A brief moment of joy.


Adolis Garcia steals home in the ninth inning.

Every once in a while, baseball shows back up to remind you of how wonderful it can be.

It showed up in the top of the ninth inning yesterday in Baltimore. The Rangers had one of those comebacks that remind of how much we are going to miss this game once the long off-season begins. Or, once the playoffs start, it will remind us of what good baseball is once again.

Down 5-3, looking dead, Texas took advantage of a horrible Baltimore bullpen, and just kept piling on in the most joyous fashion.

A triple followed by a sac fly followed by a bunt single, a regular single, then a walk, and suddenly the Rangers were down just one run with bases loaded.

But Rangers fans have seen this baseball too often this year.

A double play grounder ends it and the Rangers go away with another frustrating loss and another blown opportunity.

Only, that didn’t happen for once. 

Adolis Garcia, fighting for a Rookie of the Year award, with two strikes on him, doubled, putting the Rangers up 6-5. An intentional walk followed to load the bases again. A ground out scored the seventh run, putting Garcia on third.

So, Garcia decided to go ahead and steal home.

What had been a 5-3 deficit turned into an 8-5 victory.

On the strength of that ninth inning, Adolis Garcia might have just carved his name on the Rookie of the Year award.

Welcome back baseball. If only for one brief, fleeting moment. You will be missed. You have been missed.

*****
TODAY’S GAME: