Red Sox Have Played Their Best With Backs Against the Wall

Staring elimination in the eye with an inexperienced midseason call-up on the hill and a case of the dead bats at the plate, the Red Sox are facing a lot of adversity in Sunday's Game 3 bout with the Angels.

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