PHOENIX — Corey Seager smashed a homer that rocketed off his bat at a speed few other mortals can match. Then he made a sliding stop and started a double play in the eighth inning that might have saved the game.
The star shortstop is once again playing at a different level in October.
That’s good for the Texas Rangers, who may need more of those individual heroics after a costly victory put them ahead in this World Series.
Seager clubbed a two-run homer and turned in a terrific defensive play, Max Scherzer combined with four relievers for a gem on the mound and Texas beat the Arizona Diamondbacks 3-1 on Monday night to take a 2-1 lead in the Fall Classic.
“This is what you play for. This is where you want to be at this moment,” said Seager, the NLCS and World Series MVP for the Los Angeles Dodgers in 2020. “Fortunately for me, having experience with this, it’s always driven me. I’ve been fortunate enough to be part of some good teams and experience these things.”
Texas overcame injuries to Scherzer and slugger Adolis García in improving to 9-0 on the road this postseason, this time in front of more than 48,000 fans at Chase Field.
The 29-year-old Seager — in the second year of a $325 million contract — once again showed he was worth every penny on the game’s biggest stage.
He smoked a two-run homer into the right-field seats as part of a three-run third after Diamondbacks rookie starter Brandon Pfaadt left a first-pitch changeup high in the zone. The ball left Seager’s bat at 114.5 mph, which made it the hardest-hit World Series homer in the Statcast era, dating back to 2015.
García cut down Christian Walker at the plate with a stellar throw from right field in the second, stifling some early Arizona momentum. García exited in the eighth with tightness on his left side after appearing to get hurt on a swing. He went to a hospital for an MRI to determine the severity of the injury.
Scherzer threw three scoreless innings before leaving with back tightness. Jon Gray, Josh Sborz, Aroldis Chapman and José Leclerc combined to keep Arizona’s offense quiet most of the evening.
Scherzer said he was having back spasms and would know more about his availability for a potential Game 7 over the next 48 hours.
“It’s tough. We’re a deep group. We’ll see what happens with both of those guys,” Texas second baseman Marcus Semien said about the injuries. “Adolis has been the heart and soul of our team. Hopefully it’s nothing too bad. But we’re a deep group. We have some guys that haven’t been playing that are pretty good players, too.”
Gray replaced Scherzer and fired three shutout innings of one-hit ball for the win. Leclerc struck out two in a perfect ninth for his fourth save this postseason.
“Just staying ready … and just waiting on that call. I knew it was going to happen eventually,” said Gray, a veteran starter who recently returned from injury. “To be able to come in now and do a really good job, it feels amazing.”
Game 4 in the best-of-seven Series is Tuesday at Chase Field.
The D-backs rallied in the eighth when pinch-hitter Emmanuel Rivera led off with a double against Chapman. Geraldo Perdomo followed with an RBI single, making it 3-1. But then Chapman worked out of the jam — striking out Corbin Carroll before Seager started a clutch double play, sliding on his knees to field a hot smash from Ketel Marte before flipping to Semien, who relayed to first.