Cleveland found the narrowest path through October and took it all the way to the American League Championship Series. The Guardians beat the White Sox, 2-0, in Saturday’s Game 5, turning an 0-2 Division Series deficit into a date with the Rays.
In a best-of-five set, there is little room to breathe after dropping the first two. Yet Cleveland became the latest club to show that the early hole, while daunting, does not end a postseason run.
Quick facts
- The Guardians erased an 0-2 series deficit against the White Sox.
- Cleveland won the deciding Game 5 by a 2-0 score.
- The Guardians now move on to face the Rays in the AL Championship Series.
- Eleven teams have recovered from two losses to none to win a five-game postseason series.
- Seven of those clubs won the fifth game at home, while four closed the comeback on the road.
The present Division Series arrangement is 2-2-1: one ballpark hosts Games 1, 2 and, if needed, Game 5, while the other gets Games 3 and 4. That setup has changed through the years, which matters when looking back at the comeback clubs.
From 1995 through 1997, and again in 2012, Division Series were played under a 2-3 format. League Championship Series also used that format before the round grew to seven games in 1985. In 2020, the Division Series retained 2-2-1 home-team designations, although every game was played at neutral sites.
Giants turned Cincinnati around in 2012
San Francisco’s 2012 rally came with three straight games available in Cincinnati because of that 2-3 alignment. The Reds could not turn the home-heavy finish into a clincher.
The Giants grabbed Game 3 in 10 innings when Scott Rolen made a costly bobble. Tim Lincecum then supplied 4 1/3 standout relief innings in Game 4, giving San Francisco a chance to finish the job in the finale.
Buster Posey did exactly that with a grand slam in Game 5, quieting Great American Ball Park and sending the Giants onward. San Francisco ultimately captured its second World Series championship in three seasons.
Seattle’s Kingdome classic
The Mariners’ comeback against New York remains one of the signature best-of-five turnarounds. Randy Johnson, coming off an 18-2 campaign and his first American League Cy Young Award, steadied Seattle in Game 3.
Edgar Martinez changed Game 4 with an eighth-inning grand slam against John Wetteland, forcing a deciding game at the Kingdome. The finale became a back-and-forth October marathon.
Seattle tied the game in the eighth against a weary David Cone. The Yankees scored off Johnson in the 11th, but Martinez answered with a double against Jack McDowell in the bottom half, bringing Ken Griffey Jr. around from first base with the run that ended the series.
Cleveland now joins that small group of clubs that survived the two-game deficit. The Guardians did it with a shutout, and the reward is a fresh series with the Rays and a place in the ALCS at stake.
