García speech fuels Rangers' Game 4 win: 'Hit us right in the heart'

The Texas Rangers received extra motivation before Tuesday's Game 4 win in the World Series courtesy of outfielder Adolis García, who delivered an emotional speech to inform teammates he'd no longer play in the Fall Classic because of an injury.

"He's been our MVP all postseason," catcher Jonah Heim said, according to MLB.com's Kennedi Landry. "What he said was emotional, and it hit us right in the heart and gave us a little bit extra something to play for today. I think tonight was a good example of us rallying around him.

"Everyone's important. Obviously, you never want to see a player of García's caliber go down out of the lineup and miss the rest of the World Series. But we have to get on and still play the game, and I think (Travis Jankowski) did a tremendous job of filling in for him, and the lineup picked up the slack."

García and Rangers starter Max Scherzer were removed from the World Series roster after sustaining injuries during Game 3. The Rangers outfielder was in the midst of a sensational postseason, hitting .323/.382/.726 with eight home runs and 22 RBIs in 15 playoff games.

The Rangers didn't miss a beat without García in the Game 4 lineup, scoring 11 runs against the Arizona Diamondbacks, including 10 through the first three innings. Marcus Semien and Corey Seager led the charge, going a combined 4-for-10 with two homers and seven RBIs.

Seager noted García's heartfelt speech provided extra incentive for the Rangers to play well.

"That took a lot of guts for him to come out there and speak," Seager said, according to The Associated Press. "He was vulnerable. He wants to be out there. He told us he loved us."

Game 5 of the World Series starts Wednesday at 8:03 p.m. Texas could secure its first title with a win.