Rangers Get Crushing Injury Updates on Star Players Before Game 4

Texas Rangers fans were in suspense all day on Tuesday, holding their breath while awaiting injury updates on Max Scherzer and Adolis Garcia. Both players suffered injuries during the Rangers' Game 3 win over the Arizona Diamondbacks and were forced to exit the game early.

Scherzer sustained what he called a "back spasm" and departed after 3 innings. Garcia's injury came later in the game, as he suffered an oblique injury on a swing in the eighth inning.

Texas finally provided some updates on both players shortly before Game 4 on Tuesday night, and unfortunately the news wasn't good.

Rangers Injury Updates

The Rangers announced that both players have been removed from the team's World Series roster and will miss the rest of the Fall Classic due to their injuries.

This news is obviously devastating to Texas, as Garcia and Scherzer are two of the team's best players. Garcia won ALCS MVP honors and has been the Rangers' best hitter this postseason, batting .323/.382/.726 with 8 home runs and 22 RBIs in 15 playoff games so far.

Scherzer, on the other hand, was in the midst of his best start of the postseason before going down. He had thrown 3 scoreless innings in Game 3 and tried to come back out for the fourth but was unable to continue.

These updates are even worse because manager Bruce Bochy had said after Game 3 that he was "optimistic" about the status of both players. Apparently that optimism was misplaced.

Garcia's absence leaves a Texas-sized hole in the middle of the Rangers' lineup, as his bat is irreplaceable. Scherzer would have started Game 7 if the series makes it that far, so Bochy will likely need to use either Dane Dunning, Martin Perez or an opener if it comes to that.

Texas is only two wins away from clinching its first World Series championship in franchise history, so these injuries couldn't have come at a worse time. Unfortunately, the Rangers will now try to finish the job without two critical players.

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