After the biggest home run of his career, Adolis Garcia took over 30 seconds to round the bases, admiring his three-run blast that gave the Texas Rangers a 4-2 lead in the sixth inning, but the next pitch he saw drilled him in his right elbow pad.
It was the Houston Astros who got the last laugh, as Jose Altuve’s three-run home run in the ninth inning gave Houston their third-straight win, all on the road, to take a 3-2 lead in the American League Championship Series.
But before Altuve’s blast, tempers were red-hot when Bryan Abreu plunked Garcia with a fastball. Abreu, Garcia and Astros manager Dusty Baker were all ejected after the benches cleared, causing a roughly 12-minute delay.
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Garcia’s immediate reaction was to get in catcher Martin Maldonado’s face, and the two had to be separated at least a couple of times.
Garcia defended his celebration and called out the Astros for their retaliation, which he deemed intentional.
“I think we’re in the postseason. It’s the moment,” Garcia said after the game. “You hit a ball like that, you’re going to celebrate. It’s where we’re at right now. If they’re trying to react to that, I don’t think that’s the correct way.”
“I felt like that hit-by-pitch could’ve been worse,” García said, “and I told him that was not right.”
It was hardly the first time the Astros and Rangers have had a beef, being AL West rivals. Earlier this season, the benches cleared after several players were plunked and buzzed, and then Garcia hit a grand slam.
The hit-by-pitch put runners on first and second with none out, but Texas couldn’t capitalize. Then, Altuve hit his third go-ahead homer in the ninth inning or later in his postseason career, the most all-time.
Now, Houston are one win away from making their third-consecutive World Series, and their fifth in the last seven years.
