“He's been extremely valuable,” manager Skip Schumaker said of Garcia’s return. “We missed him for four months, and it's been hard to figure out some of these leverage innings without Garcia. We planned on him. We planned on a couple guys that have been hurt. We didn't know where we were going to get help, and for him to do what he's been doing has been extremely valuable. … I'm not really sure what it's going to look like -- well, I have an idea -- later in the game or if it's earlier in the game, but he's going to be used one way or the other in leverage.”
The lefty had a 3.38 ERA with three earned runs over eight innings, and a .185 opponent batting average in nine relief appearances before landing on the injured list. But even back then, Garcia didn’t quite have the control or command he typically displayed. He walked seven of the 34 batters he faced this season, only striking out six.
Since his return, he’s struck out four and walked none.
“He's done a lot of work in Arizona in these pitching labs and with our pitching group to get back to where he was, which is a really effective reliever, throwing strikes with every pitch,” Schumaker said. “His changeup is absolutely filthy, and he's throwing 95 miles an hour right now. So getting back into the zone is key. But he has stuff to strike guys out with, and that's why you put him in those spots. He's got real stuff.”
