Adolis' torrid month continues with HR No. 15

ANAHEIM -- Adolis García has posted power numbers that very few rookie Rangers have ever done before.

On a tear since making his '21 debut on April 13, García connected for his 15th home run in the Rangers’ 11-5 loss to the Angels at Angel Stadium on Tuesday night.

Two innings after Halos two-way star Shohei Ohtani moved into a second-place tie for MLB’s home run lead, García joined him. Following Nate Lowe's double to lead off the sixth, García drilled an Andrew Heaney changeup into the tunnel next to the left-field bullpens.

Rangers manager Chris Woodward said despite García's two strikeouts, the rookie found a way to be a force at the plate.

“Today, he was actually a little bit off, but he still had a good enough at-bat in one of them to hit a homer,” Woodward said.

García's two-run shot traveled 417 feet and had an exit velocity of 109 mph, per Statcast. It's the 10th time he's gone deep in May, and the powerful month has inched García closer to setting a couple Rangers franchise records.

His 10 home runs tied him with Dave Hostetler (June 1982) for the most swats by a Rangers rookie in a calendar month. And his 15 long balls before the All-Star break are the second most by a Texas rookie behind Pete Incaviglia, who hit 16 in 1986.

“He's always had the power. In his Minor League career, I think he’s hit 30 homers a couple times,” Woodward said. “That's always been something he's possessed, but the lack of consistent at-bats, quality at-bats, I think, was the one thing that was missing -- but now you're starting to see [it].”

García had 22 homers in 2018, then a 32-homer season in 2019 while playing for Triple-A Memphis during his time in the Cardinals organization. Prior to his '21 callup, he only had 23 at-bats combined between big league stints with the Cardinals in '19 and the Rangers in '20.

Now excelling in the Majors, the 28-year-old outfielder nicknamed “El Bombi” has been an important piece for the Rangers in 2021.

Although the home run came in a game the Rangers were trailing by as much as 10 runs after starter Hyeon-Jong Yang was tagged for seven runs, it continued a streak of success for García after an exciting weekend.

• Adolis again! 2nd walk-off of Rangers' sweep

García delivered late game heroics in a weekend sweep against the Astros, providing walk-off hits on Friday and Sunday, with a two homer performance on Saturday. García ranks among the best in the league not just in homers, but also in OPS when hitting with runners in scoring position (1.239 OPS in 48 at-bats), and he is second in the AL in RBIs when games are late and close with 13.

Woodward said the play of García has been a big component of the Rangers' offense this year.

“He's been carrying us every day,” Woodward said. “This guy's our best hitter right now. And he's just having quality at-bats, and also producing at a really high level and smashing balls all over the place.”