But when the Red Sox take the field in Sunday's ALDS battle, they will have history on their side.
Only four teams have come back from an 0-2 deficit to win a division series, but all of them were from the American League, and two of those teams were your beloved local nine:
Year Team Opponent
1995 Mariners Yankees
1999 Red Sox Indians
2001 Yankees A's
2003 Red Sox A's
Pressure? What pressure? In this dazzling decade of comebacks and duck boats, the Red Sox have often been at their best when backed into a corner. Since 2003, the Sox have gone 16-3 in elimination games:
Date Game Series Score
10/4/2003 3 ALDS Red Sox 3, A's 1 (12 innings)
10/5/2003 4 ALDS Red Sox 3, A's 2
10/6/2003 5 ALDS Red Sox 4, A's 3
10/15/2003 6 ALCS Red Sox 9, Yankees 6
10/16/2003 7 ALCS Yankees 6, Red Sox 5 (11 innings)
10/17/2004 4 ALCS Red Sox 6, Yankees 4 (12 innings)
10/18/2004 5 ALCS Red Sox 5, Yankees 4 (14 innings)
10/19/2004 6 ALCS Red Sox 4, Yankees 2
10/20/2004 7 ALCS Red Sox 10, Yankees 3
10/7/2005 3 ALDS White Sox 5, Red Sox 3
10/18/2007 5 ALCS Red Sox 7, Indians 1
10/20/2007 6 ALCS Red Sox 12, Indians 2
10/21/2007 7 ALCS Red Sox 11, Indians 2
10/16/2008 5 ALCS Red Sox 8, Rays 7
10/18/2008 6 ALCS Red Sox 4, Rays 2
10/19/2008 7 ALCS Rays 3, Red Sox 1
