Adolis Garcia reflects on the hit-by-pitch and bench-clearing incident vs Astros in ALCS game 5: "In this situation we’re playing, that’s not fine”

Texas Rangers slugger Adolis Garcia has opened up about his altercation with Houston Astros catcher Martin Maldonado in Game 5 of their American League Championship Series. Garcia was struck by a Bryan Abreu fastball on the arm and mouthed off to Maldonado in response.

The incident incited a bench-clearing brawl which ultimately led to a comeback from the Astros, who took a 3-2 lead in the ALCS.

On Friday night, Garcia hit a three-run homer off Justin Verlander to give the Rangers the lead. However, in his next at-bat, he was struck by a fastball on his arm and reacted by squaring up to Astros catcher Martin Maldonado. While both the teams got involved in the follow-up, Garcia was one of the players ejected in the aftermath.

Speaking to the media after the game, he opened up on what he said to the Houston catcher:

“I don’t know what the intention was. I felt that could have been worse, and I just reacted. I told [Maldonado] that wasn’t right. In this situation we’re playing, that’s not fine.”

Adolis Garcia started his MLB career in 2017 when he signed with the St. Louis Cardinals after making the move from Cuba. After failing to make an impression and being designated for assignment at the end of 2019, he was traded to the Texas Rangers. In 2021, Garcia had a breakout season and has grown into one of the main players for the Rangers.

Martin Maldonado responds to exchange with Adolis Garcia

While Adolis Garcia has cleared the air about what he said to Martin Maldonado, the Houston catcher has also given his response to the incident. The Texas Rangers slugger was arguably right to be upset about the pitch but Maldonado believes that his reaction only made the Astros stronger:

"The worst thing he did was wake up the Houston Astros."

With the Astros picking up wind and taking a lead in the series after going 2-0 down, they are only a win away from making a return to the World Series. As the tension builds between the two teams, Game 6 promises to be another action-packed contest.