'That's what I live for': Adolis' walk-off HR lifts Rangers over LA

ARLINGTON -- Adolis García is many things. A two-time All-Star, a Gold Glove Award-winning outfielder, an ALCS MVP, a postseason hero for the Rangers.

But he’s also the emotional backbone of the Rangers. He’s a spark plug, both physically, with what he can do on the field and emotionally, with his energy and flair for the dramatic. He always seems to come through in the biggest situations.

The latest of García’s accomplishments came on Saturday night in yet another pitchers’ duel between the Rangers and Dodgers at Globe Life Field.

The Rangers were shut out on Friday night. It has been the story of the season for Texas, a quiet offense and a dominant pitching staff.

On Saturday afternoon, Nathan Eovaldi tossed yet another quality start but was in line for the loss until the ninth inning. That’s when García -- who else? -- delivered the final blow, a two-run, walk-off home run for a 4-3 win to even up the series against the Dodgers.

“He plays with passion and emotion,” said manager Bruce Bochy, who surpassed Dusty Baker to move into seventh in all-time managerial wins (2,184). “That's who he is. He's just been terrific. I could see a difference this spring. He was just upbeat. He’s had some tough luck with the hitting part, but he's not letting it bother him. Last year, I think he let that bother him a little bit, but he keeps going out there and throwing out good at-bats.”

This is García’s fourth career regular-season walk-off home run and his first since a game-ending solo homer on Sept. 3, 2023, against the Twins. His four walk-off homers are tied for second in club history (since 1972), trailing only Juan González (five). He also hit one in the 11th inning of World Series Game 1 in 2023.

“Who doesn’t want to be excited for moments like that?” García said through interpreter Raul Cardenas. “That's what I live for, you know? I’m really concentrated and I want the guys to all kind of be better. I want the whole team to ride off a win like that.”

Eovaldi struck out seven across six innings while allowing three runs (two earned). He departed with the Rangers down, 3-2, which remained the score until García ended matters with former teammate Kirby Yates pitching.

Rangers utility man Josh Smith led off the ninth inning with a double, setting García up for the walk-off hit. Yates went 33-for-34 on save opportunities with the Rangers last season. He's now 0-for-1 with the Dodgers.

“It happened pretty quick,” Yates said of the ninth-inning sequence. “I was in a pretty good count with Smitty. Hung back-to-back splits. He put two good swings on it. Doli, I had him 1-1 and threw him a pretty good split. I thought that would kind of get him off the fastball. To his credit, he stayed on it, got one to hit and put a good swing on it. … It’s always weird [facing your friends]. I’ve done this a few times now. I don’t really like facing my friends. I’d rather be sitting here with a win.”

At the conclusion of Saturday’s game, García is hitting just .229 with a .775 OPS. For what it’s all worth, he hasn’t quite hit his stride yet this season. That goes for a lot of the Rangers’ offense.

But this is a completely different team when García is the best version of himself. That includes the swagger and the aura just as much as the exit velocities and launch angles.

“He's been taking some good swings,” Bochy said. “He's hit some balls hard right at [defenders]. I mean, 110 mph today up the middle [in the second inning]. We had the right guy up there and got a good swing. We needed it, because we've gotten some really good pitching. It would have been tough not to get a win in one of these games. Just a huge, huge home run.”