García's homer in 9th after 4 strikeouts gives struggling Rangers 6-5 win over Twins
Adolis García homered leading off the bottom of the ninth inning after striking out his first four times up, lifting the struggling Texas Rangers to a 6-5 victory over the Minnesota Twins on Sunday.
García drove in his 100th run of the season on his 34th homer, a 430-foot drive into the second deck in left field.
The 30-year-old Cuban slugger dropped his head and looked at home plate without watching the flight of the ball, knowing it was gone. After a pause of several seconds, García started a slow jog toward first base, tugging hard at his jersey as he turned toward his teammates in the dugout.
Mitch Garver was on deck when García connected, having twice given the Rangers the lead with homers among his four hits and four RBIs.
Texas ended up squandering three leads before finally winning for just the fourth time in 16 games. The Rangers pulled within a game of Seattle, which leads the AL West after Texas spent 140 consecutive days atop the division.
Royce Lewis twice matched Garver to get the AL Central-leading Twins even, first with a three-run homer in the fifth after Garver's three-run shot in the first. Lewis' RBI single for a 5-5 tie in the eighth came after Garver's leadoff homer in the seventh.
Rookie reliever Cody Bradford (3-1), the sixth Texas pitcher, tossed a scoreless ninth.
García's homer came on the fifth pitch from Josh Winder (2-1).
UP NEXT
The final three-game set of the season with Texas rival and fellow AL West playoff contender Houston starts Monday. LHP Andrew Heaney (9-6, 4.16) is set for the opener.