Did the Houston Astros plunk Adolis Garcia on purpose? He seemed to think so. Garcia challenged Martin Maldonado and eventually Bryan Abreu, leading to a benches-clearing incident.
But why would Abreu hit Garcia in the late innings with runners on base? Houston needed every run they could get at the time, and it wasn't until a three-run homer by Jose Altuve that the Astros finally retook the lead. Garcia's distraction actually hurt the Rangers in the grand scheme of things.
Rangers manager Bruce Bochy said the over 10-minute pause in play interrupted close Jose Leclerc's rhythm, and perhaps contributed to his eventual blown save against Altuve.
Adolis Garcia needs to stop talking, even if MLB proved him right
In a controversial decision, Adolis Garcia was not suspended despite bumping into the umpire and seemingly picking a fight with Martin Maldonado. Abreu, meanwhile, may have to sit out two games barring an appeal. FanSided's Drew Koch discussed why this was such an odd move by MLB:
"You've also got to take the situation into consideration. While stranger things have happened, it makes no sense for Abreu to purposefully plunk Garcia while trailing by two runs with no outs in the eighth inning of Game 5 of the ALCS...By hitting Garcia, Abreu put runners on first and second with nobody out. You've got to be pretty steamed, and selfish I might add, in order to pull a stunt like that on purpose."
Garcia was adamant he felt the HBP was on purpose, per Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic.
"I think every hitter in baseball would have taken it the same way," Garcia said. "He could have hurt me."
Maldonado, meanwhile, admitted that Garcia's actions gave the Astros extra motivation to make a comeback. Rangers player Nathan Lowe took an alternative viewpoint, but did admit that the break gave Houston an unwanted advantage:
"One of the best relievers in baseball just suddenly lost command?" Lowe said. "Maldonado's smart. They got exactly what they wanted, Adolis riled up. Crazy coincidence, isn't it?"
Perhaps Maldonado is playing chess while the Rangers are playing checkers. Or, maybe more likely, Garcia made something out of nothing, costing his team Game 5 and more in the process.
