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Texas Rangers win to take 2-1 World Series lead

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Clock IconOct 31, 2023Baseball

Corey Seager's two-run homer helped the Texas Rangers withstand a pair of key injuries and regain the upper hand in the World Series with Monday's historic 3-1 win over the Arizona Diamondbacks in Game 3.

Texas bounced back from a 9-1 home loss in Saturday's Game 2 to take a 2-1 lead in the best-of-seven Fall Classic and become the first team in MLB history with nine consecutive road victories in a single post-season. The Rangers, now 9-0 away from home in these playoffs, had shared the record with the 1996 New York Yankees and 2019 Washington Nationals.

The Rangers prevailed despite both star pitcher Max Scherzer and slugger Adolis Garcia exiting Game 3 with injuries. Scherzer left after three innings with back tightness, while Garcia departed in the eighth after appearing to hurt his left side on a swing in his final at-bat.

Scherzer left with a 3-0 lead after Texas scored all of its runs in the top of the third inning. Nathaniel Lowe led off the frame with a double off Arizona starter Brandon Pfaadt and scored on Marcus Semien's two-out single before Seager launched a long home run into the right-field seats.

The Diamondbacks didn't score until the eighth, when pinch-hitter Emmanuel Rivera doubled off Aroldis Chapman and Geraldo Perdomo followed with an RBI single. Chapman prevented further damage, however, by striking out Corbin Carroll and getting Ketel Marte to hit into an inning-ending double play Seager started with a sliding grab on a hard ball hit to the standout shortstop.

Jose Leclerc then retired Arizona in order in the ninth to record his fourth save of the post-season.

Garcia, whose 22 RBIs in these playoffs are an MLB record, also came through with a defensive gem before leaving, as the right fielder delivered a perfect throw to the plate in the second inning to nail Christian Walker attempting to score on a single by Tommy Pham.

Scherzer held the Diamondbacks to two hits and walked two before exiting after 36 pitches. Jon Gray relieved the three-time Cy Young winner and yielded just one hit over three scoreless innings to earn the win.

Pfaadt lasted 5 1/3 innings and was charged with all three Texas runs along with four hits.

The Diamondbacks managed just six hits, including a sixth-inning single by Marte that extended the second baseman's postseason-record hitting streak to 19 games.