In the wake of an ESPN.com story questioning his health, Billy Wagner pitched another scoreless inning of relief for the Mets on Monday.
The ESPN story cited several sources who claimed Wagner may not be at 100 percent, though he appeared strong in his one inning of work against the Phillies. Wagner entered the game in the top of the eighth with the Mets trailing 5-2.
The lefty threw 19 pitches, averaging 94 miles per hour on his fastball. He got Paul Bako to fly out, struck out Ben Francisco on a called third strike, walked Shane Victorino on four pitches and struck out Jayson Werth on a high fastball.
The Phillies, however, got the win on the strength of five RBIs from Ryan Howard, who hit two homers in the game. Cliff Lee picked up the win, giving up two runs, neither of which were earned, in seven innings without walking a batter. The win improves Lee to 4-0 with a 0.77 ERA since being traded to Philadelphia from Cleveland.
The inning of relief from Wagner was his second since returning to the team last week, when he also struck out two batters. He confirmed that the Red Sox placed a waiver claim on him, and drama has ensued. The Red Sox have a deadline on Tuesday afternoon to reach a deal for Wagner, who would have to waive his no-trade clause.
Wagner expressed a desire to continue his career as a closer and pass John Franco for most saves by a lefty — a goal he won't get the chance to accomplish in New York or Boston.
"[The Mets are] not going to pay $8 million to have me set up [Francisco Rodriguez] and they know that I wouldn't be satisfied," Wagner told ESPN.com. "They've expressed to me that they want what's best for me and they would like to help me out. They have a closer. They'd like to help me reach that goal. We just have to see if that comes to pass.
"I've enjoyed New York tremendously. I've had a blast playing here. It's just, I think my role is as a closer," he said. "Me getting hurt last year and them picking up Frankie, that just puts me in an odd situation and it's one of those that it's best to maybe move on."
