Rangers Wow MLB Fans in World Series Win vs. D-Backs amid Scherzer, García Injuries

The Texas Rangers lost starting pitcher Max Scherzer after just three innings due to back tightness on Monday night during Game 2 of the World Series, while slugger Adolis García exited in the eighth inning with left side tightness. Oh, and they were on the road.

They won anyway.

Marcus Semien and Corey Seager handled the offense, Jon Gray and the rest of the bullpen arms were spectacular and the Rangers earned a 3-1 victory over the Arizona Diamondbacks in what could have been a very tough night for the AL champions.

Semien opened the scoring with a second-inning single, while Seager stretched the lead to three with a two-run blast in the third:

The pair also turned a nifty double play to end a hairy eighth inning:

MLB pundits and fans alike gave them their flowers for those clutch moments:

And then there was Gray.

The pitcher made another superb bullpen appearance on Monday, giving up just one hit while striking out three. He helped lock down the middle innings after Scherzer was forced to leave the game.

"It's never easy in a moment like that," Gray said of replacing Scherzer during the Fox broadcast. "It's just a moment to pick up the guys, come in and not let that turn into something bad for us. Really fill up the zone and attack, that's what we did."

He did indeed, throwing 25 strikes in just 30 pitches while leaving everyone who watched the game impressed:

Gray—who was also spectacular in a Game 1 relief appearance, going 1.2 innings while giving up just one hit and striking out four—went from potentially starting Game 4 to an emergency appearance in Game 3. He couldn't have handled it much better.

The Rangers' bullpen was excellent in general on Monday night—a welcome development after a rocky regular season—as Josh Sborz, Aroldis Chapman and José Leclerc combined to give up just one run in the final three innings to preserve the victory.

It was a crucial win. But the Scherzer injury has left the Rangers pitching staff with some serious questions to answer.

Who will start Game 4 now? Will the Rangers be forced into what would essentially be a second straight bullpen game? If Scherzer is done for this series and it goes to seven games, who will start that decisive contest?

Perhaps even more importantly, is García's World Series over? He's been absolutely amazing for the Rangers in its current run, with eight homers and 22 RBI this postseason. His loss would be devastating.

So while the Rangers won the battle in Game 3, the odds may be even further stacked against them in the war after Monday's injuries.