May 5, 2024
The Texas Rangers overcame injuries to Adolis García and Max Scherzer for a 3-1 victory over the Arizona Diamondbacks and a 2-1 World Series lead.
Now, if Texas is going to close out its first championship, it may have to do so without two of its biggest stars.
García, perhaps the hottest hitter in all of baseball this October, left in the eighth inning Monday night after hurting his left side on a swing. He went to a hospital for an MRI.
“We’re being optimistic there but we’ll know more tomorrow,” Rangers manager Bruce Bochy said.
The AL Championship Series MVP is hitting a team-high .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 is 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.
Scherzer left his Game 3 outing after three innings because of back tightness.
“I’m in full spasm," he said. “It’s locked up pretty good. I’ve had spasms before. The way this kind of goes, tomorrow will be sore, then it’s the second day — the second day will let you know where this is at.”
The 39-year-old Scherzer could be in line to pitch Saturday's Game 7 on regular rest.
Game 4 is Tuesday night in Phoenix. The Diamondbacks will piece things together on the mound with multiple relievers, starting with lefty Joe Mantiply. The Rangers will counter with lefty Andrew Heaney.
UNREAD RED LIGHT
Christian Walker says he never saw third base coach Tony Perezchica's stop sign in the second inning of Game 3, resulting in a costly out at home plate.
“The last time I saw him, he was waving and I never saw the stop sign,” Walker said. “Just probably trying to do too much and should have been more aware.”
Walker got a late break as he waited to see if Tommy Pham’s liner would drop in right field. Wanting to make up ground, he took a last look at Perezchica and put his head down, hoping to make up time with a tight turn around third base.
Perezchica changed his mind and put up a stop sign. Walker never saw it, and Adolis García nailed him with a perfect, 96.4 mph throw.
“Was it a pivotal moment in the game? Absolutely,” Diamondbacks manager Torey Lovullo said. “We talk about making statements and I’m not going to lie, it hurt a little bit.”
DISAPPOINTING RATINGS
Texas’ extra-inning comeback victory over Arizona on Friday night was the least-watched Game 1 recorded in World Series TV history.
The Rangers’ 6-5 win over the Diamondbacks in 11 innings averaged 9.35 million viewers on Fox, Fox Deportes and Fox’s streaming service. The previous low was 9.48 for the opening game in 2020 between the Los Angeles Dodgers and Tampa Bay Rays. That was played during the pandemic, coincidentally in Arlington, Texas.
According to Nielsen, Fox averaged 9.17 million for the game telecast. It is only the sixth World Series game that didn’t attract at least 10 million viewers. The others were the first four games in 2020 and Game 3 in 2008 between Tampa Bay and the Philadelphia Phillies.
Average viewer ratings have been calculated since at least 1969.
ONE HOT KETEL
Ketel Marte has the longest hitting streak in postseason history at 19 games.
The Diamondbacks second baseman walked in his first plate appearance in Game 3 and flied out to left in his second, but he followed with a line-drive single in the sixth that deflected off the glove of second baseman Marcus Semien and went into right-center field.
Marte broke the postseason record with a two-run single in Saturday’s Game 2, pushing his streak to 18 games. His two-out hit was part of a three-run eighth, sending him past Derek Jeter and Hank Bauer of the New York Yankees and Boston’s Manny Ramirez for the longest streak.
IMPRESSIVE COMPANY
Rangers manager Bruce Bochy is trying for his fourth World Series title after winning with San Francisco in 2010, 2012 and 2014. Four championships would tie Walter Alston and Joe Torre for fourth-most behind Joe McCarthy and Casey Stengel (seven each) and Connie Mack (five).
Bochy is tied at three with John McGraw, Miler Huggins, Sparky Anderson and Tony La Russa.
Every other manager with three or more is in the Hall of Fame.
