Coming off a 102-loss season in 2021, Texas Rangers general manager Chris Young splurged a half billion dollars on Los Angeles Dodgers shortstop Corey Seager and Toronto Blue Jays second baseman Marcus Semien. 

Now, with the club a win away from its first World Series title, it all seems worth it.

Texas’ middle infielders combined for two home runs and seven RBIs on Tuesday night in Phoenix, where the Rangers pushed their World Series lead to 3-1 with an 11-7 victory over the Arizona Diamondbacks. 

Not only did Seager homer for the second straight game, but he likely put himself in position to win his second World Series MVP, following the one he earned with the Dodgers in 2020. 

Of course, Texas still needs one more win to make that happen, and that prospect was complicated by Tuesday’s revelation that pitcher Max Scherzer (back) and right fielder Adolis Garcia (oblique) have been scratched from the World Series roster, ending their respective seasons. 

The Rangers recorded a 11-7 win over the Arizona Diamondbacks in Game 4 of the World Series

The Rangers recorded a 11-7 win over the Arizona Diamondbacks in Game 4 of the World Series

Texas Rangers' Marcus Semien, right, celebrates his three-run home run with Jonah Heim

Texas Rangers’ Marcus Semien, right, celebrates his three-run home run with Jonah Heim

Without a fresh starting pitcher at his disposal, Diamondbacks manager Torey Lovullo opted instead for an ‘opener’ on Tuesday, putting reliever Joe Mantiply on the hill to begin the game.

The decision worked for one inning before Mantiply surrendered a leadoff double to rookie third baseman Josh Jung in the top of the second.

Then, after Mantiply struck out Nathaniel Lowe, Lovullo pulled the southpaw in favor of Miguel Castro, who surrendered a wild pitch, scoring Jung.

Texas center fielder Leody Taveras followed with a walk, Travis Jankowski knocked an RBI-single, and then Semien broke the game open with a two-run triple to left for the 3-0 lead.

Kyle Nelson came on in relief on Castro, only to surrender a home run to Seager, putting Texas up 5-0. For Seager, who was named 2020 World Series MVP with the Dodgers, it was his third home run of the Fall Classic. 

And the Rangers weren’t done there.

After scoring five runs in the second, Texas did so again in the third on Jankowski’s two-run double and a three-run homer by Semien to push the lead to 10-0. 

Catcher Jonah Heim added a home run of his own in the eighth to push the lead to 11-1. 

Corey Seager (right) shakes Semien's hand after hitting a two-run homer in the second

Corey Seager (right) shakes Semien’s hand after hitting a two-run homer in the second

Seager celebrates with teammates in the dugout after hitting a home run in the second inning

Seager celebrates with teammates in the dugout after hitting a home run in the second inning

The Diamondbacks’ bats weren’t entirely quiet.

Lourdes Gurriel Jr.’s eighth-inning homer plated three runs and cut Texas’ lead to 11-5.

Catcher Gabriel Moreno would add a two-out, two-run single in the bottom of the ninth to cut the lead to 11-7. 

Of course, the news wasn’t all good for Texas on Tuesday. 

Slugger Adolis García and pitcher Max Scherzer will miss the remainder of the World Series, the Rangers revealed ahead of Game 4. 

García, the AL Championship Series MVP, has a moderate strain of his left oblique. Scherzer, who had been in line to pitch a possible Game 7, has a muscle spasm on the right side of his back.

They were replaced on the active roster by infielder/outfielder Ezequiel Durán and left-hander Brock Burke before Game 4.

‘They’ve worked their entire lives to be on this stage and be in this moment and they’ve both suffered injuries that are going to take them out of that,’ Rangers general manager Chris Young said. ‘I have great empathy for them in terms of that.’

García grabbed his left side while coming out of the batter’s box on his flyout against Luis Frías in the eighth inning Monday.

‘Adolis did everything he could today,’ Young said. ‘He came in, was the first guy in today. He got as much treatment as possible. He went down to the cage and gave it a go, and it was very clear he was in pain. It’s not something that’s going to get any better over the next five to seven days. I think it would be a more significant timeline if this were the regular season. Made the decision pretty easy.’

García hit .323 in the postseason with eight homers and a major league-record 22 RBIs, one more than David Freese had for the 2011 St. Louis Cardinals. García was 3 for 10 in the World Series with two RBIs, including an 11th-inning home run off Miguel Castro that gave Texas a 6-5 win in Friday’s opener. He also threw out Christian Walker at the plate from right field in Game 3.

The two-time All-Star batted .357 with five homers and 15 RBIs in the ALCS against Houston, a big league record for RBIs in one postseason series. He homered in five straight games, tied for the second-longest streak in postseason history, before going 0 for 3 with a walk in Game 2 of the World Series.

Travis Jankowski started in right field and was in the No. 9 slot in the batting order Tuesday after replacing García in the eighth inning of Game 3. Jankowski hit .263 with one homer and 30 RBIs in his first season with the Rangers.

‘Travis has had a really nice year for us in his role,’ manager Bruce Bochy said. ‘Got pressed into a starting role there for a while when we had our injuries and really picked us up when we needed it. Solid all around. Smart player. Good defender. Speed. He’s a guy that can handle the bat. He can bunt. He does a good job putting the ball in play.’

Mitch Garver moved from fifth to third in the order, where García had been. Josh Jung moved from eighth to fifth, and Nathaniel Lowe moved from seventh to sixth, flipping with Jung. Leody Taveras moved up to eighth.

Durán last played on September 29 and Burke faced three batters in Game 2 of the Division Series on October 8.

Scherzer left Game 3 after three innings. Asked after the game whether he was taking a muscle relaxant or something stronger, Scherzer responded: ‘All of the above.’

‘He received a full day of treatment and there was no progress,’ Young said. ‘Our medical team has extreme concern in terms of his ability to recover over the next few days.’

The Diamondbacks are now only one game away from losing the series after falling behind 3-1

The Diamondbacks are now only one game away from losing the series after falling behind 3-1

Acquired from the New York Mets on July 30, Scherzer strained a muscle in his right shoulder on September 12 and returned to make two starts in the AL Championship Series against Houston, going 0-1 with a 9.45 ERA. He allowed five runs over four innings and took the loss in Game 3, then gave up two runs in 2 2/3 innings in a no-decision in Game 7.

He was pitching Monday with a cut on his right thumb covered with cotton and Super Glue, what he termed Sunday as ‘a little arts and crafts in the training room.’

Scherzer is 1-0 with a 3.72 ERA in four World Series starts, getting a no-decision for Detroit against San Francisco in 2012’s Game 4, winning the 2019 opener for Washington at Houston and getting a no-decision in the Game 7 win that year after getting scratched from a scheduled Game 5 start because of an irritated nerve near his neck.

‘He’s honest, he’s open and he’s authentic,’ Young said. ‘He gives us as much information as he possibly can provide, and wants us to make the best decision. But he doesn’t fight once the decision’s made. He understands that we try to do what’s best for the team. He understood completely.’

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Post source: Daily mail

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