The Yankees are no strangers to overcoming a 2-0 World Series deficit.
In the 10 cases where a team has won the Fall Classic after losing the first two games, the Yankees have done so four times, including in 1956 and 1978 against the Dodgers.
After losing both games at Dodger Stadium this weekend, the current Yankees will need to complete another 2-0 comeback to win their 28th championship.
“[If] “We win this game on Monday, the pressure goes to the other side,” first baseman Anthony Rizzo said, “and we’ll make it a series.”
Game three is scheduled to take place Monday night in the Bronx, where game four is scheduled for Tuesday and game five, if necessary, on Wednesday.
The 1996 Yankees were the last team to bounce back from a 2-0 hole and win the World Series, coming in six games over the Braves despite losing Games 1 and 2 at home. The Yankees’ four straight victories that year included defeating future Hall of Fame pitchers Tom Glavine, John Smoltz and Greg Maddux.
“[George] Steinbrenner arrived before Game 2 of the 1996 World Series and said, “This is a must-win,” then-Yankees manager Joe Torre recalled to the Daily News on Friday, several hours before the game. . 1 in the 2024 World Series.
“We were flat in the first two games. I said, “George, we’re flat. We might even lose. We face Maddux. …I said, ‘Don’t worry about it. We’re going to Atlanta. We’ll win three games there, then come back and win for you on Saturday night. I walked out of the office and that’s exactly what happened, even though I was having fun with him.
In 1956, the Yankees came back against the Brooklyn Dodgers with the help of Don Larsen, who pitched the first – and only – perfect game in the postseason in Game 5 of that World Series. The Yankees went on to win in seven games, with Yogi Berra hitting two home runs in a do-or-die Game 7.
In 1978, the Yankees won Games 3, 4 and 5 at home, then clinched the series in Los Angeles with a victory in Game 6 in which Bucky Dent delivered three RBIs and Reggie Jackson homered.
The Dodgers, meanwhile, came back from 2-0 down to beat the Yankees in the 1955 and 1981 World Series.
The only other time the Yankees came back from a 2-0 loss was in 1958, when the Bombers led by Mickey Mantle and Berra beat Hank Aaron and the Braves in seven games.
Historically, 84% of teams that take a 2-0 lead in an MLB best-of-seven series have won it.
The uncertain status of Dodgers superstar Shohei Ohtani, who left in the seventh inning of Game 2 after suffering a partial dislocated shoulder on a slide while caught stealing second base, weighs on Game 3 of this World Series.
Clarke Schmidt is expected to start Game 3 for the Yankees, while Walker Buehler is expected to pitch for the Dodgers.
“Nobody said it was going to be easy,” Yankees manager Aaron Boone said after Saturday’s 4-2 loss. “It’s a long series, and we need to make it a long series now. We will not flinch. We just have to keep going.
