ARLINGTON, Texas (AP) — 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).
TRAINER’S ROOM
Twins: CF Michael A. Taylor went on the 10-day injured list with a right hamstring strain, and utilityman Willi Castro was activated after missing 18 games with a right oblique strain. Manager Rocco Baldelli said Taylor, who has tried to play through the injury but can’t run at full speed, should have time to recover before the end of the regular season.
Rangers: Manager Bruce Bochy said RHP Nathan Eovaldi, out since July 27 with a right forearm strain, came out OK after another bullpen session Sunday. There was no immediate word on what’s next. … Rookie 3B Josh Jung did light infield work before the game with a splint on his fractured left thumb. Bochy said he’s confident Jung will be ready within three weeks.
UP NEXT
Twins: An important three-game series at second-place Cleveland starts Monday with RHP Pablo López (9-7, 3.72 ERA) set to face RHP Lucas Giolito, one of three pitchers the Guardians claimed after a waiver-wire dump by the fading Angels.
Rangers: 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.
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