D-backs Rally,” Arizona Daily Sun (Flagstaff, Arizona), July 16, 1998: 9.

2 Baum.

3 Michael A. Lutz (Associated Press), “Astronomical Roll,” San Angelo (Texas) Standard-Times, August 10, 1998: 3D.

4 Paul Hagen, “Look Out Below!” Philadelphia Daily News, August 10, 1998: 102.

5 Paul Hagen, “Another Poor Beech Day,” Philadelphia Daily News, August 10, 1998: 102. It turned out to be the final appearance of Beech’s three-season major-league career.

6 Lutz, “Astronomical Roll.”

7 Associated Press, “Pieces Falling in Place,” Orange (Texas) Leader, August 10, 1998: 1B

8 Lutz, “Astronomical Roll.”

9 Lutz.

10 Lutz.

11 Lutz.

12 Hagen, “Another Poor Beech Day.”

13 As of 2025, the Astros’ record for regular-season wins is 107, set in 2019.

14 The Padres went on to win the NL pennant before being swept by the New York Yankees in the World Series.