Texas Rangers manager Bruce Bochy has rotated a number of players through the three-hole in recent weeks, to no avail. The Rangers’ three-hole hitter had a .143 average through three postseason matches entering Game 2 of the American League Division Series on Sunday.
Enter Mitch Garver.
Garver, made his postseason debut as a designated hitter for Texas, delivering a 419-foot grand slam deep over the left-field wall in the third inning, giving the Rangers an early 9-2 lead in a final 11-8 win over the Baltimore Orioles at Camden Yards to go up 2-0 in the series.
It was just the second postseason grand slam in Texas Rangers history, including Nelson Cruz’s walk-off in the 11th inning in Game 2 of the 2011 ALCS against Detroit.
“I got a good pitch to hit, honestly,” Garver told FS1’s Ken Rosenthal in an in-game interview. “I was a little hesitant on the first pitch. I was kind of looking for the slider. Wasn’t quite where I wanted it. Worked myself into a count where I could get a fastball. I had a feeling he wasn’t going to go offspeed in a 3-1 count with the bases loaded, so I took my shot.”
Garver’s five RBIs tied to Rangers’ postseason single-game record, done twice previously: Cruz in the 2011 ALCS and Michael Young in Game 6 of the same series.
Eleven runs is the second-highest Texas has scored in a postseason game in franchise history, with the highest being 15 in Game 6 of the 2011 ALCS against Detroit.
Baltimore took an early 2-0 over the Rangers, tagging starter Jordan Montogomery with three hits and a walk in the first inning. But Texas punched back with a five-spot in the top of the second inning before Garver broke it open with his grand slam in the third.
“I would just say controlling the strike zone,” Garver told Rosenthal on the broadcast. “We really didn’t really chase out of the zone too much, minus that first inning. We’re working walks, getting guys on base, using the whole field and just playing good offense.”
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