The Texas Rangers won Game 3 of the World Series on Monday night — but the 3-1 victory came at a cost.
Starting pitcher Max Scherzer was lifted after three innings — after he was hit by a combacker in the bottom of the second — while star slugger Adolis Garcia‘s back appeared to tighten him as he hit a fly ball in the eighth. Texas manager Bruce Bochy provided updates on both players as the Rangers took a 2-1 lead in the series over the Arizona Diamondbacks.
Garcia going for an MRI
With two out in the top of the eighth inning, postseason sensation Garcia smoked a fly ball to center field and immediately grabbed at his lower back as he completed his swing. After flying out, Garcia doubled over at first base and was removed from the game, with Travis Jankowski replacing him in right field.
Garcia, a two-time All-Star, left Chase Field in street clothes, and he will undergo further testing to determine the severity of a suspected oblique injury. Bochy told the media that the Rangers will know more in the next 24 hours. Game 4 begins Tuesday night at 5:03 p.m. local time in Phoenix.
What about Scherzer?
Texas‘s pitching plans for Game 4 need to be re-drawn after Scherzer lasted only three innings in Game 3. Tuesday’s projected starter, Jon Gray, had to come on in relief and ended up shutting out Arizona for three innings.
After the game, Scherzer told reporters that his back “locked up” and prevented him from throwing the ball with any effectiveness. The 39-year-old, a future Hall of Fame inductee, had pitched three scoreless innings, allowing two hits and two walks while recording one strikeout.
Both the Rangers and the Diamondbacks will lean heavily on their relief pitchers in Game 4. The starting pitchers — or “openers,” expected to pitch an inning or so — will be Andrew Heaney for Texas and Joe Mantiply for Arizona.
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