The month of May continued to be a revelation for a Texas Rangers rookie slugger.
Adolís Garcia, the 28-year-old outfielder who joined the team two weeks into the season, hit his 16th home run in the Rangers’ 9-8 loss to the Los Angeles Angels in Anaheim on Wednesday afternoon.
Garcia tied the Blue Jays’ Vladimir Guerrero, Jr. for the MLB lead.
It’s his fifth homer in the past five games. He has 41 RBIs in 41 games, including 26 in 24 games in May.
“What Adolís is doing right now has kind of gone beyond what we can kind of comprehend,” Rangers manager Chris Woodward said. “I think the other guys are looking at him like he’s doing something otherworldly right now.”
His 11 homers in the May are the most ever by a Rangers rookie in one month and the second most homers hit by a Rangers player in May. Josh Hamilton had 12 in May 2012. The club record for most homers in any month is 15, shared by Alex Rodriguez (August 2003), Rafael Palmeiro (August 1999), and Juan Gonzalez (July 1996).
Although the Rangers lost both games in Anaheim after sweeping the Astros at home this past weekend, Garcia’s exploits continue to sizzle. His 11 homers in May lead MLB. The Rangers rallied for five runs in the eighth inning, including a two-run homer by Joey Gallo, but the Angels held on for the win.
His 16 homers before the All-Star break (the game is July 13) ties Pete Incaviglia’s franchise record for a rookie. Nine of his homers have come in the seventh inning or later, which leads MLB.
The Rangers start a four-game series against the Mariners in Seattle at 9:10 p.m. Thursday to close out the month. Their 10-day, nine-game road trip closes with three against the Rockies, Tuesday through Thursday.
Four of Garcia’s 16 homers have come at Angel Stadium.
Woodward said he talked to Garcia about how the league’s pitchers would likely start adjusting to him. That probably means he’ll be seeing a bunch of sliders away in the zone, he said.
“The league is going to adjust to you; they’re going to keep you from doing damage. That’s what they are trying to do,” he said. “If they hang it, if they leave it in the zone, typically he does a lot of damage. But he’s got to be willing to take those pitches off the zone.”
