The Mariners defied the odds Saturday night, storming back from an 8-1 deficit after five innings to defeat the Blue Jays, 10-9, in Game 2 of the American League Wild Card Series.
In clinching a two-game sweep and advancing to face the Astros in the AL Division Series, Seattle joined an exclusive postseason club. Only four teams had previously climbed back from at least six runs down to win a playoff game.
Here is a look at those breathtaking comebacks, the biggest in postseason history.
1. A’s, 1929 World Series Game 4
Down 8-0 in 7th, beat Cubs 10-8
Philadelphia had won the first two games of the Fall Classic, but Chicago got one back and then jumped out to a big lead in Game 4 at Philly’s Shibe Park, threatening to even the series. Kiki Cuyler’s RBI single made it 7-0 heading into the bottom of the seventh.
But the A’s didn’t fold, finally getting to Cubs starter Charlie Root when Hall of Famer Al Simmons led off with a home run. Five of the next six batters singled, making it an 8-4 game and knocking out Root. Mule Haas then greeted reliever Art Nehf with a three-run, inside-the-park homer to make things really interesting. By the time Jimmy Dykes smacked a go-ahead two-run double to give the A’s a 10-8 lead, the Cubs were on their fourth pitcher of the inning. The 10-run frame remains tied for the second-biggest in postseason history.
Hall of Famer Lefty Grove shut down the Cubs over the final two innings for the save, and Philadelphia clinched its championship in Game 5.
2 (tie). Mariners, 2022 AL Wild Card Series Game 2
Down 8-1 in 6th, beat Blue Jays 10-9
This was a Mariners team that went 20 seasons without playing a single postseason game, building the longest active playoff drought in the sport. So when Seattle finally claimed a Wild Card spot, it would have been easy to adopt a “just happy to be here” mindset. So much for that.
After jumping out to an early lead and holding on to win Game 1 of the best-of-three series in Toronto, the Mariners fell into a cavernous hole in Game 2, thanks in part to two Teoscar Hernández homers. But Seattle was not deterred, finally tying the score with a four-run eighth. The key play was a two-out, bases-loaded pop fly off the bat of JP Crawford that dropped and brought home three runs when the Blue Jays’ Bo Bichette and George Springer crashed into each other in the outfield. Adam Frazier delivered the go-ahead RBI double in the ninth, and rookie starter George Kirby came in to nail down the save and send Seattle to the ALDS.
2 (tie). Red Sox, 2008 ALCS Game 5
Down 7-0 in the 7th, won 8-7
Facing a seven-run deficit in the seventh inning and on the brink of elimination, the Red Sox electrified Fenway Park with a stirring comeback against Tampa Bay. mr. Clutch for Boston, David Ortiz, smashed a three-run homer in a four-run seventh, and JD Drew launched a two-run shot in a three-run eighth that pulled the Sox even. Drew’s heroics were just beginning — he delivered a walk-off single in the bottom of the ninth to lift the Red Sox into Game 6. Boston won that game as well, but fell in Game 7.
4 (tie). Yankees, 1996 World Series Game 4
Down 6-0 in 5th, won 8-6 (10 innings)
The Yankees found themselves down two games to none in their first World Series appearance in 15 years, but beat the Braves in Game 3 at Atlanta-Fulton County Stadium before falling into a 6-0 hole by the fifth inning of Game 4. Undeterred, New York started chipping away in the sixth, scoring three times in that frame before Jim Leyritz belted a three-run, game-tying homer in the eighth. The Yanks staged a two-out rally in the 10th, taking advantage of Steve Avery’s loss of command and sloppy Braves defense. That proved to be the difference and the Yankees never looked back, winning a pair of one-run games to win the World Series in six games.
4 (tie). Dodgers, 1956 World Series Game 2
Down 6-0 in 2nd, won 13-8
The Yankees jumped out to a six-run lead by the second inning at Ebbets Field thanks in large part to a Yogi Berra grand slam in the second. But Brooklyn answered immediately with a six-run bottom of the second to tie the game and the slugfest was on. The Dodgers only needed three extra-base hits in the contest — a pair of Gil Hodges doubles and a two-run homer by Duke Snider in the second — to erase the deficit and win by five. Brooklyn lost the series, however, in seven games, unable to repeat as champions after defeating the Yankees the previous October.
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