September 9, 2009: Billy Wagner earns his only win in a Red Sox uniform

Elected to the National Baseball Hall of Fame in 2025, left-handed reliever Billy Wagner had a career 2.31 earned-run average in 853 games over 16 major-league seasons. He was a seven-time All-Star with 422 saves, eighth-most in big-league history through the 2024 season. He pitched for five different teams, working the longest with the Houston Astros and second-longest with the New York Mets.

His briefest tenure – and his only stint with an American League team – was in 2009 when he appeared in 15 games for the Boston Red Sox. Not one of his 422 saves was recorded with the Red Sox, where he worked primarily as a set-up man for closer Jonathan Papelbon. It was the only time in his career that Wagner was consistently used in a role other than closer. Of Wagner’s 13 career holds, six were in his brief time with the Red Sox.

After being voted into the Hall of Fame. Wagner told the Boston Globe that he had enjoyed his time with the Red Sox. “I didn’t have nearly as much stress because I had Papelbon behind me. All I had to do was throw a little bit, get the ball to him, and most of the time it was going to be a win.”1

Wagner’s won-lost career totals were 47-40. He earned one of the wins for Boston. It came by being in the right place at the right time – and pitching well. 

He joined the Red Sox in late August 2009. Wagner had been with the Mets since 2006, but he missed most of the 2009 season after Tommy John surgery in September 2008. He appeared in two August ’09 games for the Mets, on August 20 and August 24. Both times he worked one inning, struck out two batters in each of those two innings, and did not allow a hit.

On August 25 the 38-year-old Wagner was traded to Boston for two players to be named later.2 He went from the Mets, who were in fourth place in the National League East Division, to the Red Sox, in second place in the AL East Division and seeking their sixth postseason appearance in seven seasons.

On August 30 Wagner pitched in his first game for the Red Sox, working the eighth inning against the visiting Toronto Blue Jays, with Boston leading 7-0. He faced four batters, giving up a double to the second of them but retiring the other three on swinging third strikes.

Wagner worked scoreless seventh innings on September 1 and 3 in Tampa Bay, striking out two batters in each game. His September 3 performance earned his first hold since September 2004. He was touched for a run on September 6 in Chicago, but it was the only run the White Sox got in a 6-1 Boston win, and Wagner added another hold to his record.

Back at Fenway Park, Wagner’s next outing was on September 9. Manager Terry Francona’s Red Sox were nine games behind the division-leading New York Yankees, and two games up on the Texas Rangers in the AL wild-card chase. Visiting were the last-place Baltimore Orioles – 33 games behind the Yankees. Managed by Dave Trembley, the Orioles had suffered a 10-0 loss to the Red Sox the night before, with nine of Boston’s runs scoring on six home runs.

Starting for the Red Sox on Wednesday night was 38-year-old journeyman Paul Byrd, 1-1 in two starts in what turned out to be the final season of his 14-year career.3 Rookie right-hander Jason Berken started for the Orioles. The 25-year-old Clemson University product was 4-11, 6.07.

In the top of the first inning, Byrd gave up a two-out single and a double, but then escaped damage from a fly ball hit to deep center. The Red Sox scored twice off Berken in the bottom of the first. A leadoff base on balls and a two-out walk and David Ortiz’s check-swing infield single loaded the bases. Jason Bay singled to left, driving in two runs.

In the second, the Orioles loaded the bases with nobody out on two walks and a blooper that landed in shallow right field.4 Shortstop César Izturis hit into a 6-4-3 double play, with one run scoring. Another deep fly ball to center provided the third out. The Red Sox were denied a run in the bottom of the inning when rookie left fielder Nolan Reimold fielded Dustin Pedroia’s single and threw to second baseman Brian Roberts, whose relay beat Jacoby Ellsbury to the plate.

Neither team scored in the third inning. The Red Sox made it 3-1 in the bottom of the fourth after a fielding error and stolen base set the stage for an RBI double to the gap in left-center by catcher Jason Varitek.

In the fifth, Roberts’ leadoff double off the left-field wall and one-out steal of third put him in position to score on a sacrifice fly to left by Reimold. It was Roberts’s 50th double of the season.5 

Reimold picked up his second assist of the game in the bottom of the fifth, when Kevin Youkilis tried to score from second on Mike Lowell’s two-out single. After five, it was Boston 3, Baltimore 2.

Manny Delcarmen took over from Byrd in the sixth. Orioles rookie catcher Matt Wieters led off with a single to left. Delcarmen struck out Luke Scott but mishandled Ty Wigginton’s comebacker for an the error. Izturis loaded the bases on an infield single. Delcarmen walked in a run on four pitches to Roberts. Ramón Ramírez was summoned in from the bullpen. Center fielder Félix Pié singled up the middle and into center, driving in Wigginton, but Ramírez snuffed out any further threat with back-to-back strikeouts. The Orioles had a 4-3 lead.

