(EDITOR’S NOTE

: This is the second in a series of articles by Times News writer Rich Strack. After writing about his “Greatest Games” in sports history in the opening series, he will now offer his thoughts on the “Greatest Comebacks.” Throughout the upcoming weeks, Strack will give his list of the top comebacks in different sports. Today’s topic is Major League Baseball.

By RICH STRACK

tnsports@tnonline.com

In this difficult time of a health crisis, the matter of sports competition that brings so much recreational joy to millions of Americans has been rightfully postponed.

Every level from the professional and college ranks down to high school spring sports will have empty stadiums, ball fields, and tracks for the foreseeable future.

But if you’re a fan like me, with many years of devotion to athletic competition, some of the greatest events from the past are still being played in your memory rewind.

So sit back and let me distract you from public concerns for just a moment with Part 1 of a series on the “Greatest Comebacks” that will remain forever in my personal Hall of Fame.

Today I give you three of the best MLB come-from-behind games and series’ of my lifetime.

2004 ALCS

Red Sox vs Yankees

The Yankees led the best-of-seven series 3-0 and were leading Game 4 by one run in the ninth inning.

But a steal of second base by the Red Sox’s Dave Roberts and a single by Bill Mueller off Yankees closer Mariano Rivera tied the game. A home run by David Ortiz then won it for the Red Sox in extra innings and jump started one of the greatest comebacks in playoff history.

Ortiz also won Game 5 with a single in the 14th inning.

The Red Sox also won Game 6 behind Curt Shilling, who pitched seven innings during which time his sock became soaked in blood due to an ankle injury.

In Game 7 at Yankee Stadium, David Ortiz hit a two-run home run off Kevin Brown to give Boston a 2-0 advantage after one inning. Johnny Damon hammered his first pitch he saw in the top of the second for a grand slam into the short right field porch and the route was on. Derek Lowe, on two days rest, pitched six innings for the Sox, allowing only one run on one hit.

The Red Sox won 10-3 and became the third team in sports history and the first since the NHL’s 1975 New York Islanders to win a seven-game series after losing the first three games.

Aug. 21, 1990

Phillies vs Dodgers

The Phillies came into the top of the ninth down 11-3, and the Dodgers brought in 29-year-old rookie Dave Walsh to close things out. Walsh walked light-hitting second baseman Rod Booker to start the inning. Then he induced a potential double-play grounder from slow-footed first baseman Carmelo Martinez, but Jose Offerman booted the grounder for an error, so instead of two outs and nobody on base, the Phillies had runners on first and third with no outs.

Consecutive singles by Dickie Thon and Dave Hollins scored two runs. After a walk and an out, the Phils loaded the bases, and Offerman’s second chance at a double play turned into his second error. A two-run double by Dale Murphy brought the score to 11-8. John Kruk came to the plate with runners on second and third and one out. He promptly ripped a fastball deep to right and as TV announcer Chris Berman shouted, “back … back … back … back,” the ball landed in the right-field bleachers, and the game was suddenly tied.

The Phils weren’t done yet. Martinez cracked a run-scoring double, and when LA went quietly in the ninth, Philly had completed its improbable comeback to win, 12-11.

Aug. 5, 2011

Mariners vs Indians

Coming back to win a game when a team is 12 runs behind might be fairly common in Little League, but certainly not in Major League Baseball.

But during a regular season game in 2011, that’s exactly what happened.

The Seattle Mariners led the Cleveland Indians 14-2 going into the bottom of the seventh inning. Both the Tribe and the Mariners began to take many of their starters out of the game. Names like Roberto Alomar, Ichiro Suzuki, Edgar Martinez and John Olerud were done for the day.

The Cleveland rally began with three runs in the bottom of the seventh, but it still trailed 14-5 with six outs to go and a lineup filled mostly with reserves. In the bottom of the eighth, Jim Thome led off with a home run and Marty Cordova hit a two-run bomb to make it 14-8.

Mariners’ manager Lou Piniella lifted pitcher John Halama for veteran Norm Charlton. Omar Vizquel’s RBI double put the Tribe down by five, but Kenny Lofton was gunned down at the plate to end the inning.

Seattle went scoreless in the top of the ninth. In the home half, Charlton got two outs to leave the Tribe five runs down with just one out left.

After Cleveland got runners on first and third, Piniella replaced Charlton with Jeff Nelson, who promptly loaded the bases with a walk. Elinar Diaz lined a full count two-run single to left make the score 14-11.

Following another pitching change, Lofton singled to load the bases bringing up Vizquel. On another full count pitch, Vizquel cleared the bases with a deep triple to right to tie the game and force extra innings.

With the score knotted at 14-14 and the game in the home 11th, three straight singles won the game for the Indians. The Mariners had lost a 12-run lead and the game.

Final thoughts

Baseball Hall of Famer Yogi Berra once said, “It ain’t over till it’s over.”

Until the final out is called, just a little spark might begin a flame in the losing team that turns into a fiery comeback.

Momentum is an inexplicable and often unstoppable energy in a baseball game. It doesn’t always occur because of a bunch of base hits. No matter how much strategy and skill a team employs during a game, sometimes the outcome is decided by what managers call the “baseball gods.” Momentum can begin with a careless error, a two-out walk, or a stolen base that then rages into a powerful force that infects hitter after hitter. Throw mojo in with a little help from the baseball gods, and what once appeared to be an easy victory can transform into the agony of defeat.