I've thought about the 2004 ALCS more than any sane person should. Three games up. Nineteen-to-eight in Game 3. Mariano Rivera warming in the bullpen. And the New York Yankees still found a way to lose four straight and make history for all the wrong reasons. This was the series that broke something inside every fan who lived through it -- the first and only time a team blew a 3-0 lead in a best-of-seven in MLB history. It's been over two decades, and I still get a knot in my stomach thinking about Dave Roberts on first base.
Games 1 Through 3: False Security
The Yankees won Games 1 and 2, then traveled to Fenway and dropped 19 runs on Boston in Game 3. NINETEEN. The 2004 squad looked invincible. A-Rod, Gary Sheffield, Matsui, Jeter -- everyone was hitting. The pitching held up. Three-nothing in a best-of-seven had never been overcome in baseball history. Not once. We were measuring for rings. (I hate admitting that, but it's true.)
The 19-8 Game 3 win felt like a psychological knockout. It looked like the kind of beating that ends a series spiritually even before it ends mathematically. The Red Sox dugout looked like a funeral. Their fans were filing out by the sixth inning. It was supposed to be over.
Game 4: Roberts Changes Everything
October 17, 2004. Bottom of the ninth. Yankees leading. Rivera on the mound, doing what Mo does. Kevin Millar drew a walk -- an actual walk off the greatest closer in postseason history. Terry Francona sent Dave Roberts in to pinch-run, and everyone in the Stadium knew he was going to steal. Rivera knew. Posada knew. Roberts knew they knew. He went anyway.
Roberts stole second. Bill Mueller singled him home. Tie game. (I threw a remote control at the TV. I'm not proud of it.) Boston won in the 12th inning on a David Ortiz walk-off homer. Down 3-1 instead of swept. Still felt manageable. Right?
Game 5: Mo Cracks Again
Rivera entered Game 5 with a chance to close it out. Again. And again, he couldn't finish it. A sacrifice fly tied the game late, and the Red Sox won in extra innings -- another Ortiz walk-off, this time a single in the 14th. Two straight extra-inning losses. Two blown saves by the most reliable postseason closer who ever lived. The aura was gone. (Mo had been practically unhittable in October for a decade. The Red Sox didn't care about his resume.)
Games 6 and 7: The Free Fall
By Game 6, the momentum had completely flipped. Curt Schilling pitched on that famous bloody sock -- a torn tendon in his right ankle, sutured in place so he could throw. Boston won. The series went to seven games at the Stadium, which should've meant home-field advantage. It didn't. The Red Sox scored early and often, winning 10-3 in a game that was never competitive. Bernie, Jeter, A-Rod -- everyone went quiet when it mattered most. The Stadium emptied before the final out.
Boston completed the greatest comeback in baseball history. On our field. In our building.
What Made It So Painful
It wasn't just losing. Teams lose every year. It was HOW it happened. Three-nothing leads don't evaporate. They never had before. Mo didn't blow saves in October -- except he did, twice, in the two games that mattered most. The 19-8 Game 3 win didn't demoralize Boston -- it woke them up. Every assumption the franchise had built its October identity on crumbled in four games.
The Red Sox went on to sweep the Cardinals in the World Series and broke the 86-year Curse of the Bambino. The story everyone wanted to tell wasn't about the Yankees' three straight 100-win seasons. It was about how they choked. That's the word that stuck. Choked.
The Long Shadow
The Yankees didn't return to the Fall Classic until 2009. Five years of "remember 2004" hanging over every October failure. Jeter said the collapse haunted him. It haunted all of us. Roberts' stolen base, Schilling's bloody sock, Ortiz's walk-offs -- these became Boston's mythology, built directly on the Yankees' worst moment.
I still can't watch the highlights. I don't think I ever will.
| Series Result | Red Sox win 4-3 (after trailing 0-3) |
| Game 3 Score | Yankees 19, Red Sox 8 |
| Game 7 Score | Red Sox 10, Yankees 3 |
| Rivera ALCS G4-G5 | 2 blown saves in 2 games |
| Red Sox Clinch | At Yankee Stadium, Game 7 |
Game 1: Yankees Win
The Yankees take Game 1 at home and grab the early series lead behind strong pitching and timely hitting.
Game 2: Yankees Win
A second straight victory at the Stadium puts the Yankees in a commanding 2-0 position heading to Fenway.
Game 3: Yankees 19, Red Sox 8
The Yankees drop 19 runs on Boston at Fenway Park, taking a 3-0 series lead. No team has ever come back from this deficit.
Game 4: Roberts Steals, Ortiz Walks Off
Dave Roberts steals second off Rivera in the 9th. Bill Mueller ties it. David Ortiz walks it off in the 12th. The comeback begins.
Game 5: Another Extra-Inning Boston Win
Rivera can't close again. Ortiz delivers another walk-off, this time a single in the 14th inning. Boston pulls within 3-2.
Game 6: Schilling's Bloody Sock
Curt Schilling pitches on a sutured ankle tendon at Yankee Stadium. Boston wins and forces a Game 7.
Game 7: Red Sox 10, Yankees 3
Boston scores early and cruises. The Red Sox complete the only 3-0 comeback in MLB playoff history at Yankee Stadium.
Frequently Asked Questions
Has any MLB team come back from 3-0 in a playoff series?
Yes -- the 2004 Boston Red Sox are the only team in MLB history to win a best-of-seven series after trailing 3-0. They did it against the Yankees in the ALCS, winning four straight elimination games after the Yankees held a seemingly insurmountable lead.
What happened with Dave Roberts' stolen base in 2004?
In the 9th inning of ALCS Game 4, with Boston facing elimination, Dave Roberts pinch-ran for Kevin Millar and stole second base against Mariano Rivera. He scored the tying run on a Bill Mueller single. The Red Sox won in extra innings, starting the historic 3-0 comeback.
How many saves did Mariano Rivera blow in the 2004 ALCS?
Rivera blew saves in Games 4 and 5 of the ALCS against the Red Sox. In Game 4, he allowed the tying run after Roberts' stolen base. In Game 5, a sacrifice fly tied the game on his watch. Both games went to extra innings and both were won by Boston.
When did the Yankees next reach the World Series after 2004?
The Yankees didn't return to the Fall Classic until 2009, when they beat the Philadelphia Phillies to win their 27th championship. The five-year gap between the 2003 World Series appearance and the 2009 title was the longest such drought for the franchise since the early 1980s.