The Red Sox promptly tied it in the bottom of the sixth. Varitek singled into right field; pinch-runner Joey Gathright then took second on a sacrifice. Alberto Castillo relieved Berken, got a second out on a groundout to first, unassisted. Gathright advanced to third. Matt Albers took over on the mound. Pedroia hit an infield single, and Gathright scored.

Billy Wagner came in to pitch the seventh. Melvin Mora grounded out, pitcher to first base. Wagner then struck out the next two batters, both on swinging third strikes – Wieters on the ninth pitch thrown to him and Scott on the fourth.

Youkilis led off the bottom of the seventh by beating out a single to second off Albers. Lefty Mark Hendrickson came in and struck out David Ortiz. Danys Báez became the third pitcher of the inning. Bay singled to left. Lowell walked on four pitches. Victor Martínez came in as a pinch-hitter.6 On the first pitch, he doubled off the base of the wall in left-center, driving in all three runners and giving the Red Sox a 7-4 lead.

Afterward, Martínez said, “Mikey Lowell walked on four straight pitches. I told myself that he’s going to try to throw a strike right here. Just look for the good pitch to hit. Don’t try to do too much. Just put a good wing on the ball.”7

Daniel Bard took over from Wagner in the eighth. After a single, strikeout, walk, and another strikeout, Jonathan Papelbon relieved Bard and secured the third out.

The Red Sox got three successive singles in the bottom of the eighth, two off Sean Henn and one off Cla Meredith, but failed to add to their lead. Trembley had used six relievers to get the final eight outs.

Nick Markakis singled to left to lead off the ninth for the Orioles. One out later, he took third on Wieters’ single. Luke Scott hit the ball hard to center, but Ellsbury caught it, deep enough for Markakis to tag and score. Papelbon got Wigginton to fly out to Pedroia at second for the final out.

“The game came down to two phases – getting the third out and getting a hit,” Orioles manager Trembley said. “It didn’t happen for us. It happened for them.”8

As the pitcher of record when Boston went ahead to stay in the seventh, Wagner earned the win. It was his one and only win for the Red Sox.9

Boston won 11 of 15 games in which Wagner appeared and secured the AL’s wild-card berth. Wagner worked in both Games Two and Three of the AL Division Series against the Los Angeles Angels. He faced two batters in Game Two, with a single and a strikeout, but four batters produced two earned runs off him in Game Three. The Angels swept the series in three games.

Wagner was a free agent after the season, and the Atlanta Braves signed him in early December. He had an excellent final season in 2010, working in 71 games and closing 64 of them, with an ERA of 1.43 and a record of 7-2, as well as being named an All-Star for the seventh time.10

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. Thanks to Laura Peebles for access to the Baltimore Sun.

https://www.baseball-reference.com/boxes/BOS/BOS200909090.shtml

https://www.retrosheet.org/boxesetc/2009/B09090BOS2009.htm

Notes

1 Peter Abraham, “Fenway Was Big Stop of Road to Cooperstown,” Boston Globe, January 26, 2025: C-5.

2 When named, in October, the players were outfielder Chris Carter and minor-league first baseman Eddie Lora, who never advanced above Rookie-level ball. Carter had appeared in 13 games for the Red Sox and hit .261. He helped the Mets out in 2010, batting .263 in an even 100 games. 

3 Byrd had pitched six shutout innings on August 30 but then had been hammered for seven earned runs in 2⅓ innings on September 4.

4 In “no-man’s land,” wrote Michael Silverman. “Fenway Struggle,” Boston Herald, September 10, 2009: 66.

5 It was the third season in which Roberts had hit 50 or more doubles, a feat previously accomplished only by Tris Speaker, Paul Waner, and Stan Musial. Jeff Zrebiec, “O’s Fall in Hostile Territory,” Baltimore Sun, September 10, 2009: D11.

6 He was replacing catcher George Kottaras, who had taken over for Joey Gathright, who had pinch-run for Varitek.

7 Amalie Benjamin, “Cool Customer,” Boston Globe, September 10, 2009: C1.

8 Jeff Zrebiec, “Red Sox Rally to Continue Their Mastery Over Orioles,” Washington Post, September 10, 2009: D9. The 2009 Red Sox had won 13 games against Baltimore and lost only two.

9 Not one of the newspapers consulted during the research for this article singled out Wagner for any attention. Yet one could hardly hope for any better from a pitcher working in short relief. 

10 His final work was in Game Two of the NLDS against the San Francisco Giants. He faced just two batters in a tie game in the top of the 10th. The first one bunted for a single. The second bunted for a sacrifice. Kyle Farnsworth took over and hit a batter, walked a batter, but was then saved by a double play. The Braves won it in the 11th.