The Texas Rangers had Friday night's game against the Seattle Mariners in the bag. Bruce Bochy's team took a 3-2 lead into the ninth inning on the road. Robert Garcia, who has been Texas' closer, came in to get the final three outs. However, he imploded, giving up a single and then a walk-off home run to J.P. Crawford. The loss only piled onto Texas' misfortune this weekend.
Garcia has four blown saves this season, a number that matches his total from 2024, which was a career high. His 1-6 record is also concerning for a closer with just nine saves on the season so far. The southpaw has struggled to shut games down in the final inning, which has played a part in the fact that his team has hovered around the .500 mark all season long.
Bochy is in the final year of his contract. Because of that, Rangers president of baseball operations Chris Young wanted the team to go all-in at the trade deadline. While Texas did not sell pieces like Adolis Garcia, the additions the team made were not major. Instead, the Rangers were one of the few teams that stood pat for the most part. That indecision saw them lose out on relievers.
After Garcia's poor outing, questions began to arise about his effectiveness. According to Rangers beat reporter Evan Grant, Bochy is not considering changing Garcia's role in his bullpen.
“It sounded to me like: ‘This is our guy; there aren't other options,'” Grant said about Bochy's response.
While Garcia's struggles are not the only weak point on Texas' roster; it is a big one. Crawford's walk-off home run gave the Mariners a two-game lead over the Rangers for the final American League Wild Card playoff spot. At this point in the season, every single matchup against contending teams counts double for each side.
The Mariners also trail the Houston Astros by 3.5 games in the AL West division race.
Garcia and Texas have a chance to get two games back this weekend. However, Garcia's struggles at the end of close games is something to monitor. If he does not have a reliable closer, making the postseason is much more difficult for Bochy.
