'Road Warrior' García Completes Rangers Comeback vs Twins
The Texas Rangers just don't give up.
Trailing the Minnesota Twins by a score of 3-1 heading into the ninth inning, the Rangers clawed back to tie the game and force extra innings with a Willie Calhoun solo homer and a sacrifice fly by Isiah Kiner-Falefa.
In the tenth inning, Adolis García clobbered his seventh home run of the season, a two-run shot (thanks to the extra-inning runner rule) that broke a 3-3 tie. All of García's home runs this season have come on the road.
"I'm not gonna say anything to him, especially while we're on the road," laughed Rangers manager Chris Woodward. "I like where he's at. He's staying to the big part of the field."
Charlie Culberson added some insurance with an RBI double to give Texas a 6-3 lead they wouldn't surrender. Ian Kennedy danced around a leadoff single with a strikeout and double play to shut the door on the Twins.
For most of the night, things looked bleak for the Rangers. The Texas lineup was handcuffed by J.A. Happ and the Twins pitching staff until the ninth inning, and the Rangers were fully introduced to the Byron Buxton experience.
Buxton, who was named the American League's Player of the Month for April, continued his stellar start to the season with a two-run home run in the first inning. Later in the game, he showed everyone why he's a Platinum Glove winner with a sensational diving catch that took extra bases away from David Dahl.
In his return to Minnesota after seven seasons as a Twin, Kyle Gibson kept the game close for the Rangers, pitching yet another solid game as the team's ace. For the second time this season, Gibson lasted eight innings and was incredibly efficient with his pitches while striking out eight hitters.
However, for the first time this season, Gibson allowed a home run — two of them, actually. The two-run shot by Buxton was the first, then Willians Astudillo added another solo homer in the fifth inning. They were the only blemishes for what was otherwise a great outing. And the Rangers lineup picked him up.
"To see the way he pitched the rest of the game, it was awesome," Woodward said. "He kept us in the game the whole time. I felt like we got really unlucky offensively early on. ... But he kept going out there. To give eight [innings] to our team and give us a chance to win, it was awesome. Especially coming back here."
What might have been hidden during the Rangers comeback was actually a pretty big moment for the team as whole.
After being called up to the big leagues for the first time earlier in the day, Woodward called on Andy Ibáñez to make his MLB debut, pinch hitting for Dahl with a runner on first base while trying to rally back in the ninth inning. On the second pitch of the at-bat, Ibáñez hit a dribbler through the hole on the left side for his first career hit.
"I don't think I've ever seen a team so excited for a guy to get his first hit," Woodward said. "Andy's been with us for a while. He hasn't had a chance to get to the big leagues. ... He's been one of the better hitters in the minor leagues. He's an older guy. Everyone knows the work this kid has put in to get this opportunity."
Ibáñez getting his first big league in a big situation, in a way, exemplifies what the 2021 Texas Rangers are all about. There isn't a moment too big for anyone, and they refuse to give in, regardless of the circumstance. And that's why the team rewarded Ibáñez with the post-win Player of the Game cowboy hat.
The Rangers (14-17) will look to build off the extra-innings win, and try to gain an advantage in the four-game series against the Twins (11-17). Texas will have Hyeon-jong Yang (0-0, 2.08 ERA) make his first MLB start against Minnesota left-hander Lewis Thorpe (0-0, 3.60 ERA).
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