Will Adolis García's swing react against the Orioles? — The Rangers need him

Adolis García did not seem surprised when he stepped up to the plate at the beginning of the fourth inning amid the bustle caused by more than 46,000 fans who filled Oriole Park at Candem Yards. After striking out with two outs and a runner on second during the first inning, the Cuban outfielder again attacked the first pitch of Orioles right-hander Kyle Bradish.

In the first inning, after Robbie Grossman's double, Bradish made sure not to deliver any pitches near the strike zone: he stunned Adolis with back-to-back sliders. Then, on a 0-2 count, he finished by throwing two sinkers into the outside corner for a strikeout that neutralized the Rangers' attack.

Three innings later, with a scoreless duel between Kyle Bradish and Andrew Heaney looming, Adolis came to the plate with one out and bases clean, looking to take advantage of his second opportunity in the batter's box. On the first pitch, he fouled out in another desperate attempt to catch Bradish's slider. With a defensive gesture on his face, it seemed that Adolis was complaining, thinking “that he had her.” On a 0-1 count, Bradish hit another slider, but Adolis let the sharp-spinning pitch go toward the low outside corner. What was he following? Slider. Slider. Sinker. Slider. Slider. Slider: Four of the first six pitches Bradish threw to challenge Adolis had been sliders.

The strategy was reasonable since Bradish's most used pitch in 2023 was the slider (31.2%), with which he achieved his highest swing-and-miss rate (36.4%) of his opponents. Instead, his elite pitching among the league's top pitchers was the sinker. In fact, among pitchers who saw at least 150 sinker matchups, Bradish had the fifth-lowest batting average (.230).

Because of those tendencies, we could assume that Adolis was adjusting to not be overtaken by a sinker. At a 1-1 count, as expected, Bradish's sinker appeared, but this time Adolis did not forgive him: he pulled furiously and hit a beastly line drive that burst into left field at an exit speed of 110 mph. Adolis' double quickly led the Top of the batted balls with the highest exit velocity during this Saturday afternoon according to the Baseball Savant ranking.

With a runner on second and one out, “El Bombi” reignited the offensive spark of the Texas Rangers, who achieved a decisive two-run rally before beating the Orioles 3-2 this Saturday in Game 1 of the American League Division Series. Three pitches after Adolis' inspiring double, Evan Carter doubled down the right-field line, and Jonah Heim's single completed the two-run rally against Bradish.

As happened in the fourth inning of Game 2 during the Wild Card Series against the Rays, Adolis scored the Rangers' first run. Although he is 3-for-15 and has more strikeouts (seven) than hits in the first three games of his playoff career, he has played key at-bats in the Rangers' three consecutive successes. Granted, the hitters' performance hasn't been the only collective impact why the Rangers are undefeated this postseason. The combined work of the pitching is also making a difference, especially with the careful management of the bullpen by manager Bruce Bochy.

After starting the afternoon 2-for-1 with a strikeout and a double that led to the Rangers' first run, Adolis struck out in his next three plate appearances. In the fifth inning, he came into the batter's box with a runner on first and one out. What was Bradish's pitch mix? None, literally: he threw six consecutive sliders and Adolis missed half of them. Later, leading off the seventh, left-hander DL Hall struck him out in a four-pitch inning. Adolis finished with a swing miss against a 97.5 mph four-seam fastball that penetrated the top third of the strike zone.

Finally, in the ninth, the fourth strikeout of the afternoon was delivered by his compatriot, left-hander Cionel Pérez. Adolis took a single swing. He allowed two strikes, and a pair of sinkers at 98.4 and 98.1 mph, respectively. After one ball, Cionel came back with the heater: a 99.3 mph inside fastball that beat Adolis' swing.

It was the first four-strikeout game (in nine innings) for a Cuban hitter in the playoffs since the St. Louis Cardinals overwhelmed Yasiel Puig in Game 2 of the 2014 NLDS. But, beyond the losing record among Cuban hitters, The troubling news here is that Adolis Garcia has historically been dominated by Orioles pitchers.

Before entering Game 1 of this NLDS and missing seven of his 12 swings, Adolis was slashing .169/.189/.254, with a .443 OPS in 74 plate appearances. That had been the worst performance among hitters who posted similar numbers, with 18 games played and at least 70 plate appearances against the O's:

If we add his stats from Game 1 this Saturday, Adolis' slump amounts to just seven hits in 46 at-bats and, get this: 20 strikeouts over those last 12 games. So, in summary: he has struck out in at least 16 of his 19 games against the O's, and in 12 of them he has recorded multi-strikeouts.

Of course, it's nothing new to find a ton of strikeouts and swing misses on Adolis Garcia's record. It's a story that won't change because of the potential of his swing, designed to hit fly balls and exploit his power. But the regular season is over, and in the postseason setting, every game is a survival story.

That's the approach going forward, and while Adolis has contributed to every win as a cleanup hitter, the Rangers will need his impact to survive these playoffs.