Texas Rangers outfielder Adolis Garcia, whose dune bashing prompted a bench clearing, has spoken out about the situation.

Garcia spoke about the situation in the bottom of the eighth inning in an interview following the Rangers’ 4-5 loss to the Houston Astros in Game 5 of the Championship Series at Globe Life Field in Arlington, Texas, on June 21.

Entering the batter’s box with the bases loaded, Garcia collided with opposing catcher Martin Maldonado immediately after opposing pitcher Brian Abreu threw a fastball that flew over his left shoulder on the first pitch.

“The pitch was coming at me and I was just reacting to it,” he said of the incident, which saw him wagging his finger at Maldonado in protest.
“It was a situation where I could have gotten hurt by that pitch, and I told him that this shouldn’t happen,” he said of the words he yelled at Maldonado.

Normally, if a batter feels threatened by a pitch, he’ll lunge at the pitcher. Unusually, however, he got into a fight with the opposing catcher. FOX Sports 1, which broadcast the game, showed footage of the two players clashing before, suggesting that there may have been some personal animosity between them.

“I don’t have anything personal against anybody,” Garcia said. “It was just an overheated situation. I just responded to Sagu. I just reacted to the pitch and then I reacted to him,” he said, making it clear that he had nothing personal against the catcher.

He made a ceremonial throwing of his bat after his game-winning three-run homer in the sixth inning. His eighth-inning shot could be interpreted as retaliation for that gesture.

“We’re in the postseason now,” said Garcia, who said he wasn’t expecting it at all. This is the moment. When you hit a pitch like that in that situation, you have to make a play. If the opponent reacts that way, I don’t think that’s the right way to do it,” he said.

During the bench clearing, the other batter, Jordan Alvarez, tried to calm him down. “He told me to calm down, that he didn’t do it on purpose,” Garcia said. 스포츠토토
Coincidentally, the momentum of the game shifted back in Houston’s favor after the bench cleared. Jose Altuve’s three-run homer in the top of the ninth gave Houston the win.

When asked if he regretted his actions, Garcia replied, “We were always thinking about winning, no matter what happened. Even in that moment, I wanted the team to win, and that’s why I feel bad.”