Sweet 16: Adolis García Extends Hit Streak for Rangers
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Adolis García became the 16th player in Texas Rangers history to have a hitting streak of at least 20 games on Tuesday against the Colorado Rockies.
García extended the streak with a double in the top of the fourth inning. The Rangers would lose 7-6.
García joined three other players that are tied for 13th in Rangers history with a 20-game hitting streak — Mickey Rivers (June 17-July 11, 1980), Juan Gonzalez (Aug. 20-Sept. 9, 1998) and Ivan ‘Pudge’ Rodriguez (May 8-June 1, 1999.
With a stolen base later in the inning, García became a 20-20 player — 20 home runs and 20 stolen bases. That makes him the first Ranger with a 20/20 season since Danny Santana in 2019 (28 home runs, 21 stolen bases).
With a hit on Wednesday, García could join the following group of Rangers who are tied for eighth in franchise history and had 21-game hitting streaks — Juan Gonzalez (June 25-July 19, 1996, and Aug. 8-31, 1996), Johnny Grubb (May 13-June 9, 1979), Buddy Bell (June 24-July 17, 1980) and Al Oliver (Aug. 19-Sep. 9, 1980).
Gabe Kapler has the franchise’s longest hitting streak, which was 28 games from July 17-Aug. 15, 2000.
García is the fifth player this season to have a hit streak of at least 20 games. The others? The Los Angeles Dodgers’ Trea Turner (separate streaks of 26 and 20), the St. Louis Cardinals’ Paul Goldschmidt (25), the Toronto Blue Jays’ Vladimir Guerrero Jr. (22) and Colorado’s Brendan Rodgers (20).
But his success post-All-Star Break is more than just the hit streak.
With his home run in the fifth inning of the Rangers’ 2-1 win over Minnesota on Monday night, he is now one of 34 players in the Majors with 20 or more home runs, and the second Texas player to do it — Corey Seager has 26. Marcus Semien became the third Rangers player with 20 home runs this season when he hit a solo shot against Colorado on Tuesday. Nathaniel Lowe hit a two-run shot in the first inning to give him 19 for the season.
García earned an All-Star berth and was fourth in Rookie of the Year voting for the American League last year. He did so after producing a season in which he batted .243/.286/.454/.741 with 31 home runs and 90 RBI.
His overall batting numbers already look better than a year ago — .253/.300/.450/.750. His 20 home runs and 76 RBI are in the neighborhood of last year, too.
But, as The Dallas Morning News pointed out, García has batted far better after the All-Star Break this year than he did a season ago.
That’s surely a good reason to be optimistic of García’s progress this season.
You can find Matthew Postins on Twitter @PostinsPostcard
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