Rangers fans in shambles as Adolis Garcia and Max Scherzer get ruled out for the rest of the World Series: "A cursed franchise"
Texas Rangers fans held their breath after outfielder Adolis Garcia appeared to leave Game 3 of the World Series on Monday night. After tests have returned conclusive results, the worst fears of the fanbase have now been confirmed.
The injury to Garcia occurred in the eighth inning when the 30-year-old hit a routine flyball to center field. Subsequent MRI tests determined that Garcia had suffered from an oblique strain and would miss the remainder of the Fall Classic.
"Ezequiel Duran to Replace Adolis García and Brock Burke to Replace Max Scherzer for the Remainder of the World Series" - Bob Nightengale
Upon hearing the news, Texas Rangers fans were cast into a state of despair. The Cuban defector has been, by far, the best hitter for his team this October. Losing his bat, as Rangers fans know, will have some knock-on effects with respect to the team being able to close up the series.
With eight home runs and 22 RBIs, Adolis Garcia leads all players in the 2023 postseason. His five home runs and 15 RBIs during his team's valiant ALCS performance against the Houston Astros also earned Garcia MVP honors for that series, which resulted in the Rangers clinching their first World Series appearance since 2011.
As if Garcia's injury was not bad enough, Rangers fans also had to contend with the fact that pitching ace Max Scherzer will also be unavailable. The 39-year-old veteran pitcher will miss the remainder of the postseason with back problems and will see his roster slot filled by Brock Burke.
Although the Rangers still enjoy a 2-1 series lead over the Arizona Diamondbacks, losing a player like Scherzer, and especially Garcia, is bound to have some adverse consequences. The Rangers will look to make it 3-1 in the series behind Andrew Heaney as Game 4 kicks off in the desert on Tuesday night.
Adolis Garcia absence will force Rangers to get creative
While the Texas Rangers have enjoyed contributions from all parts of their order, Adolis Garcia was the straw that stirred the drink. In his absence, manager Bruce Bochy will need to move his productive bats around in a way that mitigates the gaping hole in the center of Texas' new batting lineup.
Hitherto largely untouched by the injury virus, the Rangers are getting pummeled at a late and very inconvenient stage. However, it is at this late and critical stage of the season that the real contenders are separated from the pretenders.