SI:AM | Adolis García Is a Force of Nature

Plus, another Game 7 in the NL.

Good morning, I’m Dan Gartland. I know the NBA season starts tonight, but Adolis García is obviously the biggest story of the day.

In today’s SI:AM:

💪 García powers the Rangers to victory

🐍 Phillies fall flat as D-Backs force Game 7

🏀 The best games of the NBA season

Half of the World Series is set

Last night’s Game 7 between the Rangers and Astros was a snooze, thanks mainly to one man: Adolis García.

The Texas outfielder went 4-for-5 with two homers and five runs driven in as the Rangers cruised to an 11–4 victory to capture the American League pennant.

García has been a terror this postseason, but especially so in his past three games. In the sixth inning of Game 5 on Friday, he hit a go-ahead three-run homer and took his sweet time getting to first base. His next time up, he was plunked by Astros reliever Bryan Abreu, apparently on purpose, leading to the benches clearing. (Abreu was issued a two-game suspension, but an arbitrator ruled hours before Game 7 that he would serve it in 2024.) García got his revenge in Game 6 with a ninth-inning grand slam that put the game out of reach, extending Texas’s lead from three runs to seven, nearly assuring a Game 7.

But last night was García’s crowning achievement. Facing another win-or-go-home scenario, he drove in more runs on his own than Houston scored all night.

It looked for a second as if García had let his desire for revenge cloud his judgment. In the first inning, he hit a long fly ball toward the Crawford Boxes in left and stood at the plate to admire it—except the ball didn’t go over the fence. While the hit allowed Evan Carter to score from second, García’s showboating left him standing on first, rather than giving him a chance to advance to second. García made up for the lack of hustle immediately, though, stealing second base and then scoring on Mitch Garver’s single.

That was just the start of García’s big night at the plate. He led off the third inning with an opposite-field homer, hit a two-run single in the fourth and then added another homer in the eighth for good measure after the game was already out of reach.

García, who was 10-for-28 (.357) with five homers and an MLB postseason series record 15 RBIs in the series, was an obvious choice for the series MVP award.

García’s path to postseason stardom was a long one. He left Cuba in 2016 and signed with the Cardinals in ’17. He saw limited action in the big leagues with St. Louis in ’18, picking up just two hits in 21 games and was designated for assignment after the ’19 season, at which point the Cardinals traded him to the Rangers for cash considerations.

García played just three games for Texas in 2020, failing to break into an outfield that included Joey Gallo and Nick Solak. Willie Calhoun, the Rangers’ primary DH that season, had an abysmal .491 OPS and still García couldn’t get a shot. When the Rangers signed Mike Foltynewicz in February ’21, Texas designated García for assignment to make room on the roster. He passed through waivers (meaning no team wanted to claim him) and remained in the Rangers’ system. (Foltynewicz posted a 5.44 ERA that season and is now out of baseball.)

The Rangers are lucky no one claimed García when he was DFA’d two years ago. He went on to lead the team in homers and RBIs that season and was named to his first All-Star team. Now, he’s led them to within four wins of their first World Series championship.

The best of Sports Illustrated

The Phillies finally looked mortal in their Game 6 loss.  :: Rob Schumacher/USA TODAY Network

• Ahead of tonight’s season opener, our NBA writers picked the 11 games they’re most looking forward to this season.
• Chris Herring breaks down what Steven Adams’s injury means for the Grizzlies.
• Stephanie Apstein called the Phillies’ loss to the Diamondbacks in Game 6 “the worst performance by a group of people who reside part time in Pennsylvania since Mehmet Oz’s senatorial campaign.”
• Albert Breer spoke with Myles Garrett about being the centerpiece of the Browns’ success this season.
• Breer also spoke with the NFL’s chief media officer about the league’s future plans for streaming games.
• Pat Forde wrote about the dark cloud that has suddenly gathered over Michigan’s dream season, as the Wolverines’ sign-stealing scandal grows larger.
• The 49ers no longer hold the top spot in Connor Orr’s power rankings after last night’s loss to the Vikings.
• Minnesota’s win put the team back in the playoff hunt, Gilberto Manzano writes.
• Astros manager Dusty Baker is reportedly expected to retire.

The top five...

… things I saw last night:

5. Christian McCaffrey’s two touchdowns (one rushing, one receiving) against the Vikings. He’s now scored a TD in 16 straight games.

4. Camryn Bynum’s interception of Brock Purdy and his excellent worm celebration.

3. Jose Altuve’s leadoff single that broke the scoreboard.

2. Notre Dame coach Marcus Freeman’s lighthearted dressing down of a reporter over his flag football play-calling.

1. Fred Warner’s perfectly timed leap over the line of scrimmage to stop a QB sneak.

SIQ

The world’s oldest soccer club was founded on this day in 1857 in which English city?

• Sheffield
• Birmingham
• London
• Cambridge

Yesterday’s SIQ: The Jets pulled off the “Monday Night Miracle” on Oct. 23, 2000, mounting a furious comeback to beat the Dolphins. How many points did New York trail by at the end of the third quarter?

• 18
• 21
• 23
• 26

Answer: 23. It was 30–7 after the Dolphins scored a touchdown with 12 seconds to play in the third. Then the Jets launched a truly unbelievable comeback. They scored on each of the next four possessions (three touchdowns and a field goal) to tie the game at 30.

It looked like Miami might still escape with a victory. Following a long kickoff return, it scored on a 46-yard touchdown pass to take the lead with 3:33 to play. But then Vinny Testaverde led the Jets on a 10-play touchdown drive to tie it again, famously culminating in a three-yard touchdown pass to 300-pound backup offensive tackle Jumbo Elliott with 42 seconds left.

The Dolphins won the overtime coin toss, but the Jets got a stop on defense, and John Hall kicked the game-winning 40-yard field goal for New York. It was a wild game. You can watch the whole thing on the NFL’s YouTube channel.