Texas Rangers Slugger’s Walk-Off Home Run Could be Emotional Turning Point

ARLINGTON — Emotion has always been Adolis Garcia’s signature. But there was something different after his walk-off home run on Saturday.

Garcia’s two-run shot in the bottom of the ninth lifted the Texas Rangers for a 4-3 win over the Los Angeles Dodgers. The bat flip? Normal. The trot around the bases? Normal. But that burst of emotion as he jogged to the plate? Pulling back his right arm twice? Two thumps of his chest?

That felt … different. That felt … necessary.

“That’s what I live for, you know?” Garcia said through an interpreter.

It was the fourth walk-off home run of his career and the fifth walk-off hit. It’s been a bit since his last walk-off home run in the regular season — Sept. 3, 2023.

The Garcia walkoff. The first two games have felt like a playoff series.

pic.twitter.com/DVWNeY5LUI
— Matthew Postins (@PostinsPostcard) April 19, 2025

For an offense that seems to be emerging from a season-opening funk in the past week, Garcia’s no-doubt home run felt like an accelerant going into Sunday’s finale.

“If you ask anybody on this team who they’d want up there in that situation, you’d probably want him or (Corey) Seager up there,” Josh Smith said, who nearly hit a game-tying home run to lead off the ninth that slid foul. He then doubled to set up Garcia’s heroics.

The home run was Garcia’s fourth of the season. He and Seager each have four. Entering the game Garcia was hitting just .227, one of four batters in the order hitting below .250.

One of them, Kyle Higashioka, hit a two-run home run earlier in the game.

Texas collected 30 hits in their three-games series sweep against the Los Angeles Angels earlier this week. The Rangers have 12 combined in the first two games, as the Dodgers have started two of their best pitchers, Yoshinobu Yamamoto and Roki Sasaki.

Manager Bruce Bochy has remained patient with the hitters that have struggled, including second baseman Marcus Semien and designated hitter Joc Pederson. The latter is mired in an epic slump. Semien has a history of heating up after April.

It’s part of the reason why Bochy’s lineups have remained relatively consistent since opening day. After starting the season with Pederson at clean-up to give Garcia a bit more protection, Bochy moved Garcia back to clean-up where he’s more accustomed to hitting.

After Saturday’s game he’s slashed .229/.304/.471. But, in the last seven games, he’s slashed .269/.286/.538 with two home runs and four RBI.

Like Seager, his offensive numbers are perking up. Bochy knows the value of that to his lineup.

But he also understands the value of a fired-up Garcia. Saturday is a moment that could prove to serve as a turning point for where this lineup could finally be heading.

“He plays with passion and emotion and that’s who he is,” Bochy said. “He’s just been terrific. You could see a difference this spring. He was more upbeat. He’s had some tough luck in the hitting department, but he’s not letting it bother him. Last year, I think he let it bother him a little bit, but he keeps going out there and throwing up good at-bats.”

An unbothered, passionate and emotional Garcia is a dangerous man — especially when he meets the moment.

Recommended Articles