Coming back from the brink of elimination to win a postseason series can propel a team forward with renewed confidence for the next round. This is even true in the best-of-three Wild Card Series.
In the five seasons in which the Wild Card round has existed -- 2020, 2022-25 -- there have been three teams to lose the first game, then win two straight to win the series and advance to an LDS. Here's a look back.
0-1 COMEBACKS IN WILD CARD SERIES
2025 AL Wild Card Series: Yankees over Red Sox
All three games played at Yankee Stadium
A Red Sox-Yankees playoff series usually brings drama, and that was the case in their 2025 Wild Card Series. After Garrett Crochet pitched Boston to a 3-1 win in Game 1, New York answered back with a 4-3 win in a back-and-forth affair in Game 2. Then came The Cam Schlittler Show in Game 3.
The rookie righty pitched eight shutout innings while scattering five hits and striking out 12 as the Yankees won 4-0 to clinch the series. Schlittler became the first pitcher in postseason history to pitch at least eight scoreless innings, strike out at least 12 and allow no walks. His 12 strikeouts were also a Yankees record for a rookie making his postseason debut. The Yankees scored all four of their runs in the fourth inning, sparked by RBI singles from Amed Rosario and Anthony Volpe, on their way to another ALDS appearance.
2020 AL Wild Card Series: A's over White Sox
All three games played at Oakland Coliseum
The COVID-shortened 2020 season included a unique 16-team playoff format that had each team -- including all division winners -- compete in an opening-round Wild Card Series, with all three games played at the home of the higher seed. The AL West champion A's were one of two teams that season to lose Game 1, then come back to take Games 2 and 3 to win the series.
After a Game 1 home loss to the White Sox in which they were held to just three hits, the A's took control early in Game 2, scoring two runs each in the first and second innings, highlighted by a two-homer homer from Marcus Semien. That was enough for starter Chris Bassitt, who allowed one run over seven innings on the way to a 5-3 win. In the winner-take-all Game 3, the A's overcame a 3-0 deficit behind a two-run homer from Sean Murphy, bases-loaded walks from Mark Canha and Matt Olson and a two-run single from Chad Pinder to pull out a 6-4 win and advance to the ALDS.
2020 NL Wild Card Series: Padres over Cardinals
All three games played at Petco Park in San Diego
Like the A's, the Padres were the higher seed and hosted the Cardinals for their best-of-three matchup. And like the A's, the Padres fell behind early in Game 1 and never recovered on the way to a 7-4 loss. Game 2 started out much the same, with San Diego down 4-0 headed to the bottom of the fourth. After scratching across two runs to cut the lead to 4-2, the Padres spotted the Cardinals two more runs and trailed 6-2 going to the bottom of the sixth. But then the Padres' bats erupted.
San Diego scored nine runs over the next three innings -- aided by two homers each from Fernando Tatis Jr. and Wil Myers, and one from Manny Machado -- and won the game 11-9 to even the series. Game 3 was scoreless until the bottom of the fifth, when an Eric Hosmer RBI double broke the ice. That was all the scoring the Padres needed, as they used nine pitchers to blank the Cardinals in a 4-0 win to take the series.