'We need him going': García off to strong start in June following rough May
MIAMI -- The Rangers’ lineup seems to have figured out the key to hitting against lefties. At the forefront of it all was Adolis García, who had been struggling in May.
“He’s trying to find his way to play, but he got the job done,” Rangers manager Bruce Bochy said after Saturday’s win.
Sunday against Marlins starter Trevor Rogers, the right fielder found himself. He came up big with an RBI single in the first inning and a home run in the sixth in the Rangers’ 6-0 win against the Marlins at loanDepot park.
García was off to a strong start -- he was selected as the Rangers’ Player of the Month for March/April after slashing .293/.348/.585 with eight home runs. In May, García slashed just .165/.224/.320 in 25 games with four home runs. Entering Sunday, he had gone hitless in his last 19 at-bats.
Having those struggles after a productive month proved difficult for García.
“He takes it harder than anybody when things don’t go as well as he would like for them to go,” manager Bruce Bochy said. “I look at the past week and it’s been a tough grind for him. He’s shown up everyday, he’s been in a good frame of mind. I think that’s a separator between the average player and a great player.”
García took advantage of a fresh start in June to make some adjustments: focusing on the strike zone and finding good pitches to hit. The changes were fruitful.
“I think that’s something I’ve needed to work on in the strike zone, continuing to swing at pitches that I can manipulate,” the 31-year-old said in Spanish. “I feel good. [I’m] happy that the adjustments got the results and for the team’s win.”
The top of the Texas lineup kept its momentum from Saturday going, recording four straight hits in the top of the first for an early 3-0 lead. Getting early leads and being aggressive from the jump have become characteristic of the Rangers, according to García.
“I love when our offense scores three runs in the first inning, it’s fantastic,” Rangers starter Andrew Heaney said. “I know how hard hitting is and they’ve been going through it a little bit, but every single one of those guys are professionals and they’re going out there and giving their best.”
Marcus Semien and Corey Seager both singled on ground balls to set the stage. Robbie Grossman singled off Rogers’ first offering, before García followed suit to cash in Seager.
Leading off the sixth inning, García turned on a 1-0 fastball and hit his 13th homer of the season with an exit velocity of 108.2 mph into left-center. The Rangers tacked on two more insurance runs in the ninth before Grant Anderson wrapped things up in the bottom half.
“It’s good to get Adolis going,” Bochy said. “We need him going. He’s hitting cleanup, a big part of the lineup, a guy who does a lot of damage. It was good to see him break out and have a nice game.”
Handed a three-run lead before he ever threw a pitch, Heaney cruised in his second career appearance against the Marlins, the club with whom he made his Major League debut. Heaney twirled six scoreless frames and struck out seven batters, allowing no walks and four hits.
“Today was honestly one of the first games that I’ve kind of felt like it was enjoyable,” the left-hander said. “I don’t know how to describe it. It just felt like I was pitching today and that was nice.”
The pieces of the puzzle have begun to fall into place as struggles against left-handed pitchers were left behind in Friday’s loss. With their second straight series win, the Rangers will return home with some newfound confidence against another left-handed starter in Detroit’s Tarik Skubal.
“It sends a sense of confidence that we aren’t vulnerable to anybody, righty or lefty,” Bochy said. “We do our thing, play our game. Pitch like we’re capable of pitching. We play with anybody and [the players] believe that. I don’t need to tell them that. They’re world champions.”