Mitch Garver took advantage of his opportunity, and now the Rangers are in control

BALTIMORE — Mitch Garver held his two-handed finish, watched the ball sail into the afternoon sky, then let his black bat fall to the ground.

On third base, Leody Taveras raised his arms. On second base, Marcus Semien turned, shuffled and watched the ball sail over the wall. As Garver began his jog toward first, the baseball crashed into a sea of orange and black 419 feet away. A raucous Baltimore crowd was hushed, and the Texas Rangers went up 9-2.

The Orioles entered the postseason as darlings. Now, after only two games, the Rangers have them on the ropes.

Garver’s third-inning grand slam — joining him with Nelson Cruz as the only two Rangers in franchise history to hit a postseason grand slam — was the most devastating blow in the 11-8 Rangers victory in Game 2 of the American League Division Series.

And listening to manager Bruce Bochy describe it after the game, the big swing almost felt preordained, the sage manager with three World Series rings pushing one more button that ended up making the difference.

“I made up my mind two or three days ago,” Bochy said of playing Garver. “I told him, ‘I’ll get you in the mix here.’ He’s done such a good job for us. It’s not right not to have him involved.”

MITCH GARVER GRAND SLAM TO BREAK IT OPEN FOR THE RANGERS!

The new wall at Camden Yards couldn’t stop this bomb 💣

🎥 @MLBONFOX | @Rangers pic.twitter.com/DW2JxkWqTs

— The Athletic (@TheAthletic) October 8, 2023

Despite an .870 OPS in 87 games, Garver had not played since the Rangers’ regular-season finale Oct. 1. He knew Bochy wanted to get him in a game soon. He just wasn’t positive when it would come.

“There were rumblings about me being in the lineup today,” Garver said. “But it was never for certain.”

Meanwhile, the Rangers had been scuffling at the No. 3 spot in their order. Texas’ No. 3 hitters combined for a 65 wRC+ since the start of September. Switch hitter Robbie Grossman had hit third in Texas’ previous three postseason games. And though the Rangers won them all, Grossman was just 2-for-14 with eight strikeouts and a walk. The Rangers were leaving too many runners on the bases, and something had to change.

Bochy finally made the move Sunday. He penciled the powerful hitter into his order, perhaps a move that was past due. Garver, though, talked of trusting the lineup no matter how it’s configured. He had batted third only twice during the regular season.

“I think the decisions he makes when it comes to the bullpen and the lineup, no one can argue with him, based off his résumé,” Garver said. “It’s hard to read the emotion on him because sometimes it looks like he’s folded up in a lawn chair watching the game. But we trust his decisions and how he manages the game.”

Sunday, Garver seized his chance and delivered in a big way. His grand slam left the bat at 107.5 mph and cleared the mighty left-field wall at Camden Yards.

From a distance, it seemed as though the ball was in the air forever. On the field, the perspective was different.

“Left field here is so deep, but when he hit it, I knew it was gone,” Semien said. “That just tells you how hard he hit it.”

Many things came together for the Rangers in Game 2. Despite a rocky start from Jordan Montgomery, their offense powered them ahead. Left-hander Cody Bradford pitched 3 2/3 innings of needed relief. Corey Seager walked five times, a postseason record. And Garver reminded everyone how good he can be when he’s right.

To this point in the catcher’s career, he has suffered more than his share of injuries. Concussion symptoms, a high-ankle sprain, a right intercostal strain, a groin contusion, lower-back tightness and flexor tendon surgery have all sent him to the injured list in his professional career. He missed almost two months earlier this season with a left knee sprain.

Once a member of the Minnesota Twins, he was cast off in favor of Ryan Jeffers, largely because of his injury woes. Only once has the catcher played more than 100 games.

When Garver has been healthy, though, his bat can be devastating. He averages 30 home runs per 162 games over the course of his career. He homered 19 times in only 296 at-bats this season.

“At times, he was carrying us,” Bochy said.

Bochy chose Sunday to write Garver’s name in the lineup card largely because the Rangers were facing hard-throwing Orioles rookie Grayson Rodriguez. Garver handles velocity well and had a run value of 10 against fastballs this season.

Garver struck out in his first at-bat against Rodriguez. In his second, he tapped a changeup down the first-base line. Rodriguez fielded the ball but failed to make a strong throw to first. Garver reached with a single and scored Taveras from third.

“He came up big earlier with that swinging bunt,” Bochy deadpanned after the game. “Speed showed up there.”

In Garver’s third at-bat — after the Rangers bludgeoned Rodriguez out of the game after only 1 2/3 innings — he faced Baltimore reliever Jacob Webb. Ahead in the count 3-1, he received a 94.2 mph fastball at the top of the zone, a pitch that seemed predestined to meet the force of Garver’s bat.

“I was looking for the fastball, and I was able to get it,” Garver said. “I think it’s just a big momentum push for our whole team. We needed all those runs today.”

After a series in Anaheim, four games in Seattle, a 5 1/2-hour flight to Tampa Bay and two punishing wins in Baltimore, the Rangers are finally going home. They are doing so with a 2-0 series lead and the chance to advance.

“These playoff games,” Garver said, “one swing can change it.”

(Photo: Patrick Smith / Getty Images)