The Texas Rangers overcame the loss of starting pitcher Max Scherzer to injury to beat the Arizona Diamondbacks 3-1 in Phoenix and take a 2-1 lead in the best-of-seven World Series.
Corey Seager’s two-run homer put Texas in control at 3-0 in the third inning.
Scherzer was soon forced off with a back problem, but the Rangers held on to set a new post-season record of nine consecutive victories on the road.
Game four on Tuesday evening again takes place at Chase Field.
Having posted nine runs in game two on Saturday, the Diamondbacks batters struggled to draw any home field advantage as the series moved.
They missed a golden opportunity when Christian Walker led off the bottom of the second inning with a double.
However, Walker then charged for home on a base hit from Tommy Pham, despite the third-base coach signalling to him to stop at third, and Walker was thrown out at home plate by a terrific throw from Adolis Garcia in right field.
Texas went ahead in the third when Nathaniel Lowe doubled and was batted in by Marcus Semien, and off the very next pitch, shortstop Seager lashed a two-run shot over right field.
Scherzer had to leave the game after three innings with tightness in his back, having been hit by a line drive earlier on.
While the Rangers stranded several baserunners attempting to stretch their lead, more concerning for them was the sight of star slugger Garcia clutching his side and hobbling off after flying out to centre field in the top of the eighth inning.
The Diamondbacks finally got on the scoreboard in the bottom of the eighth as Geraldo Perdomo drove in pinch-hitter Emmanuel Rivera with no outs, but a contested double play call snuffed out the rally, and Rangers closer Jose Leclerc retired the side in the ninth.
Game four’s pitching match-up could now be interesting – with both teams likely to opt for a ‘bullpen game’ rather than utilise a conventional starter.
Having announced Jon Gray as their game four starter, the Rangers had to ask him to throw three innings in relief after Scherzer’s injury, while the Diamondbacks, having struggled for a reliable fourth starter in the postseason, were already planning a bullpen game for Tuesday.
| Game 1: Texas 6-5 Arizona | Game 5 (Arizona): Wed 1 Nov |
| Game 2: Texas 1-9 Arizona | Game 6* (Texas): Fri 3 Nov |
| Game 3: Arizona 1-3 Texas | Game 7* (Texas): Sat 4 Nov |
| Game 4 (Arizona): Tue 31 Oct | *if required |
