Defying the Odds: The Greatest Playoff Comebacks in MLB History

October is just around the corner, and with it comes Major League Baseball's playoffs that are set to kick off following another long season. To mark the beginning of a soon-to-be drama-filled postseason, here is a list of some of the greatest comebacks in playoff history. In 2022, the Seattle Mariners were 8-1 down to the Toronto Blue Jays in the sixth inning in Game 2 of the American League Wild Card Series when they flipped the game on its head. The Mariners clocked four runs in the eighth inning, with the key moments coming when J.P. Crawford hit one into the outfield with the bases loaded. Blue Jays duo Bo Bichette and George Springer crashed into each other in the outfield, allowing Seattle to bring home three runs before taking the lead in the ninth and winning the game. The Boston Red Sox were facing elimination when they were 7-0 down to the Tampa Bay Rays in the seventh inning of Game 5 of the 2008 American League Championship Series. The Red Sox's comeback was led by David Ortiz, who clocked a three-run homer and J.D. Drew, whose two-run hit in a three-run eighth inning helped Boston pull level. Drew produced a walk-off single in the ninth inning to send his team into Game 6, which they won before being eliminated in Game 7. The St. Louis Cardinals were forced into a 6-0 hole early in Game 5 of their 2012 National League Division Series encounter against the Washington Nationals. The Cardinals chipped away at the deficit and were just one run behind in the eighth inning before the Nationals clocked another run to lead 7-5. St. Louis remained in contention, however, and took the lead following a pair of two-run singles by Daniel Descalso and Pete Kamsa before sealing the win. The Yankees found themselves with a six-run deficit in the fifth inning of Game 4 of the 1996 World Series against the Atlanta Braves before mounting a memorable revival. New York halved the deficit following a three-run sixth inning before Jim Lehritz's game-tying three-run homer in the eighth inning. The Yankees prevailed 8-6 in the encounter before winning the next two games and capturing the franchise's first World Series title in 18 years.