Adolis García’s adjustments pay off as Texas Rangers keep season-best win streak rolling

ANAHEIM — The Texas Rangers took their shiny new toy for a test drive in the cleanup spot this week. Their incumbent four-hole hitter gave them at least one reason to slow down the wholesale change on Tuesday night.

Rangers outfielder Adolis García — who had been in the midst of a brutal slump and, for the last three games, moved down a spot in the lineup in favor of the surging rookie Wyatt Langford — hit a go-ahead, opposite-field home run in the eighth inning of Texas’ 5-4 win over the Los Angeles Angels at Angels Stadium.

It secured a season-best five-game win streak for the Rangers, who remain 5.5 games behind the Seattle Mariners in the American League West. It also snapped García’s 3 for 26 skid to begin July in which the reigning ALCS MVP struck out 11 times and recorded just two extra-base hits.

“For a long time I’ve been working really hard [and] trying to make the adjustments,” García said through interpreter Raul Cardenas on Tuesday. “The adjustments kind of paid off today. I’ve been really wanting to do good, and today was that day.”

García put three hard-hit balls into play on Tuesday against the Angels: a 110.7 mph groundout in the third inning which kickstarted an inning-ending double play, a 99.8 mph lineout in the sixth and his 105.4 mph blast off of a Luis García sinker for his team-high 17th home run of the season.

“He didn’t have much to show for [the hard hits] and didn’t get down about it,” Rangers manager Bruce Bochy said. “He goes up there and hits a home run to put us ahead. We need him, he’s a guy that carried us at times last year. We get him going, it’s going to be even more fun.”

The 31-year-old has slashed just .215/.279/.417 this season. Each of the three slash line categories — batting average, on base percentage and slugging percentage — are the lowest he’s registered since he became an everyday player in 2021. Other returning hitters from last year’s team who’ve struggled around him (like Nathaniel Lowe, Jonah Heim and Leody Taveras) have rediscovered their form in recent weeks and helped the Rangers’ offense average 6.8 runs per game on their win streak.

A resurgent García could give Texas’ lineup the type of length and consistency that it hasn’t seen on a regular basis since last season.

“It’s a good group of guys,” García said. “All these guys come in and they work really hard all day. It’s the same group from last year, there’s a lot of good guys on this team, and we’re really looking forward to kind of showing that.”

They showed that, again, on Tuesday. Infielder Josh Smith went 3 for 3 with a solo home run (his eighth of the season) in the top of the first inning and a bases-loaded infield single in the third that gave the Rangers a 3-1 lead. The bottom of Texas’ lineup — No. 8 hitter Andrew Knizner and No. 9 hitter Derek Hill — both singled to lead off that inning, and Knizner was driven in by a hard-hit Marcus Semien double that gave the Rangers a 2-1 lead. Langford put the Rangers up 4-1 with a bases-loaded sacrifice fly after Smith’s single.

Three-time Cy Young award winner Max Scherzer pitched his fourth and longest outing of the season with 6 and 2/3 innings of three-run ball. The right-hander allowed a pair of home runs to Los Angeles catcher Logan O’Hoppe in the second and fourth innings, but threw a season-best 95 pitches, struck out six batters and walked none. The trio of José Leclerc, David Robertson and All-Star Kirby Yates (who is now 14 for 14 in save opportunities this season) combined for 2 and 1/3 scoreless innings out of the bullpen.

“I felt like I was even stronger today,” said Scherzer, who has a 3.09 ERA in 23 and 1/3 innings pitched this year since returning from the injured list in June. “I felt like it was strong even there in the seventh, I felt like I had a good fastball there in the seventh, I executed some pitches there in the seventh. That’s another step forward.”

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