The Los Angeles Dodgers' season, and their quest for a World Series three-peat, is on the ropes. Their backbreaking 6-2 loss to the Milwaukee Brewers at Dodger Stadium on Wednesday night has them now staring down a 3-0 hole in the NLCS. History, for as much of it as the Dodgers have made the prior two seasons, isn't on their side this time around.
But they do have one guy in that clubhouse who knows what it's like to buck the trend.
"It's certainly possible," manager Dave Roberts told reporters about coming back from 3-0 down. "I've lived it."
Has there ever been a 3-0 comeback in MLB?
"Don't let us win tonight."
Kevin Millar stood on the field at Fenway Park that October night 22 years ago. Shouting that at anyone close enough to listen. The Boston Red Sox were down 3-0 in the ALCS to the archrival New York Yankees, their season on the brink. But yet there was Millar, confidently defiant of the reality that stood in front of them.
"If you let us win tonight, we’ve got Pedro (Martinez) in Game 5, (Curt) Schilling in Game 6," he continued. "And anything can happen in Game 7."
What followed was arguably the greatest comeback ever seen. Regardless of sport.
Down 4-3 in the bottom of the ninth, Millar drew a leadoff walk. Roberts pinch ran for him and immediately stole second. Then, Bill Mueller swatted an outside cutter from the infallible Mariano Rivera up the middle. Roberts darted off, arms pumping and chest up, sliding home and pumping his fist in the air as he got back on his feet after scoring the game-tying run.
The rest, as the cliche goes, is history.
David Ortiz mashed a two-run, walk-off home run to stay alive. The Red Sox won Game 5 after that, then Game 6 and 7 to become the first − and so far only − team in MLB history to come back from a 3-0 deficit.
Can Dodgers come back from 3-0 down?
The Dodgers are in a much different situation. There is no 84-year curse hanging over their heads. They have the two World Series trophies from each of the last two years to fall back on. But the odds are just as great. Forty-one out of 42 teams facing a sweep have gone on to be eliminated, according to MLB's Sarah Langs.
The only other team to come close was the Houston Astros when they forced a Game 7 against the Tampa Bay Rays after falling down 3-0 in the 2020 bubble, but they still lost the winner-take-all contest 4-2.
But Roberts has been here before. He knows how dire the circumstances are. Rather than sit at the podium and wax poetic about his experience, though, he wants to keep it straightforward. The Dodgers have won four in a row nine times this season. They need to do it one more time. It starts with one, though.
He knows that better than anyone.
"We got to win tomorrow," he said. "That's our only focus."
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Has there ever been a 3-0 comeback in MLB? Dodgers have to rally now to reach World Series