ARLINGTON -- Adolis García built his career by embracing the extremes.

After all, he is ¡°El Bombi,¡± the American League Championship Series MVP; a villain booed mercilessly like he was Michael Jordan in Houston; the rare player that can strike out four times and then smash a grand slam; and the unlikeliest of stories -- an undrafted rookie twice designated for assignment turned two-time All-Star.

So when it came time for Game 1 of the World Series, of course Garc¨ªa would live up to the moment on the biggest stage of his career. He smashed a walk-off home run in the 11th to power Texas to a 6-5 win vs. the D-backs on Friday night at Globe Life Field -- cementing his place in the playoff record books at the same time.

¡°Special players step up in moments like this,¡± Corey Seager said, ¡°and he's done it all season for us.¡±

His opposite-field solo shot gave him 22 RBIs this October, the most in a single postseason in AL/NL history, eclipsing David Freese¡¯s 21 during the Cardinals¡¯ World Series run in 2011.

Garc¨ªa homered for the fifth straight game, the second-longest streak in postseason history. He also recorded RBIs in his seventh consecutive game, also tied for the second-longest streak in postseason history, behind Ryan Howard¡¯s eight in 2009.

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¡°It's just something where God has given me the opportunity to have a little piece of history in the MLB postseason,¡± Garc¨ªa said in Spanish through interpreter Will Nadal. ¡°I think it's great.¡±

And Garc¨ªa did it all by subverting the extremes he is known for -- from his mammoth home run power, to his high chase and strikeout rates and to the emotions he wears on his sleeve during lengthy home run trots.

The 30-year-old broke out in 2021 with a feast-or-famine mentality, hammering 31 home runs while posting high rates in chase (35.7%, sixth percentile) and strikeouts (31.2%, fifth percentile).

An offseason dedicated to controlling the strike zone and better swing decisions has unlocked an even more potent version of ¡°El Bombi¡± in 2023. Garc¨ªa cut down on the worst of his whiffs, walked at a career-high clip (10.3%, 74th percentile) and didn¡¯t sacrifice a single bit of the power that makes him special.

On Friday night, the new-and-improved Garc¨ªa was fully on display from the first at-bat. The right fielder worked the count to 3-1 and then smoked an RBI single at 116 mph, the hardest-hit ball in the World Series since Statcast began tracking in 2015.

He followed with a six-pitch walk in the third, his first free pass of the postseason. And after a hard-fought, eight-pitch single in the ninth, he shook off a hit-by-pitch on his hand to steal second and jump-start a potential rally in the 10th.

¡°Yeah, you can't deny it,¡± Garc¨ªa said. ¡°He hit me in that situation, but my focus is on just having good at-bats, just putting good swings on balls. And that's something that I think I've done very well.¡±

¡°He's doing such a great job of controlling his emotions, so to speak, where he's not overswinging, and he's staying under control,¡± manager Bruce Bochy added. ¡°That's fun to watch when he does that.¡±

Garc¨ªa, of course, was infamously plunked by Astros reliever Bryan Abreu, which incited a benches-clearing incident during Game 5 of the ALCS. His empathic bat flips and slams combined with long, glorious home run trots have become a part of the player he is, a part of being the emotional backbone of the Rangers.

But sometimes, Garc¨ªa¡¯s heroics are so great they can speak for themselves. He took only a moment to celebrate after an impressive, over-the-shoulder grab to rob Corbin Carroll of extra bases in the top of the ninth.

When he turned on a 96.7 mph sinker from D-backs reliever Miguel Castro for the game-winning shot in the 11th, it was as subdued of an Adolis Garc¨ªa home run celebration as there is, carrying his bat to watch the ball leave the park before a light toss and Eurostepping his way into his teammates¡¯ waiting arms at home plate to celebrate.

Chants of ¡°El Bombi¡± reverberated from the stands and emanated from the Rangers¡¯ clubhouse. The Cuban outfielder remained humble, like he always does after each special moment of his career, giving credit to Seager¡¯s game-tying two-run blast in the ninth and thanking God.

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But even Garc¨ªa cracked a grin when asked how many more of these moments he had in him.

¡°I hope a lot of them,¡± Garc¨ªa said with a laugh.