Rangers Cruise to Convincing Win against Athletics

Photo by Tom Pennington/Getty Images

April 22, 2023

Rangers 18, Athletics 3

ARLINGTON, Tex. (Apr 22) — The Texas Rangers took the middle game of their series with the Oakland Athletics in convincing fashion by a final score of 18–3. An unprecedented three-home run game for Adolis Garcia set the tone in this one. The rubber game in this three-game set is on Sunday at 1:35 pm Central at Globe Life Field. Lefty Kyle Muller (0–1, 7.23 ERA) will toe the slab for the Athletics in the finale, while Jacob deGrom (1–0, 3.48 ERA) will get the starting nod for the Rangers.

Rangers’ Offensive Explosion

Many people in the ballpark were still stunned by the Athletics’ win over the Rangers from the night before. One could practically feel thousands of pairs of eyes collectively roll as they jumped out to an early 2–0 lead in the top of the first. Second baseman Jordan Diaz brought around their first run with a single to right that plated center-fielder Esteury Ruiz. Their second came on a sacrifice fly by catcher Carlos Perez that allowed Diaz to score. Their third run came in the top of the eighth on a solo homer by Jesus Aguilar off reliever Josh Sborz. Almost sensing the fans’ restlessness, the Rangers answered back quickly.

Garcia tied it 2–2 in the bottom of the first with a moonshot to left. In the bottom of the second, Marcus Semien singled to left, allowing Leody Taveras to score. Five batters later, Josh Jung made it 5–2 Rangers with a double to center that scored Semien and Travis Jankowski. Next up was Jonah Heim, who hit a two-run double to center. Garcia and Jung were the runners on base at the time. Semien singled again in the bottom of the third to drive in Josh Smith and made it 8–2 Rangers. Moments later, Nathaniel Lowe brought Semien home with a single of his own.

No End in Sight for Rangers

Garcia’s second home run of the evening also came in the third. It was his sixth of the season and brought in Lowe to score, making it 11–2 Rangers. His third home run accounted for their next two runs in the bottom of the sixth, and once again, it was Lowe that represented the additional run to make it 13–2. Garcia drove in Lowe for a third time in the bottom of the seventh, but this time, he plated Ezequiel Duran as well with a double to center.

The offensive wave did not stop there, however. With the game still in the seventh, Rangers catcher Sandy Leon allowed Garcia to score one of his five runs on the night with a single to right to make it 16–2. To cap off their offense, the aforementioned Duran hit a two-run shot to center in the bottom of the eighth. It was a hard-fought and well-deserved win for the Rangers.

Pitching Notes

Rangers starter Andrew Heaney notched his second win of the season in his fourth start (6 IP, 5 H, 2 R-ER, 2 BB, 4 SO, 1 HBP). It marked his first quality start of the season and his first since 8/24/22 against the Milwaukee Brewers. Heaney threw 64 of 97 (65.9%) pitches for strikes. He ran into trouble in the first inning, allowing two runs on two hits. Heaney managed to escape the inning, however, with a 5-4-3 double play. He went on to toss five shutout innings after that point while only allowing three hits. His six innings are the most tossed by Heaney this season.

Athletics starter Shintaro Fujinami matched his career high with eight runs (all earned) allowed. Fujinami has now lost each of first four starts to open his major league career, posting a 14.40 ERA, .302 opp. BA, and 2.067 WHIP. He is the third pitcher in franchise history to take a loss in each of his first four career outings, joining Mike Morgan (0–9 in 1978-79) and Roger Wolff (0–4 in 1941-42).

Edge of History

Adolis Garcia went 5-for-5 with 3 HR, 2 2B, 8 RBI, 5 R, and a HBP. He became the third player in the Modern Era (b. 1901) with 16+ total bases, 3+ HR, 8+ RBI, and 5+ R in a game, joining Anthony Rendon on 4/30/17 against the New York Mets (16 TB, 3 HR, 10 RBI, 5 R) and the Brooklyn Dodgers’ Gil Hodges on 8/31/50 vs. the Boston Braves (17 TB, 4 HR, 9 RBI, 5 R). Garcia’s five extra-base hits ties the single-game major league record (b. 1901). It has only been done 14 times. The last was by Luis Urías (with Milwaukee) on 8/12/21 against the Chicago Cubs (2 HR, 3 2B).

This was the 19th 3+ HR game in Rangers history (b. 1972). It was the first since Ronald Guzmán did it on 8/10/18 against the New York Yankees (3 HR) and the first ever 3+ HR game at Globe Life Field (including 2020 postseason). Garcia’s career-high 8 RBI were the tied for the second-most ever by a Ranger in a single game, trailing only Iván Rodríguez 4/13/99 against the Seattle Mariners (9 RBI). Garcia also tied the club record for runs (7x, last by Ian Kinsler on 4/15/09 against the Baltimore Orioles) and extra-base hits (2x, also Josh Hamilton on 5/18/12 at BAL) in a single game. It marked the second-most total bases ever by a Ranger in a single game, trailing only Hamilton’s 4-HR game on 5/8/12 at BAL (18 TB).

Postgame Comments

It was a crowded interview room as manager Bruce Bochy, starter Andrew Heaney, and outfielder Adolis Garcia all gave their thoughts on Saturday’s game. Bochy was asked how he thought his team responded in this game, given what happened in the loss from the night before. He said, “You’re going to have tough losses, but we were able to bounce back. They really did a nice job in their at-bats. They were well disciplined, and they executed their gameplan really well.”

Next up to the microphone was Heaney. When asked about how he settled into his start, he replied with, “The leadoff double (in the first) kinda hurt me. My changeup wasn’t what it should’ve been. I hit a guy 0-2, and I lost there on a couple of guys, but thankfully I was able to calm down and get the outs that I needed.” Then it was Garcia’s turn to reflect. Through an interpreter, Garcia explained what Saturday night was like. “It was an incredible night for me. I really didn’t expect something like this to happen, but I feel really blessed that it did happen.” He was also asked about how contagious this kind of hitting can be. He replied, “It’s a great day when you have all your guys hitting well. When everything is clicking, you can’t wait to come to the ballpark.”