Just one game into this year's Fall Classic, Texas Rangers outfielder Adolis García made history.
García pulled an RBI single to left in the first inning, giving his team an early 2-0 lead over the Arizona Diamondbacks in Game 1 of the World Series. That tied García for the most RBI in a single postseason in MLB history with 21, putting him alongside only David Freese in the baseball record books.
Ten innings later, he broke Freese's record and won his team the game with one swing of the bat.
García stepped up to the plate with one out in the 11th, two innings after shortstop Corey Seager forced extras with a two-run shot in the ninth. García crushed a walk off solo home run to right that brought Game 1 to an end and gave him his 22nd RBI of the playoffs.
García entered Friday tied for second all-time on the leaderboards with Seager, who had 20 RBI en route to a World Series win with the Los Angeles Dodgers in 2020.
Freese had 21 RBI in the 2011 playoffs, which culminated in his St. Louis Cardinals defeating the Rangers in the World Series. Of course, it took Freese until Game 7 of the World Series to drive in that many runs, while García did it in Game 1. Freese needed 71 plate appearances to reach that mark, compared to García's 55.
García won ALCS MVP after going 10-for-28 with five home runs and a single-series record 15 RBI versus the Houston Astros. His ALDS against the Baltimore Orioles was nearly as impressive, as he went 5-for-14 with one home run, four RBI and a 1.000 OPS. García went 2-for-10 with a solo home run in the AL Wild Card Series against the Tampa Bay Rays.
In addition to his early RBI single and late homer on Friday night, García also recorded a walk in the third, a leadoff single in the eighth and a hit-by-pitch in the ninth. He is now batting .357 with eight home runs and an 1.204 OPS so far this postseason.
García has at least three more games to build upon his single-postseason RBI record. Game 2 is scheduled to get underway Saturday at 8:03 p.m. ET.
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