Texas Rangers' Josh Jung breaks his bat on a line drive against the San Diego Padres in the fifth inning of a baseball game Sunday, July 30, 2023, in San Diego. (AP Photo/Derrick Tuskan)
ARLINGTON — Adolis García has a Gold Glove Award to his name. He often roams right field in ballparks across the league, making even the hardest plays as opposing offenses fear his cannon of an arm.
But on Friday night at Globe Life Field, as García camped under a routine pop fly off the bat of Angels infielder Kyren Paris in the fourth inning, the unthinkable happened — he dropped the ball. As the outfielder raised his glove to catch the ball, he appeared to go for the transfer well before it landed in the webbing.
“It’s been a little sloppy lately,” manager Bruce Bochy said of the outfield defense. “It hasn’t been like that all year, but it is something that we do have to clean up a little bit. We have to tighten things up here. We’re a good team defensively. We’re a good team in the outfield. But it hasn’t been what we normally are.”
The run didn’t score, as Rangers starter Andrew Heaney and reliever Grant Anderson induced two flyouts to end the inning, but that one play was a microcosm of Texas’ 9-3 loss to the Angels on Friday.
Even more so, the entire game — a perfect storm in the worst way possible — was a fitting illustration of the club’s recent rough stretch, which included a sweep at the hands of the last-place Rockies and a series loss to the Guardians.
