San Antonio Express-News (Sunday)
Garcia provides late heroics with walkoff home run
ARLINGTON — Adolis Garcia homered leading off the bottom of the ninth inning, giving the Texas Rangers a 3-2 victory over the Washington Nationals on Saturday.
The Cuban slugger matched Corey Seager for the team lead with 15 homers when he drilled a 2-2 slider from reliever Kyle Finnegan (2-2) into Washington’s bullpen, just to the left of the hitting background in center field.
Nelson Cruz hit a tying tworun homer for the Nationals against for his former team in the sixth inning after Nathaniel Lowe had given Texas the lead with a two-run shot in the second.
Garcia’s winner came after he caught Keibert Ruiz’s flyball at the base of the wall in right field to start the ninth, and made a running catch on a liner from Cesar Hernandez for the second out.
Joe Barlow (3-1), the only righthander to pitch on a bullpen day for Texas, finished the ninth with a strikeout of Victor Robles.
The parade of lefties for Texas — four in a row — faltered with the third choice when
Brock Burke gave up Juan Soto’s leadoff double and Cruz’s ninth homer of the season with one out in the sixth.
Taylor Hearn, in his first appearance since being pulled from the rotation, retired the final 11 batters he faced following consecutive walks with a wild pitch in the second inning after opener Brett Martin issued a pair of free passes in the first.
A 24-year-old lefthander who has struggled to stay in the rotation each of the past two seasons, Hearn had allowed 17 runs
in 182⁄3 in four June starts before his four hitless innings with one strikeout.
Martin made his third appearance as an opener for Texas, but first since the lefthander’s rookie year in 2019, after Matt Bush was scratched when he was deemed unavailable following a 10-pitch relief appearance in the Nats’ 2-1 win in the series opener.
Lowe’s 432-foot drive off to center was his 10th of the season and seventh in June. The number this month is now tied for the team lead after Garcia matched him.
Washington’s Josiah Gray didn’t allow his second hit until Leody Taveras had the first of consecutive singles with two outs in the fifth. The righthander struck out nine in a careerhigh seven innings and still hasn’t lost on the road in 12 career starts over two seasons.
Ball runs afoul of fan
A fan’s phone was crushed by a high foul ball from Washington leadoff hitter Lane Thomas in the seventh inning. The ball went just over the netting behind home plate. The fan’s phone was on a table in the field-level boxes.
Cruz hits homer milestone
The homer for Cruz, who turns 42 next week, was his 300th for teams other than Texas. Of his 457 career long balls, the first 157 were with the Rangers. Cruz spent eight seasons in Texas from 2006-13 after a brief debut with Milwaukee.
Otto vs. Tetreault up next
Texas RHP Glenn Otto (4-2, 4.24 ERA) is set to face RHP Jackson Tetreault (1-1, 5.73) in the series finale. Otto hasn’t pitched since June 4 after getting scratched and going on the COVID-19 list before a scheduled start June 10. Otto made one rehab appearance. He has won three consecutive starts. Tetreault is set for his third career start.